Once upon a time, I made sure to blog every day. Even through the summer, I somehow managed to blog a minimum of 4 days/week.

I don’t know how I did this!

Maybe it’s because my kids were younger, and I could tie them up in their rooms for hours at a time without fear of them ratting me out. 

I’m kidding!

They did take naps, though. Is that when I wrote? Or perhaps it’s because they were younger, so a strict bedtime was important, which gave me more evening hours, and made getting up early easier.

Or maybe I just neglected them altogether?

Whatever the case may be, for some reason this summer it has been nearly impossible for me to find time to write. I tried waking up early so I could savor the quiet hours of darkness, but I have a child who also likes the quiet hours of darkness. The only way to beat him up would be to get up in the middle of the night.

I like blogging, but I like sleeping more.

We’ve had late nights and busy days, and blogging has been firmly placed on the back burner until next week when school starts.

SCHOOL STARTS NEXT WEEK! You can’t see it, but I just started dancing – a comical sight when one is 15 months pregnant.

Anyway…

Since I haven’t had time to come up with decent bloggy words, I’m going to leave you with a few links of posts that have impacted me this week. These were all probably written by people who still lock their kids in their bedrooms all day long.

I’m kidding! Actually, one of these links was written by me, so…

Goodness. End of summer makes me punchy.

Links to Inspire

“Phenomenal Cosmic Powers

Itty Bitty Living Space”

My friend Wendy wrote a beautiful tribute to Robin Williams and to creatives everywhere. 

Looking for adorable lunch boxes to send to school with your children this year? I would suggest these gems from Rockey Paper & Design. Not only are they fun to look at on this outside, but inside is equipped with a small chalkboard on which you can write notes to your cherubs each morning.

In short, these lunch boxes will set you well on the path to that Mother of the Year nomination you’ve been working toward.

Photo Credit: www.shaungroves.com

Shaun Groves offers some great tips to help curb choice paralysis at conferences. This post offers potential solutions that lead to a win-win-win for both conference attendees and sponsors.

I’m over at Extraordinary Mommy today offering some Florida travel tips, none of which involve the giant mouse. Bonus tip: If you come visit Florida, you can spend a few days with us.

DEAL JUST GOT SWEETER, EH?

Photo Credit www.preemptivelove.org

If you, like me, have wondered why more Muslim leaders aren’t standing up against the atrocities happening in Iraq, then this is the post for you. I was relieved to see that Muslim leaders from around the world had taken a stand against the actions of ISIS, condemning it for the wickedness that it is.

I would also urge you to spend a little time on the Preemptive Love website to learn about the amazing work this organization is doing in Iraq. There is an opportunity to do more than watch in horror by giving to this organization as they work to aid the persecuted people of Iraq.

It’s been a hard week, hasn’t it? Worldwide news of destruction, the death of beloved celebrities, and the heaviness of this world were enough to darken the walls of our hearts. But take joy, my friends. There is still beauty in this world, and there’s hope for tomorrow.

I pray this weekend is restful, peaceful, and filled with enough laughter to chase away the pain.