The Good, The Bad and The Broken Collarbone!

LIFE.

It sure has kept me on my toes this year. I have never experienced such a broad range of emotions, as I have over the past twelve months. Crazy.




Good News: We sold our house after just three weeks on the market- in this tumultuous real estate market, and at this time- after the summer selling season already ended. Not bad. I keep reminding myself that if this move has to happen, I need to be thankful that it is happening quickly and, so far, smoothly.

We had a wonderful, and yes, even mostly relaxing mini vacation last week in Saint Simon's Island, Georgia. Thanks to my wonderful and generous friend Gwen, for allowing us to use their beach house! The ocean was refreshing, the weather, serene and the kids had a blast. While there, we also visited with Pete's parents who were down from Buffalo, NY.

It was good to come home knowing that I only had to clean the house for ourselves from here on out! As long as this contract sticks, no more showings.

I also had a great chance to catch up and visit with my longtime friend, Maria who came from FL for the weekend.

Bad News: Pete's travels continue- he is in Denver for the week.

Worst News: Juliana broke her collarbone this past weekend- and we didn't know the severity of it until this morning...Orthopedic appointment this afternoon....

So Long Columbia SC...

I'm still here. I promise. It's just been a bit chaotic around here, well, more so than the usual!

We have a contract on our house- three weeks on the market! Not too shabby for this housing market and this time of the year. I was a bit surprised that it happened so fast, and when it finally hit me, I was also really sad...our time here will come to an end mid November.

In the meanwhile, this Will put an end to the constant cleaning and stressing over showings. It will give us the chance to just try our best to enjoy the rest of our time here with friends, and maybe, just maybe, get us back in the direction of living a normal life!

In the meanwhile, we have the kid's grandparents visiting from Buffalo, NY, and tomorrow we all head to Saint Simon's Island in GA for a (well deserved, if I might say!) break from reality! I'll be back soon!

Backfired Lesson...I should have known!

Over the past few months, my 'has to to know the reason for everything' four-year-old began questioning my reasons for making him wear a helmet while riding his bike.

"Because it will help keep you safe," I usually reply to him

"But mama, other people don't want to wear them," he would respond after seeing cyclists and motorcycle riders several times, who of course, as our luck would have it, were in fact not wearing helmets.

"I see that," I'd respond.

Hum....

At first, I tried the whole tactic of , "well, when you are a grown up, you can make grown up decisions about your safety, but for now, mama gets to make them for you." This worked for a while, until we started running into other children, some even his own age, who too, weren't wearing helmets.

"Mama, those kids aren't wearing helmets and they aren't grown ups," he'd say to me. And I would say, well, that might be okay with their mother and father, but your mother and father want you to be safe, and we have decided that you need to wear a helmet."

When this still wasn't satisfying his question, I decided to change my approach again and explained to him that wearing a helmet while riding a bike is the smart thing to do, no matter what age you are.

He liked the idea of being smart.

Last week, however, while we were walking along a bike path heading to the beach several adult cyclists came toward us. Wouldn't you know it, they weren't wearing helmets...

"Mama, look," Nate yelled, pointing right at the first two cyclists (two feet away from us). "Those grown ups aren't very smart, are they?!" He exclaimed.

My sister, Kara who was walking with us, gently touched my shoulder and, while trying hard not to laugh, said, "I think it's time you revisit your helmet lesson !"

Right.

Quiet Morning

This morning the house is quiet, the windows are open, my thoughts are clear and I have been sitting down for the last 30 minutes (a rare occasion during my normal day!). My (wonderful) neighbor, Carolyn, is watching Nate and Juliana, and I am taking the time to catch up on random "Kate" things. A few months ago Carolyn and I set up a great system of watching one another's children one morning a week. It's worked out great, as it gives each of us just a tad bit more time to get things done- kid free!

Funny how little alone time most moms actually allow themselves. Last night as I lay in bed trying unsuccessfully to turn off my mind, I couldn't help but imagine all of the possibilities of how I could spend the three luxurious hours this morning...I could do the usual, work on my thesis, clean the house, do the laundry, OR, I could go and get a (really) long overdue haircut, get that (desperately) needed oil change, work on our (also poorly neglected) digital family photo books, OR maybe even go and see a movie- no, I couldn't...a movie just seemed too indulgent, and quiet frankly, too much of a waste of time!

So, I am settling for a little thesis work, family photo Photoshop editing, and a few other random things like dropping by my (also poorly neglected) blog.

I hope everyone has had a great week and is ready to enjoy the weekend!

Charleston Get Away

Last week was a mixed bag of good and bad around here. We started off the preschool year with happy hearts and optimism all around. All in all, the kids and I did slide right back into routine with no major problems or meltdowns. I worked on my thesis here and there and even got the treat of spending an evening out with my dear friend Gwen-kid free! Yet, the continual stresses of Pete's job, mixed with everyday family stresses and revolving our daily life around five house showings during the week, created a few challenges here and there.


But we survived! At the end of the week, we realized that we were in need of some major

R & R! So, we booked a night at a hotel in downtown Charleston, and headed to the beach!

As an added bonus, my younger sister, Kara, drove down from NC to spend the weekend with us and came with us on our mini vacation...it was fantastic to have some great time with Pete and the kids, and also to have some wonderful sister/auntie Kara bonding time.

We also spent much time walking around various parts of Charleston, enjoying the great weather, feeding our belies with fantastic local seafood and taking a few trips down memory lane (Pete, myself and Kara have all lived there at one point or another).

Back to School...Back to Routine

It's been surprisingly cool around here this week (mid 70's is considered cool for SC!) and it's been a much appreciated break from the hot, hot weather of summer. It's also helped to lift my spirits a bit, allowing us to take a break from the AC, open the windows to get some fresh air in the house and stretch our playtime outside much longer than usual.

The kids began preschool this week, officially ending a fantastic South Carolina summer of camps, activities, beach and lots of learning and play time. Juliana will attend school two mornings a week and Nate, four. So far, so good. Jules was a bit nervous about going, that is until sweet Nate gave her a heart to heart at breakfast yesterday explaining to her that school is fun and that she is going to absolutely love it! And she did!

After I left their classrooms yesterday morning, I got in my car and felt a little overwhelmed by the emotions of all the changes going on in our lives right now. Everything is shifting and adjusting and growing. That of all is the most noticeable. My babies aren't so little anymore.

I also felt a little overwhelmed and excited about all of the things I could do with the looming three hours I had before pick up time: thesis work, grocery shopping, sewing projects, writing, housework, or maybe get a haircut? Wow! So many things to choose from, so many priorities. So thesis work and grocery shopping it ended up being. I know, I lead such an exciting life, don't I?! It was so strange though, the whole morning I kept feeling like I was forgetting something, like I was missing someone, or that the time was wrong and I was going to be late picking them up. I am sure moms all over the country were feeling the same way this week...Maybe I was going through a few growing pains myself.

So, we're back to routine again, back to earlier bedtimes, and back to feeling more accomplished. It's a good feeling, and all in all the Agliata family are, for the time being anyhow, doing just fine.