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Tap, Tap, Tap...Is This Thing On?

I miss blogging and am craving an outlet for my rambling, you guys. Life updates, stream of consciousness, a way to get all of the thoughts out of my head and into semi-cohesive sentences....I miss it all. So please oblige me as I type away without a real topic.

I've been blogging at this domain since 2007. For nine years this corner of the internet has been mine, and it began as a place for a newlywed in a new state to update friends and family on life happenings. In those nine years I've changed as have my posts. There have been new jobs, three children, a new house, thoughts on motherhood, finding a balance with all of the roles I hold, and a million other stories that I enjoy over-sharing with strangers. I love the feedback I get from my readers. I feel a strong sense of 'I totally get it, I'm going through that, too,' with you guys. Blogging is certainly not for everyone and yes, it's sort of 'out' compared to all of the other social media outlets these days. Probably 90% of my blog friends are no longer blogging at this point. There are plenty of big wigs out there, with beautifully groomed photos and helpful posts, still utilizing their blogs for a specific business purpose. But the average 'let me tell you about my life' blogs seem to be dwindling if not extinct. I am basically a geriatric blogger at this point, but I'm owning it and moving forward in my archaic state.

I am not tapping out from my blog days just yet. I certainly don't feel the pressure to post every day or even every week, which is freeing and fits in much better with my other responsibilities. But I want to mention the fact that I still value this space and hope to write more often.

Life is good lately. It's wild and hectic and ear-piercingly loud, but it's good. I've been feeling antsy at my job, after being there for five years. I'm not sure what the next step is with my career but I feel like I can offer more than what I'm doing currently. I just don't want to lose my flexibility and I don't want to work full time....so there's that. ;)

We are talking a lot about building an addition onto our house, so much of my days at home are spent calling and emailing contractors, architects, banks, loan officers, etc. It's super exciting and also terrifying.

Nate is on track to launch his own business, finding his passion in his career. He's already dropped his hours at his primary job to make room for his side gig that will hopefully become the main gig. His focus will be on golf, and specifically Physical Therapy for golfers (but also non-golfers, can't be too exclusive). He really wants to make golf for kids a huge thing in our area, so Juniors development will be a main goal. I am so stinking excited for him and of course a little nervous because starting a business is a total leap of faith. I have faith in Nate though, he is truly one of the best Physical Therapists in our area and his patients are obsessed with him----a really great start. Shameless plug: if you are local and know anyone who loves to play golf, is injured, or wants to improve their game you should absolutely check out Pure Golf Performance. The website is a work in progress and I'm attempting to be their social media manager, so any support would be much appreciated. (End of plug).

The kids are getting so freaking big it's just disgusting. And awesome. But it still makes me a little panicky when they keep growing out of their pants in a single season. Truman is literally up to my chest. Cecelia is 95% legs. Porter is 0% baby and 100% two year old boy. See, this would be a nice topic to divide up into separate blog posts, but for now I'm just going to show you some of the DIY photoshoot I did for our Christmas cards. I'm pretty stinking proud of how the images turned out. Top secret tip: bribing them with Halloween candy still works. Capitalizing on nice sunshine at 11am in our backyard, along with some new semi-dressy outfits (thank you, Hanna Andersson), I asked them to take a few pictures with me and they totally knew there would be a sugary reward to follow. We didn't do professional family pictures this year but I'm confident one of these will be just fine for Christmas cards. To show that Nate and I still exist, I'll probably slap a family selfie on the back and call it a win. But these three kids? Showstoppers. I'm throwing it back to 2013 and asking for votes on the best photo for our cards, please!

(1)
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(2)
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(3)
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(4)
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(5)
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(6)
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(7)
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(8)
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(9)
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(10)
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Tough call, right?

There are more words to share on the subject of life, but a certain Junior Kindergartener is getting out of school soon. And a certain two year old is stripping down in the corner and might need a diaper change before we go. It's currently 39 degrees and windy outside, which means multiple layers of winter gear and an extra 10 minutes with every excursion. Better be on my way, but it was nice to chat with you again.

54 comments:

  1. i love the third one down. Porter's chicken wing!

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    1. Ha, didn't even notice the wing. I think Cecelia was ticking him and he was resisting.

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  2. That is a difficult choice! I like #6 the best with #5 close behind.

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    1. Those are two of my favorites, too. I suppose I could change more to B&W for effect but I'm a sucker for color.

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  3. #1 jumped out at me!

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    1. It was one of the very first ones I took, too!

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  4. Holy moly!!! This was awesome! I miss your blog like crazy! Thanks so much for checking in!

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    1. Thanks! I'm glad someone misses it like I do.

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  5. Commenting on blogs might be even more "out of style" than blogging, but had to come here and vote for #5! So much joy!

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  6. Valid point, commenting is the WORST. Thanks for taking the time to do it.

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  7. My favorite is #8. Their joy is contagious and seems fairly spontaneous. #9 makes me think one (or both) of the boys tooted and C's face reflects that. Haha.

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  8. I absolutely love #6 - but they are all precious! :)

    www.natyouraveragestory.com

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  9. I like 1 and 3...super cute!!

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    1. Thanks! I could always put more than one image on the card, too.

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  10. I'm glad you're still blogging, I've been reading since Truman was a baby -but I don't think I've ever commented somehow! I vote for #5 :)

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  11. 5 and 7 are definite favorites, though it's hard to choose when your kids are so cute!

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    1. Aw, thank you. I really really like #5, too.

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  12. ´ve been following your blog since you were pregnant with Truman and I miss all the other bloggers that have disappeared with time. I miss the real stuff on blogs! About the pcitures, all of them are great, but for a Xmas card I would go for #1 and #6!

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    1. I miss the others, too. Let's start a movement and get them all back!

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  13. I love your blog and have followed it for years. I love #1 and #6 !

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    1. Thanks for following along and for the vote.

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  14. MODELS! Oh my goodness they are cuties, I vote #3!!! T's hand on P's head is killing me and I love how C is hugging them both!

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    1. They were super touchy-feely during this 'photoshoot'---bordering on too much intensity, but it worked. Thanks!

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  15. They are all fabulous, but 5 and 6 are my faves. Thanks for still blogging like this. I tapped out long ago, but I still love reading you and all the others who have stuck with it, however sporadic posting is.

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    1. Thank you! Sporadic is the right word, for sure.

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  16. #6! They are all great though!

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  17. They are all so cute! #5 is definitely my favorite:)

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    1. 5 stands out to me, too--it's my backdrop on the computer right now;)

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  18. I vote number 1 and dang you have some cute kids!! Glad to see you checking in on the blog :) Happy Thanksgiving!!

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  19. My favorite is number 5. Oh, Julia, your kids are so darn cute!

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    1. Thank you, we are pretty smitten with them, too;)

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  20. #1 and #3 are my faves. These turned out SO GOOD!

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    1. Thank you, I agree----I was shocked that I got so many with all three even looking in my direction!

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  21. Hiiii fellow geriatric blogger! Love these types of check ins. I get so bogged down in trying to blog about just one topic at a time that I just don't blog at all. I just need to do one of these types and be done with it.

    All that said, 5 and 1 are my favorites. Can't lose with any of them though.

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    1. (Geriatric fist bumps). Just do the hodge podge post, it feels so good.

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  22. Another vote for #5 or #6. They all look so happy��!!

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  23. 3 & 6 are my favorites, but I also love 7 because they're all cracking up and for me it just represents all the awesome parts of having siblings!

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    1. Yes, they really are exuding the best parts of sibling-hood!

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  24. Yes dear girl, please keep blogging!! You are totally my fav blogger!! Proud of Nate too :). I'm from a family of entrepreneurs and love small business!! Also, I pick 8 ��

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    1. Thanks, lady. Entrepreneurs are a special type of people.

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  25. 2, 3, or 5! 5 is my fav. Such good 3-smiling-kids holy grail pictures! I've been missing your blog too! You have such a great writing style- like talking to an old friend! I've learned so much from you over the years, too-- we are same age but I have kids born 5/18/12, 7/8/14, and now #3 is almost 4 mo old. Regardless of how infrequent it's fun to get a glimpse at life w/3 for someone else. Good luck with the house addition :)

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    1. Thanks!! And good luck with baby #3, the older two are so close in age to my younger two!!

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  26. Long-time reader, first time commenter here . . . I'm so happy you are continuing to blog! I found your blog when I was pregnant with my first child and have enjoyed it ever since. I value your advice and love seeing your pictures! I'm now pregnant with my second and check back on your old bump updates often, so I'm relieved you haven't quit. As for Christmas picture options, that first one is fantastic :) Thanks again for sharing all that you do, and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

    Jenny (a working lawyer Momma from New Orleans)

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    1. Hi, Jenny, good to hear from you! Best of luck with baby #2, you got this.

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  27. #1 or #7 - everyone is looking at the camera and the others where they are standing the height difference is too distracting to me. They sure do have pure JOY on their faces in all the pics! I have been blogging since pregnancy w/ #1 (started almost 8 years ago), and I still enjoy it and love that I have stuff documented that I would NEVER remember without my blog. So even though I know it isn't as 'cool' as it once was and I get less comments and less comments, I still do it because I know I will appreciate the memories! I LOVE how detailed you are too - I am a very detail-oriented person and love reading your posts. I have gone back and read a ton of your pregnancy posts and all your birth stories as I gear up for #1 (38 weeks tomorrow)!!

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  28. When I started reading this, I was so worried you were going to say you were done blogging! I'm glad to hear you're hanging around. Like many others here have said, I have referred to your old posts through both of my pregnancies. You should sell this to BabyCenter because your posts are FAR more helpful than any of the other info out there! :) Anyway, I appreciate you over-sharing because it's nice to read about people going through similar experiences in life. Your family is adorable and all the photos are great - love the smiles in #8 the best, I guess. Thanks for keeping blogging alive!

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Thank you for taking the time to comment on my blog. Sorry that commenting through Blogger can be a royal pain. I'm glad you are commenting despite that, and please email me if you are having issues.