Summer Meets Fall Meets Indian Summer

It's been a long time since I've updated. A lot of times, I plan to write something, but then time keeps going. And I ask myself, "Who really cares?" Well, I know I will be happy to look back on all of this.

The summer went by rather quickly, I suppose, but our family squeezes everything out of summer that we can get. We usually open the pool mid-March and it is still open now. In fact, we are having an oddly warm week this October, so we've been able to swim rather easily.

In the middle of the summer, I sprained my ankle pretty bad. It still hasn't healed all the way, but for a long time, I couldn't really walk anywhere, so we weren't able to enjoy the beach as much. I couldn't swim in the pool either (just stand around) and had to take six weeks off of running. I was so frustrated because I could hardly even walk downstairs. I never realized how horrible it can be to have to rest--and also how impossible that is with to two little boys. Chris tried to do his part in taking the boys on adventures, though, and they went peach picking, blueberry picking, and all of that.

Our biggest adventure lately has been adjusting to school. Whoa. I didn't realize how hard it would be to juggle all of the schedules in the house. Eliot goes to afternoon kindergarten and Jack goes to preK3 three days a week. They are both in school at the same time for just one hour three days a week. It makes working from home rather difficult, but I know it'll get easier from here after this year (kind of). Eliot decided that he didn't want to play soccer this fall, and while I was disappointed at first, I am glad to have our weekends open and also not have to worry about practice in the evening. I do miss soccer and I might tell him he has to do SOMETHING in the spring, but it has been nice to take a season off.

Eliot loves riding the bus to kindergarten. My biggest worry was the bus for him, yet it is his favorite part of school. He's doing well and never complains about going. He gets really excited about all of the rewards systems, like earning "pennies". He's recognizing words and loves to write books. He recently wrote a book about all of our crazy pets for a Reflections contest. When I was a kid, I wrote lots of stories and drew pictures, so it has been fun to watch him grow and trend toward writing as well.

Jack had a slightly rough start to PreK3. He cried the first few times, but now he just goes without looking back. He adores his teachers, which I think makes a big difference. Jack just turned three at the end of June while Eliot was a few months shy of four when he started preschool, so I try to keep that mind. Eliot had trouble adjusting too--and it took longer as well. Jack always comes home with a smile and stories to tell about school. He is always excited to show me the crafts he's done at school.

I am still teaching English full-time online and also adjunct at the community college. In fact, in just six weeks, I will have been teaching at my community college for two years! I've come a long way from the days when Jack would cry at the front door each morning when I left to drop Eliot off at PreK3, head to teach, and get home in the afternoon when Jack was napping. When I think back to that, balancing work seems like it has gotten easier. I'm always trying to balance being a great professor, a good wife, a decent housekeeper, and (of course) an excellent momma. Some days, it is harder than others when I'm tired and met with constant backtalk and having to say, "No no no. Stop stop stop." The boys tell me I'm "the best mom ever," which I know is a hyperbole probably mixed with some manipulation, but I'll take it.