First Day of School: Boys 2015

Back to blogging...it has been a long time, but there are a few things I'd like to share.

Mostly: back to school! 

Today the boys went back to school: Jack to 2nd grade, Roy to 5th (yes, I think he's officially Roy now). And, of course, I have to share pictures!

Jack, he's not excited at all. His shirt says: "The Dark Side Made Me Do It." At least the teacher has fair warning!

Roy...he's excited, too, although he twisted his ankle last week. So he's in a boot for now and not jumping up and down. Fun way to start school, no?

And just in case you're interested in "where is she writing now?"...I'm over at MountainWestGardening.com, gardening up a storm! Feel free to join me!

(And Doug is at LeanMachineWorks.com - in his spare time!)

And Up It Goes!

My two loyal readers (okay, there might be more of you) have both commented that there hasn't been any blog posting lately. So I feel I owe you all an explanation.

In 2004, Doug and I started our first fixer-upper. We loved it, talked compulsively about it, and worked on it all the time. Even with a newborn and two small children, and with both of us working. Okay, I was only part-time, but still.

We've been working on this house or the other ever since. I even had a brief stint as a professional stager, which was self-affirming and a lot of work. We've been working on our current house for three years, and it still has some major work to be done. Namely, bathrooms and a big basement room that is (still) not finished. A fence that is (still) not finished. And landscaping that probably will never be finished.

Which is all well and good when writing a blog like this, right? Lots of fodder for the writing mill. However...the kids are needing more of my attention. And I find that I'm simply not interested in "doing something" on the house when I'm constantly taking someone somewhere.

I know, whine, whine, whine. With a preschooler, two teens on traditional school schedules and two grade schoolers on a year-round schedule, I don't know if I'm coming or going.

Which is why this blog might be going. Sigh.

I want you all to know how much I appreciate your comments and readership and support. This has been a fun chapter in my life - one that is actually documented (woot!). Big, wet sloppy kisses and huge hugs to you all!

PS - the title is actually a reference to my stress level with kids...

What's Blooming

Now that the air has turned a little colder (emphasis on little), a few more flowers are starting to bloom!

My white asters...

The chrysanthemums...

Orange

And red

And one that has probably been in bloom awhile now, but I didn't notice it tucked in amongst my other plants. This is a Malva Zebrina, and it is an annual that reseeded itself. I haven't seen it for two years, so I was pleasantly surprised to see it again.

The flowers are so small!

 Here's the real tragedy: they were all over the flower bed where I found this one. I had already yanked out all the others, though, thinking they were weeds. There is a certain weed that has very similar leaves, in my defense. So I was a little bummed that I had thinned future volunteers. Hm, maybe I just need to plant something else!

Hope you have a great week!