Catching Up

Whoah. Looooooong time, no see. I've been experiencing some of the steepest uphill battles that life has to offer for the last few years. I had gotten completely burned out on blogging and some of the "politics" that come along with it. But it has been so long since I have done any journaling of any kind, there's barely any mention of Corgan in my diaries, and absolutely NONE of our new addition, Duncan. Not even a note about my pregnancy. A few weeks ago, some circumstance led me to come poking around my old blog posts, and suddenly I felt like everything I've been needing was right here. Just to have a place to talk about and analyze my day, document the hilarity that is living with four boys (I'd forgotten some of these stories I blogged about so long ago. For shame that some are now "lost" because I hadn't been writing anything down.)

I've always loved writing, and I think I've taken for granted how much it really helps me in bad times. And times have not been very good. We've had many blessings, but there have also been times the last few years that I've honestly wondered HOW I was going to get through some of the crap that was being slung my way. But I'm still here, and I feel stronger, and I need to harness the power of writing to make sure I stay that way and only grow stronger.

Instead of doing one huge, long post to catch up on everything, I'm just going to break things down and post here and there some updates, interspersed with semi-daily happenings and just whatever is on my mind. I say this now, because at one point this came up with some other bloggers I know: I am not doing this for anyone but me. If you read it and enjoy it, that is fabulous and I'm happy. But do not feel obligated to leave any comments. It doesn't hurt my feelings, because I know not all people are "commenters." If you wish to leave one, that is also fabulous and also makes me happy. But I still love you if you do not, because I know it's not a reflection on me or how you feel about me.

I'M STILL HERE!

I am, I am! One of my New Year's resolutions is to write more - not restricted to my blog. I used to write all of the time, and it was a goal of mine to someday write books and poetry, etc. So I have to start somewhere. Check in. If you are still there...

Sisters and babies!

Happy birthday to my cute nephew, Jonah, who is one today, which I totally cannot believe. He's my younger sister's son, their first baby, and he has Amy's red hair. He's a handsome little man, and I can't wait to see him again!

Jonah

And something I can't believe even more is that today Corgan is eleven months old! I feel like I was in the hospital with him last week! He is just about ready to pull up to stand, but he's so stubborn and he gets so frustrated that he gives up. It's pretty cute! All of my boys kind of waited until the very last minute for every milestone, so I know he'll get there. I CAN'T BELIEVE he'll be one year old next month! Time is stealing my boys away from me!

Corgan

On that note, because I was behind on my blog earlier this month, I didn't document the birth of another nephew, making me an aunt for the 24th time. Camden McKay Myers was born to Ashley and Jon, their fifth child, on Septemeber 10, and we are so excited he's here! Belated congratulations to Ashley and family! I can't wait to get to know him!

Camden

This is for Suzanne...

... since she's not on Facebook, and she so loved my earlier story about the gerbil. Today, you know, the same exact day as the one I cleaned up gerbil carcass, I heard a frantic squeaking coming from the mouse cage. Ruby was on top of it, and when I yelled, she ran off. I noticed the mouse was limping. Upon further inspection, her front leg was gone. G-O-N-E. Ruby somehow got it through the cage bars, and I'm assuming she ate it. At first the mouse was trembling so hard I could actually see it from far away, but now she's just hobbling around like nothing is wrong, using one paw to eat, and running on her wheel. She's a resilient little fuzzball.

The Perilous Life of a Rodent

Um, I think I jinxed the gerbil. Remember last week? I mentioned I wished it would escape the cage? Well, I'm really all talk, I don't want any animal to get hurt. But I do admit I really disliked this particular gerbil. I liked her in the beginning - she's technically Fynn's, a birthday present from Sarah. But she bites HARD. I kid you not, I still have a lump in my finger from where she bit me three months ago. Really, she's a harmless little rodent, but it has become kind of a joke that I have a vendetta against her. I even tried to see once if she'd leave her cage and start exploring the backyard. But she was terrified, and when I actually saw her trembling, I felt major remorse and repented. I've protected her from Ruby the cat vigorously.

UNTIL...

Last night I noticed her cage topper was very slightly askew. Not enough for a cat to get in there, but certainly enough for a gerbil to escape. And sure enough, she wasn't in there. I wanted to find her before the cat did, so I did a thorough search and found nothing. This morning, I sat down at the computer, glanced around as I waited for it to load, and spotted a stub tail on the floor. Attached to a rear and two hind legs. And - that's all. Oh, besides the organs spilling out. Yeah, I hope you aren't eating lunch right now. So I had to clean that up, and I feel bad for the little gal. Thank goodness the boys weren't up, yet. I haven't disassembled or cleaned out her cage, yet, and today I found Oliver inspecting the crime scene.

Happy 70th Birthday to Dad!

Happy birthday, Dad! I'm sorry Lucy isn't here to share it with you!

Flowers Gone Wild

My sisters and I used to walk to my grandmother's house and visit with her. We'd often go sit on her back porch when the weather was nice and just talk. I would talk to her a lot about all of her flowers - she had many. Wild and cultivated roses, irises in every color of the rainbow, tiger lilies, honeysuckle, wisteria, sweet peas, and many more that I've forgotten over time. She instilled in me a love of flowers and gardening that was nourished by the books I read. Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden, Little House on the Prairie, etc. Although I'm not necessarily a perfectly green thumb, I think I've developed a lovely light yellow, spring green thumb. At least I had, up until I got pregnant with Fynn.

Pregnancy kicks us all in the butt in different ways, and one of the things to suffer with Fynn and Corgan was my gardening. I just gave up. Weeding was too hard, I was hormonal and one failure of one plant would upset me and I just lost the desire. But I still love flowers so much. I love the wild look, and while right now the weeds have taken over a bit too wildly, there have been some other lovely results of my lazy sowing the last couple of years. It's still not quite what I would like it to be, but I'll take what I can get in these busy days.

This is the low brick wall by our porch, covered in black-eyed Susan vine, and purple hyacinth vine. They are all mingled and twirled together, and I love it.

Close-up of black-eyed Susan vine. I've loved them from the moment I saw them in a magazine, and tried for a couple of years to grow them without success. But last year, it worked, and this year, they came back with a lovely vengeance.

Both of them together. Mary Ann gave me a handful of the purple hyacinth vine a few years ago, and they came back in spectacular bunches all over the place. They are a little crazy, but beautiful - and they smell divine.

This popped up in the middle of my lantana. It looks a bit familiar, but I can't place it. Does anyone know? The find of this one inspired this post this morning, and I'm thinking it might inspire a little more of the fey spirit of gardening.