You knew I couldn't stay away forever.

Well, I'm back.

I have decided to resurrect the old blog.  Shortly after I decided to end this one, I was having withdrawal and started a new, "secret" blog at Wordpress.  I didn't stick with it.  I feel so much more tied to this one.  I started it when the little boys were just wee babies and it has become like an old friend...and old friend that I broke up with but then realized that I missed and couldn't live without afterall.
I blogged secretly for a while because it came to my attention that this blog was making my mother "sad" to read. I have never grown the ballz to ask her directly why that was the case, but I assume it had to do with my expression of doubts about faith.  I think better in writing, weirdly, and needed a place to go where I could continue to explore that topic without censoring myself for fear of hurting anyone.  So I did. But I lost interest. Not in the topic, but just in the new blog.  In the meantime, I've dialed back the intense need to get it all wrestled to the ground upon the realization that it is impossible.  It is a lifelong journey.  I have also realized that the less I say about it publicly, the better.  It's nothing to be hurt over or worried about. It's personal and ongoing and "that's all I have to say about that" (Forrest Gump).

So much has happened since January.  Where to begin?  Here's a brief synopsis:

Steve: Started a new job at a huge hospital in a nearby big city.  He works 7 days on, 7 days off.  He's a hospitalist, which means that he takes care of admitted patients while they are in the hospital recovering from surgery or just sick as hell.  That's probably not the official AMA definition, but close enough for our purposes here at Not That You Asked. Every once in a while, it's a week of nights, which he says are brutal beyond all reason.  However, he loves it.   It was a great opportunity and I'm very happy for him. Oh, and once every 3 months, he gets 3 weeks off in a row. 3 weeks!  My mind is swimming with all the cool trips we could take in our camper (that we don't currently own) with 3 weeks off quarterly.

Jake:  Getting ready to graduate from high school in about five minutes.  When I started this blog, I think Jake was 13.  Where did the time go?  I know all parents say that about how fast their kids grow up, but damn. It's true.  I can hardly talk about it without getting all verklempt.  I will miss him like caaaraaaazy cakes, but am so excited for him about the next steps of his young life.  He's a great, great kid.  Like his mother, he tends to overthink everything, so he still hasn't decided where he's going in the fall. He's got it narrowed down to 2 possibilities, both of them excellent choices. So we'll see.  In the meantime, he made a lot of roast beef sandwiches @ Arby's, did show choir again this year (jazz hands!), participated in the solo competition (I truly didn't even know he could sing), went on spring break in FL with some of his senior friends, is in track again this spring,  and is getting ready to go to prom.  Pictures will be forthcoming.

Chloe:  Finishing up middle school in the same aforementioned five minutes.  I went with her a couple of weeks ago to freshman orientation at the high school. Truly cannot believe that my baby girl is going to be in high school.  She'll be 15 this summer, learning to drive (yikes), and she's currently playing soccer at school in large part due to the fact that Jake told her she has to do a sport.  It is a big-brother-mandated rule in our house apparently that you can't just do show choir.  Whatever. She truly hates soccer, but it gets her out in the fresh air.  If she had her druthers, she'd hole up in her room reading books and singing show tunes all day and night.  Also like her mother, she is a bit of an introvert and enjoys lots of alone time.  Every once in a while, she looks up and realizes that she would enjoy some human companionship and has to rekindle friendships.  That goes on for a while, and then she goes in her shell again. That's the cycle.  She's adorable, and funny.
Over spring break when he was getting on her last nerve, she told Jude that he smelled like "spit and badness".  I laugh because it's true.

Simon:  Getting ready to finish his first year at all-day school.  Kindergarten has been great for Simon.  He's gotten along well and learned a ton.  He's a "silly heart and doesn't take one thing in his academic career seriously" (Uncle Buck), but learning and doing well in spite of this.  He played basketball for the first time this year and really liked it when he wasn't busting out dance moves or practicing skipping on the court instead of engaging in the game.  Simon loves video games, playing outside, his bunk beds, and Spongebob.  He looks so much like a picture of his dad at this same age that it's just plain spooky.  They could be clones.  He's getting ready for baseball again this year, which is coach-pitched within reason, then they break out the tee.  I anticipate the tee, God love him.


Jude:  Jude has also really enjoyed kindergarten.  One of his strengths is his memory for routine. School is full of all kinds of routine, so in that way it has been a success.  He continues to struggle with communication, which occasionally leads to frustration which leads to undesirable behavior.  That is to say, Jude spends some time each day in the so-called "no-no square" for offenses like hitting, kicking, pulling hair, fleeing the scene. It's cute.  All I can say is, we're working on it. The excellent news is that Jude is in big boy underwear full time now! Day and night! With very few accidents! LIFE CHANGING.  So happy about this development, I can't tell you. He just was finally ready to cooperate and as soon as he was, it was just overnight success.  This summer Jude will be playing "Dream Team" tee ball with other special needs kids and also we're going to try a (semi)competitive swimming league. I'm told it's low key, so we'll see about that, too.

Me:  Well, if you know about my family, you know about what I've been up to, because that's kinda what I do.  Chewing through books on my Kindle, driving kids to stuff, going to kids' stuff, laundry, shopping, cooking, cleaning, and going to the Y.  "It's boring, but it's my life" (Ron Burgandy).

It's nice to be back! How can I miss a blog?  And yet, I have.