Silliness

This is what my daughter does for fun when she has some time to herself :)

She has decided that each big toe is a mommy with her four little toe children -- the pinky toe is sometimes shy...

Dancing Queen

Not rain, nor sleet nor six inches of snow would stop this weekend's dance competition.  Thank goodness for my friend's all wheel drive which enabled us to make it to and from Voorhees, NJ through a snowstorm that would have kept me home for the duration.  It was a good day and the girls danced their hearts out.  Both of Emme's numbers earned the ranking of "Gold" and the jazz number won high score overall.  All in all, it was a great day :)

Sub-Zero

It is way, way too cold around here right now.  I know we all complain about the cold during the winter, but really, this year is beyond brutal.  They have been closing schools because of the extreme cold.  At night I sit in the living room and the wind outside sounds very angry.  It warms my heart to know that the Philadelphia Phillies pitchers and catchers reported for spring training yesterday -- that must mean spring is coming....eventually.

What a Motley Crew

This is my lunch bunch running buddies, friends, some of the best people I know!!!  Today we celebrated Sam's birthday -- Sam and I share a birthday month, we work together, we started this running thing together and in May we will embark on the Broad Street Run together - 10 miles of pure joy and bliss -- or at least celebration and bragging rights when we're done.  I have some of the best friends in the world -- without whom I would never make it through my regular day to day existence.

Broad Street Here I Come

I mentioned in October that I had started running.  I trained for and ran my first 5K on November 15th - the Rocky Run in the Art Museum district of Philadelphia.  It felt great - I felt a sense of accomplishment - I proceeded to the Gobble Wobble (a Thanksgiving Day 5K in Abington) two weeks later.  I ran a little more after that and shortly after the new year, with the frigid temperatures I have slacked off and, basically, stopped.  However, I tossed my name into the hat for the Broad Street Run lottery - and was among those selected!  It's a sign.  It is time for me to get my tush back out there and run - run like the wind, run like there is no tomorrow - just RUN!  Broad Street is 10 miles.  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

Oh, and it will be televised this year, for the first time ever - that'll be fun...

Anniversary

Nine years ago I started this blog.  I have not always been consistent.  I have had major lapses where I did not write anything at all -- but I'm back and I'm blogging.  I love that I can look over the last nine years of my life - the ups and downs, the good, the bad and the ugly and read about it, remember it, laugh at it, cry through it all smile because it happened.  So many things happen in nine years.  So many changes and so many things that are as true as they were nine years ago.  I am a working mom with four amazing kids who sometimes challenge me, sometimes make me want to scream, often make me laugh and smile and always make me love.

Time Warp

So I recently reconnected with people from my childhood on Facebook.  It's great to see how everyone is doing and what everyone looks like and all is merry and bright....until.... you notice that people have dug out pictures that include you in your most awkward teenage phase of life -- you know, braces, glasses, lack of hair knowledge...in general those years you'd like to think you looked cool but really, honestly, you so very much did not....Enjoy!

Extra points to you if you can pick me out in each picture!

I love music. Many types of music. My iPod has quite the variety from songs given to me by friends or added to my iTunes by the kids. I find myself identifying with different songs based on my mood or what I'm doing. I have one playlist for running - all upbeat fast paced stuff - and another for the daily commute. I find myself shying away from sad love songs - they serve no purpose and only bring me down. I'd like to think I'm musical, but probably I'm really not. I've sung in a few different choirs, and but for the complete paralyzation of fear, enjoy being recognized with a solo or duet. I have great memories of singing with my kids, or dancing around the house like weirdos to our favorite songs :-). Music unites us, it is a common language we all hear.  I've been to quite a few live shows in the last two years and it always makes me feel like a teenager again.

My favorite shows always include the ones I get to go to with one of my girls :)

Sometimes I even take a good friend :)

I guess the point is, I love music - listening to it, singing along, dancing and mostly seeing live shows up close...

This morning Emme informed Munchkin she was being unreasonable.  Can you imagine?  A guinea pig being unreasonable?  I think it has to do with Emme wanting guinea pig cuddle time and Munchkin wanting solitude in the cage time, but that's just a guess :-)

10 Year Mark!

I cannot believe it is 2015!  I cannot believe that my little baby girl will hit double digits this year!!!!

This little stinker has been the highlight of my last decade!  Dance competition season has started again and I love watching her participate.  She looks beautiful and all in all it's just a lot of fun. 

So stinking cute!

So Beautiful.

 

I would have to say, if anyone ever asked - and I'm quite sure they won't - that one more, the kid you have after you think you've had all your kids, sometimes is the greatest thing.  You've learned a lot from raising the others, so hopefully you're even better at it now, and you're a little older and more relaxed, so you don't stress out as much about the meaningless stuff.  All in all, I can recommend it.  We've got a couple more months till the big 1-0 birthday, but there will, I'm sure, be some counting down moments in the months to come.

So back in 2006, shortly after the birth of my last child, I started this blog.  Back then blogging was the new big thing -- Facebook wasn't a big thing yet, and a bunch of people started the blogging thing.  It was a great way to share the happenings in our lives with each other, especially when families are scattered around the country like so many of ours are nowadays.  I would post pictures and funny stories about what was happening in our house.  I started off pretty well, trying to post once a week and adding pictures -- the whole bit.  Not a whole lot of people necessarily read my blog, but that was fine.  It was an outlet for me - a place to share my voice.  Then, what had happened was...  Facebook happened.  Everyone was talking about Facebook - are you on Facebook?  You have to get on Facebook, yada, yada, yada.  So many people are connected through Facebook, and there is this instant feedback - people like and comment on your posts right away - and you get notified of how many people like what you have shared, and who, and what time they liked it and so on and so forth.  That's nice, right.  Instant feedback, recognition and, dare I say, validation?

There is a problem with this, for me, anyway.  I like to write.  I like to have an outlet for my voice and, really, I don't need the instant recognition or validation of Facebook for that.  I enjoy my Facebook account.  I like reading other's posts and staying in touch with friends and family around the globe, but what I really want, my real desire, is to put some of my heart and soul into writing this blog again.  I don't know where it will take me, but I am on a journey of growth and self love and expression and expansion and for me that involves writing - simply for the sake of doing so :-)