Coming Out of "Hiding"

It’s been about two years since I’ve regularly blogged. I could blame it on several things:

• Getting a new job (teaching third grade at the same school as Ryan--I love it!)
• Coaching track with Ryan and manning the weight room together in the offseason
• Different technology (camera hit by a basketball, phone hard to get pictures off of, have to log out of one account and into another in order to blog)
• Boys getting older and being in more activities (3 in baseball, 2 in basketball, 1 in choir and a running book club)
• Boys getting older and not saying/doing as many cute and/or bloggable things
• Laziness

The boys have asked to read old blog posts a few times lately, and we’ve all died laughing at their little-kid antics. I’ve been struck by the fact that I have forgotten SO much of our day-to-day life! And so, at the boys insistence (“You need to blog more!!”) and for the sake of preserving memories, I’m going to try to chronicle a bit more of our crazy life. Here’s a jumbled blob containing what I want to remember about our life from the past two years (what I can remember of it) and right now:

• Reed had a hard time adjusting to his new school. He and I braved third grade at the same time. It was an adjustment for both of us. He liked his teacher, made friends, and did well, but he still would’ve picked returning to his old school if given the choice. A few months into fourth grade, he finally felt like it was “home.” I knew this when he finally told me (with hidden tears) that it was ok to throw away his old school shirt-- It was a monstrosity - ripped like the Hulk.
• Calvin had a great first year in first grade. He didn’t really play with anyone at recess, but he, in true Calvin style, didn’t care. He said he was friends with a few boys, but they were playing “a stupid zombie game” at recess, and he didn’t want to play, so he just did his own thing. The friendships became tighter somewhere between then and now, and he has tight buddies (who now play basketball instead of stupid zombie games).
• Max has grown up so fast! I honestly don’t remember what he was like last year, and that makes me super sad. This year, and even these last few months, he has grown up in so many ways. He (sort of) ties his own shoes and has started doing big-boy math and reading. He’s all the time making up math problems (Two biscuits plus two biscuits equals four biscuits!) and he’s just started trying to read words (he sounded out “pause” - “paws-ee” from the treadmill in the weight room yesterday morning). He is super ready for kindergarten - and we are ready for him to be with the whole family (and save us almost 40 minutes of driving a day!)
• Coaching track with Ryan has been amazing! The first season is a bit of a blur, but it was crazy, stressful, successful, and usually fun. This season started super stressful, but went so well that I really only have fond memories! It’s been really nice to have a shared passion. We don’t always see eye to eye, but overall it has been really good for our marriage! I feel like we are a real team--more so in our community than even at home! This summer, I even started going to his cross country conditioning sessions and running with some of the girls. Distance running is SO not my thing, but I’ve really enjoyed it and gotten to where I can run much longer than I ever could before!
• We put new flooring in our living room, halls, and one bedroom and have done a few little improvements, but we’re starting to dream about moving--maybe even building--a little closer to work. Just praying and dreaming right now, but it’s fun to imagine the possibilities! The boys like to play a game where we each design (out loud, usually in a car) our dream house or backyard or car. Most recently, we perused Pinterest looking for the ultimate swimming pool. Calvin settled on one in the shape of a foot--with five hot tub toes. There would also be a slide, diving board, sunken trampoline, and nearby fire pit. This is the most realistic dream design we have created to date. Most of the other plans involve robot servants and teleporters.
• Life is great! I feel like I have arrived as a mother! The boys are self sufficient (they put away their own laundry, make their own breakfast, and have even started cooking supper together one night a week), portable (we take them with us to conditioning every day. They happily read or play at the park while we run and take turns looping around to check on them), and fun (they are creative, genuinely funny [sometimes] and so fun to watch in sports)! They are also loud, annoying, and fight like dogs. I oscillate between thinking I have the smartest, most talented, most wonderful young men on the planet and wanting to lock them all in a sound-proof padded room, not caring who emerges alive. Such is motherhood, I suppose...