— 1 —

Well, I did it! I completed Jen’s 7 Posts in 7 Days: An Epic Blogging Challenge. As tired as I was upon our return from Minnesota, I think I did pretty well for the first five days. (I even wrote two posts on Tuesday.)

But then Saturday hit. I was just two posts shy of completing the Challenge and I was burnt out. I’m a slow writer, a perfectionist, and pretty much unable to think when I’m surrounded by noise and activity. (Which is just about every waking hour with two toddler boys in the house). So my boys watched a lot of television last week and I did not get much sleep. By the time the weekend rolled around, I really had to push myself through. I waited until the boys were in bed (or nearly so) to write, because I felt like they had reached their limit of mommy-in-front-of-the-computer time. (So I got even less sleep.) Last week’s pattern is most definitely not sustainable.

But on the bright side, the Challenge showed me that I’m capable of more writing than I’ve gotten in the habit of undertaking lately. It was easily the most I’ve written in one week since I left my job three years ago. And honestly, it felt great. So thanks, Jen, for encouraging everybody to undertake the Challenge. Maybe I’ll do it again someday. But, um… not anytime soon. Three to four posts a week? I think I can swing that.

— 2 —

I thought I’d list out the posts I wrote during the Challenge so you can see if there’s anything you missed. (Though maybe that’s not really why I’m listing them. It could be just because I like lists. And because I always feel more accomplished when I’ve written out what I’ve done.)

Monday – Monday Morning Miscellany, Vol. 2 — (Mostly a recap of our trip to Minnesota, but oddly enough, also a description of how we sold our house last year.)

Tuesday – On Authority — (An essay on, yes, authority. Its alternate titles were, “On Authority, Influence, Rebellion, And Obedience” or, “Why I Reject Fads But Accept Rules” or, “Okay, Fine – I Guess I Really Am A Dork.”)

Tuesday – A Tale of Two Soldiers — (A story of two WWII veterans from opposing sides: my stepfather-in-law and a perfect stranger whom I met years ago on a train platform in Germany.)

Wednesday – Five Favorites, Vol 3: Minnesota Edition — (Minnesota trip recap, part two.)

Thursday – A “Crazy” Good Night — (Musings on an evening of ideas and conversation with Auntie Leila of Like Mother, Like Daughter.)

Friday – 7 Quick Takes Friday, Vol. 8 — (An odd jumble of blog love, new babies, post-WWII horror, nursing homes, parades… and vomit. Sorry for the last one.)

Saturday – Friends Who Blog — (In which I talk about some of my friends and how we help each other… and how a bunch of them blog, too.)

Sunday – My World Youth Day — (Remembering my experience at the 2005 WYD in Cologne, Germany.)

— 3 —

If I had to pick just one of those posts for you to read, I’d go with A Tale of Two Soldiers.

— 4 —

I made one of our favorite dinners last night: Perfect Roast Chicken (with carrots, onion, thyme, and fennel). It is amazing. Amazing! I was clued in to the recipe by a brief mention Rachel Balducci made of it on her blog. I bless whatever impulse caused her to post it, because it became one of our favorites from the very first bites we tasted.

— 5 —

Here’s another of our current favorites: Slow Cooker Thai Pork With Peanut Sauce. (I was clued into this one by my friend Kristina.) The only drawback is that it’s so easy to make that I do so a little too frequently and my husband is starting to tire of it. I don’t want to, but I may need to give it a break for a while.

— 6 —

My 3-year-old, who has just finished potty training and is about to start preschool in September, has said a number of funny things this week:

While using the restroom after vociferously insisting that he didn’t need to: “Oh, I did need to go pee-pee! I sowwy, Daddy!” (This one has happened many times in the past couple of weeks.)

Sitting on the toilet for an extended period of time: “Watch out, Mommy! Es goin’ be dwangewous.”

In a public restroom, balling up a piece of toilet paper and preparing to throw it into the toilet that I was using at the moment: “Es for your pwactice, Mommy!” Me: “Sweetie, Mommy doesn’t need target practice.”

Every morning for the past 3-4 days: “I’m ready to go to school now!”

After (barely) bumping his head: “I huwt my head an I need to go in da ambwance!”

Walking along the many, many brick walls in our yard and along our driveway: “Don worry, Mommy. I’m in compwete contwol.”

Have a great week, everyone!