11 AM

 I'm still wearing my 100% awesome PJs made from stuffed animal hides.  

 Baby is working on her rainbow zebra.  Full disclosure: I drew the outline of the zebra for this one.

 Kid is ... reading.

Big Boy came to announce his dissatisfaction with his food bowl level.  

i.e. not overflowing = empty

Self Esteem Boosting

As if it weren't bad enough that every time we find another mole on Baby she reacts in abject horror...

going dead in the eyes and whimpering "I don't want more moles"

Oh, gee, thanks.  I'm glad I'm a human monster.

Or that very memorable time when Kid remarked on my outfit:

"You could be like 4 months pregnant in the 80s and no one would even know."

"Are you saying I look pregnant?"  I replied self consciously.

"No, I'm saying you could be pregnant and no one would be able to tell."  Kid explained.

"It's a compliment."  She clarified.

"I'm not sure it is."  I muttered through my dry silent tears....

You see the pattern here right?

Well, the other night Kid blurted out,

"I HATE Roman noses."

And, since the well had been primed, I took great offense.

Kid was baffled.  

"You don't have a Roman nose!"

And she was so emphatically sincere that I kind of believed she wasn't just digging herself out of hole.

"I mean, you know... the flat noses." and she gestured at a chopped off  nose.

"Oh!  Those aren't Roman noses."  I said laughing.

"Those noses are just broken off of the statues."  I explained.

We laughed hysterically for a good five minutes.

"Oh, good!  I was always afraid of going to Rome!"  Kid admitted.

Fake It Till You Make It

A lot of what has been keeping me from blogging regularly... outside of just a tremendously busy schedule and little time at home with my computer!... is that I just got out of the daily habit.  And like anything else (working out, ahem) just figuring out how to fit it back in can seem overwhelming.  But unlike working out, blogging can feel like a completely unnecessary thing to try to fit into an already over stretched schedule.  A selfish thing.  The first thing to cut.

Except that isn't true.

I've given up a time and space for myself... for creative expression & friendship building.  A space that starts blank but ends up filled with thoughts and opinions and ideas I hadn't even intended to express.  Blogging helps me.  It helps me to better know myself.  It is more self fulfilling than selfish and, yes,  there is a difference.  Removing that from my daily life has created a huge void and I often feel adrift.  Moorless (which it turns out isn't a word, but let's all agree that it should be).   I need anchoring, to something other than my carpool schedule.  Desperately.

For the next 3 months I am putting a few things at the top of my priority list (after caring for my kids of course).  I am working out every day.  I do have time, I just have to protect that time.  I am also going to blog every day.  Instead of sitting down while I eat my breakfast and checking email, getting a Facebook update on everyone, and scrolling through my blog reader...(and you know what that does?  It says I'm starting my day on someone else's agenda... have you found that?  Someone's email or update will start a snowball effect that can steamroll my whole day and take me way off of the course I had intended to set)... I am going to write a post.  It might be short, it might be long.  I just need to get this ball rolling and stop feeling like I owe you all a recap.

One post done and I already feel better.

See you tomorrow.

I Mean It

I'm going to start blogging again.  Maybe even DAILY.