Things I have been doing while not blogging

So, yeah.  I took a little hiatus from my blog.  I'd like to report that I was off doing great things in the meantime.  But I was mostly just watching my kids get bigger and staying up to date on crappy reality television.  I did also squeeze in reading The Hunger Games trilogy, Gone, Girl, Room and several other good books (Room is so good.  It's not for everyone but it's so, so moving and will linger with you for days.  I can't believe what a great book it is.).

I could write a small novel describing in detail every stupid thing that's been going on in my world during the hiatus.  That seems really boring not to mention a lot of work.  So I will spare myself and the universe all that and just limit myself to a few bullets.

Things we did that made me happy:
1. Moved to a new house.  I love my new house.  I love my new neighborhood.  I love my new grocery store.  I love my new park around the corner.  I love all of it so much it makes me feel humble and almost unworthy of all of it.   We've lived here almost two years now I could actually cry just talking about how appreciative we feel about where we live and how blessed we feel to be here. 
2. Handing over to my daughter my stack of Harry Potter books and getting to see her enjoy them as much as I did.   The best was when she came up to me looking very worried several books ago demanding to know if Harry was going to be okay.  I decided it wouldn't spoil any of the fun for her to point out that there are 7 books named after him and that they don't generally name a book after someone that's not in the book.  
3. I tried out working from home.  It's been really great.  I don't get to do it forever but it's been seriously nice.  The fact that I love my house may or may not make it that much greater.

Things I did that were lots and lots of hard work:
1.  Tried to sell our old house while the housing market is bad.
2.  Fixed up the old house and rented it out.  Again, so stupid.  I was a complete cheapskate about wood floors and then ended up paying for them for someone else to live in the house.  They look so nice and I never once got to walk barefoot across them in my pajamas late at night.  I love walking through a quiet house barefoot in my pajamas late at night thinking how much I like my house.  I would have enjoyed doing that in that house, too.
3.  After renting out our house and before we bought our new house, we moved into a temporary home for 2 months an hour away from work and the kids school.  What the hell were we thinking?  So stupid it.  Do not do that lest ye want to live in your car and hate your life.

Things that happened that were not at all fun:
1. The best dog ever died.  It was so hard.  I cried a river and he wasn't even my best friend.  Sometimes I still cry just remembering what a great dog he was or how I wish he was still here.  Sometimes I still cry just thinking about how often my husband must think that and how big the hole in his heart must be without him.   Great, now my eyes are tearing up just writing five sentences about him.  Enough.  Best. Dog. Ever.  We miss him so much.  Sometime when I'm feeling especially brave and tough, I'll have to tell the story of scattering his ashes.  Today is not that day.

Time marched on in other areas too:
1. I now have a daughter in 4th grade and a son in 1st grade.  That's crazy.  It's extra crazy when I think about how the 4th grader is only 2 years away from middle school.  I get younger with every passing day so it's strange that she's somehow managed to get any older.
2. The 4th grader announced recently that she didn't want a backpack this year.  She requested a messenger bag.  Such the big girl.  Sigh.
3.   My mother lives with us now.  She's had health issues in recent years but she's still a pistol.  Every doctor or nurse that sees her likes to tell me that as if I've somehow managed to avoid being well aware of that.   She and I are currently playing a fun game of hide the car keys.  Our house has two stories so I'm currently winning.  Although two months ago, I genuinely forgot where they were hidden.  I called my husband demanding to know where he hid them only to have him tell me where I had hidden them and what a space cadet I am.  Maybe he's the one winning.
4.  I discovered that little boys require more trips to the emergency room than little girls.  My son has had stitches, glue, staples, glue, glue and glue.  All of it somewhere on his head.  I'm not joking.  We jokingly call him head-wound.  I once got a call from the school nurse two times in one week.  His head was bleeding both times.  WTH.  Anyone that thinks it has anything to do with an unsafe environment, I invite you to come meet my son.  Two years ago he got a new beach towel and excitedly laid it out on the living room floor (our carpeted living room floor, I might add) followed by excited jumping up and down on it, followed by his feet coming out from under him and falling on it followed by bleeding and needing staples in the back of his head.  Carpet with a beach towel on top of it.  Seriously.  That should not lead to staples.  That's the day I realized it can happen anywhere anytime.   The doctors at the emergency room agree.  I know because we've had plenty of time to discuss it with them.  

So there we are.  No more blog hiatus.  And no more blog hiatus talk.