Loving Our New Normal

As we continue to settle in we are amazed at how "at home" we feel and how comfortable we are living here. There is so much to love and even more to be grateful for. As I scanned my photos trying to decide what to post these were some snapshots that stood out to me.

 After picking up the kids from school one afternoon (they walk or ride bikes or scooter to school, but some days I like to get my walk in by meeting them near the school to walk home with them). William and Marie decided to walk across the field that day to get to our house, which you can almost see there in the distance. The front portion of this field will be a field for quite some time, and then eventually a city park. The other half, the north half, has begun to be developed since taking this picture. A road is being built in preparation for "Phase V of V" of the neighborhood.

We all missed our little tables and books when we were renting. I think Anne, most especially, missed those things that meant "home" to her. She loves her home and her family. She loves to be cozy and comfortable in environments that are familiar to her. And she loves to read.

 She also loves ice cream. This was on the curb of the gas station that is just a walk away from our house. I picked the kids up from school on the Friday leading into Spring Break and we walked to get their 35 cent cones, which turned into cups full of ice cream.

And Sam, well, he has done his part to break in this house, which has involved breaking things, unfortunately. It has also involved eating on the floors, apparently. He keeps all of us laughing while we simultaneously are pulling our hair out in frustration.

Our new normal is beyond everything we hoped it would be when we made the crazy decision to move just over a year ago.

St. Patrick's Day

My kids, upon realizing that we have Irish ancestors, have decided that St. Patrick's Day is a pretty awesome and totally rad holiday. It isn't because the leprechauns have visited them every year with green goodies, or because they get new shirts or because their milk is always magically turned green. Nope, those are just bonuses to the fact that it is an Irish holiday and they are Irish. That makes me happy.

 The leprechauns played it simple this year with an assortment of green goodies to include in their lunches. Green shirts had been purchased a few weeks prior at Children's Place. Thank you, Children's Place, for always having an assortment of green shirts for super cheap.

 Besides that it was a normal day. A Tuesday, so I had to drive down to Layton for Anne's preschool. Sam and I filled the time by wandering Target and spending more money than I should have. I couldn't help myself! Sam, without me noticing, opened up a couple of packages of hot wheels at the beginning of the trip so he was super content to let me wander the store. William used to lay down and drive his cars like this. My boys and their cars.

 He was totally zoning out in the first picture and without even blinking,

 he noticed I was taking a picture and stuck out his tongue.

 When I laughed, he threw himself back into the cart in a fit of glee. That day, it was absolutely delightful to spend time with my buddy. I like days like that.

The rest of the day was spent laying low at home. I loved seeing them cuddle like this while they watched a movie. I think it must have been cold or rainy that day.

Still Here

Tonight Brandon and I were trying to remember something and I jumped on my blog to verify when it actually happened. It was in 2009, the height of blogging, for me at least. After finding the post (about putting the sandbox in, if you are curious), I started to browse through the other posts that I had written at that time. Soon enough, I was laughing and crying and smiling and just plain loving the fact that I had made that history. I decided it wasn't a coincidence that I had that experience. I was reminded how much I appreciate that I have written down those memories.

So, to my future self that will be reading this years from now, I am doing this for you. It's so worth it. And to my current friends and family who rode out the trend and are still sticking around, thanks. All 3 of you.

Now, if only I had children that napped so I could be as consistent as I was back in the day.

A little too much wishful thinking there.

Missing the Good Ol' Days

The last time somebody commented on my blog was more than 3 months ago. In the height of the blog craze, before Facebook and then Instagram took over, I used to look forward to blog comments daily. I'm kind of over all social media lately, as I find I cannot disconnect my mind from what I read when I'm not reading it. On top of juggling my relationship with my husband and my kids and all that entails, and maintaining relationships with my siblings, and trying to figure out the enigma that is my relationship with my in-laws, and keeping up with friends in order to support them through their current phases .... well, on top of that, I feel the need to give all my Facebook and Instagram friends the validation they are craving because if they didn't need validation they wouldn't have posted publicly about whatever it was that they just posted. Then I read a post that fires me up emotionally and I have to talk myself down from responding in a way I will regret later or I do respond and I regret it and can't stop thinking about it. So, to short this rambling rant, basically, I am trying to wean myself off of social media. But not my blog because it is my journal, too. Although, I am sad that it has sat neglected much more often than it used to sit neglected. And I'm sad to admit that part of that is because people actually used to read my blog and comment. It was validating. There is that lovely word again. And there I am back at the start of the post, lamenting the fact that no one comments anymore and few people read this lovely blog of mine. And do you know what, I'm really okay with that, but it leads me to consider going completely private with it. I write differently if I do think I have an audience, compared to if I am just planning on posterity reading it many years from now when I have kicked the bucket. The moral of the story: if anytime soon you lose access to this blog, all 1 or 2 readers that may or may not exist, just know that it's not you, it's me. Cheers.

Have Courage and Be Kind

 Anne has been asking for months if the movie theaters were open yet for the summer so that we could see Cinderella. She refused to understand the truth, that the theaters are always open. I love 4 year old logic. So, opening weekend we bought tickets and had a girl's night out to the theater. we also discovered that we are pretty rotten at taking a group selfie together.

The movie was magical and beautiful. It exceeded my expectations, as I was mostly sad that they were making something to replace one of my childhood favorites. It passed the test though, and if this is what my girls grow up watching, I am more than pleased with that.

 We finished off the night with some cupcakes, Marie's favorite treat. Anne chose a cookie. As long as whatever treat she eats is chocolate, she's happy.

Fun time with my girls!

Sammy Turns 3!

We made it! We celebrated our first holiday in our new house. I'm not sure who anticipated the event more, me or him.

 The morning started off with waffles, berries, and cream. And a birthday candle was a must. We loved watching him sing to himself and then excitedly blow out the candle.

 By request we had a Lightening McQueen birthday party which consisted of, well, watching Lightening McQueen. (Disney Cars) Pizza, popcorn, and root beer were on the menu. Breadsticks for Sammy, the silly little eater that currently wouldn't eat pizza.

 And cupcakes to finish off the celebration.

 For the record, he ate the cupcakes.

 One that evening and a couple more the next morning, while hiding behind the kitchen island, when he should have been eating breakfast.

I never want to forget his absolute enthusiasm for his birthday this year. I never want to forget watching him carefully position his fingers so he could sign that he was now "3!" His giggles and squeals as he opened up his presents. His big grin when we sang to him. His eagerness to tell everybody it was HIS birthday! He is curious and energetic and loves to explore and loves to celebrate. We love our Sam!

Beginnings and Endings

The past three weeks have been full of beginnings and endings. The kids said goodbye to friends and a school that they adored. It was hard, especially for William, which we fully expected. I was so proud of the kids. They held their heads up high through a daunting task. Having Aunt Becca and Grandma come to stay for a few days helped all of us. Having the help with cooking, cleaning, and nurturing gave me the mental clarity to prepare for the move in a way I've never been able to do before. Because I wasn't stressed, I felt more able to be present with the kids. I could recognize when they were looking a little extra sad and needed a hug. I was able to sit down and talk with them as they worked through the emotions of this experience, whenever they needed it. It was such a blessing to move through this change as smoothly as possible.

The last day of school at Leadership Learning Academy ended up also being the Valentine's Class Parties.

Marie's Valentine box. She did not have a specific vision and refused to allow me to show her ideas from Pinterest. She just wanted to have at it with a table full of supplies. She did just that and it turned out quite cute.

William, on the other hand, specifically wanted a Pirate's Ship. I showed him a couple of pictures and then he and Grandma came up with a very awesome creation. It was the hit of his class, although that wasn't his goal, it was just a little perk.

 I need to have Marie and William tell me the names of these cute kids they became good friends with.

 This is Luke, William's best school friend. They were troublemakers together, but also encouraged creativity in each other that was fun to watch. LEGO creations, dragon sketches, and made up stories filled William's back pack and his mind through his friendship with Luke. Luke's family is moving to South Ogden, so we will be just a bit closer to him than Layton would be. We hope to maintain a relationship with him and his family.

 The teachers. Mrs. Winfrey, Ms. Coffman, and Mrs. Nikolaev. 

Marie and William both agree that Ms. Coffman was their absolute favorite with Mrs. Winfrey running a VERY close second. We had some trouble with Mrs. Nikolaev, but she sure did love to talk to the kids about Russia and they loved to share with me what they learned. 

 Little Miss Marie insisted on a picture with her kindergarten teacher, too. Miss Larkin was the perfect match for Marie. She's a fun loving and organized teacher. The best kind there is!

The weekend came and went (with lots and lots of moving in the mix) and just like that they became the new kids at a new school. The highlight of their first day was being able to wear "regular clothes" instead of uniforms.

 I took them to the school on Friday afternoon so they could meet their teachers before the morning of their first day. It eased their nerves quite a bit and I'm glad it worked out for us to do that.

 William has Mr. Fischer, who has been lauded as the best 3rd grade teacher at the school. He thinks it's pretty cool to have a "boy teacher" and I think it will be great for him.

 Marie has fallen in love with her teacher, Mrs. Maw. She is kind and silly and speaks right to a 1st graders fun loving heart.

I want my kids to always know how awesome they are for going through this challenge. This was a hard thing they had to do and they've made it through. Well, we're still making it through, but things are looking great so far. They are troopers!