Inside and Out, and the Changing of Seasons

Hi there!  Happy fall?  Not really yet for us, but people keep telling me it's coming one of these days.  The other day the girls and I were riding bikes to school on a pleasant 65 degree morning, and we passed another cyclist who was wearing mittens and a hat, I kid you not.  Oh, that gave me a good chuckle, because these Californians are soft when it comes to the weather.  Here in San Jose it is just about always sunny and pleasant, usually somewhere in the 70s or 80s, and would you believe I miss moody weather?!  The other weekend we went up to San Francisco for the first time with some friends and the city was covered with a dense fog, and it was the perfect change of pace.  Ha!  Who would ever guess it would be the rain, the clouds, the unexpected chills that I would miss most.

On the home front, things have pleasantly full.  We have settled into a sustainable and energizing rhythm of life, with each member of the family finding his or her own routine, all brought together by the gatherings of our whole family together.  School, and play, and little adventures, and work, all beginning and ending together in what has come to feel like our home.  All of those little rituals, like gathering together for dinner, reading stories before bed together, making something special for breakfast on the weekends, seem quaint and charming when your children are all little, but as they start to increasingly venture out into the world, those little acts become the thread that hold the family together.  I have noticed what fullness and joy they offer, even on those days that a certain pair of toddler girls sit at the table for about twenty seconds before clearly declaring "All done!" and gesturing to be lifted onto Ben or my lap for the remainder of the meal.  One day they will linger at the table, but for now they wiggle and squirm in their 22 month old beauty, and I know I will miss it one day.

Just as reliably, I have started to feel times of day that were once an expected quiet time, time I could spend writing, or exercising, or cooking quietly, start to be filled with other meaningful things, like giving Hugo a reading lesson, or corralling a twin who has escaped from her crib (oh.my.goodness. I didn't know this could happen.  None of our kids have been crib escapers, and we had a very stressful couple of weeks before we discovered these miracle tents  which have been lifesavers.).  Luckily, we have a lot of support out here, so I've found ways to keep things feeling sustainable, ways to carve out time for meaningful things in new places.  Flexibility and resilience seem to be such key parenting traits, I pray I will increase in both of those things!

It's funny that even though the weather hasn't changed for us, I am still feeling the pull of the changing seasons-- cooking stews and soups, any recipe I can find that includes pumpkin, and leaving blankets around the house (which we use every single morning and evening, because it does get chilly!).  I think as a lifetime east coaster those seasonal rhythms will be something I can never shake.  And our ten day forecast includes three days with a high in the 60s, so maybe fall is coming our way after all (fingers crossed!).  

And with that I'm off to work on some Halloween costumes.  Halloween is sort of a big deal around here, and for the first time ever we have a whole family theme costume!  I can't wait to show you!  Oh, and I'm suddenly quite pregnant!  I have a lot to fill you in on!