Yes, I can still type

Where have I been? It’s a valid question, and one wish I could answer… or at least answer, better. The truth of the matter is, I really don’t know. I’m here. Promise I am.

I woke up this morning and realized Thanksgiving is next week, and my guys are coming to put up our Xmas lights TODAY. Today. As in, it’s not summer anymore… back to school was a while ago, Halloween has come and gone (and I have the only child on the planet who refused to wear a costume and get free candy) and we’ve lived in this house for exactly 6 months now. Half a year! How did that happen? And Alex is turning 3 in a month. Seriously, how the hell did that happen?

And no, potty training has not been mastered yet. Separate issue. Very sore subject.

I feel like time was going at a good-to-fast but manageable pace throughout the summer – although summer herself never seemed to show up – we had a season of 68 degrees, chilly, very little pool and beach time, plenty of hot tub time, and minimal tan. I guess that’s good for all of us, less investment in anti-aging products. Then it was time for me to fly across a continent, and ocean, and onto another continent, to celebrate the union of Roni and Benoit and meet up with some fabulous friends and snack on French macaroons (there was a lot of that) and stimulate the economy with some spending on the Champs Elysees (could I be more excited about faux fur and high boots?), at the Gallery Lafayette, and our new discovery – LANCEL. The most fabulous bag store that had just launched the Ode to Brigitte Bardot campaign with a bag that I couldn’t afford, but certainly could stare at, pet lovingly, and yes, it’s what drew me and Kat into the store in the first place. Especially after we were put off by the factory like atmosphere of Louis V; we might as well have been at South Coast Plaza. A few hundred Euros later between the two of us, we made a new friend, shopkeeper Miriam from Italy, coffee snob, who pointedly pointed out that she couldn’t ‘find a decent cup of coffee in all of France. Lord only knows what she would think of a Starbucks’ pumpkin spice latte. Sacrilege? You mentioned flavored vodka to my mother and she has the response every time (insert thick accent:) “My father would turn in his grave.” Same idea I bet.

Everything back home in OC went swimmingly during my sejour abroad – Peter took a long weekend and spent 3 full days with the monkey (I got plenty an email detailing his exhaustion… um. Yeah. I do this everyday. I’m perfectly aware of our child’s energy level.) Between my mom’s trips with Alex to his twice a week swimming, Wednesday day camp, Mommy & Me, Little Gym, everybody was kept busy, and distracted until my return. Naps were lost a long time ago and sleep has been a problem with Alex since day one, so nothing was different while I was gone. And before we all knew it, I was back home, and going through an odd sense of withdrawal triggered by my week in Europe.

I used to spend so much time on the other side of the Pond, summers at boarding school in Switzerland, time in Spain, Paris, Provence, playing tennis in Vichy, trips to Eastern Europe to hang with my family, island hopping in Greece (loved the islands, forget the boat) my post senior in h.s. summer with a quick weekender in Florence to see the Ufizi, shopping for a day in Como and staying with friends in Lugano– I never realized how lucky I was, or how unusual these amazing adventures were (there were no luxury hotels involved, lots of summer camps, road trips, train trips, crashing with friends at their parents’ house, but still….); when I lived in Paris my junior year abroad, things were a little tougher on me – I was young, away from Peter, it was hard, I didn’t like where I lived, and in retrospect, I didn’t take advantage of everything the city had to offer, and the easy trips a central location and cheap train rides could provide. Oh well. C’est La Vie. But, I was still able to navigate the Paris subway system, the language came back to me in a couple of hours, and it felt like going back to a childhood second home… warm and cozy and fuzzy all over, and I even got to see old friends and visit my old dance studio in the Marais. And after getting to spend good times with Kat, Sarah, and Roni, I got a little nostalgic for the college days – not wanting to relive them, all good things must come to an end, but more along the lines of just missing everybody.

Anyway, I ramble.

As I went through a weird and unexpected withdrawal upon my return, I began to lose track of time - had friends from Switzerland come into town (specifically, friend from Lugano who I met at summer boarding school in Lausanne who I used to visit at his parents’ house in Lugano, who took me day shopping in Como and we did the weekend trip to Florence by train… very old broken Italian train… to see Botticelli’s La Primavera which I had studied in art history in h.s.) – then all of a sudden it’s October, Pete’s working up a storm, we had painters in the house doing a big project, heat wave kept in full fury, dropped temperatures, flu season, then it was the second week of October and Kit Kat came to visit for a few days (and she survived life with Alex, I’m thinking about making Girl-Scout-esque badges for all participants…. Sarah Mac Schwendy gets her fair share), another heat wave, Halloween… more Little Gym, Mommy & Me, Pete still working a ton, a trip to La Costa for the weekend, Disneyland, Legoland, daily grind, groceries, dogs, cooking, cleaning, gardening, head spinning…

And more head spinning.

And I realized I had no idea where time went. I planned my Thanksgiving menu yesterday. I bought my Xmas lights yesterday (because Loews was almost sold out, I had to run to purchase 2,000 lights to do our house… yes, 2,000.) And then it occurred to me, I’ve neglected my blog. And owed an explanation.

We’re all busy. Everybody I know is busy. Super busy. So why have I neglected my blog?
Well, I thought about it.
1. My mom steals my laptop during the day. Share computer. Tough.
2. Alex NEVER naps. Which means I never have quiet time. Which means I can’t get on the computer because he’ll hang on me, jump on me, or try to type for me. That would be a really interesting blog.
3. We’re hardly home during the day. I now have the scheduled child. Makes blogging hard. Can’t take laptop to the park. Will get sandy.
4. I put Alex to bed every night, and by the time I’m done with that, shower, clean up the kitchen, pay attention to Peter, it’s 10pm and I’m ready to pass out (only to wake up in a couple of hours and stare at the ceiling with terrible insomnia.) Honestly, I’m just not that amusing these days.
5. The little ‘me’ time I have is spent at the gym. I kickbox, dance, take coreboard, and have started pole fitness and am back on the reformer… (yes, 10 years college reunion may have sparked a little fire under my bottom.)
6. I’ve been at a loss for blog topics. Although, they’re starting to formulate again.

I’ve decided that none of these are good enough reasons to neglect the blog. As it’s been such a happy place for me.

So I’ve kicked my own ass, and have decided to return.

See, I’m typing right now. My mom is at the farmer’s market. So the computer is available. Alex is wide awake. He’s next to me, surrounded by toys, and the emptied carton of juice boxes he removed from the pantry and brought over to me. His snacks are a bit scattered, he has tried to help me type, and I’m a bad mommy relying on the television for