a change is gonna come

and, just like the song says, it has been a long time comin'.

when we found out we were expecting carter and the doctor gave us the baby's due date, we knew then that we had a little less than six years before we would have a child in kindergarten. 

when we bought our first house within the city limits, we knew when we had children, we would have to make a choice or two: public or private, city or county. and with those decisions would possibly come another move to a different neighborhood to attend that school.

when josh started a new hobby that soon became a passion and later a business, we knew we would have to make some choices-a day job or one job, a home office or a store front.

so, unlike most people, we made all these decisions and changes together. why? honestly, because we are two of the worst procrastinators ever. seriously. and, so, in one single week-we closed on our houses, carter had her last day of preschool, i taught my last day in the classroom (for now), we moved out of our house, and josh quit his day job. that means we have all been home together this summer. no routine. no normalcy. just lots and lots of change.

but, change is good. so good because josh is home now. because we are in a much bigger space we were desperately in need of. because carter started kindergarten today at a school that we feel is the best fit for us. because i will still be at the preschool, but as the director of my age group. and, because routine is on its way and our new normal is about to begin. 

a summertime favorite

i have vivid memories of childhood . . . most of which involve food. one of my favorite summer traditions was going to sno cream castle. it was a tiny little stand with two serving windows and a row of four picnic tables to the side. it had a hand painted list of all their treats from corn dogs to hand dipped ice cream cones. my favorite treat was the rainbow sno cone. we visited the sno cream castle every summer no matter how much the surroundings changed. during college, i stopped there after summer school one day and told josh i wanted them to cater our wedding . . . nothing says forever like footlong corn dogs and sno cones, right?

eventually, the sno cream castle closed its windows forever. occasionally, i drive by its faded sign and remember childhood summers standing in long lines waiting for my yummy sno cone to help quelch the heat of the south.

then, a few years ago, someone introduced us to another local sno cone shop. nestled in a neighborhood that has seen better days, people come from all over the city to stand in long lines to order their favorite flavors from pickle juice to shrek.

so, now, on hot summer nights (and some days), we pile into the car, head down to jerry's, select our favorite flavor and pile into the back of the car to enjoy our tasty treat.

sometimes, we even get to share with friends. 

i love that i now get to share this tradition with my own children. while the location may be different, the affection is still the same. there is nothing better than a yummy sno cone on a hot summer day.

if you are local and want to know our favorites, miller loves blueberry, carter loves to try new things, josh loves blackberry supreme and i love wedding cake, but every once and a while i have to go with rainbow.

a detour

why ikea? well, because it is moderately priced, had several pieces that fit our style, and is located in the same city as josh's family! so, not only did we buy some great pieces, we got to visit his parents and brother. 

as some of you know, josh's little hobby that became a business was also a hobby for his father and grandfather. because josh has also been shooting some film, his father gave him an older camera that belonged to his grandfather. they found a couple of rolls of film laying around and, suddenly, josh had some entertainment for the week.

josh's brother was able to come stay with us one night. the next morning, he dug through the basement and came up with a huge plastic bin of legos.

he and miller created for hours. and, miller even got to bring home a few pieces.

meanwhile, carter was busy doing some needle point with grammie. she sewed her name onto the canvas all by herself. grammie helped thread the needle with each color and gave some helpful instruction.

later that night on our way to eat yummy mexican, i convinced josh to drag our sweaty kids into a field covered in white wild flowers. never mind the fact that he had to strategically avoid the grave yard located in the background.

while our brave little boy trudged out into the field without hesitation, the girls were a hard sell. after a few minutes, we decided they had done their time in the tall grass and headed to dinner.

i know they will one day be annoyed by the clark griswold-like abandon we use when selecting our next destination. i am sure it will embarrass them when we make a quick stop, drag everyone out of the car and dash across busy streets to have a few pictures taken. but, i hope one day, they remember these crazy ventures fondly inspiring them to create their own detours. look kids. big ben. parliament.

back to reality

we returned from la to boxes and painting and cleaning and reality. josh had to work out the last four days of his day job including one out of town and shoot a wedding. carter was in the midst of kindergarten camp and the rest of us just waited. on the first day we could, we finally moved into the new house. or at least we put beds in all the rooms so everyone could sleep there. josh set up his office. and we took the big kids to vbs. then, we started to unload the boxes. so many boxes.

and, then we realized we were missing some furniture. miller didn't have a dresser . . . because it was built into the closet at the old house. i didn't have a craft cabinet . . . . because it was the built-in from the playroom at the old house. we were in need of some things. so, we decided to take a little road trip  . . . .

to ikea! because we planned on buying several things and the beast (our expedition) is pretty maxed out just from shear numbers, we decided to rent a u-haul once we arrived. 

we had heard about ikea's play place. because we had so much shopping to do, we thought we would try 

it. so, we dropped the big kids off and were given a pager and 45 minutes of shopping time sans 2 walking kids. (in case you don't know, 45 minutes of shopping time with only one kid who will sit in a cart is equivalent to 3 days of shopping with 2 additional children who walk alongside the cart wandering off because they saw something shiny or begging for every little trinket they absolutely neeeed.) so with our trusty ikea pencil and list in hand we raced off to make the best of our time.

we managed to walk through the vignettes and the showroom documenting all our furniture needs before our 45 minutes were up. we also met up with josh's parents and grabbed another cart for the little stuff because their carts are tiny.

we spent hours (literally) wandering around ikea buying picture frames and cheese graters and cinnamon rolls. and, when looking though bin after bin lost its excitement, carter and miller found their own way to entertain themselves . . . and others passing by. while it wasn't as fun as the rock wall, ball pit, movie theater or art center in the play place, they seemed to be just as happy.

eventually our time at ikea came to a close, but not before we had taken advantage of their amazing prices and their incredibly kid friendly environment. in fact, if i hadn't carried her out kicking and screaming, my little ocd handwashing baby would still be right here . . .

we miss you, ikea! and your swedish meatballs, cinnamon rolls, tiny sinks, free diapers, paper measuring strips, free play place and all your other family friendliness. other stores should stop and take notice. we would tell them, but we are too busy putting together all this . . .

but, we will see you next time . . .  the kids can't wait to come back and play!