I really can’t tell you what I have been doing, I just haven’t been blogging. I think it stems from the fact that I haven’t really had much down time to really think about anything deep lately, which is usually when my best blogging material comes up.

It comes when I am soaking in a hot bath- but our bathtub needs to be replaced and leaks when you take a bath…so I stuck taking showers until the plumber comes.

It comes when the baby is asleep in the back of the car, and I have a long drive home. But lately he has been screaming and signing like a crazy person (though I can’t see him back there) so I have to blare the little people’s CD full blast to keep him from throwing sippee cups at my head.

It comes when I need to get my writing fix. But with the various websites I am running, and then my writing gigs I write till my fingers are cramped and can no longer function.  So that isn’t really an issue right now….

It comes when I need to vent, but I have started frequenting a few message boards lately so I tend to do all my complaining there instead. Though I love you guys more, so don’t get jealous.

All I can promise is to try to do better- I will try to step it up more and find exciting things to chat about.  That is the promise anyway…

But, I digress. There is a reason that I logged in today. I wanted to share a great little gem of sunshine in my life. 6 years ago, I got married to a great guy. We wined and dined each other, held hands at the movies, and enjoyed all that life had to offer. To the tune of 20K in debt. It wasn’t until the plane landed on home turf after the honeymoon, that we realized our credit cards were maxed out and we were in trouble. We were in school, working crappy jobs, and putting almost everything on plastic. I am sure I am not alone in this phenomena.

I wised up and I signed up for a debt management program. I got all my cards taken away, and they took money out of my account every month like clockwork. We struggled sometimes to make the payment, but we never faltered. We didn’t file bankruptcy, they got every single penny that they were owed. And now 56 months later- I am officially free and clear! I sent off my last payment to my creditors a few minutes ago. It was a big fat check, but I am done.

I feel so much lighter now…

Tonight we decided to try something new, so we went to the local race track for their family night. We had a blast! Here are some highlights. SUB would clap and point at the horses when they were racing, and he wasn’t scared at all to pet the horses before the race.

This proves a few points- the most important one being that I need to go shopping to buy some new clothes!

I am embarrassed to report that I am just now following up on a promise that I made more than a month ago. It takes me a bit longer to read these days, given that I can only read about 5 pages at a time while hiding in the bathroom trying to trick SUB into thinking that mommy isn’t really in the bathroom. No, that isn’t her toes you see under the door…shush now…go play…

Then to make matters worse, I was smack dab in the middle of some major momma drama between Amanda and Thea (I won’t spoil it, but I promise you won’t see it coming!) when SUB thought it would be funny to hide the book from mommy when I wasn’t looking. The book was found in the bottom drawer of his dresser, but that’s another story for another time.

So anyway, I promised that I would give a review on The Other Mother for all of you, so here it comes. First a quick synopsis:

Amanda is a successful book editor at a prominent publishing house in New York City. Thea is a stay-at-home mother of three who has never really left the community in which she grew up. Amanda, eight months’ pregnant with her first child, and her husband move in next door to Thea and her family, and the two women find themselves both drawn to and repelled by each other and their opposing choices in the constant struggle to balance career and family life.

When a disaster forces Amanda and her family to take refuge in Thea’s home, the underlying tensions simmering between them are forced to the surface-and even more so when Thea fills in as Amanda’s temporary nanny. But once dead animals start appearing on Thea’s front porch-surely a macabre gift from Amanda?-the battle with “the other mother” begins in earnest.

As a Work-at-home mom, I always feel like I am in a gray area. I can totally sympathize with the stay-at-home moms but at the same time I can’t really imagine what I would do if I wasn’t working. So in that respect, I understand the plight of the working moms. This book really touches on some of the deepest issues that come with motherhood, and no matter what side you belong to, you can really get a feel for the other sides life. The characters are vulnerable and don’t have all the answers- which is very true to life. The author captures so many little things about motherhood that are so hard to put into words. From the drunk feeling you get when you have the baby on your boob, to the overwhelming fear you feel when you leave your little one with someone for the first time. (Which I still have yet to do!)

It’s a great read- and I recommend that you all go check it out on Amazon now! Go now! I’ll still be here…hopefully your kids will leave you alone long enough to read your copy.