I keep thinking that I’m going to blog again and every time I come here I remember that I have not yet installed Google Analytics or the spam plug-in I meant to install weeks ago. And I haven’t added the image manager that will make uploading pictures so much easier and I haven’t … well, you get the idea. And it isn’t because I haven’t found and downloaded these plug-ins. It’s because I haven’t set up FileZilla on this machine. It’s on my laptop. Lame, I know…

And, it isn’t going to happen today either because in a few short minutes I’m off to my first PTO meeting. I never imagined myself the PTO kind of mom… I’ll let you know.

Who knew?  I really thought that I would have this deep emotional gulp when I dropped Meg off for the first day of Kindergarten.  Is it really ok for me to say this, am I a bad parent?  I left thinking, “this is awesome!”  Every day since then has only reiterated that feeling.  This doesn’t mean that the transition from full time at home to thus far half days of school has been seamless, not true.  There have a been a few pretty intense “discussions” between Meg and me and Meg and her mother, but I think that they all really stem from the fact that she is just uttterly exhausted.  I cannot think of a time in the last 2 years when Meg has voluntarily gotten up at 6:30 or before 4 days running, and then been asleep in no time flat after a shorter than usual exclamation of how she will not be going to bed right now.  This school thing makes her sleep at night.  She is a get up a couple times a night kind of person, but since school started, I think that she has only gotten up a couple of times!  Sweet!  That leaves me all the more refreshed to deal with her teething sister.  The joys of parenthood.  Oh yeah  one is teething and the other is losing hers.  Meg lost her first tooth about a week or so ago.  It was loose one day and then she yanked it out the next.  She apparently doesn’t have a whole lot of patience  for the natural course of tings.  So, Sarah and Meg are reading and doing the bedtime routine now, and I type away wit the other child tearing apart the recycling on the floor next to me.  Not so bad at all.

Apparently vacation was only the beginning of my unplugged period.  Upon our return from Maine, I landed a knock-out virus that flattened me for the better part of a week.  Just as I was starting to feel better Ella and I headed off to Decatur GA for four days of study leave.  The trip was hard but the time there was well spent.  Now we’re back and gearing up for school and fall.  Miss Meg will start kindergarten on September 4 – unbelievable.  We’ve got all the stuff – the backpack, the clothes, the supplies, the Elmer’s glue, the gym shoes. We’re as ready as we’re ever going to be.  I’m pretty sure this is going to be harder for me than it is for Meg but we’ll be sure to report in.

It’s amazing to me that when I go away – and by away I mean no easy access to wireless – that the world goes on without me. I’m sitting in the cottage in Maine right now, typing this into a word document to be uploaded at a later date because, well, there isn’t any wireless here. I haven’t read my blogs in three days, I haven’t checked my bank balance (that might be a good thing!), and I haven’t checked in at work. I read the Sunday New York Times ON PAPER for goodness sake! It’s a bit odd and yet I hadn’t really thought much about any of it until I sat down with my laptop to write a report that must be sent to the office tomorrow and then I had this yearning to check in on No Impact Man and see what his latest efforts to save the planet are. I found myself wanting to take just a quick peak at Strandblog, Ben and Birdy, and Breed ‘em and Weep just to make sure all my favorite writing parents are still there and I wanted to check in on the women at Sew Green and see if they had any new cool projects to try (I haven’t tried any of the cool projects mind you, but a girl can dream).

But alas, we are unplugged. So instead, we’ve spent our days driving (24 hours and 34 minutes) swimming, eating, swimming, reading, swimming and did I mention swimming? Meg’s become quite the brave one in the water – going out in the deep with just a noodle. Just far enough out to make me hold my breath a little. But so far, I’m holding my tongue. I want her to be a good swimmer and chiding her every other moment to ‘be careful’ and ‘stay closer to shore’ won’t help. Ella loves Maine because we let her run around naked and she LOVES it. My last attempt to put a diaper on her was completely thwarted when she flipped herself over, off the air mattress I was changing her on and out the bedroom door where she grabbed a bright orange sarong and draped it over herself (a la Isadora Duncan) and gave a great yelp of satisfaction.  It doesn’t get much better than that!

Well, it’s official… all the Moores are married. Now we are Moore-Nokes, Moore and Parish and while we do love a good party, I think I speak for all of us when I say, ‘we’re done with weddings and that’s just fine!”

The wedding was lovely – thanks for asking! Everyone who was supposed to be there was there. No one fainted (despite the warm temps outside), no one threw-up (at least I don’t think anyone did), and the only meltdowns of the day belonged to the under five crowd.

The reception was one fabulous party! The band, imported from Chicago, rocked the place for hours and there was much dancing, (drinking!) and frivolity! Late in the evening we managed our traditional “leg’s” picture. I don’t know exactly how it started but… well it’s tradition.

But here’s the picture that I love. Mom snapped it just before we headed up the stairs…