This is Getting REAL

Hello friends.  It has been a LONG time since I've posted anything.  Life here at the Dease house is pretty busy throughout the year...but when summer comes along, we just put our heads down and run from place to place even more than usual.

I see that I left off with a Grandparent's Day redemption story (glad I left things on a good note...).
From there we celebrated Laurels THIRD birthday (how is she 3?) and watched our girls perform in their annual dance recital.

After that, we entered into the busy month of June.  School let out, and the real fun began.  No rushed mornings trying to get Clare off to school, no packing lunches as we run out the door, no crazy hair day or crazy dress day to prep for.  Pure bliss!

We found ourselves doing the usual family things this summer like:  playing at the beach, playing with Munich, watching baseball, enjoying some good sister-time, watching movies at the park,  painting outside, playing at parks, and welcoming the tooth fairy into the home many times over...

Towards the end of June, we rented a car, packed the family up (minus Munich) and took off on a one-way road trip (we flew home...) up the coast of CA and OR.  We stopped in San Francisco the first night, then headed North from there.  We enjoyed the beautiful Redwood Forest (Jonathan, Clare and Laurel's first time visiting) and did all the required tourist activities like driving our car through a Redwood tree.  It was wonderful.  We stayed at lovely inns in the forest and along the coast where we were surrounded by the giant trees and plenty of elk, too.

Overall the trip was a success.  Jonathan learned that our daughters take after me in the car-sick category (poor them...) and experienced some side of the road puking (yuck!), and we endured a couple days of 100 degree weather, but each of us would pack up the car and do it again.  We had such an amazing time.  It was tough to pack our bags and fly home.  All in all our week away was amazing and all four of us are looking forward to our next Dease summer vacation.

Jonathan continues to travel often for work.  The girls and I took advantage of the summer schedule and his being away during the week to spend some extra time at my mom's house where we basically spent our days swimming with Grammie, picking fresh fruit from her trees, building sand castles, enjoying beautiful sunsets and playing in the rain during the occasional desert storm.  We love the freedom that comes with visiting Grammie in the desert.

Now, the summer is nearing an end and reality is starting to hit.  I'm not usually overly emotional about this kind of stuff, but I found myself sitting here, going through Clare's school schedule to update our family calendar, noting her dress code to put together a list of necessary back to school clothes, reviewing her classroom supplies list to begin my next Amazon order, and I realized that I am fighting tears.  My heart is extremely heavy and I'm just amazed that my perfect little baby girl, the human being who made me a mommy for the first time, is getting ready to START SCHOOL.  This isn't pre-school, this is Kindergarden.  This is getting REAL!

Clare is taking a huge step in finding her own identity and independence.  This is such an exciting time for her and I know that she is very ready to be in a classroom, learning and growing 5 full-days per week, but my oh my, I don't think I'm ready.  I thought I was, and I will be fine, of course, but my baby is taking her first significant step out of this nest.  It's the right thing for her; she knows it, I know it, we ALL know it, but she is taking a little piece of my heart with her - and it stings a bit lot.  I understand that much of what I'm feeling has to do with the fact that I've never had to be away from my kids during the day.  I have been so incredibly blessed to be home with them, and now that I am facing the reality of living 5 full days a week without Clare by my side, my heart is aching.

These days I find myself holding Clare a little tighter when we hug.  I've been asking her to cuddle with me a little longer in the mornings.  I find myself staring at her beautiful little face a bit more than usual.  I am trying to soak her up, trying to get as much Clare into my system as possible so that when my days begin to feel very lonely without her here, I can reach into those reserves until she is home, telling me all about her day, and my mommy heart is full again.

 

And if you think I'm having adjustment issues with Clare heading off to Kindergarden, don't even  get me started on how I'm feeling about Laurel starting pre-school two days per week...

So, I will stop this entry here.  I am off to get the kids ready for some time at the zoo.  I am going to try to enjoy these last couple weeks of summer as much as I possibly can.

December - Our Busy Season

The greatest gift you can give someone is your time because when you are giving someone your time, You are giving them a portion of your life that you will never get back. ~ Anonymous

Hello friends.  I have been recently reminded that I have sadly neglected this blog and it was about time I gave it a little bit of my time.

Since my last post in October there has been so much going on that I don't even know where to begin.  I'll start with Clare.  On October 30th, Clare lost her first tooth.  Then on November 29th, she lost her second tooth.  At her last dentist appointment, we discovered two additional loose teeth.  Clare is my baby.  She is 4.  I am not ready for this.

Laurel hasn't had obvious changes like Clare has, but I tend to think that she has become even feistier over the past couple of months.  She is one independent, strong-willed, little sweetie, but she is also a little love who will randomly announce that she loves you and will cuddle you like no other.

Munich, has really stepped up her nannying and she makes sure we know that she is feeling overworked and under-appreciated.  She has perfected the art of the exaggerated sigh.  I think I've caught her in an eye roll or two and she can give the girls the best "mom look" I've ever seen.  It's nice to have another disciplinary figure in the house when Jonathan is busy traveling for work.

Jonathan and I enjoyed a trip to Portland in early December, to celebrate my birthday.  My mom stayed here at our house, with the girls so we could travel a little lighter...and let me tell you, that was the BEST birthday gift ever.  The girls were happy, my mom loved her Grammy time, and Jonathan and I were able to hit the town without stopping in every park in the city to let the girls run off their energy.  It was fantastic!

I'll keep this post short since I have a house to clean, presents to wrap, bedding to launder, and Christmas menus to plan, but stay tuned for a more complete update of all that's going on, and of course, a return to the stories of our adventures.   In the meantime, enjoy some more pictures of the girls...

Summertime, and the Livin' Is Easy...

Oh, how I love summer.  It is a time for relaxing outdoors, long days, late nights, outdoor grilling, eating yummy fruits and fresh veggies until your belly aches and having nothing but fun.

This summer we have been keeping ourselves very busy doing a lot of little things around here...as well as a few mini-getaways too.

Clare has officially received her first haircut, ever.  

We love the final product. 

The girls and I have enjoyed days at the beach with friends (where the kids played all day and I proceeded to get extraordinarily sunburned despite my best efforts.  Argh!).  We have enjoyed leisurely lunches with friends, shopping trips with friends, swim dates with friends, dollar movies, hot afternoons running through the sprinkler, lots of yard work (ahem, "gardening"...) and some home improvement projects...that actually improved the home and didn't end in the typical DIY disaster that my efforts seem to produce.

Jonathan spent a week in Dana Point for work, so we took advantage of the close proximity to home and made a trek down to the pool at his resort.  Jonathan tries to tell me that these trips are tough because they are work trips, but we've joined him on enough of these things to know that he is seriously living the life.  He may "work" hard, but who wouldn't when they are being sent to really great places with nice pools and wonderful all-expense paid meals, golf, spa treatments, cocktail hours, and the sort?

I had the opportunity to head to the Midwest to visit my brother, sister-in-law, nephew and niece, as well as my dearest college dorm-mate, Torrie and her family.  My mom and I went out together and had a great time.  The trip was way too short since there were so many other college friends I would have loved to have seen and I never seem to get enough time with my brother and his family.  Even though the time seemed to fly while was back there, I missed the girls and Jonathan a ton, so I was very happy to come home to see their sweet faces.

Jonathan, the girls and I also did our annual summer weekend in Santa Barbara, and were reminded of why we like to get up there once or twice per year.  The weather was PERFECT, the pool was warm and inviting, the long walks along the ocean didn't disappoint and we all left feeling rested and relaxed.

Coming up...

Jonathan heads to San Francisco for work, followed immediately by an overnighter in Denver.  The girls and I are going to take some time to head to my mom's for a few days while Jonathan is gone.  We will go swimming, run around the desert at night enjoying the stars and the cool air and celebrate a dear friends retirement.  I'm looking forward to some good mom time, too.

Then we are off to Catalina with Jonathan's parents and my mom.  Clare can hardly wait for the boat trip across (my least favorite part considering my ability to get motion sick if I sit in a swing, let alone ride on a boat...).  I can't wait to kayak, snorkel and walk around the island with the family.  I love Catalina, it's a great way to feel like you are in a whole new world while only being 26 miles from home.

After that we are off to to the Hotel Del Coronado where Jonathan will be "working" and the girls and I will be relaxing.  I am seriously looking forward to a few nights of Clare and Laurel time...away from home where we can just be girls.  Jonathan always has dinners and events to attend, so I usually get to go to dinner with my two favorite members of the 4 and under club and then we cuddle up and do some major girl talk and spa treatments while Jonathan peeks in whenever he has a chance to get away.  I love it!

We sure hope your summer has been as fun filled and relaxing as ours.