Where's my blog mojo?

Seriously.

We've been ridiculously busy, and I'm juggling lots of fun but time consuming activities right now. That might have something to do with it.

I don't know why I have not felt like blogging. I've had plenty of blog ideas pop into my head. Maybe I'll get around to posting a blog about my love for Broadway shows, inspired by spontaneous and discounted tix to see In the Heights, which was, BTW, so very awesome. I know I will get around to posting about potty training the second time around, b/c we've dipped our toes in that water again. And that water? Is frigid and difficult and exhausting. Maybe I'll write my long-stewing post about the stereotypes of mommies that I meet around town, from The Bragger to The Organic. But that one is dangerous, because some of the stories are based on women that I love dearly, and I wouldn't want to offend them.

So, instead of one big, funny, thematic post, you get stream of consciousness from Brazenlilly. Random thoughts and events from this past week:

*The Bird loves to do THIS in the bathtub:She lays back all the way until the water fills in almost to her eyes, mouth and nose. It freaks me out a little because we RESPECT THE WATER in our house [aka: am totally paranoid of my children drowning], but I watch her closely and it keeps her still and quiet. WIN/WIN, people.

*I'm single-momming it for several days, and when that happens I get a little lax and a little creative. You want to take water paints into the bathtub? At 10 in the morning? You got it. Let me grab by Entertainment Weekly and let's spend the next 60 minutes in the bathroom while I catch up on the fall movie preview and you do this:

*I have to say (this might be another full post sometime soon) that FIVE YEARS OLD is shaping up quite nicely! Carson has been pretty stinkin' delightful lately. Well, you know, it's all relative. He still has meltdowns and fights with his sister and all that jazz, but overall he's doing splendidly. We've implemented a new reward system (popsicle sticks in a jar) where he can earn and lose sticks for good behavior or stinky behavior. When he gets 10 sticks in the jar, which has been taking about 10 days, he gets $3 at the Dollar Tree. WORTH EVERY PENNY to me. When a meltdown starts, I threaten stick loss, and often he shapes right up.

*Sydney, on the other hand, has stepped nicely into the roll of TWO YEARS OLD. Her personality is blossoming, and she is HILARIOUS! She has little facial expressions and body movements and sayings ("tickoo" for "thank you") in her squeaky voice that have us melting. HOWEVER, she is needy, needy, needy. She wants me to hold her every waking moment, and if I refuse for any reason, she promptly goes to her bro and annoys him to the breaking point so I must return and give her attention. Girl has seen some serious "quiet time" lately. But fortunately, that desire to be held and cuddled is very fun for us when we're not trying to, say, use the restroom.

*Carson is picking up more and more of our humor and mannerisms. The other day he said "Oh, that's PERFECT. (I'm being sarcastic, Mom.)" Yikes! I guess he can thank me for that one.

*Part of my lack of blogging is that I've been itching to be crafty. I have ADD when it comes to crafts (I can thank MY mom for that one), and when I see something cute or cool that someone has made, I often think: I could do that. And then sometimes I collect coupons and buy the materials, but never get around to making it. I have this mental block that the house needs to be clean and all my chores done before I can spend time and make more mess by crafting (I can thank my DAD for that one!). I've especially been wanting to make some fabric flowers for pins or barrettes. I've experimented with a few that were OK, and I think I found a pattern I like. Last night I finally just sat down and worked on it, even though the house was still messy. LIVING ON THE EDGE, I know. Here's the first few prototypes, soon to be seen in Birdie's hair:

So, that's part of what's been going on around here. I know soon we'll at least have a Halloween post, b/c the kids already have costumes that go perfectly together. (I was being sarcastic. One is a character from Star Wars and the other is a small whimsical insect.) Good times!