Just In Time For Summer Travel

Ahhhhhh! (Yes, You Heard Right.) Ahhhhhh!

See you next week!

Help! I’m Buried (Under *#$@!) And I Can’t Get Up!

I have decided that should I ever go away and trust the running of my home to anyone else, other than myself — it’s not worth going.

I mean it.

Never again.

If I should have the opportunity to take a trip and leave everyone else at home again? I’m not going.

Ok.

I’ll go.

But everyone else has to leave the house, too.

I took my daughter on a Girls-Only-Mother-Daughter-Extravaganza. We had a blast. And I realized about 2 hours into the trip that this was the first time in 18 years that I’ve gone on a vacation and not had to pack/plan/take care of anyone else but myself. About 12 hours into the trip, I realized, Hey! I’m going to bed. And I just have to brush MY teeth, wash MY face, put on MY pjs and then hop into bed. (My 18-year-old daughter can do all that for herself now. Joy!)

When I woke up the next morning?

Same.

Thing!

I woke up. Got showered and dressed. Grabbed my things and we were out the door.

Heavenly.

I didn’t have to comb anyone else’s hair. I didn’t have to set out clothes for anyone or find missing shoes or tie anyone else’s shoes. I didn’t have to make sure we had all of “our” stuff. I didn’t have to hear “Hun, did you pack my swim suit?” or “Mom? Why can’t we have a maid at home?” (Uh, ya’ do!) I didn’t have to shush anyone 112 times down hotel hallways.

And then?

I came home.

Poof.

My utopia vanished.

And they tricked me! That’s what really gets to me.

About 4 hours from home, I called from the road. In the background, I heard the vacuum cleaner. “We’re getting ready for you to come home,” my mother-in-law said, “Your husband said he wants you to come home to a clean house. Where do you keep the cleaning rags?”

Awwww. I melted. What a gem of a family I have.

So, for the rest of the drive I had visions of gleaming floors, folded laundry, shining bathrooms.

Nope.

Dust bunnies, or should I say tumbleweeds, the size of my head. I’m not kidding. We have a golden retriever and he chose the week I left to shed at least two coats of fur. We could make another dog. When one tumbleweed wafted by as I opened the door I tried to ignore it.

What about the vacuum cleaner I heard?

“#2son knocked over your plant on your bedside table. I hope I got it all out of the carpet,” says sweet husband who insisted on white carpet in our bedroom because it will be our oasis, away from the kids and they’ll never be in there.

Hampers are overflowing. Escaped socks and damp towels are trying to make a break for laundry room.

“I didn’t know how you liked your laundry done,” says sweet mother-in-law.

Clean, I think to myself.

The bathrooms? I’m too embarrassed to even think of a witty description. I’ve tried. I sat here, mouth agape, trying to be clever. Besides my mother-in-law, there were two grown men and two small boys making their presence known, if you get my drift. Disgusting is all that comes to mind.

I’ve been home a week and I’m just now coming up for air.

Nope. It’s decided. Go on a vacation, by myself, and leave my home in someone else’s hands?

Never.

Again.

(Disclaimer: My mother-in-law is, indeed, a gem. She plays with the boys, she takes them on adventures, she cooks and bakes and keeps the kitchen sparkling. The zones described above were, apparently, out of her jurisdiction.)

Yes. A Spring Break Staycation Can Be Chock Full Of !!!

First, there was no money for a spring break vacation. So, we cancelled our reservations.

Then, #1son, followed closely by #2son, caught a virus for the first 1/2 of spring break. (#1daughter followed soon after, of course.)

Things were not looking pretty at Chez Jane’s for spring break.

And then, the unexpected happened. Brady Bunch marathons. Cookie baking. Magic tricks. Card games. Reading aloud and finishing The Borrowers and The Hobbit within days of each other.

Games of Chutes & Ladders with Sorry game pieces because the Chutes & Ladders pieces were vacationing at the vintage Fischer Price jail and barber shop and couldn’t be disturbed.

Lunch out at Cheeseburger Bobby’s because mom had coupons. (Yay, Mom!)

Hanging with our friends and a  chance to see and be seen at the Imax theater for a showing of Born To Be Wild. Loads of fun!

No, I didn’t get a tan or any closets cleaned out. But there was lots of cuddling and plenty of laughs.

The perfect spring break staycation.

!!!

(It’s been so long since I’ve participated in this wonderful meme. I want to give a shout out to the wonderful creators: Bad Mommy Moments and Momalom! Thanks for encouraging us to celebrate the !!! in our lives!)

Jane’s Back. Back In The Saddle Again.

I almost didn’t come back.

To Blog World, that is.

I had a wonderful break from you all.

(No offense.)

No deadlines. No pressure. No skimming when I’d rather savor. No frantic ramblings or desperate Google searches for post ideas. No struggles for what to say in a comment. No second guessing cryptic spam messages. No hurt feelings. No insecurities wondering if my writing is “good enough.” No more incomplete sentences.

But……..and it’s a big BUT…..

No one to share my off-the-wall ideas with. No inspiration from reading your posts. No cracking myself up over the absurdities of spam or Yahoo headlines. No commiserating or sharing or giggling with you all. No new ideas. No one to shake the cobwebs off the little dusty corners of my brain. No. No-thing. Nope.

I honestly toyed with the idea of not coming back. I don’t really know why. I just enjoyed the laziness of not logging onto a computer every single day, multiple times a day.

But then, something happened to me at a stop light and I thought, ‘Oooooo! Great post idea! First I’ll tell them this. And then I’ll share with them that. And then…..wait, Smarty Pants. I thought you were giving up the blog?’

Give up the blog? Who am I kidding? I have too much to share. Too much to say. And I’ve made too many darn blogging friends that I’d hate to lose touch with. Oh sure, I could just read and comment. But we inspire each other with our posts. And frankly, I’d hijack too many of your blogs with long-winded comments if I didn’t have a blog of my own for an outlet. It wouldn’t be pretty.

And, I refuse to become a statistic. (Average lifespan of a blog being approximately 2 years) Since I’ve been blogging only 16 months I’d bring down the average. I just can’t take on that responsibility.

So.

I’m back.

On a further abbreviated schedule. (For you fellow OCD visual learners out there my pretty little calendar will be highlighted on M, W and F — in case you were wondering.)

But, I’m back. I couldn’t stay away. From writing. From you all.

I’m back.

And it feels good to be home.

Please Stand By Or Jane’s Feeble Explanation For Needing A Break

I know you’ve noticed. You were just too polite to say anything.

Ever since my kids went back to school I’ve looked forward to more time to write, more time to read. It hasn’t happened.

Life has hit Chez Jane’s at full speed ahead. Each month, no make that each week, I’d say, “Ok. This week I’m going to have more time for blogging. I mean it!”

Ah, that road to hell…

Please know I’ve been meaning to visit you. Please know that I miss visiting you. I just haven’t been able to. Personal. Financial. Schedules. Projects. Death. Illness. It’s all the same excuses you’ve heard time and time again. Only this time, you’re hearing them from me.

So, I’m taking a break. Here and in real life, too. (In real life, I’m visiting my most favorite place in the world with my kids. Yipee!)

I might be here to read a little but I’m taking my mandatory two-week break from posting. The Blogging Authorities (in my head) are demanding it. They say I’ll lose that two-week blogging vacation if I don’t use it before the end of the year. There are no roll-over weeks in Blog World, apparently. (And the mere fact that I’m actually listening to the fictitious Blogging Authority voices in my head is a clear indication that I need a break. Clever little highlighted calendar patterns be damned!)

For ten days I’ll be completely computer free. So, don’t take offense if you don’t see me around your neck of the woods. It’s not personal. It’s just me. Needing a break from technology. Needing to focus on fun with my kids.

I will enjoy my break. I will come back, energized and refreshed.

In the meantime, you can look at this…

Or you can have more time to read your other favorite blogs. Have fun! I’ll see you when I return!

Wish I Was Here – The !!! Edition

Wish I was here…

Oh, wait! I am!!! (Talk about intentional happiness!!!)

We’re taking a last minute hurrah before our summer ends. Yes, our children go back to school on August 10th! I will be without a computer for 5 whole days. For the next few posts, I’ll share with you some of my favorites. I will miss you all! See you when I get back!

For more !!! go to Momalom or Bad Mommy Moments.

________

Don’t forget! Write your post about blogging to help me celebrate my one year in Blog World. We’ll all meet back here in 8 days (August 13) to link, learn and maybe have a few laughs!

Wish I Was Here

But I’m not.

I’m home. Entertaining house guests. For a week.

They arrived last Thursday and I’m struggling to keep up with: housework, email, laundry, grocery shopping, my sanity, my sister (but then, she’s a marathon runner and I’m not) and most importantly, this blog.

So I’m taking a short hiatus from writing. (I see you secretly jumping up and down. It’s ok. I’m right there with you.) I’m hoping to be able to still peek in on you all but crafting posts just isn’t in the cards for the next few days.

If you’re new here, welcome. There are plenty of posts below to satisfy your curiosity.

If you’re semi-regular? Now you can catch up on all the stellar posts you missed.

If you’re a regular? Take a rest. Put your feet up. Play a quick game of Bejewelled. You’ve earned a break from my inane babble.

Thanks for understanding. See you in a few!