happy new year

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My father in law wrote the following poem about the start of a new year being in the fall:

I agree. I always felt that the start of a new year was when school started.

I loved the anticipation of starting school.

I hope I can instill that love of starting something new in my kiddos.

As for the little guy he has been asking for almost two weeks when he gets to start school.

Today was the day.

He was up at 6:30 and said, “Can I go to school now?”

He had a great first day and I know this year will be a fantastic year for him…and our family!

He is in Pre-K at the same fabulous school that he attended last year. I wrote about choosing his school here.

I couldn’t be happier with the choice!

home is…the start of a new year.

whoo, whoo, whooo…

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I’m back…

Well, just for a really quick post…then back to our official “last day of summer”!

Have I mentioned the owls that I hear almost every night in the Douglas Fir trees out behind our house? It is a calming, yet haunting sound to fall asleep to, or wake up to in the middle of the night. I am not sure what kind of owl they are, but I’d love to find out.

{I did send a crude recording of them to my family, and my dad, who knows a lot about wildlife seems to think they might be Great Horned Owls…cool, huh?}

And, wondering about the owls got me to thinking.

I know I have said that I write this blog for me.

I do.

I write for me because it feels good to do it.

I write for my children so they will have a written and photographic “history” of their childhood.

I write for the family (and friends) who we live far away from so that they can feel a part of our lives.

I also write for you. Whoever you may be and for whatever reason you may read.

I DO care who reads my blog.

And, I would like to know who you are.

Who, whoo, whooo…

Who are you?

You all know a lot about me, and I am a bit curious about you.

I can look at the stats on my blog and see just that “stats”, but I don’t get to see the real people behind those stats.

Can you all do me a favor?

Whether you are a first time reader, someone who reads everyday, or somebody who just stumbled across my blog looking for something else, please leave me a comment…

  • let me know who you are
  • how you came across my blog
  • why you read my blog
  • if you have a blog of your own, please let me know

I’m just curious.

home is…knowing a little bit about you.

summer’s last blast

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So, while some of you are experiencing a quiet house with kids back in school, we still have a week of summer vacation left.

This last week of summer I am going to soak up the sun. Really enjoy the last full days I have with my kids before the “scheduled” days of the school year start.

I am going to take the week off from the computer…well, from being online.

I’m going to work on catching up with summer photos and posts…and maybe, just maybe, finish the photo album I owe our family from 2010.

We will also be celebrating baby girl’s 2nd birthday this week, so I need to give that the same attention that I gave the little guy when we celebrated his birthday earlier this summer at the beach.

I am not going to check Facebook, no tweets for me, no new posts on my blog, and the hardest will be not checking Pinterest or posting to Instagram.

{I will still be checking e-mail, so you can comment on this post or send me an e-mail and reach me}

Until Wednesday, September 14th.

I look forward to catching up with you all in a week!

Until then, here’s a recap of some of our summer fun…all from my iphone and instagram!

home is…savoring the last week of summer.

the little guy said

While coloring on chalkboards this morning…

lg: “Can you draw a flower?”

m: “Why?”

lg: “So every time you come down here you can see the flower and feel pretty.”

*he is truly one of the MOST thoughtful people I have met in my life

a rambling catch up

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Wow.

July was crazy busy.

And, what…where did August go?!

I have lots of catch up posts to put together about some of our summer adventures…

  • Bella Beach with Meme and Topher
  • The 4th Annual Playgroup Birthday Party
  • Our cross country trip to visit family in New York

I promise to get to them.

More for me than anything.

The little guy asked me if we still had things to cross off on our summer list.

Yes, we have a few.

And, a few will wait until next summer.

For now, I am going to embrace September.

I love the changing seasons.

I used to love the beginning of a new school year.

I look forward to the sounds of football coming from the TV or radio, cool evenings, crisp mornings and sunlight streaming through leaves that are trying to hold on to their green color just a little bit longer.

Ryan has been traveling a lot. Like, every week. It’s just the way things are. It’s the life we have chosen.

He’s tired.

I’m tired.

And, we just push on.

He texted me today from Northern California and said, “Would love some hardcore family time on Saturday.”

So, I will plan some hardcore family time for us.

Maybe cross some things off of our summer list.

Oh, and we have a birthday to celebrate on Monday.

Ryan will be 39.

Oh, and we welcomed a new little bundle into the extended family on Tuesday.

My sister-in-law texted us on Tuesday afternoon and said, “Think I might be in labor.”

Less than 4 hours later she texted us again and said, “SHE is here!”

Welcome little Katherine Grace to our extended family. She is surrounded by brothers and boy cousins…and has our baby girl to help show her the ropes!

Speaking of baby girl, she will be 2 a week from today!

Two. Years. Old.

Wow.

home is…hardcore family time.

the little guy said

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Early this morning when he came to snuggle…

lg: “Mommy, do you bet that outerspace is as far as a billion?”

m: Half asleep, but reminding myself to remember what he said, “Yeah.”

lg: “Me too.”

**********

This morning when baby girl and I finally woke up and made our way downstairs…

“Where’s my sweet Lola?”

When he sees her, “There’s my sweet Lola! Can I give you a hug?”

After he hugs her he makes a space on the sofa next to him and says, “Do you want to come up and snuggle with me?”

backfire

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Have you ever said something to some one, trying to help them out, and all it does is make the situation worse?

Yeah.

I did that this morning.

Now my stomach is churning and I feel bad because I was just trying to make this person feel better, have less stress, and maybe have a better day than they might have had.

********

I have been thinking a lot lately.

A lot about how I communicate with people, or don’t communicate with people, or fail at communicating with people, and how it has affected relationships over the years.

I feel like I am really good at messing things up.

Not really sure how I can fix it.

Maybe you can help me once I figure out how to get my thoughts on paper…or in this case, keyboard and computer screen.

Or, maybe, I am imagining things?

Well, for now, I am off to get ready for Friday Playgroup…should be some good fun in the sun with the kiddos!

home is…sometimes things backfire.