And now to resume the toilet talk...

It seems that I've largely abandoned this space, my personal space on the massive landscape that is the World Wide Web.  I've been thinking more and more lately about how much I miss spending time here, crafting my words, sharing our stories and connecting with people who find their way here.  I've also given time to trying to figure out why I have found it so hard in the last year, and especially since July 24, the date of my last post, to make time for my blog.

There has been one major addition to my life in the last year: Girl Guides of Canada.

The reality is that running two Girl Guide units has dominated my free time in the evenings when I normally spend a little bit of time here.  I love my work with Girl Guides and that won't change.  Nor will the amount of time I devote to it.

And, with my current attempts to get back into paid employment with the government, it isn't likely that more free time is going to open up any time soon.

And so, while it may not be of interest to current readers (if there are any current readers left?), I'm going to change my use of this space somewhat and use it to share meeting ideas, craft ideas, issues and celebrations about my Girl Guide units.  I will still use it as my personal blog.  it won't entirely be Girl Guide-related but since that is a big part of my life, it only makes sense that it becomes more of a feature on the blog.  And if it means that I get back to writing more often, then it's the right answer.

But for now, the blog, at least for this week, is going back to its roots: poop talk! Bum talk! Toilet training talk!

Both of my girls played starring roles here during their toilet training adventures.  And it seems only fair that Henry's foray into all things underpants (his favourite word for underwear) and toilet is documented as well.  Not just for posterity and your enjoyment, but for my own psychological health.

As you may recall, I hate toilet training.  I've said it before and I'll say it again: if there is one part of parenting I'd like to be able to hire out, it would be this part.  I'll take barf, discipline, sleeplessness, illness over toilet training anyday.  I. HATE. IT.

Maybe that's why we generally suck at it over here.  Although Hope's experience was way better than Emily's and maybe that means that Henry's will be even better.

All I really know is that I'm likely to be washing a lot of underpants today.

Today is Day 1 and currently Henry is still sitting on the couch watching Grover in his dinosaur jammies and a fully stocked diaper.  My resolve is still building.  I still need a shower.  Although maybe it would be wise to delay that until I really need it.  Right now I'm only mildly dirty.  Just wait.

Feeling ready for those underpants! All positive and full of smiles.  Just wait.....

And so, you can expect updates today.  Hopefully many positive ones.  Probably many poopy ones.  Although, given this guy's propensity for being backed up, it may be all pee.  I think I'll be considering myself blessed that he can't produce the deuce without a lot of grunting and red-facedness.

See? Already starting on the poop talk and I haven't even pulled out the Spiderman underpants yet.  Oh, this day is going to be good.  Aren't you glad I'm back?

Fiddling around

You've probably noticed my new banner. I'm starting to (finally) learn Photoshop. Nothing like being ahead of the curve, eh?

It's fun. The new banner is not perfect but I like where it's headed and I like playing around. Really, the possibilities are endless. I have a couple of issues: sizing it so that it works in the stretch template (I've had to changed my template to a fixed size for now) and adding colour and undoing steps is a challenge for me but I imagine I'll figure it out as I get more comfortable.

The photo I chose might seem odd at first glance. It's a photo of India's first female rickshaw driver. It just seemed to fit well with what "Virtually There" means to me.

Why blogs slow things down

(I had to get this out. WCW post is just below this. Don't miss out on some great pizza!)

I don't mean that my blog slows me down or is a chore. What I mean is that when I don't blog, I feel a bit like life is passing me by. This is because I'm continuing to see the kids change, grow, accomplish new things, be funny, be nasty, have runny noses, all of it but none of it is down anywhere. I'm relying on my memory to capture it all and you know what? That sucker just isn't that reliable anymore. Ask John. He'll tell you.

Emily's first year is not captured on a blog, in a diary (okay, the first couple of months are in a journal but after that my hand got sore). I really regret that. I have lots of great memories of that year, and lots of not-so-great ones, but as time goes on, they're fading. Some still stand out vividly but the regular days, the ones you sometimes cherish the most... they're going and it makes me sad. I don't want that to happen again.

Since my posts have slowed down to a distinct crawl over the past few weeks, I've really felt a hole in my days, which has grown into a hole in my creativity and from there a hole in myself. I know this sounds awfully grandiose and over-the-top dramatic, but I really feel a bit dismayed by it all. I really do feel like a very close friend has left town and damn do I miss her.

God, it feels good to write again. I feel myself relaxing and I feel happy. Even joyous. Like I'm in the right place. Or the write place.

I have a lot to say. A lot of it is about the kids, of course. This is a damn Mommy Blog after all. But I also want to talk about the summer at the cottage, fall, the class I'm taking, thoughts on the future, all the usual stuff I go on about here. Ad nauseum.

But man, have I ever missed that nauseum.

Baby, I sure hope I'm back cuz this feels so write.