It's starting already. I barely remember how I did it all. I've been so busy doing "stuff" that I'm not sure how I would have gotten it all done if I were working. I guess you do what you have to do. It all got done - most of the time.

The other thing is that people have NEVER been so interest in what I have be doing with my day. EVERYONE either wants to know what I plan to do with the day, or after the fact, what I have done. Even Sweet Pea came home and said, "Mom, what did you do all day?" Do you people really think I do not know how to fill the time? Do you think I am home eating Bon Bon's and watching soap operas? Or perhaps you are just so jealous of my uncommitted life. And hell, I don't blame you. But I'll tell you, I've been busy people. Take today as an example: Took the kids to school, came home, went for a run, ate breakfast, took a shower, when to Marshall's to find clothes for kids but actually only founds a few things for myself, went to Game Stop to buy the Nintendo DS games that I promised the kids I would buy if they tolerated being shleped around on Sunday to open houses, went to BJ's, came home, unloaded car, had lunch, drove to a near by town we are considering moving to to see if I could really live there, and then, time to pick up kids. And since its like 90 flippin' degrees out, what else was there to do after school besides take the kids out for ice cream. I'm telling you, we are busy!

I did manage to send a few e-mails out about possible job leads and some networking opportunities, just so I can say I really am trying to find a job. Really I am.

Some very good reasons NOT to have a family dinner:

1) Your kids will whine and complain to such a degree you will ask yourself is it worth it.

2) In the event you answer "yes," to number 1 above, consider this: Your husband may choke on his food when your daughter turns to him and makes a very specific comment about her female anatomy. (I'd really love to be more specific because it was SO funny but I am trying very hard to maintain some boundaries here....)

3) Then, when you've finally recovered from that really enlightening comment, she will ask, "Who and where is god? Is it like where dead people are?"

4) And all the while, your four year old (going on two) will be curled up in your lap insisting you have to feed him because he cannot possibly feed himself.

You know what, the family dinner is so overrated!

I think this sums up the weekend......

The water was painfully cold, but it's April in New England so I guess what would you expect. Not that it stopped some....

Still on vacation, I think??

It's hard to know. Maybe this is just my life now. Being school vacation week and all, it's a little screwy. We're all home doing things like, working out, riding bikes, shopping, going to the movies. I could definitely get used to this.

But I do think I might be having somewhat of an identity crisis. Yesterday Jonathan and I were in the kitchen and the View was on the TV (another reason to think I may be still be on vacation - can't get suck into this stuff!) and there was this women promoting her book about how to make decisions that are right for your life. She has this 10-10-10 theory. I wasn't listening all that closely but it went something like this: When making a decision think about how you want your life to be in the next 10 minutes, and in 10 months, and then in 10 years. When one of the interviewers asked her how she came up with the theory she said it happened when she it rock bottom. For her, rock bottom apparently was being asked to do a lecture in Hawaii and not knowing what to do with her four kids so she took two with her on the trip. During her lecture she signed them up for some hula class. I guess the kids were less than thrilled because they escaped and, as she put it, "hunted her down," and showed up at her lecture. She was horrified. But this was what she described as "hitting bottom."

Jonathan looked at me and said, "Hitting bottom is lying in ditch somewhere all doped up. Not giving a lecture in Hawaii." Okay - I agree. It was a poor choice of words. But I understood what she was saying. As a working mom, she felt overwhelmed, out of control and that as a result of trying to do everything, nothing was getting done right. As a working mom, I know how she felt.

So I said to Jonathan, "You're not a working Mom. You can't understand. " And then he said to me, and brace yourself people, "Neither are you." I was speechless. I am rarely speechless. And he was right. I am not (at least at the moment) a working mother. Not that that's a bad thing. It's just part of how I have identified myself for a very long.

I did manage to at least comeback with, "Well you're not a mother and so you could never understand." So there.

Four must be the new two

At least for my son.

He skipped over the terrible twos but now, at four, seems to be regressing into terrible two behavior. I had to carry him out of a toy store this weekend when I refused to buy him a toy he wanted. I have NEVER had to do that before. He cried for 30 minutes there after. UGH!

On the flip side, he seems to be coming up with some "lines" that are just too funny. Several times over the past couple weeks, he'll seek me out around the house as I'm doing something like folding laundry (I feel like we are always folding laundry) and will start talking about something random. He talks ALOT. Just chatter all the time, so to be honest, I'm not always tuned in to what he's saying. But when he's done with me, he turns to walk away, looks back and says, "Good talk. Good talk." I'm not quite sure if he's serious, or if he's slamming me for not giving him my undivided attention??

And then yesterday, I saw him checking himself out in the mirror. He had just changed into shorts - not because its warm out, but because, I think, it better suited his light saber that he had hooked on to his shorts. So he's checking himself out in the mirror, and then before walking off he says, to himself, "Lookin' good!" I guess we don't have any self-esteem problems there.

Butt Freckle

Our neighbors, who have two boys about the same age as Sweet Pea and JJ came for dinner one night this week. Below is an e-mail Sweet Pea sent to my mom about what transpired:

To: Nana
Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2009 6:29:06 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: from sweet pea

dear Nana and poppy A.J. and M came over tonight and JJ revealed something i did not want him to it was that do you really want to hear well okay he said i have i butt freckle yes it is true i do have a butt freckle write back and i will tell you more Sweet Pea


Of course she was very embarrassed her brother made this revelation at the dinner table with two boys. She ran off mortified. And who could blame her really. I knew she was e-mailing my mom (it was from my e-mail account), but I didn't read it before she sent it. It was too funny not to share. And of course I do so with her permission.

"Life is like a box of chocolate.....

You never know what you're gonna get."

Monday will mark my first real day of unemployment in a little over 10 years. Just when I finally find myself on the verge of having the choice to work or not work, the choice is take from me. Yes, I have the choice to look for other opportunities and go back to work, which I likely will, just a little ironic, don't you think? (Particularly in light of this.....)

In the meantime, I'm thinking I may either have to have another baby or get a dog!

I was just reading this article about the decision is Massachusetts to start screening the body mass index of elementary school students. I am disgusted by this decision on so many levels. First, is school not stressful enough for kids these days that they have to worry about being paraded down to the nurses office and have their bodies measured and compared. Are kids, girls in particular, not already self conscious enough? And for those who aren't, either because they are too young to have that emotion yet, or just aren't by nature, aren't we creating a environment for those emotions? Second, do we really need a number to tell us whether a kid is "over weight" or not. It seems to me, you can look at most kids and know they are either slim, average or, perhaps overweight. Do we really need to label kids with a number? What purpose will that serve? Teaching kids about living healthy should happen regardless of their BMI. Third, isn't it really the parents who need the education around this? I can't see this testing as the best way to do that. Many kids who are over weigh have over weight parents - and likewise, many under weight kids have under weight parents. Maybe we should line parents up to have their BMI determined. That might be more effective.

I'm all for nutrition and teaching kids (and everyone for that matter) about making healthy choices. But really, to have kids' bodies measured and compared while in school, a place where they are supposed to feel safe and not judged, just does not sit right with me.

Hello - I'm back

Just in case anyone noticed I was gone. For the past 6 months I have been immersed in the daunting task of starting a new job while balance they ever-lasting demands of life with small kids. Turns out, I am now just another causality of this economy and will now have more time then I know what to do with. So stay tuned.....maybe things will get interesting.