Perfection is celebrating not being perfect.
Read More in Jen Writes, three kidsJuly 2010
July 30, 2010
An idea to live by today:
July 29, 2010
!!!
I cleaned all the doodads off of the bookcase in the living room. The new order gives me room to appreciate not only the books lining the shelves, but the pictures that tell the stories of my life. Especially the one of me at age 5 carving a pumpkin. !!! I swirled through the house like a tornado cleaning up doodads in every room. As I was on my hands in knees in the little boys’ room collecting styrofoam letters and numbers, I reached up to wipe my very sweaty brow and there stood Dan, margarita in hand. Hello, lovely. [...]
Read More in !!!, Sarah WritesJuly 28, 2010
Babydoll on the clothesline
The girls are still asleep The boys, awake I sit at my desk and glance out the window at our green backyard Bubbles of sunlight slipping through the leaves of the lush maple trees floating and settling on the too-long green grass There’s a babydoll on the clothesline because yesterday she got dirty in the sandbox and then my not-yet-2-year-old took her into the bathroom and washed her in the sink How can one child be such a do-er And one of her older siblings be so distraught over doing? I sit and I look outside and I ponder questions [...]
Read More in home, Jen Writes, motherhood, oldest child, three kids, writingJuly 28, 2010
making order, making peace
i made the bed this morning. i smoothed the sheets. i laid the blanket down. i folded the throw. i placed the pillows. the order was dreamy. my mind felt clear. i forgot about time pressing upon me. to get dressed. to dress the kids. to get shoes and jackets on. bags of friends and blankies in the car. do the drop off. get to work. i wish these moments lasted longer.
Read More in Sarah WritesJuly 26, 2010
move a little closer, would you?
Yesterday we spent the day together. It was bliss. You, me, and 6 kids under 8. 2 pools and 2 noodles and 2 life vests. 2 mommies holding everyone up in the water, watching our kids paddle away, make big waves, jump freely and fearlessly off of the edge. It allowed us to also jump freely off of the edge, that place that makes you pull your hair out, raise your voice more than you’d like, cry a little in the bathroom, stare blankly out the kitchen window while you wash another dish. We knew that our day was filled [...]
Read More in Sarah Writes, sisters, three kids, three kids (six kids)July 24, 2010
This is My Life: Laundry quandry
Almost every day is laundry day. Especially in the summer time, because we hang all of our laundry to dry. So today, I put out a load of towels before we went on a few errands. (Farmer’s Market; Trader Joes.) When we returned, a few hours later, the sun was shining and the towels were dry. I went upstairs to put the littlest one down for her nap, and when I came downstairs the skies were gray and rain was pouring down. Question: Do I rewash the towels or just let them (re)dry and pretend the brief rainstorm never happened [...]
Read More in chores, housework, Jen Writes, unpaid workJuly 23, 2010
Together (inevitably)
July 19, 2010
On my mind last week.
I couldn’t seem to pull it together last week. I kept trying to write, but I was having trouble staying focused. I think I have too much on my mind lately. Here’s a few of the things that I dwelled on long enough to jot down as ideas but that never quite made it any farther than a sentence or two in post form: It is a foregone conclusion that the needs of a certain child in my household always seem to come before everyone elses, regardless of the circumstances. Why did I dream of an explosion leaping out of [...]
Read More in home, Jen Writes, three kids, unpaid work, writingYou are young. So you know everything. You leap into the boat and begin rowing. But, listen to me. Without fanfare, without embarrassment, without any doubt, I talk directly to your soul. Listen to me. Lift the oars from the water, let your arms rest, and your heart, and heart’s little intelligence, and listen to me. There is life without love. It is not worth a bent penny, or a scuffed shoe. It is not worth the body of a dead dog nine days unburied. When you hear, a mile away and still out of sight, the churn of the [...]
Read More in history aka before kids, Jen Writes, mind/body, motherhood, three kids, writingJuly 15, 2010
Partners in crime: when real life and blog life collide
Last Friday I packed my bags and got on a teeny, tiny little plane headed for DC. I listened to music, wrote in my journal and sipped an ice cold Coke. Before I knew it, I was there, and awaiting the moment I’d finally get to meet my !!! partner in crime. Although she first whizzed right by me at the airport arrivals terminal, CK made another loop and eventually cruised on up to the curb. I gave her a huge hug, jumped in the passenger seat, and started chatting with her girls for the remainder of the car ride. [...]
Read More in !!!, Sarah WritesJuly 12, 2010
The sweetness of coming home
Don’t forget to hug them while I’m gone, I said two days earlier. I pulled in the driveway and hustled my things together in the front seat. The shoes I’d kicked off in favor of driving barefoot. The earbuds that provided me two insatiable hours of audiobook fun. My phone, a half-drunk bottle of Coca-Cola, my purse, my wallet, an empty bag of Sun Chips. I grabbed my suitcase from the backseat and glided to the front door. I was already in quiet mode from the drive home and knocked very gently three or four times when I discovered the [...]
Read More in Sarah Writes, three kidsJuly 8, 2010
i said intentional, dammit
Hello, it’s summer. !!! anyone? Let’s start today out with a BANG, shall we?! Whammo: Need I say more? !!! Ice cream makes me thirsty. I’m not it’s biggest fan. So you know it’s intentional happiness when I take the kids out for Ben and Jerry’s at 7:00 on a Friday night. Let’s forget about the fact that I called Jen and was inspired by her own happy ice cream trip with the kids, that my husband was working late again and just about anything sounded better than wrangling the kids to bed by myself, and that it was Fourth [...]
Read More in !!!, Sarah WritesJuly 7, 2010
Blog Design 101
Today Sarah’s talking about blog design at Nickelodeon’s Parents Connect as part of their monthlong Blogging 101 feature. Hop on over and take in her wisdom. Stick around long enough and you can enter to win a prize!
Read More in Jen WritesJuly 5, 2010
green sweatshirt
I folded laundry last night and picked up the green, hooded sweatshirt the one that zips up the front, isn’t too cushy, and has highlighted both the blue and brown eyes of my two youngest boys I think it’s days are numbered this favorite piece of clothing and yet I am not ready to pack it away in the attic graveyard Then I remembered all the times yesterday I said something like this “It’ll be easier when they are all older. When they are all 5 and up.” I’m pushing and pulling at time all at once thinking of time [...]
Read More in Sarah Writes, three kidsJuly 3, 2010
Housekeeping
We’re not ungrateful. We’re really really not. But we are frazzled and busy and crazed half the time. And because of these endearing qualities we have neglected to acknowledge three lovely bloggers who recently have bestowed on us awards. AWARDS, people. So, without further ado (ahem, frazzlement), thanks to Maria at Mom of Three Seeks Sanity for The rules ARE these: 1. Get really excited that you got the coolest award EVER! 2. Choose ONE of the following options of accepting the OMB award: (a) Get really drunk and blog for 15 minutes straight, or for as long as you [...]
Read More in Jen Writes, motherhood, sisters, three kidsJuly 2, 2010
Found.
“Recollection, I have found, is usually about half invention.” —Wallace Earle Stegner. OK, so I cheated this week Stealing a few words from Wally. (Not even six words. Nine, actually.) But this quote hangs before me When I sit at my desk. It provides me with great inspiration Perhaps you will be inspired, too. For more Six Word Fridays–and to link up your own six words–check out MakingThingsUp.com!
Read More in Jen Writes, three kids, writingJuly 1, 2010
!!! is all around us
INTENTIONAL HAPPINESS Unearthing a box of meticulously folded notes from Junior High? !!! Reading them? Equal parts !!! and ??? to be sure. Will keep you posted; I’ve yet to dive in. Finding a copy of Entertainment Magazine tucked under the treadmill to my left as I cooled down after a quick five miles. More confirmation that I have to read the book that’s been an integral part of the !!! this week for a certain someone I know and love. Looking at this photograph when I need a little pickmeup. Oh, and that’s my MAMA, wearing a motorcycle helmet, [...]
Read More in !!!, Sarah Writes