Do Moms Need a Break?

I don't know what I was thinking when I made this flippin' sign. Heard of WISHFUL THINKING?! I must have been having a hard day and put myself in a 2-minute time-out in my room to avoid blowing up at all the chaos that was happening.

Here's my question: doesn't everyone need a break? I mean, even regular working Joes get a smoke break if they need it. Recently Aron and I went on a date and talked about me getting out of the house more alone since Sam is getting older and stays at home well with Jordan or Aron. He thinks I need 2 hours to myself TWICE A WEEK.

Here's the thing: that sounds great. I don't LOVE being away from my kids, but I could sure use some UNINTERRUPTED time to scrapbook and to write articles. It would be cool to be productive AND to make some money to pay for my chocolate habit.

So why do I feel guilty when I leave the house and have a lovely, recharging time? This is such a cliche by now, but I truly do feel like a better mom when I get some time away from my kids. I guess it was always easier to find my sanity at home when I wasn't homeschooling, when I wasn't trying to write for money, when I wasn't caring for 5 human beings, when those precious human beings didn't talk so much, when they weren't in so many activities!

I know taking care of a baby is physically hard. Taking care of a child as he grows up is the hardest thing you will ever do emotionally, spiritually and more. A person needs to take a break when they are doing the most important job in the world.

How do you get your breaktime in?

Happy Birthday to Eva, Who is Fo

Eva is fo today. That means my kids are 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10. We like to keep things in the even digits around here. I don't have a photo for you right now because my flash drive is ????? and my cord to get pictures off my camera onto a computer is ????? but don't fear for my sanity, folks. I have a great day planned.

Stephen will love that I'm braving McDonald's today. Before you judge, let me just say they have Hello Kitty toys and Eva loves Hello Kitty. I don't think we've been inside McD's for months. We will be sure to wear socks and surgical gloves. Would someone please send me a petri dish/swabbing kit to take the next time I go?

Then we get to see my dad and stepmom, who are bringing over a gift for Miss Happy Little Naughty Eva. Then we load into the car like the hellions we are and go to a friend's house to play. Maybe I can do some 2007 scrapbooking if the kids play nice. We'll see.

Then we get a brief "downtime" ... then WHOOSH ... off to religious ed class and gymnastics. Religious ed is work for my oldest 3 and Aron, but the 2 littlest and I hang out in the nursery to play. Then on to gymnastics for more playing while we wait for the boys to be done gymnasticking.

I'll get some photos up soon ... a friend's homeschooled kid made some awesome cakes/cupcakes for Eva's Saturday at-home party. Plus I took a pic of Eva sleeping this morning that is precious.

Gotta go ... Eva is running around in her usual swimsuit as there is snow on the ground here. Usually we just throw a fancy dress on over her swimsuit and head out!

Sorry to beat you over the head with my articles, but I have to pimp this piece yet again, only because I think it's cool that it's in NOLA Baby & Child (New Orleans!).

We Are a Nation of Big Babies

*beware: I'm cranky today!

I swear I get my best blog post ideas (i.e., stuff to make fun of) from watching 2 seconds of The Today Show once a week. This morning this woman is talking about being the Mall Germ Patrol. First of all, she says restrooms are incredibly germy. I have known people who have done acrobatics to avoid touching door handles and sink handles and toilet seats, etc. I LOVE when I go to pee and someone before me has peed all over the freaking toilet in an effort to not have her tender little butt touch the seat.

First of all, unless you scratch your butt all the time, you probably won’t catch a cold from your ass touching the seat. Second of all, THANK YOU so much for leaving pee on the toilet for ME to either sit on or clean up. You are a real thoughtful jerkette!

THEN I find out that the faucet handle is nasty germy and that you should not touch it. Can I just say that I am a very healthy person compared to many people I know. AND I rarely wash my hands. I used to be mildly ashamed of the fact, but now I am coming out of the healthy closet. My kids are the same. We don’t “wash up before dinner” and if all we do is pee we don’t wash our hands after we use the bathroom. We are a very healthy family. We’d probably be sicker if we washed our hands in public restrooms more often.

Then this dumb woman says try not to touch the escalator handles!!!! And that if you have to, wear your mittens. I’m sure that will work well in California and Florida where they always carry mittens with them. Then of course do NOT touch your face with your mitten. If you have an itch, suffer through it. I just got an idea for a great invention: sanitary itching sticks. They come one to a package and you don’t have to touch anything unsanitary to itch your nose or eye!

Then I had to turn it off because I was griping too loud about us being a nation of big babies (only I didn’t use the word BABY; I used a word that starts with a P). Look, all I know is that most of us would not survive another Great Depression because we might die if we did not have our Purell clutched tightly to our bosom at all times.

LEGO Advent Calendar

Catholics take Advent very seriously. So does the LEGO Company.

Michael wants this so bad! But by the time he would get it for Christmas, Advent would be pretty much over. I got them these $1 chocolate Advent calendars at Aldi for a grand total of 5 bucks, and this LEGO one is like $30. I told God that if I get a writing check in the mail today for $30 or more I might just have to go get one because it looks like fun. We shall see.

I'll Take a Doggie Bag to Go