I'm Thankful for Toilet Paper

My list of assignments, presentations, and final exams seems to be never ending.
The countdown is on.  I already know what I'm going to do on my first day of no school!

Gratefully we had a reprieve from "life" and enjoyed Thanksgiving with my sweet sister and her fun family.  I didn't do any homework at all!  We had a great time, but now I have to catch up... so I'll hopefully post more later.

I got a call from the public schools today with a sick child needing to be picked up.  One of the first of the semester, for that I am grateful (though it comes at a bad time)!

Amidst the rising stress in my home and body, I need to remember to be grateful!

We played the toilet paper game over Thanksgiving.  Everyone had to take as much toilet paper as they guesstimate they use in a day.  My boys went a little crazy, but then paid for it... for each toilet paper square taken they had to say one thing they are thankful for.  It was fun.

Today I am thankful for toilet paper.  And for my sister who talked to me on the phone while I was in the bathroom today.  We have no shame.

T.M.I

Our poor cat is quite lonely these days.

George Lucas, "Lukey" for short, is the only one who is a stay-at-home anything anymore.

Recently he's gotten a little annoying, so I decided to start an experiment based on my educational studies.  Basically, I presumed that since he wasn't getting as much attention, he was becoming one of those troublemakers who would rather receive negative attention than nothing.  So I decided that every time I walked in the door, I would sit down and give him several minutes of petting and attention.

One night, while prepping for dinner, I was explaining my plan to Mr. Man and Miss J, the middle-schooler.
(Yes, my baby is all grown up and not wanting me to take pictures of her as much!)

 In the middle of my explanation Miss J suddenly freaked out, yelling "T.M.I. Mom... T.M.I."

I was confused, and stated as such.  Which she took to mean that I obviously am not fluent in text language and quickly explained that T.M.I meant "too much information."

I knew what it meant, just not why my saying I was working on Skinner's behaviorism techniques with the cat and expected that he would soon be greeting me at the door merited such a reaction.  Apparently, my poor daughter thought I had said I would soon be "mating" with him (vs. meeting him).  Mr. Man and I had a good laugh about that one.  Seriously, gross.  Definitely T.M.I.

Miss J recently had an 80s activity to attend at her school.  We had fun putting her look together, and most importantly, she had a great time. Apparently leggings are back in now... who knew?  I didn't even think to shop for them and instead cut the sleeves off an old sweater.

If only I had looked that cute in the 80s!  We may be putting this gorgeous gal into hiding soon.
You should hear her on the piano!  We cannot keep this girl from practicing.  She's also enjoying choir and band at school, and we recently attended a concert and have a recital coming up this week.

Miss J has got quite a few regulars for babysitting jobs these days.  Last weekend I went shopping with her at the mall.  She had a birthday gift to purchase for a friend, and then splurged a little on herself as well.  It was interesting to see as she came home and realized what little money she had left and then asked if we could go back and return some "unnecessary items."  Geeze.  I love this girl.  She's basically amazing.

Changing Seasons

I've been contemplating this post, and the huge implications of having an online blog again, for over a month. (Cue way out-of-date picture of Little J playing in the leaves.)  My mental list of pros and cons is incapacitating.  I'm kind of shy - believe it or not.  And putting myself out there, all of me, has had the potential to put me in awkward places, have my feelings hurt, and ultimately feel more vulnerable than I ever expected.  I know, I know... I choose what I post, but I don't think I ever recognized the power of my words and the surprisingly forceful impact of having them thrown back in my face.

But I also miss it.  I miss blogging.  I promised I would continue journaling, even if I wasn't blogging, but I haven't.  I miss looking back on pictures, precious moments, and pieces of my many coloured days.
Recently I was working on a school project where I was supposed to record some overheard conversations.  I simply went back to my blog, searched "overheard" and had a plethora of choices to use in my assignment. I also had a bunch of memories to relish in, and the reminder that I have too many more "overheards" that are going un-recorded.

I've tried to make an effort to keep caught up with close friends and family - and boy is that hard. I'm blessed to have so many of you!  My life is so different now than when I was a stay-at-home mom with stay-at-home kids.  It's a changing season for me, and for our family; I want to treasure this season.

 And so, I'm going to keep blogging.  Ugh.  :)