Summertime and sleeplessness sarcasm...

It's finally here - summertime in the northwest. The time of year we wait anxiously for, those few months where the low cloud ceiling has lifted, we again realize that there is not only sunshine up there but stars at night as well. The time of year when all the Pacific northwesterners flush their antidepressants down the toilet and jump into the nearest river to "escape" the 80 degree heat... (which leaves one to question the root of the overwhelming happiness around here). C'mon, I warned you in the title of the sarcasm! Regardless, it's a welcomed sign.

Then there's the latest and greatest struggle around here - sleeplessness. After working night shift (7PM- 7:30AM) for years, I know, glamorous!, and surviving two babies 22 months apart in age we are all now home and sleeping through the night - finally. Well, almost all of us... what the heck happens to us women anyway?! Seriously, 4 AM is not the time to contemplate grocery lists, contacting family, making appointments and job insecurity - I have two of them, even if they aren't predicable and a budget is a waning thing since income is unreliable! So after tossing and turning - to meet that whisper in my ear every couple of hours, you married gals know what I'm talking about... I got up early again this morning after a refreshing 4 hours of sleep - AGAIN. So here I sit and prepare myself for my daily game, one I like to call "wear out the preschoolers", and think about increasing my vegetable intake with a bloody mary... what?! Don't judge, I've been up almost 6 hours and vegetables are good for you! Told you I was feeling sarcastic!

Anyhoo, in all seriousness it is great to see the sun again, great to feel it's warmth and hear the children running outside (even if it is at 8 AM on the slip 'n slide!). Happy summer days to you!

Nine Years...

It's been awhile... but we are still well out here and surviving day to day. I received a not so wonderful email after my last blog post in December, so have not been writing much publicly since. But we are still here, and yes, going strong.

This weekend is Memorial Day weekend. Celebration of our veterans and our current armed forces personnel. Barbecues, camping out, or in some states - still skiing due to this crazy weather. For us, Memorial Day marks the 9 year anniversary since my dear husband and I got engaged and moved into our first house together.

Our home, like our relationship consumed our time. We nurtured both by essentially taking them down to the studs and rebuilding what was left standing. And what a remarkable trip it's been! When we moved into our first home, I'm not sure how we got a loan for it. There were broken windows, siding falling off, original wiring (think glass bulb circuits and newspaper wrapped copper wires from 1940's). We worked night shift then. We would come home sit on the front porch and share a beer while watching our neighbors leaving in the morning heading off to work... I'm sure we were quite a sight! We spent our days off laboring on our house and making it a wonderful home...and just as our house became more beautiful, so did our relationship. Do you ever look back and think, "how did I get HERE?" ... I think that's what "anniversary" moments are for. So nine years later, different house now, two children, multiple ups and downs with health, jobs, and life but that nurtured relationship is still blooming strongly. How lucky am I?