Back to School

Our B started second grade at her new school on Monday. What a big day!

When I picked her up, she said it was a great day. She definitely liked her teacher, school, and made a few new friends. I could tell she was really tired, but how fun it was to pick her up right after school and get the full recap.

The Buddy and I stayed home on Monday and made up for the weeks I'd spent packing and now unpacking. We did crafts, play dough, painting, outdoor play, a shopping trip and even went to get ice cream after picking up B. It was a full day and he passed out at 7:30. The true sign of a day well spent!

I may have given him the wrong impression...I hope he doesn't think we're doing this much every day!!

Buddy added the shades to my sun, a definite improvement!

We got these awesome play dough stampers at Target, I had fun playing with them!

I can say with certainty that our year is off to a great start. With all of the changes we've gone through lately, I think we're in pretty good shape.

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The First Days

J and I moved into our new home on Saturday, July 31st. We felt really fortunate to have professional movers (a first for us!) and it made such a huge difference in how moving day goes. We worked really hard that night to get ready for the kids' arrival on Sunday.


They reacted just how you would hope, lots of jumping around and shouting. The happy kind.

Happy times, finding all of their toys and quickly beginning the mess making!

They've settled in nicely, more smoothly than I.


Don't get me wrong, I really like it here. I'm just...homesick. Which is strange.

The new routines are settling in and I'm slowly getting organized. Box by box. Our new home is lovely. We will be very happy here, of this I am sure. And together.

There's one thing that I'm sure of in this whole business of moving and trying (TRYING) to sell our home in Omaha, and making the decision to live in our new town together, even if we've had to do things unconventionally, it's that we need to be together as a family. Period.

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My Life at This Moment

So it's moving week. It's paper plates and bored kids and unexpected projects (like painting the kitchen...).

I'm doing my best to be positive, take breaks (like this one), and stay properly caffeinated. Er...I mean hydrated.

I hope my husband knows that my next move will be when I am an old, old woman. So he'd better be ready to stay put! Hi Dear.

This may be it till I'm a resident of a new town.

What will I call this blog? I can't imagine any other name. It's going to take some thinking, which is not something I'm capable of today. No thinking, just doing.

Well, my cup of iced tea is gone. Back to work.

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LUCKY SEVEN

Yesterday, my B turned seven. I got an email newsletter that said this is a time in a child's life that parents usually really enjoy. The child is more independent, but still enthusiastic and wanting your nurturing attention. I agree completely. For the most part, our B is a happy, helpful, sweet little girl.

For her birthday we did our usual morning donuts with a candle and presents from the family. Since B's birthday is always during summer break, we can take the whole day and spend it together. Then last night we had a party with friends and one of those bounce house places. She even let her brother invite two friends and they were able to see their good friends one more time before we move next week.

I was telling B how when she turned two, we were staying with her grandparents. We had just moved to Omaha and had a couple of weeks between closing dates. Here we are, five years later, and we're on the move again.

At seven...

B loves Barbies, American Girl dolls, Disney channel, time with friends, swimming, and music. We've listened to a lot of Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez this summer. She is less enthusiastic about subtraction, riding her bike without training wheels (still practicing that one), and being outside when it's hot.

She's one of a kind and I tell her all the time, I'm so lucky to know her.

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Who Says You Can't Bake in the Summer

I've got these brownies in the oven right this minute. And yummmmmmm do they smell good!!

They were a little more work than my usual brownie-from-a-box specialty, but totally worth it. The batter was beautiful and the taste test was delicious!

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The Hubs' dad is one of eleven siblings. That's right, ELEVEN! They are still around and meet every five years for what they call a luau. It's on the land, at the house where they grew up. Hubs' uncle owns the place and they really do it right. There's a tent city, bounce house, tons of food, cousins, and cousins, and cousins. It's so cool.

We attended the luau this year and it was actually my third. I went to my first one when J and I had been dating for just five months. I camped out. I met family. I played 3-on-3 basketball with J and won the tournament with him (which is, I believe, when they all decided I could join the family). The memories are so rich, the family very strong.

I'm a lucky woman, to be part of two families, four really, that are all so wonderful, unique, and loving. What are the odds?!


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About Face - Forward March!

On June 28th I had grand plans to do all sorts of fun things with what we've got left of summer!

What has happened since then is that we have agreed to rent the home that we will buy when our home here sells and are looking at a move date of AUGUST FIRST! Wow.

So now it's a total change in thinking. What we can do for free (because hey, moving costs a LOT, did you know that?!) and how much can I get packed? So July is looking much different and we're going to have to do the fun day trips on our visits back because there's no way that it's going to happen this month.

The good? We are so excited about our new home. It has a ton of great features that will be perfect for our family. We love our new soon-to-be-hometown and are happy to think about all of the great things that come with this move.

The not-so-good? Still waiting for our home here to sell. Still hoping it will sell before school starts. Waiting and hoping, hoping and waiting.

More soon...I will not have internet in August for a while, so I've got to enjoy it while it lasts!

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