there just might be

Okay, so we are in the third week of school, with 2 kids full day and that little one going every day for the afternoon, and I have to say-things are good. I have wondered for a while what it would be like when I didn't have anybody home and, well, it's good. The last time I had no one home was when I had a little alien invading my body (that would be the middle one) and my oldest was in preschool 2 mornings a week. It didn't last long, as eventually, she was born and my tiny window of nothing was replaced with feeding, changing, holding, more holding, you know the drill.

So, now. it's good. I think there might be a grown up inside me trying to get out. Today, I realized that I was sitting on the sofa in the middle of the day, drinking a cup of coffee and chatting with a friend in the middle of the day with no kids at home. And, tomorrow, you know what?? I can do it again. Of course, my "free" time is limited since I am taking on some larger projects, and technically, I only have 2 hours and 18 minutes (but who is counting??) between dropping off kid 3 and kid 1 coming home.

Don't tell anyone, but school is good :)

I leave you with a photo of the space left behind when you take out the ugliest medicine cabinet in recent history:

september cometh

So, September is here. As I sit in my dining room with the window a/c blaring directly in my face, it's hard to have warm feelings about the idea of fall. What I would like is cooler feelings in general and less 90+ degree weather. It seems that even though I swore off the a/c for the season, I cave in on the 5th day of heat and turn it on (and am secretly thankful that my husband didn't have time to take the units out last week.)

Since I last posted, I have become the mother of a middle schooler, a second-grader, and a 4k-er! Okay, I have always been the mother of these kids, but their respective grades are giving me a little pause this September season. I know many moms who feel as I do-that September is the new year, the time to start fresh, the time for resolution. Really, my life looks pretty much the same on December 31st as it does on January 1st, except that I generally have a new Turkey Hill calendar on the wall. (and my kids are searching the back for the ice cream flavors and bugging me to use the coupons).

This year, my resolutions are to be organized enough to be open to some new opportunities. I am praying and waiting to hear about some exciting new jobs that might be coming my way. I am going to be ready if they arrive! I am also ABSOLUTELY SCHEDULING IN time for exercise and creativity. I am doing this and eventually this. Which as this point seems crazy since I have never been a runner, but I just have this feeling that I should run.

Today, I am both cranky and grateful, mostly cranky due to the heat, but also because I have a stack of articles to rewrite with SEO optimization and the most interesting topic seems to be powerwashing. Also, as I listen to NPR today, it's science friday which generally makes me feel just a little less smart than usual.

Also, a little heartbreaking, I BROKE my camera last week. The last 8 days without a camera have been painful to say the least! Luckily, I got the first day shots before it broke!

I am grateful that we live where we don't have to board up our homes or evacuate and I hold in prayer everyone who has done that for Gustav or is doing it for Hanna or will do it for Ike. After spending several years raising money to help the reconstruction effort for Katrina victims, my heart aches for all the current troubles in the Gulf and the southeast.

I am grateful that my kids are healthy and happy and that they have a/c at school (our 90+ year old elementary school only has it in a couple of rooms and mine have it!).

I am grateful for friends and family.

I am grateful for my faith and for the peace it is giving me as I await (somewhat impatiently) news.

I am grateful for my husband's job and for his willingness to work so hard for our family, even when he isn't satisfied with what he is doing.

I am grateful for my a/c (have you noticed a theme here?)

Have a wonderful and safe weekend.