Second Son's graduation has me thinking about how I show up as a mom. I tell you, it's not how I thought I would back before I was one. When I became a mother, something inside me changed. Something went a little left. It's like a secret code was activated and now inside me lives a fierce warrior. When pushed, she pushes back. Hard.

I just did one of the hardest things to do as a mom: I pushed my baby out of the nest. Oldest Son came back to live at home, yet AGAIN, this past July. When he came home, he had a job, a car, a driver’s license, and car insurance. Gradually over the months since, he lost all of those. In addition, he lost his sense of autonomy and somehow lost track of his...

Ok, where did we leave off? Oh yeah – Memorial Day weekend…. Well, Sweet Pea was here that weekend, but it did not stop the manual labor efforts in the backyard. While Second Son and I continued work on building gates for the deck, Sweet Pea and PDD went swimming in the kiddie pool: Tuesday after work, Oldest Son had one of his co-workers climb the...

Yesterday (Saturday) morning, we got up early and met my BFF Patsy at IHOP for breakfast at 8.

Oldest Son did not stop with the cabinet/desk project. On Sunday afternoon, in another fit of he-manliness, he built this in my front yard: I will be sure to take another picture later in the summer when the sedum is in full bloom. It grows fast, and will drape itself down over the limestone. That’ll be really pretty. Speaking of pretty, PDD knows I L-O-V-E...

It’s been a busy, busy weekend around here. And Oldest Son has been on a roll lately with the he-manliness he’s been displaying. Case in point: Friday afternoon, on the infamous trip to Wal-Mart to replace Tiffy, one of the other items I purchased was a put-it-together-yourself wood storage cabinet for PDD’s room. She’s been complaining that...

I guess last you heard from me, the kids were enjoying snow days without any snow and we were roughin’ it without a furnace for two days. Damn – that was almost 3 weeks ago. Well, I’m not even going to offer up any kind of excuse (if any of you are still out there) because there are only really two things that keep me away from here: 1) being sick...

Happy Anniversary to Me! Saturday marked a momentous occasion for me: Six years ago Saturday, I was laid off from my job and decided to become self-employed instead of look for another job. So, Sunday was the first day of my 7th year in business. Wow. It’s been an interesting journey, these six years. Many times, I entertained the idea of giving up and getting...

Oldest Son called Tuesday evening, asking if he could come over and use the computer and do a little laundry. “If you can come and get us, I’ll bring the baby with me and we can spend the night,” he said. Oh yeah – he’s smart. He knows how to get a ‘yes’ out of mom now that she’s a grandma… LOL So I’m a...

All pictures are clickable for a larger view. “Live at the Improv” (where the improv is bathtime in Grandma’s kitchen sink instead of the bathtub) Oldest Son was jealous of all the time his daughter spent in my lap Friday evening. So, after she went to sleep, he wanted his turn. Not to be outdone, Second Son had to have his turn, too. And of...