Day 8: How chocolate saved the day.....

For the past four days, we've been on a mostly B-R-A-T diet, except for the B part....I didn't have the energy to go out to buy the bananas. The Banana, Rice, Applesause and Toast diet is what that means and it's supposed to help you through an upset stomach. All but one of us needed this diet as we struggled through one terrible 12-hour stomach bug. I will spare you the disgusting details but I've heard sever people say, "I'd rather be sick with a cold for a month than to have a stomach bug." or "I'd rather have a broken arm than that!" I think I'd quite agree with both of those statements at the moment.

So while we're eating BRAT, diffusing peppermint, slurping chicken broth, sipping on blue Gatorade and rubbing other essential oils on our tummies these past few days, we keep sneaking in a few chocolates. I'm not even sure why but we were and it seemed to be helping. I'm thinking it was mostly psychological but according to this (click here) and this (click here), dark chocolate does help an upset G.I. tract due to bacteria. I think we all probably know that dark chocolate has some great healthy affects when eaten (in moderation of course) but I didn't realize this until we could see it working.  

I ate bags and bags of Dove chocolate while pregnant with all of my babies and I just knew it was one of the reasons why they were all very happy babies. Now, although I still love my dove chocolate, I don't eat bags at a time. I love a few chocolates with a glass of Santa Ema Merlot just before going to bed. It soothes me, I believe. I think its as soothing as the warm milk my grandmother, Ginny, used to give me when I'd wake up in the middle of the night.  What a special memory that is for me. 

So, the virus is gone now and most of the sanitizing is done but we still have our chocolates and will continue to have a healthy supply of them should this ever happen again......or just because we'd like a treat. We'll consider it a better option than taking a tums every night.

Day 7: Mom flubbed up, a not so proud moment.

I have a calendar and I updated it constantly. I even have erasable pens, which are wonderful by the way, in case I make a mistake or things change. Once I update my written calendar, I transfer that information to my electronic calendar so that I can get electronic notifications to tell me when to do what. Additionally, each morning, I will review these calendars to make sure I'm on top of things and then make a written list on a separate piece of paper so that I can check it off as we go. Think that's a little OCD? I don't....I think it boarders OCD when I rewrite the daily handwritten list over again if I don't like my handwriting......yes, I do this too. But that's for another discussion.....

To help a mother out, there are all sorts of other tools out there that help her remember all of her kids' activities....SignUpGenius, TeamSnap, GroupMe, evite, FB Events, etc. This is where I went terribly wrong.....One of those incredible tools failed me today and I'm feeling so guilty that I "screwed up". I screwed up in front of my child's school......let me tell ya how.

A few weeks before the event, an invitation was sent out by our amazing PTA via SignUpGenius, inviting us to sign up to bring food for a teacher potluck. We love pampering our teachers!!! I saw the electronic sign up list (probably at 11pm when I have time to check my personal email) and signed up almost immediately. Then, the next morning, I transferred this information to my two calendars.......but it wasn't until 6 days before the event that I realized I had written down the wrong date of the event on my calendar.  I realized this AFTER I delivered the scrumptious dish to the school's front office SIX DAYS EARLY. The looks on the faces of the ladies who greet me each visit were priceless. They didn't want to embarrass me but they had to find a way to tell me that I had made a mistake. I love them......

The sweet ladies urged me to take home the soup I had made and freeze it for next week. I just felt horrible but I left it there hoping someone might like to enjoy it today. And I promised I would make a fresh batch next week for the real event!  I'm sure I'm not the only mom with a schedule that makes them a bit crazy. But I sure felt like it in that moment standing in front of those ladies with hot soup steaming in front of us.

To all the parents who have had a moment like this.....
To all the parents who will have a moment like this.....

My hat is off to you. We need to stand together and to support each other and learn to giggle at ourselves when we flub up. And remember, it's just soup....

Day 6: Worst Day Ever.....

As The Little was having a hard time keeping her eyes open last night at bedtime, she muttered the words, "Worst day ever....." then fell off to dreamland. In her little world, I'm sure it felt like her very worst day ever. You see, she climbed into bed with me around 2am the night before and was restless for the few hours before she jumped out of bed and ran lickety-split to the bathroom.....a-oh......

After a few moments and I didn't see her back, I got my groggy self up to find her leaning over the white porcelain and whimpering. This was the scene that ran over and over for the next 14 hours. Poor sweet little child of mine. She couldn't eat or drink anything before it came right back up. But after about 14 hours of this routine, she was asleep for the night. She stayed asleep and then popped out of bed this morning saying, "I'm all better, Mom."

This was the exact same movie that played in our house last week, except that she was fighting strep. This is the girl who never really gets sick.....so, we're catching up, I guess.

But I want to say this about having a bad day....

We do our best as parents to put everything into perspective. We are very blessed in this life when others are not as blessed as we are. As we think we are struggling, I always try to remember that there are people in this world struggling more through sickness, loneliness, starvation, and loss of a loved one. There are children looking through discarded food for their next meal. There are soldiers fighting, dying and sometimes returning home bruised and broken. We do not take anything for granted. Wait....let me restate that. We try our very best to not take anything for granted.

I think I should stop here and just remind all of our readers to say a little prayer, send happy thoughts and to do just one thing today to assist someone who needs help, doesn't really matter how small of an effort, just make an effort. I'm saying a prayer for you.....you know who you are!

Day 5: I don't know, look it up!

Tonight, while making dinner (spaghetti and meatballs - easiest, most accepted meal in the house which receives no complaints EVER!), I urged my children to do their homework. Even The Little has a small amount of homework each week and she already dreads it. In their attempt to put off multiplying decimals and cutting out words that start with "P" for an hour longer, one of my bright and curious children cries out in a screeching voice, "Who invented homework anyway!! I'd like tell him a thing or two!" I may have paraphrased that just a little there, but you get the idea. The screech was so high pitched and miserable sounding, even the dog covered her ears. So instead of responding, "I don't know, go look it up." I got out my computer and looked it up myself. I also wanted to see who I should seek out about having a one-on-one conversation with the lovely human being who did this to us.

According to this (click here), an Italian man invented homework back in 1095. Did I mention we're eating spaghetti and meatballs tonight.....I read the passage to the kids and it turns out, homework has been an on-again off-again kind of tradition that came back into fashion in the US when we were trying to keep up with those Soviets back in the 1940s. Oh, the humanity.....

I don't really mind homework, a little homework that is. I enjoy seeing the progress my kiddos are making in school. I really enjoy seeing how much they are learning and how they relate their school lessons to real life. I enjoy helping them understand why some of the math skills they are required to repeat over and over and over and over again will  help them in their career aspirations they may have at that moment. Homework, isn't as bad these days as it was "back in my day". 

But I love that I can say, "I don't know, look it up." And I'm not afraid at all to say "I don't know." I was trained that if I said I didn't know something, I should follow that with the action of going to find out the answer. We just didn't have the internet as a tool like our kids do these days. We had these:

As you might imagine, these were not as up-to-date as the internet. They were pretty archaic according to immediate supply of information we have now.   I was given the family set of our encyclopedias some time ago and they are displayed proudly in our "family library". I showed these to The Boy about a year ago, I think his jaw dropped to the floor. "That's crazy, Mom." He seemed to say as he stood their staring at the big dusty books. 

Like I said, I really enjoy telling the kids to go look something up. And since they LOVE LOVE LOVE technology and the internet, they see this as a treat, not a burden. Here's a perfect example, I think I've already told The Boy to look up who invented homework a long time ago; he already knew the answer and was basically reciting along with me as I read what I had found out just moments ago. That was so great!! Proud mom-moment!

I love learning along side my children. I may have to do a Google search on the new ways to calculate multiplication problems or to review what a compound sentence is before sitting down to help my children with their homework each night, but I have no complaints. The Hubby enjoys this too, probably more than me! But I love it even more being able to point at the sliver box plugged into the wall while saying, look it up and then seeing the children run to the wifi-powered contraption to, in fact, look it up. 

Try it some time, "I don't know, honey. Go look it up."

Day 4: The Mommy Tantrum

Visualize the scene......It's 4pm on a Saturday afternoon, time to get started on dinner. It's been a long day that started early with carting children around to morning tae kwon do and cheer practices, then the weekly trip to the store, then a few chores at the house, then hosting a baking play-date. She's so proud of herself, she's picked a great new dish that she thinks everyone will like for dinner and she's purchased all that she needs to create it. But its going to take some time to put together. That's no problem because cooking is what she enjoys.

There's poaching the chicken followed by shredding it after it has cooled. There is making the chicken gravy from scratch, you know the kind.....butter, flour, broth, salt, pepper and stirring constantly for 10 minutes until it thickens. The next step was to take that gorgeous gravy that she just created and mix it up with a few more ingredients to make a delicious Mexican style cream sauce that will be used to hold the cheese (grated by hand, she might add), tortillas and the chicken together while it bakes in the oven for 30 minutes more.

It's now 6pm and the oven timer has just dinged to let her know that the scrumptious casserole was finished. She opens the oven to gorgeous steaming Mexican goodness. Now it was time to let it cool a little before cutting into it. Dinner will be served in about 20 minutes.

The dish has cooled, milk has been poured, napkins and forks are out and plates are filled with the chicken tortilla casserole yumminess. It is time for her to call everyone in to sit down and eat. The moment of truth has arrived, as it has so many other times when presenting new ideas to her amazing family. End scene one, lights fade out.

Scene two opens with her children running in with their tummies growling, ready for some grub....only to stop dead in their tracks.

Kids say almost in a beautiful unison chorus....
"What is that smell?"
"Oh, no, not again."
"I'm not eating that!(said with arms crossed and foot tapping wildly)"

Mom replies.....
"C'mon, just try it. I think you'll like it."
"Have an open mind, here."
"Just a few bites."

Kids' response.....
"No. Can I have pasta?"
"I'm not eating that and you're not making me. (Looks up at ceiling)"

Dad chimes in....
"C'mon kids, it's really good. Maybe a little salt or salsa verde might help."

The happy little family was in a state of total chaos and Mom had began to flip out. She was tired.....she'd had a long day of catering to her family. Now, after she'd worked so hard on this meal, her loved ones are rebelling. So, Mom had gotten so irritated at the stubbornness, that, with haste, she ended up making ham and cheese tacos. One of the girls gladly gobbled it down. The other one, was also irritated at how her mother was behaving that she also refused to eat her new meal.

Mom then piled the portions of the casserole she had given to the girls onto her own plate and began eating, drinking wine between each bite. She had intentions of eating it all right there in front of them all....but after two portions, she was out. It really was delicious and she just couldn't understand why they wouldn't just try it. That's all she ever asks is for them to try new meal ideas. She always has a back-up plan.

Mom had to hand it to the men. The Boy ate a little at first just to be polite....then the plate was empty (but he certainly didn't want 2nds). Dad also cleaned his plate.

Her tantrum lasted the rest of the evening. Her feelings were truly hurt.

She has come to the terrible realization that this fun task of creating new meals for her family is really just a terrible idea. The audience is unwilling to be captivated by her talents. And her feelings will forever be hurt. So, why put herself through this again and again? Why does she bang her head up against the wall over and over thinking that the next time it won't hurt like the last time she did it.

Oh, she will be cooking these wonderful meals for herself though, why should she suffer with mediocrity? The rest of the crew can live off of pasta and meatballs, macaroni and cheese, and tomato soup with grilled cheeses for the rest of their lives. Maybe some day, when they smell such goodness from her plate compared to theirs, they will come around and say, "Mom, can I try a little?" Mom might think about responding, "I'm sorry, honey, I only made enough for me. Maybe next time."  But what she will actually do, while jumping up and down.....give it all away with joy hoping to hear that they want more.

She loves her family and she would't trade them for the world, she just wishes they would be a bit more adventurous with their dinner palates.

Readers, if you are interested in this recipe, click here and let us know what you think.

Day 3: I'm going to be a first-time Mom, again!

Yes, it's true. I'm going to be a first-time mom soon. NO! I am not pregnant! Let me repeat, I am not with child! Is that what you thought I meant? Sorry about that (giggle).

Really, almost 13 years ago, I became a first-time mom to an amazing little boy. A little over two years later, I became a first-time mom to a gorgeous little girl. I say "first-time mom" because I'd never been a mother to a daughter before. Everything was a little bit different than with my first born. Sometimes it felt like I was experiencing being a new mom all over again. They were so different, not just in gender but in personality, likes and dislikes, when they cried, why they cried, sleeping arrangements, etc. Really, almost nothing worked the same with The Lady as they did with The Boy. They really didn't even resemble each other very much. They certainly could not wear the same clothes and rarely like the same type of toys.

When The Bigs were little, before they started Kindergarten, I was part of a wonderful organization called MOPS. I highly recommend it to any mom of little ones. It was a great place to meet other moms going through the same challenges, successes, and routines. Right after The Lady was born, we moved to a new city where I knew no one. MOPS was right around the corner, so we joined up. The kids got to go with me too so I wasn't just leaving them with a babysitter. I was able to get out of my "mom-at-home" uniform, you know the one - the one that consists of some type of exercise pants, hubby's big t-shirt and fuzzy slippers. Usually all garments had some form a spill on them - from food dropped on them to food spit up on them......Anyway, I got to get semi-dressed up, curled my hair and put on some make up. It was really great!

The wonderful ladies who ran MOPS really did some great things for us. One of the leadership roles was called a "Mentor Mom". This was a mom who had older kids who could help give advice to us younger moms. They'd already been there and done that. However, sometimes this Mentor Mom had much older children, children already grown up. The experiences she had were much different than what we were going through. So I didn't find that my Mentor Mom really helped that much except to reassure me that the tough times of have two very young ones would pass....would pass to the challenges of having tweens, then teens and then young adults. So in my opinion, she was a first-time mom of 20-somethings. She herself had not yet married a daughter off or sent her son off into the real world. Those moments for her were yet to come. I see parenting as always being a new experience, I will always need advice from someone who had gone through it before.

In about two weeks, I will embark on a brand new parenting adventure. I will share in the responsibility of being a parent of a true-to-life, full of energy, full of crazy boy emotions and weird attitudes TEENAGER (I might even experience a little popping, locking and long showers too)!! And honestly, I'm so very excited. I can't wait to experience all of his new adventures. I can't wait to help him navigate through some uncharted waters. I get a little emotional about it all too. He's such an amazing young man who is practically as tall as me already. And soon, before I know it, he will be that young adult that I will be setting off into the real world. Oh my, here come the tears.....

So, you see, I'm going to be a first-time Mom, again soon. I'm so very proud of who he has become so far! Love my boy.....

Day 2: Me, Pick Me!

When I decided to start writing again, I had to come up with a name for my journal. It doesn't sound like a difficult task, I think that I'm pretty darn creative. But there are so many great names for blogs out there already. I was experiencing "writer's block" in that first moment of this project, before anything had been written.

I sat there for a good while and just couldn't come up with anything. So I moved on to thinking about the types of things I would write about. I came up with a list of several topics about things that were going on right now in our lives. One of the topics at the top of that list was about going through the process of searching for a new job. As that thought came into my mind, I felt a block hit the pit of my stomach. I was immediately nauseated with the fear of having to send out resumes and getting rejected before anyone actually met me. But the thought of interviewing followed by rejection after they met me brought on even more nausea, now I was dizzy too. But, after all, that was the process of the job search that everyone goes through.

I know this process well. I have been on the selection side of the table for many many years. Every time I would call to let someone down about a job they had interviewed for, that nauseated feeling would come back. I just hate that part of the job, but it was part of my responsibility as an HR leader and hiring manager.

So, here I am today, actively seeking my next career adventure. I've already experienced that feeling of anxiety. I'm anxious about whether or not my resume will be good enough to initiate the first call, will my handshake be firm enough but not too firm, will I be able to discuss my past experiences in a way that impresses the "judges"....I was having that "me, pick me" feeling. You know the one....the feeling you get when the two team captains start picking kids from the line-up to create their kick-ball teams. You stand there, thinking "Please don't let me be picked last. Me, pick me!"

It's funny to think that this scenario isn't just what we experience as kids. We still experience this as full-grown adults. We even experience this as parents. As parents, I believe most of us would agree that we've had the "Please let my son get picked for the starting line-up. Him, pick him!" Or "My daughter is talented enough for the lead part. Her, pick her!"

But when they are not picked for the starting line-up or the lead in the school play, our parenting skills kick in. Yes, we are probably as disappointed as they are, if not more.  But this is where I begin reassuring my child of how talented they truly are and that if they keep trying hard, some day they will be the lead or on the starting line-up. Or maybe we decide to find a different sport that is better suited to his talents. Or we explain how important the co-staring roles are to making the lead role successful. Essentially, we begin teaching our children how to cope with this type of rejection so that when they are in their "mid-life" (as The Boy has labeled me) and facing this again, they don't completely get derailed and are unable to bounce back.

So back to the job search.....so here I am sitting in front of a man who is a good 10 years younger than me, who has been trained up through the big 10 consulting world and now holds the title of COO at a fast-growth start-up. He's interviewing me for the HR director which would report directly to him. This would be the first time in my career that I would have reported to someone who is not in the same generation, or who was at least a little older than me. Wow, what a sad realization......

The first question out of his mouth was, "So, what brings you in today?" Huh??? Didn't you know I was here to interview?? Right then and there I should have excused myself, but I stayed just to get tortured through the rest of a painful 30 minutes. He asked two more questions - about my one strength and one weakness. Hadn't he read any leadership books lately??? Anyway, needless to say, the perfect job for me would have been terrible because of who I would have reported to. Quite frankly, I'm not sure if he was qualified for the COO title that he held.

I went home after the interview knowing that it was not going any further than today. But the feedback of "not enough energy and not confident enough" hit me like a brick. I was having that "being picked last" feeling.  As a seasoned HR leader, I knew exactly how to interpret his "constructive" feedback, or lack of it. He wanted someone who was younger, arrogant and knew a little less than he did.  So, I say, "Good luck, to ya, young man!"

I'm really not bitter at all, that's how it goes sometimes. I started having that same conversation with myself that I have with my children, the reassurance conversation. "The company was too far away." "Although I could do the job with my eyes closed, he would not have been easy to work with." "Did I truly want to get back into an 80-hour a week gig, NO!" "It was just not meant to be, so move on with your bad self."

So, I've successfully moved on from that interview and have really had some great conversations with other companies who have been a bit more respectful about the hiring process. As I go through this experience, I am learning how to cope with being a middle-aged professional and have already started brainstorming on how I will be able to train new leaders to interview properly and without bias.

Back to coming up with a name for my virtual journal....As I sat there reviewing my topic list, it came to me. "Me, pick me!" I knew that was what I wanted to write about with this experience and I was sure it would come up when I talk about parenting challenges. So there you have it. The name of the new blog.....

With the last sip of my morning coffee, I'm going to sign off now. Thank you for listening to my rant today....until we meet again......

Day 1: No, you shouldn't have punched him.

The day that I had the urge to start journaling again was not such a good day. One of my children did not have such a positive afternoon....we'll get to that in a little bit. This was one of those moments where I just wanted to sit down and write down what was happening. I needed to get what was in my head out of my head. Writing is therapeutic for me.

As I said earlier, it wasn't such a good day. What I should have said, it was a good day until my darling daughter came home from school with tears streaming down her rosy-red cheeks. I always put things into perspective and I know there are families out there who are going through much worse than what this little experience is to us today. Honestly, the news stories today seem to be so much worse than when I was a "tween". Maybe I don't remember the stories, didn't recognize the words the reporters used (like child molestation, abandonment, starvation) but I just can't have the news on anymore. It can't be on because my children know what some of those words mean and the words they don't know, they ask about. Our children are filled with a natural need to help people and to take care of people, so they just don't understand how someone could hurt another human being. They just don't get it. So, this leads me into my story......oh, wait, you need a little bit more context.

We have three children. The Boy is about be 13, The Lady is almost 11, and The Little just turned 5. As I've mentioned, they all have these huge hearts. They have a love for animals, a love for nature, a strong love for God and Jesus, a love for their family that is limitless and a love for people.  Their love for people doesn't dwindle based on race, gender, age or ability. Truly, they have the purest of hearts and I sure hope we are doing a good job at nurturing that character in them.

So when The Lady comes home from school in tears because she feels like someone she trusts has betrayed her, well, then I have lots to say. But what is the best way to approach it?

Let's get to know The Lady a bit more to give you that extra context. The Lady is simply amazing, but I'm her mom and I only see her as amazing. Oh, I'm not blind, she's not perfect, none of us are perfect. But when I describe her, she is damn-near close to perfect. She is sporty, yet LOVES her dresses. She has never been afraid to speak her mind and is very intelligent. From an early age, other kids followed her lead. I've always said she was going to grow up to be a CEO of some great company!! She just gets it. She's reads people very well and that can sometimes hurt.....she's just too young to understand why other people may react differently than what she would expect.

So here's what happened. She's had a great day so far. Choir practice before school, lunch with her friends, assisting some of the lower grades during their art, library, and gym classes. She's in 5th grade this year so she is one of the "upper classmen" and gets to help out other classes during her normal recess time. Her choice, she's a great leader! Then, she and some of her classmates were playing a game. She gets very upset when kids don't play by the rules, and some of the boys were not playing nice. After several attempts to get them to play correctly, she goes to the teacher. She's very upset at this point. He turns to the boys and tells them to play by the rules. He apparently asked the boys why they wanted to make a girl angry and then said, "Look at her, she's very upset." Well, now he's done it......

She doesn't see the teacher's actions as helping her at all. It just made it worse. Everyone was now looking at her and now she was embarrassed AND angry.

Of course this is her side of the story after she came home and unloaded this fun little tale to me with full tears running down her face. She just didn't understand why anyone would be so mean (the boys) or how a person she was supposed to trust (the teacher) would hurt her feelings like that in front of everyone.

No, I didn't call the teacher, nor will I. No, I didn't call the boys' parents, nor will I. Why? Because I truly believe that my job as a parent is to help her to solve problems like this on her own with a little coaching from me. I've read so many articles lately about how we should help our kids learn how to solve problems. One note to add at this point....if I thought that any of my children were being bullied in any way, you bet I'd be on the principle's calendar early the next day to discuss what had happened. But I do not believe this is what had happened. Using the "B" word is a serious thing!

So, we talked it out. We talked about how sometimes people won't be so nice or do what we think is the right thing to do. Was it okay to tell the teacher? Yes, she did the right thing after trying to work it out on her own first. Did the teacher mean to embarrass her? Probably not, I didn't think that was his intent. But I reassured her that her feelings were real and then we talked about how we deal with those feelings. We also talked about how she might handle this situation differently if it happens again. That last part was a little tricky, I had to convince her again that she did nothing wrong but that other actions may have had a different result. No, she shouldn't have punched the boys (as The Boy suggested), that would have had much worse results for her. But she was right to stick up for herself. We talked about that for a while and hugged it out and as I wiped those last tears away, she asked me for a snack......In the end, the tears dried up and we were back on track and she was back to doing handstands on the wall.

In closing, I want to make sure you understand that we absolutely adore our community and our amazing teachers. We don't know what we'd do without them.

Starting Again.....

Where do I begin....again? Let me tell ya, I've attempted to sit down at the computer and put my thoughts down in writing so many times. If you were to ask my husband if I keep a hand-written journal, he would tell you YES! He has found countless numbers of journals that I've started and never filled up; journals and diaries about what was going on in my life at that moment in time. There is one in particular that I found recently about the months before and during our first moments of dating. I don't even remember writing those words. But when I found it, what a complete treasure it was to open it up and see my feelings on those sweet pages. Treasures, that is what my half-filled up journals are, treasures.

Then, when we had our first child, let's call him The Boy, I found out about blogging. Oh, I thought that was just what I needed! I had no time to sit down with a pen and paper anymore. But with my new found toy, I could write about our adventures as parents AND I could share pictures AND I could get it done quickly. And I did great! For several years, I was very consistent and was very proud of those entries into the cyber world. But then life got a bit more crazy and I've slowed down blogging about the family until almost nothing.....enter the crickets.....the family blog has gone silent......I'm really sad that I've let it go. But I view life as a series of stages and chapters. That was chapter 35, now we're on chapter 45 and it's a little different.

Here we are, about 13 years after my first blog post, that would be four cities, three dogs and three children later, and I'm ready. I'm ready to recommit some of my "free" time to getting the words that are floating around in my head down on "cyber paper". What's my motivation, you might ask. Well, let me tell ya. I recently sat down with my children (you'll get to know them well) and showed them my early cyber journals....journals about them. The looks on their faces were truly priceless when they would read a post that was about their first words, first steps, birthday parties, picking flowers, looking for bugs (or not) or just to see a picture that they had never seen before. They giggled at some of the things I wrote and that made my heart full. They wanted more.

The two big kids, lets call them The Bigs, have requested several times for me to keep up on my journals. I have attempted to start them back up, usually on January 1st, but then life gets busy again. I'm in a new place now. No, we've not moved again, divorced, or anything like that. It just feels like I "should" be writing. I've got so much to say. I've got so much to say about life in general. So this cyber journal won't be filled with what's happening in my family life. Oh, well, maybe a little but it won't be a cyber family photo album. I'm going to revitalize my old site for those types of entries. This is a place where I will be able to share my thoughts on raising children, professional quips, and I might just rant a little. I don't like to do that on Facebook or Twitter, I guess I'm a little old fashion.

So, with a quiet house and little Bailey's in my coffee, here's goes.....I'm a little rusty, so please be patient!