This Week

First of all, thanks SO much to all of you who took the time to comment or email with such kind words about what this blog means to you after my post on unkind anonymous comments a couple posts ago.  Some of the really kind words came in the form of KIND anonymous comments - which I do get quite a lot.  So I guess I'd better keep allowing anonymous comments.  But maybe some of the "grumpies" out there will think twice before posting something not-so-nice after the post I wrote and after all your very kind comments on that post.

I've got about six posts half-written and can't seem to find the time to finish and post them.  Too often, I put off blogging about the present because I feel like I should finish the past first - but I don't have time to finish the past at present - so then I end up putting it all off....

So I'll start with the present (which isn't that exciting but should be remembered somewhat).  And until I get around to finishing the more exciting posts that are 1/2 written, feel free to check out my new sidebar on the right where there are tons of great posts about mothering discoveries and ideas that have really helped my life and might help yours as well.

This week has been about:

• projects. tying up quite a few Power of Moms projects so I can put a lot of stuff on the shelf during our travels and family time in July
• scouts.  helping my scout group pass off their cooking merit badge (can't say I'd like to do that one again - flour and grubby hands everywhere, farting noises from boys trying to figure out what funny is, off-topic comments in the midst of most of my attempts to explain things - pretty much totally exhausting for me and totally fun for the boys!)
• deal.  helping Ashton finish his summer deal (helping him get his last piano song learned took me back to not-so-fond memories of my mom sitting by me on the piano bench trying to coax me through parts of songs that just seemed WAY too hard - but he got the last song learned!)
• family.  We loved spending time with my brother Noah and family and my sister Charity who were in town (always SO fun to see them)
• attending my new Learning Circle last night - my friend Emily has put together such a wonderful group of women and we've had two really rich and wonderful meetings so far.  I'm so grateful for the Learning Circles I've been part of - a social and learning opportunity I really need and really savor each month.
• laundry, sorting and packing.  getting me and the kids packed and ready for a month of travel and family reunions (check out my "Car Trips 101" post in the right sidebar if you want to know what I've figured out about making road trips work after all these years)
• cleaning.  This house gets SO dusty when the windows are open a lot like they have been and when I've been too busy to keep up.  It finally got really annoying so I've been attacking the dust this week.
• water.  The kids have loved just playing with water guns and running in the sprinklers with neighbors and going to the nearby swimming pool and just enjoying the hot weather that makes water so welcome.
• getting Jared and Ashton ready to head off to DC (Jared's sister who lives in DC is hosting all the kids in the family who are close to 12 years old for some exciting stuff and Jared gets to go as a chaperone). 
• lots of bike rides with the kids - we've been doing mountain bike rides 3-4 times a week so far this summer (thus the new blog header photo) and the kids are getting SO good on their bikes over some pretty rough terrain (me, not so much - but I try!).
• cooking.  the kids each got to choose and cook the dinner one night in the past couple weeks (with me as their assistant).  The twins were especially delighted about learning to chop things up and we tried some new recipes and it really worked out great.  It's fun to see the kids beam with pride when everyone at the dinner table says "thanks for this nice dinner, Eliza (or whoever made it)"  Kids can do a lot more than we sometimes think they can do.
• running.  I used to be a pretty good runner.  I'd run 3-5 miles several times a week up and down the Potomac River in DC and then the Charles River in Cambridge, MA.  I had knee problems for a while and 5 preschoolers weren't that condusive to running anyway, so the eliptical machine combined with exercise videos have been my main forms of exercise for years.  But I decided I wanted to be a runner again and this decision coincided with the announcement that one of Jared's nieces was putting together a relay team for this 24-hour 100 mile race at the end of August.  I tentatively joined the team.  So I've gone running 3 times this week and while I have a hard time not thinking "I hate this" super often during my runs, it feels good to work towards something and I think this'll be good for me (if I can keep my knee in order).  

So that's the latest with us!