Wow...I suck!

Has it really been since November? I posted nothing in December? That was the month I finished my first semester in the Adult Learning Graduate Certificate at Hopkins, went to London (England, that is...), and then there was that little thing called Christmas...and New Year.....
So.....quick recap......
Relief
Amazingly fun, special, father-daughter bonding
Family, hysterical, food....foood......food....
alone....shocker!

Okay, there it is! I'll add some real posts coming up. I'd love to say it was because I was so busy, but I must blame it on the Wii. I am now addicted and feel that I may need to quit my graduate studies, and possibly my job in order to keep up with the Wii in the way that I would like to.

Stay tuned for fun info and awesome pics....maybe I'll even look into using some of the Web 2.0 tools I'm learning more and more about.

Merry Christmas!

Here it is, just after 5:00am on Christmas morning, and I am awake....unable to get back to sleep....like a small child eager to get downstairs to the presents. Why is this? My kids are at their Dad's, so it's just me, I don't even have a pet jumping all over me to get outside. Although I haven't counted, I'm pretty sure there were no additional presents put under the tree while I was sleeping. So, why am I awake? Guess I just wanted to be first!

The Joy of Scrooge!

Today I am Scrooge. My kids were picked up at noon, will spend the evening with their father and his live-in girlfriend (perhaps fiancee after their weekend in NYC together?) going to her church and waking up with them.
Tomorrow at noon, I will pick them up and as Scroogish as I feel today, I will be overwhelmed with the joy and excitement of being with them again. My brother will come over, we will open gifts, eat good food and have wonderful fun! The following 2 days will be filled with playing and fighting over the gifts, whose is best, who got most.....and I can't wait!
For today, I will allow myself to feel the Scrooge knowing what tomorrow will bring!

Christmas plays & concerts - a new twist

'Tis the season for children's plays, band concerts, pageants, etc......... The kids are full of excitement, anxiety, the thrill of the stage! What isn't fun about that?
Memorizing lines, choreography, staging, creating costumes, and gathering concert dress uniforms adds to the season with last minute button pops, unthreaded hemlines, and ......how do you tie a necktie?
Kids hang out with their friends and become "a star" for the night while parents cringe at forgotten lines, dropped scenery, and the general torture of the first school play of the year.
But, here's the newest addition to the season.......
the ex-husband bringing a date to the children's school events....
I know I've focused this blog on spinning the positive of the insanity of life. I'm having trouble with this one. My kids have lost friends who are no longer allowed to play at their Dad's house or spend the night because there is a stranger living there. There is no engagement, no marriage, so.......essentially, my ex is bringing a date to school events, to pick up my kids from school, and into their home. I must say, I'm also tired of answering the questions of my friends regarding this situation. My friends are the teachers at the kids' school with whom I used to work side-by-side. My friends are also the parents of the students I used to teach, some of them from Kindergarten, up to 8th grade. Where is the positive spin on that one?
The talents of my children are a reflection of their parents.......well, at least me, as the music major, best actress of my high school thespian club, and recorded CD artist. Now, there is another person stating her excitement over the Christmas musical because she used to do musicals as a kid....... Great, but her upbringing in the cheesehead state has nothing to do with the nature OR nurture of my children's talents and abilities to get up on a stage and "do their thing". That has to do with the confidence instilled by their upbringing and education from a school which has always assigned, supported, and encouraged public speaking.

It has been my pleasure to see my kids perform, dress up, and play with the confidence which has been fostered under my tenure as their mother. Long Live the Mama, LONG LIVE MY SWEET BABIES! Long live my DNA.........