Life interrupted

Hello again, dear readers (if there are still any of you out there)!

I am here to announce that I plan to start blogging again. After Nora was born, life got (expectedly) hectic and I decided to give up on it (save for a couple of brief, photo-less posts), and eventually even took the blog down from public view. (I always kept it active, but only visible to me, in the hopes that I might get back to it someday.) Well, that someday appears to be now. I have been reading through the years' worth of posts the past couple of days and it was so much fun to go back and reflect on time gone by. It reminded me of how special it is to document the milestones and funny, memorable moments in my family's life. And how cathartic it is to just write again. It's been a couple of years since I've written anything substantial, but I'm feeling the pull to get back at it, so... here goes!

(And hopefully I can get photos to upload again. I was having issues with that...)

So, just to dive right in, we have moved. Again. We are currently living in Johns Creek, Georgia (near Atlanta) and have been in our new home for about six weeks. So far, I really like it here. There's a lot of things to do with the kids and the town we live in is pretty affluent, so public spaces are clean, schools are excellent, the people are friendly and educated, and life moves at the pace with which I feel comfortable. Things were beginning to feel a little stagnant for us in Muscatine and, although we loved many things about our life there (namely our friends, church, kids/moms groups, and proximity to family), we decided it was time for a change. So, here we are.

We bought a two-story house (which I've always wanted) and did so sight unseen (for me anyway). Ryan was here working out of a hotel since the beginning of June and, although I did come down for one house-hunting visit at the end of June, it wasn't until July that we found one we love. I got to "meet" the house for the first time only hours before we went to closing (a daunting task that really tested my faith in my husband!) and I am happy to say that I couldn't be more pleased with the house. It is lovely and we are having fun adding our own little personal touches. Hopefully I'll have more to share on that progress in the coming weeks.

Owen, who turned 5 in July, is doing very well in pre-K at a nearby preschool. There was a bit of a learning curve for me, adjusting to Georgia's school requirements (primarily their policy that if you're 5 by Sept. 1, you must go to Kindergarden), but we worked it all out and were able to "hold him back" a year, prolonging Kindergarden for another year. We struggle with lots of personality/behavior issues with Owen (these have been ongoing for the past few years), but he is certainly starting to mature and - although he's still quite hyper and LOUD most of the time - we enjoy more and more moments of intelligent conversation with our bright, and quite funny, little man.

Nora is 2 and is just as cute as can be. I am so sad that I haven't recorded all the milestones of her first couple years the way I did for Owen, but I suppose that's often how it goes for second (and subsequent) children. She is always smiling, plays quite well on her own (usually with baby dolls and princess costumes), and loves her big brother. Her vocabulary is superb, just like her brother, and we always get lots of "oohs," and "ahhs" whenever we go out because, I must say, she is absolutely adorable!

That's about all the time I have for now. Just wanted to get some of the basics out of the way. I hope to be back soon with lots more good stuff to share, here in Peterson land (coming to you now from hot and steamy Georgia.) Stay tuned...

Photo dump

Oh my! Did I really go the entire month of September (and the beginning of October) without a single blog post? Um, whoops! Not sure what to say to explain myself...just haven't been feeling the urge to blab on about life, I guess.

A friend suggested that the best way to get back into the swing of it (rather than trying to recall each and every blog-worthy thing that's happened in the past 40 days) was just to go through the pictures on my camera. So, here we go. Here are a few things that we've been up to lately (in no particular order).

Cheering on the Hawkeyes during the big Iowa v. Iowa State game. Too bad Mommy's Cyclones beat those Hawks! Heh, heh!

Owen now sleeps in a "big boy" bed. Really, it's a toddler-sized bed, but he has the freedom to get out of it as he pleases. I really expected this transition to be a huge nightmare since he is often so restless when he first lies down for naps and bedtime. But he took to it right away and — although very recently we've had some issues with him not wanting to nap at all — the past month or so has gone remarkably smoothly.

Here he is the morning after his first night in bed. I snapped three of these photos (with flash) and he still didn't wake up!

And here he is helping Daddy take down his crib. (We left it up for the first week or so just to be sure there wouldn't be any set-backs.)

We planted a tree! We live in a neighborhood full of beautiful, mature trees, however the original owners of our property were apparently not big fans of them because there was only one tree in our yard and it is about as far away from the house as it can be. It actually looks like it belongs to the neighbors. So, we've been hoping to get a few leafy beauts planted and finally, that day arrived. Well, for one anyway. (There's more to come...)

Here's Owen helping Daddy dig the hole...

...and discovering worms! Shortly after this picture was taken, he tried to taste the worm with his tongue. Ack! Gross! I flipped out. But then laughed heartily at my tough little boy who loves to dig, play in dirt piles, and touch worms. I've been dreaming of this day, actually.

This one, taken today, is him standing in front of the new tree — an Autumn Blaze Maple. It will be fun to take a photo of him next to the tree every year to measure how both of them grow. (That's the neighbor's house in the background; maybe I should take this facing the other direction so you see our house instead.) You can see how much the weather has changed in the past week. Pants and sweatshirts in the photos above. Shorts and t-shirts today. Gotta love Indian Summer!

Our day at the zoo with some friends. Funny how playing in the fallen leaves was even more fun than all the animals!

My sister, Rachel, and I traveled to St. Louis for my youngest cousin's wedding. Here's a very blurry cell phone picture from the reception.

And the following day we visited the St. Louis Arch, just for kicks.

Owen enjoyed his very first lollipop. (Photo courtesy of Jackie Petersen Photography.)

And, although he kind of messes up at the end in this video, O knows — and can perform — all the words to Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. He does it often. Love!!!

7 Links Challenge

Today, I was invited by my friend and fellow blogger, Abby at R is for Ronnebeck to participate in something called the 7 Links Challenge. After clicking back through the chain of blogs that led her to this challenge, I learned that it was created (I'm still not sure by whom) to connect bloggers from all over the world to share old and forgotten posts that deserve recognition. I thought I'd give it a whirl.

The rules are this:

1. The blogger who is nominated (me, in this case) must publish 7 links from his/her own blog; one for each of the categories below.
2. The blogger then nominates 5-7 more bloggers to take part, and the beat goes on...

Are you ready? Get set! Here I go...

1. Most Beautiful Post

Of course, it has to be the blog announcement of my precious baby boy, Welcome to the world, Owen! Probably my most favorite picture of all time lies on this page (albeit in a much too small collage of other memory-inducing photos). Here, I'll let you gaze at it again, this time bigger. Ah-mazing!

2. Most Popular Post

This one was easy. I just went through my post stats and found the one with the most comments. This Disney "Dream" Vacation post was the big winner at a whopping 6 comments! I'm so popular.

3. Most Controversial Post

Just a few weeks ago, I wrote this post, Highs and Lows, which sparked quite a bit more discussion (and controversy?) than I ever anticipated. It began as a mere journal of how emotionally draining it can be when you get so personally invested in your child's achievements — both positive and negative not-so-positive. But by the end of it, I was going on about all my "worry/guilt/doubt/fear" issues, which, evidently, struck a chord with some other moms out there. I always appreciate feedback, and — even though my original intention for this post got misconstrued somewhere along the line — I am so blessed to have such supportive family and friends.

4. Most Helpful Post

For me, the most "helpful" post I can recall writing was this one, titled 37 weeks (5:00 a.m.) Nearing the end of my pregnancy (and little did I know just how near I was to the end — I delivered Owen only 4 days later!), I recall waking in the wee hours of the morning in a sheer panic. Even during my pregnancy, when sleep could be disruptive, I have never been the type of person to have such trouble sleeping that I actually get out of bed. (My bed and I have always been dear, dear friends, you see.) But on this day, I was on extreme red alert and, fortunately, jotting down my thoughts in this post helped me to feel a little more at ease. I followed it up with another post a few hours later — after going back to bed, of course — where I recorded feeling "a bit less overwhelmed." Whew!

5. Most Surprisingly Successful Post

Perhaps this one, 18 Months (warning: long post), which, sadly, was given a wildly inappropriate title considering its fairly heavy content that was so difficult for me to share. In it, I discussed a somewhat life-altering episode for this relatively new parent, providing the details of Owen's fall down the stairs and the immense guilt and shame that I dealt with in the days and weeks following it. I didn't even really go into just how harrowing an experience that was for me and how desperately inadequate I felt as a mother. (Let's just say, it was a very rough time for me.) But the comments I received as feedback on this post helped me to heal. One comment by my sweet brother, in fact, made me tear up even as I re-read it now. Touching. And I have moved on, of course. But it was definitely life-altering.

6. Post That Didn't Get the Attention It Deserved

I was a bit surprised that the post titled, What once was lost, but now is found didn't receive a single comment. I know it's not earth-shattering news or anything, but I thought it was pretty remarkable that my missing pair of glasses turned up the very.next.day after getting a new pair (and that was after waiting months for them to turn up.) I mean, that's odd, right? And I think the word that I was looking for in this post to describe this scenario was maybe irony?

7. Post That I Am Most Proud Of

Hmmmm...this one was a little tough. But after reviewing a few options, I have to go with this one, A few thoughts on the past year. Documenting my thoughts on my first year of motherhood was good for my soul. So was going back and re-reading it just now.

On that note, here are the 5-7 bloggers that I am nominating to pay this challenge forward. I won't be offended if you choose not to participate. It is a little narcissistic to bloviate about your own past posts, after all. (Yes, I did just channel my inner Bill O'Reilly.) But who among us doesn't like to go back and revisit our own personal history?

1. Jackie — My baby sister and author of P's And Their Pod. I love this woman like crazy and am so impressed by her newfound talent in photography. Lucky for her she has the most photogenic and adorable baby on the planet as her muse. Watch out for this local up-and-comer!

2. Rachel — My next-in-line sister and author of dot.dot.dot. She is such a strong, giving, and charismatic woman and I am proud to love her! I can't wait to see what the future holds for her as she embarks on a new life journey. Of all the people I know, this tough lady can do whatever she puts her mind to!

3. Mary — My former Muscatine soul-mate and author of Blessed in the Midwest. I was shocked when I discovered how much younger she is than me because I kind of tend to look up to her as a mom who seems like she knows what she's doing (a lot more than me, anyway). I miss having her closer, but look forward to reading her blog and catching up when we can.

4. Rebecca — Another local momma that inspires me by what she can manage on top of having two more kids than me. I love reading her blog, A Beautiful Life and always get a giggle out of her charming way of sharing those all-to-familiar mommy moments.

5. Chuck — Who I know will not be participating, as he is anticipating the arrival of his first child in a few short weeks. Plus, he hasn't posted anything on his blog, Made in Texas, since Memorial Day, so I know what to expect here. Still, I love this guy and am so impressed by who he has become. His wife Randi has had such a tremendous impact on him — their joy for life is evident!

Ah, well I would have liked to have continued the "7" theme going on here, but alas, those are all the bloggers I know personally, so there you have it.

What the {blog} is going on???

UPDATED UPDATE: Yay! Success! Both of the below-mentioned issues have now been corrected (thanks to some kind, anonymous, helpful folks on the message boards. Many thanks!) So, if you are so inclined, you can now go back and browse ALL previous blog posts, dating back to 2008.


UPDATE: After tossing my question out there into Blogger message board land, I received a solution to my main problem (with duplicate posts) that worked! It involved editing some HTML code, which made me feel incredibly techie, but was actually very simple. I am still trying to figure out how to get back all my missing archives, but may possibly have a solution to that problem soon, too. I will be sure to let you all know (because you're waiting on bated breath, I'm sure) if/when that gets corrected.
_________________

Ok fellow bloggers, I need some help. Obviously, I changed the look of my blog a bit (although this template is not likely to stay for long, once I get some things figured out.) Anyway, I was messing around with other templates last night and in the process, ended up with a problem. (Warning: If you are not on Blogger, the following will probably not make any sense.)

Under Design — Page Elements, I now have the "Blog Posts" section (the main meat of the blog) listed twice.

So now, all my blog posts are repeating at the bottom of the screen. Scroll on down now and see for yourself.

For other widgets, you can just click on them and then "remove" them at the bottom of the screen (like this).

But I do not get the "Remove" option for the Page Elements block (probably because it's not a widget, it's the content of the whole darn blog.)

I have no idea how this happened and I cannot seem to get rid of it. Aaahhh! What do I do?

Also, while I'm at it, ever since I switched over from owenryanpeterson.blogspot.com to lettingourlightshine.blogspot.com, I lost about half of my archived posts. On here, it only gives me archives through August 2010. What happened to all the ones from before that (dating back to November 2008)??? They are still available on the old site (which is the main reason why I haven't completely deactivated that one), but I haven't figured out why they didn't transfer over with the rest of them and how to get them to.

Anyone out there that can help me with this?