I was Wrong

I was hoping the summer would slow down after we moved in to our new place.

I was so wrong.

The blog silence has not been because I have nothing to write about. The blog silence happened because I have been so incredibly busy with so much that I have absolutely no time to write.

In the interest of that time- and space- I'm going to try to briefly summarize the last 2 months....

1) After we got back from our family vacation, I had to move everything (not an exaggeration. The only things I didn't move were the piano- too heavy- and the washer and dryer- in the laundry room on vinyl flooring) back out of the basement because I was apparently allergic to the basement. It took us 2 weeks to discover the issue was the glue used for the carpet pad 2 months before we moved in, and the essential oils that spilled on a basement shelf many months earlier.  But praise God, we were able to find the culprits and take care of it and move back in. We are now fully settled and absolutely LOVING our new place. I could go into all the awesomeness of it, but that would be it's own separate and very long post.

2) I cannot believe how much time Little League requires. My Buddy played baseball for the 1st time this year, and I am so glad he was the only one doing it. I could barely juggle his schedule- I can't imagine doing it for more than one kid- especially if they are on different teams!  Our Little League season was long- Buddy made All-Stars!  Which meant practice 5 days a week and then a week of games. It went well. But we were a bit relieved when it was done and we could be at home on occasional evenings.
     Then Fall Ball started.... And Buddy spread the love of baseball to his big sister, so Sweetheart is playing too... Fortunately on the same team- and Fall Ball is much more relaxed than regular season.

3) J went to Canada again with SkateChurch in August. It was another amazing trip. What a blessing to be a part of that ministry!  The kids and I couldn't go, but spent a day at Grandma's with the animal in between Taekwondo classes.

4) Taekwondo has been great. Sweetheart and I are doing it together and loving it! We have managed to pass our first 2 promotions, and are trying to save up for a tournament in October.  Sweetheart is an absolute natural. I'm just trying to keep up with her. :)

5) We started school early this year because, after I got all the materials, I discovered that this is a long year. I want a good summer break next year, so we jumped right in the 3rd week of August, and have been going hard. It's intense. I always forget just how much work it is.  For some reason I think I'll be able to get everything done as well as school. I'm remembering now.... School and cooking. That's it. Cleaning can wait till the weekend- and so can anything else. If not, it'll have to wait until summer.  Or at least Christmas break....

6) A new book with one of my designs came out!!! I wanted to blog about it before, but, well, sometimes we can't do what we want.
Anyway, Unique Feet is from The Unique Sheep and Cooperative Press, and it is getting good reviews. If you like to knit socks, this is a good resource to have! My design is called Diamond Moss Boot socks. It is simple and classy. Check it out on Ravelry for more info.

7) I'm knitting again! It took me about 3-4 months after finishing the last pattern for my big book (look for it early next year) to have any desire to touch knitting needles again.  The desire did return, though I was concerned for a while that it might not. ;) I am doing some knitting on commission and recently finished another pattern for The Unique Sheep. It will appear early next year also.  Now I just have to find some time to knit all the Christmas gifts on my list in between teaching and cooking. (haha)

8) On weekends, I'm trying to fit some sewing in too. Just basic stuff- mending, nightgowns, re-doing some shirts I like but want to like more- but it's nice because it's so quick and provides that feeling of accomplishment that I can't get with cooking or teaching. I get to see the results with sewing, and that result won't be eaten in 5 minutes, so the feeling remains a bit longer.

9) I've also gotten into making some natural beauty products. I can't use most commercial stuff- neither can my daughter- as my skin is too sensitive to chemicals and my lungs too sensitive to smells.  So I've started making some, and not just for my personal use.  Currently I'm selling them in Eastern Oregon, but I hope to get an Etsy shop at some point. These products are amazing. Why it's so amazing that natural things work better than the chemical stuff that is so readily available, I don't know, but there you are. They do. And they are healing.  The chocolate mint lip balm is my current favorite, but I think I'm going to make some vanilla orange next time.  I'll let you know when they are readily available, but don't look for it soon, as I'm a teacher right now. Hopefully before Christmas, because these are the best kinds of gifts to give to that favorite lady in your life.  You might want to use them too....

So, yeah, it's been busy. I don't see that changing as the kids get older.  Once I thought it would but now I know better. Relaxation is a thing of the past. I was wrong. Life won't slow down, but I'll enjoy it anyway.