1. I really, really ought to be working right now. It is Nap Time, the sacred hour when the kids actually leave me alone, even if they're not asleep. And I have a story that I have not even completed one interview for yet, and the holidays are coming up which means good luck actually getting in touch with anyone, plus I'm extra busy with happy Christmasy stuff. I'm really not quite sure how I'm going to manage to get this one done. And yet here I am, blogging away.




2. My family gets to go to the coast this weekend! It's really not ideal weather for playing on the beach, but getting away for awhile is always nice. And it's thanks to my in-laws and KFIR radio. If you're not from Sweet Home, Oregon, you've probably never heard of KFIR. But it's a little local AM radio station that apparently was having a giveaway, and my in-laws kept calling and calling until they won a whole bunch of gift certificates to a hotel in Newport, and now the whole family is going over there this weekend for my sister-in-law's birthday. Thanks KFIR!, And, thanks in-laws with mad phone dialing skills.

3. The hotel we are staying at has a pool. Which the kids know about. And they really want to swim. Which means mommy and daddy have to put on swimsuits too. And I am not quite in the same shape I was when I went to Grenada last year. Not so much looking forward to pulling on a swimsuit in the middle of December. I can't wait till they're old enough to swim by themselves.

4. I am not quite done with my Christmas shopping. Almost. But not quite. Also I still need to pack and do some laundry for the Newport trip. And did I mention I'm supposed to be working on a story?

5. I am one of those people who stocks up on Christmas presents throughout the year if I see something that seems just right for a particular person. The idea is that then, I already have some of my presents purchased, so I'm not spending a ton of money all in December. The problem is that I keep seeing MORE things I know my children would love, even though I already had all the presents I had originally intended to buy them. It's so hard to restrain myself when I keep seeing things that I just KNOW my kids would love.

6. I like to sometimes get up early to accomplish things before my kids wake up. That's how the theory goes, anyway. The problem is that two of kids are fairly light sleepers who tend to rise early anyhow, so no matter how quiet I am, they wake up and foil my plans. Today I got breakfast ready in the kitchen in the dark so the kitchen lights wouldn't shine into the hallway. I didn't even make coffee because the coffee pot is too noisy. I took my cereal to the office and closed the door while I checked my e-mail. Within minutes, Evie was crying from her crib and Beth was standing beside me.
"Why are you up so early?" I asked Beth. "I was being so quiet!"
"Oh, well, I heard some noises," she said.
"No, I was being super-quiet," I said.
"Noises like this," she said. And then she took my spoon and ever-so-lightly tinked it against the side of my cereal bowl.
Seriously? That woke her up? I just can't win. My children apparently have Superman-like-powers of hearing. Now if only I could find some way to use those powers for good and not for just waking-up-early-and-bothering-Mommy.

7. I know it's still a whole week till Christmas, but I feel like it should be this weekend, for some reason. And I also feel like I ought to be getting some time off soon, for some reason. I think it's because Beth is done with school as of today, therefore I feel like I ought to be on Winter Break now too. No more laundry or cooking or article writing or diaper changing for me! I'm on break, thank you very much.

A girl can dream, right?


More quick takes can be found at Conversion Diary.