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I know, I know, I have been falling way behind in blog-land. There has been so much I'd like to share: so many pictures taken, so many fun adventures, so many memories packed into a very short amount of time. However, all those good things make for less time for twiddling away at the computer (not a bad thing). And for the last two months I have quite simply felt that my head is a little too full of "big" stuff to say much of anything interesting about the "mid-level" stuff that I prefer to write about here.

Today was Don's first day of Officer Candidate School. He left yesterday, and reported this morning. I probably won't hear from him for a few weeks, at least. I'm actually feeling pretty relieved and a lot more relaxed than I have felt for much of the last two months; it is good to finally have this whole thing underway, and not just looming. Now already, it is no longer "17 weeks" away; we've got one day down and the count stands at a reasonable (as long as I don't think too hard about it) one-hundred and eighteen days until graduation.

Don has been on leave since the 15th of July, so in almost a full month off we have had some serious fun as a family. Lots of time at home, a great little side trip to Baltimore Inner Harbor complete with fancy hotel stay. All capped off with a week visiting our parents. I'll probably revisit some of the highlights from all this later in the month once we're settled again... so stay tuned for that.

But for now the kids and I are hanging out with my folks and enjoying a nice easy transition to this next phase. I miss my husband like crazy, and ache for what he's missing of the kids, but otherwise I have a hard time letting myself get too worked up over this right now because it is ALL good. Huge career recognition and advancement, greatly improved family finances, a move in a few months - all very good. And we're no strangers to time apart. Don's night at MEPS before reporting to boot camp was the first night of our young marriage that we had ever spent away from each other, but since then there have been all kinds of separations - big and little - and we've come to learn that no matter what we can always pick up right where we left off and continue on our merry way.

So, it's all good.

Anyway, that's just a snippit of what's been on my mind these days and because I really don't like dwelling on this kind of stuff here I shall wrap up for tonight, promise more pictures (and probably some more chatty thoughts) in the coming weeks, and we'll go from there.

Semper Paratus!

Summertime

We're going on two whole weeks of wonderful summer "vacation" here. Don finished work at the Station and we will soon be heading north to start this OCS thing, but right now we are in a wonderfully long stretch of time of being home (mostly) and together (always).

The weather has gone from breezy and delightful to oppressively hot and muggy to pleasantly warm and not-quite-so-muggy. Reminds me of all those summers spent in South Carolina, and adds to the vacation-y feeling.

We took a short road trip to visit some friends last week. It was awesome to watch Amy playing off on her own with her little buddies. She needs more of that.

Our visit was capped off with a morning fishing at the prettiest lake I've seen since those summers that we visited my great- aunt and uncle's cabin in New Hampshire.

And back home we've just been playing, shopping, cleaning, organizing, swimming and otherwise enjoying this summertime.

AND we finished another puzzle, no thanks to all five cats being on hand to "help".

There's a bit more of this to enjoy before our next big thing starts, and I'm loving every minute of it.

Today's Numbers, III

5 days, at least, that I've been wanting to write this post, each day with a different set of "numbers" in mind.

6 months, it seems, is about when I get in the notion to account for my days this way.

$5.99 to replace the SD card reader that must have fallen out of my camera bag.

0 pictures to share until the new one arrives (thank goodness for free

2-day shipping from Amazon.)

90 minutes just spent entering receipts and paying bills and feeling broke leaving me with

1/10 of the interest in blogging I had earlier tonight.

98 degrees, give or take, is just too hot, and

82 degrees does not make for a helpful overnight low.

Infinitely thankful for air conditioning and ceiling fans.

3 not-so-little kittens have still not been adopted... Would having

5 cats qualify me as a crazy cat lady?

7 days left to enjoy them before we head north for

2 days in Baltimore Inner Harbor (yay!) and

1 week visiting family before Don reports for OCS for the following

17 weeks. That's

119 days. But who's counting?

$160 per month that we will be saving by not sending Amy to preschool this fall, despite a

$70 non-refundable deposit. Money was not the reason for this decision, but some savings is good considering in the last week alone we've spent

$653 at the vet for checkups, shots, etc, for our two resident cats and

$236 to replace the windshield on our

14-year-old Explorer because someone found out the hard way that a

10 foot kayak does not fit in an

8 foot vehicle. All of which makes spending

50 bucks on this fabric seem like a drop in the bucket - whee!

(Did I mention I've spent the rest of this evening on financial matters?)

4 weeks for William and I to finally get over our mystery summer cough.

9:00 am date with Amy at the park today in order to beat the heat.

Plenty more to share about my sweet kids and the fun we've all been having with Don on leave, but that is better with pictures, so since it is now after

10 o'clock I will wrap this up and say goodnight!

This Week, in Pictures

Family here, a boat ride, a busy garden, the pool, Don's last week of work at the station, and of course, a few cats. Feeling short on words these days (maybe it's a summer thing?) but there still has been plenty going on. More verbiage sometime soon!

House Guests, or, Why I'm Not Sewing

So, I know I mentioned recently how the kids and I have been in the habit of going to Petco. This has not been fueled only by Amy's dog obsession, but also by the fun the kids and I have visiting the (many) kittens available for adoption each weekend. Well, long story short, last Saturday I got talked into fostering a litter of kittens. I know, I'm crazy. But according to my mom, I'll only have the energy for this sort of shenanigans for a certain amount of time, so I might as well jump right in while I do. And we certainly do have a lot on our plates in the next few months, so I am praying that these darlings go to permanent homes quickly. But in the meantime, we are all soaking up some serious kitten cuteness.

These three brothers were from a litter of five; their sisters have already been adopted. They are about 4 months old, I believe - bigger than that itty-bitty puffballs, but still quite small. And they are such good boys. I started them out in my sewing room with some gates up across the door, and over the last few days have been letting them come and go as they please, but mostly they are happy to just hang out and play and nap together in their little cozy hideout. Juliett and Ollie have been tolerating the intrusion reasonably well, and for the most part they all stay out of each other's way.

Now, for introductions. Incidentally, I'm not really crazy about their names, and if they were here to stay I'd probably change them... but no sense in confusing them right now. Anyway.

This is Humphrey (on the left). He is definitely the most forward of the three. They are all very social and friendly, but he is the only one who has ventured downstairs, and he is the only one who has uttered a single meow. He tolerates being picked up (over and over) by Amy, and never tires of chasing the feather wand.

Next up is Garfield, who is an exceptionally handsome cat - a perfect orange tabby with huge ears and a very long tail. He is ever so slightly more aloof than his brothers, and seems a bit more "grown up". Despite his confidence, however, he has been terrorized twice by Juliett and usually ends up under something whenever the older cats are around.

And last is Harley. Also very handsome and dignified. Usually hangs back a bit when the kids are around, but definitely gets in on his share of the play and affection, just not in the impish way of his brother Humphrey. I think he has the makings of a lap-kitty. All three are purring machines and are always up for some lovin'.

And the kids are doing marvelously with them, I must say. Amy likes to pick them up more than anything, which I try to discourage, but they are quite patient with her. And William simply loves to walk (!) around with the feather wand in hand saying "kit-tee! kit-tee!" And they follow him up and down the hall, expertly dodging his toddling footsteps.

Yes, I know I'm in danger of becoming a crazy cat lady, but I promise, this is only temporary! It's awfully tempting to want to keep them, but five cats is just not sane for our place in life right now. As a foster family we are responsible for bringing them back to Petco for a few hours each weekend for their adoption events, so pray that they find good homes quickly. They are such sweet little souls and deserve to get settled someplace for keeps.

I realize that my readership is not very large, but if anyone is out there in SoMD and looking for a cat check out this group for Harley, Humphrey, Garfield, and all their friends. Thanks!

The Garden

Today's photo credits once again go to Amy. All the shots in this post are totally by her, except for the canna lily at the end, and the sunflower banner. (Thought I'd warm up the blog a bit for summer.)

Our garden is doing quite well this year! Last year was a little disappointing, for reasons I don't really recall, but this year our small yard once again has that cozy, green, tropical feel. The grass has finally won out over the dandelions and so far we haven't had too many pest problems on the veggies. We had several very dry weeks in late May and early June, but lately precipitation has been just about right.

Of course, the first sunflower to bloom was NOT one of the ones I planted, but a volunteer. It is taller than me and is currently bent with the weight of a lot of seeds - I saw a goldfinch pair there today. Amy and I also planted some cutting mix of sunflowers in the same bed, and those are all quite tall and just about to bloom. Behind them are the canna lilies once again, thriving.

It is occurring to me as I write this that some more illustrative pictures would go nicely with all this pithy explanation, but I don't have any of those right now... I just have the three-year-old perspective pictures. But I think I like those better anyway.

We have three tomato plants - 2 cherry somethings and one "purple cherokee" - both heirloom varieties that I successfully started from seed! I do wish I'd started them about 3 weeks earlier; they would have been fine.

Early in the season we also dug in some grocery store potatoes that had started to sprout. They grew like crazy and threatened to take over the garden so I took them out and have since planted some beans (which are surprising me, since this picture was taken, with their runners - I need a trellis)... And Amy wanted to plant radishes and carrots, too. I have also recently put in some cucumbers. I know how fast they'll grow in this heat, and with a growing season that extends well into the fall here there should be plenty of time for them yet.

It seems the little photographer snuck in a self-portrait.

I was questioning whether I took this picture and just didn't remember (I was using the camera that night, too). But the angle is right for her little arms, and I know she took it because she's actually looking at the lens - she never looks at me if I'm trying to take her picture. Mr. William was of course in on the fun as well.

The astilbes did very well again this year; they are just finishing up blooming. And we planted morning glories everywhere, though are still awaiting their flowers. More pictures of all of this as the season progresses!

Dogs, Drawing, and the Yarn Monster

For someone like me who is fairly project-oriented, likes to-do lists, and likes crossing things off, this whole child-rearing business often leaves me asking myself the question "what exactly did I do all day?" I use this blog to remind myself of what I do accomplish, at least in the creative department. So when I feel in a blog dry-spell it is easy to think that I haven't been up to much of anything besides the usual. Then today I took a look around at stacks of construction paper and art-work-covered walls and realized that I very much have been engaged in creative endeavors these last few weeks, and in the best possible way, because my kids (both of them!) are in making some huge strides in their own little artistic lives.

Amy has had the markers out every day, and of course William wants to do whatever she is doing, so I've be letting him draw as well. He's quite delighted with his scribbling and does so pretty competently for a one-year-old. He's also fascinated with taking the caps on and off, and when all that gets old, crumpling the paper or tasting the markers is always good fun too.

Though after a long day of self-expression there comes a point where he has to turn in his markers and go for the pinkie... an artist's life is tough.

Then there's Amy. Oh, my darling Amy, who vexed her mother for at least a year with her disinterest in coloring or any similar activity. Amy who fiddled and fidgeted and pretended crayons were people rather than draw with them. Amy, who now happily spends every morning at the kitchen table with her mother for "arts and crafts time" while William naps. My Amy finally can draw.

Oh, and she can also write her name, legibly and without prompting. And a few other letters, too. But back to the drawing. This yellow page below was probably the breakthrough moment for her. She has been OBSESSED with dogs lately. Lady and the Tramp gets a daily screening. We go to Petco a lot. She pretends to be a dog. She pretends we have dogs. She has her book of dog breeds pretty much memorized and she'll tell you exactly what breeds of dogs she wants to get "when we have a bigger house." And for the most part I'm pretty happy to indulge her obsession because it is closely tied with her new found love of drawing and coloring.

See all those dogs up there? (I drew the dogs) Well, each dog is sitting on its own grooming table, with a collar and a leash tied to the wall so they can't run away. Just like the grooming salon at Petco. She drew all those tables. And to the left of every table is another table with the grooming supplies: scissors, shampoo, claw trimmers. Of course.

Later that night I took William up for a bath while she wanted to stay downstairs to do more drawing. This is what she presented me with when she came upstairs:

Those are all "dogs in cages." Big ears and everything. I realize that these drawings are probably only remarkable to me, but the joy on her face when she showed me this one was the best. She's a perfectionist, and doesn't like to do anything unless she can do it well (I wonder where she gets that from). So until quite literally two weeks ago, she would not even attempt any kind of free-hand drawing, no matter how much I encouraged her. Then this dog business came along and I was busily drawing dogs and cages and leashes and Petco signs and all sorts of other paraphernalia for her when she finally wanted to try it herself. Now it has all clicked for her, and she's an unstoppable force of markers and construction paper.

Here's a rare departure from her dog genre. These are black-eyed-Susans (she came up with it, I swear), a blue sky, butterfly, and some pink clouds.

And here are two in her series, Owners with Their Dogs:

I really am so stinkin' proud of her. I desperately wish I had more talent for drawing, or more artistic education, or both, but nevertheless creating is something I value so highly in my own life that I really want my kids to at least feel free to give it a try in theirs.

I think we are, at last, off to a good start with that, and I am one happy Mama.

Oh, and I almost forgot! The Yarn Monster! I refuse to write another post about this dang afghan until it is finished, but had to update: I have finally turned the corner and am past the half-way point. Since it is worked on the diagonal those rows closest to the middle got soooo loonnng and I really lost my MO. But now I'm back at it with renewed enthusiasm. And restocked yarn. Hence the Yarn Monster. All I have to say is that I've had to buy an awful lot of yarn for the afghan that was supposed to be a stash buster. This thing is going to weigh 15 pounds by the time it's done. But I love it.

A few more quick things then I'll be done, I promise.

-A big Happy Third Anniversary shout out to my brother (who never updates his blog) and sister-in-law. Love you guys!

-I rarely link to other blogs because, well, we all know what is out there. But I just loved this piece today - one of my favorite bloggers guest-posting on my other favorite blog. And it pretty much sums up about how I feel about my life and my house these days.

-And lastly, stayed tuned for a garden update post sometime soon, with pictures by Miss Amy herself.

Okay, that's all I've got! Thanks for sticking with me on this one and indulging a mother's pride. Now I'm off to work on that monster...