blogging breaks and other bits

1. Wow...I'm so not alone, am I? I'm so sorry to hear that so many of the people I adore are feeling as overwhelmed and stressed out as I am. (There is that feeling that it's nice not to be alone, but I swear I would much rather be alone in this than to have others feeling it, too. If that made the slightest bit of sense.)

2. I've decided to take desperate measures. A blogging break. They seem to be quite popular these days. And I think there's good reason for that. Even something we love so much can become stressful when we can't achieve some sort of balance. And that's what I'm off to work on. I just want to focus on getting through this last 6-ish weeks of school and get this house de-cluttered to a state where I don't feel stressed by the mile long list of projects nagging at me. Then I will try tackle that seemingly always out of reach goal of "balance." Homeschool. Family. Housework. Reading. Creating. Socializing/blogging. Being still. There has to be a way to make them all fit.

3. And while I will be gone for the most part from this blog, I will try to visit you all when I can. I think I might perish from sadness if I couldn't touch base with my friends, after all. (And I will probably post my monthly wrap-up, as I just add to my draft as I finish something anyway. It's my personal way of keeping track of what I'm reading and how my challenges are going. The whole list thing, you know. What can I say, I'm an addict.)

4. Before I go AWOL, I thought I ought to get updated on the blame game. So, here's my loot from Mother's Day:



Well, most of my loot. I forgot to put the tin of my favorite cinnamon tea in the picture. And the most awesomely cool bookmark in the world. Gray made it for me, but I'm already using it so I forgot to stick it in the picture. And Annie made me that coyote figurine. Don't you just love it?!! Okay, maybe you don't. When she made it at her art class, all the other kids made fun of her. But I'm completely in love with it...I think it looks like a really cool piece of folk art and it will be forever proudly displayed in our home! And they also gave me Neko Case's Middle Cyclone and Great Lake Swimmers' Lost Channels CDs. And all the rest is books! Books, books, books. With lots of blame to be dished out.

*The Ballad of the Sad Cafe and Other Stories by Carson McCullers (Eva's fault!)
*Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism by Ha-Joon Chang (Eva's fault!)
*Nocturnes by John Connolly (Somer's fault!)
*The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien (Trish's fault!)
*Kockroach by Tyler Knox (Dewey's fault!)
*The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (Nymeth's fault!)
*Songbook by Nick Hornby (Nymeth's fault!)
*Mirabilis by Susann Coral (Chris's fault!)
*Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist (Chris's fault!)
*Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest (Chris's fault!)
*The Upright Man by Michael Marshall (someone may be owed blame for this, but I have no clue who...I have no recollection whatsoever of adding this to my wishlist)
*Does Anything Eat Wasps? by NewScientist
*One Day the Soldiers Came: Voices of Children in War by Charles London
*Jerusalem 1913: The Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Amy Dockser Marcus
*Eternally Bad: Goddesses with Attitude by Trina Robbins
*Fables: Homelands by Bill Willingham
*Fables: Arabian Nights (And Days) by Bill Willingham
*Fables: Wolves by Bill Willingham
*Troll's Eye View: A Book of Villainous Tales edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
*The New Weird edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer

5. Okay, I'm sort of having a hard time signing off here, knowing that I won't really be back for so long. But there's no point in dragging it out, is there? See you next month. I'll miss you!

motherhood is many things...

Mother's Day. Okay, I feel like I should be writing some incredibly witty or poignant post for today, but let's face it, incredibly witty and poignant aren't exactly in my repertoire. So instead, I decided to just gather up some "motherhood" posts I've written in the past...just a small smattering of all those wonderful, agonizing, incredible feelings that motherhood brings.

Motherhood can have you rolling.

Motherhood can melt your heart.

Motherhood can make you smile.

Motherhood can be challenging.

Motherhood can be downright embarrassing.

Motherhood can break your heart.

Motherhood can be exhausting.

Motherhood can make you ponder.

Motherhood brings gifts galore.

Motherhood can be bittersweet.

Motherhood can make you giggle.

Motherhood can leave you feeling proud.

Motherhood is the most priceless gift, the most joyous journey life has to offer.

Happy Mother's Day!

past, present, future...

The past:

*We headed out Friday afternoon for our "field trip" to Saratoga. It was one of those "can anything else go wrong?!!" kind of days. Nothing major...just a million little minor things. Like having to make an unexpected trip to the vet's office before leaving to get Baker a different dosage of pills. Like Baker pooping on the floor when we were waiting to "check in" at the kennel. Like me accidentally going into the men's room (twice!) to get paper towels to wipe up the floor. Like not being able to find a hotel (though we eventually did). Just those piddly little nuisances making us wonder if this trip was a good idea.

*But Saturday turned out to be wonderful! We had a fabulous time at Saratoga National Historical Park. They have a great visitors center...the battlefield tour was fantastic...and of course, we enjoyed the hiking trail. (Though the boys were sort of dragging there at the end.) They were also having British Camp Days at the park...so we got to see some reenactment activity. The boys have been playing Redcoats and Patriots ever since.






*Mother's Day was somewhat uneventful. Too many errands and whatnot, I suppose. Picking up Baker from the kennel, grocery shopping, and the like. We did go out to dinner. And of course, I got presents. In fact, they totally surprised me with the cutest little iPod shuffle! I am so excited! Now I just have to figure out how to use it...which for me, will be quite a task!

The Present:

*Poor little Maxidoodle is sick and staying home from school today. He actually isn't complaining at all...he's always such a trooper when he's under the weather. But he is running a fever and has a nasty cough.

*Annie and I have a lot of catching up to do for school. We really got out of whack somehow last week, but I'm not really worried about it.

*I really need to sit down and work on a major "to do" list for the next couple weeks. Things have somehow fallen apart around here. And we're going to be getting some company over the next month...first my in-laws and then some old friends from Tennessee. I'm so excited! But I need to get this place whipped back into shape first!

*"Soccer season" starts tonight. The kids love playing, and I think it's really good for them. But...it really makes things hectic around here. Monday through Thursday nights are now booked through the end of July.

*The weather this time of the year is frustrating. I'm not complaining. Really. It's wonderful to be enjoying beautiful spring afternoons! Today, for example, we're supposed to have a high of 70 degrees. Shall be glorious! But of course, the nights are still rather cold. It just makes it hard to dress for the day when it's in the 30s in the morning, but then reaches 70 in the afternoon. I usually just don my shorts and shiver for a while. The kids usually choose to dress warmer and then change later in the day...just what I need...twice the laundry. But I can't really blame them.

The Future:

*Well, mostly that will be filled with trying to bring some order back to this house. Trying for finish up our school year over the next 6 weeks. Trying to come up with a plan for next year's schooling. Trying to make a dent in some of my challenges. And as always, trying to make our home a happy place to be.