Well, Hello.

Seriously?

I'm surprised I still remembered my password to log-in.

I guess you could say, since school has started, I've been busy.

Some days, I am busy with actual tasks.  Others, I am busy with a whole lot of nothing.

I'm still not sure what God would have me do with all the time He's given me with both kids in school full-time.  It's been fun, interesting, totally involved/difficult, and completely uninvolved/easy all at the same time.

Here's what you've been missing:

1) The Little Man has been sick twice since school as been back in session.  That's two times in four and a half weeks.  This is seriously the part of school I dread the most.  I feel like each day I am sending them into a cesspool of germs where they also learn long division, the proper usage of quotation marks, and how to play dodge ball.  I could hyperventilate if I consider what the actual truth is to the question, "Did you wash your hands before eating lunch today?"  Two questions: Why are kids so infested with germs? and would it be weird to send them to school in a full Hazmat suit?  These are just a couple of things I have been pondering with my "free time". 

2) I've gone into full on nesting mode.  No.  I'm not pregnant.  For some reason, the state of my kitchen (the ENTIRE kitchen) has been getting under my skin for a while.  However, the amount of time and effort that it would take to care for all that needed to be cared for, was enough to make me weak in the knees, become so overwhelmed that I would completely shut down, and instead of cleaning I would self-sooth by looking at totally organized kitchens on Pinterest. 

I am thrilled to announce, that with all of my "free time", I have totally reorganized and cleaned every part of my kitchen (Except that silly cabinet above the fridge.  I don't even know what is up there, and quite frankly, placing cute decor in front of the door makes me feel like I don't need to address that cabinet.). 

Pantry: Check.  Fridge and freezer: Check.  Drawers (including junk drawer, (oh, yes! I just included the junk drawer)): Check.  All cabinets: Check.

Next up: The laundry room followed closely by The Little Man's room (which I am hoping will land us at Fall Break since I may or may not have promised to pain his room).

3) Many homework battles.  Seriously.  Do I need to go much further here?  There are days, however, that I feel like we might be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. 

Then there are the other days. 

4)  The realization that I don't have to grocery shop on the weekends anymore.  I can now go during the week sans kids. It's amazing.

5)  I think I may be on the brink of a new obsession: Homemade bread.  I never thought it possible to make amazing bread at home without some sort of culinary degree and a semester of study in France...or a bread maker...whichever.  However, with all my time on Pinterest lately, I have found that neither is necessary.  In fact, people are baking amazing bread in their own homes for pennies.  Pennies, I tell you!  We had a delicious jalapeno jack cheese bread tonight.  It's so good, I may be passing it out as gifts to the neighbors at Christmas.

6) Our cousins moved to Las Vegas.  We are sad.

7) The kids love Percy Jackson.  While the books are great, the movie had me so upset I couldn't talk about it for days.  Seriously?  How hard is it to make a movie that follows the actual events in the book? 

8) Both kids are fully involved in all extra-curricular activities.  The Girl is in drama two days a week, and in November we will see her in Through the Looking Glass (as what? we are unsure, but will find out on Thursday).  The Little Man is in run club, and is a boy who is obsessed.  The kid just loves to run.  His goal is 40 miles for the season.  He's over halfway there and has 4 more weeks.  We'll see!  Both kids just started Awana this year for the first time.  It seems like a great time, with kids their age, as well as time spent in the Word.  Triple bonus!  So far they like it, and The Hubs and I get to have a date every Wednesday night, so we like it too. 

9) I have been reading an insane number of books, for me, at least.  Favorites from my mixed bag are Seven, Anything, The Book Thief (still looking for someone to debrief this amazing book with me), and The Tangible Kingdom.  

As you might see from this crazy list, outside of The Book Thief, God has been working relentlessly on my heart again (and always, thankfully).  I'm in a spot.  I don't know what all I really want to share in writing about this, yet.   Mostly, it's because I don't know if I have the right words.

10)  We took care of my sister's dog for eight days.  Without a backyard.  Lots and lots of walks.  Thankfully, she is a really well behaved dog and she gets along with our Gracie just fine.

11) The Hubs and I took an art class together on "Date Day".  We will find out at the end of the week if we can consider ourselves "Glass Fusion Artists".   It was a very fun time, and I loved watching The Hubs get super serious about his creation.  We decided to turn the whole thing into a competition.  The winner of the competition will be decided by the number of appetizers eaten off of his or her platter.   I'll keep you posted.

12) Time at the fire pit.  With our backyard complete, and the weather still nice, we have enjoyed a few evenings eating dinner on the deck, sitting around the fire pit, and maybe eating a few s'mores. It's been delightful.  I'm so glad we didn't hold off on the backyard project any longer.  I love that we get to enjoy our space as opposed to fixing it so we could sell it.  I envision many a night out there as a family. 

I can't believe that I:  A) posted, and B) didn't post a single picture. 

Don't worry.  I'll catch you next time.