7QT: Let Me Tell You A Tale

one. Woah. I just typed out FIVE takes all about my roof. Which is more than anyone cares. There needs to be a warning here. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES DO A GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH OF WHAT I AM ABOUT TO SAY. I am serious friends and acquaintances. I do not want you to have crazy dreams and fears like the ones I am experiencing.

two. Long story short: we noticed shingles on the ground recently after a storm. Called insurance. Adjuster came out. It was not weather damage, it was creature damage. He couldn't say for sure but went with squirrel. Insurance disagreed based on the pictures he took and guessed raccoon. Which would be in our favor because raccoon damage is covered and squirrel damage isn't. They sent adjuster #2 yesterday and he thinks raccoon. So for past week I have been dreaming of all sorts of roof creatures. And when we were at the baseball game on Wednesday, don't even think that I didn't feel like Rascal the mascot wasn't taunting me a bit.

But hopefully this whole thing officially ends in our favor. I am tentatively hopeful for the first time in about a week so there's something. I should also note here that the damage to our roof is bad but our attic doesn't look a thing like the pictures that have been freaking me out for a week. So, seriously, heed my warning. 

three. The BIG news in these here parts is that C SWAM! This swim session he has had no trouble going under water or practicing his front float. Yesterday he figured out if he kicked during his front float that he would be in motion. So he did that pretty much the whole rest of class. Once he figures out his arms he is going to be a little fish. 

four. I have yet to decide whether or not to send him to the second week of class. One one hand, he loves it and I paid for the class. On the other hand, he doesn't really want to "play soup." It's this dumb game where they all hold a hula hoop and everyone gets to pick something to put in the "soup." Then they chop the water and "heat it up" aka blow bubbles. It goes on forever it seems and while some of the kids in his class still won't put their head near the water, it gets old really fast for my guy who now just likes to swim. 

Playing soup.

five. M acts like such a big kid most of the time and she talks so well that sometimes we forget that she's only 21 months old. So when she puts her hands in her yogurt just to make a mess and laugh that is still developmentally appropriate. We need to remind ourselves. This is me reminding myself. She's such a funny kid! She likes to come and sit with us, but we can only put our hands on her legs because if she feels at all like we are trying to trap her into sitting with us she wiggles free immediately and she's gone. 

six. Last year I wrote about how I was pretty sure the former owners of our house were in witness protection. Now I am even more convinced. We still get a LOT of their mail. (Both personal and business.) The only thing Facebook and Google tell me is that they moved to "Kansas City." Their kids all work for the government in completely different coasts and states. But the weirdest thing is a few weeks ago, one of their relative showed up here looking for them. And then looked completely perplexed when I mentioned they moved to Kansas City. 

seven. This is a big weekend in the world of "things to do." Lots of festivals and events we could attend. But we are staying in and snuggling up. Christmas is July was technically this past Monday but we are doing it this weekend because it's more fun to celebrate when everyone is home. Who wants to make a Turkey dinner on a weeknight? Not I! 

Happy weekend! Linking with Kelly.  

Baseball!

Last night was our annual night at the baseball game! If you're new around here (you probably aren't) Husband's office takes turns sending different departments to the games in the suite and pays for the food. It's one of the perks.

It was little boy Heaven. He was SO excited. First off, we went right away when the gates opened and we rode the ferris wheel. That was a great treat. He has been wanting to for the past few years but this year we decided to go for it. We were the first ride of the night and there was only one other group on at the same time. We went around for a very long time I think because of this. 

We were able to watch the game for a few innings and right away in the first inning a foul ball went out into the parking lot! As it turns out, one of Husband's coworkers was walking in at the time and the ball hit the roof of a car and then landed next to them. They scooped it up. And they gave it to C! And because he was in a jersey, C is convinced a baseball player gave him the ball. Super cute. 

Per a promise we had made earlier in the week, C was also able to get a helmet sundae, which was super exciting too. The helmet fits walrus so...he's a fan. 

Our kids were the youngest by about nine years and they were on their super best behavior. (Not that they are ever horrible in public honestly.) They both did a really good job. We had a really good time. Definitely a perk of the job. 

Chugging Along

Hello! Happy Tuesday!

There really isn't a whole lot to report over here on this end.

C started his second round of swimming lessons yesterday. His teacher is NOT the same as the last session, nor is she even in the same pool. So there's that. He is very close to just taking off and swimming but has done a really good job so far. I am very proud of him.

And M has been a complete gem while we wait. It is hard for her to not get to swim too, and I was worried about it before the class started but she has really risen to the occasion. We walk around and look at the flowers. She still tries to climb the fence and says "Pool please!" but really it has gone well. Certainly we can make it!

Let's be real here for a minute, I have zero qualms sitting in the car with the air conditioning on and let her play kindle for the bulk of the class. But hey, we're already a quarter done with this class and I haven't had to yet! And I would really like to save that for a rainy day since they definitely still have class if there's no lightning!

So that's that.

Camp!

Hello! It's me! We've had a big week here at Chez Snark.

C went to summer camp! Our local YMCA camp has a beginning day camp that is only 3 days long. I am a HUGE champion for summer camp as a former camper and counselor so I was quite excited when I realized he would be old enough for camp this year. They do have traditional camp for 4-year-olds as well, but I didn't think he was quite ready for that. Three days was perfect.

He was so excited! We got his backpack all packed the night before and he was very much looking forward to using his moose lunchbox he got for Christmas.

Husband was in charge of taking him to the bus. C marched on to the bus like a champ! He was ready.

Husband was slightly more hesitant about his day camp experience. I was half super excited and half "how is my baby big enough for camp?" M was decidedly NOT a fan of her best friend leaving her three days in a row.

His counselors were Peter Pan and Blossom. I don't really understand the whole "fake name" thing. (Cue the "back in my day...") But there you have it. C loved camp. They did it all, just like the big kids. Horses, canoes, archery, swimming, tie dye, s'mores but it was tailored at a speed for littles.

His group walking stolen from the camp Facebook.

Today they had a parent picnic so we could go see him at camp and oh I am so glad we did. It was so nice to watch him getting along, going with the flow and enjoying camp. When we first got there for the picnic they were still making s'mores. He was so excited for that. He had been asking for weeks if they were going to have s'mores at summer camp. He looked like such a big guy. We just sat and observed. It was surreal but so good.

He's the kid in orange. 

He made a friend named Leanna, she was a tad older than him. She marched him over to four square during lunch and he waited his turn in the line. When it was his turn, she went into his square with him and coached him along. And the older boys, who had to have been ten or older were so kind and patient. They gave him two turns just for being small. They encouraged him and gave him high fives after he was out.

He is now sleeping in his tie dyed shirt that he is so proud off, incredibly tan and exhausted from three days of fun.

On Sofia the First, the fictional Buttercups (scout) motto is "Buttercups Buttercups make some room. Buttercups Buttercups watch us bloom." And that is what my guy did. He bloomed. I am so proud of him.

The Weekend!

Thursday night, book club was at my house, but I wasn't the host. We discussed The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebcca Skloot.

The plot is this: Henrietta had cervical cancer in the 1950s. The doctors took some of her tumor and those cells are still alive today. The cells have advanced medical research tenfold. Her surviving family has a really depressing life full of tragedy. 

I kept feeling like I was supposed to be outraged by the circumstances in the book but all the money in the world wouldn't have stopped some of the tragedies that her family survived. Nevertheless, we had a good discussion. 

Friday, because my house was clean anyway, I hosted a playdate. We had our friends from our preschool over. We had seen MC not too long ago, but it had been a while since we'd seen J. And I think it was the last day of school when they were all together. It was precious. They clearly missed each other. Everyone had grown in the past month and it was wonderful to see them all play together. 

In the afternoon I kind of just wanted to read, so I found an activity that would distract the kids. I filled up our sensory table with water beads that I already had hydrated. They were playing with them fine but were making kind of a mess on the porch so I just moved them to the patio. The table is usually our inside table but it wasn't outside super long. 

Saturday was the superhero costume birthday party! C was so excited. We last minute (like Friday night while he was sleeping.) got a Captain America mask at Walgreens to add to the look. C was SO excited to go to the party. It was his first "drop over" (drop off) birthday party and also the first time I let him pick out the present. So he was super excited. 

The party wasn't super long and it was on the other side of town. And just when the birthday boy's mom and another mom were convincing me to just stay and hang out, C asked me if I could please go. He was so polite and so earnest so I did. I went to the grocery store to buy sunbutter and then hit a drive through for a cold beverage. 

Then I went back to the party and sat in the car in their cul-de-sac. 

I drank my pop and read a book on my phone. It was a gorgeous morning and I had my windows open. I wasn't super close but the acoustics must have been pretty good because I heard the "Happy Birthday song" and the opening of presents! "Batman! Legos! A Baseball!" It was too cute. 

I walked in only a minute early and caught the end of the pinata fun. 

It was a highly successful party and apparently the birthday boy did, in fact, enjoy the present that C said he would like so that's great! 

Yesterday afternoon I had my other book club. We read Far From the Maddening Crowd by Thomas Hardy. It is a hard read and the main character Bathsheba just makes one bad decision after another. All to come full circle. Blah. Not my favorite book. 

But there were only two of us and so we had a good conversation. We got to know each other better and had a great time! 

A snazzy weekend was had by all! 

7QT: Another Week

one. Swim lessons ended last night! Everyone passed their level! Well, M, in fact did pass, but you have to be three to move to the next level so, she's got another year of her class to go. So by next summer she will probably be teaching the class since this was her second year and she was slightly underwhelmed. She truly believes she's a big kid.

two. C's teacher remained the dud that I believed her to be from the first class, but even got a little worse if you can imagine. I was really upset about it on Wednesday night, because it really felt like she was picking on C. Another parent commented to me about it as well, so I don't think I am being overly sensitive or protective. I was all set to write an email about her but I googled her last night and she just finished her freshman year of high school. So I still will probably write an email, because I do think it should be brought to the attention of the pool staff that she would be better off with older children, but she probably wasn't as malicious as I felt she was being because she's so young.

three. C is THE MOST excited for our Disney World 2017 trip. He is already asking where his "magic bracelet" is. He has been watching all the rides on YouTube and has been making big plans! It's kind of hilarious. It makes me proud but I keep trying to set his expectations low because the kids will be pretty little still. Right now his biggest "must dos" are: it's a small world and Gran Fiesta Tour.

four. Tuesday night my bestie and I headed out to play Pokemon Go for a couple hours. It was really fun and there were a TON of people out. It has also been a good motivator for C. Swim lessons conveniently had like 3 Pokestops, so we'll see if I keep playing with the save fervor when I have to really seek out more Pokeballs.

five. Prime day was incredibly successful. I got the bluetooth speaker, something for each kid, a Christmas gift for my brother and my one splurge item was these Dry Erase Pockets.

I SURE wish we had these during preschool! We used sheet protectors which were so hard to clean. And at $9 that isn't even a irresponsible splurge in the grand scheme of splurges. And they will for sure be used well!

six. I took a small break between the fifth take and now to pay bills. Riveting. This is what it has boiled down to. I just told you I pay my bills. On one hand, that's a good thing, because clearly that means I am being a productive member of society and not running amok. But on the other hand, that is incredibly boring and not even interesting since most everyone pays bills. 

seven. I am not even going to cop out this last take with something like "Linking up with Kelly" or mumbling about politics or the tragedy in Nice. Because that's all so obvious. Instead I will use this seventh take of mine to lament that I still do not have a school supply list for C. The school has the K-8 list out but not for preschool. So... I wait and twiddle my thumbs I guess. It's not a big deal at all but it would be nice to have to spread out my purchasing instead of one big trip.

Okay people, happy weekend!

Prime Day

Today is Prime Day! The second one.

I know that last year's event got a bad rap but I thought it was pretty good. Amazon is on record saying that Prime Day is different than Black Friday because people aren't shopping for specific things. But I beg to differ. Last year, I basically knocked out my Christmas list in July. It was great. 

So I planned ahead and made a list of things I'd like to get for M's birthday and Christmas for the group. Then last night when the actual Lightning Deals were posted for watching I went through. Not a lot of matches this year. Not a lot of toys in general.

The most apropros cake for me I've ever seen. I would not be sad if I got this for my 30th birthday.

A few things. A bluetooth speaker for Husband. I set an alarm and scooped that up at 3:05 AM. More of my watch list went live at 6:45 and I checked the prices and they weren't deep enough sales for me to bite. And they definitely weren't on my shopping list, just things that interested me if they were going to deeply deeply discount it. 

I have a few other items today to watch. And really it's only five that I am seriously hoping to buy if the price is right. 

So I am more underwhelmed this year than I was last. 

But no worries. At least I have a birthday/Christmas list made right?