Steph Snippets

Oh my! It has literally been a month since I have blogged! Not for lack of things I'd like to get on here though.

~We successfully made a trip to Arizona and back to visit my family. Flying with a 3 {almost 4} year old and a 9 month old is no easy feat. Mostly just the carrying of all the stuff. I have a lot to blog about about this trip and my kids loving being with Oma, their cousins, aunt, and uncles.  It was bittersweet leaving!

~Violet turned 9 months old and Lily turned 4 within the last few weeks. Lily is an amazingly funny little girl and her love for her friends and family is pretty wonderful to witness.  She's still very stubborn and independent, of course.  It's a good mix. We celebrated with a party in AZ, on her birthday, we had cake when Andrew came home yesterday and we will have a party next week.  She's taken turning 4 into the next month!  Violet has finally become mobile--scooting first, then crawling. She's still super happy most of the time. ;)  

~Andrew has only been home for about 2 weeks total all summer with all of his traveling. Marching band picks right back up next week and in less than a month he will start high school! That's so crazy to me. His schedule came in the mail today and we have orientation in a few weeks. Wonder how happy he'll be to have his mom snapping a few pictures...

~I watched a couple of shows on Netflix late at night after the kids were in bed. Orange is the New Black and most recently The Killing.  OITNB was good and I hope its 3rd season is as good as the first. The Killing was pretty s l o w at the beginning and finally it picked up and I really liked it! I've just started House of Cards now.

~Summer weather has been weird since we've come back from Arizona.  It's been in the 60s and 70s this week and mid 50s overnight.  I'm nowhere near ready for Fall. We still need warm weather and sunshine--especially after this past winter.

~The time away from home this summer has offered me a renewed and refreshed perspective on some people and pieces of my life.  The priority for me are obviously my husband and my children.  Beyond that, I need the negative gone and I need people who simply show up. I mean that both literally and figuratively. My tolerance for coddling adults has dropped to zilch.  Good thing I have good people in my life. The rest will no longer get the energy I was giving.

~I have a couple blog reviews to finish up on. I'm so grateful for the opportunities I am given and choose reviews that are relevant in my life or my families' lives. It's a blessing in the simplest of ways.  I'm thankful.

~My kids have all been sleeping in lately! I have had 6am risers since Andrew was a baby. Lily followed suit and Violet too.  Since we've gotten back from Arizona, Violet has been sleeping in most days until 9am! Lily too! I cannot even say how happy this makes me! I thought at first it was a fluke with the time change, but here we are more than a week later.  I think she's going through a growth spurt, actually.  I know she's cutting 4 teeth, so you can imagine how fun that is at times.

~I've been having to put out a few fires here and there with my stepdaughter this summer. I'm hopeful we're on the upswing. I've also come to realize that being direct with her seems to be a struggle for her.  Which sounds strange actually, but I've realized this watching her try to come up with the answer she thinks we want instead of answering what is asked. It's like giving someone a map with a straight line on it and they choose the squiggly line. I'm not sure how to redirect her in this because I'm very clear with expectations with all of my kids, yet she still, 7 years later, isn't able to accept that what I say is what I mean.  I have to do some research and some thinking on this one.

~My husband laughed at me when I told him I wanted a back up drive for our back up drive.  It stresses me out to have my pictures in only one place.  I've got to do something though--for my peace of mind and because my laptop has no space left.  What do y'all do???

~It's time for me to watch a little bit of my show or I should say, "my program" like my grandmother used to and now my mother does.

Pictures, soon.  Promise.  My kids are cute.  Get an Instagram account. :)