Last week I posted this on facebook: Love it when Grandpa calls up and asks if I want to drop Ezra off to play while Junah's at school. Thanks Dad!

But I think I kind of gave the wrong impression.  Because it wasn't a one off, out of the blue call.  It was that we hadn't planned for Ezra to go over, so having my dad call that morning and being able to run Ezra right over was a pleasant surprise.  

But my dad doesn't usually call in the morning to see if I want to bring one of the kids over because we've already worked out when the kids can come over.  Because he calls the night before, or a few days before.  He sets it up in advance, which is so incredibly nice for a planner like me.  

Grandpa day includes lots of outside time in the garden (for some reason I can't locate any of the pictures my dad has sent me of Junah playing around).

You see, he has each of my kids over for a "Grandpa Day" (as Junah dubbed it) every week (baring debilitating sickness, which we've seen a bit of this year).  Wednesday is usually Ezra's "Grandpa Day" while Junah has Friday.  It all started three years ago, when Junah was nearly two and I was newly pregnant with Ezra.  For a few months Junah was going over once a week, then that grew to twice a week and stayed that way until Ezra dropped his morning nap and was ready for his own Grandpa Day.

And you know, it is so wonderful for me.  I look forward to my breaks, my mornings alone if Junah is at school and Ezra is at my dad's.  I think of it as something my dad does for me.  But it is also something he does for them.  And, I think, for himself.  For love. 

Thank you, Dad.   Thank you, Grandpa.

So I have my failed resolutions.  But after failing the very first day of the New Year, I managed to post as resolved for a couple of weeks.  Until last week.  Wednesday morning we woke to the sound of a croupy cough.  This is the fourth time Junah has had croup (which for her means a croup cough followed a few days later by a terrible cold).  

She is still sick, my poor girlie, now with a painful cough and an earache.  And so, I've come up with a new plan for New Year's Resolutions, even though I don't really do resolutions (I'm just trying to keep myself to some sort of posting regimen).  My new idea is for best and worst case scenario resolutions.  You know, make your resolution and then give yourself an out.  A modified resolution, a worst case resolution.  Something that keeps you going rather than making you feel like you've failed completely so you might as well give up altogether.

My best-case scenario resolution is still the same: to post every weekday.  And my new, worst-case scenario resolution?  To post at least once a week.  So now when a kid gets really sick in the same week that we go out of town, I can give myself a blog breather without feeling like a total failure and throwing in the towel for a few months.  

I used to have a blog with my cousin, Sara, called Just Sit Back and Knit.  I just got sucked into reading old posts there while trying to find one specific post.  I am having so much fun revisiting those times, especially with my random thoughts weekly posts.  I'm going to try those again, but maybe not weekly.

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If I do "Random Thoughts Weekly" most weeks will be the same I'm afraid; lamenting my lack of sleep could be the entire list.

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The thoughts of a well-rested person are much more varied and interesting than the thoughts of a sleep-deprived person.

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I've been sleep-deprived for nearly five years.

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I used to count the last few months of my pregnancy with Junah into my sleep deprivation count.  I've stopped that.  The sleep deprivation of the childless pregnant woman is nothing to the sleep deprivation I've experienced since Junah's birth.

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I miss the way I used to write my blog posts. Now I'm trying to be a "Craft Blogger" and a "Mom Blogger" rather than Barbara, a blogger.  

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I just scared my kids by totally cracking up while reading this (from this blog post):  "...let me tell you a little story about my bridal shower. I cried when I opened ever single card, from card 1 to card X, I kid you not. Everyone thought that it was just because I am an overly-emotional ninny and started making bets about when I would lose it on my wedding day (the general consensus was at the beginning of the rehearsal the night before). And, for a tangent on this tangent--I was amazingly calm, cool and collected throughout my wedding day and the day prior. The real reason I lost it over and over at my bridal shower was nervous-ninny-ness. I was so nervous (they're all staring at me! they've all stopped talking amongst themselves like good guests and they're staring right at me!) that I cried while reading the first card and immediately realized that I would have to cry at each and every subsequent card or else I would hurt someone's feelings."

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I don't think I have as many random thoughts anymore.  I have fixed thoughts.  What to make for dinner.  Do laundry or knit?  Remember to pack Junah's lunch/buy milk/clean out fridge.  

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I want to try eating more vegetables & protein and less of the carby food I always turn to (like bread & pasta).  If I do attempt this I am considering a potato a vegetable, NOT a carb.  I can do life with less pasta, even less bread, but fewer potatoes, no.

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These are the of the best things I've ever added to my kids' craft supplies.  

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I wondered once (pre-kids) why more people don't use cloth diapers.  Now I have two kids and I know.  One of my personal failures: the switch to disposables.  

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In my attempts to be an awesome "Mom/Craft Blogger" I try not to post pictures that show the disposables Ezra wears because I'm still embarrassed about the switch.

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I have very strong political views, which I don't think is readily apparent from my blog.  Most days I'm listening to news programs and political podcasts all day long on my iphone.  

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In honor of the holiday, and the man himself, I would just like to say, thank you Dr. King.

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A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.

A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.

- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

A single picture of a single moment that I wish to always remember.  Inspired by soulemama.

 

I've lately been dreaming about organization.  I'm not a naturally organized person, but I've getting a bit of an organizational bug.  Or I'm just having too much fun on pinterest admiring the organization skills of others.

 

I want to be the type of person who has beautiful craft spaces like the one above, rather than the type of person who has a cupboard stuffed full shoeboxes (also stuffed full of various and sundry items) threatening to slide out everytime I open the door.  

Fortunately in the midst of my dreaming, in the midst of my chaos, I received an email from my sister with a link to Tales of a Music Mama's Beauty and the Mess post.  Because yes.  Yes, yes, (oh, especially about the wooden toys versus plastic toys).  It helped me to remember this post I wrote about my own mess.  

I will continue to drool over beautifully organized spaces.  I will continue to dream about getting my house just so.  I may even organize a beautiful space for myself.  But, hopefully, I'll also feel a little less shame upon opening my flatware drawer and noting (and further ignoring) all the crumbs in with the forks.  And I'll enjoy the things I do create: a sweater, a blog post, a meal; and feel a little more grateful for the chaos that helped me do it.

A single picture of a single moment that I wish to always remember.  Inspired by soulemama.

Please feel free to link to your moment in the comments...I would love to see them.