Mama Writing So I Don't Go Crazy

Climbing Out of My Hole

I've been gone from the blog for awhile.

I know. Duh.

So what's been going on all these months?

Work.

Weight Watchers.

Exercise.

A little trip to a conference with some friends.

The little guy getting glasses.

School starting up again.

An addition to our family. (no, not a baby. I am finally getting a sister)(in law that is, but whatever)

Knitting. (Because even though I am not pregnant, everyone else seems to be)

Stay tuned...

  

Cold Weather Wondering

I've been stuck inside for the last few days with a four year old who has redefined the word "squirrely."

Since I haven't been to work since Monday, and it's making me crazy, I have nothing better to do (besides dishes, laundry, and cleaning up after the previously mentioned 4yo) than knit, read, watch tv and think.

I've been thinking a lot.

Feel free to answer any of these questions for me.

1.Why to small children refer to themselves in the third person?

2.Why do small children insist on getting up at 5 am when there is no school?

3.Why can't they just hang in mom and dad's bed and cuddle for awhile? Why MUST they hit the ground running before my eyes are fully functioning?

4.Why do small children (maybe bigger ones do this as well, I have no one to compare) insist on becoming other entities? Mine is a kitty. All kitty, ALL DAY.

5.Add #1 with #4 and you get PURE HELL. "Mommy, the kitty would like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich." "Mommy, the kitty does NOT like taking naps." (the kitties I know DO). "Mommy, the kitty would like to go visiting today." (the Mommy of the kitty would like to go visit a bottle of wine in solitary confinement)   

6. When is this winter going to END?

Talk amongst yourselves.

Photo-Op

We finally got around to downloading some pictures onto the computer, so here's a few to let you all know what's been going on in the last few weeks...

First day of school. Evidently we did a good job of picking the right color scheme, because when I picked him up 3 hours later, he had fallen head first into pea gravel on the playground after going down the slide. His shirt was covered in blood from a split lip and road rash on his hands.

I'm not sure...but I think this guy's famous.
(just kidding, I KNOW who he is.)

Justin Roberts concert here in town. Best concert I've been to in a while. Despite the look on the child's face, he DID enjoy himself. (he just needed a nap by this time)

Somebody has taken it upon himself to photograph whatever happens to be in his viewing area, if he can sneak the camera away from unsuspecting parents. Here we have the remains of a popcorn bag. This bag started out as his, until some dork dad came and sat down in front of us, taking it as his own. (Hey! He took MY popcorn!) Our sweet cherub got back in his own way by swiping a feather of the guy's paper bag hat project.

Hairy Scary

I know, I know, it's been awhile since I've posted.

I'm sorry.

I've been busy.

And pretty much in a writing funk.

Didn't feel like writing.

But today, I felt compelled to post.

Why, you ask?

Because I made the mistake of hitting the stumble button on my tool bar.

And the very first page that came up was a knitting site.

Not such a bad place to start the day, eh?

But the picture on the page was enough to send me into therapy for god. knows. how. long.

Please allow me to share:

By Megan Reardon

If anyone out there has toddlers, then they might be aware of the DoodleBops.

The DoodleBops are one show on the Disney Channel that I won't Tivo.

They are freaky. See exhibit A:

Apologies to all those Canadians out there who love them some DoodleBops.

To me, they look like something out of a Stephen King movie.

Now, take off all the make-up and *ahem* colorful get-ups, and there are some pretty nice looking people under there.

So, back to the first picture. Imagine the willies I got when this photo popped up. I could use my bright pink acrylic yarn and knit me up some hair. Just. like. Dee Dee. Doodle.

Cute idea. But no thanks.

I might find myself singing that annoying theme song.

And my husband would have me committed.

Crazy With A Side of Broccoli

Sorry folks, this ain't a post about veggies.

But it is a post about crazy.

Crazy is as crazy does.

I've seen my fill of crazy this week.

And crazy better watch out, cause she's likely to get hit in the ass when the door swings shut.

Have you ever met someone who was so insecure that she had to make everyone else's life hell in order to feel better about herself?

I know, high school, right? Wrong.

I met someone like that when I was 21.

I saw her again this week. I almost felt sorry for her.

And then she opened her mouth.

I had a hard time doing the empathy thing after that.

*insert sound like cat with hairball*

Had to get that nasty taste outta my mouth.

To the five who are more like siblings than anything else...

Love you.

You Know You Wanna Participate In This...

After doing a little blog browsing today, I found a little meme over at Mama Blogs A Lot. Since I liked the questions, I decided to join in and answer them myself.

1. What is your favorite summer drink?
Non alcoholic- Pepsi. Preferably ice cold from a fountain. Alcoholic...I would have to say something fruity. But the other night I went out with some friends and tried a Black Cherry Mojito and I thought I died and went to heaven.

2. What is the best summer sport to play?
Me? Play a sport? Ha! That would be sitting somewhere with a breeze reading a book.

3. What is the best summer sport to watch?
 I like to watch the Summer Olympics. On TV. IN air-conditioned comfort.

4. Do you like the ocean, pool or lake?
I like a crystal clear pool. Our apartment's pool, on an evening, when there is no one else present.

5. Some folks drink whiskey in the winter and gin, tequila (margaritas) or rum drinks in the summer. Does your alcohol of choice change?
Absolutely not. I drink whatever I have a taste for. And I drink white wine with whatever. Red meat or chicken.

6. What is your favorite summer song?
I can't say that I have a favorite summer song. I have a favorite fall song that reminds me of pub crawls in college, and football. But nothing that reminds me of summer.

7. What was your best summer growing up? How old were you and why was it your best?
There are two summers tied for first. Summer number one was when I was seventeen. I was going into my senior year of high school. I had just started dating my (now) husband and went to Spain with some friends for two weeks. It was my first serious relationship, the first time I rode in a plane, and the only time I had been in a different country other than Canada.
My second best summer was right after my senior year. I was just damn glad to be out of high school and going off to college. My boyfriend (the same from the summer before) and I broke up right before I left for college, but whatever. It was still a great summer.

8.  Have you ever had a summer romance that you knew would end?
Yes. It was the summer before my senior year in college. I was staying with my parents at their place in NC for the summer. I was hit on by a guy working in the local music store, who thought I was related to the bass player in a popular band. (last names the same) He (wrongly) assumed that I wanted something serious. I just wanted a summer fling. too bad for you R!

9. How old were you when you first went skinny-dipping? Who were you with?
While I certainly witnessed enough skinny-dipping at drinking parties during my summers home from college, I never participated, other than to take the clothes of the swimmers of the docks.
Maybe someday...

If you've read this post, you are officially tagged! If you don't have a blog, you can post your answers in the comments section here. If you do have a blog, link back to mine after you post your answers.

Running Off at the Mouth

I can't believe it's July 31st already. Where has the summer gone? In a few short weeks our little guy will be starting Montessori school.

Today is a day for random blabbering. Get ready.

Happy Birthday to my friend Tracy!!! She celebrates July as her "birthday month." I think it's something we should all do. Our gang of gals are going out to a new restaurant tonight to celebrate. MAYBE I'll post a picture of us later.

My shameless plug:

Those who know me IRL know that I almost always have my nose in a book (or two or three). When I'm not kitting or crocheting, that is.

So I started a new blog that is just about the stuff I'm reading. It also includes what I'm reading to the little guy. Feel free (pretty please) to go check it out and leave a comment, or a suggestion of something you read recently that I might like to add to my ever growing TBR pile. Go visit.

I finally finished a blanket that I made for my little guy. It's not a huge blanket. I decided to order some yarn online. Bamboo yarn. I liked the colors, and the yarn is incredibly soft. (and sheds EVERYWHERE). I have to take a picture of it and post it later. I talked about this project here.

One last random thought.

Yoga. I love yoga. And it's about time we got a great place around here to take classes. I sleep so much better when I do yoga regularly. Want to know where I go to bend myself into different positions? Here ya go:

Pretzel time make sure you turn the sound on for some cool music.

Ciao!

The Best Four Years of Our Lives (?)

I'm still trying to decide if I really enjoyed myself at my reunion this weekend, or merely tolerated it.

I'm kind of on the fence right now.

I enjoyed seeing some old friends that I haven't seen for over ten years. (Shout out to the Geeks!)

I also enjoyed talking to some people that were in different *ahem* social circles back in the day.

Are cliques REALLY necessary? Include some, but not others. What's the deal?

Were we all so internally insecure that we just naturally gravitated to the people we knew in grade school and stuck to them like glue once we arrived in the big leagues? Or was it something else that prevented us from reaching out and meeting new people?

I went to a Catholic high school, after eight years at a Catholic grade school. Out of the forty-something kids that I saw everyday from first through eighth grade, only about 10 of us went on to the Catholic high school. Once we arrived as freshmen, a strange thing happened.

I explained it to my husband like this:

Feeder school A stuck together.

Feeder School B stuck together

Feeder School C stuck together

The rest of us, who came from smaller feeder schools, were left to fend for ourselves. If we joined a sports team, student government, or were incredibly outgoing in the first place, we found ourselves communing with the "popular" kids from the top three feeder schools.

If we didn't fall into one of those categories, we were screwed.

I was screwed.

I joined clubs, went to games and dances, and had a group of people that I ate with in the cafe.

But I was still invisible to the larger population.

Even to those who had known me since first grade, I disappeared. Especially those who found their niche among the "in" crowd.

Now while I wasn't part of the upper social circle, I certainly used my wallflower skills to the best of my ability. I was an excellent people watcher. I knew who dated whom, where they came from, what they were involved in. I can even tell you things today that these people did 20 years ago. And I know what a lot of them are doing now.

That came in handy on Saturday night. Those few people I had the chance to speak to, well, they were surprised that I remembered (or KNEW!) the things about them that I did.

"How did you know that?"

Easy, I was on the outside looking in.

You want to know what's really sad? I heard one common refrain Saturday night.

" Coming here, I remember now why I hated high school."

To those who made high school fun for me...thanks. Ya'll know who you are.

Down Memory Lane

Tomorrow is my class reunion.

My twentieth, to be exact.

I'm still trying to decide how I feel about this. Should I feel old? Because I really don't. I was asked this morning if I was nervous about going.

Hmmm...interesting question.

Not really.

Granted, I've gained weight since high school. College and baby and more college and life in general can do that to you. Do I wish that I didn't weigh as much? Sure. Don't a lot of us?

Have I accomplished everything I've wanted to do in my life?

Sort of.

I went to college and graduated. In four years. And I was the first in my family to go to college. I spent time after college wondering what I was going to do with the rest of my life. So I went back to college and got another Bachelor's degree, this time in something I REALLY loved.

I got married, had a baby. I wouldn't have minded doing that a little earlier in life, instead of my thirties. I would have liked another baby, but that probably won't happen.

I'm still working on my Master's. Still. I'll get there. I am finally beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

The people I was close to in high school, I am still close to. I've reconnected with a few I haven't seen in years. Then there are those that I hung out with in class, at games and dances. I don't keep in touch with them, but they are the kind of people that when you see them again after a long time, it's as though the years have melted away. You just pick up where you left off.

I'm not nervous about attending my reunion tomorrow because I let go of those little voices in the back of my mind that were so prevalent in my teenage years. "Will they like me?" "Will they talk about me behind my back?" "Will they even notice I'm there?"

I was shy in high school. Not with those who knew me, but with those I was unsure would accept me.

Now? Now I am comfortable in my own skin. I am satisfied with who I am as a person. I don't make $100.000.00 a year, but I ENJOY going to work. I enjoy my time with friends who mean the world to me. And I don't care to try and impress people. I am who I am, take it or leave it.

One thing I will be watching for are those people who never said one word to me in high school. I may have had two or three classes with them, sat next to them, or belonged to the same clubs. But our worlds might as well have orbited in different solar systems. The ones who, at our tenth reunion, came up to me, said hello, and knew my name. As though we were old friends who hung out on the weekends. While I said "hello" back to them, I said nothing more. This time, I may just ask them, "Why did you never say hello back then?" I'd be curious to hear the answer.

Have you been to your high school reunion lately? How was it?

I Am Not A Slacker...Promise!

While I have been lax in posting much here lately, I have my reasons.

Seriously.

The best (paying) job in the world has been seriously slow this summer, forcing me to fall back upon my fun (but not best paying) job so I don't get too behind on the bills.

I am playing lady-in-waiting to a very good friend who is expecting baby #3 any time now. I am honored to be her doula. My bag is packed. My gas tank is full. And we got the completely awful news that her birthing center sustained fire damage this week due to a freak lightening strike. Now she has to give birth at the hospital. So we've been discussing THAT.

I have a pile of books and other sundries that need to be reviewed and posted about. I'm working on it, but there's a baby blanket that needs to be finished before the *ahem* bun is outta da oven. I'm blogging at a couple of other places, and am trying to finish those so they can be posted.

But hey, I went to a yoga class this week. And did I need that! I've been sleeping better since I got back into yoga. Going back tomorrow, if nobody goes into labor...

Can you tell what's on my mind right now?

I'll get back to this blog again soon.

Honest.

If his mom lets me, I'll even post some pictures of my new buddy when he arrives.