...meanwhile back at the ranch...

So...long time, no blog. Back in August, I said something crazy like "both my kids will be in school two mornings a week! I'm going to have sooooooooo much free time!"

Protip: never say things like that. Eating your own words just isn't all that satisfying.

BUT! All kinds of good stuff (and crazy stuff) happened this fall. My oldest started kindergarten and I am so in love with his school! We are beyond blessed to have the kind academic and social opportunities we do at our local public school. He gets to walk to school with the other neighborhood kids. It takes us an hour to walk the half-mile home in the afternoon because all the kids are hanging out and talking. It's a brilliantly diverse school too. He's living and learning and laughing with kids of different racial, ethnic, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds from us. We can teach him the value of diversity, but he gets to live it. He gets to see it in the faces of his friends. It's beautiful. AND he's learning to read, which is basically like watching a kid discover magic. It's amazing.

With kindergarten and my youngest off to her first year of preschool (which is also amazing), I launched into edits on THE TRICK TO LANDING (insert awkward self-promo: available for pre-order now). Oooph. This book fought me, but in the best way possible. I wanted so badly to tell Summer & Bastian's stories well and Meredith, my amazing editor at Bloomsbury Spark, made that possible. I am really proud of how it turned out (and that cover!!!! It makes me so happy) and I cannot wait for it to release on February 16.

While I adjusted to kindergarten & preschool, edited a book, wrote and submitted a couple huge grant application packages for Sound Art, and kept myself/my marriage/my house from falling apart, I also go an up close and personal look at exactly how messed up the foster care system in Los Angeles is. In all seriousness, this situation might be the worst heartbreak of my life. I learned and grew so much through it, as did my family and our friends, but wow. What a mess. Life will never be the same for any of us, mostly in good ways. I certainly see the world through different eyes now.

Throw in a couple illnesses, my husband's knee surgery, a trip to urgent care with yet another head injury for my 5yo (but, hey! At least no concussion this time!), a lot of personal growth and uncertainty about the future (like, what state we'll be living in next year) and it's been the exact opposite of the relaxing "free time" I imagined. But isn't that how life goes? Here's to hoping 2016 will be quieter!