Trying again.....again

It's been two years since I wrote on this blog - TWO YEARS!  That is insane. How quickly two years flew by.  I hardly remember blinking and two years just whooshed by.  Amelia is about to turn 5 and Greyson is already 7 and a half!  They are simply beautiful children.  I couldn't love them more.  My heart overflows with love for them.

I'm going to try to write here again.  I want this - for them.  I'm not good a scrapbooking, but I want a place where they can see the love.  I'm trying again - this time for them.

Bus stop meditation

Greyson likes to meditate at the bus stop. He sits cross legged, closes his eyes and breathes. This is often while the other kids at the stop play around him. 

This kid. 

My heart. 

Camping - October 2014

This car is jam packed!

Ready to go on our second camping adventure!

Greyson made a ladybug friend!

And a turkey friend. 

And a walking stick friend!

Plus a bunch of camping friends too!

Amelia did not really love camping. 

She didn't want to eat anything that had been cooked over the fire. 

No amount of cajoling would change her mind. If it was cooked on the fire then she wasn't going to eat it. 

The only thing she ate was cheese puffs. 

Which is not enough to keep her from being HANGRAY!!

It also got cold!  But that was ok. We snuggled up. 

And warmed ourselves up with the hand dryer in the bathroom!

All in all it was a fun trip and I'm looking forward to doing it again!

Amelia Friday

Every other Friday I have off work and Amelia and I get to spend the day together. Last week we went out and enjoyed some pancakes!!

It was such a nice day to spend with my wonderful little girl. 

3 is such a great age!  I have so much fun with her. She's a good friend to have :)

This kid makes me smile.

And he still blows me a kiss out the window  when he gets on the bus. 

I'm a lucky mom. 

Will it ever not be a struggle?

Can you guess?

Sleep. 

Sleep and my children. It never seems to come easy. I pushed bedtime back to 7:30 from its previous 8pm. Guess what?  It's 9pm and they are still awake!

Last night Miss Mae was awake until after 10 I'm praying we don't have a repeat of that. 

Tonight I'm laying here with Amelia's arm slung across my chest. I love the hugs and snuggles, the feeling of her little feet pressed against my leg, but really REALLY I need her to sleep. She needs to sleep. Please little girl - go to sleep!

(Not tonight.)

Update: 9:20 and she asleep. She holding on to my face, but asleep. 

Time to make my escape!

Topeka Zoo 2014

We went to the Topeka Zoo on Labor Day. It is such a nice zoo. Clean, small, but still filled with some great attractions. Plus Gage Park, right on the other side of the parking lot is a delight as well. 

We stopped at Wendy's for lunch, not fancy or healthy I know, but it was such a fun treat. It was a joy to see our kids so excited about such a simple trip. 

These are such special years. 

Hold me closer

Our co sleeping days are long gone. This year I've experienced full nights of sleep for the first time since I was pregnant with Greyson ...and I love it. It's hard being on your game (wether the game is at work or at home, playing an actual game) when you've had so little sleep. I'm glad our kids sleep in their room now, I do. But I must admit that sometimes I miss them. 

I miss Amelia's sweaty hair pressed up against my face. I miss the way Greyson's feet always find the small of my back, leaving me terribly uncomfortable all the next day. I know it's weird but I do miss it. 

Luckily some mornings right around 6am one, and sometimes both, of them finds their way into my bed. This morning it was Amelia. 

She snuggled down next to me and wrapped her arm around my face. Resting her palm against my cheek, her cheek on my other cheek. I pulled her in for hugs and she fell back to sleep clinging to me. It felt good. 

Sometime when I hold her tight on these early morning it is like this moment all over again. Amazed that this wonderful person is here in the world and so thankful it's my arms that get to hold her. 

Kindergarten Begins

I can't believe it has happened. My baby is officially grown up. Greyson has started kindergarten!

How did this happen?

Wasn't he just a teeny tiny, too early baby in my arms yesterday?!

How was he ever that small?  He's so big now, so smart, so...amazingly Greyson. 

Well, on Wednesday my baby boy began kindergarten. We both took it in stride. I wasn't really sad about it -- he's been going to preschool/daycare for years now. It isn't really too different.  Just a bus drops him off instead of me, and he'll be there 5 days instead of 3.  A small but significant change I think we were both ready for.

Greyson loves school he's been talking about going to kindergarten for months now. When the day arrived it just felt right. We were all ready. But still, I wonder where the time has gone. 5 years flew by in a blink. 

What a difference 5 years makes!

Greyson handled the first day in complete Greyson fashion.  He was so cool. So easy going about it. He was trilled about getting to ride the bus. 

I went up to the school on my own to attend a PTA meeting. I stopped by his classroom to find him sitting at his desk, looking at a book. He totally didn't care that I was there. In fact, I think he was a little embarrassed to see me there - even though the room was filled with parents giving last hugs before Kindergarten truly began. I can't believe that it is happening already. I was hoping for many more years before I became a public embarrassment to my son. Oh well. Really I'd rather have him like this than having him scared and sad on his first day of school. 

It's hard to be sad when he's so wonderful and so happy. Even if he decided to cover his sisters face!

Amelia was a little sad she didn't get to ride the bus to school too.  When I picked her up from PDO she kept looking around for her brother.  I'm so glad they are so close right now.  I love them both so dearly.

Disappearing Act

I abandoned this blog for a time. The plan was to move over to a new one where I could keep things a little more anonymous for the kids. It was also supposed to coincided with this final year of being home with the kids before Greyson starts kindergarten. But then life changed and job opportunities arose and my year home with them didn't really happen. I was still with them a lot - just not full time. I think it worked out, even if t wasn't the original plan.

So I've decided to come back here. I miss recording the goings on I'm our life. It'll never be like the early days when I had time to sit at the computer, sleeping baby in my lap, and write a lot. Life is busier now with a three and five year old who never slow down. But I love them and wouldn't trade them for the world.

I'll try not to disappear like that again. But I can't make any promises. 

I've moved

I've moved blogs.
As the kids are getting older I feel the need to make then a bit more anonymous in blog form.
But you can still follow our exploits here: http://ayearwiththem.blogspot.com/

Starting in August I'll be a 'mainly' stay at home mom - working only when they are at Preschool/Parent's Day Out.  I'm looking forward to the challenge!

Follow us at our new home on the interwebs: http://ayearwiththem.blogspot.com/

Silly family

Snow bunny

Budget helper

Block builder

Sledding

Queen and King of the boxes

Reading with grandpa

Snowball thrower #2

Snowball thrower #1