Ahhh, Life.

I haven't found much time for this space lately.... I feel like I am behind on life, and need to catch up on the must-dos before I allow myself time for extraneous things, like blogging, no matter how much fun they are.

Finn starts first grade in one week, so the back to school preparations are beginning. New shoes and a lunchbox, finding out who his teacher will be. And he starts playing soccer this week, with his dad as the head coach--exciting times to come.
I start back teaching in 4 weeks. I am frantically trying to cram in snippets of work whenever possible, but it feels like I haven't made much headway. Instead I have been working in the garden, trying to get things planted for fall, and removing wallpaper and prepping our house for me to paint it. Finally. After wanting to paint the inside for years, I am actually going to do it. These dirty walls need some love, and I know that a few days worth of hard work will make me immensely happy in the long run.
I have been going to the chiropractor and acupuncture for some rehab. I got rear ended a couple of weeks ago, and the bump was just enough to make an old back injury flare up. And treatments feel great, but can be difficult to schedule because of the kiddos, and I have also started to feel frustrated.... frustrated that I am not better, and frustrated that a small car accident could set me back so much. I guess my body is just feeling older than it actually is, and I don't feel as strong as I used to be. Somehow I need to make the time to get my body back and feel stronger, and I can't quite figure out where that "extra" time is going to come from.
On the lighter side, we in Portland, are living up the end of summer. Days have been warm and sunny but nights are cooling down and reminding us that fall is on its way. We have been going to parties and gatherings almost every day, and it is so nice to spend time with this community, who, in the absence of family members nearby, has become a sort of surrogate family.
Sunday morning the kids and I hopped on our bikes and rode for Sunday Parkways. The city closes down several of the streets and thousands of folks hope on their bikes to take advantage. The loop was 6.4 miles and I was expecting to go a mile or two before Finn needed to turn around. But, my little man did the entire loop, with no complaining. In the photo above he is taking a shot of granola for a quick energy boost. Anyways, I am so proud of that guy. I just reminded myself that I need to go give him a hug and tell him how awesome he is.
This week someone is having a birthday (me!) and then the family is off for a quick trip to Colorado before school starts.... So, time for me to sign off and to try and get a bit of work done....