ups and downs...or vice versa...

Life is good. It is. It really, truly is. Sometimes it's harder than it ought to be to remember that. Or maybe that's just me.

Forgive me for complaining. I promise I shall embrace gratefulness again in just a moment. But first I'm just going to spew out the "not good stuff." Not that I want to focus on it...though sometimes lately I feel like I do far too much. It's more of a "Yes, crappy stuff, you do exist and I know I have to deal with you...but you are only a part of life" sort of spewing.

*I'm just so effing tired of feeling like I'm drowning. My week to get caught up. Ha! I fell further behind than ever. We have not finished our quarter yet, which I hoping to do on Wednesday. I'm now behind on laundry. I'm way behind on returning e-mail (even the fun ones from my dearest friends). There are packages sitting by the door that should already have been mailed (as in, one of them contains birthday gifts that are now going to be late).

*Gray's social anxiety. My poor baby. *sigh* And some not-at-all-easy treatment decisions to be made.

*Baker's ear infection does not appear to be getting better, so another trip to the vet is in order.

*Our car is having minor problems and must go to the garage today.

*Not-so-minor problems in the extended family.

*Had tickets to see Somaly Mam speak, but had to miss it. Not the end of the world, but I was really disappointed.

BUT, ON THE BRIGHT SIDE:

*Annie had a wonderful, relaxing birthday yesterday! Nothing overly exciting...just a total goof-off day. No school. No homework or studying. No chores. She definitely deserved it. And she very much appreciated it. And she got lots of great books that I can borrow. ;)

*This little monkey wanted a hair cut, and wow, did he get a new look. Okay, I admit it--I sort of miss his messy mop of hair. But his new style is growing on me, and I'm sure the fact that he loves it so much is a big part of that.




*Cards in the mail. A cheerful spring card that make me smile every time I see it. (Thank you, Care!) A silly stickmen card that makes me laugh. (Thank you, Jean...you *always* find the most awesome cards!)

*I *finally* did the taxes yesterday!!!

*As if having the taxes done AND getting a refund weren't enough reward...my sweetheart of a husband bought me Will Grayson, Will Grayson as a thank you for doing them. He is just the best. :D And I read the first chapter in the car last evening on our way home...I'm already IN LOVE with this book! (No, I definitely did *not* need to be starting another book, but surely you can't blame me here, can you?)

*Tomorrow Annie and I go on a big thrifting outing!

*The "effing" above...what does that remind you of? Yes, yes, yes...only a month more to wait for Monsters of Men!

*Ummm...just sitting here mentioning awesome books made me pick up the first of the aforementioned awesome books and read another chapter. I couldn't stop myself. I even sort of tried. But couldn't. Which is good. Am now more in love with Will Grayson, Will Grayson than I was fifteen minutes ago.

I know there's more good stuff, but right now laundry awaits me. And ugh...about ten pages of geometry problems. (Shhh...and maybe another chapter or two.)

warning: I feel rambly today

I hope everyone had as lovely a weekend as we did here at the Stevens home! Our weather was positively delightful. Seriously, it's a tad unsettling just how lovely and springlike (or downright summerlike!) it's been here lately. Yesterday's egg hunt was conducted in shorts and t-shirts...usually they require winter coats and the kids are pulling eggs out of the piles of snow that have yet to melt.

Yep, I'm afraid that's best I could do. This rascal wasn't about to slow down for a second to let me get a decent picture.

For some reason these two slowed down for a second to compare loot, but still I didn't manage to get a very good shot. Suffice it to say, though, that they had a wonderful morning. :D








*****
Okay, somewhere in the midst of cajoling munchkins to rise-n-shine and making breakfast and packing lunches and starting laundry and...I seem to have lost my urge to ramble. (Go ahead and cheer if you must.)

Anyway, a few things I'm looking forward to this week:

*Miss Annie turning thirteen! And she's chosen to celebrate with a big thrift shop outing. :)

*Finishing up this quarter of school. (Please, please, please let this actually happen!)

*Finally doing the taxes. (Okay, I'm not looking forward to doing them, I'm just looking forward to having them done!)

*Making a post about a couple of reading challenges I'm joining, and passing out blame for this teetering stack of books sitting beside me.

*Maybe actually finishing a book. Hey, anything's possible, right?

So, what are you looking forward to this week? (Yep, I'm still nosy.)

bits...

My baby girl is growing up. *sigh*

Actually, I'm not sighing all that much...because in reality, as much as I miss the itty bitty newborn, the precocious little toddler, the adorable little grade schooler...I totally love the on-the-brink-of-teenhood young lady that she is now.

(Though it does boggle my mind that in less than a week I will be the mother of a teenager!)

Anyway, Miss Annie is leaving the nest. The blogging nest, that is. She's made her own blogging account, and can now be found at Canvas of a Billion Suns.

Love you, Annie! Have fun in your new digs.

*****
I've no earthly idea what we've done to deserve the unbelievably gorgeous weather we've been enjoying the past few days! Seriously, we don't usually see weather like we've had the past couple days until mid-June! The daffodils even started blooming yesterday. :) I know it won't last, but I'm so incredibly grateful to have it now.

*****
Oh my...poor Baker.

He's been wearing this pouty face ever since the kids found their Easter baskets. Yes, because he didn't get one. Every year we try explaining to him that beagles haven't traditionally been terribly kind to the rabbits of the world. But he just doesn't seem to grasp the connection between his behavior (i.e., barking like a madman chasing the bunnies out of our yard) and the Easter bunny's behavior (i.e., not hiding a basket full of goodies for him).

*****
I really need to do a blame post one of these days. My "latest acquisitions" pile is getting a tad unwieldy here, and I really need to put them away. But I can't do it now...I'm off to hide Easter eggs! Hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday, whether you celebrate Easter or not!!!

without even trying, they make me laugh...

Rich: Gray, could you please come back here and finish your milk?

Debi: Gray, could you please put your folder in your backpack so you don't forget it?

Rich: Gray, could you please clean up your markers?

Gray (with both sarcasm and a hint of a smile): Gray, could you please save the rainforests? Gray, could you please solve the problem of global warming?

*****
A couple nights ago, Rich and I headed out to buy goodies for the Easter baskets. Hmmm...somehow we ended up at the bookstore, with a pile of books to look at as we sat in the cafe having coffee. While sitting there, Rich's cell phone rang. We knew it had to be Annie, who was home babysitting the boys, because no one else ever calls Rich on his cell phone. But it actually turned out to be Gray. Gray, who despises the phone. Gray who, on the rare occasion that he will even attempt to talk on the phone, speaks in a tiny little whisper. And you know how when you're talking to someone who talks really softly on the phone, you sometimes repeat back everything they're saying, making sure you heard them right? Well, that's what Rich was doing. So this is what I, and undoubtedly all the people at the tables surrounding us, heard Rich say:

"Gray?...What?...He did what?...He's trying to make babies with your blanket?...He put his private parts way down deep in it?"

Okay, I know how tacky this sounds, but I have to tell you, I was laughing so hard I nearly fell out of my chair. Somehow, I'm guessing we weren't missed when we left the cafe. ;)

*****
After swimming lessons last night, the kiddos wanted popsicles. As we were sitting there at the table, I noticed Gray's tongue had been dyed the color of his shirt. Turned to Annie, and so had hers. Max--ditto.

Of course, along with making me laugh, it also reminded me just how much I need to get back to making our own, healthier versions of popsicles. ;)

**********
Before I go, I wanted to say a big thank you to my dear friend, Carl. I'm not sure if he had any idea how much I needed his recent post...but I surely did. I have to admit that for the last month I've been going through a period of severe "feel-sorry-for-myself." Spending waaaay too much time and energy on school in a desperate attempt to get caught up (which is only my self-imposed version anyway) before the quarter ends in two weeks, watching the house fall further into disarray as I do, wondering when on earth I'm ever going to get around to doing our taxes, dealing with lots of Gray's unique needs these days, Easter and Annie's birthday both on the verge of arriving, too much stress and drama in my social world...all of that has added up to the ridiculous state I've let myself wallow in lately. :(

I NEED TO SNAP OUT OF IT!!!! I seem to have forgotten what a gift it is to be alive every day. And I've let what had become a habit--noticing all the good stuff, all the beauty and wonder and silliness that makes life so precious--slip away. Well, I'm reclaiming that habit, and the joy that comes with it.

I still might not be around much for the next couple weeks--just busy, busy, busy--but I hope when I am around it will be with a smile on my face. :D

Have a beautiful, glorious April everyone!!!

I smiled when...

...Rich called me with the news that he got his promotion to Associate Professor. What this means in practical terms? Well, besides a really good excuse to go out to dinner Saturday night, not a whole heck of a lot. Nonetheless, I am very happy for him!

...my dear friend Chris sent me an e-mail that offered great hope and reassurance about matters that have been troubling our family. Thank you. Yet again.

...this week's New Yorker arrived and I saw its beautiful cover. (I so wish I could have found a bigger picture to link to, or been able to get a decent photo of the magazine.) But can't you just tell how gorgeous it is? It's titled "Homage" and is by the unbelievably talented artist, Ana Juan.

...my mom could not hide the excitement in her voice about their upcoming trip. My parents leave Friday morning for a month-long road trip "out West" (in their truck camper). Hitting the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Bryce Canyon, etc., etc., etc. I would have smiled even more broadly had they invited me along. ;)

...Ana posted this Ada Lovelace Day post. Okay, I more than smiled--I got downright giddy about all that lovely women-in-science bookishness. In fact, before I even commented and thanked my dear friend Ana, I went and ordered one of those books. :P

...my daughter uttered these words totally out of nowhere on the way home from the dentist: "I love you, Mom. I think I forgot to tell you that yesterday."

on today's to-do list (an abbreviated version)

--the daily chores
--"school"
--enough school planning stuff to make me want to cry
--make laundry soap
--make granola bars
--HIT THE "MARK ALL AS READ" BUTTON, AND START OVER TRYING TO CATCH UP WITH ALL MY MUCH MISSED FRIENDS
--keep striving for that ever elusive balance

*****
And because I'm nosy:  Tell me something that made you smile this weekend. :D

still trying...

...to find that balance I'm so desperately craving. So far, no luck. But it's become a mission. In the meantime, I apologize again for my lack of blog reading. I assure you, it's not because I don't miss you all...but I know you understand that already. I don't think balance comes easily to anyone...if it comes at all.

And while this has nothing to do the above...guess what I saw this weekend...a robin! I kid you not. Perhaps if he sticks around for a few more days, he'll be able to see the ground, and worm-hunting will become a much easier task. It's been so incredibly warm (relatively speaking, of course) for the past week. And this week predicts highs in the 40s for every single day!

May you all have a glorious second week of March!

stuff on my mind

*School's been kicking my ass the past few days. Thus, when I just took a look at the explosion in my reader, I wanted to cry. Why can't I find balance? Why, why, why, why, why am I so incapable of this?!!

*I really, really want to make this bed.

*Staci is beyond awesome. I know that's already a well-known fact, but sometimes these things just need to be repeated.

*I promised myself I would NOT check any books out at the library today. Forgot that I had put one on hold though. After one...well, what's a few more, right? (This is what came home with me: Skin: A Natural History by Nina G. Jablonski (the one I had on hold), Between XX and XY: Intersexuality and the Myth of Two Sexes by Gerald N. Callahan, Goodbye, Chunky Rice by Craig Thompson (which I had out not long ago but didn't get around to reading), A Breath of Fresh Air by Amulya Malladi).

*I sometimes send people really stupid e-mails. Sorry, Ana.

*I really need to shut up and get a few more "school things" done so I can watch Criminal Minds.

*Just overheard Max say: "Dad, you should really be ashamed of yourself!" No idea what he was talking about, but it made me giggle.