I’m participating in FLASHBACK FRIDAY put on by Texan Mama! Yeehaw! Hope you enjoy this golden blog oldie.  I’m sure SOMEONE out there can relate!

My husband is a good man. He puts up with A LOT.  He and I are opposite in so many ways.

He is a detail man.  An everything-has-a-place-man. An if-you-put-things-right-back-where-you-found-them-we-wouldn’t-have-this-problem-kind-of-man. I am NOT. I try. But I am more of a free spirit when it comes to organization, especially when it comes to housework. And, of course, my husband is essentially right. (Albeit in a housework-utopian-society-kind-of-way.) But, as for me, there is always SOMETHING that comes up to thwart my efforts.

Let’s go on a journey through 10 minutes of the mess and chaos of my life shall we? One example – a pair of my running shoes that has not yet made it back into the closet. So, theoretically, I should have been able to take them off my feet and toss them into the closet. Oh, I mean, lay them gently into the designated running shoe cubby. Yeah.

So here is what happened instead. I took them off…  At that precise moment, my son yelled dramatically from the other room. I sprint over to him and find that he and his brother are pounding each other over a Light Bright design. I settle the argument and notice hundreds of Light Bright pieces all over the floor. Oh dear. (Dad won’t be amused by that.) So we make a game of it and pick them up. In the middle of that the phone rings. It is my friend reminding me it is my turn to bring snack to soccer. I run down the stairs to see if I even have something that would qualify as a snack. Nope. Put it on the list of things to do. I then notice the laundry is finished. I put a new load in and take the other out and begin folding it. Kids come running downstairs and want a drink. I get them a drink. They spill juice everywhere and I clean it up. I begin emptying the dish washer because I can’t even put the juice cups away due to the overflowing sink with dirty dishes in it. I am halfway through this task when hubby comes home.

So this is what my husband sees: Kitchen a mess. Sticky floor. Laundry strewn everywhere. Light Bright pieces not picked up. (Because they decided to dump them out again while I wasn’t looking.) And then, of course, he tripped over my shoes. Yeah, those shoes. The ones that should have been put away as soon as I took them off my feet.

And then he says…. “Jen. Why don’t you just put these away right when you take them off?”

I did it.  I jumped in with both feet…

I bought my conference pass for BlogHer 2010.  I am beyond excited!

At this point I only know two people  who are also planning on attending in August.  So if YOU are planning on going… PLEASE, PLEASE leave me a comment or shoot me an email (jlgerlock at comcast.net) so we can get to know one another well in advance.

I am truly looking forward to the experience.  Especially considering that I totally STALKED BlogHer on Twitter this year. Anyone who at any time mentioned BlogHer on Twitter was known to me.  I read the blogs.  I checked out pictures. I played the Whrrl stories.

Obsessed?  Me?  Just a little.

(As an aside, I am still open to conference sponsorship.  Please contact me directly for details and arrangements.)

I love having guest bloggers… especially from ladies that I respect and am a fan of!  So while I am off on a jaunt to NYC with some gal pals, please enjoy this blog from my pal Michelle… of   There Must Be More To Life Than Dishes & Laundry.

Take Time To Smell The Roses

Why is it that life is so busy? We rush from here to there, busy and stressed, but rarely take time to slow down and smell the roses.

Nothing illustrates the frantic pace of American life better for me than Manhattan. I have a love, hate relationship with NYC. On one hand it is so amazing, the history, the sites, the architecture, the people, on the other hand it is so crowded, and so busy, it is overwhelming.

Back home it is not a lot different. Being a mom to three school-aged children I wake up at 5am, head to work, get home around 4pm, drop off the babysitter, and then the fun really begins. Between the hours of 4:30-7:30pm each night we try to squeeze in dinner, clean up, kids’ showers, and countless activities: PTA meetings, soccer, basketball, Cub Scouts, dance class, church, and the list goes on and on.

I have been thinking a lot lately, why? Why is it that I over schedule myself so much that I don’t enjoy the day to day? Is it really necessary for me and my children to be involved in so many different things? I feel like a lot of my life is spent being pulled in 10 different directions, multi-tasking so much that nothing is done quite as well as I would like it.

Why can’t I just take the time to smell the roses, hug on my kids more, read bedtime stories more, stay in bed a little longer, enjoy nature, and just spend time with the people I love? Aren’t these the things that are important in life? So why is it so hard to keep life simple?

I’m really trying hard to discipline myself as far as blogging is concerned and keep my creative writing juices flowing.  So when I saw the  opportunity to participate in “National Blog Posting Month” I signed right on up!

This might have been a huge mistake.

Carrie Bradshaw, I am not.

I generally need a bit of inspiration to blog.  Inspiration=ridiculous things that happen to me.  Ridiculous things happening to you generally turn out to be challenging and more often than not, embarrassing.

I usually try to shy away from a life rife with drama and incredulous moments.  I get the feeling that this month I may instead be seeking these moments out in order to find my blogging muse.

Oye.

This could be an interesting 30 days.

At least you know where to come if you are looking for something ludicrous to read in the next month.  Oh, and be sure to leave me a comment or two… I have a feeling I might need them.

Last night I took my family to see Disney on Ice in Baltimore.  So super fun!

My kids had a blast.  I had a blast.  My husband… well, he had fun but his Phillies are in the World Series so he was kinda preoccupied.

THE BEST PART?  I got to hang with my gals!  Lara of Chicken Nuggets of Wisdom and Mary of Pajamas & Coffee.  SA-WEET!

Together we make one fine group of, um, Hip Chicken Nuggets In Pajamas?  Well, whatever.  You get my point.

Not exactly the same as a girl’s night out but still, it was nice to connect for the night.

When you put us all together we have like, 382 kids so we DID have to pay attention to the little buggers and make sure we kept track of them.  Cause how bad would that look if we lost kids at a Disney show?

Actually, I am sure it has been done before.  And that might have made a good blog post, come to think of it…but anyway.

Want to see some more pictures? Check out my Flickr.

Wanna see my official review or get tickets?  Check it out here.

BUT ONE LAST THING… You know how I feel about Tinkerbell, right?  Well, last night she was there and I swear she was waving JUST TO ME.  No, not to those darling little pre-schoolers all dolled up in their fairy wings.  Me!

I can die happy now.