It's that time of year. The time when I open up this blog and realize that a whole year has passed without a single post! So, if my toddler naps long enough, perhaps I can bang out a post about what my little family has been up to in the last 12 months.
The start of 2019 was rough on the Logans of NJ. Our Oldest son, Theodore, carried a cold with him into the new year. One of those lovely childhood diseases that are all the rage, Rosalea. And when he's sick, he is S I C K. Along with that there was the matter of the government shutdown which caused us to pinch pennies more than usual so we could afford to pay our bills and buy our groceries. We were not able to buy T any birthday presents because of it, but thankfully our own parents stepped in and threw him a wonderful little party to celebrate turning 2. We experienced what a supportive community we live in, and also got to reconnect with a coast guard friend who was passing through the area.
This year Mr. T not only celebrated his second trip around the sun, but he also made his first friends, as well as learned to talk. We, as parents, have learned that he indeed has a unique personality, feeling emotions that seem all encompassing, and has a sweet nature that is also quite feisty as well as stubborn.
Some of our favorite phrases we have heard this year are:
"That was a close one!" "That tickles me!" "Lil' bit" "Excuse me" and "I love you!"
Up next we celebrated Gregory's birthday. I think he was home, but I am actually having a hard time recalling. Gregory spent more than half the year on patrol, away from his family. And though we didn't get to spend as much time with him as we would have liked, he got to do some pretty neat things in some pretty neat places. Highlights would include exploring Bermuda by scooter, and seeing Post Malone in concert while in Boston. During the spring, Gregory took (and passed) his Service Wide and will officially become a Culinary Specialist Second Class the first week of January 2020. He also was honored to receive Sailor Of The Quarter for April-June 2019.
He continues to dazzle us at home with his skills in the kitchen. Over the summer he also constructed his first bookcase (which was promptly taken over for yarn storage). In his spare time he has been enjoying himself by tinkering with power tools, computers, and making sweet jamz.
Our sweet Henry celebrated his first birthday in August. He is, in a word, movement. Never still, always doing something. Climbing, running, playing. He is busy and curious. Henry shares his brother's love of planes, trains, and cars.
This year was a hard one for me. Mostly as I really established myself as a mother of 2 little boys who never stop moving or talking or eating, and often finding myself alone while faced with challenges of household and parenting.
My boys helped me exercise my green thumb as I turned our small backyard into a quiet paradise that my next door neighbor dubbed "The Secret Garden." I was excited to watch as everything I tended grew to spectacular size.
Morning Glories hid our fence. Cosmos grew so tall I stared them in the eye (one plant got so big I wouldn't have been able to wrap my arms around it.) My sunflowers could be seen from other's backyards. My Rosemary and Sage plants tripled in size. Four Lavender bushes graced our front yard and circled a Giant Dhalia plant.
We harvested the perfect amount of peppers and snap peas for our little family, and from our two tomato plants (which attempted to climb over our fence) we harvested over 10lbs. of sauce tomatoes. My basil was planted with seeds I had brought with us from Hatteras and again we ended up with more than we knew what to do with, but boy it smelled heavenly. It was a successful season and made my heart happy.
As salon work is somewhat put on hold as we raise children and continually move to different states, I have been using my love of knitting and crocheting as a creative outlet for my passion of color, design, and working with my hands.
This year I finally experienced the luxury that is hand-dyed yarn, and I am obsessed. I also knit to completion my very first sweater and rediscovered the joy of knitting socks. I completed an asymmetrical shawl and am determined to crochet it again, this time writing a pattern for it.
My creative goals going into the new year are to knit a fun sweater for my husband, design a crochet cardigan, write up a pattern for my shawl and market bag, knit 1 pair of socks each month, and find a yarn buddy/teach someone to knit or crochet and therefore spread the madness.
This year Gregory and I celebrated our fourth anniversary. We will be transferring this coming summer as Gregory completes his sixth year in the United States Coast Guard.
The start of 2019 was rough on the Logans of NJ. Our Oldest son, Theodore, carried a cold with him into the new year. One of those lovely childhood diseases that are all the rage, Rosalea. And when he's sick, he is S I C K. Along with that there was the matter of the government shutdown which caused us to pinch pennies more than usual so we could afford to pay our bills and buy our groceries. We were not able to buy T any birthday presents because of it, but thankfully our own parents stepped in and threw him a wonderful little party to celebrate turning 2. We experienced what a supportive community we live in, and also got to reconnect with a coast guard friend who was passing through the area.
This year Mr. T not only celebrated his second trip around the sun, but he also made his first friends, as well as learned to talk. We, as parents, have learned that he indeed has a unique personality, feeling emotions that seem all encompassing, and has a sweet nature that is also quite feisty as well as stubborn.Some of our favorite phrases we have heard this year are:
"That was a close one!" "That tickles me!" "Lil' bit" "Excuse me" and "I love you!"
Up next we celebrated Gregory's birthday. I think he was home, but I am actually having a hard time recalling. Gregory spent more than half the year on patrol, away from his family. And though we didn't get to spend as much time with him as we would have liked, he got to do some pretty neat things in some pretty neat places. Highlights would include exploring Bermuda by scooter, and seeing Post Malone in concert while in Boston. During the spring, Gregory took (and passed) his Service Wide and will officially become a Culinary Specialist Second Class the first week of January 2020. He also was honored to receive Sailor Of The Quarter for April-June 2019.He continues to dazzle us at home with his skills in the kitchen. Over the summer he also constructed his first bookcase (which was promptly taken over for yarn storage). In his spare time he has been enjoying himself by tinkering with power tools, computers, and making sweet jamz.
Our sweet Henry celebrated his first birthday in August. He is, in a word, movement. Never still, always doing something. Climbing, running, playing. He is busy and curious. Henry shares his brother's love of planes, trains, and cars.
This year was a hard one for me. Mostly as I really established myself as a mother of 2 little boys who never stop moving or talking or eating, and often finding myself alone while faced with challenges of household and parenting.My boys helped me exercise my green thumb as I turned our small backyard into a quiet paradise that my next door neighbor dubbed "The Secret Garden." I was excited to watch as everything I tended grew to spectacular size.
Morning Glories hid our fence. Cosmos grew so tall I stared them in the eye (one plant got so big I wouldn't have been able to wrap my arms around it.) My sunflowers could be seen from other's backyards. My Rosemary and Sage plants tripled in size. Four Lavender bushes graced our front yard and circled a Giant Dhalia plant.
We harvested the perfect amount of peppers and snap peas for our little family, and from our two tomato plants (which attempted to climb over our fence) we harvested over 10lbs. of sauce tomatoes. My basil was planted with seeds I had brought with us from Hatteras and again we ended up with more than we knew what to do with, but boy it smelled heavenly. It was a successful season and made my heart happy.
As salon work is somewhat put on hold as we raise children and continually move to different states, I have been using my love of knitting and crocheting as a creative outlet for my passion of color, design, and working with my hands.
This year I finally experienced the luxury that is hand-dyed yarn, and I am obsessed. I also knit to completion my very first sweater and rediscovered the joy of knitting socks. I completed an asymmetrical shawl and am determined to crochet it again, this time writing a pattern for it.
My creative goals going into the new year are to knit a fun sweater for my husband, design a crochet cardigan, write up a pattern for my shawl and market bag, knit 1 pair of socks each month, and find a yarn buddy/teach someone to knit or crochet and therefore spread the madness.
This year Gregory and I celebrated our fourth anniversary. We will be transferring this coming summer as Gregory completes his sixth year in the United States Coast Guard.
I love it Emily! Always happy to hear what is going on in your lives. Congratulations to Greg on being above the cut for second class.I can't believe you are transferring already! I am excited to hear where you will be heading next! I can only imagine how tough of a year it must have been for you, being a mom to two boys with Greg deployed so much. I have no doubt in my mind that you are such a wonderful mother though! You're the best! I am terrible at keeping in touch with people so I do enjoy commenting on things that you share. Miss you all, and I hope to cross paths again, sooner rather than later. With love; Erin
ReplyDeleteOh how I miss blogger. If anyone still read blogger regularly as a platform, I would definitely still be blogging.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me so happy that you had such a fruitful garden this year. I know another move comes with its own challenges and heartache and stress but as a Nutmegger, "SEE YA NEW JERSEY!!"
Its been delightful to me to get to see glimpses into your life on social media this year and then to get to read about it in summary from your perspective here. I"ve always wanted to learn how to crochet, I learned how to knit as a kid and was never good at it no matter how many times I tried to pick it up again. I've heard crocheting is a bit better. But I have too many other things going to try to put crocheting on my plate.
I hope the transfer goes well and the new year comes without severe sickness. Know that I absolutely adore you and I hope to someday get to see you again too :)