Wonder Mom

How you doin'?

2011-04-16T18:58:00.005-04:00

I said I would write three posts about the retreat I went to a few weeks ago, and I decided to start with No. 3: If this was your first adoration (it was mine), discuss any revelations you received. Even though I've always been a Catholic, I'd never been to adoration, and I didn't even know what it was, really. Here's a definition I found at Catholic.com: "It is the worship of Jesus Christ

Thunderbolts

2011-04-03T22:44:00.002-04:00

I'm a fan of Conversion Diary, written by Jennifer Fulwiler. Which is to say, I am a fan of Jennifer Fulwiler, who is even more beautiful in person, if you can believe that. I found her blog a few years ago about the same time I found Ann Voskamp's blog A Holy Experience. And while I love Voskamp's writing now, at the time I was not secure enough to appreciate her beautiful words or photos. They

Book Giveaway

2011-02-21T13:07:00.003-05:00

Ha! I post something about quotes and miraculously someone presents me with a book to give away on ... quotes! It's called Dance First. Think Later. 618 Rules to Live By, by Kathryn and Ross Petras. It's full of quotes by famous people such as Mario Andretti ("If everything is under control, you're going too slow"), Julia Child ("The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for your

Top 10 Favorite Quotes

2011-02-17T22:23:00.000-05:00

Thursday's Top Ten: 2-17-10: What are your Top Ten favorite quotes? OK, I tried. I really did. But I could only get my list down to 12. And I'm not sure what these say about me. Hmmmm.... In no particular order: "She is a friend of my mind ... The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order." ~ Toni Morrison "Life engenders life. Energy creates energy. It is

Coming out of my coccoon.

2011-02-14T00:12:00.006-05:00

I went to a blogger junket-type thing last week! It was crazy, listening to these women bloggers who have fancy business cards and take blogging seriously. The one woman I chatted with said, "It's like a full-time job." And I said, "Blogging?" Blogging?? OK, I can see that. I had to tell her, because I overshare, that I blogged mostly from 2004-2008, and the deepest I got into it was writing

A Promise to Keep

2010-09-11T11:30:00.018-04:00

On our first morning of homeschooling, we all got up and jumped into the van, heading out for a celebratory breakfast of hotcakes and fruit smoothies. As we threw our clothes on, a random, powerful thunderstorm rolled in, and the power blinked off and on. But we headed out into the storm anyway.You see, we needed to vacate, because we live across the street from the elementary school where we'd

My First Homeschool Post

2010-08-28T13:34:00.002-04:00

Well, we are officially a homeschooling family! I can hardly believe it. Being home with the kids this past week, knowing that they are not going to be gone all day during the week, I've been having flashbacks to when they were babies. Mostly it's been that mentally fractured feeling, which is not so great considering I'll have to EDUCATE them. Hah. This will be interesting, my friends.Today I

Through the Rabbit Hole

2010-08-01T20:56:00.007-04:00

Friday I mailed a letter to the superintendant telling her that we're "home educating" our kids this year. The day before, my landlord for my new business office collected her first month's rent. From me. The new business owner. I'm also employed part time. Ahem.No wonder that last week, a slow, heavy avalanch of panic washed over me. By today I was tearing up in church, picking fights with my

Questions

2010-07-23T15:39:00.002-04:00

I ripped the following excerpt out of a church bulletin a while ago, and it's languished on my desk ever since. Not sure where to put it for safekeeping, I decided to put it here.The following questions were attributed to a sermon by Margaret Crockett, who "asks twelve additional questions as she invites us to hear Jesus' question to Bartimaeus and ready ourselves as He puts the question on us.

So Funny

2010-07-11T22:47:00.003-04:00

We went camping this weekend, and tonight, as I sat here recalling the weekend and feeling blue, a voice in my head asked, "Did you laugh?"Did I laugh while we were packing the car, or driving there? Setting up the tents and getting organized? How about during the camp fire or at bed time?I'm sure I did, but. Somewhere along the line I have started taking life too seriously.My life is not how I

Alarm Clock

2010-06-25T10:43:00.003-04:00

"Ava. Can you stop kicking me? I'm trying to sleep.""Oh, sorry. I didn't even realize I was doing that!"A few minutes later."Ava, can you stop clocking me in the head with your elbow?"

Last Week of Fourth Grade

2010-06-23T22:40:00.008-04:00

Today I went to your school gymnasium to watch the local Kiwanis give your entire class certificates for bringing up at least one grade. All the kids managed to do it, and six kids were chosen as super bugs because of great grades and a helpful attitude.During the assembly, I sat with Ava and didn't really talk to anyone else. Mostly I convinced Ava that she didn't need to go to the bathroom, and

Finally, an Excuse to Blog

2010-06-21T22:20:00.003-04:00

Tonight, I happened on this post by KB Squared. I've followed her blog almost since she started blogging, waaaay back in the day. You know, 2007.Her touching thoughts about mommy blogging's earlier days got me reminiscing along with her, and I couldn't take my eyes off of her awesome artwork. It took nearly five minutes before I saw at the bottom of the bloggers' tombstone: "wondermom.com."

The Art of Falling Apart

2009-07-25T21:39:00.005-04:00

This post was written a year ago, on August 2, 2008. I'm not falling apart anymore, which is, you know, nice. For those who are new here, I had some nerve damage in my ankles, which took many months to diagnose. My ankles continue to feel better. I continue to feel better.I have learned a thing or two in the past month. For one, I’ve learned what my priorities are. The shape of my ass falls very

Whazzup!?

2009-03-21T09:23:00.000-04:00

I wanted to do a few things before I started blogging again.I wanted to declutter my house.I wanted to get a new design because, hello, my wedding rings don’t fit and my belly is big and round but I’m not pregnant and I’m not letting anyone photograph it.And I wanted my ankles to be healed so I could be like, “Hey, everything’s all set!”Over the months I’ve gotten a few emails saying “What the

Proof That I'm Getting Old. And Stodgy.

2008-10-07T08:51:00.006-04:00

At the check out of my local grocery store last week, I noticed the latest TV Guide cover, featuring Desperate Housewives. More accurately, I noticed Dana Delaney's boobs and ass staring me in the face. A rush of indignance coursing through my veins, I grabbed the offending magazine and held it up."Isn't this a little ... much?" I asked the cashier and the bagger. Both female and past retirement

An Update

2008-06-28T12:10:00.003-04:00

Thanks for all of your well wishes and prayers.I wish I knew all the answers, but I don't.The neurologist at Mass. General does not think that I have RSD/CRPS. She thinks it is a small-fiber polyneuropathy. I had a skin biopsy, which will show those small-fiber nerves, on Thursday. Next Thursday, I will have an autonomic test that will assess the functioning of -- you guessed it -- my autonomic

Prayers Needed

2008-06-16T12:54:00.001-04:00

I just wanted to let you all know what’s going on with me and ask for your prayers.As you may know, I have had ankle pain since November. I have been seeing several orthopedic doctors. In April the pain spread to my other ankle. Now it is spreading up my legs and I’m having some symptoms in my arm as well.On Thursday I was referred to neurology and pain management. It looks like the pain is nerve

This

2008-05-21T22:41:00.005-04:00

On Saturday, despite predictions of cool, wet weather, a warming sun emerged mid-morning. Brian hustled to mow the back lawn before guests arrived for my niece’s bridal shower. Kids, brothers and uncles spent the day playing soccer, hitting baseballs and chasing each other across the lawn. The leaves on the locust trees finally appeared. It was a good day with family, and a chance to think about

Good News and Bad News

2008-05-09T08:35:00.004-04:00

I saw the podiatrist yesterday for my MRI results. He walked into the room and said, "Well, I have good news and bad news."And I said, "Wow, doctors really SAY that?"Good news, according to him: No obvious tendon tears, tumors or other gross abnormalities. Just some fluid on some tendons and in the subtalar (ankle) joint.Bad news, according to him: There's no obvious answer to my problem, and he

Come Holy Spirit

2008-05-07T21:25:00.004-04:00

Have you ever gone to church and felt that the priest’s sermon was written just for you? That happened to me on Sunday. The topic was patience.Patience and trust have become my words for 2008. Patience to get my foot back into working order, and trust that I can get through this, and that all of it will be for good in the end.Last month a had a surgeon advise me to go ahead with tendon repair

Mom Central Blog Tour: Cranergy Energy Juice Drink

2008-04-25T11:50:00.002-04:00

Hey, how are you? It's been a while. I have had some ups and downs with my ankle. Looks like it will be several weeks in a walking boot, then a visit to a few doctors in Boston during May and June to see if I can get the same diagnosis twice. One of the diagnoses floating around is PTTD, a degenerative disorder requiring major surgery and possibly involving both feet. Fun times!One bright spot

Like Mamma Mia!? Like Singing? This is THE CONTEST for you.

2008-04-18T15:18:00.005-04:00

Mom Central has asked me to help spread the word about a new contest for fans of singing karaoke and winning lavish free trips to London.Wait, let me start over. From the press release:Pond's has partnered with the big screen remake of Mamma Mia!, staring Meryl Streep and coming to theaters this summer. Women 40 and older are invited to form a singing trio to perform their own take on the

Roster of Successes

2008-04-14T09:19:00.002-04:00

Last week I succeeded in:• Taking physical therapy as far as it will go, realizing once and for all that it will not heal my ankle. My tendon has “issues” that stretching, strengthening and ice will not solve.• Making the mental connection between my aunt’s Achilles tendon injury and my own, thus realizing that I may qualify for the new, knife-free treatment that she successfully underwent. It’s

MomCentral Blog Tour: Lice MD

2008-04-12T15:00:00.005-04:00

I've only come into contact with lice one time in my life, so far. *knocking on wood*At about age 10, I was combing a younger relative's hair when I noticed these tiny, teardrop-shaped thingamajigs hanging from the strands.My mom explained to me, later that day, that they were lice eggs. As a young girl with tight curly hair, she says she got lice sometimes as a kid. And her sisters would always