We have a place, at last! Major relief, and I can’t argue with a front yard like this. I really can’t. So thankful for it. The house is tiny but perfect, and has a studio out back which makes it even better. Packing is crazy-making but good, and my sis has come to help and I think I’d have gone ballistic if she hadn’t. Getting kids to pack/purge their stuff? Not for the faint of heart. I hope we all survive. The lego armada has yet to be tackled, but I’m leaving it till last. And books, how on earth did we get this many? Getting rid of lots, but there are many many more where they came from.
Read Morepostcards from the road
We finally got out of town on Sunday, after the usual mad before-a-trip scramble. I never can get organized enough to have a peaceful departure, finally just ok with it and learning to nap in the car to catch up. We’re road tripping/and family reunioning for 10 days, and so far it’s been really amazing. Bits of six states the first day and 3 yesterday, but it’s less crazy from here on out. A few pics below to give you a taste. Being away from the city, together but not visiting anyone … it’s been a couple of years since we’ve had even a day of that and it’s bliss.
finding beauty in the fragments
April’s almost over, and I’ve felt a bit like I’m floating above the surface of things most of the month. Not quite grounded, not quite flying, just a wee bit untethered. I’m guessing it has to do with the recent possibility that we might actually be moving out of the city before the year is out. Something we’ve longed for for years, but not found a way to accomplish until recently. Nothing sweeter than a bowl full of sky
Getting away. Getting a taste of different air, fresh textures under your toes, and new views out of strange windows. I need these things, need them like I need to breathe. I’m tempted to analyze and delve into why that is, but navel-gazing doesn’t suit a Friday night.
Q: Do you find time to play?
Quick question to start of the week, it’s been awhile since I asked one. Do you give yourself time to play? I mean relaxing and enjoyable time to do fun and maybe whimsical things, like your kids do every time they get a chance. I don’t just mean getting down on the floor to build block towers with them, but doing something playful for your own enjoyment.
Aching
D, sick, at age 2. One of my entries in Kizz’s LEAP Photo Challenge which is open till Tuesday, and for every entry she’ll donate $10 to the American Cancer Society. Deets at the bottom of her post. Reason it’s a LEAP if you click the pic and read the description.If there’s anything consistent about this blog, it’s that I’m not consistent. I’m up and down and verbose and silent, sometimes chipper and often wry and deprecating and full of wishes and hopes and aches and pains. There is it.
The past two weeks have been quiet achey ones. I’m not sure why, but have been letting it roll over me. Lack of energy has been the theme, with an undercurrent of pms, some reflection, and a lot of distraction with obsessive show watching, late-night reading
i love books
… and this video delighted me. my kids loved it too, it was a great bedtime story last night! it’s all i have time to blog today, but it’s worth the 15 minutes. enjoy!
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.
The Dishrack Wars
Yes, they’re clean in my book, despite the need for some steel wool …
Dish washing is a chore in our house which technically falls to whoever didn’t make dinner, but in reality it’s usually whoever doesn’t put the kids to bed. I make dinner, he puts the kids to bed, and at least half the time I wash the pile while he tackles the kids and wrestles them into bed. Somehow over the years though it’s evolved into a wee competition. Not the washing part (he does it more thoroughly, no question, but I get it done faster) but the stacking part.
Showing up, and the touch of a genius
I’m more affected than I expected to be upon hearing of Steve Jobs’ passing yesterday. He was a great man, and I won’t try to add any real perspective to the tributes flowing deep and wide all over. I simply loved his demeanor, his turtlenecks, and his seemingly indefatigable passion for making things that work well and are actually a delight to use. Not to mention sexy. I’ve long loved all things Apple, even though I stopped being able to afford Macs for my design work years ago and had to settle for my well-hated PC.
Read MoreThe Choices I’ve Made (by Bridget S.)
I am frustrated and have no one to blame but myself, which let’s face it, is just, well, frustrating. Do you see the circles my mind runs in? Let me explain: I want to be light and happy. After all, I’m living the dream right? I have three great kids, kids that I chose to have. I live in Los Angeles, a city that I love and chose to come to live in. I am pursuing a career in writing because I feel compelled to do so, yes, but on some level I’m choosing to do it. Short of a husband who adores me and supports me both emotionally as well as financially, I’ve got it all. But you see, this is where I’m running into trouble.Breathe Coaching deadline approaching ...
Just a quick reminder mamas, Heather’s Breathe : Group Coaching for Moms signup deadline is this coming Friday the 29th … get your mojo on and give it a whirl if you’re anywhere near Baltimore! Deets here, hope you can make it!
Happy Easter and Passover too, may your weekend be a relaxing one :).
Breaking the silence
Image courtesy of Joseph Mark Jarvis via Flickr.I’ve not felt like blogging for the last few days, so I simply haven’t. It’s like my desire to do anything flatlined on Thursday, and it really hasn’t changed. The weather snapped cold again this week, we spent far too much time inside and at home, and when we did get out there wasn’t anything social about it. Knitting, Risk, and Who Does She Think She Is anyway?
I’m finally sitting down at my computer for the first time today, and am loving the fact that it took this long! We did a lot of errands today (my sister is in town, making the process infinitely easier!) and got rid of some things that have been cluttering up the entry way … and boy do I love getting rid of stuff! It’s the best kind of therapy, next to cleaning I think. Having my sister around is good therapy too :).
We watched the Who Does She Think She Is movie last night, and while it was my 2nd time through I found it just as fascinating and thought-provoking as the first time.
Q of the Week : How has your sex drive survived (or not) after kids?
Photo Courtesy of Peneli via Flickr. Thanks to a longtime reader/friend for this one! I’ve had it in the forums for ages, but it never got much attention. How about it ladies …
How has your sex drive survived (or not) after kids? After your last few weeks of questions about not sleeping, trying to do too much, etc, I wonder how our relationship with our spouse figures in. Does it fall in somewhere after you drag yourself to bed, drag yourself up in the morning, travel across town again and again for school, play dates, classes, parks, groceries, laundry, etc? Is it still a priority? Do you still feel that spark, and if you do, do you have the energy to respond to it? Is it even possible to feel sexy at least some of the time? Or has all that been put on hold until some mythical time when we get to feel like real women again?
Thanks for the question, what say you all?
I promised to let you know how it went ...
When you run through water stations in the middle of a pack of 45,000 people, you get a little dirty from discarded cups and banana peels …I ran my second-ever marathon yesterday. It wasn’t one bit the race I’d hoped and planned for, and by far the hardest race I’ve ever run. In my neatly-planned life list, the “sub-four-hour-marathon” box is still unchecked. It may very well remain that way forever, I don’t know. All I know right now is that yesterday wasn’t to be that day, not from the get-go, and that I gave it every single ounce of my energy, and then many more, and came up with a 4:13. I am content. A bit disappointed, yes, but I know I could not possibly have tried harder. Writer's Block (by Darah)
Many people ask me from where I get my ideas and how I choose my topics. Frankly, I haven’t the luxury of time or serene lifestyle that enables me to simply inhale deeply, face my computer, and “begin the creative process.” The reality is that as I go about my hectic days, thoughts will suddenly “pop” into my head. I’ll imagine converting a stressful moment or funny situation into a blog article. First Scenario
I’m driving in the car with several of the children and something they say or do is the impetus for an article idea. “What a great piece that would make —so darn funny and everyone can relate.” I mumble to myself psychotically, cracking up all alone.
Q of the Week : What's your current Big Goal?
Most of life is bound up in the day-to-day details, and that’s what we need to find the joy in. I should say I need to find the joy in … I’m great at seeing that stuff as drudgery, and getting it out of the way so I can do the other stuff. The big things, the fun things, the “bucket list” things that so often get kicked to the curb. I seem to function the best when I’ve got one of those dreams/projects in motion, otherwise I dither around and feel like I’m turning in circles without ever moving forwards. Perhaps not the healthiest mode of operation, but it’s one I know well. The crazy all-consuming wedding project disrupted my normal life to a great extent, but I throve on it to be honest. I knew that once it was over I’d get a bit depressed. Q of the Week : How do you capture creative time?
One of the rare times when inspiration and time coincided … a bag I threw together for my SIL’s birthday. I’m stymied. I’m a reasonably creative person, when I’m rested at least, and when pressed can usually come up with something. However, when the ‘mood strikes’ and I’ve got something I’m dying to write or make, it’s only once in a year that the time is actually there in front of me, for the using. By the time I HAVE time, the magic moment is gone and it’s drudgery again. I can often drag it out of my memory somewhere, or laboriously construct it from notes I’ve scribbled, but it’s simply not the same. How do you deal with this??What is the best parenting advice you ever received? (by Heather)
A while back I wrote about the worst parenting advice I ever received, the unattainable “enjoy every moment”. But what about the best parenting advice you received? I was given two very practical and honest ‘words of wisdom’ that I have found myself revisiting frequently over the last five years. One is about my keeping my identity, while the other is about keeping my sanity.Q of the Week: What do you miss most about your pre-mom self? (by Heather S.)
I caught a glimpse of my “old self”… and I liked it!
One question I love to ask other moms is, “ What do you miss most about your pre-mom self?” I recently posed this question to a Moms’ Club, and their answers varied wildly from missing their flat stomachs, feeling brain numb from dealing with small children all day — to remembering how easy it was to get in the car and do something … anything before they had children.