Around Here

I was on the Paperclipping Roundtable podcast earlier this week (talking about documenting mental health issues) and during the discussion I talked about how much I valued my Around Here posts - the ones that capture a combination of facts and feelings about what's happening in my home and my head and my heart at any given time. It was a good reminder to get myself back in the habit of taking the time to write it down and share it here and then turn it into a layout when I have a chance. 

So here are a few things happening around here: 

PACKING & PREPARING | Leaving on a jet plane this weekend for my Scrapmap trip to Bali. This one has been planned for a couple years and filled up fast with people who have gone on past trips with me. I'll likely be planning another one of these in the future to a different destination and I'll let you know the details for that when they become available. I'll be taking a Traveler's Notebook and using that style of documenting for this trip - my first time. I'm excited to mix it up, get a little looser with my documenting, and see what happens. 

UNPACKING | Aaron, by the time this posts, will have completely moved all his belongings into my house (or very close to it). There is a big old mess exploding downstairs and in my bedroom and I'm taking it all in stride. Once we get back from Bali the plan is to finish up his music room in the garage (I have an extended garage which has enough space to park a car + make a room in the back) and then a lot of the stuff that's in the house now can move out to the garage. The plans for the creation of an additional bedroom upstairs are in the architectural drawing stage (this will be combining the room outside my office + my album shelf area into a a new bedroom for the girls).  

LISTENING | To all the kid conversations. Listening for happiness. Listening for signs of stress. Listening to their banter. Listening to the ways in which they communicate with one another. Listening to "Pictures Of You" and "Just Like Heaven" from The Cure. Listening to podcasts: season two of Undisclosed, The Simple Show, and On Being.

WATCHING | Aaron and I started watching Stranger Things on Netflix. It's a bit too scary for me (meaning I have to hide my eyes at some parts) but I want to know what happens now. I definitely can't watch it alone.

PURCHASING | I bought a new camera this week and it's all Liz's fault. Actually, it was time - I went with a Canon 6D. I'll post more about it after I have a chance to use it. 

READING | My copy of the new Harry Potter book came yesterday. Both Simon and Isaac were super interested (Isaac has read the series multiple times and if you've been reading my stories for any length of time you know Simon's affinity for the series). Simon followed me around for the rest of the night reading it out loud and he kept coming across characters and going "NO WAY. NO WAY." and getting so excited. I think he totally loves that it is in a script format (based on a play currently running in London) - one of his favorite things to do in the last year or so is to re-write movie scripts by watching them with the subtitles on and transcribing the stories into Word documents. Yep, he was excited.    

LOADING & UNLOADING | The dishwasher. I'm looking forward to getting back from this trip and setting up some new house rules/kids jobs/chore charts. Adding four people to our house more than doubles the number of dishes when everyone is here and I want this to be a house where kids have responsibilities and share in the overall work of family life. 

GIVING THANKS | This has been a really great summer. Simon has loved being on the swim team (a total surprise) and I think he's loved the social aspect as much as anything. It's been a great way to begin the transition to high school since it's a neighborhood pool and he's gotten to meet a bunch of kids who will also be at the same high school. He's really grown - literally and figuratively - over the last few months and it has been such a cool thing to witness. He's excited for high school and we are doing our best to keep that positive momentum going into the fall.