Top Ten Reasons I Haven't Been a Reliable Blogger

10. Being a Mom is a Full-Time Job

• I remember when I was working part-time, taking a couple classes, trying to finish the house and was pregnant that I would think, "I can survive this. Everything is crazy right now, but soon I won't be working, life will settle down and Ethan will be here." Yeah right! Now I'm taking more classes, still trying to finish the house, running a small business of sorts making custom curtains, cleaning my sister's house once a week, and trying to be a good mom/wife/daughter/sister/friend. Considering that being a mom is a full-time job in and of itself, my life is having far too many moments when I feel it's spun out of control. Then I tell myself, "In less than a year, Travis and I will done with school and things will settle down." I'm holding on to that dream and ignoring the fact that I've been saying that for over a year now.

9. Sleep is a Precious Commodity

• I have class Tuesday and Thursday nights from 8-10 p.m. and because Travis is wonderful and puts Ethan to bed while I'm gone, I get to go to the gym after class. That means that I get home around 11:30 and since I've just worked out, I can't relax and fall asleep for another hour. The interim period between work-out and bed is thus homework/project time. I'm either sewing curtains or doing stats homework. Writing anything coherent is out of the question. Thus, sleeping wins and I try to squeeze in as much as I can before E wakes up at 6:15 a.m.

8. I Have to Wrangle a Wiggly Worm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqTn58FB_8E

(Once again, I can't get blogger to embed the video so just click on the link above until I can get it worked out)

• He moves now! I took this video this morning and my favorite part is when I tell Ethan, "Come Here!" and Lexie comes to me. She's just so obedient all the time! (insert laughter here)

7. I'm a Fool for School

• I'm truly tired of being a student. It demands every spare minute I can get. The other day I was thinking about my schooling and remembered the classic line in Tommy Boy that goes something like this:

• Richard: Congratulations on graduating. That took you what, like, 9 years?
• Tommy: Lots of people take 9 years to finish college.
• Richard: Yeah, they're called doctors.

I want to graduate so bad. I want to prove to myself I'm tough enough to stick it out. I want to give my kids and my husband the benefit of an educated wife/mother. I want to be able to tell our kids, "You can graduation from college, no problem! Why, I finished school even after we'd married and Ethan was born and I had to move away from Dad and go back to school for a semester and I walked all the way barefoot... " You get the idea.

6. Cleaning a Baby is Another Full-Time Job

• Did I mention Ethan loves hummus? Good thing we have a tub, because the aftermath of this meal required total immersion.

5. Blogging Takes Time (and I don't know who really reads our blog other than Anne, Jared, Liz and Meghan since they're the only ones who leave comments)

• If I weren't such a perfectionist I'd video blog because then I could tell you about my adventures really quickly and you'd still get to see us. But alas, I know myself well enough to know that I'd watch it and say, "I sound retarded. Redo." Then I'd watch the second take and say, "Eww, my hair is lopsided. Redo." Then I'd watch the third take and say, "I forgot the funniest part of that story. Redo." You get the picture.

4. I'm Too Busy Rescuing Stray Dogs

• Yesterday I rescued the third stray dog in 4 weeks. The picture above is of the first dog I rescued. I named her Skittles and that was a terrible idea because then I became attached to her. These stray dogs without collars or tags saunter into our yard to meet Lex and then I go get them. They'll all malnourished and parched and it breaks my heart. When the lady from animal control came to pick up yesterday's dog she said, "Fixmer, right? Okay, we've got the rest of your information." It just makes me mad at irresponsible people and sad for helpless animals.

3. Cooking is More Fun and We Have to Eat

• 

• Asparagus was on sale last week and it made me squeal with delight that spring is nearly here. As you can see, E loved the asparagus! In case you may not know, I love cooking and since we have to eat this works well. I get a sense of balance and satisfaction from being in the kitchen and we eat well. So really, cooking is my therapy. Right. My daily visit with Dr. KitchenAid and Dr. Kenmore.

2. I'll Take Any Time I Can Get with My Honey

• We have so little time together. Literally from 4-5 p.m. on Monday - Thursday and then Friday or Saturday Travis usually has a study group one or both days. Sunday T has meetings and preparation from 9 until around 1 when church starts. We're home at 4:20 and then we get some family time. We fudge as much time together in there as we can, but usually one of us is watching E so the other can get homework/calling/house duties done. I like this picture because it reminds me of when we were dating and we had all the time in the world together. I chuckle remembering when I worked part-time as a student and felt robbed of that time that I could have spent with Travis. *Sigh* The good ol' days.

1. I'd Rather Play with His Royal Cuteness

• Enough said.