{Pretty, Funny, Happy, Real}

I recently shocked a group of friends when I told them I watch upwards of 5 hours of TV a day. I KNOW, that's a lot. But the thing is, I don't actually watch that much TV - I just have it on while I do other things: the really, really boring, mind numbing things I do every day, like folding the laundry mountain, or trying to stem back the tide of toys surging out of James' room, or picking mashed grains of rice out of the carpet before they set in there forever. EVERY DAY I DO THESE THINGS PEOPLE. It is so dull.

And for company, I have a naughty two-year-old who is always getting into trouble, and who recently decided he's not going to call me "mama" anymore - instead he's going to scream like a banshee at the top of his lungs whenever he wants me. (I don't even know what to do about this. I feel like I say "NO SCREAMING" in my stern voice all day every day, and nothing works! Nothing!)

All that is to say, watching TV keeps me company while I do the lonely drudgery portion of my job as a stay at home mom. And I really don't mean that in a sad pathetic way, because I really do love my kid and my home, but it would be silly to pretend that the SAHM life doesn't have an aspect of hard labor and isolation to it.

Which is why I love this gem of a post so much. Can I share a little bit? Because it's so good:

This idea is for you, tired lady, who wonders some days about the joy or pleasure in the actual daily round of life... In the back of your mind there's that fear that if you ever give into, say, getting good at cleaning toilets on a schedule, why, there would be no turning back. You would probably find yourself muttering "Garn!" and start peddling old bones and rags. You'd have to toothlessly sip gin out of a small, dirty flask. Your children would pity you and your husband would run away with a svelte blonde whose degree in art history was actually paid for in full. Darn those college loans, anyway.

Ah, yes.

Someone understands.

And I am hopping on the {Pretty, Funny, Happy, Real} bandwagon, a little spot to highlight, in pictures, the real moments that might get lost on the shuffle of it all. Because it is a good life, and it's nice to be able to share little snapshots of it with you.

{pretty}

we are going to have SO MANY blackberries this year, and I am so psyched! Planting a blackberry bush really requires a lot of patience - the canes have to be 2 years old to bear fruit, so although I planted two bushes last spring, I won't see my first harvest until this summer. Right now they are both covered with blossoms. I can't wait :)

{funny}

I know it seems a little bit cruel to post a picture of your child crying under "funny,' but bear with me for a second: James is a child with apparently no natural fear. He is completely unafraid of things he really should be afraid of, like moving vehicles, rabid dogs, strangers, climbing in the oven, razors, hot irons, poisonous substances etc. However, he is totally terrified of the ocean - wouldn't even let it touch his toes! So I had to put this in, because I spend ALL DAY just trying to keep him from finding novel new ways to endanger his own life, and then we take him to play in the water, which he loves, and he turns into a basket case. Go figure.

{happy}

Sometimes the toy box is better than the toys!

{real}

This is the kind of thing I deal with on a daily basis. Thankfully, I was able to save the toaster, if not the tool.

You can check out more of this week's {phfr} posts here!