A Longer Than Intended Absence

I officially apologize to all of blogdom for my absence.  Apparently, G*ogle became so despondent over my absence that it shut down Blogger for a few days.  I had no idea that my lack of blogging could bring down an international powerhouse.  I am both humbled and honored.  And I promise to never unintenionally cause such trauma to my friends again. 



Ok, seriously.  My last day of full-time, paid employment was on Friday, April 29th.  Since then, I have spent my days lounging on the couch, reading trashy romance novels and eating bon bons.  Because isnt that what all SAHMs do? 



Ha.  Dont I know better.



I have, in no particular order:

• deep cleaned the bathrooms
• deep cleaned the bedrooms
• deep cleaned the kitchen, living room, hallways, entryway, and laundry room
• purged our house of unneccessary stuff (a truck AND an SUV full, to be exact)
• discovered that my husband has 62 dress shirts (yes, I counted)
• discovered that my husband had the same number of coats as ALL of our children combined
• successfully convinced said husband to donate coats to the local shelter
• kept up on the laundry for more than 2 days for the first time in my married life
• taken the girls to the park
• taken the girls to Walmart
• taken the girls to the mall
• taken the girls to the park
• taken the girls to get coffee
• taken the girls to the grocery store
• taken the girls to the park
• taken the girls to playdates with friends
• taken the girls to visit Grandpa & Grandma at the office
• taken the girls to the park
• taken the girls on a walk
• played with my new mixer
• made brownies from scratch (first time ever)
• promised no less than 4 sewing projects for the girls
• answered the what are we doing today question no less than 3 times per day
• tried to coordinate a 7 and 8 year olds baseball team snack schedule
• tried to keep said 7 and 8 year olds from having a sword fight with metal bats in the dugout
• watched the 30 and 40 year olds consider having a sword fight with metal bats in the big boys dugout
• tried to plant my garden umpteen times, only to be thwarted by snow.  In May.
• reveled in the marvelous wonder that is nap time.

In short, I have been insanely busy, but also having insane amounts of fun.  The girls make me laugh daily, I get kisses and snuggles consistently, and my heart is full. 



I am grateful to all of you for sticking around, but I needed time to just be a mama again.  Remember what that is like.  Laugh at Violet as she realizes, again, that Mommy is staying home to play with her all day, and proceeds to do the happy dance.  Revel in the fact that we can go to the park in the middle of the day.  Watch Madi cover herself and the entire kitchen in flour as she helps me cook.  Snuggle Kat when her tummy hurts.  Cook a dinner that takes longer than 15 minutes to prepare. 



Seriously, I could spend all day, every day cleaning my house and NEVER be done.  That is just a fact of life with children.  But I have missed the contact, encouragement, and comraderie of my friends.  I am trying to find a balance.  Thanks for being patient during the process.