5 AM is going to hurt...

I hate it when I can't sleep at night.

Actually, I don't so much mind the not sleeping. I can get some stuff done with no little ones underfoot, and that is never something to gripe about. It's also quiet, a near impossible feat to accomplish in my house. No, the being awake part is not too bad.

It's the insomnia hangover I get the next day that really bites. The whole "stumbling, brain on autopilot, can't finish my sentences if they have hard words like 'dishwasher' in them, why don't you kids just have cheetos for lunch while mommy rests her eyes" thing.

The worst is when I know well ahead of time that this will be a "no sleep" night. Like tonight. It's only 9 ish...but I can feel the ol' body, plotting evil and chaos.

"Let's see...looks like Miss Fancypants [my body has cute little nicknames for me. Don't ask me how I know this. I just do.] has plans to go to the history museum tomorrow...we can't possibly let her do that clear eyed and rational. Oh, no, no, no. We must exhaust her to the point that she is a weepy, blathering idiot. It'll be fun!"

But sometimes, the no sleep night sneaks up unexpectedly. I can be in bed dozing off after a long day, completely exhausted, when all of the sudden my body goes off like a panicked captain on a crashing airplane. "Mayday, mayday!!! All nerves to attention!!! There has been an unacceptable breach of relaxation!!! We've got to get her up, people...move, move MOVE!!"

It's annoying when my body decides to pull an all-nighter without consulting me first.

Quote of the Week...

"When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.' "

--Erma Bombeck

8 things...

8 Things I'm Passionate About

1-optimism
2-laundry
3-being a good mother
4-organization
5-the way people talk about and to each other
6-choosing joy
7-proper usage of "then" and "than"
8-life being about people, not about things

8 things I want to do before I die

1-go to England
2-hug my grandchildren
3-finish more scrapbooks
4-become comfortable in my own skin
5-watch my husband retire
6-become a "real" photographer
7-see my children live the lives that make them happy
8-learn to sew

8 Things I say often

1-"Well, where is the last place you remember having it?"
2-"Dear Heavenly Father..."
3-"I know I came in here for a reason..."
4-"Food." (in response to 'what's for dinner?')
5-"In case you haven't noticed, Mommy's losing it!!!"
6-"Talitha. T-a-l-i-t-h-a."
7-"Well, crap."
8-"Bye, babe. I love you!"

8 Books I've recently read

1-Here If You Need Me
2-Twilight
3-Life and Death in Shanghai
4-Language Report
5-The Very Hungry Caterpillar
6-Keeping it Together in a Pull Apart World
7-The Great Divorce
8-Parenting Teens with Love and Logic

8 Songs I Could Listen to Over and Over

1-I Had a Dream, from Les Miserables
2-Remember When, Alan Jackson
3-Celebrate Me Home, Kenny Loggins
4-Sometimes, Nicole C. Mullins
5-Samson, Regina Spektor
6-Nothing, from A Chorus Line
7-How Can I Keep From Singing?, Shaker hymn
8-Life is a Highway, Rascal Flatts

8 Things that Attract Me to My Best Friends

1-how they make me laugh
2-that they notice the little things
3-the way they see the world
4-their commitment to becoming the best people they can
5-the gentle ways they help me
6-how they choose to focus on what's good
7-the way they parent their children
8-the acceptance I see in their eyes

8 things I've learned in the last year

1-children grow up in a moment
2-how to use my husband's electric drill
3-there is no greater blessing than a good marriage
4-white vinegar and apple cider vinegar are VASTLY different things
5-my 15 year old needs me to say I love him before he can leave the house
6-I might actually like pushing myself
7-people just want to be listened to
8-I'm not 18 anymore

8 People that I think should do "8" (in no particular order)

Please, anyone who feels like doing this:
If you have a blog, put it there.
If you don't have a blog, email it to me, I'd LOVE to read yours.

Quote of the Week...

"You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what others say about him."

---Leo Aikman

Quote of the Week...

"It's too bad I'm not as wonderful a person as people say I am, because the world could use a few people like that."


--Alan Alda

What did she just say?

I was picking up teenagers at church after an activity and some boys ran out in front of my car, just being silly. From her car seat behind me, I hear my 3 year old daughter shout:

"MISCREANTS!!!"

Seriously, where does she GET this stuff???

Quote of the Week...

For Labor Day: (hey, I know it's late...you don't need to make me feel bad, geez)

"It does not seem to be true that work necessarily needs to be unpleasant. It may always have to be hard, or at least harder than doing nothing at all. But there is ample evidence that work can be enjoyable, and that indeed, it is often the most enjoyable part of life. "
--Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi