Keiglets
The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs.
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Weekend Ramble: Les Mis, A Kitten & Daylight Savings Time
The Weekend Ramble
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five finds friday. (do you know what else starts with the letter f? flu.)
Four people in my house have had or do currently have the flu this week. Six of us live here. Those odds are not in my favor. funny If you wake up in the morning and see this reminder from the night before on your bedside table, was that a successful evening or a sad evening? fashionable Well – the shipwreck t-shirt arrived. I wore it. And here are my thoughts …. The quote still amuses me, whether every human on social media has seen it too many times or not. The material of the shirt is not quite the same super soft material of most t-shirts we buy these…
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an apology/not an apology
I wish I had more time to write here. I wish I had more time to undertake creative endeavors. Why has it been harder to write blog posts for the past six months or so? Overseeing the education of five people requires a LOT of effort. The teenage years provide a plethora of fodder for blog posts but so very little of it is shareable since they are older kids with bigger feelings and stories of their own. Let’s just say, the parenting of teens is a FULL TIME task that hits at the most unexpected hours and in all sorts of dramatic must-respond-immediately sort of ways. My part time…
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two decades. the last was the growing up. the next will be the growing out.
Because I’m an extensive note taker, journal writer, daily recorder of stuff, I am frequently aware of how many months something has been happening or what day such and such an event occurred or what we were all doing thirteen years ago on January 23. (Of course, pair this with the fact that I frequently forget where my phone is and what I told the kids they could do when school is finished and that’s a more whole picture of who I am.) At any rate and back to the point at hand. This blog has been circulating for more than one entire decade. And with this new year being…
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Chasing the Christmas Chain
I don’t know how long it’s been. Probably since kids were tiny. Those little countdown calendars of some sort, you know. Nine years ago the format shifted from adorable and quirky to a low budget paper chain. And paper chain it has stayed nearly a decade later. Like EVERYTHING currently, it is more and more difficult to find daily time to chase the tradition. But if you know me, traditions matter A LOT, so chase it we must. The kids still all look forward to it, even those teenagers, so I’m willing to make it fit and work it out and do what we can to keep the chain going.…
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five finds friday. (the driving. the giving of thanks. the funny video. the perfect measuring cup.)
I have a friend with as many children as I have who are all at about the same ages as mine. Sometimes when we see one another, we make eye contact and we don’t even have to open our mouths. We just know. Life. Is. Busy. It is full. We spend HOURS of our days in a gas-guzzling tank of a car driving someone to something. It’s where we are. We aren’t complaining. We’re just – tired. It is a literal part time job to drive our prodigy to and fro. It is a line item on the budget to foot the bill for the gas for all the back…
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five finds friday. (apple season is the best. and more.)
Second week of school. I’m still struggling to find a decent writing life/work/teaching school balance. It is hard. Also hard? Managing money. You guys – August is a pricey month. That is all. funny London and I were driving home from her last driving school session. (!) And we were talking about all of the possibilities that independent driving will eventually bring. Driving to math class. Driving siblings to practices. Driving on errands for me. And the wide scope of new babysitting jobs that this opens the door for. (Trust me, I know that parents adore a babysitter who can drive herself to their house.) At which point, my sixteen…
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this day. this life. some sort of a mood.
We started school this week. Which feels sad now in August but should feel pretty happy come May. I have three high school students. THREE. I feel as if I need to shout everything I say today. It all feels monumental. Or something. I’ve been saying to the kids all day – I’m in some kind of a mood today. I really cannot explain it. The start of school. Am I ready? The stress of high school math. Shoot, of all math. The high cost of education. And I do mean that both figuratively and literally. And don’t even get me started on whether public school is free or home…
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close to midnight/ sisters
Being a mom is full of contradicting thoughts. Like – nearing midnight, I hear laughter and quiet, rightfully happy chatter from the bedroom my three daughters share with one another. You. Guys. Three girls – three sisters – share ONE small bedroom. They are literally stacked in their like camp bunks. A triple bunk, actually. An incredibly cute and darling crafted just for them triple bunk – but still – a triple bunk. Their personal space is limited. The three of them share ONE closet. Two teenage girls. One tween. And they make it work. Mostly. But they’re normal human girls so there are plenty of disagreements about the…
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five finds friday. (an unusual candle holder & a great movie)
We start back to school in August. So it feels true when I ask – did I even have a summer? I mean, yes – sure. It was fantastic. But it was FULL. London and I both said the craziest thing this week. We said something insane like, “It’ll be good when school starts again. Life will maybe slow down a little.” Because when school starts, at least we’ll all be home more. funny On London’s actual birthday this week we spent the day shopping and eating out. That meant we saved her family birthday dinner for a different night this week. She also decided she would rather save her…
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five finds friday (the right ice, a great kid, gorgeous views)
I’m not sure how quality this Five Finds can be this week. I never enjoy the return to the work week after a fantastic vacation – but this week has been extra The Worst. Talk about Slow Motion. That’s my speed currently. Or backwards. That speed too. Can’t seem to kick the sickies and don’t love dwelling on it. So I’ll give it a go over here – typing as slow as I’ve been moving all week long. funny On the road (with nearly 5,000 miles under our belt) we listened to a variety of different podcasts. One of the funniest was one recommended to us called Everything is Alive.…
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returning …
Even when your real life is one you actually enjoy, it’s painfully difficult to leave a place as dreamy as Lost Valley Ranch. It is absolutely a place of genuine connections, set aside agendas, zero emails – and, of course – laughter and luxury. Naturally, having someone else make your bed is far better than making it yourself. (And they do a much better job at it too.) Turn down service nightly – and that little Andes mint waiting on your pillow – beats any sort of turn down service happening at my house. (And what turn down service is happening at my house, you may ask? None. None turn…
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45.
This morning, before I found the fortitude to crawl out from under the cozy covers my own age (that actual number) landed itself right in the middle of my mind. Plopped with a thudand sank deep. This isn’t mid life. That was five years ago. Maybe. If I’m a statistic. (And a lucky one at that.) This is the other side. And I have no idea what’s remaining(like all the rest of humanity) And I have barely an inkling of an idea ofHow to Get There. But I do know, deeply and profoundly, that I don’t want to miss it. This Life.This Adventure.Sunshine. Rain. I plan to enjoy my life.…
