Is This Thing Still On? :: tap tap::

Wow.

Apparently it's been about 6 weeks from my last post.  Seems that "Wordless Wednesday" became "..and half the summer too."

One would think that things have been quiet in the Just After Bedtime house as summer has been winding down to an end.  But, of course, that isn't the case.  I've simply been away, too tired to think or blog at the end of a long day, but so many things to report on.

Like how we ended up doing on our summer bucket list.

And how I spent 3 days in August trying to make a little bit of a difference for a cause I'm passionate about.

And how I turned 40 and managed to make it through.

And how I blinked and my girls have become preschoolers -- sometimes seeming more like teenagers trapped in preschool bodies -- but preschoolers nonetheless.

And how life keeps moving on, one day at a time, bringing joy, laughter, craziness, worries, silliness, seriousness and all the rest.

Thanks to those who are still sticking with me.  I'll start checking in more often and appreciate each of you who do the same.  Hope this back-to-school week finds you all happy, healthy and loved.

Robin

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday - A Snort!

"Are you my mother?"

"You are NOT my mother!"

 "You are..."

"...a SNORT!!!"

With many thanks to PD Eastman, whose classic "Are You My Mother?" is one of the dog-eared favorites of our girls.

So Mad I'm Seeing Pink, or Why I Keep Walking

Unless you haven't taken a peek at the left side of this blog, or you've somehow evaded being on my e-mail mailing list, or you aren't one of my Facebook friends or Twitter tweeps, you probably know that I'm walking in the Komen 3-Day for the Cure in August. 

This will be my second 3-Day in a row.  The training is hard, the time away from R and the girls is wrenching, but less than an hour after Closing Ceremonies ended last year I knew I'd be signing up for another 3 days and 60 miles this year.  It's hard to put into words what a truly life-changing experience it is, and I won't try to duplicate the efforts of the legion of 3-Day bloggers who've gone before me and eloquently described the sights, sounds and emotions.

But my take on it?  I'm mad.

Mad that my mom had to spend a single minute worrying about what her diagnosis of breast cancer would mean for her, for her health and for her family.

Mad that one of my dear friends (and my 3-Day captain who keeps us so motivated) had to lose her mom to breast cancer before she had her lifetime and before she got to hold her baby's babies. 

Mad that moms of young children have to face, fight and - heartbreakingly - sometimes lose their fights against breast cancer, leaving behind babies that will have fleeting, if any memories of them.  This week my heart hurt when I learned of another, a friend of a training partner, who was taken away from her 2 and 5 year old babies, at 40 years old.  She could be me, and her kids could be mine.

Mad that so-called experts want to change when and how women get their regular mammograms, to set new rules that, had ithey been in place a couple years ago, a teammate/survivor/friend of mine would have likely faced a much different future.

Mad that every year, I hold my breath for a week until I get the "all clear" on my own annual mammogram, not able to fight off fleeting glimpses of what otherwise could be.

Mad that if something doesn't change, my daughters will have to do the same one day.

I know that anger isn't productive, and I know there is hope.  I know that the research that's been done and the progress that's been made over the past few years has changed so many women's stories for the better, including my mom's.

But until there is a cure, until there is an end, I will be mad, and I will walk, and I will do whatever I can do so my daughters never have to raise money for the cure or face a diagnosis of their own.

I write this not to promote my fundraising efforts, but as a reminder to myself.  As I've heard other 3-Day veterans tell, it's a little harder that second, third, etc year to get up at the crack of dawn on weekends for training walks, to relentlessly fundraise, to do the whole experience over again. 

But as long as I'm still mad, I will walk.  For them.

Parenting While Plugged In (or Anything Else)

I love it when the mom-guilt stars align.

Last week, the New York Times published a story you may have already seen, "The Risks of Parenting While Plugged In."  At this point it's hard for me to remember if I glanced at it during one of the nights I was at the office until midnight, 1am, 3am...or at home but up working until 5am.  But it was one of those weeks that from time to time raises its ugly head but is unavoidable in my line of work - the work needs to get done, the clients' deadlines need to get met and everyone's burning the midnight oil.  At any rate, I sent myself the link, figuring it might be an interesting topic to blog about.  (On a side note, if you follow me on Twitter, I offer you my thanks for putting up with my late night pity parties and not dropping me like a hot potato.)

So here I am, nearly a week later, finally reading it, finally thinking about it, finally blogging about it.  Yes, I have a laptop and a smartphone.  And yes, it is too easy to just do a quick e-mail check, which leads to a Twitter check and a Facebook check...you know the drill.  And yes, some of these checks are in the presence of my girls.  I hate that somedays it's a conscious effort for me to be unplugged for a given span of time, that it isn't my first instinct to leave. the. phone. alone.

If you haven't read the article, I can give you the Cliff's Notes according to me.  (1) If you don't unplug, you are not mentally present and maybe your kid will bite you.  (2) More research is needed, but we're all pretty sure you're screwing up your kids if you bring work outside of the office.  (3) Parents, you get an "E" for effort trying to avoid being in the office from dawn 'til dusk and seeing your kids for more than a few minutes, but too bad.

Okay, I exaggerate.

But when so many of us are trying to do right by our spouses, our children and ourselves, it's more than a bit wearing to hear from the "experts" that we're missing the mark.  Frankly, I'll file this article with the other research that tells me:

• If you stay at work too long and aren't home long enough, you're harming your children.
• If you don't stay at home with your children all day, you're harming your children.
• If you stay at home with your children all day, you're harming your children.
• If you're overly involved in your kids' day to day lives, you're harming your children.

And once I've got that filed away, I'll head back to play with my girls, catch up with my husband, and - yes - maybe even check my e-mail once in a while.  And I know that there's always room for improvement, but wouldn't parenting be dull otherwise?  

So...are you plugged-in but present?  Do you declare technology-free times in your home?  Or are you in danger of your kids biting you?

Our Summer Bucket List

Great parenting minds must be thinking alike -- note, that I will not be claiming to be one of them.  On the same day that my bloggy friend Darcie posted her own family's list of fun to-do's for the summer, R started building one for our own.  R's the stay-at-home half of our parenting team, and the girls and I are all the better for it.  As you will see below, he keeps them busy enough to be nice and tired at bedtime active, engaged and just plain having fun.

With full props to R, and without further adieu...the Just After Bedtime summer bucket list, 2010 edition.

Traditional Favorites

• Como Zoo
• Minnesota Zoo
• Children's Museum
• Intensive swim lessons at the Y
• Camp Snoopy (because we are bad at accepting change...)
• Saints baseball
• State Fair

Local Finds

• Watch the remote control airplanes at Lake Elmo Airport
• Kelley Farm in Elk River
• U of M Raptor Center
• Transportation Museum
• Excelsior streetcar ride
• Watch the airplanes at MSP
• Coffee shop and bookstore visits
• St. Paul and Woodbury farmer's markets
• Washington County Fair
• Back to the 50s car show
• Regular visits to the local library - for books and - with a little luck - Museum Adventure Passes!
• Bandana Square model railroad store/museum
• Local water parks
• Sunday night concerts in the park
• Light rail trip to DT Minneapolis
• Bus ride with Mom to work
• Heart of the Beast puppet theatre

Friends and Family / Out of Town

• Visit our friend Laura's horses
• Burley and bike rides to a picnic lunch
• Hopscotch on the patio
• Plant a vegetable garden
• Visit Grandma in St. Louis, visit the St. Louis Zoo (I may be biased, but STL's zoo blows our local ones out. of. the. water. 
• Wisconsin Dells
• Sleepover with neighbor friends
• Backyard campout
• Cooking practice/assistance

Just for the Parents

• A Father's Day surprise (sorry, no link, R reads the blog!)
• Date nights, date nights, date nights
• And, if the stars align, maybe an overnight without the little ones to celebrate our fifth anniversary?

Yes, it will be a busy summer around here but it's great to have a list in place to help us avoid the "What should we do's" that inevitably come up on the occasional unbusy weekend.  It's been great to read everyone else's lists too! 

Hoping you all enjoy the long weekend, the glorious weather, and whatever fun you can find!

Impersonating a Blogger?

So when I caught ShePost's tweet today about a "crazy woman pretending to be a blogger," for a moment I was worried they were referring to me.  After all, it's been a good long time since our last visit together and, having not been at this bloggy thing all that long, I still feel a bit strange saying "I have a blog" and even stranger saying it to my friends and family.  I did finally sort of "came out" to my Facebook friends & fam with my last post, but if they're reading, they are awfully quiet about it...comments, anyone?  ::crickets chirping::

But, as with any new endeavor, I know that with practice I'll blog better, and will eventually find my blog voice and feel less like that "crazy woman pretending to be a blogger."  Or at least the "pretending to be a blogger" part.  I'm learning from a lot of great folks, many of whom I'm looking forward to meeting, or seeing again, at the May 20 Minnesota Bloggers Event.  (A big ol' Just After Bedtime shoutout to Molly of The Snyder 5 for putting this together!)  Can't wait to pester the blogging vets with lots of questions...

And as for that real pretend-blogger?  Yiiiiiiikes.  It never ceases to amaze me that if people took their collective energy spent coming up with ways to get away with crap and devoted it instead to doing something good in this world, my, what a wonderful world it would be.  I can keep hoping, I suppose. 

So, how have YOU been?

Why Mom Needs a Night Out

So, like a lot of moms, I don't take a lot of opportunities to have a girls' night out. (And no, going to Noodles & Co. with my 2 & 3 year old daughters for dinner is not the kind of "girls' night" I'm referring to.)

So yesterday, I was happily getting ready for an evening out.  I'd already teed up my plans with A & C, letting them know that I'd be leaving after suppertime but home when they woke up in the morning.  There were the usual, half-protests (although I know that they equally enjoy R handling bedtime as well).  While R worked on supper, I was enjoying the quiet and solitude of a nice, hot shower.  Bathroom door closed, room warm and steamy, mental state relaxed.

Enter C, in her 2 1/2 year-old exuberance.

"Mommy!?!"

::sigh:: "Yes?"

"I want to sit in your LAP!!"

::sigh:: "Okay.  Can we take care of that in a few minutes?"

"Okay!"

Exit C.  Bathroom door open, steam and warmth departed, mental state re-mommified.

I love you, my energetic, loving, busy, amazing girls.  And after a fun night of laughter and fun with some great gals last night, I'm "reset" and ready to see how you make me laugh this week ahead.