Change is coming

For the past two days the weather has cooled off a bit, a reminder that the change of seasons is not that far away. We are prepping for back to school already. The kids have their assignments to do each day and that time is allowing me to get back into the practice of writing while over seeing and helping them. Most of the work is review so that when they head back to school it will be fresh in their brains again but some of the work is fun stuff. All summer long I have been able to sneak in little learning sessions with cooking and baking projects and outdoor activities. My little guy, who is not so little anymore, heads to kindergarten this fall and I can feel the conflict in him as one minute he tries to be a big guy who doesn't need him mom anymore while the next he brings me a flower from the yard and wants to sit on my lap. After all of my encouraging hopefully he realizes that he can be both a big boy and 'my little guy' all at the same time.

Stormy is enjoying the cooler weather by sneaking up on the couch and snuggling in with the kids blanket. Poor dog lives a very uncomfortable life I'll tell ya. The break in record high temps has also provided a great environment for canning. The garden all of a sudden went crazy producing everything all at one time.  In an effort to keep the veggies from spoiling we made 5 pints of tomato sauce, 5 pints of hot salsa, and 7 pints of fresh fiesta salsa (our favorite recipe). I have also been amazed by the growth of our little squirt. She seems to grow by the minute these days. Now that she is 5 months old we are working on solids, right now it is more for her personal enjoyment than anything else. She loves to watch us eat and try to grab all the food out of our hands. I think she would do a lot better with learning to eat if she could sit independently but she has little to no interest in learning how to do that no matter how often we practice. I am happy with the fact that she is still very much like a little baby and I love how little her feet and hands are. Babies always look bigger in pictures than they really are so I try to get a shot once in a while that shows them in proportion to someone else, like her big sister.

I am looking forward to all the things my oldest will experience once the new school year starts but I am not looking forward to the crazy schedule that comes along with the fall. This time of year always feels like a big sigh to me. It is that moment when summer starts winding down and you take that big breath and exhale right before beginning the school year marathon.