Time Warp

Roy has recently taken to getting himself up onto the roof of our house, and then claiming that he has no idea how to get back down. Here, he can be seen sticking his tongue out at me, when I told him he was on his own.

It has been a long time, and a lot has happened. I would love to catch up, but I wouldn't even know where to start. The school year has ended and I think the boys and I have been breathing a sigh of relief for the past week. Maybe it has been mostly me. This past school year was very challenging for me, as a mom. The pace was frenetic at times, and it was fraught with many obstacles. I am proud of my boys. They both faced some tough times this year, but they came out better for them. They also racked up a lot of accomplishments. They are both wonderful students and hard workers. I love them both more than life itself and as hard as the past few months have been, I would do it a million times over.

Steve has been in Cambodia for the past few weeks and will be back in Idaho tomorrow. We are all missing him and wanting him back home with us.

We recently lost one of our chickens. Stella died very suddenly one morning, and I suppose we will never know what happened/why she died. We have added two new girls to our flock - - Lucy and Lola are approximately 14 weeks old, and are currently finding their place. My older hens are pretty docile, but are still keeping the younger girls on a short leash.

Our bunny is doing great. I just love her. When she moved in with us, her cage sat in our living room so that she could get use to the sounds of our house and of our voices. That was over three months ago, and she is still in the living room. Kiara is a very social bunny, and I think we are afraid she will be too lonely anywhere else. Even Steve, who doesn't really possess that warm-and-fuzzy gene when it comes to animals, has said as much. I can also report that Kiara has a strange affinity for Steve. Why is it that animals are drawn to the person who could take them or leave them? I don't get it! 

Lots of fun things happening for us this summer. 4-H camps, swimming lessons, the Cherry Festival, the Gem County Fair, among other things. I am happy to have my boys home with me. Here's to summer!

Facebook Killed My Blog

It finally dawned on me the other day that Facebook killed my blog. I am constantly wondering why I don't write here like I use to, and I really think that is a big reason why. Facebook is quick, easy, and convenient, while sitting down to organize my thoughts isn't. Also, when I post something to Facebook, I feel silly coming here and talking about the same thing.

The thing is, I started this blog for myself, a long time ago, before Griffin was even born. It was a great way for me to keep track of memories. I love to look back on old posts I wrote - - a lot of it I already have forgotten about.

I have been feeling really conflicted about Facebook lately. I am pretty sure I won't be deleting my account, but I am going to be making a concerted effort to spend less time there. I think as a stay-at-home mom, it has been an easy way for me to feel "connected" to the outside world, especially when the days get long and the weather makes life isolating. But, how connected are we really, on Facebook? I love seeing pictures that people post, and there are definitely certain people who always make me laugh. That part makes me happy. However, sometimes it all feels like a downer for a whole bunch of reasons. It has been feeling like that a lot lately.

I have missed a whole bunch of milestones over the past few months...no record of them because I didn't take the time to sit down here and write about them. So, less Facebooking, more Blogging.

The Butler's Tray

 

So...while sick with the flu last week, I discovered the joy of Downton Abbey. I have heard about this show over and over, but had never seen it. I just knew it would be right up my alley, what with my love for all things British and all. Steve and I don't watch a lot of television as far as series go -- in fact, just last week, we started watching 30 Rock on Netflix, just as the series was preparing for its series finale. That's how behind the times we are around here! Anyway, perhaps I am the last person on the planet to watch Downton Abbey, but I am happy to say that I am all caught up to the current season, and waiting with baited breath for Sunday evening so I can watch the next episode.



 

I can't begin to tell you what I love most about the show - - the scenery, the costumes, the story line...all of it absolutely perfect in my eyes. I will tell you that Mr. Bates is right up there at the top of my list. Lord Grantham's valet is a man of few words, and dashing beyond measure. Oh, how I love that character! 

 

While lying in bed, watching episode after episode, I kept noticing the butler's trays that were popping up in so many scenes. I kept thinking how familiar it looked. The tray you see above, I found at my local thrift store a few months back (no surprise there), and it usually sits in the center of our dining table. Sometimes I use it for coffee or snacks. Anyway, it is nearly identical to the butler trays on Downton Abbey. I love to obsess over little details like this. Now, of course, I love my little tray all the more. When I bought it, the best detail on the tray was a piece of tape, stuck to the back of it:

 

I wish I knew who put it there, nearly 90 years ago, and what the significance of the date is. Things like this always make me think of my 7th grade English teacher, Mrs. Steen. When I was a student in her class so very many years ago, I remember her saying that she loved to be traveling in the car at night, and seeing a light on in a random house. She said she loved to catch a glimpse of a person in a window, and she would wonder about that person, or family...what were the details of their life? I have never forgotten that, and often find myself doing the exact same thing. I also do that with items such as this tray. Who did it belong to? What does that date mean? Was it a prized possession that was cast aside at the end of a life, winding up in a thrift store with piles of other people's former belongings? Whatever the case, I'm so happy to have it in my home now.

 

A Fresh Start

I love the start of a new year. I suppose like everyone else, I think of all kinds of things I might want to do differently, things I want to accomplish, things I want to try. I am not much of a resolution-maker (I know myself too well!) but I do spend some time reflecting on the year that has just come to and end, and looking ahead to the new one.

Lots of great things happened in 2012. It was a busy, busy year, and both boys grew in leaps and bounds. They also faced different challenges. We had lots of fun adventures together. I am excited to think that we are nearly half way through the school year and summer vacation will be upon us before we know it.

2012 was also a very rough year. It was a long process of working through the aftermath of a difficult deployment, all while trying to keep life running smoothly, as best as we could. I will tell you that it is a very happy time when a deployment comes to an end, but then begins the process of working through the damage that occurred, during it. For me, I am very happy to be putting 2012 behind me, and to march forward with what I learned from it. 

2012 was also the year that I lost my beloved Riley. I have struggled so with his absence, and couldn't get over the depth of grief that I felt. Somewhere in December though, things started to feel lighter, and I am glad for that. I will always miss him, but I am glad not to feel so sad when I think about him now.

As I mentioned before, I am not a "resolution" type of person, but I do think about goals. I would say that my goal for 2013 is one of health. Over the past couple of years, I have gotten the exercise thing down pretty well, and now I am ready to delve deeper and make even better choices for myself and for my family. I am also aware that strength training needs to come into play for me, but I reeaaallly don't like it so have been avoiding it. 41 is approaching quickly though, and I need to quit making excuses.

So, here's to 2013 and all that is in store!

Thanksgiving 2012

So...I clearly failed at the "post-every-day-for-a-month" challenge. I actually could have predicted it myself. Lesson learned...don't announce that you are going to post every day for a month and then the pressure won't do you in. As my last few posts will show, I was posting just about anything to throw a post up there, and that isn't fun for me. I have to remember that I started this blog, oh so long ago, to kind of journal what was going on in our lives that I wanted to remember. I don't know if I have simply fallen out of habit of doing that regularly, or if I have just grown tired of it, or if I just don't feel like I am blogging for myself and my family anymore...I can't quite put my finger on it, but it has been a struggle for me over the last year or so. Whether I find my mojo again remains to be seen.

At the moment, it is early Thanksgiving morning and I am sitting here with Smokey, sipping a cup of coffee. Next stop will be the treadmill for my daily dose of soul-cleansing exercise to get my day started off on the right foot. I took yesterday afternoon to prepare my side dishes of mashed potatoes, stuffing, and green bean casserole ahead of time. All I have left is a pumpkin pie, some biscuits, and the turkey itself.  It is just the four of us this year...no grand production to put on at all, so we have some fire wood piled up next to the fire place and will settle in for a relaxing day together. I have to say, I am looking forward to pretty much zero stress. I even used disposable pans for the turkey and sides so I didn't have a lot of cleaning up to do. Brilliant!

I love to cook but the thing I am most looking forward to is setting the table today. I love choosing place mats, plates, napkins, etc., and then decorating the table. I have an idea of what I will be using today and I hope it all comes together like I am imagining in my head.

I am thankful for many things in my life. I truly am a very lucky person. I am happy to be spending the day with the three boys who make my life complete. I love them more than words can say.

My Little Friend in the Basement

When we bought this house from our neighbors six years ago, it came with a lot of stuff. Our neighbors were elderly and moving in with family, and they left a lot of their furniture and some other assorted things behind for us to keep and use, or to get rid of. I remember them asking me if I wanted this treadmill and I am so glad I said yes. I was 8 1/2 months pregnant at the time and am pretty sure the last thing I was thinking about was exercise, so I am impressed with myself that I had the sense to take it.

 

Don't think for a second that I gave birth to Griffin and then hopped up on that treadmill. I think I actually piled a bunch of stuff on it, moved it from room to room a few times, ignored it, and then it finally came to live in the spare bedroom. Yes, that is wood paneling and rust-colored shag carpet you see. We are slowly picking away at this house, room by room, but unfortunately for the basement, it is the lowest on our priority list.

 

Anyway, about two years ago now I had gallbladder surgery. It was unpleasant to say the least, and it was kind of the grand finale result of a bunch of really annoying health problems I had been having. That, coupled with the fact that turning 40 was looming on the horizon finally gave me some ambition and I started using that treadmill. I have never been a great goal-setter, mostly because I tend to set unrealistic goals, then when I don't attain them, I beat myself up and feel bad. So this time (thanks to some advice from Dr. Oz) I told myself if I used that treadmill for ten minutes each day I would be happy. Ten minutes was totally do-able and before long I was in a regular routine. Soon, ten minutes turned to twenty, and not long after, thirty.

 

I go through spells of feeling like I am in a rut, and life's busy-ness gets in the way at times, and I have to adjust coarse. I am currently in a twenty-minute a day phase for a whole host of reasons, but I plan to bump back up to thirty next week. My treadmill is now sixteen years old, and still going strong. I hope I can squeeze a few more years out of her. I'm thankful to have that old thing because it allows me to get some exercise in each day and to feel good. I use to tell myself that I couldn't exercise because I had little kids, or I didn't have the time, or any other reason I could come up with. Now I know that was never true!

The Little Free Library: A Neat Idea

I recently read an intriguing article about an amazing movement - - The Little Free Library. The idea behind it is really simple. Create a small structure with a door that can house some books. Attach it to a post and put it in your yard along with a sign that says, 'Take a book, leave a book'. Essentially, a book exchange. In your own yard!

photo:  treehugger.com

I love sharing books, and I have a couple of friends who do this with me regularly.  I am one of those people who struggle with electronic readers - - I know they are the way of the world now, but nobody will ever convince me that a book...an actual book, can be replaced.

photo:  streetartutopia.com

I also know how important it is to have books in the home. They are so important in promoting early literacy. The sad fact is, many homes do not have books. If parents don't model reading for their children, or if they do not have books for them, it is all the more difficult to spark an interest.

photo:  examiner.com

Right now I am trying to figure out how I might be able to have my own Little Free Library. While paring down my own book collection over the weekend, I even stashed a pile of books I no longer want, thinking that maybe I could really make it happen. For more information, visit The Little Free Library's website. Lots of great pictures of the over 2,500 Little Free Libraries in this country (and around the world!).

November Challenge

My dear friend Kate challenged me to blog every day during the month of November last night via text message, and of course I thought, "Sure, I can do that...I haven't updated my blog in nearly three months!"  I have, however, been looking for a kick in the pants to get back into the habit of blogging, so I will commit to it!

Our household has been very, very busy since mid-August, and I have had more than enough to write about, but just haven't felt like it. I have missed it though.

Hard to believe it is November 1st already. This year is nearly over with and I am really not liking how quickly time has been passing by. Life is short! Just yesterday, Griffin asked, "Mom, how old do Cam and I have to be to go trick-or-treating without grown-ups?" Really?? Already you are asking this, 6-year-old child? I am already guessing that in about 2 years or so, Camden will start thinking his parents aren't so great. Just not ready for this yet.

Be prepared for a wide variety of topics this month.

Meeting MaryJane and Meg

Megan Rae, me, and MaryJane Butters

This past weekend, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet a couple of women I really admire - - MaryJane Butters and her daughter, Megan (Meg) Rae. They were in Eagle, ID on Saturday at the new Fred Meyer store, where they gave a talk, answered questions, and spoiled all in attendance with some wonderful treats. I am so very glad that I got to go...I had the best time!

MaryJane Butters is an author, a magazine editor, and organic farmer, and an inspirational woman, in my humble opinion. Her daughter also writes for the magazine, and manages the MaryJanesFarm wall tent bed and breakfast.  I have been subscribing to her magazine for a couple of years now, and I am also a member of her 'Farmgirl Sisterhood' - - which inspires me to be creative, seek out the things that I love, and to enjoy the simple things in life. Even though she lives here in Idaho, I never thought for a minute that I would ever get to meet her, or Megan, for that matter. I am so very glad that I did! My mom came along with me, which made it even more fun. I think she may be a convert now too, and I wouldn't be surprised if Mum is a new subscriber to her magazine.

Next on my MaryJane wish list is to be able to stay someday at her bed and breakfast near Moscow, Idaho. I hear it is hard to secure a reservation but I am hoping that next year I will be able to get a spot. What a great adventure that will be!

**Edited to add:  I just wanted to add a link to MaryJane's blog, Raising Jane - - today's post had a recap of her visit to Fred Meyer over the weekend, and I was so excited to see my mom and myself in a couple of the pictures! I also feel compelled to add that I have been kicking myself for the past few days at the fact that when it came time to actually "meet" MaryJane, I don't think I said a word. She was so kind to give me a special necklace (for being a Farmgirl Sister), and she hugged me and kissed me on the cheek. I did the same back, but I am pretty sure I didn't utter one word after that. I'm afraid I was a bit starstruck, what can I say. How embarrassing! I did manage a nice little chat with Meg though, so all was not lost.

Small Town Excitement

Big excitement last night, when my neighbor's gigantic tree just up and fell over - - snapped off at the base. Turns out it was so rotten on the inside that it kind of shattered in spots when it hit the ground. It fell clear across the road and into another neighbors' yard. This happened a little after 10 at night, which was a blessing in disguise because typically the street that it fell across is full of kids riding bicycles after dinner time. It made a tremendous sound when it fell, which brought people out of their houses, up and down the block. Can you tell I live in a small town?

 The boys found the whole thing very exciting. We were about to get in the pool this afternoon when Camden heard a very loud noise and exclaimed, "That sounds like a wood chipper! We have to go and see!" So off we went, where the boys proceeded to sit on the sidewalk and watch the wood chipper do its thing for over 20 minutes, just like it was a television. Love those two!

In other news, we are loving the Summer Reading Program at our local library this summer. The theme is "Summer Science". Yesterday was "CSI and Police Science". We got to meet Dakota, our little city's police dog. He is a border collie mix and he is the neatest dog ever. It was fun to see him demonstrate how he does his job.

The Cherry Festival kicked off today. We did a little exploring and decided what we want to do when we go on Friday. The boys are anxious to go on rides, play some games, and eat some carnival food. I really love this time of year. I myself am looking forward to the Cherry Bake-off on Saturday. Here's hoping my recipes will be winners!

A Lovely Summer Day

Camden still loves to snuggle with Nana

Dinner al fresco...my favorite!

Bucket of boys

Monday was such a nice day. The weather is on the upswing once again, after a terribly cold week last week. I am going to enjoy this week for all it is worth, because next week it is supposed to be in the mid-90's and we will all be complaining that it is too hot!

I had hoped to get more accomplished on my to-do list yesterday, but there is always today and perhaps I will get caught up. We are loving that my parents are here in Idaho, spending time at their new little house, just a 5 minute walk from our house. They have done so much to it in the short time they have been here. I am looking forward to writing a blog post about it, once it is ready for the Big Reveal. Mostly I just like knowing that we can see them whenever we want to - - that after dinner we can hop on our bikes and ride over to their house if we feel like it. It makes me happy that the boys can be with them - - they love Nana and Papa and they are so lucky to have this time with them.

Last night Mum and Dad came over for dinner on the patio and it was such an enjoyable evening. The temperature was perfect, the company was great -- what more can you ask for?

Steve is in Arkansas this week for work. We will be glad when he comes home because he won't have to do any traveling for a while. The Cherry Festival begins on Wednesday so the boys are beside themselves with excitement. I really do love this time of year. Just wish summer would slow down a little already - - it seems like it is speeding by!

Sweet Succulents

I am currently having a bit of an obsession with succulent plants.  I just find them fascinating. There is such a wide variety and every time I see a new one, I want it! This is my little collection of succulents right now. I am going to stick with these and see if I can keep them alive before I go adding any more to the bunch. In the back left corner is a type of aloe plant called a Crocodile. The neat thing is, it grows "babies", much like Hens & Chicks. Next to the Crocodile is a recently repotted Hen from the little plant my mom gave me last year. It mass-produced babies over the past few months, and I separated bunch of them the other day, put some in bigger pots, started a couple of new pots, and gave some away. Front right corner is a jade plant. I am a little nervous about this one because I had a jade plant years ago, and I promptly killed it. Hopefully I will have better luck with this one. The most interesting one by far is front and center. This is called a Split Rock. It is native to Africa and as you can see, it almost looks like a little rock. These are actually a pair of succulent leaves, called a bi-lobe. In between the split, a new bi-lobe is growing. Eventually, the bigger bi-lobe will shrivel up and die, and the new one will take over. I have done a lot of reading on this particular plant, and it makes me nervous too -- they are easy to kill but I am determined not to! In the left front corner is a little succulent bowl...not really sure what the plants are, but I thought it was pretty.

Succulents are readily available at Home Depot and Lowes, and they are quite inexpensive. I have also found them at local garden stores and nurseries.  

And So It Goes

The past few months have been difficult. Nothing completely earth-shattering, but difficult enough to have kind of put a halt to most creativity, or ability to even want to write. A grand funk, if you will.

I have never been a fan of blogs (or Facebook pages, for that matter) that whine about someones lot in life, or spew negativity, because really, we all have our struggles. So, I haven't been writing. I just haven't felt like it. But now I do. So I am going to attempt to get caught up here, because this is my record of what goes on in our little family. I'm slightly cross with myself for leaving the last few months essentially blank, but that is how life goes sometimes. We struggle until we get to a point where things start to turn around. I dare say that summer has something to do with the shift I am beginning to feel - - oh, how I love summer!

School has just let out, and the boys and I are gearing up for a great summer. Annual Training started today, and I am happy that we are getting that out of the way so that Steve can join us on many of our adventures. We sure did miss him last summer. I can't wait to see what the months ahead have in store for us!

(This photo clearly has nothing to do with this post, but I had to add it, because Smokey is just weird. This is her preferred sleeping position)

Early Morning Thoughts

Safety first!
The boys and I are in the midst of our first long-ish separation from Steve since he returned from deployment last September. In the grand scheme of things, he won't be away for that long, but still, it is a first for us since returning to normal. So far, the boys are doing just fine. They are missing Daddy a lot, but luckily springtime means lots of activities with school and sports, so we don't have a lot of down time on our hands.

I woke up at 4:30 this morning to the sound of Riley "tap dancing" in the laundry room. He usually saves this for 5:15 a.m., but I am guessing he drank some extra water before bedtime last night. Either way, once I am woken up, I'm up. I know I will be feeling this around 2:00 p.m. today, and I will really want a nap that I cannot take.

As I was laying in bed, waiting for Riley to let me know that he was ready to come back in, I was thinking about the little quirks I developed while Steve was deployed, and how quickly they come back when he is away from home. I don't get frightened at night per se - - I'm not afraid to be home alone and I don't really worry about things like that. However, I just don't feel right when he isn't here, and have a hard time winding down for the evening. When Steve is home, I am usually in bed by 9:00 and asleep soon after. I think when he was in Iraq, I avoided getting into bed at night because that is when I would lay in the dark and think about awful things, miss him terribly, and then proceed to have a not-so-restful night's sleep. So I unknowingly developed a night- time routine that involved staying up way too late, to the point where I was so tired that I would fall asleep the minute I got into the prone position, thus eliminating the 'laying in bed and thinking awful thoughts' portion of my evening. It worked for me, except for the part where I was always operating on not enough sleep.

Steve and I have been married for 10 1/2 years, and I've spent roughly 3 1/2 of those years by myself, 3/4 of that time, with children. One would think that it would get easier with time, but I find that separation gets more difficult. When I say this, I am not talking about handling things on my own, without a spouse. I can do that part just fine. I am talking about the mental aspect of it. Nobody can help out with that.

Back to Life

Well my goodness, it has been a while. I am happy to report that I finally have a new laptop. I am still trying to figure it out but at least I have figured out enough to be able to post something to my blog. I really hope that I can get back into the swing of regular writing. I have realized over the past three months that I have miss keeping a record of what we are up to. I spent some time going through blog posts from years passed and am so happy that I have so many memories written down. Sometimes I will go through a dry spell and will think that maybe I don't want to have a blog anymore, but now I know that I do. So, onward!

The above picture is from this past weekend. My mom flew out to Idaho to watch the boys for us so that Steve and I could attend a Strong Bonds marriage retreat in McCall. This is offered by the Army and we have wanted to attend for a long time, and it finally worked out that we could. The retreat consisted of a bunch of great sessions, dinner, and ample free time to do some things on our on. During our free time on Saturday, we rented a snowmobile and rode to Bergdorf Hot Springs. It was such a fun adventure! I have now been to three different hot springs and Bergdorf is definitely my favorite.

The gigantic pool you see behind Steve is actually the hot spring...I think the temperature was around 101 or so. It was also about five feet deep. I have only ever been in very shallow hot springs so this was great. This was after our soak and we were getting ready to get back on the snowmobile for the 20-mile ride back to town. It was great to do something out of the ordinary (for us) and we really had a good time. The entire weekend was wonderful and I know we both learned a lot. I am so thankful to my mom for coming all the way out here for us. She and the boys packed in a ton of quality time together while we were away!

More Birthday Musings

I wanted to take the time to write down what I did on my birthday, because it really was a perfect day, all the way around. Steve really outdid himself and I will never forget how much fun I had on my 40th birthday.

I got up in the morning and had some coffee with Steve, and then enjoyed a lovely breakfast (toad in the hole and turkey bacon) that he made for me. Steve had taken the day off from work so that I could have the "day off" and do whatever I wanted. After breakfast, I headed out on my morning walk, which felt great.

Steve took Camden to school, and I got ready to head to Boise for a day of shopping. All of you mothers know that if you have little kids, shopping isn't exactly fun, and it is a rare occurance to get out BY YOURSELF, to shop FOR YOURSELF. So, this is what I was wanting to do on my birthday. Try on clothes to my heart's content, browse, wander, window shop, and drink coffee! I was determined to go to all the stores I steer clear of when I have the boys in tow, and that is exactly what I did. As luck would have it, there were some crazy sales going on last Friday, and I still cannot believe the treasures I found. I spent nearly the entire day, but soon had to head back home to get ready for dinner. I think I had 30 minutes to come in the door, freshen up, change, and then get back in the truck and head back to Boise, but this time with all three of my boys.

Steve wouldn't tell me where we were going but said it was somewhere that I'd always wanted to have dinner. A little bit before we reached our destination, he told me we were all going to Le Cafe de Paris. He and I have been there many times for dessert, but never for dinner. I have a bit of an obsession with all things French, so I was really excited to say the least. The boys are really well-behaved when we take them out to eat, but I will admit I was a little nervous about taking them to this particular restaurant. I'm happy to say that wasn't necessary - - they were extra-excited to go to a "fancy" restaurant and were perfect gentleman for the entire hour and a half that we were there. Anyway, I enjoyed escargot, chicken cordon bleu, and a couple of glasses of Les Graines chardonnay...probably the best chardonnay I have ever tasted. Yum.

We got home late so we held off on cake until the next night so that my brother-in-law, sister-in-law, and nephew could join us. My boys made me a delicious cake, and I was completely spoiled by Rex, Kasey, and Banzer, who gave me a deluxe camp kitchen. I can tell you that thing is going to see a lot of use this coming camp season - - I cannot wait to use it.

So it was a wonderful birthday weekend. I also had a huge surprise on my birthday, but that will need a post all its own. More on that later.

More of the Same

I last blogged 15 days ago, and not much has changed around here, unfortunately. After Griff's bout with the upper-respiratory junk, I caught it (no surprise there), and right about the time I started to feel human again, he started feeling poorly. It was off to the doctor yesterday to make sure his nasty cough wasn't something more serious (it wasn't), and now we are back in the juice-drinking, forced-resting mode in hopes of kicking this sickness to the curb. Poor Griff. He is a good little patient, but really, enough is enough.

As you can see from the quality of my pictures, I am still phone-blogging, which is why I haven't been blogging. Yesterday I decided to just chalk January up as one of those months that seems to evaporate before your eyes, and if someone asked you, you couldn't really tell them what you'd done all month. All of the days seemed to blur together and mostly I am just very happy that today is February 1st. It gives me that "clean slate" feeling, and the hope that health will be restored to this house. Pronto.

We have been experiencing an extremely mild winter here in Idaho. One would think that this would alleviate the 'winter blahs', and while it does help somewhat, I find myself extremely impatient for spring to just get here already. These mild days are a tease and I am just ready for the children to be playing outside and to just chalk this winter up as a bust and get on with it.

Steve's office has relocated, away from the military base he's always worked on, so this has added a good 45 minutes to his already one hour (each way) commute time every day. This means some adjusting and some changes for all of us, but mostly I just feel for Steve because really, who wants to spend 3.5 hours in a car every day? He's a trooper, that's for sure.

We have not broken the news to Smokey yet, but tomorrow is "Letter C" day at preschool, and so she will be going to visit a gaggle of hyperactive 4-year olds.

In With the New

I love the start of a new year. Even though I thoroughly enjoy the month of December and all of the festivities that go with it, I'm always happy to put the chaotic part of it behind me. We have been experiencing some rather mild weather here in Idaho, and although I'd like to see some snow eventually, I am enjoying these sunny days.

Just the same, I planted some narcissus bulbs a few weeks ago, and am thrilled to have them blooming on my dining room table. It is so nice to see some green. I never like to wish time away, but I would be lying if I said spring could take its time getting here. It can't get here fast enough, as far as I am concerned. I don't enjoy being cooped up in the house at all - - I don't think any of us do. Winter is definitely my most challenging season, in this profession.

Camden headed back to school today, and Griffin has another week before preschool starts back up. We are easing back into our routine, as I continue organizing and purging this house of unnecessary clutter. I have some grand plans in mind for the coming months, but they require a level of organization on my part that I have never quite been able to master.

I didn't set any concrete goals for 2012. I'm not big on resolutions per se, but I do love the idea of "starting fresh" each January. My focus for this new year continues to be my health and physical fitness, because finally, after all these years, I am learning that if that takes a place of priority, everything else falls into place so much more easily.

Gearing Up for the New Year

We had a wonderful Christmas! For whatever reason, things came together smoothly this year, so there wasn't any crazy running around at the last minute or any of that. The anticipation just about did the boys in on Christmas Eve...poor ol' Griff appeared to be in physical pain a couple of times -- he just could not stand the waiting! I am happy to report that they both survived though, and had such a fun day. Unfortunately, Camden woke up the day after Christmas sick to his stomach, but luckily it passed quickly and soon he was back to his old self. Just glad the poor thing wasn't sick ON Christmas day...that would have been a major bummer.

Santa did not bring me a new laptop, so I am still blogging via Smartphone, I fear. I really miss my computer! The impending New Year has given me the motivation I needed to do some organizing, which has been great. I have been getting rid of things I don't want or need anymore and I hope to tackle more drawers, closets, etc. in the coming weeks.

It has also dawned one that I will be turning 40 in 37 days. How did that happen?!? I am not exactly sure how I feel about it. I don't remember caring one way or the other, when I turned 30. I think somewhere around 38 I might have raised an eyebrow. I think I am mostly thinking, 'Holy cow, I can't believe I am 40!' It just seems so odd to me. The good news is, I am in better shape than I was at age 30, feel better about myself, and am more content than I have ever been before. This past year in particular has been a year of letting go -- letting go of disappointment, letting go of things and people I can't control...still a lot of work to do in that area, but it is a start. So, I suppose I am looking at the coming year as a challenge (the good kind)...with my health being at the top of the list (physical, mental, and otherwise). Let the games begin!

Computerless

Well I have been without my computer for a week now. The battery has not died (yet), but unfortunately we are having a modem problem, that, oddly enough, only affects my laptop. Right now I am on Steve's work laptop, which is leaving with him to go to work for the week in about 5 minutes. Boo! So, if I am not responding to email very quickly, or blogging, or any of that fun stuff, it is because I am really bad at typing on my Smartphone. I miss my computer! I may even try to get the archaic desktop working.

This week is going to be busy. I will be working at the library this morning, followed by volunteering in Camden's class. Will be doing that again tomorrow, and then he is on Christmas vacation, yay! Griffin's vacation already began last week, so he is busy chomping at the bit, waiting for Santa to hurry up and get here already. Steve has five days off starting on Friday, so we are all looking forward to a nice, long holiday weekend. Hope you all are busy with Christmas preparations and enjoying this time!