BLOGGER GONE AWOL FINALLY RETURNS!

I told myself when I started this blog that I would post on a regular basis. I lied. Well not on purpose. Like all new bloggers, I had the best of intentions but sometimes life overtakes our intentions. Seems that I was out of my mind to start a blog right after the holidays when I had to concentrate on getting my mother's condo in shape to put on the market as well as finish moving years of belongings and assorted "stuff" from my old house to the new. Throw in looking for a job, home remodeling projects (never-ending projects), and doing all the things that single parents need to do (three boys.......KILL ME!). I should have myself committed for starting a blog but I am not a quitter so the blog is coming back to life. Truth be told, I am starting a second blog as well. Two different platforms so hopefully from one or the other, you'll find some reading enjoyment. My other blog is in the development stage but will be up and running soon.

So perhaps you'd like to have an idea of what I mean by years of belongings and assorted "stuff". Here are some photos of what's been crammed into the basement awaiting the sorting stage.

site of my future studio space

when I can get to it (physically and time-wise), the door with the green paint (lead paint I'm sure) needs to be scraped so Cooper can  have a door on his bedroom

I'm sure there's something in there that I needed yesterday!

The assorted furniture department

HAVING CHILDREN JUST TO ATTAIN MORE GIRLFRIENDS

It occurred to me recently that since I have three boys and no girls, some day, God willing, I will have three daughter-in-laws. I don't want to be a mother-in-law that is thought of with a frown, so of course I hope my boys will have discriminating taste in women so that I will love the DIL as well as the son. So anyway, as I pick up yet another pair of dirty socks, underwear, wet towel, or wipe up some kind of "what did you get into" muddy mess, I plot my speech to the offender of the moment about how this is in no way acceptable. I come up with some kind of extra chore to grind it into his head that it is HIS RESPONSIBILITY..... not mine, his brothers', or his future wife. Someday he will have to function in the fine art of grooming, cleaning, and general good manners without me, so I have to be hard on them, tolerant to an extent, but consistent in my "lessons". Will my boys be happy about this.....I extremely doubt it. Will they have moments of pure disgust towards me..... yes, I imagine they will. Will they thank me years later? Who knows about them, but I am sure each wife will be ever so grateful, and she and I will get along well. We will become friends. We will shake our heads about the "man" habits that they developed along the way, much to our chagrin and with no bearing on their upbringing, and we will laugh and have a great relationship. I will have three new girlfriends, albeit from a generation younger than myself.......but more girlfriends just the same.

IT HAD TO BE A COMA

I've been thinking lately about how quickly the boys are growing up. My youngest just turned 12, and 8 months from now two out of three will be in high school. Now I know for a fact that I HAVE NOT aged 16 years since that first foray into parenthood. I insist that statement is true and I will not be swayed into thinking otherwise. As I ponder over photos of those toddler years like they were truly yesterday, I wonder (I'm good at wondering and pondering) and then I ask myself, what happened?



Was I in a coma for 8 years?

I think back..... it's 2002 and they are ALL in school - one in preschool, another in kindergarten, and the oldest in second grade. They had entered academia. They were scholars...men of letters. I had begun my role as transportation engineer. Now you see, the boys attended a charter school and there was no bus transportation, Therefore, it was my job to get Spencer to school around 8:15 and then, if it was Tuesday or Thursday, I had to get Grady to pre-K around 9 am. and then I would have a leisurely 2.5 hours to be a mom of one. Before I could sit for more than 5 minutes I was off to pick up Grady and head back to the the other school to take Cooper to afternoon kindergarten. Again, a one-child mom for another 2+ hours when I would go back and pick up Cooper and Spencer. Was I getting into the van or out of the van? I had no idea. There may have been some nap time in there for the little guy but more likely errands, lunch, laundry and back to the school. Now it was me and the three until daddy got home from work. This was less than a year before he would leave the marriage. If only I would have known that at the time, I would SO have enjoyed that year of leisure when I actually had a few moments to myself in the evenings.

Anyway, two years later it got easier because Grady was in kindergarten and the school had recently gone to full-day kindergarten. I had the day to myself but was taking classes at the local community college so that I could get back into the workforce. This is where I seem to jump ahead to the present..... where my boys have gone from watching Disney movies and VeggieTales, from chunky Legos and kiddie pools, from PlayDoh and puzzles, to Harry Potter and war movies, XBoxes and the Wii, Airsoft guns and collecting knives (oh how I shudder at this one). And my personal saddest change..... from believing in Santa Claus to "really mom, get serious" and wanting mainly gift cards from everyone..... not this mom. I want to wrap something real!!!

Is there no more innocence left? Why did I wish for the PlayDoh years to be over with? I miss making forts with them with every possible piece of furniture that could be moved. I want them to pop that Reader Rabbit pc game into the old desktop computer and ask me a million questions. I think those things really happened. I'll have to go consult my photo boxes and scrapbooks to make sure.

I admit I love, love, love the fact that they can put a pizza in the oven, scramble their own eggs, help with the laundry, MOW THE LAWN, SHOVEL THE SNOW, and I cringe..... back the car down the driveway, but if only I could have one day a month to rewind the years and spend a day with my little goofballs.

I get through these moments of nostalgia by reminding myself that it will be all too soon that I will be looking back to 2011 and wishing I could have this time back. We all know this is true don't we? I guess so. When they get home from school today I'll try yet again to work those XBox controls and kill me some Russians or ghillie-suited marines. Better yet, I'll get out Spencer's knife collection and enjoy that.

WELL HI THERE ..... COME ON IN

I have a moment.....do you? I don't know if you were wandering around in Blogland and stumbled across my page, or if you are a friend of a friend who recommended you take a peak at my yammering, or if you already know and love me (it's ok, admit it). Anyway, here you are and so I guess I need to capture your interest so that you'll come back for more repartee, amusement, torture, or laughs.

You'll have to understand that as this is my first post here in Blog-What-You-May Land, I have to get into my stride, find my niche, get my blog on, or dare I say it.......figure out what the heck I'm doing. Are you still with me? Good.

So here's the skinny ~ I'm a single mom, I have three boys (all teenagers in less than a year), and I have many interests that if I can find time for them, keep me sane in this crazy world of wearing too many hats. It's go, go, go trying to keep up with the boys, and yet I continue to take on more "stuff". Oh and then I recently did this little thing which may add to my list of projects. If you don't already know, I bought a new house. Let me clarify that statement. I bought an 82-year-old new house. It's actually in pretty good shape, but oh the ideas I have bouncing around in my head! There will be plenty of posts where I hope to astonish, amaze, and impress my followers with my restoration and decorating talents. Or if I am to be a bit more realistic, I may bore you, frighten you, or just make you shake your head in amazement. Now see, I guess I can amaze you no matter from a positive or negative point of view.

So please come back to my blog and enjoy if you will, my musings, observations, rantings, photography, artwork, home ideas, and whatever else I can throw your way whilst I run in many different directions. SEE NANCY RUN!!!

Truth be told, blogging will give me a reason to take a load off, take a seat, take a breath, and take the time to relax.....well we'll see about that.