Mind Boggling.

Does this ever happen to you? You have something on your mind (good or bad) and it seems like everywhere you go, every time you turn on the radio/tv, flip open a magazine, etc., you are reminded of what is on your mind. Is it because you are hyper-aware of the subject, or is the universe trying to get your attention?

Years ago when I had a miscarriage, it seemed like everything I saw or heard was about babies and miscarriages. When I was waiting for the results of my mole removal (on my skin, not my yard), all I saw was references to being "Sun Smart". Right now, I have something on my mind and I can't seem to escape the subject. Again, is it my awareness or something else? So let's do an experiment, if I put a random subject out there, say "Airplane Safety", how often do you come across that topic?

Nesting.

There must be something in my DNA.....something past down to me from my farmer ancestors. My days have been filled with nesting activities (no, I'm not pregnant). Yesterday I baked an apple pie and sewed. Today I plan on organizing and cleaning. I have a desire to get all my affairs in order before winter is upon us. It has to be my genetic make-up telling me to do these things....because if someone gave me a $500 Nordstrom gift card and said I must use it today, I would have to pass. The canned goods need organizing.

On a different note, just wanted to let you know dear readers that I still cannot stand to pack school lunches. I just finished day 15/180. To make things interesting I play a game called "Ask the Apple". You may remember a grade school game where you twist an apple stem and recite the alphabet. Whatever letter you land on when the stem falls off, is the first initial of the person you will marry. I've taken it to a new level and now ask the apple a question and twist the stem reciting "Yes, No" until the stem falls off. A magic eight ball sort of game. Usually the kids want to ask questions like "Will Brock be a professional soccer player?" or "Will Kate get a horse?" I am going to start to ask it questions that I will be able to quickly prove like: "Will Tupelo poop on our morning walk?" or "Will the mail come before noon?" Based on my research and how accurate the apple proves to be, I plan on extending it's fortune telling abilities to bigger life issues. Stay tuned. The apple may reveal the answers to life's secrets.

Operation Mango: Success

As my husband and I were headed up to bed on Monday night, there were loud hamster wheel noises coming from Brock's room. Brian went in to take out Mango's wheel for the night. Apparently, he not only took out the wheel, he took out Mango as well. Unfortunately, this mistake was not discovered for approximately 18 hours.

Tuesday afternoon, Brock went up to is room and discovered Mango was missing. The search began. We looked under every bed, couch, dresser, etc. We couldn't find Mango but I did find five years of dust accumulation.

Brian came home and helped us search and around 7pm Mango was found scared, yet safe, in my closet. It's a wonder the cats hadn't found him first.

Talk about needing therapy. Can you imagine the reaction if we found a gutted Mango?

Invention Idea

Why oh why is dog poop the exact same color as wet leaves and pine cones? If I had a bucket of money to invest, I would invent a food additive that turns dog poop neon orange. Nothing like going out to pick up doggie-do, only to end ankle deep in the crap...

Speaking of the lovely time I had this morning, I was fortunate to also scrape up a freshly gutted rat carcass thanks to my cats.

Pets. They are gifts that keep on giving.

The last fruits of our labor.

A generous local woman allowed her pasture to be turned into pea patches. Kate and I had wanted to try gardening for ages, but since we live in the deep shade, the only thing we can grow is moss. We jumped at the chance to grow in full sun. Some of our neighbors at the pea patch took amazing plots and grew literally everything under the sun. Kate and I stayed small and grew some lettuce, squash, carrots and flowers.

We went by the garden today for our final harvest. Our pickings were slim, but the Zinnias were abundant. Their colors put a smile on my face and I decided to make some bouquets for friends. I was happily trimming the flowers when my finger brushed against a hard lump under the biggest Zinnia. My heart dropped when I turned the flower over to see a spider with the body the size of a quarter. Using a surprisingly level-head, I figured it wasn't the spider's fault that s/he was picked along with the flower. I took the flower outside and with a stick flicked the spider into the woods. Hopefully that will bring good spider-karma to me and my family. (Plus, the thought of squishing it made me squirm.)

A new leaf.

I have been extra-super grumpy lately. I have also felt extra-super unappreciated by my family. It has dawned on me that for the past 11 years, I have done 95% of all house-related chores. Now, don't get me wrong, I love being an "at-home" mom, but sometimes being an "at-home" mom can be as rewarding as a professional sand castle builder. They build beautiful masterpieces, only to have the tide wash them away. That is how I feel when I mop the floor and then the dogs track in mud, or when I do all the laundry, only to have the hampers full in two days, or when I stock the pantry, only to have no food by the end of the week. The endless cycle.

Yesterday, I went up to Brock's room to collect his dirty laundry. I don't know what made me check, but I pulled back his big over-stuffed chair from the corner. Viola! I found all of the dirty socks that had been missing, crumpled up papers, broken bits of toys, wrappers, etc. This had become his dumping ground. Apparently, when I asked him to clean up his room, this was the quick and easy way to clean it. My temper began to boil. I grabbed all of the dirty socks, started a load of wash and then did my all-time favorite chore of cleaning the bathroom. As you may recall from awhile back I wrote about the disgusting doings with the toilet brush (see earlier post on June 1st). The offender hadn't offended lately, so I nonchalantly grabbed the toilet brush. Imagine my disgust to have a wet clump of toilet paper fly off the brush and strike my foot. Gross! Obviously the offender had returned. Where before I was angry, now I was down-right livid.

I marched up to the shower (to of course scrub my feet) and began to compose a letter to my family in my head. I started out mean and accusing but then realized that probably wasn't the way to handle the situation. Once my temper lessened, I typed a letter to my family asking them for help and to support me while I venture out to try different interests besides toilet cleaning. With that, I left the letter on the counter and attended a Writer's Workshop.

At the workshop I felt energized and engaged. In the back of my mind though I kept thinking about how my family was handling the letter I had left.

When I returned home, this is what I found:

(click on the pictures to see a bigger image)

Yes, I realize Brock needs a refresher course on capitalization and punctuation, but their messages were sweet and from the heart. They made my heart soar.

And so it begins.

Another school year is upon us. Hard to believe that the summer is over. I feel like it just started.....

Kate is thrilled about her teacher and her classmates. She's in a good place and is very happy. However, I need to get over my distaste of her boot choice. When did I become that adult who doesn't understand current fashions and trends? Guess I'll pull up my elastic-waist jeans and fasten my velcro black tennis shoes and embrace my oldness.

Brock had such a train wreck of a year last year. The summer was sweet and joyous and it's hard to think about another school year. Just like if you had been in a true train wreck, you'd be nervous to board another train....he was nervous about another school year. KNOCK ON WOOD!!! Things seemed to go well today. We'll just take it one day at a time and hope for the best. (Could I sound anymore cliched?)