Where's Gretchen?

I really like to blog about 3-4 times a week. Not everyday, but enough to keep my mind clear and fingers nimble.  The last couple of weeks it has been more like the Where's Waldo game, trying to find times to write.  Here are my excuses in no particular order:

1. Life.  Life just gets busy sometimes.  Ya know?
2. Our house is on the market.  Need I say more?
3. Okay, I'll say a little more. :)  I keep a neat house, but we LIVE here.  It is hard to keep it pristine with 5 people and a dog living life to the fullest.  By fullest I mean muddy feet, dirty laundry, cereal bowls and toothpaste in the sink.  Add in the homeschool chaos and I go a little crazy sometimes.
4. Two weeks ago, my daughter cut her leg while playing in the yard.  Minor enough to forget to come to mom for a hug .  The fort they were building was beautiful but the the location was disastrous.  Hiding among the leaves and vines was poison ivy.  After a week her cut still wasn't healing, in fact it was growing.  When my mom (former nurse) showed alarm, I knew it was time to take her to the doctor.  After 2 different antibiotics, it was still nasty.  My poor sweet girl was covered from head to toe with poison bumps. The poison had gotten into her bloodstream and caused a ruckus.  We've pushed more medication in the last 2 weeks than I usually do in a year!  It is finally under control, but it was ROUGH and kept me surprisingly busy.
5. Spring.  Even though I LOVE winter, my blog always plays second fiddle to the gorgeous spring weather.

So there you have it.  Nothing dramatic.  Nothing crazy.   Sometimes I sit down to write and think, I don't have anything profound today.  They don't want to read about what color of socks I am wearing.
But you do come back and you always brighten my day.  I've missed you this past week.
I've challenged myself to take more pictures of daily life being lived and hope to share them with you.  But first, I promise to finish my "Dreaming" story.

Hugs!!!