a gosh darn update!

Well, I have been lovingly scolded by dear friends for not updating the blog, so here I am. I am SO GLAD I AM HERE! I have been wanting to update this part of my life for so long, but the saying "my life has been so busy" really has been true around here and I knew that if I ever sat my bum in this chair with the intent to write, I would have millions of hours of things to spill out, so I never dared click "new post." But Jared is out of town, and finally at 11pm I found some time to sit here and cap what has been going on.

Starting with a timeline of sorts - We found out we are having another BOY!! I am beyond thrilled! This pregnancy has been the sweetest experience with Evelyn and Warner. Ev loooooves talking about the baby. Jared has done a wonderful job at teaching her "life skills" for when the baby comes  to make things easier for me - getting dressed by herself, clearing her plate for meal time, buckling herself in to her car seat - stuff like that. She also loves to talk about "the baby" in her tummy. Today on our way to the pool she said "You can take the baby in your tummy and I can take the little tiny baby in my tummy!" "Ev, you don't have a baby in your tummy. You have to get married like me and Dad when you get bigger and then you can have a baby in your tummy," I replied. "Oh," she sadly responded, looking like she was genuinely feeling empty for not carrying a child, "and then I can get taller and a baby can kick me in mine tummy, too?" Both she and Warner are constantly stroking my belly and kissing it. I'm feeling really confident this time around that baby boy will be completely welcomed and loved by his siblings. I am not confident, however, that I will be able to juggle 3 kids. More on my struggle with two kids in another post.

Although we've been here in Sacramento almost 6 months and I'm feeling rather familiary with the city, I still don't feel settled. Most of that has to do with a job opportunity Jared had back in DC. It was a year long hiring process, one we started before we even left Virginia. Jared made it to the final stage, flew out to DC and everything. My in-laws even offered to watch the kids while I flew out with Jared to DC for the interview, but I was so confident that we were going to be back there by the end of the year with this new job that I didn't take them up on it. Then we got the news that Jared wasn't a finalist.... and we both cried. This one was a real stinger. Yes, we have a job now that we are extremely grateful for, but this was our DREAM JOB!! and we were SO CLOSE!!! SO close! It took me a good week to not cry multiple times a day over that disappointment. But oh well, we've moved on and now look forward to staying here in California closer to family. Funny thing, all of the sudden this huge state makes me feel claustrophobic. I always saw our family as a migrant one, living all over the country, even internationally. Now Jared and I both feel exhausted from trying to pursue that route (that route being working for the government as a federal agent, diplomat, analyst), and so California here we are to stay. Virginia is wonderful. I miss the trees, the summer fireflies and crickets humming, our little condo that was oh so beautiful, the culture, the city, the history. I mostly miss our friends. I loved that our friends were just as dear to us as family. I haven't been able to replicate that here, yet. I miss Oak Marr Ward. I miss playgroups and Evelyn having a social life. But I should stop lamenting because life is great, but "don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you got til it's gone?"

The main reason why I have been MIA on here is because of the success I have found in my own little business, Swankaroo. This venture has proved to be AMAZING and I love being a business woman and contributing a good amount to our family's income. It is a tough balance, though, to try and juggle all these roles that I, like most women, are called to carry - mother, wife, cook, launderer, housemaid, accountant, teacher, friend, sister, aunt, Christ's disciple, doctor, and many more. But I do love the creative outlet I get out of Swankaroo. It has been a big blessing.

Sheesh, what other nonsense can I plug this space with? Warner got his first haircut! Beat Ev to that milestone ;) I love having a minivan. I love that Ev loves listening to Vampire Weekend with me, but hate that the Frozen soundtrack is played at least two times daily. Evelyn is swimming like a champ again this summer - so proud of her! She still gets an amazing reaction out of onlookers, and when they ask how old she is and I say three, I always want to follow up with "yeah, but she was totally swimming like that last year at two years old!" Warner is the sweetest brother. He is always thinking of Evelyn. If he gets a snack, he asks for one for Evelyn so he can give it to her - always melts my heart!! He adores her.

So I guess that's enough to fill in the spaces of what's been going on. Nothing extraordinary, but every day I feel like I'm rolling out of bed to hike the longest journey of my life.