Weekend Makeover

I got the urge to clean up and renovate around here this weekend, and while it’s not vastly different it makes me really happy.  The blog I mean, not myself or my house.  It was suddenly a top priority, despite many other things to claim my attention, and I dug in and stayed up late.  I realized part way through the process that it was a joy to work on something that no one else could touch or mess up, especially not my kids!  No one to leave sticky fingerprints on it, clutter it up, or bury it under piles of to-do lists.  It’s mine to play with :).
Read More

I survived this week, and that's an accomplishment.

It’s been a heavy week in terms of clients and deadlines and company and depressing news, but it’s Saturday night and the house is quiet and the clients are happy and the company is gone (and they’re happy too I think?) so I’m finally relaxing a bit!  Son number one is at a sleepover, number two is happily curled up in bed, and a glass of wine has been enjoyed.  I managed to not feel guilty about the lack of blogging this week either, which is a large part of the accomplishment.  I just didn’t have it in me!  I should know by now to not promise posts, but let them come as life lets me get them out. 

I hope things pick up soon, I do feel the words starting to pile up and have fallen asleep with posts half-written in my head twice this week, only to wake up without any recollection of what they were.  I’m sure they were brilliant!  Until inspiration strikes …

All is well, I'm just behind ...

Boating in the new ‘lake’ at the park on Sunday afternoon …Irene paid a briefer-than-expected visit, we’re all find and dandy at our place, and there weren’t too many downed trees in our neighborhood.  The worst mess is the flooding in upstate NY and surrounding states, and many still without power.  Thankful to be spared, though of course I do love a good wild storm thanks to my midwestern roots :).  Love and prayers to those of you who got it worse than we did, hope you’re all drying out and getting power back!

Question to come shortly … the boys have to get outside, my kitchen is ripped apart thanks to a counter-refinishing project that we’re squeezing in in-between front-room tenants, and I’ve promised Fynn his cello lesson on the front porch.  Catch you soon.

I'm back!

Fynn watching the rain, and me watching Fynn … Been home for a few days, and am just getting back into routine, so expect a question of the week later today and a few obligatory vacation pics in a day or two.  You know how when you come home from vacation, you kind of need another vacation to recover?  Been dealing with that more than normal, as I was solo parenting for the entire trip, and came home to new housemates moving in less than 24 hours after we returned.  Yes there was a bit of a cleaning frenzy! 

Glad to be back, and catch up with you all soon!

Taking Off

Fynn driving his space shuttle in the front yard this morning, before it got taken apart and dumped in the trash.

The bags are packed, and it’s time for us to hit the road … so glad that the way has been paved for us to get out of the city for 12 days!  Sadly my husband has to stay home and work, and will be sorely missed, but I’m looking forward to time camping and visits with family and a packed-less-than-usual schedule.  The next 24 hours will be a test of my nerves and the kid’s tolerance though …

Read More

A wee bit of housekeeping

It’s Friday night (well, it was when I sat down at my computer anyway) and I’ve been doing a wee bit of blog cleanup.  Nothing major, but I tweaked things here and there to suit my fancy.  The new header was overdue, no it’s not January anymore!  Feeling a bit run ragged by the cabin fever of this week, and perhaps that influenced my choice of photos for this month?  It’s been a rough one!  Which makes the next post going up, by a new guest blogger, all the more appropriate, stay tuned …

Two New Distractions

Q of the Week will come out tomorrow, along with some great poetry from a longtime reader/friend and the newsletter, I promise … but first a quick pic of the reason I’ve not been too available to blog today!  Other than a streaming cold and lack of sleep due to a: coughing, and b: see distractions below.

Without further ado, the two newest members of our crazy household …

The front-man is Edmund, who I spent an hour luring out of the base of the pedestal sink this afternoon, among other things.  His as-yet-unnamed sister Sparrow is lurking behind him, and appears to be the real trouble-maker of the pair.  We shall see.  I must go install the turtle’s filter and floating dock, because he had to get some attention today too, you know.  Catch you tomorrow!

SaneMom

I'm back!

So sorry to go completely MIA on you all, I ended up with no usable internet while I was away at the wedding of the year, and no time to go searching it out!  I’m back and attempting to settle back into the suddenly-chilly North :).  Pics and proper updates coming soon, in the meantime I’ll tease you with a gorgeous central FL sunset that I caught while there …

Two Quick Things ...

One … enter NOW to win free coaching from My Mama Mojo!  Don’t miss a chance to recover your mojo now that the kids are back in school, and fall is just around the corner … just comment here for a chance to win!

Two … we’re not quite finished with our vacation after all, and are taking one more day to get home … look for a newsletter on Tuesday and hope your week gets off to a great start!  It’s been a true getaway with hardly any time “plugged in” and it’s been wonderful. 

Until Tuesday …

SaneMom

Please Welcome ...

Heather SobieralskiDarah Zeledon… two new regular Contributors to SaneMoms!  You’ve read their words several times over the past few weeks, but a formal welcome (and huge thanks from me!) to Darah Zeledon and Heather Sobieralski.  Darah’s a well-travelled mom of 5 who has a humorous take on the Chaos Chronicles, while Heather has stories from the What-happened-to-me-now-that-i’m-a-mom Corner that will keep you reflecting and enjoying.  They’ll continue to add fresh perspectives and wit and wisdom to the blog, coming from their unique backgrounds as women and moms.  You can read more about them here.  Welcome aboard moms!

A Few Changes

Just a quick post on two things …

You may have noticed my rearrangment of things on the site, yet again :).  I rework things around here just as frequently as I do at home (ahem) which will tell you that my house doesn’t stay the same for long!  I’ve added BlogHer ads, which I brought over from my sadly neglected personal blog.  I’d love to at least cover the hosting costs I incur, which do add up over time.  I’ve been posting enough here that I don’t have time to keep up with both. 

Read More

Catching Up

Sorry to miss the Friday Roundup ladies, but I’m still on vacation with limited access, and quite frankly had no links to roundup as I’ve not been online for a week!  It’s been lovely :).  I won’t be home for another couple of days, but will leave you with one pic from the week … Douglas and his cousin exploring in Florida.  It’s been a great getaway, but I’m glad to be heading home in the morning.  Two days in the car?  Hoping it’s reasonably smooth! 

I took a day off ...

… to be with my family :).  Columbus day was a good excuse, and you Canadians had a good one too with Thanksgiving … hope it was a great one!  We wandered through a street fair and ate more than we shopped, ducked in to my in-laws for a visit, spent a few minutes pondering this sobering sculpture, and came home to beef stew in the crock pot, yum!  I’m also recovering from my fastest race ever yesterday, when I finally passed my year-long goal for a half marathon!  Feels good, and leaves me wondering what next year’s goal will be?  I can’t seem to do too well without one, at least in the running department. 

Chatter and the Q of the Week will show up tomorrow, when I’m back on schedule.  Sleep well :).

Another Manic Monday

“Man with Tail” courtesy of FynnI ran a half marathon yesterday.  It was a logistical debacle from one end to the other.  I ran it nice and leisurely with a friend doing her first race, as we missed starting with the pack by almost an hour, and were barely ahead of the final sweep team.  I had energy to spare at the end of it all, so acted like the Energizer bunny the rest of the day.  Including starting a movie at 11pm. 

Tonight?  I’m pooped.  It finally caught up with me, and I’m going to bed.  Asap.  Newsletter tomorrow, I promise!  And be thinking about lovies or security blankets or whatever your household calls those “can’t sleep without it” articles that some kids drag around.  Oh, and that pic over there?  Ever chase yours?  Enough said :). Catch you tomorrow!

Summer Vacation

My summer vacation is finally about to get underway, and I’m soooo not ready it’s not funny!  Loads still to pack, for two mini family reunions, a wedding, a birthday party, two sets of camping, and 5 cities.  In 14 days :).  Wish me sanity, would you?  I’ll be doing the longest drives solo with the two boys (Chicago to Columbus, and then Columbus to NYC), as my husband has to come back to work early.  It seems we always pack in too much … getting out of the city is rare enough that we try to make the most of it and end up often scattered! 

I also find that the stuff I talked about here comes into play heavily when vacation planning.  I do ALL of it.  Everything.  My husband happily ticks things off the list that I make, and does those things thoroughly and beautifully, while I fly half-assed through the other three quarters of the list.  Speaking of lists, mine has been lying listlessly on the table for an hour now while I do my blog reading thing, and I need to go tackle it again. 

Due to said 14 day vacation, posting will be a bit wacky but it will happen, just not quite when expected.  I’m not a blog-while-I-camp kinda gal, sorry! 

And for all of you at BlogHer this weekend?  Have a ball for me, will you?  Wish I could be there.  I’ll be arriving in town just a few days too late :(.  Enjoy!!

I'm off!

I’m headed out of state for the weekend, to hang out with a bunch of girlfriends, and I’m finally getting excited :).  I’ve done what I can to make things easy on the home-front, and just have to wait for a few things in the dryer before going to catch my bus.  I desperately need a couple of days out of the city, and getting to go solo is a big bonus!

Girl time is something I can’t live without.  And you?

Manic Monday

Just a heads up that the newsletter may not come out until tomorrow, I’m busy battling SPAMMERS in the worst way on the Discussion Forum.  Hopefully none of you have seen/clicked on anying nasty, I’m getting rid of it as fast as I can and researching ways to make it harder for them to post!  PLEASE NOTE: It’s nothing that compromises your personal info or makes posting dangerous in ANY way, it’s just unwanted users and posts.  Thanks for your patience!

ALSO, there aren’t enough answers (yet) to award a prize this week … I think there are more than 3 of you with relationships to food :).  Tough question I know, and thanks for those that did answer … if at least 3 more of you post before I get the newsletter out, I’ll wink at the deadline and award a prize.  Deal?  Let’s hear more about it! 

Click and tell here.

We're Back!

Hi Moms! Thanks for bearing with me on a 2 week break … it’s been a busy two weeks in my corner of the world! We elected a new president :), I ran a marathon :), and the fall colors reached their peak here in NY. All three things make me excited, and I hope you’re enjoying your corner of the world as much as I am mine.

I’d really appreciate your time (10 minutes MAX) in filling out the survey I’m posting about next, it’s something I should have done ages ago. As responses have been (cough) slim in the last few weeks, and SaneMoms.com is just shy of her first birthday, I want to get some feedback! Thanks SO much, and I look forward to hearing what you have to say!

Bethany
aka SaneMom