Top Ten Reasons The Blog Has Been Neglected

10. We've had an extremely busy summer. (Lame reason, but true.)

9. I've been longing to give the blog a make-over and change the colors and design and FONT (I hate the available fonts on this template) and so on...but obviously it hasn't been high on my priority list (see #10).

8. I often find it quicker to write something on Facebook and keep up with people that way...but am also finding that I miss longer updates on people's lives than "I'm headed to the store this afternoon."

7. I've had a number of photography shoots this summer that have kept me quite busy with editing during my spare time.

6. (This is totally not a Reason but can I just share that as I write Eric is watching the second Star Wars movie (the recent ones) and it is seriously SO BAD. I don't know if I can sit through it much longer. The dialogue is killing me and the acting killing me faster. UGH. Shooting husband super-irritated look.)

5. We have watched a ridiculous amount of movies this summer. We lost our TV when the DTV thing happened, and even though we got an antenna we still only get NBC, WGN, and Fox. Only can I just say how BAD summer TV is?? IT IS SO BAD. And by bad I mean super-boring, uncreative, and distasteful (which also describes most of the primetime season, I have to say). But we made up for the tragic loss by watching a bunch of movies on our nights "off" (with a little help from the convenience of the Redbox at our local grocery store!) including The Changeling, Curious Case of Bejamin Button, Blood Diamond (don't get me started on how much I love this movie), The Godfather Trilogy, Knowing (horrible and creepy), The Soloist, The International, Angels and Demons, Valkyrie, Harry Potter (new one, awesome), Taken (just horrible, a bad choice), Slumdog Millionaire, Marley and Me (sniff, sniff), and most recently, UP. I know. I told you it was ridiculous.

4. I have been having trouble with posting pictures on the blog. It discourages me from putting up posts when it is so troublesome and takes so long. I love my Mac but I terribly miss Windows Live Writer!! (Any suggestions? How do you load pictures on YOUR blog?)

3. Some days I feel like I have too much to say. I actually sat down twice that I remember and ended up not posting anything I wrote, because my thoughts were so scattered and unfocused. It's been a very emotional summer for me for a number of reasons (see #1 and 2) and so I've struggled to know even what to write on our blog.

2. Many of you know, many of you do not...my mom has early-onset Alzheimer's disease. This summer has brought much progression and has been a very difficult one for my family. My sister and I have both been keeping my mom in our homes for two days each a week, which after awhile became too much for either of us to handle. It has been very emotional for us watching her decline so rapidly and struggling to know what to do next. I've often just found myself exhausted at the end of each day, which leads me to #1...

1. We're expecting our fourth in January! We always hoped to have one more but this came much sooner than we had planned. Nonetheless we are excited to bring another member into our family around Christmas or New Year's. The kids understand much more this time than when I was pregnant with Samantha, although Ellie thinks SHE has a baby in HER tummy, too. Jack suddenly looked at me today and said, "Your tummy is getting big, Mommy!" And later remarked at how he couldn't sit on my lap very well because of my big tummy. We have our first ultrasound coming soon and might find out if it's a boy or girl, and may or may not tell anyone! Stay tuned!

What has kept you from blogging this summer?

(P.S. Does anyone really think a true Jedi Knight would use the term "What in the blazes..."? Seriously.)