...BRILLIANT BOY...

If this ain't bragworthy I don't know what is...
J-Bug, brilliant boy, handsome Mister Man, and all around love of my life just READ!!!
Yuppers...two full-on sentences!
And no, we're not talking Easy Reader here...this was words...with syllables!
I was in the bathroom picking at my face (bad habit I know) and I heard him in the other room...ran out, made him read it again, and then had him read another one.
I think my heart might actually burst...there's this pride pressure rapidly expanding from the inside out...
We totally did the happy dance...full out...
And then called everyone and anyone and bragged!!!
We're totally getting Mister Man his own library card today!

...support (system) crash...

When's the last time you looked at your life...the day to day daily aspect of it...as a computer program? Not yesterday, last week, ever? Yeah.

Well let's look at mine that way for a moment. There's the preloaded software, right? The daily minutiae...sleep, wake, eat, dress, etc... And then there's all those fancy programs I uploaded: family, work, social life, etc... And then...then there's the viruses, and auto-loads, and lurking-in-the-shadow html: autism, homeschooling, single parenting, estrangement, dating, etc...

See where I'm going yet?

Programs fail. They crash. They auto-delete. They re-script themselves.

And sometimes, when that happens, you never get your original material back. Sometimes, when that happens, data is lost forever. Sometimes, when that happens, the future gets re-written.



I'm all for learning new things. And I think the one thing I need to learn pronto is how to write script into my program for a backup device. I need to create a support system. Because right now the two people that I can guarantee will answer my call no matter what the hour live 8 hours away.

...rain down on me...

The weather this spring has certainly done it's best to put a damper on any hopes of enjoying what I had hoped would be a beautiful east coast season. From the bone-chilling cold and damp to full on rain, it's been a soggy mess this year. And sadly, to often, my mood has matched the weather.
There have a lot of difficult adjustments, and it seems like the hits just keep on coming. I'm not really inclined to write to much in depth, especially in such a public forum. Suffice it to say, months after having left Ohio I don't feel I've made much progress. A lot of decisions I made could have been handled differently, and I'm second-guessing myself a great deal.
I have to keep looking forward, and sometimes that's so hard...the past and even the present seem to intrude and overwhelm.

...of fairies and fantasies...

What follows in photos is what happens when this Mami discovers her sons' first wiggly tooth.
Two weekends ago we three (myself, Mister Man and the Man of the Hour) went to Philly to visit my sister. Within moment of arriving (chaotic driving and parking situation) we discovered that Mister Man's bottom front teeth were wiggling and jiggling to beat the band. Horrors! Mami-flip-out-session ensued.
Sometime later when the dust settled and all was calm once more I realized this was going to require some'splainin' to the Mister Man.
The next day we hit up the library for some tooth-fairy literary-fodder and began yet another stage of growing up. Trust no child but the Mister Man to realize the danger and peril the poor tooth fairy must face when retrieving teeth from under pillows...suffocation, smooshing, and overall lack of good night's sleep! Now there's some situations in need of some rectification, no?
And we're all for the 'two birds/one stone' type of solution. So here you have it: a secure location for treasured teeth, a solid escape from downy plushness, and a safe location for a solid sleep...all in one!

First we built the frame...scrap wood comes in handy!

Then it was into the woods for a fairy's creature comforts.

Extreme Home Makeover got off to a good start with some green-friendly repurposing of scrap bark!

Last year's flower petals made for this year's gutter.

Nothing says home like a flower bud trim.

Moss roofs are all the rage: eco friendly and a great way to grow a rooftop garden!

Our fairy home complete with acorn cap dishes, a pinecone chandelier, a pillowcase made of one soft red leaf, and a seed pod lampstand for fairy's own lightning bug nightlight.

With the threat of rain it was necessary to bring the fairy home indoors, but thankfully she found it anyway...her trail of fairy dust led from the door straight to her home.

A near miss! Mami was to late to see the fairy herself, but the fairy dust on the bed makes me think she had a nice snooze in her new home!

And we think she appreciated the hard work we went to making a special box just for teeth!

The Mister Man is delighted to report that his teeth are apparently worth one silver dollar each!

...behind on the times...

So every day I've opened my blogger...it's true, I really have...scrolled down, and then exited. Not exactly full on avoidance, but more of a "I have a million and 10 excuses not to write anything today" kind of a thing. And then of course I see that people have continued to check in hopes of finding some worthwhile reading, only to be disappointed by ME yet again. Ugh...blogger guilt. Wonder if that's similiar to single mom guilt?
Today's the day though...today is the day I get caught up. Notice I said 'I' and not you...yup that's on purpose. Sure I'll spend the next half hour multitasking between monitoring my son's schoolwork, scrubbing down the shower and uploading photos. But I know full well I probably won't do all that great a job of actually filling in anyone on everything that's been going on. Which let's face it folks, I'm not exactly living my life to provide anyone else's entertainment anyway.
So, on to the photo share...

...back of the line...

Once again I've been on blog-neglect mode...with no good excuse for not writing of course. I realized something odd about my blogging though...it used to be that I used my blog as an outlet when things were troubling to me...lately (this last year or so) the exact opposite has come to be true, and I find I shut out even the blogging part of my world when I am wrestling with something personal. Hmmmm...maybe it's time to invest in a leather bound journal???
So of course I am way behind in picture posting...which I hope to get to either later today or tomorrow. I'm also way behind in introspective thought, window shopping, recipe seeking and creative thought...there, that just about covers all this blog is about, doesn't it?!? ;) Um, yeah, I might get around to all that in the next few days also...no promises.
Coffee, shower, coffee...I'll catch ya later.

...blog preventing virus...

Last week I took a hiatus from blogging...unintentionally.
Every year for as long as I can remember, as soon as the seasons change, I end up sick. And this year was no exception. :( So last week I spent my miserable time just trying to shuffle through the days while mucus clogged my lungs and poured out of my nose. Now isn't that a lovely image?!?
Worry not...I'm finally now feeling better.
And with any luck, by then end of the day there might even be something worth reading posted up here.