How did I end up on this track???

I have been really struggling over the past several months with the dissertation. I've been researching and reading and writing but I am not really getting anywhere, which I am very frustrated with and seem to deal with primarily through avoidance. (And crochet...wait until I post pictures of the blanket I am finishing up for my Mom for Mother's Day...but that will come later.)

Part of the problem is that I am so removed from the community at school. I live far away, and everyone I know has already graduated. But I think the real reason involves the little epiphany I had last night: Ever since I became a mother, I don't take myself or my potential career all that seriously, and as a result, neither does anyone else. Oops...I've mommy-tracked myself. I have been reduced to continually reminding everyone involved that yes, I still exist, and yes, I do intend to graduate someday. It's not unlike running inside a hamster wheel and it's predictably exhausting.

I'm not sure what my point is in posting this, and I'm not sure how I intend to climb out of this little hole I seem to be in. I just needed to put it out there, I guess. It's been on my mind for a long time now but I couldn't put it into words.

Lazy afternoon

Leia settles down to paint, while Max hangs out to watch.








Of course paint feels great on your nose.








And your face...











And your eyes...
Maybe now would be a good time for a bath.

Crochet on display

Recently I taught myself how to crochet, and it turns out I like it much more than knitting. So much so that I have to limit myself to evenings only, lest I hook my way through writing time! Here are some pictures of things I've made, on the only model in my house that stays still:

R2 in his Garden Scarf

R2 Rocks the Granny Shawl

He he...I'm such a dork :)

Freaking out...

I just found out that a group of 4th graders beat up a kindergartener on the school bus in my neighborhood. The child was apparently found unconscious in the back of the bus and had to go to the hospital. WTF is wrong with those kids? And their parents??

I am just so shocked and upset by this. I mean, part of why we moved here was for the excellent safe schools. And the presumably safe school buses. I know, mine is still little, but still...it's scary.