We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers. - I Thessalonians 1:2


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Thursday, June 21, 2012

Moving

I've learned a lot in the nearly five years I've been blogging (holy cow, that's a long time). And I've been contemplating a lot of things in the last several months. All of those things I've been contemplating have led to this: we are moving.

Not into a new house, but into a new home in the blogging world. From now on, you'll find me blogging as One Ordinary Mom at

I hope you'll make the move with us, follow us, put us in your RSS feed. This blog we'll stay up for at least the next couple of months. I'm in the very long, slow, yet enjoyable process of collecting my favorite writings and musings from the last year and putting them into book format. I want to have a record of what I've written here in this space. 

And if you're wondering why we're moving, here are a few of the reasons, most of them dealing with privacy: 
  • I teach middle school. Middle school students are sometimes weird and like to Google their teachers. This blog is connected to both my first and last name meaning that it usually comes up in a Google search. The new blog isn't connected to either and even has a separate email address.
  • In going with the above, I also know that at some point in time, Cate and Brennan might decide to Google themselves. Nothing here will ever be hidden from them (hence the book), but a small part of me is slightly concerned about what their friends or bullies (hopefully we won't have to deal with this too much) might find. I've kept away from the mostly embarrassing and controversial, but still. 
  • None of my pictures here are watermarked. I've learned to watermark and want a fresh start on a new blog with watermarked pictures. I realize I write for a small audience, but I would hate for a stranger to stumble upon my blog and take a picture of mine to use for some negative purpose (like those Craigslist adoption scams you read about). I've mostly good faith in people, and this has never happened to me, that I know of, but I want to be careful. 
  • I attended an educational technology conference right before Cate turned one. At it, I learned that even once a site is taken down, it's cached pages are sometimes kept on record for 5-7 years. While difficult for the average person to track down, they are still there. So I figure that if this blog stays cached in some deep Internet record-keeping place for 7 years, Cate will be 11.5 by the time they disappear for good and in the meantime, they would be hard for anyone to access unless they really, really wanted to (well, once I finish my bloggy book and retire this blog for good).
It's a personal choice and one that Eric and I have discussed at length. I'm not going to flatter myself and pretend that I'm some blogging celebrity that needs to protect her identity. It really boils down to future preservation and changing our small internet identity. I'm very loosely toying around with going back to school for a PhD and Eric may end up back in school for a totally new degree at some point too. Also, he'll be going back into the full-time work force at a yet-to-be-determined date. And again, while nothing on here is embarrassing or controversial, it still is very much tied to our names. Prospective higher education programs or future employers don't need a silly (but meaningful to us) blog showing up should they Google us.

So we're moving, but we'll be blogging as usual, just under a more protected identity. Eric will be blogging as One Ordinary Dad, while I'm One Ordinary Mom and our kids are now just C and B. We're still tweaking the new site, so be patient. But please, if you feel so inclined, update your blog rolls and continue to read. We're looking forward to this leap. And thank you for a great almost five years in this space.

~Melody :-)

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Priceless Disney Smiles!

Our Disney trip was amazing! I really have no words. Just 400 and some photographs + the 127 the Disney Photopass photographers took (and we're suckers and are going to go ahead and order the CD with all of the high-resolution images). My summer project is officially making a book of our trip. It really may take me all summer. This picture below is my favorite non-kid picture that I took. :-)
All I can say for now is that Cate was at the absolute perfect age to go. Everything was real and magical for her. And while Brennan won't remember much, we'll have plenty of pictures. Plus, we're already planning a trip in two years with my parents, so he'll be at that magical age then. Aren't my two Mouseketeers cute?
We ate a lot of food (I highly recommend the Disney Dining Plan if you're going anytime in the future), met a bunch of characters (I recommend meeting as many as you can in parks other than the Magic Kingdom as the lines are way shorter), collected and traded pins, rode rides, swam, and all-out exhausted ourselves.

My Keys to the Kingdom Tour (a birthday present from my parents) was amazing! Not only did I add more Disney trivia knowledge to the already nerdy database of Disney random-ness in my brain, but I got to go behind-the-scenes, under the Magic Kingdom, and see how they make the magic happen. I also got to be an honorary cast member.

We waited in line no longer than 20 minutes for any ride or character. Cate's favorite ride was the teacups. Brennan loved Pooh. Mommy loved Toy Story Mania in Hollywood Studios, and Daddy loved the safari in Animal Kingdom. We rolled into our driveway at 1:30 this morning, with our eyes barely open, but still gleaming with that Disney magic. Cate has played with her Rapunzel and Beauty and the Beast playsets (what she spent her gift card on) all day and is now sound asleep with her stuffed Lady dog (she LOVES that classic movie). Brennan played with his Pixar pals and is now cuddled with Pooh. Mommy and Daddy unpacked, did laundry, and are now headed to bed.

Thank you, Mr. Disney, for a vision that led to the many wonderful memories we made this week.


 ~Melody :-)

P.S. I know an awesome Disney trip planner if you're looking to go. Her services are free and amazing!

Friday, June 8, 2012

Summer, So Far

Summer, so far, has consisted of fingerpainting.

This turned into body-painting for one little guy.

It has also consisted of a visit to our alma mater, Miami.

And the addition of a friend (Lisa is a keeper, Ryan).
We've grilled out, polished off a bottle of wine, visited the library, signed up for swim lessons, read outside on the porch, consumed a lot more coffee than normal, and slept in just a little later. And this is technically only full day #2 off of school. Not a bad start to summer, huh? What has your summer consisted of so far?

 ~Melody :-)