When life throws you curveballs…{Personal update}

Well hello there old friends. It sure has been a while, hasn’t it? An embarrassing long time, actually. This poor blog was covered in cobwebs when I opened it this last week, ha!

I’ve missed this little space, I really have. But life seems to always throw curveballs and sometimes there are so many you have to just concentrate on not getting hit. Can you relate?

If you are a subscriber- you may have noticed some “new” posts coming to your inbox this past week. I’ve been working on updating some of my most popular and most informative posts from the past 6.5 years- which I am republishing. Which means YOU as a subscriber get straight to your inbox! Lucky you 😉 I’m also hoping to get some shine, brand new content up here soon!

But first- a personal update.

As I posted a while back (like a year ago!) we had a “bonus baby” in October 2016. As in- she wasn’t in the plans- however my goodness I can not imagine my life without her. She’s an amazing 16 month old now- running and climbing and trying to keep up with her 3 big siblings.

I’d say she’s the best curveball ever 😉

We’ve spent the last 16 months adjusting to life with 4- which has mostly been awesome. But because life can’t just be THAT simple- I also found myself pulling my oldest child from school at the end of last school year and homeschooling her for the last several weeks of school. This dramatic choice ended up being the absolutely best thing we ever did for her. My second oldest child finished up his kindergarten year and then asked if he too could be homeschooled.

And so…I found myself this last fall in a brand new role: homeschooling mom to 2.

If you had asked me a couple years ago if I could ever see myself homeschooling I guarantee I would have laughed in your face. That is not because I thought homeschooling was weird or wrong or negative- I’ve actually always had a high respect for homeschooling families. No- I would have laughed simply because I couldn’t imagine myself making that kind of commitment. 

Because homeschooling is no joke, y’all. It’s hard work.

As I’ve learned time and time again, however, life doesn’t really care about what you think or plan. And as a parent- you find yourself having to constantly assess and reassess the choices you make. You have to accept that things are the way they are sometimes and deal with them. You have to do things you never imagined you would have to do.

These last several months I have been learning how to embrace all.the.things. And I have to say- I think I am the happiest I have been in a long time. That’s not to say that I was unhappy before. I wasn’t. However the last several months have made me dig deep into my life and  made me realize what I truly want- and what is truly important.

For the first time in almost 13 years (with the exception of previous maternity leaves), I am not working as a speech-language pathologist. I am taking a break to focus on my kids and my family. I am not sure how long of a break this will be.

I also have started a new blog- to share about our family’s new adventures in homeschooling, travel, and life in general. Did you know that I have been blogging for almost 10 years?? My first blog was a personal one that I started when I got pregnant with my first child. I kind of let that one go when I started this blog in the fall of 2011 and I had friends and family who were sad that I stopped updating it. This time- my hope is to share both here and there. I’d LOVE for you guys to follow me there too once I’m ready to share. Right now it is a bit of a construction zone 😉

So now questions for YOU! As I start to slowly move back in here I’d love to know what topics you’d like me to blog about. What do you want to know? How can i help YOU as a parent? A Speech pathologist? A grandparent, teacher, or early interventionist? Shoot me an email or comment on this post and let me know!

Until next time…