Life happens...and apparently gets in the way of my writing

   Slowly but surely, life seems to have gotten in the way of my extracurricular activities.  Well, primarily my writing...but here goes nothing.  I have been suffering from a severe combination of writer's block and exhaustion.  Sadly, when I have had a few "extra" minutes to myself, sleep has seemed to win out over writing every time.  That, and watching Dancing with the Stars :)  I mean, who doesn't need a good dose of attractive men dancing shirtless for two hours.  In fact, Mike asked me the other night while I was watching, "What is with all the shirtless men?"  My response, "Why wouldn't they??"  I mean, if I looked like those people on the dance floor, I would probably walk around half dressed all of the time.  Sadly, this is simply not the case.

    I have hit yet another low with my weight loss struggle.  I have fallen off the wagon yet again.  It wouldn't be so bad if I just fell off the wagon.  Instead, I leap off the wagon, screaming at the top of my lungs "I love food, I love food!!"  I have rarely hit the gym this month.  I am starting to have those "why am I even paying for the gym" thoughts going through my head.  I have to push through this.  I need to lose some serious poundage at this point in my life.  I am back to really hating the way I look, and that is never good for anyone.  I can chant things like "size is just a number, it doesn't define me."  But the negative thoughts come creeping back.  If only I was one of those people that didn't eat when they got depressed.  Instead, I reward myself with food, and continue the vicious cycle.  Ahhh, well...what are you going to do?  Back to counting calories, and pushing myself at the gym.  Hopefully, I will see some results.  Results would be nice to see.  Perhaps if I could locate some self control, that would be useful as well.

    Moving on...Now for the funny stuff.  Done with the emo crap for this post.  So, Molly has developed quite a fascination for our sweet, old, more than a few fries short of his Happy Meal, cat Jerry.  Jer Jer, as the family affectionately calls him, has spent the last 4.5 years hiding under the bed until 9 pm.  The kids have scared the crap out of him, and rightfully so.  My mom used to tell this story about me when I was three.  I desperately wanted to hold the cats.  I chased them around the house, and carried them haphazardly under my arms, so very proud of myself.  My mother tried to show me over and over again how to hold the kitties the correct way.  She would say, "Heidi, put one hand under their belly, and one hand under their tail.  Then they will feel secure."  She reminded me frequently about how I proudly walked into our living room saying "Look Mommy, I holding the kitty the right way."  Of course, I had the poor feline by the neck and holding his tail.  I suppose her instructions flew right over my 3 y/o head. That picture of myself holding a cat by his neck and tail still makes me giggle to this day. She was amazed that the cats never scratched me.  Now, I get to watch my sweet daughter chase my old, decrepit cat around the house.  She just wants to hold and snuggle the poor guy, and to his credit, he lets her.  Thinking back to my mother's story, I have tried to show Molly how to hold the kitty the "right" way.  Poor guy has gotten slow enough that she can catch him.

   Molly rounded the corner into the living room, and I just had to laugh out loud.  Poor Jerry...She had him hanging upside down, her arm wrapped around the midsection of his body, butt and tail in the air.  "Look Mommy, I am holding Jer Jer the right way..."  Oh my, how history repeats itself.  I am amazed by the patience most animals have with small children.  Although, I will say our dog Abby still gives me the "Do you see what your puppies are doing?" look.

   Both kids are at such a fun age right now.  Funny things fly out of their mouths all of the time.  They love to play together, play pretend, and they simply amaze me with their development and progress everyday.  I finally have them to a point where they can both play in another room, and I don't have to hover over them.  They are potty trained, praise God, and both children are verbal enough to tell me their wants and needs.  Life if getting a little easier in many ways.  Of course, they also love to fight with each other, Molly still gets into plenty of trouble when Mommy isn't looking, and whining is often the official language spoken in the house.  I have actually resorted to whining back at them, and having my own temper tantrum occasionally.  It frequently sounds like "Well, Mommy would love a margarita and huge piece of cheesecake, but we don't always get what we want..."  Needless to say, this happens in a weak moment...Of course, my favorite mommy quote of the day came from my friend Wendy as we were leaving the park.  I overheard her telling her son "No Connor, you can't have your whistle in the car, because Mommy might have to stab someone in the eye before we make it home..."  She heard me giggle and said "Well, it's true.."  So true Wendy, so true.

   Every day is still filled with laughter, love, hugs, kisses, tears, tantrums, illness, and occasional insanity.  So basically, nothing has changed here in the Bryan house.  I suppose I will continue to survive the way all parents survive the day to day struggles.  With plenty of stimulants and depressants.  God Bless Coffee and Wine.  They are gifts put here on Earth from God himself to make parenting a little bit easier.  So, on that note, I am off to pour a glass of wine, snuggle with my husband, and enjoy a few brief moments of silence while the kids sleep.  Then...to bed.  Because it all starts over again first thing in the morning.  And I promise to do a much better job of getting all of their funny stories posted before they leave my brain.  I have learned that I just need to stop everything and write immediately when I think of a funny post.  If I wait, the whole thing is lost...