My two oldest boys return to school (finally!) tomorrow. Linus is beginning kindergarten. Full day kindergarten. He did full day preschool, two days a week. I am not worried about the transition, because his sadness was palpable when he asked “do I have school tomorrow?” and I had to tell him “no.”
Current Mood:
In charge & 
Uh…hello!?!
Not to brag or anything, but on a previous blogging venue, I was rather known for my poop stories. Ok, obviously I am not boasting, since it is really a sad indicator of what your life can become when you are a stay at home mom: Do I have some stories for you!
Read more on Tales from the Diaper Pail…
Current Mood:
Oh no you didn’t!
I always laugh when I think about baby-proofing. Mostly because of that saying “I child-proofed the house, but they keep getting back in!” but also because it is impossible.
Making your home a sanctuary in which no child will ever get hurt/ingest a chemical/swallow a Lego is not going to happen. New mothers, take notes. It will save your sanity!
Current Mood:
Perplexed…???
My friends had invited us to go camping with them. They had their grandkids for the weekend of this really excellent tractor show (a phrase I never thought I would utter, I assure you) and were hoping we would tag along so they would have some built in playmates.
Read more on On the Road Again…
Current Mood:
Do me in already!
Sometimes I have trouble reminding myself that JD is a full-fledged toddler. Most people refer to it as “denial.” He is my youngest, he is the last, and certainly will be my “baby” forever, right? I can only ignore those “signs” for so long, those indicators that my baby is on the path to becoming a little boy.
It’s been a long few days in the Maniacal house. I have family in town, and we have been getting together for dinner.
As any parent with small children can tell you, leaving the house isn’t easy. You have to pack up everything you own to keep them entertained and/or safe. By the time you drag your exhausted and whiny brood home, all you want to do is drop it all and crawl into bed.
Current Mood:
Domestic & 
Needing a time out…
I married a practical joker. It is not a primary trait, but it lies in wait. I married him even after he put a giant rubber tarantula on the toilet while I was asleep. Since I am merely a few years away from needing my own seeing eye dog, you can imagine my horror in the middle of the night! A giant arachnid in the glow of the nightlight, and me with my 20/2000 vision. It wasn’t pretty. Or quiet.
Read more on That Darn Rubber Snake…
Current Mood:
Embarrased
As mothers, we quickly learn that things are not going to go as we planned. Like those family dinners the experts keep touting that prevent delinquency and improve grades, the reality is drastically askew (someone is eating their spaghetti like a dog). Or that extremely misleading commercial showing the adoring mom and beaming children making rice cereal treats together. Seriously? In my world, the cereal ends up on the floor and I spend 20 minutes removing cement like marshmallow/cereal goo out of the pan. Meanwhile the kids are fighting over who gets the spatula to gnaw on and one is bitching that I didn’t put chocolate chips into them. The baby is hanging on my leg and crying and looks like we tried to batter him in crispies.
Read more on A Flurry of Madness…
Current Mood: Domestic & 
Drowning
I recently read “Just Let Me Lie Down” by Kristin van Ogtrop. Sure, it is a dictionary for working mothers, but hey, I like to laugh and she was pretty funny. I was hooked at her definition of accounting error, which means you have one more child than you can actually handle.
Read more on Accounting Error…
Current Mood: Drowning & 
Juggling the world
I have been in a new level of parenting lately. I hate to admit that I trudge along in the daily grind so much that I don’t see the forest for the trees.
Read more on Because they are little boys…
Current Mood: Embarrased & 
Seriously…duh!