Oh the Things a Blogger will Blog.

*Which should have the subtitle "She Hasn't Put the Leash Back On Yet"*

There are six children here today (in case you missed all my whining on Twitter) so I have not even thought about attempting any housework until the three visitors go home. Why would I even dream of running up a mudslide? So while they have been sweetly playing here in the playroom I have been supervising from my desk and Tweeting and following and stuff.

I took a minute to study my blogoversary ticker and my post counts and I am facing a decision.

It's 118 days until this blog turns 1. Who'd a thunk I would have made it this far? On top of that I only have 75 - well now 74 - posts until I hit 300. So here's the dilema.

Should I pace my posts so that I hit 300 on the anniversary? Should I shoot for 350 on my blogoversary? Or should I just celebrate one or the other?

And then you come to the fact that a little over a month later The Bowl will celebrate its blogoversary. To make 300 coincide with the blogoversary over there I would have to post 139 posts in 158 days. A little more do-able considering I take at least one day off during the weekend.

Of course then I'm looking at how to celebrate. I should try to host a giveaway or something but I don't have a clue how to do that or even what I would give away. Anybody want to make a donation or act as a coach?

This looks like a cool way to party!

I'm wondering if blogging is my therapy or if I need therapy for my blogging. I seem to think about this an awful lot. I was actually tossing this very problem around last night when I was supposed to be sleeping. That and what I would blog about if we started to have the severe storms that were forcasted for us. Then I started to freak out a little because what would I do if there were six children and no power.

Wait. Did I have a point? And what has happened to my playroom? I gotta run.

Randomness Round Up!

It's Brain Junk Time! Woo Hoo! Time for me to brain dump all of the loonie stuff that has been swirling around in there and make room for more.

#1. And this is really important. Unless you are a rock star who is jumping the gun and celebrating the big V-Day on Friday instead of on Saturday, I'm guessing very few of you have something to do this Friday night. **Please don't correct me if I'm wrong. I don't want to be the only loser at home alone!**

So here's your something to do! Trisha has been hosting some Live broadcasts from MomDot sharing her knowledge of blogging, SEO (and that's not stick your ear out - silly me!), PR work, and other great blog growing tips she has found that work. But this week in honor of Friday the 13th (collective scream and gasp!) she's going to let us take the night off from school work and PARTAY! If you could see the lineup of sponsors for this thing you would be shorting out your keyboard too!

Tuck those wee cupids into bed early and check in over at MomDot at 8:30 Central (you do the math to find your own time)! Actually you probably want to keep checking in all week because she'll be posting instructions and more info about the games and party and such. Here's hoping I see you there. I hear there are cocktails involved! Everyone together now. "Uh Oh!!...."

Now #2 and this is really the end of the brain junk tonight. I am tired! I had this grand scheme to take the kids outside as much as possible this week since we are having some rock star weather. Fresh air, wide open spaces, running...exhaustion, early bedtimes, sound sleeping...Happy mommy!

Can we spell backfire? I'm beat! Yesterday one hour at the park climbing, running, keeping track of children (some not my own). Today an hour in the front yard planting some spring bulbs and cleaning up some leftovers from Sunday's yard work followed by another hour and a half at the park after we picked up the Orangutan. More running, climbing, tracking children that are not mine in hopes of keeping mine from losing body parts.

And silly me! I'm 31. I really should know better! But I went for it anyway. "Hey Mo! Watch this!" 31 year old mothers of three who are not gymnastics coaches have no business doing cartwheels. They shouldn't even smile at the notion of pulling (every muscle in their legs) one off with grace and skill and without (excruciating, star inducing) pain!

Wordless Wednesday

Because I feel random and because I can!
Blogger Fuel!

(at least for me but I'd love to know what your octane is!)

BTW that's coffee with cream and 1 sugar in case anyone wants to send some Dunkin' Donuts.

I'm not against accepting some blueberry cake donuts either.

Want to check out some more Wordless Wednesday?

Hit up the gang at MomDot! We have plenty to see!

Brain Junk!

I am breaking from form and format to empty my brain a little. It's my blog I can do that! And I have an ulterior motive. I need to time my posts so that my 100th comes right when I want it.

So here's a little dose of Zookeeper brain junk.

#1. I have never been tagged in one of those "Tell me 7 things" tags. I am eternally grateful. I hate those things! I don't mind telling you about me but I would prefer to reveal bits and pieces of my quirkiness naturally rather than listing them. This just came to mind as I was reading through my reader and I noticed that Jen from Cheaper than Therapy has been tagged 3 times (that she's responded too)!

Now there are two ways you can read this. A) my readership is so small that folks just don't get to me as they are scrolling through their blogroll. Or B) folks really don't care to get to know me that much. I'll take Option A thank you! Sure I wish I had more readers but to think that I am that boring? Well, that just hurts!

#2. I need a time out. My children are really driving me into the bat exhibit. And it's not like they are doing anything that they don't normally do. They are up to their normal nonsense and failure to listen and spasing out and bullying - ok maybe the bullying has been stepped up. I guess it's just that I have been dealing with it non-stop for about 3 months. Day in and day out. All day. The same arguments with the Rhino to put clothes on. The same speeches about tattling and being overly sensitive with Orangutan. The same ear splitting screeches that Marmoset unleashes when she doesn't get her way.

And before anyone blames Lion, it's not his fault. He's in auto sales and as we all know retail is in a heap of hurt right now and we won't even glance in the direction of the automotive industry. He is doing more than his fair share lately - and I thank him! When I looked at him today (apparently with a crazed, possessed, almost homicidal look in my eye) and asked him if I could have a time out tomorrow, he didn't even blink before he said, "Sure." Bless the man!

#3. I have decided that I am going to take the same approach to Christmas as I did last year. I have made up my mind yet again that I will NOT let it push me. I thought I would share this little bite I posted last Christmas and let you all chew on it for a while.

"So what's the big decision? I will not stress out. I have decided that no matter what happens and what I do not get completed I will NOT lose my mind or get stressed. That's not what this is supposed to be about.

I recently watched "The Nativity Story." I watched Mary through the story and I have spent a lot of time reflecting since. Here was a woman who was told by God that she's going to have His child. She is not married and really has no idea if her fiancee is going to take this news well much less believe her. She could be killed by the people of her town when this news gets out. She sits quietly believing that it's all going to be okay and waits.

Then late in her pregnancy - about the point where I decided that I wasn't interested in doing ANYTHING - she is called to go on a 3 day journey on the back of a donkey. She packs her bag and rides quietly over hideous terrain and waits.

They get to Bethlehem and folks are less than hospitable to her situation. She sits on a donkey and waits.

Finally a place is found for her - a smelly stable with a bunch of animals. The baby comes and all the visitors come and go. Angels sing and it's a great moment. You know what Mary did? She sat and she pondered all the wonders in her heart.

At no point in the story did Mary start to whine and pull her hair out and race from place to place trying to make everyone else happy. She could have run away from home. She could have committed Hari Kari (or whatever the Hebrew version was). She could have completely lost her mind. She sat in peace and allowed God to do his will.

Things at our house are not the best. We have bills to pay; we have all the Christmas preparations to make; hubby has a lot of long hours between now and Christmas. I have decided to sit quietly and wait. I don't know what I'm getting my children or my hubby for Christmas or even where the money is coming from to make those purchases. I don't know what I'm cooking for Christmas dinner. I don't even know who is eating Christmas dinner with us! In all of this I will sit quietly and wait. I got my gift 2000 years ago when Mary sat quietly and waited on the Lord. "

So there. You have three bites of Zookeeper brain junk. Have fun with them and the first person to tag me gets an exhibit in the mail!

Mom Tip #51

If you give a mom a grocery list, be ready to give her a cookie.

Did I mention that the Zoo has had 2 touring exhibits this week? Yeah well, we have. Needless to say it had been an interesting week. Which could explain a lot about this tip.

On my To Do list yesterday were three little words that I dread. “Make grocery list.” Ugh. But I pulled up my big girls and got to work.

If you give a mom a grocery list, she will write a few things on it. Then she will open the pantry to see what else is running low. In an effort to check the sugar, she will end up cleaning out and organizing the entire pantry only to learn that she is OUT of sugar. So she’ll write that on the list. She will then decide to check the other spices.

While in the spice cabinet (which she will also clean out and organize) she will remember that she has not taken anything out for dinner. She will go to the freezer to take something out and will start to stare blankly at the half gallon of rocky road ice cream. As water begins to drip from the ice maker she will snap out of it and run for the mop.

As long as she has the mop out, she will decide that this is a good time to mop the kitchen floor. Only when she opens the cabinet she will notice that she is very low on cleaning products. She should put those on the grocery list. The grocery list!!

She will try to focus and will open the next cabinet in line – the canned good cabinet. Can anyone say clean out and organize? As she writes tomatoes on the list she will remember seeing a coupon for tomatoes in the Sunday paper.

Two hours later after clipping, sorting, and filing coupons, she will try to remember what she was doing in the first place. Instead she will put away the (still dry) mop and switch out the laundry.

Then she will sit down and have a cookie. After all, she earned it! She’s been working hard!

Mom Tip #50

Just because you knew where it was five minutes ago, doesn’t mean you still know where it is.

When did moms become a GPS system? Is it part of mom gear that I received upon giving birth and I just failed to recognize my upgrade?

There is a commercial for a refrigerator (Sorry marketing people. If you were trying to make your brand name stick you missed your mark.) in which everyone is calling Mom asking her where x, y and z are. I would rather not assume that I am speaking for every woman in the world who has children, but I am pretty darn sure that the vast majority of us HATE that commercial!

Sadly, this is a real page from life as a mom. Where’s my phone? Where are my shoes? Have you seen my screwdriver? Where is my snack? Where did my book go? Have you seen my backpack?

The answers in order are, on the charger in the kitchen. I have to be specific because even though the charger has been in the same place for six months doesn’t mean the follow up, “And where is the charger?” question won’t be asked. Your shoes are in the playroom where you took them off. The screwdriver is in the garage on the shelf beside the clippers where you left it. You ate your snack so it’s in your belly. Your book is under your bed where you hid it from your brother. Your back pack is in the car waiting for you to get moving for school.

But then there are the moments when YOU the Mom need something. It is never where you left it! My hairbrush which I left in the bathroom drawer was behind the living room couch; my toothbrush was under my bed – thank you Munch; and my shoes were out on the deck because why wouldn’t they walk out of the closet on their own? And if you ask where something is you get, “Uh dunno.” Do they get up and help you look? No. Do they remember when they had it last? Of course not. Is there a point in even asking? Nope!

You are now saying to yourself, “I wonder what started this rant.” Just a few minutes ago I came to the computer to check my e-mail only to pull out the keyboard shelf and have my keyboard missing. Just when you think you know where you left it…

Zoo Randomness

How to ride out a Tornado Warning/Watch cycle.

So the storm finally reached us. I have to say I'm very glad. We are in such a drought that 2 days of rain like this is a real blessing. I could do without the wind and the tornado warnings but I'll survive. So today when the EAS went off on the TV we decided that the best way to distract ourselves was to get out the good old playdough. This way we weren't watching the storm outside but we were close enough to the stairs that we could get down to the playroom if things got ugly. So I share with you a rare and random glimpse inside the Zoo.

I promise! He's not a violent Rhino! He just takes his playdough seriously!

This was Marmoset's first playdough experience. It got pretty interesting!

Moooom! I'm not done yet!

Doesn't it look like a leaf to you?! Really?! I saw it right off!

Ahhh! Now we have some fun! Ummm, baby, you don't want to eat that!

Yeah, kiddo. Not yummy at all! Let's not do that again huh?

And what was the Zookeeper doing during all this? Other than taking pictures?

Imagining how quiet it would be if the Zoo looked like this!