...I would seriously lose my head. These past couple of weeks alone I've lost my keys countless times, locked them in the garage, misplaced my debit card twice, my business credit card once, and left the house with a candle burning on the (wooden) kitchen table. I had a cart full of groceries on the conveyor at Rego's only to realize that I left my wallet in my car. I ruined another set of towels by leaving them in the washer for three days. Gross. I'm sure after I post this, I'll remember about a dozen other scatterbrained acts I've left out. I get so irritated with myself that it's exhausting! Truly, I don't know how other people put up with me. My friend tried to make me feel better the other day by saying, "you're just practicing being human". Yes, but do I need to practice being a stupid human? Geez, as I re-read this I realize it must be a self-deprecating kind of day!

I sometimes daydream about being one of those polished, Coach-Purse carrying kind of girls who never leave the house without fresh makeup, smooth hair and perfectly pressed clothes. Ugh. I'm sure those kind of girls are never caught wild-eyed without wallets at the grocery store or trying desperately to crawl through the window of their homes. Though I can't help but wonder if they go home and plug themselves in at night.

The picture above is a Shel Silverstein drawing that is fitting to this post. Hmmm, the poem it's from is aptly titled "Loser". By the way, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Shel Silverstein. If you haven't visited his website, it's really great. Check it out. He's not just for kids!! I loved him when I was little, but I think I get a lot more out of him now.

I'm going to go and blow out all of my candles and go to bed...

I thought I was safe when I let my 5-year-old listen to Q.104 on the radio with me in the mornings. That is until Thing One started singing along with Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl" from the backseat on the way to Kindergarten. The sound of her innocent little voice singing about "the taste of her cherry chapstick" just about made me blow my coffee all over the dashboard! It didn't bother me in itself, but I was concerned about her going into school and singing it to her teachers during sharing time. So, I try to think of the best way to go about talking to her about it without making a big deal.

Me: You know, some people don't think that a song about kissing girls is very nice, so maybe you don't want to sing that out in public. In the car is fine, but don't sing it at school.

Thing One: Mooooooom (exasperated eye-roll). Sometimes girls marry girls and boys marry boys. People like different things and that's ok.

Crack up. I don't want to say that I've never been prouder, but it did make me feel warm to know that I'm raising a tolerant little soul who will hopefully carry that acceptance of people over into her adult life. I'm sure that many parents would have my one-way ticket to mom hell printed up in a heartbeat, but the direct simplicity of her comment made me smile and feel like I'm doing something right. Rock on, Thing One!

This weekend, I managed once again to find the balance between mom and regular human being. On Saturday, I went out to an anti-shower for my girlfriend who is getting married in two weeks. She's already done the deed before and didn't want the typical bingo-playing, bride-and-groom-oven-mitt-gift shower that we all tolerate, so the girls went out to 87 West Wine Bar in Chagrin Falls. It was one of those situations where 3 different cliques collided. It could have been dangerous. There were the high school pals, the new family, and the friends of the soon-to-be hubby. Our outfits ranged from mom jeans and a floral top (NOT me) to a skin-tight dress and hooker heels (think Peg Bundy with blonde cotton candy-textured hair, complete with cigarette between the teeth). By the way - also NOT me! For all of our outward appearance differences, we ended up having a lot in common and had a great time. We must have looked like such a mismatched group, but after a drink or two we were all laughing and joking like old friends.

On the way home, I got pulled over for speeding. Thankfully, the universe realized my recent plethora of terrible luck and decided not to push me over the edge. I got off with just a warning to slow down. I didn't even have to cry! Things are definitely looking up.

On Sunday, we took the kids and their cousins to Patterson's Fruit Farm in Chesterland. I had never been there and believe me, it will definitely be an annual trip! There was so much to do! They had pony rides, hayrides, a big slide through the woods, a hay pit to jump in and push cart rides. And the food? Mmmmmm. I love fall food. I gorged myself on apple fritters, cider, kettle corn and a funnel cake. I need to put on a few lbs anyways, and there's no yummier way to do it.

By the time I got home in the evening and wound down, the kids were ready for bed and I had a wonderfully relaxing night.

Balance is good.