I Am Woman

I am woman, hear me roar! Yes, like the old school Helen Reddy song. Today I finished a book. A good book.

It's been a long time since I've read a book that I've thoroughly appreciated. I read a lot. But lately, nothing has been that amazing. Or they've been well written but not really my cup of tea you know? This one was a Resse Witherspoon book club pick and I let it sit... because... it's called

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal and that title is not exactly me. But it is so funny, and sweet. It's intriguing and it's about women. There are a bunch of Punjabi widows who do wind up writing some stories but definitely think PG-13 romance in that it's more suggestive than dirty. But the book is about so much more than the widow's stories. And I really enjoyed it.

Then M and I went to get gas and fill up my tire with air. And we hit the grocery store for cupcake liners so we could make my pumpkin muffins! Today fall has really hit, C wore pants to school! The perfect day for pumpkin chip muffins and they turned out beautifully.

Then... M and I went to O'Reilly Auto Parts, and thanks to Google and YouTube I walked in knowing exactly what I needed. (It should be noted that O'Reilly is really, honestly and truly, the closest business to my house so this whole journey took about 10 minutes total, driveway to driveway.) We came home and then, again thanks to YouTube, I changed the rear turn signal bulb in my car all by myself! As someone who really appreciates turn signals, I am relieved that I accomplished it and that when we go to school pick up it will be working!

I am obviously celebrating my mad skills by enjoying a muffin before we have to go pick up C from school. Oh! And I ran the dishwasher so... I'm feeling pretty good about how today has gone if you wanna know.

I am feeling strong! And invincible! And I apologize if I got that song in your head but it's been a while since I've truly felt like I could do anything.

Have a phenomenal Wednesday.

Monday Musings

Our week is off and running. But our kitchen sink is not. Gah! We have a plumber coming later today to help our sink drain. Husband is pretty handy but he did what he could and now it's time for an expert.

I have read an article about how the trade industry is dying and that plumbers are in especially short supply. I am going to be honest with you, I wish I felt called to be a plumber because they are always everyone's hero and apparently are well compensated on average. Alas, my heart lies not in pipes. Seems like a pretty good gig though.

We put up our few fall decorations now that it is actual FALL! M was aching to help me hang them up. We really don't have many decorations. My favorite is our ghostie garland for the kitchen. And our happy pumpkin door decoration.

Both pictures were taken by the resident helper extraordinaire. I can't believe she is going to be 4 in less than a month! My heart! 

After getting out of school early on Thursday because of the heat, I am glad to say Fall weather has really found us. Okay, sort've. It's still getting to the mid 70s, but it's still cool during parts of the days and I like it! 

I have all the ingredients for Billie Jo's Pumpkin Chip Muffins (she says the recipe is from Taste of Home but I've been making them from her blog for years now so they're hers in my heart.) but I don't want to make them until I have a working sink. These muffins are delicious and fall like and it makes a whole bunch! They freeze really well too! 

I also think that this week's breakfast for dinner night (it's a weekly occurrence) will probably be pumpkin pancakes. I am not a big pumpkin beverage gal but pumpkin food is pretty great.

In other fun news, I added a huge box of crayons to our crayon tub today! My kids love to color but they can never actually handle getting them back in the Crayola box so they just go in the bin. But this box came with its own cool sharpener, glitter and metallic crayons and fresh new crayons are so fun anyway. C will be so surprised when he comes home!

That is the goings on of our Monday! Have a lovely one!

Hello Friday

Hello Friday! It hardly seems possible that it's already Friday and yet completely possible? Time is funny like that. Clearly, I have settled into an actual routine now and so life is feeling a lot more in control.

I got a little cold this week, the beginning of school year germ fest you know. Luckily it wasn't anything too bad and with just M home during the days mostly I was able to take the good advice of Daniel Tiger and rest. Delightful.

Also... just to note here, the Chick-Fil-A chicken noodle soup is SO good! And you can get it through the drive-thru so that is a game changer for sick days I do believe. I am a huge fan of making my own soup but when you're not feeling great mostly you want quick and easy.

Our week has been pretty good otherwise. This kid finished his responsibility and organization punch card and got to pick a prize from the prize box. No one is surprised he picked a Mo Willems activity book.

It's fun for me to have both kids in school now. I got the bathroom cleaned yesterday and went grocery shopping. This is M looking at C's classroom. I kinda love that both kids are sort've in the picture but not really. 

My dad sent the kids binoculars and so that has been a real fun treat. Lots of bird watching and looking at things lately. 

We definitely enjoyed our cupcakes from the cake walk. 

And really, that was our week. Happy Fall and weekend friends!

Super Saturday

We had a busy but fun Saturday. M had her very first soccer game ever! 

She played very well! She was a little upset that she didn't score a goal but she got some good kicks in and had good hustle! 

We celebrated by having a Steak n Shake lunch afterward. 

M was very tired, it was back up near 90 with no breeze and the soccer field was HOT. She perked up after her hot dog and milkshake. 

After a restful afternoon, we went to our school's back to school block party. It was amazing! We've never been before and I just don't know why not. With a wristband, you could go on two carnival rides, climb a rock climb, 2 bounce houses, 1 inflatable obstacle course, photo booth, inflatable pitching game, plus Kona Ice, popcorn, hamburgers, hot dogs and beverages! The only things that cost extra were the dunk tank and cake walk.

Both kids won the cake walk and then we gave our friends our last cake walk ticket (Because 12 cupcakes are plenty.) and then they won with our ticket so I guess we were lucky. 

It was a busy but super fun Saturday! I love spending time with my family. 

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

She just cracks me up so much! 

Tuesday Thoughts

I could sit here and write about how I ordered a shirt from a small business and they sent me the wrong one. And how disappointed I've been with the way the entire situation has been handled. 

I could write about how I had book club last Thursday and it was probably the least enjoyable book club night I have ever been to in my almost 7 years of attending because a new member joined and we (she and I) are not going to be a good mix. 

I could write about how C just doesn't like Kindergarten at all and the meeting I have on Thursday with his teacher and principal to see what we can do to make this year successful both with his sensory needs and his academic ones. 

Those are all challenges in my life right now. Ones that bring me to tears and prayer and while they range from the trivial to important, I just can't focus on them too much right now because I will spiral negatively and I just don't want to ruin my entire Tuesday. But since I use the blog as a memory of what's going on I don't want to forget that September 2018 is not without its own challenges.

So instead, while I wait for Aldi to open I am going to think about this girl and her new rainbow hedgie socks. Knowing that underneath that sweatshirt is a Vampirina shirt and she is off at preschool probably having a gay old time. 

I also have no shame about the Costco box of mac and cheese behind her. 

I realistically know that things are going to be fine. Because they are. At some point here, they will send me the correct shirt. (I hope anyway, if not that is what credit card chargebacks were invented for.) Book club will figure it out probably. And school... well I will advocate for my kid to the best of my ability. 

It's all going to be fine. It may not all be perfect but it's going to be okay. It feels so isolating right now. The internet is a weird place. Everyone talks about "their village" and then at the same time the internet is all like:

But you know what? It's okay to struggle sometimes. It's okay to face disappointments. That's called real life. And real life, my life, with my family is honestly my favorite. That little girl. My sweet boy. My husband. They make it all worth it even when they are frustrating me because they are humans.

Happy Tuesday!

Rainy Thursday

It is rainy rainy rainy. And cool.

We did get the air conditioning fixed on Tuesday. (Yay!) Just in time to not need it. But the system sucked out all the humidity in the house and that was such a blessing. The reading was our humidity was at 73% inside so no wonder we were all so uncomfortable.

These days of rain are causing me to be all introspective and homey. I made oatmeal for breakfast this morning. After the kids were at school. I just sat, ate my oatmeal and read my book for book club tonight.

I am also pleased to say that after 4 years of ownership of a water table, we have figured out that by using the lid to cover one side and pulling the plug on the other, you don't have to dump it out after every rainstorm. #obvioustoeveryonebutus

It's hard to believe it's already Thursday but I am so thankful it is. The rain makes me just want to cozy up with my people. I am still getting used to having time to myself but slowly I am sure I will start to utilize it well.

M is just thriving at school. She loves it. She also had her first soccer practice on Tuesday night.

Guess who is the assistant coach? It's me. Which is hilarious. Because I am so unathletic. But I am good with names and kids so there's that. She was in her element at soccer. (I ordered her some different shorts.) I can't wait to see how she will do in a game setting. 

It's crazy how watching your child shine can really change your perspective of something. I am so not a soccer person but I love watching her play. Even at age 3! 

Life is pretty sweet. 

September!

Hello and happy Tuesday!

Our Labor Day weekend was pretty uneventful which is okay by me! We celebrated my birthday on Friday which was nice.

Saturday was super low-key. We went out to dinner at my new favorite place on Saturday night. So the grocery stores here, some of them have Market Grilles which are sit down restaurants. Ours has kids eat free for all of September, plus half-off appetizers before 6, and $5 off steaks over the weekend.

When we go out to eat, we go early. And we took advantage of all the sales and it was good. The restaurant was mostly empty, the way I like it. There are lots of TVs and we went during the Iowa Hawkeye game which we don't care about but it kept it noisier than my kids. (Always a plus!) The whole experience was awesome!!

Afterwards, we went to Old Navy to get M a dress and then to the bookstore. My heart's greatest wish has been fulfilled since my kids think the bookstore is the best store on the planet. We had to get the Miss Nelson collection because the kids had never read them. And I'll give you 25 guesses what C's teacher's name is?

Which I mean, come on! If you are going to be a Kindergarten teacher and you're named Miss Nelson, your Halloween costume is forever figured out. 

Sunday after church we spent the afternoon in the backyard playing water table and swimming pool. I, of course, took no pictures because I was trying to be in the moment with the kids and not have my phone with me. Camera phones were genius and also terrible. But no matter. 

It was rainy and humid all day yesterday! Today we have the guy coming to fix our AC. Finally. It's been out for 42 days. We will all be much more pleasant with it fixed I am sure. Maybe one day we will look back at August 2018 fondly, as the year with no air conditioning and how we bonded together as a family over cold showers and Sunday drives. Time will tell. 

But for what it is worth, I can believe it's September and I am 100% ready for fall! I also love that we are that much closer to the weekend. Schools and work really should always do the 3 days off, 4 days on thing. I bet job satisfaction would skyrocket!