They are out the door

I have been alone in this house for the last 20 minutes...and have another eight hours until anyone comes home!  With Thomas being on the same schedule as everyone else this year it's a different routine...I don't have to be "clock watching" in the morning to make sure I get him up and ready to go.  In fact, I told Andrew last evening that if I fall back to sleep in the mornings, there is nothing I have to get up for again until everyone comes home!  Obviously that isn't going to be a daily occurrence, but I suspect there will be those days!  I am also looking forward to not having to worry about Thomas's bus arriving home at 4:30.  It's not going to be a carefree evening as Robert has both cross country and band and won't be home until nearly 9:00, but I am excited about this year...more than I have been in a long time!

A perfect summer dinner for the end of summer

In spite of the fact that the official end of summer is well over a month away, and even the generally recognized "unofficial" end of Labor Day is three weeks away, we all know that for our household, "summer" is over.  Ironically this week is going to be one of the hottest, but it is what it is.  Regardless, Saturday evening we had a perfect summer meal.  I stopped by the local farm market and purchased a dozen ears of corn.  We cooked that up with tater tots and baked beans...and it was a great summer meal to end our summer!

His sweet little heart

My youngest child Thomas, has a huge heart when it comes to animals.  To be honest, I can't imagine him finding a career in life that doesn't involve animals.  Animals are huge part of his life every day and have also always been a huge part of his imagination.  And considering Thomas is a pretty tender kid, I just can't put into words how he feels about pets.

That is why I was not happy when we were watching a TV show the other day, and onto the screen popped a commercial for the ASCPA.  Let's be honest, this organization uses scare tactics and worse case scenarios to make their point.  I'm not saying that there aren't animal atrocities happening...I'm just saying I don't want them on my TV at 9:00 in the evening.  I kind of held my breath and looked at Thomas, and while he tried to hide it, it wasn't long before his tears began to fall.  Catherine was hugging him and I was hugging him, and I just can't help but be grateful for his sweet little heart!

Strangely excited

After dreading it all summer, I am actually excited about school beginning tomorrow.  I am excited to have everyone on the same schedule, and I am excited to get the bickering OUT OF THE HOUSE.  I wish there were some things we had done, but that can't be changed now.  I am optimistic and hopeful that everyone is going to have a great year!

Allergy season has arrived

I really can't complain as this is a rather late start, but allergy season has arrived!  The burning and stuffy nose, the itchy and watery eyes...yep, it's here!  I'm usually in flown blown misery mode by now, so the fact that it's really just starting is nice...as long as it doesn't last longer than usual!

We also have the windows wide open right now as we are having some absolutely gorgeous weather.  We've two solid days of just beautiful days, although the humidity is going to being creeping back up this weekend.  It really seems so hard to believe that school begins Monday!

I'm pretty sure it is time for school to begin

While I lament the loss of our carefree time, and I literally almost dread the scheduled craziness of the fall season, it is most certainly time for my children to go back to school.  Gone are the days when we played fun board games together as a family and enjoyed our days together.  Now these children find anything and everything to argue about.  My husband has always said teenagers are a different species and I couldn't agree more.  Don't get me wrong, I love them and we have had a lot of fun together.  At the same time, recognizing that I am going to have over eight hours a day to myself is VERY appealing right now!

He's back at it

Andrew went back to work today.  To be honest, it's probably the most beautiful weather day we've had all summer so it really seems to be a shame that he has to be at school.  He was expecting it to be a shorter day and be home half an hour ago, but I haven't heard from him yet so I'm not certain what his plans might be.  I think the beautiful weather is helping me to cope with the fact that the end of the summer has arrived and I miss him.  I am so grateful I get to share my life with my best friend, and I appreciate, every day, this life we have made together.  I know that we are amazingly blessed to be able to share as much time together as we do!