too. much. information.

I know it’s not appropriate to share a story from the gynocologist… but I have been known to be a bit uncouth when there is a good story to share, and this one has kept me giggling for more than 24 hours, so I must share it.

Yesterday I had an appointment with my new gynocologist. From the moment he walked into the room I was impressed with his wit, humor, and conversational skills… a talker like me, I could tell that we were going to get along just fine! He’d asked how to prounce my last name when he first came into the room, and that got us talking about the name being Irish… a bit later, he noticed my Celtic knot bracelet tattoo, and when I told him what it was, he asked what my maiden name was. When I told him, he responded “well, you’re Irish all the way around then!”  I told him that it was the most visible of my 10 tattoos, and we laughed about how I don’t look like the “tattoo type” and how the stereotype has changed over the years.

So we get to the point in the exam where I need to scoot down to the edge of the table and put my feet into the stirrups…

He sits down, lifts the drape and exclaims… “WOW, it’s like a gallery under here!!”

I couldn’t stop laughing… and joked with him that I’d have to put THAT on Facebook. It just may be the subtitle for my book of memoirs someday

I don’t even know what to blog about this week…

Some notable happenings (in no certain order):

• Today… I found a piano teacher!! My friend, Misa, and I talked about starting up lessons =)  Time and “childcare” is usually an issue, but I don’t have to worry about finding somewhere for the boys to be, because they can come along and play or hang out with her son, George during my lesson! After talking to Misa about my childhood piano past… my positive attributes (sight-reading skills) and my shortcomings (ummm, practicing), I think she has an excellent idea of what kind of student I’ll be, lol. I’m so excited to get back into it… my last piano lesson was 25 years ago, so it’s almost like starting fresh!

• The radio commercial that I sang for ran on a local radio station last weekend!! I have to admit, it was pretty surreal to be driving to meet a friend for lunch, and have it come on and hear myself ON THE RADIO in my car! I enjoyed it so much that I’m going to pursue more opportunities, not just wait for them to drop in my lap (like this one did…). I really do have the ideal schedule (very flexible) and enough knowledge to be pretty marketable. And recording was a JOY! I haven’t felt that “in-my-element” in a looooooong time. So watch out (and listen for) more of me in the future!

• I have agreed to take on the position of librarian for The Learning Village, our new local homeschool co-op. I’m quite the commitment-phobe, so this is a big deal. I’m looking forward to checking out how the lending-library (not just books, but games, educational toys and more!) is set up currently, and excited about finding new, fun ways to get the word out to the community. Dig and I are also working up ideas for The Learning Village logo!! Graphic art projects are one arena that we really work well together, so it’s gonna be good…

• I’m going to be in a book club (for myself) again!! It’s been awhile since the other wives (from Dig’s work) and I let our book club slip away… we were down to just 3 of us that would come every month, lol. Looks like people are excited again, ’cause there are like 15 interested gals this time around! I offered to lead the first month (because I heard of a great book, and didn’t want anyone else to choose it- THANKS, BECKY!)… so I got to pick the book and the location for our gathering! Can’t beat an excuse for having a few more “girl time” hours a month, right?!

• Speaking of books… right now I’m reading  The Dance by Oriah Mountain Dreamer (along with a few other titles, in true Cid fashion). Beautiful book about “moving to the rhythms of your true self”. I’ve been wanting to tweet (I’m a twitter wannabe, and like Facebook so. much. better.) some of the passages that have touched me, but there are so many… I may have to do a blog discussion with myself (which isn’t really that hard… I *am* a Gemini, after all).

• Areas of our home have been mysteriously transformed into organized, functional living spaces!! It’s like the invasion of the body snatchers around here, people! If it wasn’t my own body, I would swear it must be true… all of a sudden I’m finding myself organizing things, one shelf at a time (much thanks to my dear friend, Silvia, who shared this revelation with me). This month alone, I’ve organized the linens (now in labeled plastic storage bags), the *entire* laundry closet (all 5 huge shelves), the front-entry bookshelf (I have ROOM TO SPARE on the bottom shelf), my “area” of the garage (now in bins that the MICE [another story for another time] can’t get into), the coat closet (much thanks to my sweet hula-sister, Nancy, for pushing me through the pain on that one), and my desk-top (up until now, this has been my Achilles heel).  Through all of the organizing, I’ve removed many bags of stuff for a March yard sale… it feels so freeing. amazing. I may just become addicted.

Whew, enough for now… it’s after 1am and I may just be able to coax this over-active brain of mine to sleep. Of course, as soon as I drift off, I’ll probably hear the pitter-patter of little T-feet. And that too, is another story for another time.

I write two blog posts a day… really, I do. You just never get to read them because they are composed in my head. In the morning when I’m doing my hair… in the hot tub when I’m soaking away sore muscles… I’m writing fabulously witty, wet-your-pants funny blog posts.

Here’s the rub… by the time I get a quiet moment to write, it’s . all . gone.  Seriously. And I’ve tried writing in the midst of the cacophony that is the soundtrack to my life. I’m sorry folks, I just can’t do it! I cannot make a complete thought, let alone complete sentence happen.

So you’ll just have to trust me when I say that you’d LOVE all the stuff going on in my head =) You’d laugh, you’d cry… you’d want to call me “friend”.
For now (only ‘cause it’s only 11:26pm and both boys have dozed off, my melatonin hasn’t kicked in, and I’m on a roll) I’ll give you the bullet-point version of the last month and a peek into my 2010.  It may not even be in the correct order, depending on how quickly said-melatonin kicks in. I apologize in advance… if you have any tips on getting the thoughts out of my brain and magically into bloggy-land, please do share. I may start using my iPhone voice recorder… who knows?

Christmas was great… normal amount of crazy, but great. The boys are diggin’ their iPod Touches and I’m diggin’ getting to use my iPhone =) (they no longer ask to play games on it).

New Year’s Eve…ringing in 2010 was DELICIOUS! Delicious people, delicious food, D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S.

My sweet “baby” T turned 7. Oh my Lord, how did the time fly THAT fast? He had a great birthday, and is already talking about what he wants to do next year- always a good sign!

I have embraced my inner-Polynesian and taken on HULA!! I cannot begin to tell you how it has changed me. Big shifts. If you are a woman, I highly recommend checking it out. And go with a friend… I am lucky enough to have my dear friend, Nancy as a Hula Sister. We have such a great time together! There may be a Polynesian Dance Club in your area… and you want to be there! I hope the folks at your club are half as amazing as the women at mine. Spread the Aloha, gals!

And speaking of shifts… the amazing Marna Goldstein Thall (“My Marna” is what I call her to friends, lol) is helping me discover my Thin From Within. She just plain rocks! If you have ever had any body issues, or blocks to allowing your body to reach its ideal, healthiest state, you should get ahold of Marna. She’s a blessing to me, and I adore her.

What I’m looking forward to in 2010… first off, enjoying Dirk’s work Christmas Party tomorrow night. Yes, you read it right… Christmas Party. They don’t mess around… do it in January and nobody can use the excuse that they have another party to go to, right?

LIFE is Good Unschooling conference in May… woo hoo!! This has become a highlight to our year… the boys start asking about the next year’s conference on the way home from it =)

July is my 20th high school reunion! Are you kidding me?! No, though I look barely-30 (LMAO) I, did indeed graduate 20 years ago… and thanks to Facebook (which I LLLLLOVE love) there are so many dear friends that I’ve reconnected with that I’m looking forward to seeing in person! It also looks like the boys and I may be leaving from there and heading back to Hawaii!! Big Island this time   I have no details, and no definite answers… I’m just holding the image of my boys hanging loose in their favorite place, and letting the “how” take care of itself!

Okay…well that’s all I’ve got in me tonight. I’ll try to figure out when my brain is most likely going to be firing on all cylinders so I can do this more often… I think if I plan on once a week, I’m more likely to do it than once a day or two… one can hope.

i loved this look...it's how *I* feel alot of the time...

I’ve been pondering this for awhile now. This is my third year picking a word for the year, and by far the most difficult time I’ve had. After attending one of Christine Kane’s amazing retreats in November of 2007, I was inspired to make some real changes in my thinking… and that included choosing a word to embrace. In 2008 my word was CREATE. 2009 was ALLOW. This last week, in true Cid fashion, I had at least a dozen words floating around in my head- including EFFORTLESSNESS, BE, NOW, JOY, STRETCH, HULA, CHERISH, and CLARITY… but as I ran around the house today, totally stressed out for no real reason at all, I realized that the word I need this year is very simple. BREATHE.

When I dwell on the past or waste even a moment trying to predict the future… BREATHE. When I start to jump from one project to the next instead of just finishing what I started… BREATHE. When I hear “MOOOOOOMMMM?!” being yelled from the other room, for like the bazillionth time… BREATHE. When I need to make a decision… check in with mySelf  and BREATHE. When I feel totally overwhelmed… BREATHE.

I recently bought myself a bracelet and had it inscribed with “Smile, breathe & go slowly” (Thich Naht Hanh quote adaptation). I hope this will be a reminder to me as this new year begins. To live in the moment, to take my time, to find joy in each day, to cherish instead of taking my many blessings for granted.

Maybe some year I’ll choose INSPIRE or DAZZLE or some such fabulousness ☺ but for 2010 I’ll just BREATHE, thank you very much.

welllllll, it’s after midnight, so it’s officially Wednesday!! Time to have a gratitude rant

I’m grateful for…
1. a clean house, and the fabulous ladies that cleaned it!
2. getting a plan together to get our home organized by the time the Christmas company arrives
3. our bunny, Chewbacca (and the other critters, too)… he is the sweetest lil furry poop-machine
4. for hubby’s awesome job, that allows me to stay home and “just” be a mom…my dream job
5. that my newest tattoo will be all healed up SOON! then it’s time to save up for the next one, lol

My friend Frank posted about HIS friend who’s decided to post 5 things he’s grateful for every Wednesday ’til Thanksgiving. I’m always looking for ways to express my gratitude, so I’ve decided to play too

I am going to say upfront, I am grateful for my family…I am a blessed woman to be living the life that I do. I am also grateful for:

 

1. Friends that love me as I am…imperfections and all.

2. Our very expensive cat, who is no longer ill or requiring me to force-feed him. I’m glad he’s getting healthy and so very obviously loves us as much as we love him. (As I’m typing this, he is up in my lap- forcefully “meowing” at me to feed him, for gosh sakes.)

3. For the abundance that is evident in our home…from books to computers to food to toys, we are overflowing.

4. For our good health and Wellness.

5. For the hot tub that I’m about to go soak in

 

Random yet sincere, these are my first 5.

Peace & Abundance, Cid

I’m trying to become the “Good Mood Blogger” and I need votes!! Click on the button to the right ———–>

Would you vote for me please?? And tell all your friends to vote, too?!

One vote per day, per IP address til Nov 6th…so use all your ‘puters every day   I want to make it to the second round and I need THOUSANDS of votes to get into the top 20 (what in the heck are they people doing to get so many votes?) so I’m looking to go VIRAL!  It’s easy to vote….one click is all it takes (no annoying registration!)…

Thanks so much for helping me become the “Good Mood Blogger” lol

http://zenhabits.net/2009/08/education-needs-to-be-turned-on-its-head/

and my comment:

Brilliant article!! We’ve been an unschooling family (our boys are 6.5 & 10) since I was introduced to the term years back, and realized there was a name for how we live, love and learn together. Preserving our child’s love of learning was our primary objective when making the original decision not to send our oldest off to pre-school at the ripe age of 3 (despite the worries and pressure from family and friends). My boys are *interesting* and *interested* young men… what more could a parent ask for! So many things that people think can only be learned in a school building come very naturally to children who are able to pursue their interests on their own terms (previous comments mention rote memorization and “basic information”). There is support out there for people who are interested in this way of life… people can check out the links you provide, as well as unschoolingunited.com, where they can find a local facilitator who is available to answer questions and may hold support meetings Again, kudos on your article!!

I wanted to make sure that Unschooling United was mentioned somewhere, so that people who are seriously interested in unschooling are able to contact a facilitator. This life is hard to grasp, even for those who WANT to get it. I mean, it’s nothing like WE were raised, right? That’s why I try to be kind, but don’t waste much time bantering back and forth with people who obviously DON’T want to get it…I’d rather spend my time with parents who are trying to move toward radical unschooling and need love and support

I hope you enjoy the article… I love that he opened with that amazing quote from Sandra Dodd, and gave a link to her website- it is full of good unschooling quotes, ideas and such from many, many unschoolers. May the idea of free children run rampant through the minds of many who read this- I know there are many out there who want to find a better way…

so…..DC mentioned awhile back that he’d like to be a better “speller”.  So I, in all my schooled-self wisdom, got online and ordered a spelling book that had been mentioned in conversations at the park. The said book came in the mail, I showed it to my son…we leafed through the booooooooooooring pages and set it aside (to come back to it later, of course!) Since the book was not interesting or fun to either of us, it stayed where we put it. For weeks.

A couple of days ago, DC mentioned spelling again…as we were driving home from a friend’s house. I suggested we get out ‘the book’ and he says “nah, I threw that away.”    uh, WHAT? (caution: this is not one of my better parenting moments coming up)

“Buddy, I spent like $15 on that book and we hadn’t even used it yet! Next time, just give it back to me and we’ll donate to the co-op or something…” I said in that disappointed tone I remember from childhood. Blah, blah, blah…I continued spewing forth parental wisdom for another minute or two. The result- he is upset, I am upset…all over a $15 book!

Finally, my loving, rational parent voice makes her way back to my heart (and voicebox)- I apologized and we talked about reading and spelling and what exactly he wants to do with spelling. We brainstormed ways to delve into the English language…ways to annotate those (many) words that don’t follow the rules…ways that his little brother T can benefit as well (he’s in the process of learning to read). We talked about word journals, googling “spelling rules” and where we’ll begin…

When we got home, I pulled out a $1 spiral bound book that I’d bought for each of the boys earlier in the week (I’d envisioned them as gratitude journals of sorts, to add to our evening ritual) and we used the google. We decided to start his word journal with “words with short vowel sounds” and true to character, start with the ‘short u sound’ instead of at the beginning of the alphabet.  -uck ending words, to be specific

We’ve had a blast since then… I actually located the spelling book that he’d thrown away- it was right where we’d left it. (He thought I was talking about another boring workbook thingie that’d made it’s way into the boys basket.) I plan on donating it to the newly opened homeschool co-op in our area. We’ve been using his word journal… finding and spelling short vowel sound words as we go about our busy lives. We are enjoying the exploration of the English language! We plan on writing down “exceptions” as we come to them, and all the words we can think of before we move on to another category (long vowel sounds? words with two vowels?).  For now, the “uck” words are still our favorites…

I often say that every day is the same around here… it’s not the SAME, but until we get back into the swing of things with homeschool park day, music class, etc. any given day could be any day of the week. Clear as mud? Sometimes I think I’d like to have clearly delineated weekdays and WEEKENDS, but then I think that may be over-rated. *I* wouldn’t know, lol.

Dig’s schedule is a little wonky. By a “little” I mean that every week is different, and may include any number of day shifts, overnight “alert” shifts and/or blocks of 3-4 days of out-of-town “alert” shifts. We usually have a month’s schedule at a time…but changes can be made, and often are. Got a feel for what I’m talking about yet? This is one HUGE reason that unschooling works for us! The boys and I can spend time with their daddy whenever he happens to be home…and that’s rarely on the weekends when they’d be out of prison school.

When it cools off [um, so by Christmas maybe] the boys and I will have a rhythm to our week, even if it’s not a schedule, per se. [My dislike of a schedule of ANY kind will probably be a topic of discussion here in the future.] Mondays will include afternoon music class (if Declan still wants to do that come September)… Tuesdays and Thursdays will be homeschool park/karate for Declan days… except every other week the boys’ bookclub meets on Thursdays… and we may try to fit in tennis for both of them again… and there’s the new homeschool co-op starting up- we may want to participate in some classes when it gets going (and they’re looking for people to lead classes… I just can’t seem to figure out how to translate my many talents into even one friggin’ class!)

I also enjoy some time to myself [again, a future blogging topic... since there are so many mommies out there who say that don't need "me" time... am I just a selfish hag, or is there something in my genetic makeup that makes me go crazy if I don't get some time to myself? I have theories!] So, if Dig’s not working a month of nights instead of days (that happens every three or four months, just to keep life interesting) I usually have Tuesday nights “off”. I run errands, sans kiddos, take in a chick flick, sit and read at Starbucks…any number of exciting things.

Once a month, I facilitate the local Unschooling United group… where there is always fun to be had, lively discussion, and incredible synergy. [okay, not ALWAYS... last month, there was just lil 'ole me... where were my peeps? All I know is I waited, reading Dayna's new book, for an hour and then high-tailed it to dinner at Macaroni Grill and soaked up some more blessed "me" time...I need it, people... seriously.]

Most Sundays I have the sitter come from 12-4…on the rare occasion that Dig’s not working, we have a lunch date and then go somewhere exciting, like OSH! Otherwise, it’s all about ME… I get some girlfriend time or spend the time at Costco, Lowe’s or wherever else I need to go. Ooooooh, and sometimes the carwash…I love it when Sparky [my Escape hybrid] is shiny clean!

About 5 seconds a week I feel guilty for leaving the boys with Dig or the sitter so I can get away…and then I get a grip and realize that they have me at least 158 out of 168 hours of the week. I guess I’m not a slacker-mom after all.

So…now you have the lay of the land- I like to call it “Lough-Lough Land”.

What day is it anyway?