What a Difference a Summer Makes

Thank you for all of your sweet comments! Someday, when I clue my daughter in to the blog and let her read the comments, she will love them.

So, I have 2 very excited kids back to school this morning with really wonderful teachers, and they are happy to see all of their friends, and it's a good day. I am really happy and excited for them. I've had a few moments where I've been sad to see the summer end, but the summer has been really good, so I'm satisfied.

I mentioned that this summer was quite different than last, in that last year I had 2 kids plus a baby (technically not really a baby--but I see now why people always call the youngest "their baby") and now I have 3 full-fledged kids. I had a conversation once with a girlfriend about how once a child turns 3, they change from a cute toddler into an invisible "kid". People in the grocery store ooh and ahh over cute babies and toddlers, but nobody really notices kids. (Unless they are being annoying or bad.)

She was kind of lamenting the fact that nobody noticed her cute kid anymore. But here I am, with 3 full-fledged kids and I kind of feel like I'm entering the stage I've always waited for. I'm not really a baby person. I did love a lot of things about it, but I'm not the kind of person who wants to hold other people's babies, or longs to have another--to keep the baby stage going. I'm ready to move on. Dave and I have discussed that there is a great stage between ages 3 and....I don't know....12(?) when they are past the baby stage and can do things, you can take your eyes off them for 10 seconds without worrying that they are going to drink Lysol, they are (hopefully) past the tantrumy stage for the most part, they still love being with mom and dad and are fun to be around, BUT it is before they enter the teenage years. We will have 5 years with all 3 kids at this stage, before they become teenagers and hate us. The Zone. We are entering The Zone!

There are so many things that I haven't done with the kids because I still had a run-away toddler. We had never had a week-long family vacation before this summer, and it was awesome. So many changes this summer. The potty training that lasted for three fricken months (the previous 2 took only a week). The big girl bed. No more diapers, crib, or lugging a pack-n-play on trips.

This year my middle daughter has morning kindergarten. Two years ago, my son had afternoon kindergarten, and the combination of one kid in morning preschool, rushing home for lunch, one kid in afternoon kindergarten, and a baby in a bucket carseat along for the ride with all of it could've killed me. We survived, obviously, but it was the most hectic year so far and I was bracing myself to do it again this year. With morning kindergarten, another in morning preschool, and the oldest gone all day, I will have 4 mornings all by myself. To think. To work. To drink a hot cup of coffee!

I've been making my mental list. It started out pretty simple. More yarn dyeing, more blogging, more quilting. But it's getting quite long. I'm excited to:

Start quilting seriously again.

Enter my quilts in exhibits again.

Organinze my quilting life that's gone to hell the past 5 years.

Organize everything else that's gone to hell in the past 5 years.

E-mail back everyone that's e-mailed me in the past 5 years.

Combine my quilt website, blog, and yarn store.

Or maybe just switch my blog over to a different service.

Blog at least 3 times a week.

Dye more yarn.

Sew more clothes (and actually blog about them).

Sew a few bed quilts.

Volunteer in both kid's classrooms (AVIC).

Have coffee occasionally with friends.

Treat myself to the occasional thrift store outing.

Keep my house cleaner--just a little--let's not get carried away or anything.

Get back to well thought out meals.