Begin again...

Brevity has never been my strong suit.
You ask me what time it is and I'll tell you how to build a clock.

So, as the weeks and then months and then nearly a year passed - I really wasn't sure how I could come back here without writing nothing short of a novel. I'll try to be brief, but that isn't easy for me.

To say a lot has changed in the past year would be a drastic understatement. Here's a short list.

- I got promoted and became the head of my department making many dreams come true and giving me the opportunity to do even more of what I love to do so much.

- We decided to put our house on the market. While some of our neighbors were truly the best people we've never known, we knew that with The Incredible Hulk starting Kindergarten in the fall and being hesitant about the school he was slated to attend, we needed to make a change and began the arduous process of preparing our dream home to be put up for sale.

- We went to Disney World for the first time as a family. (Not that important, just part of what we've been spending our time doing and important for a future post I hope to write.)

- We started showing our house. It was on the market for around 45 days. In the first week we had 9 showings. It was not an easy time in our lives.

- I got in a car accident. The other driver was texting when she hit me. It wasn't bad, but it totaled my vehicle. And so, in the same week we put our house on the market, we were in the market for a new car. I got another minivan. Hell didn't freeze over.

- My team put on our second musical with the students at our school. Oh, and it was on the news. NBD.

- I got promoted...again. This time to a job I've been spending my career working toward with a team of professionals I respect so much. It was a bit ground-breaking to tell the truth. It meant stepping away from being solely a music therapist (I haven't touched a guitar in three months) - and now instead using those skills to oversee an educational team. More dreams coming true.

- We took a another trip to our happy place. Michigan in the summer will officially be a tradition for our family as long as they'll allow it. This time we were hosted by some of the best friends in the world and if there was any reason we were able to get through this stressful year in one piece, it's because of them.

- Our house sold...and we hadn't yet found a place to live. So we started that process. Which had its heartbreaking moments. Lots of beautiful homes that didn't work out...

- ...but, with two days to spare before TIH started Kindergarten, we moved into our new home. We love our neighborhood, we love how much closer we are to our family here. We love his school. We have LOTS of work to do on the new home and we love that too. We're starting our first official project today...which brings me to the final bit of news...

Photo credit: Rosser Photography

I was finally ready to begin again. It took me awhile to get there. And then it took us even longer to respect God's timeline. But, on the day that I drove home from the musical at my school, still giddy from the success of another year, something told me to stop and get a test.

So I did.
And I was.

This pregnancy began much like the first - being bowled over my nausea from around week 6 to week 16. And then smooth sailing.

Oh...and it's another boy.

When I started this blog (5 years ago next week), I always imagined that I would chronicle my second pregnancy week by week. Share every detail. Every funny story. Every way that this pregnancy is all at once totally different than my first, and in some ways completely the same.

Instead, I've been reveling in the here and now a bit. Without putting words to it. I know this is likely the last round for us. So, I've just been enjoying the journey and not wondering what is going to happen next.

There's been enough change for one year. I'm happy to revel in the simplicity of stasis.

Brevity has never been my strong suit.
I'm always afraid I'll leave out some detail that will bring everything together for the reader.
But, at some point, I just had to start somewhere simple.
Simple is good.

Photo credit: Rosser Photography

Help me get my feet back on the ground...

I...just don't even know what to say readers.  I'm sorry?

Truth be told, the time I've spent away from the blog has been spent quite well.  For example, I watched my little sister marry the love of her life and enjoyed every minute of it.  I also directed 80 elementary students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in the very first musical our school has ever seen.  (I also watched the newest season of Orange is the New Black.)  So...even though it's been awhile, at least I can say it was time very very very well spent, but I'm ready to stop ignoring this blog I actually love a whole lot (even though I sometimes treat it like a red-headed stepchild.)

During my absence, I also somehow lost my beloved "I Made This" Pinterest board.  This board is where I was reposting all of the recipes (and some of the changes I made to recipes) I feature here on the blog.  The loss of this board feels catastrophic (yes, I realize it isn't), but it is a reminder of why I need to be better at blogging so that I am hosting my own content and not storing it somewhere where I have no control if something happens.  However, if you do know how to get this board back for me (Pinterest says they can't), I might actually pay you one million trillion dollars...somehow.  So, if you're looking for recipe recommendations, your best bet is to crawl through old recipe review posts until I'm able to rebuild.

Today, I'm back on the blog already hocking a product, and one that I've already pitched to you all at that...so you know I must really, really love this product.

The fine folks at Just for Mom Savings have asked me to be a regular contributor to their awesome quarterly booklets for moms.  ALL you have to do is go to their website and sign up and you will receive their booklets which are not only filled with great ideas and recipes from awesome moms (like yours truly), but you'll also get tons of savings from products you're already using.  (This quarter's coupons include Seventh Generation, Gerber, and Amy's Organic Foods - all of which are products which make regular appearances in my shopping cart with or without a coupon.)

And don't let the name fool you, a lot of these savings (and even some of the tips) can be enjoyed by non-parents as well (Dish TV, ProFlowers, and personalized stationery - just to name a few.)

What do you have to lose (other than the money you'll be wasting by not using these FREE coupons)?  

If you want to receive this quarter's book, make sure you sign up before July 1...but, why wait?  Go now!

You can also join in the social media fun by following Just for Mom Savings on Facebook and Twitter!

Though I am a contributor to Just for Mom Savings and receive advanced copies for review, the opinions expressed in this post are solely my own.  Obviously I barely have the time to wash my own hair some days, so I'm not going to take the time to write about a product I don't fully endorse (plus, it's free, so whatever.)