Thoughts...

Some personal thoughts from me today. I've been off the blog for a few days, although checking in at my favourite haunts to keep up with what's been going on.

I've hurt my back. Not fun. It's most noticeable while sitting at the PC, so I've been curtailing my computer time. I'm not convinced I've actually done damage, but there is definitely something going on back there. Back in my past life when I was power-lifting and weight training, I was very familiar with the feeling of incredibly fatigued muscles. The last few days, I'm feeling the constant burning of muscle fatigue in my upper back which gets really old, really fast.

Some good lessons this week in accountability and responsibility and giving things a chance. Had to solve a problem at K's swimming lessons. K was miserable and didn't want me to rock the boat. If it were me, I'd have left it, but it wasn't me, it was K . In the spirit of modeling good problem solving skills and standing up for your kids, problem was successfully solved. The kids and I have been discussing and discussing various issues surrounding behaviour and attitude and responsibility within our family. I feel like nothing is sinking in. I feel very discouraged. But I know that this shall pass and we'll be back on track very soon. Really. Right?

I feel my panic rising as December approaches. I've learned to not freak out until December, at which time I distract myself by preparing for the holiday. Clever, no? Since Brian and I have been together, I have been celebrating Advent each year. Not being terribly well-schooled in my Christian faith we probably don't do it any justice. However, I like having the four weeks to welcome and celebrate the winter season, to prepare for our Christmas celebrations and to focus on family and tradition throughout the month. The kids always surprise me with their generosity and I'm interested to see what they will come up with this year. That all said, the advertisements and flyers and the special sales and the overwhelming garish glitz of commercialism send me into a panic. Every year. Without fail. I've learned that Christmas lists are a must for our kids in order to avoid a plethora of situations. We are very blessed and spoiled to have been born into the families we have. But I stress over all of this.

This week I attended a short talk at our local library (Crystle In India), before going for coffee with a friend. Friend really needs to get blogging as she is so wonderful to talk with. I learn so much from her and she is very inspiring and motivating. The kids and I went to visit Jennifer this week as well. She showed me the nitty-gritties of how to emboss and the kids spent some time with her teenage son who was gracious enough to entertain them. I could go on about what a nice boy her son is, but that would make me feel old, embarrass him and I'm sure Jennifer already knows. I did a little work on my very first scrapbook. And I've set up two field trips for the kids. I have some creative ideas brewing...if you want some of your own, think about making some ornaments with your kids and get inspired over at Jennifer's.

So, that's my ramble for today. I'm going to be posting a few Short Pictorial Stories in the Life of Us over this evening and the weekend. Nothing too ambitious or deep, just some things we've been up to over the last little while that I don't want to forget about. I know you're intrigued. Hurry back.