Blog Your Heart - August 2016

I had to come out of blog hibernation to join in once again with a Stephanie Howell Blog Your Heart post. I have been thinking about doing a blog post with photos from our summer cause it was a big and pretty exciting one. But I think I will kick off my return (however temporary) to blogging with this.

I was literally truly thinking the other night that I really liked doing the blog your heart posts and kind of missed them because it seemed to have been awhile. Then today I looked at Stephanie's blog, and there it was. A challenge for August. :)

Blog Your Heart is just a post where you talk about what is on your mind and in your heart. Just let it out!

So here it goes. What is on my mind and in my heart most right now?

1. I have a son in high school. High school! How is that possible that my 14 year old son is in high school? It seems like just yesterday, he was this cute little guy off to kindergarten

 (no 1st day of school photo for high school though. He didn't allow it)

And now he has entered the world of high school. It's mind blowing to me. And he has embraced it! Two days in of classes (not counting a few days of orientation) and he loves it. I am so happy for him and know he picked the right school because he just seems so comfortable there. That's all a parent can ask for right?

I may have cried a little as I drove away the first day of orientation, with Erin in the back going,  "it's ok to cry mom. It's a big step." I had to laugh at hearing that little bit of wisdom coming from my nine year old daughter.

2. Which brings me to the next mind blowing thing.

 (Photo taken on her birthday)

She is nine! Could someone please tell me how to slow things down a bit? She loves her dolls and babies still. Loves to dance and do gymnastics. She is obsessed with Shopkins and all things collectible. And thankfully, really loves to still hang out with me

We have a lot of fun together, and she never ceases to amaze me. But sometimes I feel this overwhelming responsibility as her mom that I need to get everything just right and be the perfect mom. I know there is no such thing as perfection, but I feel I have only one chance to get this right. To be a good role model for her in a time where it feels like there aren't many good role models in society is so daunting. 

But I just keep trying to be the best mom I can be for my kids. Not perfect but doing my best. :)

3. And lastly, we had a great summer! I want to post about it more another day because I have a lot to share. I will say having a husband who travels a lot for work can be extremely hard and extremely rewarding at the same time. Our year started out with Mike living in Miami working on a project only home every other weekend. I'm not going to lie. It really sucked sometimes. We miss him when he's gone and I feel so tired and overwhelmed sometimes. Thank goodness for my village of family and good friends who help out though. They keep me sane for sure!

(view from by our apartment)

But on the positive side, when school got out the kids and I packed up and drove down to Miami to spend the summer with Mike. He still had to work a lot, but he was home in the apartment every night! We were able to see him every day even if it was only for an hour or two. We swam and went to the beach and the Everglades and so many places. We made new friends and learned a lot about our temporary home. It was a great experience for our whole family.

 (our family in the Everglades)

I am so glad we had that time together this summer. It wasn't always easy, but getting to spend more time as a family was so worth it! With Evan starting high school, I feel like our time together as a family of four is so fleeting. What happens when he goes to college?? But I'm getting ahead of myself as I'm prone to do. I need to focus on the now. :)

And right now is all we need.