pretending i'm twittering

On Saturday:

*So loving how much Gray is into mythology right now. :D

*Goshdarn weather! Couple days ago--nearly 80 degrees. Tonight and tomorrow--freakin' snow showers! #mothernaturehasasadisticstreak

*Oh lord...sometimes the Maxidoodle does things that are too gross to even talk about. :/ Yes, it's a "He's lucky he's cute" moment.

*Boys requesting pumpkin waffles for supper. #icanlivewiththat

*Title: Zeus's Minion/Artist: Gray Stevens/Medium: Perler Beads http://twitpic.com/1m6ojz

*Me: You sure have a mess there, Gray. Gray: It's part of the creative process, Mom. #whoamitoargue


And Sunday:

*An essay from Gray about why I'm a special mom. #bestmothersdaygiftever

*Funniest line from essay: Whenever I lend her money for lunches or something else she always pays me back.

*I am never going to be ready for school this week if I don't stop goofing off!


And Monday:

*Obviously, I didn't stop goofing off...I'm so not ready for this week.

*Darn near every bk from my Amazon wish list that had a cheap used copy available ended up wrapped in a lovely pile of MD presents. #iamspoiled

*Also got gift card. If B&N doesn't have From Hell, I will sob right there in the store. @Nymeth

*And Ghosts of the Great Highway. I love his voice so much it hurts. In that good way. Obsessing over Lily and Parrots...

*...but Carry Me Ohio is still my favorite. @Nymeth

*Dishes need washed, laundry needs hung, discussion questions need typed, test needs made...yet Tender Morsels keeps calling my name...

totally random and scattered thoughts this mother's day

*Mother's Day is sort of a weird holiday. Not necessarily "bad" or anything. But like Chris said in his post, wouldn't it be nice if we just celebrated the people who add so much to our lives on a spontaneous basis? You know, my heart and mind do this...I come up with all these wonderful ideas I want to surprise a friend with, or Gray's teacher with, or my mom with...but life gets away from me and so often these wonderful gestures of love and appreciation live only within me. My Mother's Day Resolution: Bring more of these ideas to life, because really, what could be a more important use of my time than letting the people in my life know I love them.

*Chris!!! I love that picture of you and your mom so much!!! (It wasn't there on your post when I read it last night, or I would have mentioned in my email.) Your mom is so beautiful, and you two look so sweet and happy! Oh, I just adore that picture so much that it has been tucked safely away in my "favorite photos I steal from friends" folder on my computer. :P

*It should *not* be snowing on Mother's Day. That's just wrong.

*When people call me a "good mom" I sort of feel like a fraud. I feel like I should tell them, "Well, you didn't see the way I totally broke down in tears of frustration because Annie's been lazy about finishing her school assignments on time lately" or "Well, you didn't see the way I totally lost my cool and yelled at Max the other day" or "If I'm such a good mom, why do so many people seem to blame me for Gray's 'problems'?" I don't know if I'm a "good mom" or not. I'm a mom who loves her kiddos so much it's painful at times; I'm a mom who wants each of her kiddos to grow up to be whoever it is he or she wants to be; I'm a mom who at times probably sacrifices more than I should--and that isn't a good thing; I'm a mom who makes mistakes on a daily basis; I'm a mom who knows how to say "I'm sorry" to her kids when those mistakes involve them; I'm a mom who hugs and cries and listens and laughs and talks and yells and cheers; I'm a mom who says "I love you" all the time--not out of habit but out of overwhelming emotion. Am I good mom? I don't know. It seems like such a big label to live up to, you know. But whether I ever live up to it or not, I know I'll keep striving.

*I get a bit uncomfortable judging other people's parenting. And yet even so, there are times when it just seems undeniable that someone is a bad parent--be it out of pathological selfishness or apathy or mental illness or physical illness or any number of other reasons, some totally out of that person's control and some very much within their control. Anyway, I can't help but wonder how sad Mother's Day must be for some people...those people who didn't get to grow up in a home with a mom who loved and cherished and respected them for who they were.

--Okay, and now I'm going to abruptly run off here. A couple of little boys have awoken, and are giggling away in the next room. And this mom totally wants to go join them.

Happy Mother's Day!

a few of the things I miss when Rich is away

*His coffee...I swear I can't brew a pot of coffee that is anywhere near as delicious as he does...I don't know if it's the mix of beans, the fineness to which he grinds them, or just some bit of magic, but whatever it is I miss it.

*His help...around the house, with the munchkins' needs, with the myriad of other critters' needs...

*His listening ear...and I don't mean just to my stresses and problems, though there is that...but even more to listen to all those "OMG, did you hear...OMG, did you see...OMG, did you know..."" moments, those things that are just so awesome, or so upsetting, or so plain old interesting that I just have to share them with him immediately.

*His hugs...nothing in the entire world melts me into such a feeling of contentment...there are times I swear *nothing* can help the total fraying of my nerves, but being in his arms always proves me wrong...being there somehow always infuses me with the calm and the strength to move on.

randomness

*It's just the boys and I for the weekend. (Rich and Annie left for Philly this morning. As I type this, they are enjoying [at least I assume they're enjoying] the Mark Knopfler show at the Tower Theater. Happy surprise--Rich's brother is out of town for the weekend, so they can stay at his mom's house instead of paying for a hotel.) Anyway, it's fun hanging out, just me and the little rascals. We went out for pizza, played way too many rounds of 20 questions, ate homemade chocolate chunk cookies, worked a little bit on tidying up the disaster area we call Gray's bedroom (we've got a loooooong way to go on that project), and we're about to curl up and watch a movie (okay, I'll probably read while they watch the movie, but it will still be nice to be hanging out).

*When Rich bought the tickets for this concert several months ago, he didn't realize it was Mother's Day weekend. And well, he's been feeling guilty about it ever since he did realize a couple weeks ago. And of course, I've taken every opportunity possible to tease him about it. ;) I'm guessing that's why he gave me a present last night just totally out of the blue. Or maybe it's just because he's a total sweetheart. Anyway, he gave me the first three volumes of DMZ by Brian Wood and Riccardo Burchielli. After I read Local, I just had to look and see what else Wood had written...and when I saw these, I immediately added them to my wish list. I cannot freakin' wait to start reading them!!! (But I am trying to show some restraint and finish some of the many books I have started first.)

*And speaking of books I have started...Margo Lanagan, you are a treasure. You have written a book of such healing and beauty...but it's been no magic pill--the healing and beauty come with a heavy price tag of tears. And I love you for every single tear.

*I hate SpongeBob. I'm sorry, but I just absolutely hate it. There, I said it...and I feel better for having got that off my chest.

*A nice huge frozen margarita sounds absolutely heavenly right now. But I guess I'll settle for a glass of ice water.

*I have the ugliest thumbs on the planet. I swear this is true. They're just so short and stubby. The rest of my fingers are fine, it's just my darn thumbs. Why I felt the need to confess this, I've no idea. (You're now probably thinking that I went for the margaritas after all, huh?)

Okay, the boys are ready to watch their movie...

my new secret weapon in stress-relief

*Yesterday was a draining one. Though, thanks in large part to Chris and Ana for their support, I feel those particular troubles fading behind me. (I hope.)

*Gray had one of his many insomniatic nights. I ended up sleeping on the living room floor with him.

*After we'd managed to finally fall asleep, Miss Annie comes and wakes me up in the wee hours because there's a spider in her room. Oh my poor little arachnophobic daughter. And my poor little brain which really wishes it hadn't gotten some sleep.

*If anything rivals Annie's arachnophobia, it is surely my odontophobia. And I must have a filling replaced this morning. This always leaves me in a somewhat goofy-ish, giddy-ish state (my way of fighting terror, I suppose). And here is my latest tool in combating my fears and stresses and petty annoyances:


























Okay, so others may be shaking their heads, thinking, "Huh?!!" But I can't help it, there is something about this picture of Lucky that I took a couple days ago that absolutely cracks me up *every time* I look at it.

pretending i'm twittering

On Sunday:

*@Nymeth @chrisa511 Page 276--whoa...so totally didn't see that coming... #MofM

*I so adore listening to Maxidoodle chatter away to himself while in the shower. :D

*Coffee. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

*Will someone please tell me where the hell the weekend went?!!

*So much for determination...only made it to page 380. #MofM


And Monday:

*Mornings didn't used to be so painful.

*It should not take one 5 min. to realize one is trying to put a twin sheet on a queen mattress. #proofineedmorecoffee

*Mmmm...the smell of lilics wafting through the windows.

*Lucky batting toothpaste cap around the room. Max apparently forget to put it back on tube. Mess. #adventureswithcatsandlittleboys

*Gray: Why do they call them piggy-back rides? Who rides pigs? #goodquestions

*@chrisa511 @DesLily I am in looooove with your gardens! One of these days, we need to get ours in the ground, too.

*I have the best friends in the world.

books finished in april 2010

*After the First Death by Robert Cormier

*Smoke and Ashes: The Story of the Holocaust by Barbara Rogasky

*Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

*Between XX and XY: Intersexuality and the Myth of Two Sexes by Gerald N. Callahan, Ph.D.

*The Stand: Captain Trips (graphic adaptation) by Stephen King and Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa, art by Mike Perkins and Laura Martin

*The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

*Local by Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly

--I know numbers don't matter...nonetheless, I am hoping to double that amount in May. There's just soooooooo many good books awaiting reading! And I've already started many of them. :P