It seems as though this poor little blog has fallen by the wayside. It’s partly that I am so busy and partly because I have been super lazy. Winter has conspired to keep me out of my cold basement (though I confess I do have the means to get it super warm in my craft room) and upstairs in the naturally warm part of the house.
I have thought about discontinuing this blog because it does take a lot of work to keep it up and most of the stuff I just put on Facebook to begin with because it is faster and more accessible. However, part of me can’t give up this form of writing because it feels more like a journal and can be a little more in depth than just a quick status update on FB.
I don’t even know if anyone reads these blogs anymore, but I know when other people I follow post I am all over their family updates like a starved monkey. It’s not just the pictures I’m after (though they are fun to look at) it’s the stories and the getting to know a little more about the people I care about. I also think it would be fun to eventually publish the blog into a book and have it as a kind of history of my little family.
Anniversaries, Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays and various other everyday events have occurred since the last time I posted on here and it seems as though time has sped up and conspired against me in every way imaginable. It feels unfair that the older you get the more you can appreciate life and all it has to offer yet the less you get to because of all the responsibilities that get in the way not to mention the incredible exhaustion that comes from having to juggle work, family, and household obligations. I’m exhausted just thinking about it.
We have hit our 9 year mark for our marriage and I feel as though we just got married yesterday. How is it that I have spent so much time with this man I call husband and I can still love him as much if not more than when we first met? I like to think it has to do with the way he treats me and our children. He does everything for me. I don’t mean I never have to lift a finger, but if there is something broken, he fixes it. If I’m not there to care for the kids, he can seamlessly step in and have fun doing it. If I’m stressed out he helps around the house and encourages the children to do the same. If I think it would be nice to redo or update something in our home, he builds it, refurbishes it, or replaces it. He has learned to be an electrician, a plumber, a painter, a builder, a woodworker, a gardener, a landscaper, a tile layer, and a mechanic all in the name of making our lives easier and our home a better place to live. He is a child at heart and the children love him because he understands who they are and joins them in their silly games instead of brushing them aside. He loves me. I can tell by his actions that he loves me. I can tell when he cooks dinner on his only day off. I can tell when he does laundry when I’m too tired to notice it hasn’t been done in a few days. I can tell when he holds me when I come home from work and when he lets me complain and listens without interrupting me. I can tell when we are both tired and sit on the couch and watch TV and he lets me fall asleep on him. I can tell when we laugh and joke together. I can tell he loves me when he looks at me. It’s not hard for me to love someone more each day when he continually shows me how much he loves me every day.
My oldest child turned another year older. He is in third grade and has developed a love of cartoons. He draws them constantly. Dragons, stick men, robots, and monsters. He has funny little story lines that go along with them. He is still the artist but has narrowed his medium and style down. He loves creating in many forms including Legos, Minecraft, paper, and materials that we would normally discard. He has such a large imagination that I don’t know how he contains it in his little body. He is energetic and loving and athletic and outgoing and funny. He is half of my heart. How is it possible that he is not my tiny little baby anymore?
My younger son has also aged another year and has developed into a strong willed, intelligent, and hilarious little child. He is a people person to his core and is unafraid of making friends of anyone around. He is adventurous and willing to follow wherever his feet might lead. He is demanding of our time and expects love and attention when he wants it. He is quick to anger and quick to forgive. He tells me he doesn’t like to tread , but will proceed to read me six stories after the fact. He is Mommy’s little boy and Daddy’s little helper. He is the other half of my heart.
The holidays were spent at home where we love to be. It’s not often that all our schedules line up and allow us the time to be with each other to share in those loving often funny family moments. I saved the majority of my vacation to take during the holidays in order to spend the maximum amount of time possible with my family. This also helps my attitude as I seem to be a lot more cranky the more I have to work. With more time off I am able to see my husband more and participate in my children’s school activities and accomplish more around the house. My overall mood is improved and on the days I do have to work I am a much happier person to be around. Even the dog like me more when I work less.
Both boys are in scouts now. I think it is less exciting for Alex now that he has to pay attention in all the meetings. He tries hard though and he does his best to complete his goals though he does like to complain (sometimes loudly) about it. Jack has grown into scouts. We had to push him to do his best at first, but now he understands that he has to get through the not so fun stuff to get to do the things he likes. He placed first in the Pinewood Derby this year, which was a goal for him. Alex didn’t place and it was a bit of an accomplishment that he didn’t cry when he didn’t win anything.
Each of the boys have developed friendships that occupy them both in and out of school. Play dates on the weekends are a common occurrence and one they both look forward to. Jack had his first slumber party for his birthday that was a smashing success for him if not for his parents. Alex had a few people out to a trampoline park and had the time of his life bouncing out all his energy with his friends. Of course, both parties were immediately followed up with family parties in which they each received way more presents than they probably needed or deserved.
This winter has been particularly brutal so far and has pretty much held us all hostage in our home. The upside to this is that it gives the boys (and the parents) time to try out the new WiiU game system we got from Santa for Christmas. It has been a roaring success. They would play it all day if I’d let them.
Both Andy and I turned another year older, though it doesn’t seem like enough time has passed that we are nearing the forty year mark. We celebrated with our good friends with a quiet night on the town at a nice restaurant that ended at an unbelievably late 10:30.
To end this super long post we had an almost 3 week long visit from Grandma Olive. It was nice to come home to somebody in the afternoon and the kids got to replace their mom for a little bit of Grandma time. Alex would read her his stories from school and Jack would have a little extra help with his math homework. I think her presence may have had a calming effect on the boys because they didn’t seem nearly as rowdy with her here as they did when she wasn’t.
Meanwhile, we are anxiously waiting Spring to arrive so we can go outside and soak up the sun as well as get my garden going. The kids have sorely missed their rope swing which has been frozen for around two months now. I just miss the outdoors and the color that has been washed away by all the snow.
