I’ve missed this.

You would think that after nearly seven years of bi-weekly columns about parenthood and raising kids in Western New York, I’d be a little tapped out. I’ve written about potty training, lack of sleep, my son’s heart surgery, helping kids deal with loss and tough questions and the challenges of having a child with special needs.

I’ve written about the Wiggles, Thomas the Tank Engine and the infectious source of earworms that is “Phineas & Ferb.” I’ve penned my own version of “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.”

I’ve gloried, as a self-proclaimed geek mom, in my boys’ love of Star Wars, their first trip to a comic con and the experience of reading the first Harry Potter book to my youngest.

I’ve tried to educate people on things (preferably inexpensive things) to do as a family in Western New York. I’ve tried to open a window from our world, to yours.

And I can’t be happier to be back for more.

Over the past three months, it seemed that every time I turned around, I was thinking, “That should be a column.”

• Younger son learning the unfortunate, but necessary, lesson that sometimes people are just plain jerks. (And often, you can’t do anything about it. And that stinks.)
• Older son’s quirky insights about … well, just about everything.
• How cool it is when your son wants you to read “The Hobbit” to him … and loves it.
• Under the “kids say the darndest things” category: “He hit my elbow with his face!”
• Boys and burp jokes. Sigh.
• When is it OK for a superhero-loving, fairly mature 6-year-old to watch “The Avengers?” (Still under consideration.) What about “Jurassic World?” (Oh, heck no!)
• And what the heck is this thing called Minecraft, anyway?

I might still touch on a few of those topics. (Minecraft, for one, isn’t going away in this household any time soon.) But there’s always plenty to write about.

And with glorious, glorious spring finally here, we’re going to get out of the house as much as possible … and I can’t wait to report on what we find to do in the area, from the first family trip to Old Fort Niagara (where I spent much time as a young reporter) to local festivals and concert series.

If you’d like to suggest something for the Keppeler family to try out, please let me know. If you like to suggest any topic at all, let me know. I make no guarantees, but I’ll take it under consideration.

One that note: To kick off this gorgeous spring weekend, we spent Saturday at one of our favorite places in Western New York, Martin's Fantasy Island on Grand Island. It might not be as big as Darien Lake, but it's also not as expensive, and we find the rides to be far more fitting for the stages the kids are at right now. (The Silver Comet makes a great starter "real" coaster.)

The park is open weekends (and Memorial Day) through the end of May. For hours for the rest of the summer, see www.martinsfantasyisland.com. If you haven't been in a while, we suggest checking it out.

Hope all the moms out there have a wonderful Mother’s Day. May you not have to hide in the bathroom to get a few moments of peace. (And if you do, I hope you have a glass of wine and a good book with you.)

Jill Keppeler is the happiest parent in Western New York that it’s finally nice and the kids aren’t cooped up in the house. At least, she thinks so. Follow her on Twitter @JillKeppeler or email her at jillmkeppeler@msn.com.

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