You know… that Blog?

The Monsters I have created

Written By: Jenn - Sep• 05•10

Oh it has been a busy, busy few weeks, let me tell you.

No really, let me tell you.

Back in March, I set up a blog for the Main Street-ers to collaborate on. They’d been hanging around here for a while at that point, submitting haiku faithfully every Wednesday, and generally doing it just to make me happy. That’s how they roll, and why I love them.

I digress.

I already owned the domain, and it was sitting there unused, so I figured “why not?”. My friends have wonderful stories – the three of them have had (and continue to have) some fantastic adventures in their lives, and I love to hear about them. They have a lot to share, and I want to share them with you! So I set it up and did the big reveal to my darling friends ShaMoo, J-B, and Knarf shortly after.

There was a resounding sound of… silence. A few nervous smiles. Finally I believe it was J-B who said “You know it ain’t gonna happen, Jenn… right?” No matter, I had faith they’d come around. Eventually. It has taken a while, but I persevered and didn’t push them. Well, didn’t push them hard, anyway. More of a passive-aggressive poke every so often, when the subject arose. A while ago I started moving their haiku posts over to the other blog. It only took them… what? 2-3 weeks to notice? ;)

I knew ShaMoo would be the first to come around. She’s guest posted here several times, and I knew it was appealing to her! She snuck one in last month when her in-laws were headed her way. You know, I don’t think she even did it to shut me up make me happy, either. She’s a natural, my best friend. Last week she slipped another one in, and then the cheeky gal wrote the boys to issue a challenge!

Alright boys… consider this a challenge. I’ve just posted my second non-haiku entry over at brain fart… I’m on fire!!! Haha…

Who’s next?

Big hugs,
ShaMoo

See, if there’s one thing our group is (besides being the best of friends, and fantastic people all-around), it’s competitive. Knarf wrote back quickly to say “oh no, it’ll have to be J-B, I don’t like what I write…” blah blah blah… and only a couple hours after that wrote again to announce he’d put his very first blog post up! I giggled. I texted ShaMoo (who was camping)…

“Knarf Blogged!! Knarf Blogged!!”

I was very excited. I definitely tee-hee-hee-ed out loud. If I hadn’t been alone at the time, I might have even gloated, but I was, so I didn’t.

Ok, J-B, it’s all on you now, Sweet Pea! What pearls are you going to delight your fans and readers with? We know you’re full of it. Errr… stories, charm, and wisdom that is.

Folks, there was one other monster I’ve created. Probably the one I’m most proud of, which of course is natural since I grew her myself. You remember how excited I was when I posted this video? Hubby and I went away for a few days last week to Thunder Bay, and when we came home, it was to a totally different Wee One. This new Wee One was doing the front AND back crawl! This new Wee One was leaping into the water unassisted… and even better? This new Wee One was DIVING! I’m not kidding! All along, she’s been learning all of this just by watching us from the sidelines. She has always known how to swim; she just didn’t know it! We spent the afternoon in the pool with her on Friday, and she was swimming along side me in the deep end, torpedoing under water, and having the time of her life.

Wee One; nouveau mermaid!

Wee One; nouveau mermaid!

 

Sensational Haiku Wednesday

Written By: Jenn - Sep• 01•10
Sensational Haiku Wednesday

Sensational Haiku Wednesday

Welcome to “Sensational Haiku Wednesday!”

Click here for info and background on this weekly event!

The basics:

Haiku is simple! It is 3 non-rhyming lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively (a great way to use your fingers!)

This week’s theme is: Secrets

      Will you ever know
      What lays just behind the smile?
      You might be surprised

      Divulging a truth
      Serious consequences
      Best undiscovered

      Suspect awareness
      Buried within the darkness
      Lies a quiet need

I’m out of town this week – I will visit when I get back!

Next week’s theme: Belong(-ing)


Note: Nothing makes me happier than to see new people getting “hooked on haiku”! Keep it going to make it to the Hooked on Haiku List

To participate in this week’s event, please use the following code in your post on your own blog (if you don’t have a blog, post your Haiku as a comment):

 

What a difference a couple of weeks make

Written By: Jenn - Aug• 27•10

2 Weeks ago, I introduced a petrified and tearful Wee One to her new swimming teacher, Kate.

I was at my wit’s end trying to get her past her fear of water. Even though we have a pool in our back yard and she was in it all the time, she had zero trust in her abilities, and, apparently, in us. This isn’t really news I guess; I’ve written about her anxiety and shyness previously. She has come such a long way with those issues this past year – she even smiles at and speaks to J-B and Knarf now! But the water… wow. Our biggest frustration over this is that the rest of the family are like fish – the Hubby was a medal winning part of the swim team in high school, and I was a synchronized swimmer for years! We are at home and completely confident in the water, as is big sister The Teen.

We had no idea how to get her past this. ShaMoo mentioned that she had taken Frank&Frank to private swimming lessons at a place in town, and finally I gave up and decided to call them. Small shallow lap pool, salt water, individual instructors. Worth a shot!

The first lesson in the pool had me shaking my head, and I was sure this wasn’t going to work. I had explained to the staff about Wee One’s shyness and almost paralyzing fear of the unknown, etc. They only nodded, told me not to worry, and said they’d seen it all before.

On Monday she had a meltdown so bad I yanked her halfway through the lesson and took her home. On Wednesday, she had another one, but as I’d warned her, I didn’t step in, and just let Kate talk her down. Miserable lesson.

Yesterday, though? No fanfare, no catalyst. No visible reason. Click.

Kate looked at me half way through and said “you brought me a different kid today…!”

Today was Wee One’s 10th and final private lesson of the summer.

I am SO PROUD of this kid of mine. So proud.

What a difference a couple of weeks made!! THANK YOU, KATE!