The last of the day...catch up...

OK, so now that I think I have proven that I am at least attempting to return to blogging, I'll provide some snippet updates on the family...

Kayleigh is doing awesome - entering 2nd grade. She is getting way too old, way too fast and I don't know how to slow it down. She said to one of our coaches (a 19 year old male, BTW), "If you are wondering why my voice sounds like a high schooler, it's because I am 7." WHAT??? Needless to say, my poor coach had NO IDEA how to respond to that one. UGH - I can feel the gray hairs. She amazes us everyday with her insight and sensitivity. She continues to have a hysterical sense of humor - no idea where she gets it. She can't wait for 2nd grade and has really missed the all-day interactions with her friends this summer. She has fallen into a really nice peer group (and I love the moms which is a huge bonus).

Aidan is our "little man"...his energy is endless and his smiles and laugh contagious. He is so freakin happy (I'll have what he's having!). He's entering Kindergarten in September, although in private school talk, that's called "Foundation". He found his first loose tooth yesterday which was a huge deal. He has excitedly celebrated his sister's 7 missing teeth. I don't think it ever occurred to him that it would happen to him too. He was genuinely shocked yesterday when he pulled on his bottom tooth and it wiggled. The look on his face was priceless - very big boy news!

CJ is working like a dog. There is a huge demand for private volleyball lessons with him and, in addition to our regular program offerings, it keeps him way busy. I wish I could take some of the coaching responsibility off of him, but I just can't (for obvious reasons). We are entering our 2nd week of camp next week with a 3rd week at the end of Aug. They are well-attended so that has been very rewarding.

As for me, I am just trying to enjoy my kids and husband, run the facility, and SWITCH jobs. Hoping that will be solidified in the next few days.

That's the brief update. I'll do my best to post as things happen.

Much love.

A picture - WOO HOO! The new "place" and more...

So, if you read my previous post, you will understand why this is a big deal. Yes, after my years of resisting, it took CJ about 3 seconds to show me how to insert a picture. I slowly said, "so, HOW do I insert pictures?" PAINFUL.

How do I catch up on the last 6 months. They have been very busy indeed. As many of you know, the craziest thing to happen in our family is that we opened a new 15000 SF volleyball facility in early July. This has led to a tremendous amount of joy and a tremendous amount of stress. We have been able to offer so much already, but the stress to pay the enormous rent bill is ever-present. That should subside a little in a few months, but for now, it wakes me up at night. This is no different than any other new business I suppose. So, on to the pictures that speak for themselves. I am including several "construction" shots. When we leased the building, it was a "build to suit" - nothing but four walls and a ceiling - no plumbing, no lights, etc. Everything custom. We met with the architect and explained our vision. 3 weeks and 2 days later, we had a Certificate of Occupancy. AMAZING. If only the whole world was that efficient...

Some construction pictures...


Some pics of the floor going down. This is "modular" flooring meaning it snaps together in one SF tiles. There is a 3mm compressed rubber underlay underneath which are the pictures that look like the floor is covered in tar paper. It took 5 of us nearly 8 hours to lay the floor (we thought that was pretty good!)So, that's the birth of the facility in a nutshell...all of the happenings, programs, and details of it are available on our website (you know, the one that has interfered with my blogging!) ....www.ctimpact.org...

Thanks to everyone we know and love for their support and enthusiasm during this adventure. It continues to sustain us...

Much love.

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

So as I gleefully read all the happenings of my gorgeous twin nieces on my SIL's blog, I mused to myself....

HOW DOES SHE DO IT??? She is the new mom to active four-month old TWINS and she manages to update us all several times per week, and INCLUDE PICTURES!! I can't muster one post a year?? Pathetic.

So I found myself feeling rather pathetic and decided I should, yet again, attempt to maintain some semblance of a blog. I continue to tease my friends and relatives as I assure them that this REALLY is the time that I am going to be good about my blog...will you all humor me once more? =)

These are the excuses I have crafted for why my blog is so neglected:
1. I maintain an extensive website for our business and that's all the computer work I can muster.
2. My 90 work week just allows me no extra time.
3. Anyone who cares about my family happenings gets to hear my voice at least periodically.
4. I can't figure out how to post pictures and that makes for a very boring blog.
5. Aren't facebook and email sufficient?

I now must face the counterarguments to all of the above...
1. The website looks great! It tells people NOTHING about Kayleigh and Aidan (or even CJ and I for that matter!)
2. Isn't writing just what the doctor ordered to counteract the stresses of my insane work week?
3. I need to finally admit to myself that I actually suck at talking to people on a regular basis - I think my mother and my mother-in-la are the only ones that hear from me as often as they should (so sorry to all the other wonderful people in my life!)
4. OK, this one was the lamest excuse of all! My husband maintains a beautiful blog for his Science classes full of pictures, links, etc. My SIL is a whiz at this stuff and has offered to give me a tutorial. Not so good at asking for help, huh Meg? Gotta work on that one....
5. This would be a great excuse to get me AWAY from FB and email. Besides, several people that I love and care about haven't given into the FB Revolution yet!

So, here were are. I am resolved to do this on a regular basis. I'll tell my friends and family that I REALLY AM going to blog again to which I fully expect a chorus of eye rolls and "Yeah huh"s. Who can blame them? On to the better details.....
Much love.