- So looooong, summer! -

Not to be crazy, but hoooooow is it that it's late AUGUST already and all the kids are back in school??!!? Time is passing by in the blink of an eye, and I'd be totally lying if I said I didn't have a bitty bit of a guilty twinge about how this summer went down.  NOT to nod you off with a sob story, but I really had no idea what kind of time commitment came with building a new house [which it's now a very clear blessing in disguise that I took the leap blindly last summer!]. I know it will be all worth it in the end -- at least it better be!! -- but Brian is working more hours than ever and we are feeeeeeelin' the burn.  This general contractor game ain't a joke!  The weekends have become longer and more chaotic than the weekdays, and it feels like we are just providing the bare minimum of fun required to keep our kids happy in order to more importantly make sure everyone is fed and bathed and slept! The poor kids are stuck with me as the solo parent more often than not, and I just feel like my patience wears thin really quickly and my energy runs low most of the time.  Overall, I admit it:  we're totally in the trenches, and I feel guilty and sad that the kids have missed out on a lot of fun "summer things" this year that we definitely would've done as a normally-functioning family of four!

...In the same breath, I'm also notorious for being hard on myself, because looking back at pictures proves that we DID play hard this summer!  And in Brian's absence, Harper and Scarlett have a whole menagerie of grammys and papas and cousins and aunts and uncles who love them and have stepped in to help without hesitation.  Thank you!  And at the end of the day -- without a shadow of a doubt -- these kids know they're treasured and loved beyond measure!

So long, summer 2019!  You were exhausting, but we will remember you fondly!

:) :) :)