Jennifer Groft

1. You see that incredible photo above? That is a sunrise. No filters, cross my heart! Sunsets are often beautiful, but I have seldom seen a sunrise this pretty. (Not that I see all that many sunrises, I’m awake at that time, but usually trying to pretend I’m not.) But really, I have made it out the door 4 out of 6 mornings this week to walk and/or run. And while I feel like I am dragging myself out the door by my own pony tail, I did it, and it felt great when it was done.

I’m reminding myself every morning that this is just as much for my mental health as for my physical health. I’m taking this one day at a time. Today was one more day down. I will think about tomorrow when I set out my clothes before bed. Because if my workout clothes aren’t fully ready (and where I will trip over them on my way to the bathroom) getting out the door just isn’t going to happen.

2. Oh, Honey! Last night, right as I sat down to dinner, one of my children spilled about 4 ounces of honey. I was literally just about to put the first bite in my mouth, and we had to leave for a choir rehearsal in about 10 minutes and… Honey. All over a cabinet shelf, down the door, and all over the floor. I would just like to point out that I did NOT kill or otherwise maim the culprit. I think I deserve a little credit for that. (I also didn’t take a picture of it, so I get an extra point for that too.)

And on that topic, I just don’t understand this whole spilling thing. I don’t even know HOW my children can spill as often as they do. It’s seriously like twice a dinnertime and every other meal. I once heard of a family who would just go ahead and dump out a glass of water on the table as soon as they sat down in a restaurant, just as a sacrifice to the Spill Deity. This, and not dental health or obesity, is why we don’t drink juice at meals.

3. Speaking of drinks, I’m afraid Molly is going to be one of those High Maintenance kind of girls. As just one example of how particular she is, here is a photo of her at breakfast the other day:

She insisted on having one glass of room temperature water and one of ice water. (Double spill potential – she’s an overachiever too.)

Thankfully we now have a refrigerator that has ice and water on the door, which is turning a few of my kids into ice fanatics. It also means that I was every single cup every single day.

Oh, and at least one cup had to be green, which is her new favorite color, and has the extra benefit of making her younger brother mad because he wanted the green cup. Oy.

4. I think I’m having eyesight problems. I’ve become clutter-blind. We moved in almost three months ago and…

… I’m not even seeing it anymore. At least not until I have to let a guest of some sort into the house. Then it all becomes crystal clear. I need to “finish unpacking”. I used quotes there because I’m not even sure that is a real thing.

5. I was so looking forward to cake this weekend. I have been looking for an excuse to buy a Costco cake for a while now. Mmmm… soft cake, creamy mousse, mountains of buttercream!  But I have been getting sicker and sicker lately and living with a constant feeling of someone punching me in the stomach. So I went off gluten again, and within two days, the pain was noticeably diminishing. While I am relieved to be feeling a little better, I have to say I am a little angry at my body for having this thing as a problem. I’m taking it one day at a time, just like my morning walk. Darnit.

6. Sunday my baby turns 3! In my entire parenting career, I have only had my youngest child be 3 or over one other time. (Which had to do with the Vasectomy/Reversal.) It feels like some kind of a milestone. I don’t have a diaper bag, I rarely use the stroller. Going places is so much easier!

Gus is a character who loves swords best of all things and singing second. When we go to a grocery store, he sings at the top of his lungs most of the time we shop. Better that than a tantrum, but it can still get a little embarrassing, especially when he hits his 50th repetition of a song her really don’t know the words to.

When he wakes up in the morning, he walks out to where the kids are getting ready for school and declares, “Look who’s awake!”

7. Fun Books I’ve listened to in the last couple weeks:

You Are Now Less Dumb: How to Conquer Mob Mentality, How to Buy Happiness, and All the Other Ways to Outsmart Yourself – Had an anti-religion slant to it, but otherwise the book was sciency and a fun listen. There was a lot of good information about seeing why we do the things we do.

Eat That Frog! – A good book about time management, but most of it didn’t apply to a crazy job like motherhood. For example, one woman made a list of all her duties at work and listed 17 things. Seventeen. I think there are 17 things I have to do before my kids leave for school. Otherwise, though there were some good tips on prioritizing and discerning what to spend your time on. Because it is short and kind of bullet-pointy, I think this would be better as a read than a listen.

The Ghost Map – Fascinating story about the cholera outbreaks in London and how they were traced to the water supply.

Have a great weekend and go see Jen @ ConversionDiary.com for more quick takes!