I know, I know, it’s been…months. (*insert gasp here*) Don’t think I haven’t thought about you, dear blog, because I promise I have not. I have often thought of you. Almost daily. Which is how I knew I couldn’t let you go, not permanently. Now, now, don’t be so hurt… I had good reason. I have these things that require a lot of energy and attention and time…
There’s this one:
He lost his first tooth this summer! And now… He started kindergarten! My baby!!
And this one:
She turned 4!! My baby!!
And then there’s this one too:
He turned 2!! My youngest is no longer a baby!! He’s still my baby!
This summer has been filled to the gills. We went on a multi-state drive to visit family and spent days upon days in the water.
We pranced around Lake Michigan
We climbed on a giant elephant somewhere in Wisconsin
Even hubbyman got a picture on the elephant, but I thought you’d appreciate this one more.
Downside of the summer: Biggest ran a ridiculously high fever most of our vacation and his only request was naps. (Boo!) When we got home we realized he had an abscessed tooth! (double boo!)
Biggest E was the photographer. We had our first kiss on a swingset like this. I like it.
For her birthday, hubbyman built her a doll house, and her papa built her the furniture to go inside!
Navy Pier, the anchor. Watching all the Sailors almost made me miss military days. Almost. Maybe just the uniform.
And I’ve gotten to be a part of lots of births -2 a month!- since April… including this sweet little man’s! (Who also happens to be my nephew! Check out his shirt- he’s wild about Auntie! And it’s true! The feelings may be are mutual.)
So you see, dear, sweet blog, I have been a busy mama. I have been a moving mama. I have been a travelling mama. I have been a tired mama. I have been the best mama I know how to be. And I think that if you asked my children what they liked best about me not spending hours on the computer, on a daily basis, they would have said that we played. Do you know that I also gave up cleaning? Ok, ok, so that’s not entirely true. But I stopped making them spend all day in the house, just so I could keep up with the laundry and dusting. We spent the majority of our days outside, in the dirt, at the beach, at the playground… playing. And I only stayed up really late cleaning…a couple of times, and I’ve been ok with it! My kids seem happier, and I feel happier. And I’d say it’s a win in all departments.
Plus, now that I feel…organized, in our lives together (and you know how much I love organization). I feel that I can come back to you. I look forward to sharing stories with you. I look forward to sharing life with you. Know that you have been missed.
laborofwonder 
I feel like I have been cooped up in the house all summer- maybe it’s because I didn’t do a garden (that normally gets me outside everyday for hours) since I had a baby via c-section during planting time and am still not fully healed (ie: I can’t handle the feel of jeans, it still hurts and puts pressure on the incision area). Maybe because I have been feeling down due to a lack of income on my end- maybe because my 3yo is just too much to handle by myself anywhere outside of the house other than our backyard that has been bee and wasp ridden all summer. Either way, I am looking forward to fall and winter this year, to be inside and be planning for next summer! Hopefully my son will grow and become an easier version of himself over the next 6-8 months and I will get to spend lots of quality snow days cuddled up with my baby as she grows and learns all about her family and home. Though I can say I have also given up on cleaning everything all the time, and that HAS made me much happier! 🙂 Now, I just need to give up the computer! Any tips?
I used to spend breakfast time at the computer. With my cereal and coffee, catching up on the lives of various people I haven’t seen in a decade or trying to think of ways to thread words together so I sound cleaver and complete… and then I’d realize it was already time to make lunch. For me the best way to avoid it going into oblivion, was to not turn it on until afternoon, and by then sometimes I’d be too busy to even think about it. And I don’t (usually!) turn it on once hubbyman gets home, or on the weekend. That way when our family is all together, we’re really together (or at least, we are on my end)… And when I do log on, after I do whatever it was I turned the computer on to do (and probably looked a few facebook posts or two, or three), I turn it off. I’m a lot less likely to sit down and wait for it to all get up and running again, unless it’s for something that I NEED to do.
Glad to see you and those cuties here again 🙂
thank you! It feels good to be back! 🙂
Yea! Glad you found some time in your BUSY schedule to share! Love reading on your life!
Your family and You are gorgeous.
Thank you for sharing your photos! Your family is so adorable!!
Happy post! Looks like an amazing summer!!
I love these pictures so much! ❤
me too! Come visit us!
And perfect reason to have a blog hiatus! Glad to see you back… for now. 😉
I agree! And thank you! It’s so fun to be catching up with everyone!
I love this.. LOVE IT! It’s great that you were out and about.. spending so much time with the little people. The amount of time that you’re going to be able to do that is finite, so I say.. run with it and worry about the vacuuming later.
The elephant picture is the cutest. 🙂
yes! Thank you! I know that I’m not going to look back and wish, man I never should’ve spent so much time with those children! 😉
Yep. Life is fragile, time is short, you never know what could happen, and all of those other cliches. Really though, if you’re not with the ones you love, you’re just missing the whole point. :)d