Happy New Year! Time to get back on the blogging bandwagon!!

They say that the best place to start is at the bottom…

2013 was a dismal year for blogging for me. Not that I want to go back over the years to see in what year I posted the least amount of content, but I’m pretty sure that since I started blogging in 2007, last year had to be the worst year on record for me. 13 posts. Wow!

A couple of years ago, I signed up for the daily blogging challenge, and pulled off more than 365 posts that year, without missing a day! That included getting married, and somehow pulling off a post on my wedding day!

Life is busier now for me, without a doubt. Now, I’ve got 4 young boys, and that on it’s own sucks most of my ‘creative’ energy. By the time they are in bed, I am not far behind them! That doesn’t make for much time with my lovely wife. To be honest, it has been a hard year of trying to connect again with the love of my life.

So what better way to start off a new year than to head back to blogging to feel like I can succeed at something! Maybe if I can jump start my brain with some written prose, it will also invigorate my brain enough to have something new and exciting to talk about with my wife. Parenting a bunch of young kids is hard, and the last thing I want is to slowly drift apart from the woman I’ve chosen to share my life with.

2014 will be better. Today’s the start…

Related articles

• Jumping on the resolution bandwagon (allthingsmessy.wordpress.com)
• Jumping On The Bandwagon (unmannedme.wordpress.com)
• My 2013 in review, or why I sucked at blogging this year (chickennuggetsandelmo.com)
• Happy New Year! (polishedcouture.wordpress.com)

 

Weekly Photo Challenge – Free Spirit

Do you see that look? It is my toddler being fun loving, and free spirited! He’s two, and so full of life! He wakes up most days running and excited to get out and explore! I’d like to take credit for his curious outlook on the world, but I think I have someone else to blame…

His mom. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…

Weekly Photo Challenge – Merge

We are in the middle of a heat wave. Ugh. Have i mentioned I love rain? This summer has been one of the hottest I can remember. I don’t like it, and I’m pretty sure kids don’t like the heat either…So how we beat the heat is head to the local beach by the ocean. At the park they have a kid’s water park! Fun!

The water is SO COLD! It is pumped out of the ocean and filtered. It takes a while for you to get used to the contrast between hot and cold!

I like this picture because it shows my son on the left clenching his fists out of excited anticipation for the bucket of water to soak the other kids. And, knowing him, he is cold! He knows it’s about to shock the kids. Evil grin perhaps?

The picture shows a merger of hot & cold. Water & earth. Kids merging together to get wet. And community merging together to enjoy the outdoors together! I guess the summer’s not that bad…

Weekly Photo Challenge – Movement

Image courtesy of cencina.com

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a local backyard barbeque with some friends. It was the type of barbeque where everyone brought their kids. I brought my oldest and my toddler. The rest of the kids seemed young compared to my 9 year old. He was bored. You could tell he wasn’t too thrilled to be there.

Then luck would have it, a young boy opened up the chicken coup and let all the chickens out! Chaos ensued.

All but two of them found their way back in on their own. I told my oldest he would get $20 for catching a chicken. More out of jest than anything. Little did I know that would light a fire under his feet, and he would chase this chicken for a couple of hours, until it was time for us to go. If there is one thing it showed, he is driven and has a competitive streak in him!

He slept well that night…

Weekly Photo Challenge – Fleeting Moment

Cousins enjoying their root beer floats together…

This last weekend I was privileged to enjoy a great wedding celebration of my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. They are the greatest couple and the party was very different from my wedding a year ago. No stress! It was a low-key event with about 40 friends and family. They had their ceremony earlier in the year, so the dress code suited me just fine! Casual & relaxed! haha.