Friday's Normal

 It's been a whole week already. This seems crazy! And what a week it has been. We had school pictures already. (Which seems really early, because it in fact, was really early.) 

It actually took me by surprise. As in, I knew exactly 7 days in advance. So my kids wore their same outfits from our family pictures because that's all I had time for. And you know what? They turned out pretty cute. 

M had her first soccer practice last night. And it was SO good to be back out there cheering her on. She has her first game tomorrow already, but I am excited for her! I am not expecting a whole lot this season, it's been a year since any of them have played and they've had 45 minutes of practice. But I don't care even a little. I am just so glad they can get back out there as a group! 

I've been thinking a whole lot about the phrase "new normal." Some people, friends, and family included really hate that phrase and I guess, I am not really sure why? Normal has always been a moving target. I think back to WWII where people had sugar rations and victory gardens... and it became normal. I think to when people started switching from radios to televisions... and it became normal. Let's be real: there is no normal. 

So yeah, do some of these changes make me feel uncomfortable sometimes? Are they challenging me to grow? Sure. But some of these "new normal" changes have been good. I personally was doing curbside grocery pickup before COVID. And now they've gotten better at it! And more stores have added it. Yes, I still like to go in sometimes, but isn't great that if I just need snacks for the soccer game and a Halloween dress that Target will bring them to my car and I didn't splurge on 90 other things I didn't need?!

The slower pace of the spring and summer was something to be grateful for. The long and short of it is, I actually really miss my kids. I am so thankful they can be at school safely, and I know that's where they should be. But I actually find myself missing them. And that's such a good thing. It means I am 100% more present to them when they come back to me. 

So when people say things like "new normal" it's kind of annoying that there's a catchphrase, but it just isn't a big deal to me. I am not really in a big hurry to go back to where we were in February. Sure, I miss live theatre. I miss concerts. And hopefully, we can get to a point where those can come back safely. And then we can create an even better new normal. 

Have a great weekend!

Exhausting

 I was wrong! 

Originally, I was not super happy that we delayed the start of our school year by 2 weeks. But man, am I ever glad we started with a 4 day week instead of the full 5. 

I am exhausted. And I am not even the one going to school! Suffice it to say, my kids are feeling the tired deep into their bones. It doesn't help one bit that the weather has been cold and dreary all week. They really only had outdoor recess one day. 

Next week it's supposed to warm up to normal and be sunny, we are all ready for that! 

But so far so good! 

M and her friends at Recess.

C's room! I think they're actually the full 6 feet apart or very close to it! 

M's room. She said her favorite thing about the first day was rest time. This kid hasn't taken a nap in years! But she liked to not sit in her chair and not wearing a mask. 

Trying on her cardigan that came yesterday. I wasn't prepared at all for the cold week. I had summer clothes all ready to go! I still haven't gotten M leggings yet for under the jumper. So there's been a lot of sharing of school sweatshirts and hoping the rain kept them inside. (It did.) 

The week has been good though. It's nice to find our rhythm again, even if we are all so tired. 

We are ready for a cozy family movie night. I may make pajamas mandatory so we can all just snuggle up and relax completely. 

Have a good weekend!

Oh Hi School! I Remember You!

 

On a stormy morning, after 180 days home, my kids went to school. And my baby went off to kindergarten without even looking back. (Which is good because I was definitely crying.) 

I am so thankful they were ready. And honestly, I am too. It's just the first moments of realization that hit a little hard. I hope and pray they can stay in school for a while at least. And that they're having a good time. 

The house is very quiet. Which isn't bad. But it's different. 

Unpack Your Backpack

 Yesterday we had Unpack Your Backpack. 

It was so wonderful to be back in school! 

I feel good about this one going to kindergarten. I just love her teacher already! And the aide is super sweet too. 

We aren't allowed to get our of our cars on the first day, so her teacher made this sign so all the moms could get their special pictures ahead of time. I will for sure be having my kids get in their uniforms on Monday so we can go take pictures by the school sign. 

This dude is ready for second grade. I am so excited for him! 

I can't believe it's finally here! My heart can't take it. But at the same time, I am just overwhelmed by how good it's going to be and their excitement. 

Now one last summer weekend! 

Summer Milestones

If it's generally accepted that Memorial Day kicks off summer, and Labor Day ends it, then my kids accomplished some milestones I am super proud of this summer. 

The weekend after Memorial Day C kicked his training wheels to the curb. 

And I was so proud. He has to work just a little harder than most kids to accomplish these things and he didn't even get a bike or have an interest in riding one until last summer. 

And then this past weekend, before Labor Day, M also joined the no training wheels club. 

And I was so proud. For her, riding her bike was a mental struggle. She has a pain tolerance of -2. So the prospect of falling and scraping her knees was enough to prevent her for a while. 

But there they are! Two kids who can ride their bikes. It's one of those typical kid milestones that I am excited we've checked off the list! 

Wrapping Up My Jesus Year

 33 was good to me. 

People call it their Jesus year. A year of personal growth. 

And boy was that true. 

In this past year, I have relaunched my career life in an even bigger way that worked best for my family. In my own time, so I can still be present. It wasn't always easy in pandemic times, but it's been wonderful to contribute again financially. 

In this past year, I have grown spiritually. Drawing closer to Jesus and my faith community. I even managed to stand up and talk for 30 minutes about my faith in front of a lot of women in what was truly one of the most meaningful weekends of my entire life. 

I have deepened friendships, read a lot of books, watched a lot of shows. Both live and on screen.

Fulfilled some dreams and dreamt up some more. 

33 was a good year. 

And I am excited to see what 34 will bring. 

Walking out of this Jesus year hand in hand with my love, no real clue what's ahead but I've got reasons to celebrate anyway. And I love birthdays. 

The First Big Outing

 We took the kids on an outing on Saturday. 

Since March, C has been to Home Depot once. M went to Target once. But that was a long time ago now. We went to the museum once, without Husband. We have been to Mass. And playgrounds. But that's it. 

So we decided that it was time to try a full family outing. And we are so glad we did. 

We went to see a children's show that was less than an hour long. We sat at a table 6ft away from other guests and the capacity was limited. 

We bought these tickets on a whim a few weeks ago and I think we were probably the first tickets sold since we we in the front row center. Which was absolutely perfect! 

After the show, M wanted to take her picture with Rapunzel. (It was Rapunzel in the Wild West) I will say that the Wild West theme worked well since everyone in the cast had their bandana mask and it was thematically appropriate. The whole experience felt very safe. 

Afterward, we went to Red Robin for Linner. It was 2:00. The kids have been wanting to go out for a long time and none of us had been to a restaurant or bar since the virus started. Husband has gotten us take out but that's all. I had my birthday burger to use and we figured that it was as good as time as any to try eating out again. 

Because it was 2:00 there was almost no one there. (Masks were required until you were at your table.) So it also felt very safe. And more importantly, it was so nice for us to do something as a whole family. We really needed that. It felt so good and normal. 

And now we are enjoying our last 2 weeks of summer. Today would have been our first day but they pushed it back. That was actually why we bought the tickets to the play, we saw our school's play on March 12, right before Spring Break was going to start. So we figured seeing a play right before Spring Break Summer ended was appropriate too.