I'm a big show off

I decided to play instead of work this evening, after trying to work on projects for Technologies in Heritage Preservation all day to no avail. And this is the adorable result of my night! FELT FOOD Christmas gifts for the kids!



A fried egg (shown in a mini-frying pan from Ikea's toy section), and le tour de force, a chocolate cupcake with frosting and glittery seed bead sprinkles!

getting ready for 'back to school's

The kids got some shots today, in preparation for the coming school year, and I got my paperwork saying I have, indeed, once-upon-a-time been immunized too.

I've got an full day at USF planned for Thursday- mandatory orientation, advising, etc, but I already figured out my schedule myself.

And now, I'm sitting here listening to a painful reading about frogs and tadpoles. EXCRUCIATING. I should probably go and deal with this.

groan. I hate being mean.

It's after ten pm and my freakin kids are still upstairs talking to each other and giggling. There was a lot of discussion about who got which pillow, too. I had to get all cranky and say enough is enough. But they are still talking.

And in the morning I have to force them up and pry their little asses out of bed.
I am so tired of this. GOOD F---ING NIGHT ALREADY.


[Addendum, I also hate when people can't handle homonyms. Seriously, and it's more annoying when it comes from prospective employers and people who have been to college. Which, if I am correct, is where they teach you things. If I have to read "I hope to here from you soon" or "Their is an opening now!" again, I'm going to lose my cool, and WE DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN]

my pigeon, my little lamb

Cora, with her painting that was chosen for an art show, May 2009.






Conner turns four, May 2009.

Eat My Shorts was a summer camp show, right?

Picking out summer camps for the kids is not as easy as it seems- there are so many to choose from!

Cora's school is a location for SPC's 'College for Kids' camp. Core knows one of the offerings is Math Camp and she told me last night she DEF doesn't want to do that one, because she likes "science... you know, learning about things that happened a long time ago, and how people lived in the old days?" LOL. History then. (Apples don't fall far from the tree do they?)


Conner's school (which I LOVE, even though it's a church school) has a summer camp too, but it's pretty costly and not very long hours (I think pick up is at noon, and I need to get a job). The benefit is that I know the quality of the care there. He's mostly into making paper airplanes these days, and comes home with about half a dozen each and every day.

The rec center, however, is even closer to our house than their schools are, and it might be cheaper too. Conner isn't in Kinder yet, so he can't go to 'College for Kids' but he might be able to go to the rec center camp.

I'd like them to go to the same place, if possible...

Mester Morel shan't have gone to hell

Oh no... hell might be too tidy an end.

Instead, he should have paid for his (fictional) transgressions by first being fed aquatic neurotoxins that would leave him retching and grasping for sanity, and then he should have to lay down in the FUMC's wasp-y morning car circle for luxury car after luxury car to use as a speed bump.

Ok, maybe that's too violent. Well then, the lovely wives who wear diamonds in the morning, blonde and beautiful, tan and incredibly fit, could look down in disdain and he would be in HELL.


ANYWAYS, can you tell I'm reading Sons and Lovers (D.H. Lawrence)??? This book has been in my collection for so long, it has both my name and James' name in the front cover. And if you have to ask who James is and why his name is in the front cover of my book, well, then you haven't known me more than a decade.

I sometimes wonder if I did the wrong thing by breaking up with him. I think he would have been true to me, I think he would have stood by me when I wasn't blonde enough, or Protestant enough, and so on, but I would have been relegated to raising my children out of the back of our green and white VW bus.

Wow, I feel so old and frumpy and PLAIN all of a sudden.

Do I need to put on my diamond earrings and go to the gym or something?

the feminists lied to me

There's been a recent surge of affirmative action in family courts leading to fathers being given custody and support more frequently, but at the same time, traditional values are still holding sway (at least here, in this culture) which relegate mothers to packing lunches, folding underwear, and other intellectually stimulating endeavors instead of furthering their own careers.

I am feeling really irate because the last 4 years of my life were spent doing both- toiling over my books and exams and enriching my children's lives while living on a meager income. All the while, trying to get good enough grades. I've made it to the end of the road.

I'm graduating. And there is no celebration, only deep blackness.


To be hire-able in my field, I'll need my MA. I don't intend to work in FL, so getting my MA here in field ANT makes about as much sense as trying to get a job with Bear Stearns. As a concession to my family's needs, I'm pursuing finishing my BA here in FL, but apparently that's not enough.

I have to choose between doing this AT ALL or NOT AT ALL. And I'm not very happy about that. Harry's calling all the shots right now, and I think he kind of loves that all my work has been for naught.

Should I even bother, or should I just give in to what he wants?
Should I just pack up and leave?
Should I just get a job in a restaurant and have nothing for the rest of my life?

I'd have my kids, sort of. I mean, isn't that how our culture defines a woman, as a mother?

the berry-eaters

Dover, FL, was a success today. Mission accomplished. I'm tired, dirty, and daydreaming of how in touch with my humanity I would feel living on a farm!

In case you've never been "you-pick" berry picking, the story is that organic farmers hire field hands when their season starts. Those choice berries go to markets all over the place and then they open for "you-pick" when the general public can come in and get berries dirt cheap.

It's not easy work, since it's so hot and sunny and many of the remaining berries are small, buggy, dry, or still under ripe. But amid all of the duds are more good ones! Anthropologically, this is fascinating to me. The kids and I wandered the field and let ourselves be drawn to the right spots. My method is to let my vision blur a little as I walk and when RED and SHINY catches my eye, I drift over and focus a bit.

The sun heats the berries, which burst sweetly between your teeth. Gnats and small black ants are our cousins in the field, searching from row to row. The biggest ones seem to hide in the center of the plant, but the most flavorful ones are the ones that extend from the plant and are roasting in the afternoon light.

The berries continue to ripen throughout the season, so if I was to go next weekend, there'd be a whole new set of berries to pick. But, as it is, I have my work cut out for me... it's time to make my ruby-red preserves.

whilest I envy the married people

Many times over you've heard me say that I loved being married and that I was an excellent spouse, I just wished I'd married someone I LOVED. [Interestingly though, I didn't know how much I liked being a wife until after I'd given up my position.] And of course, I wonder IF and WHEN I will ever have the chance to be someone's wife again, under the right circumstances.


But, in contrast to other single women, there is a certain piece of the impatient puzzle that I don't have to chase. I am a mother, and I can already start looking forward to seeing my progeny out-pace me, to their burgeoning young adulthoods, and someday, to grandchildren :)


On a certain biological level, I won't have to worry about whether or not that special person will want to marry me or not, because my mission here is already underway.

I'm one $500 check away from being in sleep deprivation experiment

Man oh man, Conner woke up about twenty times last night carrying on about everything from itchy pajamas to thirst to having kicked the covers off to BEING TIRED. Who WAKES UP to complain about being freakin tired?

And of course, none of the waking started before I fell asleep, only after. And I went to bed late as it was, on top of having missed lots of sleep this weekend anyways.


So, I'm at work and exausted and blogging unashamedly. Not even TRYING to conceal it. That's how tired and "don't give a damn" I'm feeling today.


On the upside, I have some glee today. We were celebrating Helen's birthday last night, so my guy came over and a couple of my friends were able to meet him. And not only was he his usual charming, polite, and attractive self, he even brought Helen the perfect gift; a book by Hunter S. Thompson that she didn't have yet.

Then, in our goodnight embrace my ankle ended up wrapped on one of his legs, and his other foot ended up twining around my leg. We chuckled to each other, and commented on how nicely we were impersonating those Indian statues of embracing deities.

It took focus to continue to hold the complicated balancing posture and achieve that pure-being state, but the meditation we shared for a minute or so like that was really nice.

my favorite taoist proverb in action?

I started two more little pots of seedlings last night, carrots and more watermelons. The kids and I have a gardening afternoon planned with Amy and Avery for Friday. We'll be bringing over our little seedlings (which are SO ready to go into the ground), and some compost and perhaps coming home with some ferns.




Last night, as I was clearing dinner from the table and herding children upstairs to brush teeth, Bill called (sorry, yes, you are going to be getting updates for a little while like this, until the shock wears off). We made some small talk, I got the funniest compliment I have in a while- "Your brain is a really nice brain..." - and then he asked me what I planned on doing on Saturday.

Well, I had planned on asking him that! I confessed that I had something really dorky going on, and I wanted to see if he wanted to join us. Inflatable bouncy place. Yes, the kind for children. Conner got an invitation from a preschool classmate, and we were going to use it on Saturday, and I always seem to be the only grown up in there, jumping. I figured, worst case scenario, he'd laugh at me, best case scenario, I wouldn't be the only grown up jumping in the inflatables. He laughed a little and said yes, absolutely, sounds like fun actually. And then invited me to one of his best friends' houses with him, too. (So, to clarify... does this mean he's NOT embarrassed to be seen with me??)



Also, stay tuned for more info on THE REALLY REALLY FREE MARKET a local event that is going to knock your plebeian socks off. Well, it will if you like the idea of trading and bartering for goods instead of buying with money... and a world that is less dependent on gorging itself at Capitalism's groaning buffet table of economic splendors.

update

Everyone arrived to where they were going early today.

Weird thing is, I didn't wake up any earlier than I usually do. And I didn't have clothes already picked out, however everything was clean, folded, and put away. I have no idea what made the difference, but I did keep on them from one activity to the next, with no yelling.

parenting, a trial by fire

So, during today's morning drop off I was thinking about parenting stuff. Namely, about WHO is the expert on what is best for a child? (the PARENTS, right??)

I was really tempted to call Brian to talk about this, since he and I always used to have nice parenting chats and we have very similar parenting styles. Actually, that's something I miss about him, and I don't expect to find in common with everyone I go out with from here on out. But anyways... I didn't call him. Of course not. I just kept my thoughts to myself, and drove to work in a sort of mundane way.

So, we have this issue. None of you who know me personally will be surprised...

Core gets to school a little late a lot of the time. The reasons are varied and plenty: I didn't feel it was worth fighting about, homework needed finishing, we couldn't find somebody's shoes/coat/backpack, they were really hungry and wanted 2nds on breakfast, they were really tired and I let them sleep in a bit, we all overslept accidentally, etc etc etc.

Basically, it's poor planning on my part, but I swear, even on the days when I get up a half hour before I have to get them up, even when I made breakfast the night before (I believe in a good breakfast), even when we lay clothes out the night before... something comes up, or we make it out the door at exactly the time she is supposed to BE THERE. We only live 10 minutes from her school, so it's not awful, but it's not looking so good to the office staff.

I'm trying to stay calm and just keep on reminding her that moving faster is better regarding getting ready for school, but she really takes after me; I like to do things when I'm ready to.

And I know the moms working at the school think it is just berserk that I don't naturally wake up at 6 am (my babies were always sleepers, therefore I never had to get "used" to getting up at dawn), that I don't have an efficient method devised for doing this all, and that some days I don't have to hurry off to SPC and I want to spend that extra time with them.

Harry, on the other hand, manages to get them to school on time, from the way he tells it, because he's usually at work before then anyways. And he reprimands me by saying that all of these tardies are "going to bring DCF and the Clearwater Police Dept down on us" (by which he means me).

Now, I'm not saying that tardies are GOOD; no, of course not. My mom never taught me to manage my time and as soon as I could be told it was my own responsibility to get ready and leave on time, I realized I had no clue. Something had gone terribly wrong in the raising of me.

I want my kids to learn to find their shoes, I want them to know how to read a clock (Cora's awesome with digital ones, at least), and to know why we put things away when we are done with them. Just because I don't possess a certain skill (yet) doesn't mean that they don't have a chance at developing it.

But the pinnacle of my rant comes to this: the school is providing a service. Harry and I have paid in (as have many of you who don't have kids- sorry!), and decided that we WOULD accept the service they provide, for the time being. I'm still the boss of my kids, and it totally irks me to no end when the school officials try and put me in my place.

So, why is it abuse if I (frequently) bring my well-cared for, well-mannered, empathic, agreeable, lovely 6 year old to school late?

That's what I'd like to know.

do you know my ex? OR why good fathers do single mothers a disservice

I was riding home from Borders tonight (completed 9 miles today), in the frigid cold, and I was thinking about stuff. I come up with a lot of things to write when I'm bike riding and alone. The train of thought goes to interesting places sometimes.

Tonight, I was thinking about school stuff, about those internships, and about field school. And about WHERE I am going to get the majority of my anthro coursework done. I really DO still want to go to UWF in Pensacola, but I tell myself constantly that it's just not possible. I can't uproot my kids and move them to north FL, can I?? Besides, how could I be a full time student in a town where I have no relatives to help with childcare AND manage my kids, day in and day out, with no respite?

Last week was a sort of rough week here. Work was busy and school started again, so I guess it's not unusual that I was tired. But, since the kids go to their dad's house a few nights each week (remember, we do 50/50 custody), I have frequent breaks. I have no excuse for wanting to be alone when they are here. NO EXCUSE.

But I found myself half wishing that I could just have a moment of peace. And my kids really get that. I say, "FOR GOODNESS SAKES. Can you go upstairs if you're going to play so loudly?!" and "Why don't you both go play outside and get some fresh air?" and I have them eat in the kitchen, and I'll sit elsewhere, just so I can eat as I have become accustomed to in their absence; with no drama about tomatoes or fights to break up. I just don't want to deal with it anymore.

So, that's just it. I've become soft, apparently. I'm no longer the heavy duty mom-machine I once was, hardened by day in and day out consistency and sleepless nights (no, no, my sleepless nights are for my own benefit NOW, haha).

I certainly always love them, and I work my ass off keeping them happy, clean, fed, etc, worrying about their futures, bringing glasses of water at bedtime, examining the color of their mucous... But when push comes to shove and I'm threatening to "stop this car right now, because both of you are getting a spanking" I can fall back on the fact that they are going to daddy's house and I won't have to deal with this crap until tomorrow.

And, Harry's such a damn good parent. I've felt jealous of him in this regard before. For example, when Core was teeny. She was just a little thing, a newborn, and I was all nerves. I didn't know how to do anything with a baby, and had to learn everything 'on the job', so to speak. But nothing phased him. Never once did he come to me in a panic saying, "I don't know, does she look... funny to you? Is she breathing normally?" [Seriously, I did that. One night, he was at work and I swore she was dying. I tried to count her breaths and take her pulse, but it was really hard because she was 4 weeks old.]

But, really, he handled it all so well. Conner was born right into Harry's hands. Harry even changed a few diapers and fed a few bottles, although baby-care was generally my arena (since I stayed at home with the kids). Tantrums in the grocery store at 18 months, potty training, nothing phases him. And now that they're older, he's even better at parenting.


You must think I am counting my lucky stars about this (and I frequently do), but right now, I'm sort of wondering WHY he couldn't have been one of those lousy dads. If he was, if I knew it was just me and my babies in the cold hard world it would be a lot easier to be a better mom. There would simply be no other choice.

But knowing that I am not the stronger parent gives me room to slack off a bit. I'm still doing car circle drop offs and pick ups, I still have tiny little socks in my laundry, and I still put juice boxes and cheese sticks ahead of white wine on the grocery shopping list, but all the while, I'm walking in a world of daydreams, like I am one 6 year old's temper tantrum away from running off to study human remains, and to eat my breakfast in peace and quiet.

coming clean: my double life

Being a mom is the greatest thing I never expected to be doing with my life. This holiday season, in particular, has been rife with festivities celebrating the children in this household. Maybe for the first time, this year, I really got it. Taking a multi-cultural approach makes perfect sense for us, since we don't particularly subscribe to any one set of beliefs. And it all really makes sense when you step back a little, and get a wider view.

For example, did you know that Buddhists set up alters in their homes at this time of year to celebrate their decendents, complete with sweets, miniature figurines, small gifts, and candles.

It's all been a reminder to me to be more gentle with my kids (I tend to be a little harsh sometimes), to focus on them more, and to involve them in everything that "has to be done", from taking the jar of kitchen scraps out to the compost pile, to making gifts.



Ah, but heres the double life bit- my Christmas involving the kids is over. It's 11:45 pm on Christmas Eve, and I am off the proverbial hook.

After dinner at my mom's house, their dad came to pick them up to take them to Inverness for a perfectly country Christmas, and now all that's left to do on Christmas is to go to the beach, drink pink sparkly wine, watch movies, and sleep all day tommorrow (if I choose to).

In actuality, there will be some of that, but also some knitting, some music, and some reading; I was given a great book this year, by my roommate who knows me so perfectly.

it upsets me, so smooth it over with homemade cheer.

I am actually going to pick up the knitting needles again.

Think I can get something done in time for seasonal gift-giving? Who knows.


---Also--- Michelle, I am intending to mail a parcel to YOU "any day now". Which means after finals.

I've been meaning to send it to you since the last week of August.


Homemade things are the order of the week; Cora and I are giving her teacher homemade dog biscuits and a letter Z ornament, Conner's teachers will get plates of cookies, my mom is getting... uh, something. Bender reads this blog every-so-often, so I won't say exactly what she's getting, but it's handcrafted by me and since we live together, I'll get to see it frequently.

On the winter solstice, we'll be here with Yuletide cheer, lighting candles, singing songs, opening gifts, and decorating our very own piece of the forest with glittery paper-chains that the kids are putting together.

Down with exclusively store-bought holidays!

Down with Kay's and Lexus and JC Penny's!

wait- Heather B. Armstrong is pregnant?

It's true, but really that's all I have to say about that. I mean, it's silly to blog about a famous blogger. That's like if I was to tell you that Bike Snob said thefunniestthingever about something yesterday.

Actually, a post where I recap bloggy things for you mightn't be ALL bad?


Um... yeah. Or you could just look at the links I posted. Pretty much all of the blogs I read are there, except for Bike Snob and Dooce. I figured they don't need my meager traffic.


I'll update you on things here.

1) My teeth- still in my mouth.

2) Conn will be in his first Thanksgiving show tommorrow morning at his school. Can you believe it?? He's wearing a white dress shirt and tie and everything.

3) Cora is insanely jealous of this, depsite the fact that I'm coming to HER school on Friday for "Home Made Turkey Soup Day", or "The First Graders Present: Thanksgiving!"

4) Conn CAN READ. He can read, I tell you. I swear, that boy is the most precocious 3 year old ever.

5) Cora is really quite upset that he can read. That was HER trick. She told me tonight that it's not OK, and that "the whole world CAN'T learn how to read". She forbids it, because it steals some of her glory.

6) This weekend, I'm going to Orlando for a bike race (for charity). It's like a scavenger hunt that takes us through downtown Orlando grocery stores to purchanse specified things. All food gathered on this ride will be donated to the hungry!

7) I also got invited to tag along on what I believe is someone else's date. Well, I'm being told that it isn't [but it's a party at an art gallery and a girl invited the person who invited me], because she's "working the door". I wish I could say this is the first time, but I think I recall this same friend having invited me out as a third wheel once before. Saddest thing? I kinda want to go, even though it seems like a really awful thing to do to myself, or to another girl. Well, truth be told, I have some ulterior motives:

a) not staying home drinking alone on a Saturday night
b) possibly running into someone that I half expect will be there
c) not being there alone when I run into this person
d) suspect I was invited in order to make my friend look less available
e) which means I may be shown off a bit ;-)
f) have the absolute hottest thing to wear



What do you think... go to the party? or run like hell from any situation even remotely like that one?

interdepartmental canoodling, and other juicy stories from the girl who shreds paper

Remember how I said I wouldn't be working on Fridays and that was one of the perks of this job? Yeah, well I have only had one Friday off so far, and one that I just skipped (whoops). It's because that's been the only way I can feasibly get all 15 of my (measly) hours in, since I can't work at all on Tuesdays and I can't work until after 11 am on Thursdays and then have to leave by 1:45 if I'm going to be on time to pick up Conner. On Mondays and Wednesdays, I've taken to just staying on campus between work and Chem lecture, which keeps me from driving unneccessarily and saves money and stress, but cuts into my time with my kids by 2 hours a week.

Funny how in the SAHM days I would have laughed over missing them for an extra hour or two. I would have been running to the car.

OK, I'll get to the workplace makeout session. That's why you are reading this today, anyways, I'll gamble.

So, I work in a college office and across the hall from me is a nice girl with glasses and REAAAALLY incredibly long hair. She has goldfish in her office, which is also cluttered with beanie babies and cute things. And, yesterday, I went in there to ask her something and saw that she had company (someone who also works at the college), and that they may have been holding hands, but seeing as that it's been an emotional week, I figured hand holding was not that uncommon.

Oh, I am not kidding but today, they were in there for a long time and I definately saw them making out every time I walked past for about an hour and a half. The door was wide open; I am not a pervert, ok??

This all got me thinking, and makes me sort of sad, too.

1) I am a really awesome person, I am good in a couple, and I want someone to make out with on Fridays.

2) I might not ever get to share the rest of my life with someone. This is actually a possibility, and I don't know how to handle it.


I'm now going to reference one of my favorite real-life- romance stories: Once upon a time, before Trent fell deeply in love with Carrie, he listed in his blog exactly what he was looking for in a girl. He actually had first laid it all out on paper, just for his own benefit, but then decided it was entertaining enough for the rest of us, too.

I have done that before, but maybe it's time again.

-smart, but not so brilliant I seem excessively dull
-hot, but not too conceited
-nerdy, in a hot way
-well read
-not a strict rule follower, or at least doesn't care that I am not
-compassionate, ethical, involved,
-likes children, plants, and animals :)
-likes Anthropology, science, riding bikes, reading books, drinking beer, music
-wants to teach me things, somewhat talkative but ok with silences

Oh, and did I mention I've started an experiment in... online dating. I know. Sigh.

Does this mean I am totally not a happening chick or am I just open-minded? I don't know, I'm tired of the bar scene and like the ability to filter through the people that just won't do. I wasn't originally going to do it, but thought... why not?

Because I hate dissapointment, THAT'S WHY.

There are some guys I am chatting with and all is/was well, except one of them freaked me out a little with some things that were excessive. Let me just say you do not ask a girl you are ONLY just recently chatting with if she is on The Pill!!!! For real. DON'T DO IT> And before that he was funny, smart, liberal, and really seemed cool.

The next guy is hotter than the first, and seems like more fun. He was enthusiastic to chat w me, and then all of a sudden... crickets chirping. But he really has all of those qualities I listed, plus he loves Star Wars and hates circuses like me. And I am really awesome (tell me: what's not to love about me?). Should I IM him back and say "Hey, was it something I said?" ?

I am really ready to have someone in my corner, to be in someone's corner. I'm completely jealous of all of you people with mates!

I beat the witches (I think)

Well, I just took the Chemistry test (Gas laws/Thermochemisty reactions) that I thought would be really really awful, only to find out that it wasn't all that bad... but that's after a veritable marathon of study time. True, I may have only scored a B, but at this point, that would satisfy me.


Side note, the Ex is giving me trouble again. It's always cyclical with him. We both agree that if childsupport was enforced and just taken out of his check it would be a lot less painful for us both (I hate ASKING for it each week, and he HATES giving it to me). And currently, he's running a few weeks behind yet again and feeling cranky because he's not dating anyone (I'm guessing that's why he's cranky. who really knows!). So, when I asked this week if I can expect him to catch up with me on his next payday, he gave me The Rudeness and basically said I can just hold my breath waiting for the money.

Ah. Harry does The Rudeness so well, too. And it turned into the same freaking fight we always seem to have now.

Why is it that we never really fought while we were together, but now we can't agree on Fact Of My Life No. 1?

Fact No. 1) I work REALLY hard, day in and day out.
My children depend on me for all the little things that add up to one hell of a job; getting them dressed/fed for school, Halloween costumes, sending in classroom snacks, retrieving forgotten items from the classroom, cleaning up their messes, signing up to volunteer for field trips, afterschool fun, doctors appt's, and taking sick days off work to take care of them when they are sick are all my department.

I also go to school about 20 hours a week and work in the office 15 hours a week, then go home to a ton of homework and housework.

I realize I'm not the only person out there to be juggling a lot of stuff, so I'm writing this more for my benefit than for yours. I tend to be thoughtful about the imput others give me regarding myself and my faults... and he's literally telling me that I DO NOTHING. That I'm just lazy and go to school because I want to when I could be earning enough to raise the kids on without his help.

So, when I write it all out, it seems like maybe I'm not THAT awful of a person.

And, don't you just love it when I get all complainy?

something I found out about while delivering exams for some profs

CLEP tests! There are College Board tests that if you score high enough, you can just instantly have those credits. There's several that I could do, even at this late stage. I found out the other day that when I transfer to USF I'll be coming in about halfway done with my junior year. I'm looking at mostly Anthropology and Science courses over there for the next couple of years :-)

Ha! But if I test out of a few more things right before I transfer, it might go even faster. (can you tell I'm tired from so many classes, lol)

Oh, and I actually already knew about CLEP tests, but had forgotten... Duh; I took AP American history in high school. And I did score high enough on the test, but decided to not take the American History credit because I actually wanted to be in this course again. So far, so good. LOTS of writing this week, in fact this might be the last blog post for a week or so, as I do the things I have to get done.

Besides school stuff, I'm taking C & C to Heritage Village again and to the First United Methodist Fall Festival this coming Saturday, hosting a kids Halloween party on Sunday complete with gross stuff and a potluck. We've been doing Halloween parties in my playgroup since the very begining, so I'm pretty proud to be hosting it. I just also need to makes my kids costumes, and do this all really cheaply... hmmm...