Living a Full Life

Hello, October. That was an unexpected break…

When people ask me about the transition from one to two kids I always reply the same way, “Life felt completely full before. Now it’s just full with a different ratio of things.”

Baby cruising the furniture

Since we began really homeschooling last month, this has been particularly true. Every moment is full. (With little time to blog!)

Tracing leaf stencils

We recently said goodbye to the butterfly life cycle to focus instead on ‘leaves and seeds,’ a perfect theme for autumn, don’t you think?

Fall Nature Table in progress

We’re busy setting up our fall nature table, gathering leaves and seeds for art projects and identification, preparing for a leaf scavenger hunt, writing our own tree field guide, creating leaf symmetry math activities, and more.

California Academy of Sciences Build for Speed exhibit

Then add our other activities to the mix: dance class, homeschool class work (math, social studies, and language arts), abstract painting projects, cooking meals from scratch, chasing after a newly crawling baby who’s getting into everything, hosting friends and family visitors, acting out a kids adaptation of Twelfth Night, maxing out our library cards with mysteries like Harriet the Spy and grown-up books like How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare, visiting friends who moved away, committing myself to a regular yoga practice and early morning runs, laundry, diaper changes, breastfeeding, play dates, birthday parties, life! The list goes on and on…

Observing a bee hive

Yet I don’t feel particularly overwhelmed, just tired and joyful. Maybe it’s because we’re enjoying every activity, each moment during this busy time. Maybe it’s because I wanted this life so badly and it feels so right.

Exploring Twelfth Night for kids

Sometimes I feel tempted to add caffeine to my diet to tackle that never-ending to-do list that is life, but instead I think we’ll just have a pajama day (when we need to do laundry) or eat popcorn for dinner (when I’m too tired to prepare food) and savor this precious time with my family because time is fleeting.

Art time with camelbak for hydration

Every minute is full.

Baby cruising the furniture

Nevertheless I’m going to try to blog more regularly because I have so much to share with you and want to continue to document our everyday life. This space and my friendships with you bring me such joy too.

Not Your Typical Obligatory First Day of School Photo

It feels so right that our little girl is finally starting kindergarten.

She’s so ready.

Well, after several weeks of homeschooling, the enrichment classes at our local charter homeschool program have finally begun…

Not Your Typical Obligatory First Day of School Photo

I’m relieved (but not surprised) to report that she LOVES going to school! (Luckily she loves staying home to school too!)

Not Your Typical Obligatory First Day of School Photo

Phew.

How are your kids adjusting to the school year? Was the anticipation more intense than the actual transition for your kid too?

July: Now and Then

This month has been a whirlwind of art and dance camps, play dates, and afternoon swims. (We’ve been at our local pool four days a week for the past seven weeks. I feel exhausted just typing that and I’m not the one taking–and loving–swim lessons.)

Summer may be fun and exhausting all at once, but we wouldn’t have it any other way!

Before the month is over, I wanted to share a quick glimpse at Julys from the past few years:

July
2008

July
2009

July
2010

July
2011

July
2012

July 2013
July
2013

Wow, time passes quickly… our little girl isn’t so little any more and, oh, that darling little boy. They fill my heart with joy, that sweet family of mine.

A Subtle Difference

This gluten-free mama got an accidental dose of wheat this weekend, so I am out of commission for a few days. There’s nothing like being exposed to a minuscule amount of gluten (in a restaurant with a gluten-free menu!) to zap all my energy.

Before I go recover, I want to leave you with two darling photos of our sweet children.

Our son at four months old earlier this month:

Four months old (2013)

Our daughter at five months in July of 2008:

Five months old (2008)

One big difference between them pops right out at me. Can you spot it?

Their eyes are exactly the same shape, but completely different in color! (How cool is that?! I LOVE GENETICS!)

Anyhow, enjoy your day and hopefully I’ll be back in this space later in the week.