Using the rhythm method

September 3, 2009

For me, the start of a new “school” year is all about finding a groove, or rhythm, to our day that feels natural. By natural, I mean that we need to all feel awake and ready to work when it’s time to work.

So, mornings are good, but not too early. Afternoons aren’t good because my brain stops working properly after 3pm.

But, I’ve hyperventilated more than once this week over the thought of trying to “do it all” this school year. What, pray tell, is “all”?

Two kids homeschooling this year;

An eager preschooler who wants to do some schoolwork too;

Writing for two cool sites; soon, three when this gets relaunched;

Exercising, something I need to do for my well being;

All the activities we have going on: soccer, girl scouts, dance, swimming, coop;

And, of course, fitting in playdates with homeschool and regular school friends.


We used to start doing school at 10am and finish by 1ish. But, with double the number of kids “in school”, I need more time. Which means I need to dial back our start time to 9am which eats into my valuable work time, and/or my workout time.

Since I can’t write at night (other than little quips on Twitter about whatever reality television show I happen to be watching), I have decided to try exercising after I put the kids to bed. Yes, Shred after Bed, or something like that.

So, tonight was to be Night #1. And instead of working out, I fell asleep on the couch.

I may need to think about this new schedule a little bit more.

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Filed Under: Fairly Odd Kids, Fairly Odd Me, Homeschooling, New England Mamas, Parent Bloggers Network, Shred 24 Comments

Cape Co-ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!-d

August 31, 2009

Our quick jaunt to Cape Cod last week included time for one full beach day. I decided to take us to West Dennis Beach in, uh, West Dennis, because it looked beautiful, was nearby and had loads of parking for us fashionably late beach goers.

When we pulled into our parking spot, my oldest, Belly, screeched, “WHAT IS THAT!?!”

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“That” were horseshoe crabs, most likely brought up to the parking lot by some excited child and left behind by a horrified parent who noticed them as they packed up the sand pails.

We walked down to the water’s edge and I started to get itchy because there were more. Literally, dozens and dozens of horseshoe crabs beached at the water’s edge, up and down the shore.

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None of them were alive.

“What the hell happened??”, my brain asked in a high-pitched voice. Was there some sort of mass suicide of horseshoe crabs? And, why weren’t the lifeguards screaming and pulling us off the beach? Surely there must be something wrong with the water if all of these creatures were washing up, lifeless, onto the shore.

I started to feel a little panicky, especially when D tried to pick one up and I got the crab mixed up with the stingray that killed the Crocodile Hunter. “PUT IT DOWN!”

And then I noticed something. There were kids playing with the crabs. There were horseshoe crab sculptures made out of the little bodies. There were castles built to house the lifeless shells. There were sand pails filled with the critters.

And strangely, there were seagulls still pestering us for snacks. Hey, seagulls, don’t you see the crab buffet at the shore?

This, along with the strange color and small size of the crabs made me suspect that perhaps this wasn’t a mass suicide or death by poisoning.

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(here is a “normal-looking” horseshoe crab)

I came to conclude, and perhaps correctly, that the crabs were molting and the little shells we saw everywhere were just their discarded too-small outerwear. Thinking of them in this way made it a bit easier to deal with their presence.

But, there was still no way in hell we were going in the water on this beach trip.

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Filed Under: Fairly Odd Me, Non-Human Friends 28 Comments

Who says you can’t run away from it all?

August 26, 2009

I’ve decided that my latest bout with depression required me to do something drastic.

So, I ran away.

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With my ambassadors of fun, of course.

I’m feeling a bit better already, after some lobster salad and a big cherry-chip ice cream scoop. But, I may need to do it all again tomorrow, just to be sure it’s working.

(much love to all of you who commented or sent me personal emails, tweets or facebook notes (and to the one who showed up on my doorstep for coffee). It is so much appreciated and touches me to know you guys have got my back when I start to fall)

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Filed Under: Fairly Odd Me 28 Comments
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