So Far, So Good.

Last week was my first week on my modified summer schedule (working 2 days a week). It was a great week, and if it is any indication as to how the rest of the summer is going to play out, I am thrilled.

Though the forecast has called for the chance of thunderstorms almost every day for the past week or so, the weather gods are clearly smiling on us, as the rain, on the days that it did actually come, always seemed to happen moments after we've left the beach to head home for naptime, or, better yet, on the 2 days that I actually had to come in to the office ;)

The beach has been proving, once again, to have some magical ability to quell both the girls' desire to bicker as well as my own tendency to lose my shit with them, and we've had a whole bunch of really fun, relaxing days there.

Even so, I decided this summer that I would be sending Eden to Cindy's one extra day each week so that I could have a day with Sadie. She puts up with a lot when Eden is around (being limited as to what we can do and when), so I wanted her to get a day each week that was predicated by her wishes entirely. So, Friday was the first of these days, and we had an awesome time. We dropped Eden off at Cindy's, and immediately drove north so we could see the dolphins. What a special treat! We sat and watched for quite a while and then headed out do breakfast. After breakfast we hit the beach and ended up staying the entire day, until it was time for horseback riding lessons. I hadn't had a chance to see Sadie ride in a while (Evan normally takes her), so it was great to see how much she has improved. She has graduated to small horses (from ponies) and is clearly the most advanced rider in her group. After riding, we met Evan and Eden out for dinner at the Lake House, which is a great summer evening destination. We sat outside and managed to finish our meal, pay the bill and make it back to the car before the evening storm blew in (those weather gods, again). The girls (Sadie, especially) were pooped from the long day and we actually got them to bed at a decent hour. Which was a good thing, because once they were in bed, we immediately began prepping for....

The neighborhood breakfast we hosted bright and early Saturday morning :-) That was a roaring success, and about 50 people showed up. The food and company were both great and it was fun to show off the house and yard to a neighborhood full of people who last toured the house during the open house when it was on the market (and in a sorry state of neglect and disrepair).

The gathering ended at about 11, and Evan and I spent the next hour or so cleaning up, breaking down tables, putting food away. Then it was time to get ready to head off to S and L's house for their son's 2nd birthday party. We spent the the rest of the day there, and the kids had an absolute blast. Eden skipped her nap entirely and did just fine with it, which is good to know we can have some flexibility this summer. We headed home in the early evening, and once again, had two very sleepy kids in bed nice and early. I think I passed out by 9pm myself.

Sunday morning, Sadie woke up and said "what are we doing today? NOT another party, right? I'm still pooped from yesterday" (that's my girl). To her (and my) relief, we had nothing on tap except for chilaxin. We spent most of the day at the beach and capped off the weekend with a nice dinner with Evan's parents.

So, I'm back in the office today, kind of wiped from the weekend, but enjoying the quiet. I have a ton to get done, so hopefully, I'll knock it out quickly before I leave. I may not be back blogging until after the holiday weekend, so Happy Fourth, everyone!

Another Milestone

Yesterday my big girl graduated from kindergarten! It doesn't seem so long ago that we walked her into her very first day there. She has grown up so much this past year that it is almost hard to remember the shy little girl who used to cry every day when I dropped her off at preschool. She now runs ahead with barely a backward glance or wave goodbye when I take her there. She now reads, and writes in a journal, and identifies patterns and counts using tally marks and all sorts of things that underpin the learning journey. I'm so proud of her. As for Sadie? She's pretty nonchalant about being a big first grader...she's really just looking forward to a summer of hanging out, playing with friends, going to the beach and sleeping in. Really...who could blame her?

I think I'm rubbing off on him!

I did a bunch of rework on Evan's site this week (yeah, yeah...it has been slow at work), so if you get a chance, check out the newly designed gallery page(s). Anyway, I was showing E what I had done and he said, "I think it would be cool if we could have an area that I could update regularly with pictures and blurbs about things that I'm working on. So that customers could see the progress all along." Ok, so he knows all about this blog and how I use it (uh...to update regularly with pictures and blurbs about the things that matter to me), yet somehow, the word blog escaped him when making his request. But, I knew what he meant ;)

Anyway, I took that idea and ran with it and spent this morning learning Wordpress (which...sshhh...don't tell Google...but I think I (heart) it just a bit more than I do Blogger) and getting his blog set up. So, no content yet, but if you use a feedreader, you can add Carving out a Living to your list and he should have something up there this week. Of course if you aren't one of the half dozen people who have/are actually paying him to make something for you, you might not find the updates so...illuminating. But, chances are, if you read this blog, you know us and love us, so throw a little bit of the love his way, too, k?

Hot.

It is steamy, steamy hot here. So much so that the schools are closing early. We spent the better part of the weekend either at the beach or in the air-conditioned house, as doing anything else was made unbearable by the heat.

We did set up the girls' kiddie pool yesterday morning so they could take a 'dip'.


As you can see, they loved it, and don't seem bothered by the heat. Eden did decide at some point that Buddy had the right idea and decided heading inside to lay on the cool tile floor and pant was just the ticket.



Another highlight of the weekend was that we celebrated our tenth anniversary! I can't believe it has been 10 years...it really has gone by so quickly. Anyway, we had a great dinner out at a new (to us) place in Belmar, and than capped the evening off with a lovely walk on the boardwalk.

Sadie was playing with my camera this weekend, snapping pictures of random things, and I thought this one was apropos, given the occasion.

An Old Friend

This is the first year in my memory where I can say that summer seems to have just kind of sneaked up on me. Usually, I start pining for it sometime after the new year and work myself into an excited frenzy about it by early April. I don't know if it is because we had a very mild winter, or if perhaps it is because the older I get, the faster life seems to just whiz by, but for whatever reason, I feel as though in the past few months, I've had a moment every few weeks where I think "I can't believe it's April already!" or "Memorial Day weekend is next week?!?!?" before I am drawn, inevitably, back down into the busy, chaotic buzz that is our daily lives, only to be caught offguard by the passing of time once again a few weeks later.

That was a pretty lengthy introduction to announce that summer seems to be here, in full swing, ready or not. The weather seems to have finally shed the rainy, cool act it was carrying around for much of the spring in favor of sunny, 80 degree days. The not quite ready for the beach bodies (mine included!)--untanned and still carrying a bit of that winter weight--have made their way back to the beach. Sunscreen and a swim diaper have repositioned themselves as permanent items in my purse. Sand is finding itself in all sorts of places it shouldn't be once again (I think it was close to November last year before I stopped finding bits of sand here and there in the house and car). The car is being ditched in favor of the bikes whenever possible. Popsicles, roasted marshmallows, and treats from the ice cream truck (which makes a very noisy loop through our neighborhood each night at just about the time I would normally consider corralling the kids inside to get ready for bed) have become daily staples of our diets once again. The lingering evening daylight has made me discard the normal bedtimes with abandon, and the girls can be found running around the neighborhood backyards well past what any sane parent would consider a 'reasonable hour.'

It is glorious, I tell you. I may not have been pining for summer this year, but having it back has made me realize that I should have been, all along! Here's to June, July, and August!