Another

Eight years ago, we got one of these.  We called it Jake.  And we thought it was pretty great.

(Still do.)

Six years ago, we got another.  We called it Camden.  And we thought it was pretty great.

(Still do.)

This fall, we're getting another.

Overwhelmed

Jake may simply be trying to smile into the sun, but his face sure does look like I feel right about now.

And no, it's not snowing in VA.  Old picture.

Jake is eight-years-old.  He's in second grade.  He's smart, funny, and a really good boy.  And he's doing great.

His mommy is thirty-years-old.  She's got a college degree.  And, although she'd like to think she's also smart, funny, and a really good girl, she's not doing so great.  She's overwhelmed.

I'm overwhelmed.  By second grade.

There's homework every day.  There's a project every month.  There's Focus (we used to call it GT, but I think that's politically incorrect now) with a big research project.  There's cub scout badge requirements.  There's a block of wood sitting on my counter that needs to become a Pinewood Derby car.  There's baseball practice.  There's bedtime.

Did I mention the child is eight and at some point needs to run and play, preferably outside?

And all I can think, as I make my lists of due dates, is "If this is elementary school, what is high school going to do to me?"

DAY 3

DAY 3: A picture of the cast from your favorite show.

Oh, So You Think You Can Dance, I count the days til you start each summer.

My boys think I could win this show.

I couldn't, but it's nice to know they think so.

DAY 2

DAY 2: A picture of you and the person you've been close to for a while.

Mayo and Me, Together Forever

Mandisa and I are close.  I mean, really close.  Like, less than a foot apart, if she's got anything to say about it.  Makes cooking dinner, washing the floor, or walking across the room kind of difficult.  But at least I'm never lonely.  I love my neurotic mess of a dog.

DAY 1

So, in case you hadn't noticed, my blogging has been pretty spotty lately.  Lest you get concerned, don't.  My children are just as crazy/cute/funny/naughty/(your choice of adjective here) as ever.  I've just not been feeling the blogging bug.  Since I really do enjoy blogging, and plan to continue for as long as you'll read (or longer, since I'm not sure you're reading as it is), I figure it's time to give myself a nice swift kick in the pants.  There's this little thirty-day challenge going around on facebook.  Seen it?  If you haven't, no worries.  I'll walk you through it as I try it out.  But not on facebook.  Right here on The Nugget.  So here we go...

DAY 1: A picture of you and 15 facts.

1. I have way too many gray hairs for any one 30-year-old. Actually, they are all pure white. I can thank my Bubby for my prematurely white hair. Thanks, Bubby.

2. I make the best chocolate chip cookies. Ask anybody. Oh, and I just ate three.

3. Once I read a harlequin romance novel (there were about a thousand of them on the shelves in my room in a beach rental). I read my favorite part over and over. It was the part describing a farmhouse kitchen. The rest of the book was pretty dumb.

4. I have very little (no) patience with complaining. For some reason, my children still don’t get this.

5. I didn’t know how to get home from my high school until I was half-way through my junior year. Luckily, I had good friends who took care of me.

6. For one month every year, I actually like my pink counter tops. That month is February, which is now over.

7. Once in college, I woke up late and raced, in my pajamas, across campus and into class. The room was dark and empty, so I went back to the dorm. It wasn’t until I got there that I realized it was 3:00 am. No, the dark, silent campus never clued me in.

8. I’m wearing a fur coat in all my wedding photos. And Dan’s ears are bright red.

9. My handwriting changes every time I pick up a pen, and sometimes in the middle of a word. I’d love to see a handwriting analyst try to figure me out.

10. I want chickens and bees. My neighbors, on the other hand, may not like that idea as much as I do.

11. I grew up thinking I was terrible at Scrabble. Then I played somebody who wasn’t a member of my family. And I realized that my family is cutthroat. And I’m not terrible at Scrabble. But now I like Bananagrams better.

12. I like just about everybody. Really, it’s true. Except for people who smoke around children. Them, I don’t like. At all.

13. I have the world’s most incredible memory. I remember everything. Including that one day at recess in sixth grade when a bunch of us girls were sitting on the parallel bars and Lauren said her sister wore brown eye shadow and we were all like, “ewww! brown!” and then Ms. Dagata said she wore brown eye shadow and that was when we all realized brown was the best color for eye shadow. Yeah, stuff like that.

14. My first celebrity crush was Christian Bale. Not “Batman” Christian Bale, “Jack Kelly” Christian Bale. These little girls who love him now don’t know the half of it. They don’t even know he can sing, dance, and lead a newsboy strike.

15. I fell asleep on the beach in LA and woke up to a guy taking pictures of me. I think he was more impressed by the spectacular sunburn I was sporting on my eyelids than by my stunning figure.