Friday, July 23, 2010

How on earth do you do it?


So, there are definitely times when we are moving, packing suitcases for 10 months, living in hotel-like homes, not getting too settled where we are, leaving all the comfort of what we know and wandering into new territory and I think this is just CRAZY. Seriously, what are we doing? And then we get pictures of our new house and it looks like this. And then I'm like- oh yeah, I can totally live with this.






Really, there's a lot that moving around offers us; at all times the promise of a new beginning is on the horizon. We can enjoy the time where we are knowing that we'll only be there for a limited time; we don't sweat the small stuff...it'll be gone soon enough. Crappy celing fans, cranky neighbors, bad haircuts...who cares?


Moving helps me sort through our 'stuff' and stay focused on what's really important. Each time we move I have to think about who I'll miss, what I need, what I want to change, what rituals I want to keep, and what I want to forget. It's like New Year's Resolutions but more often and more through. I have grown to love the cleansing-ness of a new beginning. I can move there and pretend I have always had dreads, I can start over as a Mom who never yells (we'll see how long that one lasts), I can set up a 'quiet room' for yoga, legos, puzzles, as I've been meaning to do for the last 2 years. It's suddenly a time to re-new.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have a solid ground, a home that I considered MY OWN, with mosiacs in the kitchen that I had made. For the kids to have neighborhood friends that they play with ALL the time, to be part of a knit group that was going to keep meeting for the next 20 years. To have a spice collection or a pantry that really contained everything...

Moving isn't always easy but it's constantly exciting to wonder- what will our next home be like? Where will we be? What new people will I meet? What adventure is out there just waiting for us?

Stay tuned for my next post when I whine about all the things I just said I love: Sorting, stuff, wondering, unknowns, etc.
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Sunday, July 18, 2010

July


Jackson had the best birthday ever. Meeting up with tons of friends at the playground, we provided snack foods which required no plates or silverware ( twizzlers, cheese sticks, decorate-your-own-cupcake station with icing and sprinkle choices, fruit and granola bars).
We also made up a TON of yo-yo balloons- a big hit for all ages and we hid treasure stones amoung the trees and kids had to hunt for them. I made them all the day before so I just put silly bands inside and baked them at 200 degrees for maybe 20-40 min depending on how hard they felt, when the stones feel hard I take them out.
Jackson had a fantastic time and we all went to see Despicable Me the next day, a water park the day after that and yet ANOTHER water park the following day. It's been quite the fun week. Happy 8 years old!
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