I am absolutely over the moon that today is Christmas Eve.
Jared and I both have to work today, but tonight we’ll go to church with the kids and Hilly.  After church, we’ll come home to have chilli and appetizers, just like we do every year on Christmas Eve.  Of course, this is the first time [...]

As of about two o’clock this morning, I am officially the mother of a ten year old.
Ten.
One Zero.
It now takes two whole digits to accurately describe him.  Or rather, his age.  It obviously takes more than mere numerals to describe the rest of him.
As we drove to Walt Disney World yesterday to celebrate his birthday [...]

Do you know why there are so many mommy blogs?
Because it’s easy.
If you have kids, you can throw up pictures from pretty much any day of your life and be like “LOOK!  I POSTED!  SPECIAL MOMENTS WITH MY KIDS!”  and someone, somewhere, will be all “awwww, you have babies and they eat turkey.  So cute.”

And [...]

When I fall behind on work stuff, my tendency is to push life aside and throw myself into getting “caught up”.  I can’t stand the idea of letting people down or just barely making a deadline or meeting only the minimum requirements.
(Unless we’re talking about laundry.)
For the first time in forever, I went almost an [...]

Things That Are Not Cool:
>> Having both of your children sick at the same time.
>> Waking up in the middle of the night to find one of your children throwing up in your bed.  On your sheets.
>> Having to change the sheets in the middle of the night while one of your children sits on [...]

Two weeks ago, I dragged two three children to the grocery store for our weekly shopping trip.
After they had endured more time than anyone should ever have to endure in a Wal-Mart, I took them to the nearby party supply store that had been converted into a costume shop for the Halloween season.
Emma had known [...]

On Sunday we – meaning me, Jared, Devin and Emma – set out for a day of fall festivities at a local pumpkin patch.  The temperatures  here in Florida were actually fall like, and it was the first family outing we would all be on together since before Hell Month.  I grabbed two camers to [...]

“God, give me clarity.”
It was the only prayer I could manage, laying there on the edge of my bed at 3 o’clock in the afternoon on a work day.
I’d been fading in and out of numbness for almost a week.  I’d find my center, pick my head up to do something with it, and it [...]

I actually missed the anniversary date.
That in itself is a sign of progress, I think.
August 10th, two days ago, marked two years since we moved to Florida.
Last year, I marked this date with a resignation and acceptance of homesickness.
This year, I spent the day working from home, my boss and best friend sitting on my [...]

The first night we got home, I forgot to feed my kids dinner.
I haven’t cooked a meal in over a month.  Jared and I ate out or ate string cheese and beer or, in most cases, just didn’t eat at all.  I’m always amazed by single people who go through the effort of cooking entire [...]

Friday night, there was this:
And this is Heather drinking absinthe in a fancy cafe in Atlanta.
And because she did it, I figured I would do it.  But do it cooler.  So I ordered an Absinthe Frappé. Because, I thought, an absinthe smoothie sounds awesome.  And if a frappuccino is a cappuccino frozen, then an absinthe [...]

I get my kids back tomorrow.
I’m heading towards them today.
Yes, I won’t see them until Saturday and I’ll be spending Friday night in Atlanta and not in Nashville – the drop off point that is halfway between here and there.
But at least, finally, I’m heading towards them.
Knowing that makes the ache left by their absence [...]

We’re supposed to be discovering new surfaces on which to have sex.
That’s what people do when their kids leave town.  At least, that’s what everyone keeps telling us.
We’ve spent the first week staring at one another.  And fighting a lot.  And trying to remember just what in the hell we have in common.  And how [...]

She answered the door wearing neither makeup nor shoes.
She wore a t-shirt and cut off denim shorts and a closely cropped haircut that was devoid of any styling product.  She smiled as she opened her home to me and quietly invited me in.  She seemed a little meek and unsure of how to greet me.
Shit, [...]

I have a feeling that my life is about to get crazy.
Tomorrow I’m heading to Tampa to say goodbye to Anissa, after spending the afternoon at Faiqa’s baby shower.

Next weekend I’m headed to Lexington, Kentucky with Hilly and Adam for ConFab.  I’m looking forward to rooming with Hilly and Becky and having lots [...]