• I am so exhausted. We went to the NCA/NDA National Collegiate Championship in Daytona Beach as a cheer team field trip. It was so hot. According to my weather app, it never even hit 80, but it felt like 115. We sat in direct sun for over four hours. It was just a long day.…

    April 8
  • The kids had the day off from school, so at the last minute I decided to take the day off too. I took the kids to get sandwiches and we went to Walter Jones Park, where we played card games while squirrels tried their best to see what food we might have for them. Then…

    April 7
  • There was a mild meltdown before Christina’s dance class where she said she never wanted to go again, that she hated it… tears and tears and tears. This is a person who all season long has told me how much she loves dance and wants to join the competitive team and take four classes next…

    April 6
  • I don’t know if I should disclose that I got fed up with work today and took the kids to the park after picking them up from school instead of coming back to work. I do not regret it even one iota. Sunshine can work wonders.

    April 5
  • It was a perfect day outside today. After dinner, I walked over to the gas station to pick up a six pack and enjoyed a beer out on the back patio while watching the Yankees game, the sunset, and Jackson pouncing on anything that twitched. Really needed to be outside today. I also really need…

    April 4
  • I feel like I must have met my productivity quota today, but when I look back at my day, I can’t help thinking I should have been able to fold my laundry. Or worked on some sort of crafting project. I’m exhausted, though. And not looking forward to 6:30am when my alarm goes off and…

    April 3
  • We went to Pickwick Park for the first time in ages. The kids (especially Robin) are starting to outgrow playgrounds, which is kind of sad but kind of exciting because it means they’re growing up. New things are on the horizon. Still, I’m happy that we still have some of the innocence left. I want…

    April 2
  • Today at Panera, the girls and I played Five Crowns. Christina had a bad hand and got angry, pouting and tearing up paper. That annoyed Robin, so she tried to grab the paper shreds out of Christina’s hand, which resulted in a fight and me deciding to leave, even though we were one hand away…

    April 1
  • One of the last camellias on our bush for the season. It’s been kind of a ho-hum day. Played badminton with Robin for a while. Took the kids to movie night at school for a fundraiser. So far, no drama. I’ll take it.

    March 31
  • Trying to conduct business meetings while Michael Kay is talking is harder than you might think.

    March 30
  • Today I had to slow myself down and hold my tongue and instead just sit beside my daughter while she cried. I didn’t ask why, I didn’t beg her to talk to me, I didn’t try to make her feel better, I just sat with her, stroking her hair, until slowly the tears gave way…

    March 29
  • Doing my best not to take this too personally. I’m not too popular today in general. I guess I’m setting the bar too high for the people around me and they don’t like it. Also today: struggling in general. The last few days have been tough. Talk about setting the bar too high. I’ll never…

    March 28
  • Thought I’d already uploaded this one. Guess not. My favorite part of this shot is the appearance of Venus. It’s nice to think that as big as this world seems to be sometimes, it’s just a speck in the universe. People on Venus are probably staring at our little glowing speck in the sky, wondering…

    March 27
  • Robin borrowed a book about cupcakes from the library and chose a recipe. It went about 65% well. She added a tablespoon of baking soda instead of a teaspoon. I managed to scoop out some unknown amount of it, but they all look like collapsed volcanoes. We also needed unsweetened chocolate baking chips and I…

    March 26
  • It’s been a busy day of keeping the kids out of the house so Billy can sleep, preparing for various church-related obligations, and now a concert. It’s the last one of the season, which is both a relief and a disappointment.

    March 25