Sometimes.....

I just need a place to write down the things that make me laugh or cry, frighten me or delight me, or are just the plain-Jane ordinary things that make me glad to be a mother, a wife, a woman.

I have three boys who are six, three (almost four), and 19 months. Life is hectic at best. They are distinct little creatures and have their own gifts and challenges. I adore them and when anything goes wrong -- like the dreaded request for a parent-teacher conference -- I can get ridiculously consumed and anxious. I also feel heart swelling pride at their littlest accomplishments. I am sure I will be the annoyingly weepy mother at school plays and graduations.

I also work from home for a congressional campaign. That means every other year, during election years, I work many late nights while my boys and husband sleep. On the off years, I can actually get most of my work done while kids are napping or at school. Sometimes my job is a chore and a stress, but mostly it reminds me of who I was before children and that makes me feel like a real person.

So far, I am pretty much a failure with housekeeping. I get very motivated when guests are coming, and I think that I am a good hostess and cook. But my husband knows that our house is normally a jumble of toys, socks, somewhat dirty bathrooms, and all the things that my little weapons of mass destruction (as my husband calls them) leave on the floor, spill, break, or otherwise lose. I am trying to get better at the tidiness thing but it is a long time coming. Frankly, I am sort of tidy myself. I just live in a house full of un-tidy people, and I don't have the neat-freak instinct to whip them into line.

I am a little too interested in reality TV (not something I admit to at the bus stop in the morning with the other mothers in the neighborhood), video and computer games, and cookbooks. I have a million hobbies (but have mastered none) and really enjoy learning new things. Right now, I am considering getting a master's degree so that I can teach government or civics to high schoolers. It is just an idea rolling around in my head.

Thanks for your interest in my writings, rantings to come, and nonsense. Enjoy the ride.