He's Home!

Jake landed at 7:30 this morning and had a beautiful sign welcoming him home!

And just look what that sweet man brought home with him from two of my favorite places!

If he couldn't put any people in his luggage, these were the next best things to bring home! Glad to have my man on this side of the country again! Did I mention that he got home from his red-eye and went with us to storytime at the library an hour later before going into work. I know, I know, he's good.

Less than 48 hours

Until Jake gets home! The girls and I "got away" to my mom's house for the last few days, and here are the high points (again, this falls under the category of superfluous blogging for Jake's sake!)

-Blythe's aforementioned bloody nose

-going to a wonderful park and all the girls getting to swing

-Greg, Sus, and their kids coming over for an evening swim (during which Abby Jane jumped off from standing on my shoulders AND jumped into the deep end with me!)

-the opportunity for me to get in some early morning runs, which I can't do while Jake's gone, and for me to do some child-free errands

-great time at Mom's church

-an extra set of hands to love on and help my little girls!

Every time Jake has to go out of town, I have a new respect for single mamas!

Chapters

A huge one closed in our lives today as Jake had his very last day of classes for his Ph.D! I am so extremely proud of him and beyond thrilled that this day is here. He has loved his classes, his cohort, his faculty- the entire experience has been such a blessing.

But what on earth will we do now that he's only in the dissertation phase? I know, the phrase, "only" there is a joke- that's still so much, but it will be new sweet chapter where Jake can really dive into and enjoy his research without the responsibilities of coursework in addition.

Then there's that whole extra time for family thing that we'll have. I'm excited about about that one. There's a lot that Jake plans to do with his newfound time after spending four of our six years of marriage in class for either his masters or doctorate (he was halfway through that masters when we got married!)

Another chapter we appear to be opening is Blythe's camicaze stage. Today, she fell flat on her face from standing by the sofa and literally got a bloody nose. It was absolutely the saddest thing I have ever seen! Not to be gross, but the juxtaposition of blood on a little pink seersucker smocked top was so Blythe in that she's a sweet, petite little girly, but she's also seem to have some tomboy in her!

Pruning...

Today I pruned back my lantana in my front step flower pots.

I took a few items that had been waiting in my garage and in the twins' room to the Hope Center.

I got a haircut, thanks to a babysitting Mimi.

I finally had the opportunity to get into Blythe and Joy's closet to remove items they have outgrown and hang up items they now fit into.

Trash bags have been taken out, outgrown clothes have been tucked away, and I even found the carseat toys we bought for Blythe and Joy before they were born for them to have as new and fresh. They have been MIA since the day they were born, but today's "pruning back" of my home revealed them!

Pruning feels great!

Tidbits

Here commences a few tidbits to make Jake smile while he's away from his girls...

-Joy said, "Mamamama" this week, and seems to feel compelled to wave simultaneously, and you can tell she's very very proud of her accomplishment

-Blythe is literally become an ankle biter and can blow phenomenally loud zerberts on my shoulder, leg, wherever she may be

-Blythe also has a thing for shoes, and any time a shoe is about to fall victim to Blythe's mouth, Abby Jane tells her in PERFECT "Soup Nazi" tone of voice (without coaching): "No shoes for you!" and takes it away. It does not fail to crack me up.

-In other quotables, today, after some particularly impressive potty performance, I told Abby Jane she was a rockstar. She said, "No, Mama, you're a rockstar." Granted, she's never heard the phrase before and has no idea what it means. If you think about it, "rockstar" to a 2-year-old sounds pretty bizarre. I don't think I'd want to be one either!

My Future Career (surprise, Honey!)

Today was our weekly Farmer's Market/play at the park morning. I love it- there is something so therapeutic about seeing all the fresh produce and various other homemade goods people are selling. I also love being known there. This one lady today said, "I see you brought your little city with you!"

I was thinking after I put the girls down for their naps how much I love the market, its atmosphere, and the concept behind it- people bringing whatever they do best, be it produce they grew, bread they baked, preserves they canned, and making a profit doing what they love. They can tell you just how they grew it (pesticides they did or didn't use), what ingredients they used, how they ground their grains, etc. There are no ingredients you can't pronounce.

Then it hit me- someday, I would love to do what the soup lady was doing. Today I bought a container of cold Thai curry squash soup that I had sampled and loved last week from a lady selling three cold soups each week. She keeps her list of items simple, she displays it very tastefully, you could tell she enjoyed talking with customers and other vendors (in a non-annoying way). It's no secret I'm not dying to get back to nursing in the future, though that may change. But it would be so fun to sell seasonal baked goods at a farmer's market!

Don't hold me to it. I might be an empty-nester before I do it. By then, I might not want to. But today, it's fun to think about!

P.S. I can't upload pictures while Jake's in Cali, so wait til after next Wednesday if you only check our blog for pics!

We're all learning...

Yesterday, our family of five loaded up and drove Jake to the airport to fly out to L.A. for his last on-campus session that will complete his doctoral coursework!! On the way we had a conversation that went like this...

Abby Jane: "Whacchu going to do in California, Daddy?"

Jake: "I'm going to finish my doctorate."

Abby Jane: "Whacchu going to do with that, Daddy?"

Jake: "I can better help people, I get to learn, and it will help me make more money."

Em: "Daddy gets to learn, Abby Jane!"

Abby Jane: "I'm learning how to go poo-poo on the potty!"

Jake: "Yes, Daddy had to learn how to do that before he got to start his classes, too."