Flashback...

I started blogging in May of 2007. Almost 4 years ago. At first it was an obsession. I did it, and all my good friends did it too. Sometimes I posted two or three times a day, which now seems crazy! Over the years, most of my friends who once blogged even more than me, have dropped out of the bloggy world. Some have stayed, some posting more than others. I have stayed, sometimes posting once a month, sometimes more. But that "bloggy feeling" hasn't been there for awhile. Facebook took over for most of us, and that's been okay with me for the most part.

BUT...

LATELY, they're coming out of the woodwork! My friends are back! And I love it!

I think.

Tonight I have spent 3 hours on the computer. Catching up on blog posts of friends, commenting, writing, uploading pictures, etc...

I haven't spent this much time in bloggy world since around this time...

Tuesday May 8, 2007
so, i've been sitting here at my computer for about 2 hours setting this thing up. in that 2 hours my 5 year old has watched several episodes of scooby doo, i'm such a good mom! at the beginning of the 2 hours my 2 little ones were asleep, now they're awake. the 2 year old is watching dora, the baby is watching a baby video with the 5 year old. i'm thinking maybe (just maybe) my kids might watch a bit too much tv. anyway, i've caught up with my friends blogs, i've let them know about mine, i've fought with my email, and i've been trying to think of something funny or poignant to write about today...

Hello Flashback!

I am laughing over the similarities and differences from then to now. I've been at my computer for hours, but my kids are now 4, 6, and almost 9. My oldest is watching TV, as I neglect her to be here instead of getting her going on her homework. Oh mercy what am I doing?!

Moderation. I must practice moderation.

But really, welcome back Janelle and Alana, I have missed you here! And thanks to all my other friends who blog, for sticking with me!

Thursday 13!

Yeah, I remembered that it's Thursday!

13 Things I love about Blogging!!!

1. I never new how well I could parent from my desk chair! I can direct, cajole, warn, and discipline pretty well, without ever moving from this spot. Seriously Amazing! "Not right now, Mommy's blogging." has become a fairly regular phrase in our home. I'm such a good mom.

2. I actually READ now. Before blogging, I rarely read anything other than children's books and magazines. You can only read the descriptions of the seriously fabulous Pottery Barn items so many times, before your eyes start to glaze over. Now I read great writing by great bloggers EVERY DAY!

3. BooMama. She cracks me up! I just love her phrasing, and her use of the word Ya'll. Now, I'm know I'm not from the true south, but I do live in Southwest Missouri, which I believe, along with the amount of time I've spent in Texas, totally qualifies me to use the word Ya'll. BooMama has inspired me, so from now on I will freely say Ya'll whenever and wherever I like, without feeling like I'm not allowed. Thank you BooMama, you have set my Ya'll free.

4. The way I look at the craziness of my life. Ever since Austin was born, I have felt like our family seriously takes the cake for craziness. Life with a Super Strong willed child, a toddler, and a baby is just crazy!!! I try to roll with the punches, but sometimes it still gets to me. Blogging has helped me look at things in a funnier light. Kinda like when I yelled at the kids in the car yesterday to PLEASE STOP YELLING AND SCREAMING!!! Hmmmm, I wonder why they yell?

5. I have become one with my computer. This is amazing ya'll (ahh, it feels so good!). Before blogging, I was completely and utterly computer illiterate. I couldn't even put a picture in an email on my own! Since blogging came into my life, I have been forced to figure a lot of things out on my own, since (for the most part) I try to blog when J isn't home. I love it when I figure out a new thing, It makes me feel so computer savvy, and I love being Savvy! Oh, and I've become much better at typing too!!!

6. The outlet it provides! Blogging has become a sort of therapy for me. I think when you live with young children, you can become sort of bored and blah about things. Now, when I have a thought, or when somethings on my mind, I have an outlet for it. Other than my 5 year old, who just doesn't understand my concerns and dreams, and just wants to know why I don't want to watch The Suite Life of Zach and Cody for the 1000th time!

7. The way it documents our day-to-day life. I haven't kept a journal since I was a teenager. I've tried, but after one or two entries, I have always failed. Blogging has a given me a way to remember the everyday, which honestly I need, because I have a terrible memory!

8. Keeping up with friends. Even though I live in the same town with most of the people that I blog with, it's amazing how I can learn something new, through almost all of their posts! We see each other a lot, but it's hard to actually talk usually, since we're almost always with a large group of children, who, for some reason, tend to think they need us.

9. The Pictures! I love to post pictures and I love it when others do too! It's so fun, as your reading a post to scroll down and see a picture! (I think this was Annie's "Don't Mess with Me!" face!)

10. Positive feedback! When I'm struggling with something, and I blog about it, I get so much support from my friends. It's wonderful!

11. The Quiet Time. I love sitting down with a cup of coffee in the morning and just having some quiet time at the computer by myself! I've started an online daily devotional too, which is making this time so much greater!

12. My friends blogs! I never new how incredibly creative and witty some of my friends are! Seriously, Ya'll are Awesome!!!

13. The Bloggy Club! I feel like me, my friends, BooMama, Big Mama, Baby Bangs, and all the other great blogger mommies out there, are just one AWESOME club! A club of Super Cool mommies who love the Lord and Love to Blog! How cool is that? Seriously!

Thanks for reading, all 12 of you! I've also noticed how much I use the word Seriously, it might be borderline excessive. But that's the great thing about blogging, it's me, all me. Seriously!

i knew it was bad, but. . .

75%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Los Angeles Singles from Mingle²

Really? Wow, I had no idea! Thanks Alana and Janelle for the link love!

The Effects of Blogging

don't worry, he's in his bed now!

another black hole.

my good friend alana just blogged about needing a personal shopper to keep her from spending to much at the black hole, aka, target. i think i might need someone to help me with another addiction, blogging. what would she be called? a personal blogger? anyway, this has been my morning:
it started off innocently enough, i got home from taking jason to work, got the kids settled with breakfast and the disney channel, and then came to check my email. as i sat down i told myself, "no blogging, you can do that later while the little ones are napping." so, i quickly checked my email and started to get up. then i noticed how well the kids were behaving and smiled and then. . .that's when it happened. "i'll just read what alana's up to", i thought, and i sat back down. an hour later i was still here, at my computer, when the phone rang. i was jolted back to reality, and jumped up to grab the phone. as i answered it i checked on the girls, who were still watching the disney channel, with that glazed over look on their faces. and don't worry, austin was napping during all of this. "whew" i thought, "how did i spend that much time checking on my friends blogs? i didn't even get to mine!" so, a bit later after i actually mothered my kids, and did some chores, i found myself being drawn back towards the computer. this time they were all 3 awake. annie and ellie were playing nicely, so i picked up austin and sat down, "just for a second" i told myself. 20 minutes later, i hear annie crying and she runs in to me and crawls up on my lap. i am now holding 2 kids, but do i stop? nope. i calm annie down and continue to read and comment, and no, i still haven't gotten to my own blog! i know by this time, that i really need to stop. austin is getting fussy, he really needs a nap, and it's past nap time for annie also, but i have to make one more comment! just then i feel something running down my leg. "what is that?" i think, "did annie spill something on me?" and then i realize, "ooooh, that's pee." i suddenly remembered that a couple of hours earlier, annie had found the beach bag with the swim diapers in it, and she put one on. i remember thinking, i'll change her into a regular diaper in just a minute. i forgot. just a note folks, i'm pretty sure that those swim diapers don't work on pee at all. i mean, if it can't hold anything when we're not in the water, what's in gonna hold in the water! so, i finally stopped blogging, and got up to clean myself and annie up, and to put both annie and austin down for naps. but note, that it took getting peed on to get me up! and note that now i'm back at my computer, finally posting on my own blog! so, i think i might have a problem! the thing is, i'm pretty sure all my friends have this problem too!