We Are Blending

It's gorgeous outside!!!  It's the first day of Spring and I'm gearing up to grill and then take the kids to the park, perhaps to fly our new (not so) kite that's been sitting, unused and new, for about 3 years.

I kid you not! It seemed so cool and so wonderful and was priced right at the time.  Made a special trip to get it based on a friend's recommendation - and then it got put away and sits there waiting for someone to take it out to play.

So today, this afternoon, this first day of Spring after a long hard winter in so many respects, I'm going with Dear Fiance to take these kids to the park and to fly.  Pictures might get taken if I can remember the camera.

It's Saturday, it's beautiful outside, and I still have 2 kids at home who want to party with me still.  My oldest is far, far away in the military and will probably ship out soon for a long time.  Gotta make the most of these opportunities while they last.  If you're reading this, love you Son.

If our dogs were to create their own food pyramid, I think it would involve a lot different stuff than we might imagine.

It's raining outside and I'm sitting here at my desk, coffee nearby, wondering how to describe what it is that I'm doing with this project.

My ex-husband is out of the house running errands in preparation for our dinner tonight. At dinner there will be me, my ex-husband (who sleeps upstairs when he visits), two of our three kids (one is serving in the Navy in Guam just recently), my boyfriend, and a long time friend of my daughter's who will be spending the night.

Does anything here look strange? I can tell you that it feels strange, but it also works very well and feels right. Well, most of the time it does. There's always going to be a sense of unreality and discomfort, I suppose, but it's so much better for all of us than the Jerry Springer show styled alternatives. It's not perfect and there are a lot of questions to be answered as we go along, but so far so good.

Three years ago I got divorced while going back to college to earn a second degree so that I could be more marketable professionally. Communcations, my major, is a lifelong passion for me, so getting a degree in it was fascinating, even though the experience of going back to college full time as a single Mom of three is another story for another time. Boy is it ever!

The question is: How does this work, blending the lives of me and my (serious) boyfriend, three kids, and their Dad? And let's not forget all of our common friends and extended family, because since we tend to celebrate all the major holidays and birthdays together, this means that all of us are going to be going out or cooking together.

And while I'm on the subject, cooking is another grand passion of mine. I believe that well prepared food in a pleasant environment has the power to bring people together. This is one of the ingredients that's being blended into this mix.

So I'm going to share about what it's like to bring together a new kind of family, new kinds of partnerships, with a little cooking thrown in, because I can't restrain myself. Besides, maybe in the cooking and the posting and the pictures, you'll be drawn into our little blended family project, if only a little.

Meanwhile, I wish you every happiness and thank you for stopping by my desk. The cappucino there is steamy and waiting to be sipped. Care for a cup?