It's October!

So there's a Taylor Swift song where "August slipped away like a moment in time..." Except for me that month was September. I honestly don't know how it's possible it is actually October. 

I have fallen out of step with the writing and even visiting blogs but I am not going to give up now. I just need to rearrange some time to stop by and visit. I am sorry to the friends I have fallen behind on. I will be checking in these next few days!

So a quick recap of some of what we've done. We've practiced spelling words. We went to the back to school block party. 

Husband learned to crochet. 

My parents bought us a collapsable wagon for soccer. (And all the million other things I can picture us using it for.) 

M went to a birthday tea party. And looked quite fancy by my estimation. 

Husband finished his crochet project. 

The moon looked cool.

After a busy busy week filled with things where we were out of the house every evening, and Husband was out of town, I took the kids to Culver's for dinner after theatre and soccer on Thursday. 

Friday was school Mass and my guy likes to sit with me. 

Yesterday was Confirmation and though it was a busy day, it was full of the Holy Spirit and I am so very thankful that it went well. 

My parents were visiting this weekend, since Husband was out of town and they got to do a lot of fun things while I was at work. 

And weirdly, I was going through the box of stuff they gave me, and somehow this little gem stood the test of time. 

So that was funny. 

Anyway, October should be good! And potentially less busy!

Where Have I Been?

Oh friends. Where have I been? It has been an absolute CRAZY week over here. 

Let's start with last Wednesday? 

There was a ladies' night out for work. I went. It was fine, fun to see friends! 

Thursday was the first rehearsal for the kid's show this semester: Annie. I had to go to the parent meeting. The kid you don't recognize in the middle is my bonus kid. We drive her home every day. 

In the busy, I noticed this adorable little flower growing where it wanted to. Beauty is everywhere and God is good. 

That same night, M had her first soccer practice. (Yes this is a picture of tetherball. Just go with it.) I found out AT practice, that they extended it by 15 minutes this year so actually it goes until 7:00. 

I blame only myself for bending on the "one activity at a time" rule. But back to back activities is not working for me. 4 more weeks to go. 

Last Friday was a day. I don't know that I have anything to show for it. BUT last Saturday was the first soccer game. They won. 

And a special Mass, Adoration, and Healing Service. It was really great and I am so glad I went. 

Sunday was the Confirmation Retreat. I got to work at 6:30 am and left at 5:00 that night. It was a long day. But fruitful! 

Monday happened to be an in-service day and the kids had no school. Which was just fine by me. We tested the TikTok where Sprite with a splash of Coke tastes like ginger ale. I didn't believe that was true... but the internet was right. No discernable difference! 3/4 agree. And the holdout liked the Sprite/Coke better! 

On Tuesday we decided to get Crumble Cookies just to celebrate life and to love on the kids a bit. Because sometimes, that's fun to do. 

Wednesday our new couch was delivered!! It looks great, it smells great! I am so excited about it. 

Wednesday was also our first big night at church. We started a whole thing where everyone can come to Adoration, Mass, Dinner and Faith Formation Groups (separated by age). This is replacing our traditional RE. It really actually went well. 

But I did manage to break out in stress hives. This one on my neck doesn't look so bad because it was taken yesterday. But trust me. They were red. Itchy and oh so much fun.

Please enjoy this picture I took of a wall. Yesterday we were on our day-long staff retreat. At our Deacon's "cabin." 

For whatever reason the wall pattern was something I found interesting and soothing to look at. So I snapped a picture. 

It was a good retreat. And now it is Friday. It is another busy weekend but that's okay. I hope you've all been well. I am going to bop around and catch up with what you've all been doing!

A Long Weekend

We had a heck of a weekend. And I don't really have a ton to show for it. We spent our Labor Day weekend deep cleaning. 

It was a total "If You Give A Mouse a Cookie" situation. We decided to clean the carpet. So we moved all the things out of the living room. And then... cleaned the windows, and dusted, and cleaned the vents. 

Here we are watching the "Is It Cake?" finale, on my computer shoved onto the terrible couch on all the stuff that was in the playroom. 

Then after the kids went to sleep... we moved all the things from the playroom to the now clean living room and to get the deep scrub of the playroom taken care of. 

Sunday, after we got home from Mass we decided to tackle the porch. I took no pictures of that. The porch was disgusting. Half the size of the playroom and took almost the same amount of time. When you get down to empty rooms though... the satisfaction of them being clean is pretty nice! 

Here is a meme that made me laugh out loud. Maybe it's not as funny if you're not tired from two full days of cleaning. 

Monday, we figured, why not? So we got to work on the kitchen. We spent hours and hours decluttering, scrubbing, mopping etc. 

Here is a cute drawing M did. I took a picture so I could recycle it. 

Now kitchens, just from life and living get dirty. So we didn't completely completely finish it. There are still some walls that need scrubbing. But we absolutely made a HUGE dent. And it feels so much cleaner. 

Then we went to a pool party with friends to celebrate our hard work. And I took no pictures of that either. Perhaps this wasn't the most exciting weekend but gosh it's nice to look at the totally clean first floor and feel proud!

Happy Tuesday!

So after our crazy heat wave... it cooled off enough on Saturday for us to have a fire. And it was so much fun! We had smores with the kids before they went to bed and then Husband and I sat out and chatted the rest of the evening. 

Watching a fire and chatting is an excellent use of time. I will still happily watch Suits with him any time but it was a nice change up. 

The rest of the weekend was spent working on M's Halloween Costume. Yes, we started early. It's going to be EPIC and I am SO excited about it. 

Yesterday was our first Monday rosary of the school year. I am always the first person down. And it was nice to be back to routine. 

Well except Labor Day will get in the way. And then the following Monday is a school-in-service day. But then we will be back in routine! 

This gal here is giving me a run for my money. So much drama and opinions. 

But she's also been so creative. Look at these little dresses she made out of paper? They're adorable. 

It's amazing, I was driving home from a board meeting last night and that sun was a lot higher and blinding me. But when I snapped a pic... it doesn't look like much at all. 

I could wax poetically about how life is all about perspective but I don't really have anything astute to say about it. 

Today, finally on Day 5... I sent two kids to school in actual uniform! The first two days were so stinkin' hot that C was told to wear his gym uniform. Friday is a gym day so he had to even if it wasn't hot. And so was Monday! 

It's been quite a while since I asked him if he knew where his belt was. And even though he opted for the absolute wrinkliest polo in his collection (I swear I wash, dry, and fold his clothes nicely.) it is still nice to finally feel like we're back in action. 

Both kiddos had homework yesterday. (Easy homework! Like spelling lists and 6 review math problems to turn their brains back on kind of homework.) And even through the drama of the first few days and the homework and everything... I am really excited that things are really back to routine! 

 

Bracelets and the First Three Days

 So for back to school, I made M her very own Taylor Swift friendship bracelet. 

I don't even want to talk about the fact that I was again thwarted from tickets this last round. (Indy isn't that far for us.) I am less salty about it than I was before but I really wanted to take M to see her. 

Anyway, a lucky T. Swift bracelet for my girl to start the year off with was my way of showing her how loved she is. 

The days are SWEATY. The kids just radiated heat when they got to my office at the end of the day. 

But we made it to Friday! 

We soaked in a few more minutes of air conditioning before they went over to school. It's not as crazy hot today but they still have an early out again because there hasn't been a way for the school building to cool off at all. 

This weekend will help! 

Quite honestly, these three short days to kick off the school year have been nice. Starting school is exhausting so having the chance to have some short days to find a routine again is okay with me! We are all looking forward to a cozy Family Movie Night tonight. Now to pick a good movie... 

Happy Friday! 

First Day!

 And just like that, summer break is over and they're off to school. 

Fifth grade. 

Third grade.

Now, it needs to be said, that it's not a particularly awesome first day of school. It is SO hot. And the school has no air conditioning. So it's an early out. 

And actually girls were told to not wear jumpers so I took a picture of her in a jumper at home and then in front of the school sign and then we took it off. 4-8 was told to wear gym uniforms today. K-3 kids don't have gym uniforms so they're rocking polos and uniform shorts. But girls could wear any appropriate length shorts and so M is in gym shorts and a polo... it's not a super cute look is what I am saying. 

We asked Mary to bless their year and to watch over them. That's our candle next to her right foot. 

And the school year is off and running. Even with an early out today!

Rest In Peace

Our original aquatic gentleman has gone on to the great big fish tank in the sky. It wasn't a great surprise, his health had been worsening for the past two months. But we are still sad. 

He was a really handsome betta and so much fun to watch. I would genuinely just go into C's room to watch the fish most days. 

He loved his log. He loved his snail friends Geyona, Chocolate, and Sheldon.

He loved his leaf hammock. 

We had a nice fishy funeral for him and even added some Holy Water to the grave. Jesus was friends with fishermen after all and we don't really know what pet souls need. 

We will miss you Waldo!