Blah, Blah Blogging.

I have been a bit absent from the blogosphere lately. Scattered posts with ranging topics, and my faithful reader (s)? have asked me why.

A few reasons exist.

A. The stereotypical life of a Mom who drives a minivan. School, soccer stuff, appointments, church activities, meetings. Maybe I need to ditch the minivan and I won't be so busy??

B. A little precious pacifier popping princess (how's that for alliteration?) who as she ages wants more and more of me and less and less of her swing, crib, and a bottle for that matter.

C. Lacking Inspiration. I usually blog when something particular inspires me to do so. Maybe that is my problem. Perhaps I should just blog the basics. What is going on, photos, and little updates instead of waiting for the light bulb to turn on.

D. My Home. I feel a bit owned by my house lately. Many of you know that I am a card carrying member of the Anti-Autumn club and would normally be raving on about this extendo summer. But this pleasant and preferable warm weather has left me with a multi-season mess. Swimsuits mixed with lunchboxes. Shin guards, reading records, sunscreen, and flip-flops coexisting in a tiny little closet.

I haven't closed the door on Mini-Van Mega-Fun quite yet.
Here are a few photos of what's been happening around here this past month.


Come on! Don't take a photo of me!


Juliet savors her first bite of cereal, it was a family event!



Joy's special day at Pre-K.

The girls at play.

Dewey still shirtless into the Fall.

Welcome home again Lia!

This is how Chase feels about 3rd grade homework.

lunch lady

Every so often when I am performing a particularly momish task (in this case, packing my boys' lunch box) I stop and reflect.

I try to imagine some 25 years ago. I picture in my mind my mother packing my lunch in my metal, not plastic Annie lunch box. I remember the PBJ or bologna sandwiches, the Little Debbie snack, the obligatory piece of fruit that may or may not have gone into the school trash. My unassuming mother probably thought we actually ate that fruit. I did not want to disappoint her by bringing it back home.
25 years later my boys do not have the same consideration. For the last two mornings when I open up their lunch boxes I found unopened yogurt, warm grapes and string cheese.

When I ask them why they didn't eat it and left it to rot,
they almost always reply:
"I forgot"

So, they remembered to eat the sweet goodie and the sandwich but it completely slipped their mind that there was also something healthy to partake?

Riiiiiight.

On to Hot Lunch. A certain sense of excitement is in the air on Tuesday and Thursday, for these are the days the boys get to have hot lunch. Pizza and rubbery chicken nuggets. What's not to love? I guess it beats the boiled hot dogs and doughnuts from my Hot lunch days

Some things never change. In a weird way it comforts me to know that 2 generations later kids still bypass the fruit and drink chocolate milk out of little cartons.

God is Great and God is Good. Let us Thank Him for this Food.
By His Hands we all are Fed, Thank You Lord for Daily Bread!

a bunch of bunk.

I was half heartedly listening to ABC network last night and heard them numerously mention

"National Stay at Home Week"

It seems we Americans don't stay home enough and just watch TV anymore. We are just to0 busy not watching ABC network and are off doing activities! The horror!

National Stay at Home Week boasts huge environmental impact. If we all stay at home and watch TV, we won't go anywhere, avoid using gasoline while driving our SUVs. Imagine the money you could save by participating in Stay at Home Week!
Oh, not to mention all the new season premieres that just happen to debut this week.

Come on, people.

Bunk I tell you.

the family that skis together...

stays together??? or something like that.

On Labor Day or any given Saturday, my Dad likes to get everyone and anyone out on the lake for a ski ride.

Labor Day was couples day.


Aren't they Adorable? Dave & Judy still got it!

Well, these two ski all the time.

Here is something you don't see everyday. Dan kept spraying me, I could hardly stand it!!

Farewell to the Cottage and summer!

I blinked.

Summer is over, and my baby is 4.5 months old!

Bear with me as I go back and record a few memories once again.
Following Juliet's birth in April I had one goal---Make it through the rest of the school year. Survive sleep deprivation and school craziness ---reach June 15 and I would be golden. School would be completed, baby gal would most likely be sleeping through the night.

Now I am knocking on Sept. 15 and all of that forward hoping is a thing of the past. Call me crazy, but it makes me very sad. I actually miss the teeny tiny-ness of my newborn. I miss the quiet of the middle of the night nursing Juliet. I miss changing her diaper half asleep and laugh remembering the night when I realized I put her diaper on backwards but absolutely left it that way because I didn't want to wake her.

In the rush to get her sleeping through the night I really tried this time to appreciate how precious those first couple of months really are. Spring turned to summer and with it brought her first smiles, laughs, cooing and more. Her older siblings still can't get enough of her. Two days ago she decided to take a pacifier. The first few attempts at giving her a pacifer early on were met with gagging, screaming, and refusal. Today she treats it like an old friend. Are we stupid to give it to her now after all these months without it???
I thank God today for her precious life. For giving me daily strength, patience (sort of), and the ability to enjoy the everyday moments that seem to fly by too quickly.