An unexpected break

Excuse the radio silence around here.  Things got a little quiet for a few reason, I'd say.  Let's catch up a bit.

-Sam and Charlie were still asleep this morning at 8:51.  Which is good and bad.  Good because they needed the rest.  Bad because we leave at 9:00 to take Addie to school.  Good because they're going on two weeks with runny noses and coughs.  Charlie has also thrown in some ear infections for good measure (thank you tubes for draining all that stuff, making it easier to clear up the infections via drops, and being worth the money). Several days over the past week and a half have involved a lot of little boy cuddles, leaving little time for much else. I think we're finally starting to get over it all, but it's been a long haul. 

-Last week we moved my dad into assisted living.  Two weekends ago my brother drove down from Idaho with all his stuff and we went through box after box.  There's a rubbermaid bin full of pictures I can't wait to go through.  Some things from my childhood that were totally nostalgic were found amidst the piles.  Other things were unearthed that I wasn't sure why they've been stored or moved for so long.  We threw away about 4 boxes.  Four more boxes went to DI.  Quite a few boxes went to my basement to be stored, probably 4 of those full of Christmas stuff (my dad loves Christmas).  The weekend was a whirlwind, but it was good to get things organized and try to make it homey for him.  There are still loose ends to tie-up like internet and some furniture and power strips and those kinds of things, but I think his first week there has gone well. 

-Saturday we had an emergency preparedness fair for Relief Society.  Things were a little busy getting ready for that.  Lots of sorting sign-ups and making reminder calls and some grocery shopping for the luncheon afterwards thrown in.  I'd call it a success with so much useful information learned and yummy food at the end, but oh, the amount of preparation for activities makes me tired sometimes.   And I still have solar ovens and laundry buckets and alcohol burners in my laundry room to be distributed, so I suppose I'm not totally done with this yet. 

-Pat and I had a good long talk last night about goals and aspirations and timing.  I've had something I've been wanting to do for almost a year.  I'd like to start a new blog.  More of a personal/inspirational blog.  The domain name has been registered.  I've thought about blog designs.  I've drafted post after post in my head.  There have been a lot of times that jumping in has felt totally right, and things have happened confirming this as a good path.  And yet here I am still at the beginning.  I haven't jumped in.  I read a post last week that talked about teaching our kids to dream big through our own examples.  I agreed with a lot of what it said.  But at the same time I don't want my own big dreams to be resented by my kids because those dreams took time away from them.  I'm back in that place that I really haven't been in for a while- the do I sacrifice everything as a mother and work on other pursuits later, or do I try to find the balance of my own talents and hobbies alongside motherhood?  I've let motherhood win since I started staying home with my kids when Addie was 5 months old.  I don't think giving all of my energies to being a mom is something I'll ever regret.  But I also don't think it's wrong to be fulfilled in other areas of life.  I'm just not sure if I'm the kind of person who can balance it all.  And then I wonder if I'm the kind of person who has meaningful or inspiring things to say, and who do I think I am for thinking that I could add anything in that regard.  And then I think in circles.  And then I'm right back at the beginning doing nothing. 

So that's what's been going on around here. Silence explained.  Feel free to weigh in.