Anouchka Talks

Do you ever get that feeling where everyone needs everything from you at every moment?  If you answered yes, you are probably a parent (read: mom).  Today found me at my worst in one such moment.  Most of the time, it is just a piling up of 100 different benign things on your to-do list that, compounded together, are so overwhelming that you find yourself wondering what a personal assistant would cost you.  After all, none of it is anyone's fault...but your own.  The people "hounding" you are not, in fact, hounding you.  They are just unknowingly reminding you all at the same time.  At least if you had an assistant, the buck would come to rest at his/her door rather than at your own.  Let me paint a picture for you. My spirit animal Today you are taking your kitties to the vet for their annual check-up.  (Need #1: Lure kitties out from their hiding places, even if it means Hulking up and moving the entire damn bed.)   Your pre-schooler wants to come and see what t

Here we are again at the start of another year.  I can honestly say that I feel as though last year passed the most speedily of those in my adult life.  I know we all say that time flies, but I really feel like it did in 2017.  A lot happened.  I mean a lot happened.   We became parents for the second time at the end of 2016 and spent the bulk of Bathrobe's first year in 2017; I had major surgeries in mid-spring; Bathrobe's adoption was finalized this summer; Habibi and I went on a little getaway road trip together; Chicky started pre-school; we went to a gala; we added extra French classes at work, altering my teaching load; our family planned a few staycation weekends; I read a lot; we discovered they sell my favorite kombucha in giant bottles; my grey hairs multiplied exponentially; I had a much needed girls' weekend with my mom and sister.  For real, these are just a few of the big events, highlights, and major activities of 2017. Without sharing every detail of each