My Neighborhood is Changing, and I Don’t Like It

New development across the street.
New development across the street.

The last couple of weeks my mornings have been greeted with the sound of chainsaws.  I don’t particularly like the sound of power tools, and chainsaws rank up there as one of the worst.

Now it is the sound of engines from dump trucks and excavators carving up the soil.  I look out my backyard and see the excavator swinging its massive claw.  There is that recognizable beeping sound that follows you into your home.   More

Taking Summer to Reconnect

Silhouette of child giving flower to a woman

It’s eight days before the official start of summer, and I am very tired.  By early afternoon I’m ready to take a nap with my three year old, except my three, almost four year old doesn’t always fall asleep now.  It could be the longer days in this northwest corner of the country.  (Don’t worry, we make up for it with darkness, cold and rain in the winter.)  Even if she does nap, I have about an hour and a half to myself before I start the second leg of my day.

More

The “Hard” Parts About Life

hurricane-63005_1280

About once a week Polina experiences a difficult bowel movement.

“It’s too hard,” she says matter of factly and under some duress.  Then she puts her hand on top of my head and presses down.  I lower my head so we are forehead to forehead, and we go through this together, as much as two people can go through this together. More

Happy Thanksgiving, or a Great Big Thanks for Nothing

Empty dinner table

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to thank the readers that have followed me and, even better, read my posts.  I started this site not necessarily to make “friends” or “followers.”  I think both are great, but they are not the primary reason why I began writing.  I began writing because I was bursting with a desire to write.  For about a year, I didn’t even tell anyone about my website.  I did have a desire to connect, but I was too shy to do any broadcasting.  Somehow a few people found me, none of whom I knew previously, and began following me.  That gave me a huge boost in confidence.  So to you readers, I say, thank you..

The post I am writing has been on my mind for the better part of a year.  It comes from the heart because above all, I believe in being genuine.

More

Unfulfilled Summer Plans

DSC_5299
.

Well, summer is gone and this is what is left of it.  For us anyway.  A brand new bathing suit that I bought in June that Polina wore a total of… one time.  And here she is wearing it.

Chilling by the pool on a hot summer day in late August.
Chilling by the pool on a hot summer day in late August.

Can you see the red and white stripes peeking above her dress?  Try as I might to convince her  to show her bathing suit, Polina wouldn’t have it. Good girl.  I wouldn’t want anyone taking off my dress either.

So another 12 bucks or so down the drain this summer.  It’s no one’s fault but my own.  I obviously wasn’t organized enough to finagle nap time and pool time and getting up time and lunch and dinner time, which is all connected to sleep time and remodeling the house time.  Plus, to be honest, we had some scorching hot days this summer, which is REALLY unusual for the Pacific Northwest, but I guess this is becoming the “new normal.”  I realized standing by the patio door that it had gotten so unbearably hot that summer has become as bad as winter some days- you just don’t want to go out.

There is some hope Polina will fit into a size 4 (read age 4) swimsuit next summer, when she will technically still be 3, but I have my doubts.  Polina is tall for her age.

I wrote a blog earlier this summer about why I’m starting to dislike summer.  This summer was less stressful but still had its challenges.  We did go out just not to places that involved a bathing suit.  So unfulfilled summer plans, but it was the reality I created.

So, here’s to next summer.