the vote.

Today was Election Day. Election Day means that the schools are closed, so the kids were at home today {and I took a much needed day off from work}.

As soon as I woke up this morning the kids wanted to know, "When are we going to vote?"

Sheesh. Give me a chance to get up and pee, will ya??

We made it through breakfast...barely. I think I was asked once or twice an hour about when we would go to the poll or if I forgot that today was the day to vote. Good to know that my 6 year old and 8 year old are on top of Virginia politics.

Just before lunch, we head to the poll at an elementary school close to our home. The first thing out of Aidan's mouth is, "Remember when we came to vote & they wouldn't let me use the bathroom?" We were in a 2+ hour line last year during the Presidential election and the people at my polling place would not let my son use the bathroom. The people around us in line rallied, complained & held my spot in line as I whisked my children into the school to use the bathroom.

I told Aidan that there would be no peeing at the polling place this year.

Malia was more interested in when SHE could vote. Ten more years, sweetie...ten more years. Wow.

As we walked to the school Aidan noticed the signs for those running for sheriff. HE wanted to vote for sheriff. Instead, he had to settle on pamphlets.

Once inside, however, we were all quite pleased to find: no wait, no line AND a special voting booth set up especially for the little people of non-voting age.

If you're curious to know, here is just a sampling of who the children voted for:
President - Thomas Jefferson
Commissioner of Transportation - Amelia Earhart
Commissioner of Comic Relief {I really think this should be a REAL political office} - Carol Burnett
Commissioner of Literature - William Faulkner

I don't remember who else they voted for as I was busy casting my own real votes. But, what a nice set-up for parents and what a great way to introduce how voting works to the kids.

In the end, all three of us walked out with "I voted" stickers on and both of my children were quite pleased that they did not miss out on the vote today.

Rock Bark the Vote!

"Logan and Moxie"

{the above takes you to the Facebook page for the photo contest, but you can also click on THIS link to take you directly to Logan & Moxie's page}

My sister, Monica, entered her two fur babies, Logan & Moxie, into a cover dog photo contest for Orvis. The contest is open until January 2010 and that is when the fine people at Orvis will announce the winner who will be featured on the Fall catalog cover; however, in the meantime, you can vote for your favorite dog or doggies {and I KNOW you will vote ONLY for Logan & Moxie}.

When you vote, you are asked to donate...I know it seems kind of an odd way of doing things, but when you think about those cute dogs & the fact that every donation is matched by Orvis & Eukanuba and all the proceeds are donated to the Canine Cancer Campaign, well, then it's worth it! The minimum donation is $5, but that's good for FIVE votes ($10 is good for 10 votes and so on & so forth...). And, your donation is tax-deductible!

So, what are you waiting for? Go...vote for Logan the Golden Retriever & Moxie the Bernese Mountain Dog. And, if you really need some extra motivation, then do it simply for the fact that your donation aids in canine cancer research. Winning this contest would mean the world to my sister & her husband, James, but what's more important is the fact that all donations are given to the Canine Cancer Campaign. This is near & dear to my sister & brother-in-law's heart because Logan is currently battling Lymphoma. He has chemo every week. He's such a sweet boy & such a fighter, too.

And, of course, you can enter your very own fur baby, too!! But, definitely check out this contest, make a donation and, pretty please, vote for Logan & Moxie!

If any of the above links don't work, then please click here and type in "Logan and Moxie" {just as it's written minus the quotes} and vote, vote, vote!

Don't forget!

Remember, I am participating in the MOAB contest sponsored by Momlogic and Mom Bloggers Club....see that button to the right? Yeah, that's the contest.

I am one of 32 moms who are all hoping to be given the "Mother of All Bloggers" title.

To read all about MY mom logic (my entry for the contest), click here.

On April 30th, the 10 finalists will be announced and that is when you can start showing YOUR support by voting for me! The grand prize winner will be announced on May 7th during Momlogic's Moms Nite Out event.