Stuff, some stuff and then more stuff and stuff yet to be.

First of all, let it not go unnoticed (and I'm sure NONE of you have noticed the extra wrinkles-I try to smile more to hide them, the extra grays-of course not, that is what hair dye is for) that I have turned another year older.  This year my birthday kind of stunk, or is it stank? Either way works.  Oh well, can't win them all.  My biggest birthday wish of Clark coming home just came a few days late to be a birthday present.

And just like that, I turned 32.

It feels like we have been going going going since the middle of June.  It has been fun and wild and crazy and amazing but also very tiring.  I am looking forward to a lot of nothing happening for a while.  But we are not quite there.

Clark got home and things continued to roll.  We purposefully put off our move to DC for a whole month to give us time to adjust accordingly to each new thing happening.  ("Lot of things" being that originally, we had Dad's homecoming, a move, two birthdays and school starting all in the same week.  I said "I don't think so" and so, it wasn't, because I have a husband that has seen me stressed and would rather not be near a wife in that particular state of mind.)
Dad coming home is a biggie.  It takes a while for adjustments to iron out and everyone to be "normal" again.  It's good but it causes a lot of emotion to bubble to the surface...I know, emotional right? With all these girls, who'd have thought?  So Dad came home, we basked in one another's company, we played with our guests.  Then the guests left and school started.

When I said that Clark doesn't ever have to go back to the boat I failed to mention that he doesn't have to go ANYWHERE for almost two months!!! I know.  I am reeling a bit.  This is more time than we have EVER spent together, I am pretty sure of that.  No work.  Nothing.  Not only was he here for the first day of school festivities (I don't think he has ever gotten to be here for that) but he is here for it every single day.

Do you know how happy I feel when we put those kids on the bus and walk hand in hand back to the house?  I get so excited knowing that we just get to hang out all day.  I also get excited about grocery shopping with him, or by myself (with no kids!) for that matter.  I haven't been grocery shopping without children for like 8 months!  It is blissful.  Oh yeah, I am excited about their education and all that good stuff too.  Haley is in fourth (4th!), Abby is in 2nd and big Mia started Kindergarten.  I know, that's what I said.  Reeling.

Then that same day that school started, we celebrated a birthday.  Haley is 9.  9 is old.

My favorite memory ever is when Haley was born.  Just thinking about the night that she was born brings me peace and reassurance that I am where I am supposed to be, doing what I am supposed to be doing.  We celebrated her with the usual breakfast in bed and telling her how wonderful she is all day long.  For months she has been talking about how all she wants for her birthday is a date with Mom and Dad.

So a couple nights later we took her out to dinner and to play some games.  She was in heaven.  And it was pretty fun for us too.

Then just two days after Haley's birthday, we celebrated Mia turning 5.  Seriously, 5? Oh my.  This girl.  We love her.

On a complete side note: In case you haven't noticed, I don't do birthday cakes.  Oh we have them, I just don't make them usually.  I conceded a couple of years ago that it just isn't my thing.  I have no passion for it.  So if I were to ever be some kind of Mother superhero, it would have to be my weakness I guess.  That, and bathing my kids every single day.  My kids will probably hate me for it later. The poor things.  But I digress, dessert was yummy anyway, for both birthdays.

Then Clark jumped back into his fatherly duties and taught Mia to ride a bike.  I took her training wheels off like 5 months ago but she just couldn't get the hang of it.

Before she would start her lesson with Clark, she insisted on testing the strength and integrity of her helmet...seriously, that is what she is doing.  That, and practicing how to fall directly on her head to maximize the helmet's protectiveness, should an actual fall occur.  Clark likes to think she was bowing to his all-knowing goodly father-ness.

I loaded this particular video because it makes me laugh.  She kept saying "I can't do it" and we kept saying "but Mia, you ARE doing it", the entire time around the circle.  She now does it without whining the entire way and therefore she has time to realize that it is actually fun to be able to ride a bike.  Sorry it's out of focus, my bad.

Next week we celebrate another birthday and head out of town to hopefully find a place to move inTO, you know, since we are moving in like four weeks.  We'll let you know how that goes.  I really can't think too hard about it.  Especially since yesterday Sho (my soon to be closest sister in law, geographically speaking) sent me a text saying that they might be opening a Cafe Rio in DC by the end of the year...since then, I really  haven't been able to concentrate on anything else except maybe how I can finagle a rental agreement for Cafe' Rio's basement.  I'll let you know how that goes too.
Peace out.