I did it!

I'm facing the monster known as the 5 year old birthday party. My daughter, bless her, has chosen Magic School Bus as her theme. I celebrate her creativity, her thinking outside the box, her independence and inquisitiveness. I also wish she could just choose a theme you can buy in a store.

That said, I have embraced the challenge. But for reasons I cannot quite explain, I had decided that I HAD to construct a bus. I acquired a refrigerator box, some things to use as wheels, a bunch of paint. But there were two problems. The first is that we're having a water party, and there's really no use for a cardboard bus at a water party. The second is the cold cruel reality of time. There simply was not enough time, especially given my husband's business trip today.

In the past, that would not have stopped me. I would have stayed up late, wielded tools, been exhausted, cursed mightily. But not this time. I reached deep down inside myself and found the courage to say simply, no. And so some of the parts will go back to Home Depot. The refrigerator box will be left with the recycling. And the party will go on, no child will care one bit that there was no bus, and I will retain a tiny bit more of my sanity. As my 2 year old son exalts, "I did it!"

Getting my feet wet

Greetings. Welcome to my first feeble attempt at blogging. In this space I hope to share the joys and frustrations of my life as a full-time mom of two wonderful children, a nearly 5 year old girl and a just-turned 2 boy. It will be a place for me to vent, to process and hopefully to get a bit of perspective on this crazy journey. For now, I need to finish figuring out how this all works. Stay tuned for more insight!