Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Where Did the Time Go?

It is really May. It is really just past mid-May, soon to be late-May, soon to be June, which means that 2016 is half of the way over. Before we know it, we will be dragging back from summer holidays, racing through the craziness that consumes everyone during the fall with school and sports and Halloween. And then the holidays! Yikes. Time just doesn't wait for anybody.

I feel terrible that I haven't blogged in so long. Honestly, I haven't had much to say. And as for sewing, there has been more than I can handle, but not really anything I can post or discuss at great length. Yes - you guessed it. I'm involved in a top-secret sewing circle that works exclusively on sewing bow-ties for the Mafia. Or, flannel pjs for famous white-collar criminals. Or coats for dogs. Who are homeless. Sadly, it is nothing quite that exciting, but it is an exciting new chapter in my sewing life. Actually, thanks to my sewing entries and blog traffic last year, I was contacted by a lady in a neighboring town who is launching her own custom baby carrier company. She needed a seamstress to assist with production and she hired me! What started out as just a few carriers every other week has turned into 7-10 every week. This sewing for her takes away all of the time I was using for sewing for me. I've made a ton of carriers, but dresses for my Etsy shop sit unfinished, along with the pants to hem and the buttons to fix and the trim to add. And just when I think I have the sewing under control, that darn thing called LIFE demands my every attention and here we are in May. MID-May. Soon to be LATE-May.

Life has been good, by all accounts. The kids are just delightful, until they aren't, but we'll focus on the delightful times. Benji is running full speed ahead to the end of 1st grade. He has started the countdown and seems to believe that getting to 2nd grade is entirely contingent on him doing his very best these next few weeks. He loves school and the work is a breeze, but I never told him he might not get to 2nd grade! I'm sure his teacher planted that seed in order to keep everyone focused as summer approaches. That's fine with me! He diligently checks his homework and practices his spelling words. He is smiley and social and the picture of "sun-kissed" if you needed a visual!

In Hawaii, Rachel did get to wear a Minnie dress I made her
for the trip. She almost had to wear a baby carrier...

Rachel, too, is doing her part to make life interesting. She is finishing up her last year in preschool. I am not sure what I will do with all of the kid-free time once she is in T-K from 9-2 each day. And having both kids on the same school calendar and in the same place will make for a very content mama around here. Rachel's latest adventures include starting to play piano and learning to read.

Enjoying chocolate ice cream with Auntie Joyce
What would a blog update be without any mention of our latest adventures? Kevin went to the Super Bowl! For a life-long sports fan, it was a dream come true and it didn't disappoint. His childhood friend from Colorado, who happens to be a HUGE Broncos fan, made the weekend trip out. They were like two kids in a candy store. 













The whole family has been back to Santa Cruz a few times, at least. We went to the beach a few times, too. We made our first trip to Lake Tahoe and tried our hand at tubing. Cold and wet, we still enjoyed the beauty of it all.



We traveled to Atlanta to see the grandparents.



We have found our way into the city, both with kids and without kids, to explore new neighborhoods and enjoy great food. We are all quite fond of Delores Park. And the parents in this house are all about Good Luck Dim Sum in the Richmond neighborhood. It is not a "fine dining" establishment, but it is the best dim sum in town!



We had Auntie Joyce and Auntie Emma and Uncle Jason visit. Emma and Jason will be back for a Memorial Day weekend trip to Napa with us.


We have had dinner with friends, old and new. We went to Vegas for a kid-free weekend. We cheered for the Washington Capitals and cried when they lost in the 2nd Round of the playoffs. We went back to Aulani and enjoyed a Hawaii vacation together. We are very much looking forward to another summer on the East Coast with family and dear friends in DC and Atlanta.

Life is good. Life is busy. We have crammed a whole lot of LIFE into this first part of 2016. I regret not blogging about it, but if I had been busy blogging, who would have been out there enjoying all of that life? No promises for the coming months. I'm going to keep sewing and keep learning to enjoy San Francisco. I'm going to try and keep up with the kids. And time will go by. I guess that is just about the way it should be.