Friday. Finally.

Man, these 5 days of school hit hard. 

We all thought it had been a week by Tuesday. M was talking about how excited she was for family movie night on Wednesday and when we told her it wasn't Friday yet she was shocked. 

It's funny, we never got wildly out of routine this summer. My kids never slept in and though they stayed up later than usual it wasn't crazy or with any regularity. And still... 5 days of school in a row hit hard. 

It was unbelievably hot and humid here this week too. We actually had an early out on Tuesday because of it. And the kids have been in modified uniforms all week: gym clothes. M still hasn't worn a jumper this year. But finally, this weekend the overnight lows are actually low and not in the 80s so the classrooms should cool off. 

This week was also a week of all the things back. Choir. Piano. Honor Choir workshops. Soccer. We are tired. 

I took next to no pictures this week. Here are the only pictures on my phone that are not screenshots: 

If she fits, she sits. I had a big box in my office. So she sat in it. 

She took a selfie apparently. (I had no knowledge of this.) 

I got to use the work credit card to buy 4 roasters. Here they are. 

Obviously, a very interesting week was had here. 

We were all set with fun plans for this weekend but they were canceled. And that's fine in theory. But also disappointing and I don't know what we will end up doing. It's all good. 

Enjoy your long weekend. 

A Baseball Game: Family Fun

The paper I write for has never before given us a perk before. Besides, the paycheck of course. But we were invited to a suite at the ball field and we could all go! Who am I to say no?! 

One of the big perks of my job is having an office at the parish. So we could easily change clothes after Mass on Saturday night without going home. 

M even saw a friend in the crowd and went down to say hello! 

Now, the home team was winning. 7-2. And then somehow they managed to lose that lead in the 8th inning as the other team tied it up. So we went into extra innings. And they lost 7-8 after 10 innings. Kind of a bummer but also was a very interesting game to watch! 

2, 1... And we're off!

 2. On Wednesday morning we did a trial run for school. Everyone, even the grown-ups set their alarms for school year time and got up. (It's me. It was hardest on me. I apparently thrive in summer hours of 9-3.) 

So to reward us for our trial run we went out for coffee, frozen hot chocolates, and beignets. 

Later that evening we went to Dick's Sporting Goods Haus of Sports to buy the right water bottle lid for C's new water bottle. I bought a chug cap, not the straw cap I thought I was buying. obviously. I also bought the personalized bottle and it arrived 24 hours before the "free personalization weekend." Isn't that always the way?! 

Anyway, we got the right cap. All is well. 

Yesterday... I took no pictures of my children. But as the last hurrah, we had ice cream after dinner. Before everyone showered, dried their hair, trimmed their fingernails, and removed nail polish. Basically getting all ready for school. 

The trial run paid off this morning and I only freaked out about being late once. 

Moving on to middle school means he switches to Khaki bottoms. Because of this, it's the first navy shirt he's ever worn to school! (I am not and was not a navy on navy fan.) All of his clothes look way too big on him and I swear to you I bought the exact size that he is. Room to grow I guess. 

M moved UPSTAIRS! And has gym clothes now. I admit, I was a little bummed the first day was a gym day but... it's all good. 

I even made them take a picture pretending they like each other. 

And here goes nothing! I waved to M during her recess and she waved back so I guess that's about as much reassurance as a mom is going to get. 

I know I am in the minority about school starting today. It's legally the first day Iowa schools can start without a waiver. But I genuinely love that they started on a Friday. It's a nice way to ease into it! 

Then a week. And a long weekend. A short week and bam! School will really be rolling. Here's to a good year. 

Countdown Is On!

4! Monday night C had his first choir rehearsal. 

While he was rehearsing we went to the playground and walked around the pond. Look at the extreme algae! 

It turned out to be a very nature-filled evening. We saw goldfinches, bumble bees, a frog, rabbits, dragonflies, and a muskrat. 

3! Tuesday we unpacked our backpacks. So that's all taken care of! 

C and Husband went to see My Penguin Friend. M didn't want to go which meant I missed out. I was unimpressed with that decision but sometimes that's parenting. 

He loved it. Though fair warning he says it will make you a little teary. 

We're squeezing out the last bit of summer! 

The Weekend Recap

I really am trying to blog more regularly. We just don't have that much going on. But we did a few things this weekend worth talking about I guess. 

Friday night Steve Angrisano was in town. We love us some Steve Angrisano. So we had an early early pizza feast and headed out to the Cathedral. 

We started with Mass. Steve played the music, which was delightful. 

Then there was a short break and we got to enjoy a concert. M even danced with him for a few songs.

 And the night ended with Adoration with Steve playing. It was lovely. What a great way to spend a Friday night. 

Saturday we went out to dinner as a family before going to see a show. The restaurant makes chicken tenders in house and you know what? I love chicken tenders. 

I have no shame. I love chicken tenders and chain restaurants. So once upon a time Chili's changed out their chicken crispers and now I will never go to a Chilis again because why bother? That's why I went. 

Anyway, this restaurant is about 20 minutes away but their chicken tenders tasted exactly like Chili's used to and we will definitely go back there sometime. The funny thing is we had planned this outing weeks ago to be our anniversary dinner, with the kids even. And then we changed our minds from the fancier place we were going to go. 

And we had KFC on Wednesday the real anniversary. And then slightly fancier chicken tenders again to celebrate. 14 years really is the year of chicken tenders I guess. 

After dinner we went to the show. 

The show itself was slightly disappointing. It was the kid's first time to this theater in the round and I was expecting it to be a funny little comedy and it turned out to be... just not that funny. 

Sunday was pretty chill. We did a lot of cleaning and prepping for the school year. It was exhausting and we were all overstimulated and cranky when it was over. 

C's room is not completely completely done but it's much much better and getting close!! 

Now... here we are. The tail end of summer. With a few more fun things up our sleeves. 

What's Up With Us? (Spoiler: Not much.)

It's been 2 weeks. I still don't have much to share. 

We went to see Fiddler on the Roof. 

I really like Fiddler on the Roof. This one was just okay. But the Tevye was really good which made up for the okayness. 

The kids went to my parent's house for a week. I went up to join them for a few days. My heart really needed to just be home again. That sounds weird. I haven't lived with my parents in 14 years and it seems like I shouldn't still think of it as "home" and I don't usually. Nevertheless, I really needed some Minnesota time. 

We went out for pancakes. 

Then we went to Ikea. C and M, God bless them, have very different homework vibes. C drops everything and completes his homework immediately. M has a snack, wanders around, complains, and then completes her homework while sighing loudly. 

It's not C's favorite and as he's officially a middle schooler we decided it was time for him to have his own space to work instead of trying to deal with his sister at the same table. 

So we went shopping for desks. Among other things. 

Two years ago we went to Ikea and M liked this bed. She still likes this bed. I still like this bed. This bed doesn't fit in her tiny tiny room where her bed can go. 

We drove home. M took this picture. It's very Iowa to me. 

And here is C's desk all set up. This is before I added his supply drawer thing to the shelf. It has glue, tape, pencils, pens, markers and crayons. Plus a ruler. 

C had a big couple of days. He went to a workshop to audition for the state honor choir. He was called in for his first professional audition. (The picture below.) He didn't get the part but that's okay. It would have been cool but also a lot of hard work and missed school. 

Then he had another audition for a local choir and he did get into that and it starts Monday. 

M got her hair cut. This was the before picture as I was telling her where I thought she should cut her hair to. 

She had differing opinions than me and it's her hair. (And was still within reason of what I would like. Bottom line, she needs it to be able to go into a bun for soccer so as long as it could do that I was fine since it's her hair and she's 9 and gets an opinion on what she wants.) 

And she looks lovely. 

Of course she still looks lovely days later but the salon always does such a nice blowout and air drying just never looks as good you know? 

Mixed in this week was Husband and I's 14-year anniversary. We went to the Vigil Mass for the Assumption, and then I had a baptism class for a couple with a complicated situation where they're racing to baptize their baby before her dad is transferred to a care facility that's quite far away. So our very fancy family anniversary dinner was... Kentucky Fried Chicken. Which I think seems right for our stage of life anyway. 

This made me laugh. 

And really, that's all I know. It's not much. 

Funny Friday!

I took absolutely no pictures of this week. None. 

But I did screenshot quite a few things that made me laugh or smile. 

We've all been following the baby walrus in Alaska closely. You know how C loves Walruses! 

Not even going to pretend this didn't make me laugh out loud. 

This made me chuckle. Since it's obviously the thinking chair. 

This isn't so much funny as it is true for me. Pretty much sums up the last few weeks for me. 

We have been watching a lot of Olympics! And I do love the Olympics! 

I for sure laughed out loud at this one. Is this everywhere? Is the midwest laying claim to something everyone does? 

And this is also so true. 

Anyway... it's August. And that's all I really know. Hopefully something made you smile here too. If not, you're welcome for the look inside my brain today. Enjoy your weekend!