Day Care

Sweets and I went to the daycare today to "ease" her in. Who am I trying to kid? The kid didn't even care I was there. I could have left and she would have been just fine. It set my heart at ease to see it for myself though (at least I can start school Monday and not be worried she's not having fun). She was so interested in checking everything out. All of the other kids were happy to have her there too. When everyone went outside she was all over the place. She crawled around in the grass and didn't even care she was soaking wet from the dew. The sandbox was a hit, and the part of the playground with all the wood chip pieces. She didn't actually get in the sandbox, but she liked picking up and dropping the sand. There was a big blue rocking horse she got on. Miss Pam (the teacher) gave her a little rock to show her how it was done and then she kept rocking it. I don't think she wanted to leave when I were ready to go. Tomorrow we will go for a little longer and eat lunch with all the others. It will be exciting because Daddy gets to go and see what it's all about too!

I can't wait to hear about all her adventures when I pick her up.

Fall into place

Considering my last post about Autumn, there was no pun intended with the title of this post. Although, it fits the theme I suppose.

Have you ever sat back and thought about your life and really realized how everything seems to fall into place? I mean, we all have times of upheaval. Such times are to help with personal growth. But when things start to settle, more often than not, everything falls into the exact place it should be. If only more people were aware.

My life.

Perfect at the moment.

I have a husband who loves supports me unconditionally. I can't even begin to tell you how thankful I am for him. I also have a daughter who brings amazement to my day....everyday. I get so caught up in watching her. She seriously amazes me so much I'm all warm and fuzzy right now. Even though we don't like our house, we have a home and we are together (most of the time at least).

I'm going to school to get a degree in massage therapy. I'm excited to grow and learn and hopefully help people heal. I'm happy to add this to my tool bag and can't wait to let my yoga and massage meld together.

Autumn or Something Like It....

....that's the title of a mixed CD I made for my friend Meredith (Rochester neighbor) last year in the Autumn. Actually, I believe it was towards the end of Autumn. She just had Hanna and I just had Kailey. Well, Hanna was about 5 weeks old, but she was also born about 8 weeks before she was supposed to. 

Anyways. This has always been my favorite time of year. I'm getting so excited about Fall coming. I can smell it in the air and feel it in my bones. Although I'm thrilled about this changing of season, there is a part of me missing. Autumn will never be the same. After the birth of Kailey, Meredith and I started getting outside and taking walks with the girls all tucked away in the Moby slings. We would walk and talk and talk and walk. We would drive to the park, to the cemetery and just be. It was pretty amazing having someone going through almost the exact same thing at nearly the exact same time. I remember being up at crazy hours in the night and sending texts back and forth to keep each other awake and supported. I'm forever thankful for the time we got to spend growing and changing; finding the mothers within, together.

Autumn, it's coming. Change is coming. Even though last year was so pivotal, amazing, and life changing, this year will be as much so. I know every season brings change, but why is it Autumn feels so much change? The transition of having a full branch of leaves on a tree to becoming completely bare and naked for winter, all to keep itself alive and thriving. Trees goes with the flow, following it's instinct, not wavering. What if we all noticed such a change within ourselves? What if we let it be so dramatic (not in the "drama" sense)? What if we allowed the shedding of our leaves and skin? Change can be raw, painful and ever so delightful if we only go with it. I'm currently reading a book called "Bringing Home the Dharma" by Jack Kornfield. There is a passage I read a couple days ago about working with difficult energies that's really stuck with me and I would like to share it:

"When strong desire, fear, or anger arise, just let it go. Or if you cannot let it go, let it be. To "let it be" is a better expression of letting go anyway, because usually when we hear "let it go" we think of getting rid of it, but we cannot really just get rid of it. To do so is adding more desire, fear, or anger; it is saying in effect, "I don't like this, so I'm going to stop it."  But that is like trying to get rid of your own arm; this feeling is a part of us in some way. So instead of "letting go," letting be means "to see it as it is," seeing clearly."

Whoa! Really?! This makes sense to me. As I head into the school year after being out of school for 11 years there is some degree of anxiety, fear and excitement. Instead of dwelling on them I've decided to let them be, and let them shed themselves from my skin as they may. Let the leaves of these branches fall at their own will, allowing my intuition to take the wheel.

Roots

We are finally starting to feel settled here. At least I am, I should speak for Nick. Time here is going so quickly. The last few weekends I've made a huge effort to get out of the house and be outside. Though it's not going to be as cold as the good ole east coast, it's going to be wet in the winter. I keep telling myself to enjoy the sunshine and good weather while it's here. There have been a few days Kailey and I have gone to the park down the road to play on the swings and in the grass. She loves to be outside.

Standing up in the grass at the park

One weekend Nick and I drove up to Port Angeles to go to the Exchange. The Exchange here only has Navy clothing and I was wanting a onesie that said Coast Guard on it. It was quiet a drive for just a onesie, but Port Angeles is beautiful. Nick drove us to the top of Hurricane Ridge to see the view. It was amazing. Kailey wasn't too sure about the elevation rising and dropping, but she made it.

Hurricane Ridge

My friend Heather and I took Kailey out for a hike. It was probably a three mile hike when it was all said and done. It was flat the whole time, but the sun was shining and lunch was great. We stopped at the Commissary and picked up sub sandwiches. While we were eating lunch, tucked away off the path and man came down and asked if we'd seen the salmon. He then mentioned that they were spawning. When I was finished with my sandwich, I picked Sweets up and we looked over the railing and saw some pretty big salmon hanging out in the water way below. There were actually quite a few of them. I was thankful he'd walked through and said something because I may not have paid enough attention to notice them on my own.

Hiking with Heather

Last weekend we went camping. Anyone who knows Nick and I know we love camping, especially since that's how we met. We only got to go once last summer because we were so wrapped up in our pregnancy and getting read for Sweets. This year we only got one trip in too. It was pretty fun to take Kailey with us and watch her play in the dirt and watch the other kids running around. You could see the gears in her head turning; see her yearning to be up, running around with the bigger kids. Our trip was with a few people from Nick's work. We all pitched in a cooked one meal each. I love camping food. Haha.

Eating lunch while camping

Playing with the glow stick

Anyways. I'm starting to feel more settled, and feel my roots take hold of the soil below me. Life is good.