There are a lot of crazy, busy mornings around here. Just picture four of us trying to get out the door for school and work in various states of disarray. The coffee is flowing. Breakfast is cooking. Papers need to be signed. And more times than not, someone typically can’t find something that they absolutely need and I ultimately have to track it down. In the midst of all that chaos, Andrew–always the last one to get up–walks down the steps, rubs the sleep from his eyes and comes over to me with open arms. “I love you, mommy.” And I remember to breathe. I am a lucky mom. He tells me this all the time and I never take it for granted. He says it every morning without fail. He says it before he goes to bed at night. He says it when I drop him off for swim practice or right before hangs up the phone. He has been like this ever since he was a baby. I treasure every single one of those “I love you’s.” He says it so casually, but he means it with all of his heart. For this busy mom, it is his gift to me every day. Fourteen years ago tonight, I was in labor with him for the better part of 8 hours with no epidural and a ridiculous amount of back pain. I had expected him to come into the world 3 days earlier, but he seemed to like it where he was and in no hurry to meet us. I like to remind him of all of this–especially on his birthday. But I would do it all over again to have this young man in my life. So in a few years ladies if you are looking for a nice young man who is handsome, funny and treats his mom right – look no further. And by the way, you’re welcome. 🙂

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I have a book on my desk called 300 Writing Prompts. Whenever I have writer’s block (or just not a lot of time to blog on a Sunday night), this is my go-to book to get in the right frame of mind. Sometimes, I’ll open it to any page with the intention of committing to the first topic I see. Tonight, I opened the book to three different places and nothing inspired me to write anything at length. So I decided to post some short answers to my favorite prompts. Here we go:

• What is my favorite way to spend a lazy day? – Reading a book or reading through a ton of magazines while sitting on the couch in my pajamas all day drinking coffee and listening to music.
• Write about something that is presently in my life that is “worth it” – This one is easy. Spending time with my kids as much as they will let me because soon enough they will go off to college and parenthood as I know it to be will be over.
• When was the last time I got lost? – The first day I drove my brand new car to work through the narrow streets of Manayunk. It was January. There was fresh snow on the ground and cars parked along both sides of the streets. The road on my normal commute was closed and I was cursing the fact that I had to take a new and unfamiliar route and didn’t spend the extra money on a GPS.
• Three realistic goals I would like to achieve in my lifetime – Write a book, tour Italy and see my grandchildren grow up.
• What do I need right now? – Dinner already made for tomorrow night, a solid idea for the book I want to write, and money for my new kitchen.
• What do you think is the most important question in life? – Will this make me happy?
• What takes too long? – Laundry
• Which household chores do I hate doing and what do you like? – I like de-cluttering and reorganizing different areas in the house. I hate cleaning the bathrooms.
• What am I happy to finally check off my to-do list? – Today’s blog post. 🙂

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I’m kind of a Facebook fanatic. This will not come as a shock to people who know me pretty well. But, to those who don’t –it’s true. It is not something I’m proud of but I am coming to terms with my relationship with Facebook (FB for short. 🙂 ) I indulge in this – I guess you would call it a hobby — because I don’t indulge in much more than laundry and chocolate in my adult life. I don’t tweet or pin or use SnapChat. I barely know how to follow my own kids on Instagram although I know it is the thing I should probably get next. That is – if I want to waste more time. FB provides amazing articles without having to subscribe to more magazines. FB gives me access to insightful (and often hilarious) commentary by those whose opinions I admire and respect. FB offers trips down memory lane – like an old commercial or a list of fun facts about some of my favorite ’80s movies.  

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