1. This sweet, amazing boy became the last one in our family to start school this year. He is at St. John's CDC this year. (Yes, the first time in 7 years that none of our kids are at St. Elijah's. In theory, it is closer... but I'm suspicious). He has a very cool classroom and the staff all seem wonderful. He has done great at school and loves playing with cars, the class fish, and the elephant slide on the playground. He also seems to be loving the group lunch there (I am loving one less lunch box to pack). He had been very excited about starting school on Monday until he learned that he isn't attending school with his siblings. There were many tears. He has rebounded fairly well and I'm optimistic about his year to come, much more optimistic I am than about how much time I'll be spending commuting to work from my own home.
2. I began my extended work hours today. It felt long. I did feel productive. I think the time is probably right for this new challenge, but also sad to miss any moment of snuggling and playing with that adorable boy above. We do get a little one on one time before the big kids get home, but not a ton.
3. 3rd grade is in full swing now complete with multiple layers of homework each night and near daily emails from B's teacher updating parents on "all the things" we need to keep up with for class. The schedule is settling in and I "think" B is making some friends. The bus ride is apparently very entertaining as I hear a lot about that each day.
4. M is a constant bundle of excitement. She isn't doing any difficult work in Kindergarten, but is making friends, and full of stories and songs. I hear the most about recess, music, the bus, and the current fund raiser. I think the school work itself so far is super easy, but she does seem to be learning the general ropes of how elementary school works, which is sort of the point of Kindergarten.
5. She took her first ballet class in a couple years this week -- with her BFF from school and sunday school. She immediately wanted to add the Jazz/Tap class that is right after it and I agreed. I admit I ponder all the things I can do with 1.5 hours to myself--- the likely answer is either groceries or go running.
6. My sister and I did the Moonlight Run downtown on Saturday evening. We may have not "quite"managed to start with the crowd, but we managed to join them and had a great time together. It is a great relief to run with someone who is close to my pace. I also love running through cities in general. We had a great time and I hope to do it again some month when we aren't at baseball.
7. Little League Fall ball started this week. At the very last moment, the Falcons ended up with a total of eleven players! (As of Saturday they had 8). This is great as it means there is a person for every position on the field and occasionally someone gets to take a break or could miss a game. It is a season of great transition both in team membership, but also in game play. They moved up from machine pitch to kid pitch, and to a larger field. The pitching isn't that great and the kids are just learning how to judge whether to swing or not. B did a great job, but ultimately struck out on his first at bat. It was nice to get to see some of our old friends from Angie Debo and enjoy a lovely evening, but just way too late at night by the time the game ended around 9pm. I'm hoping the game play improves, but also very curious about how kids will function on this little sleep at least one day per week. B seems to still have a great time and the other kids enjoy playing along the sidelines. Here's to a great season and learning a lot!
8. Last week, I took E to the zoo. Just the two of us. I am fairly sure we've never done it before. It was totally different. He spent much more time just watching each animal and has a much different pace. Our visit was totally inefficient as we walked back and forth past the lions (his favorites) many times, but fit in lots of animals. We ended it with a new Cheetah stuffie and a very happy boy and mama. I just love his sweet self at this moment (at all times when we're not fighting over potty training). He is so snuggly and wonderful. He adores one-on-one anything. Tonight, we played catch in the front yard/drive way for 30 or so minutes. Nothing big and sometimes I was just watching, but he was so happy and excited. I'm grabbing the moments whenever I can as I know they are flying past, but it does make me miss some of the ones I give up with more work hours. It is what it is and I'm so glad for all the time we do have together.
9. We've gotten to spend lots of time with the Korenaks lately too, which is awesome. Sometimes we go to the park, pool, or to lunch. Other times we're just riding scooters in the drive way or having dinner at one house or the other. Having church and Sunday School together weekly is awesome and a built in time to just talk and hang out. Living so close to my sister is a big bonus to the new location. I did get to see my brother this week too for coffee and a little catching up on Monday. My mom has also been staying with us more often, which is so lovely on a multitude of levels. There is a reason so many cultures live multi-generational lifestyles. It is great for everyone involved.
10. House projects - The new house comes with a multitude of new projects and projected purchases. We spent quite a lot of time this weekend on budget and planning for the next year to 18 month of big projects and purchases. It feels better to have a plan and to work through that plan in a responsible way. We left room for the smaller things to evolve across the year and I'm looking forward to checking some of those off while being patient about the bigger things. Today - I installed a Cooking Pot Lid Rack, Key Hook, and organizing thing in the pantry. Little tiny projects in the grand scheme of things, but just little things that make life easier or less chaotic. The great thing about being in a home we plan to stay in for quite awhile is making it our own with all those little things. My next little project is lights in the pantry on a motion sensor and maybe getting around to the hand rail in the garage. The big purchase du jour was two new sitting chairs for the living room as it definitely needs more seating. Now, I just have to wait until November for them to arrive.....
2. I began my extended work hours today. It felt long. I did feel productive. I think the time is probably right for this new challenge, but also sad to miss any moment of snuggling and playing with that adorable boy above. We do get a little one on one time before the big kids get home, but not a ton.
3. 3rd grade is in full swing now complete with multiple layers of homework each night and near daily emails from B's teacher updating parents on "all the things" we need to keep up with for class. The schedule is settling in and I "think" B is making some friends. The bus ride is apparently very entertaining as I hear a lot about that each day.
4. M is a constant bundle of excitement. She isn't doing any difficult work in Kindergarten, but is making friends, and full of stories and songs. I hear the most about recess, music, the bus, and the current fund raiser. I think the school work itself so far is super easy, but she does seem to be learning the general ropes of how elementary school works, which is sort of the point of Kindergarten.
5. She took her first ballet class in a couple years this week -- with her BFF from school and sunday school. She immediately wanted to add the Jazz/Tap class that is right after it and I agreed. I admit I ponder all the things I can do with 1.5 hours to myself--- the likely answer is either groceries or go running.
6. My sister and I did the Moonlight Run downtown on Saturday evening. We may have not "quite"managed to start with the crowd, but we managed to join them and had a great time together. It is a great relief to run with someone who is close to my pace. I also love running through cities in general. We had a great time and I hope to do it again some month when we aren't at baseball.
7. Little League Fall ball started this week. At the very last moment, the Falcons ended up with a total of eleven players! (As of Saturday they had 8). This is great as it means there is a person for every position on the field and occasionally someone gets to take a break or could miss a game. It is a season of great transition both in team membership, but also in game play. They moved up from machine pitch to kid pitch, and to a larger field. The pitching isn't that great and the kids are just learning how to judge whether to swing or not. B did a great job, but ultimately struck out on his first at bat. It was nice to get to see some of our old friends from Angie Debo and enjoy a lovely evening, but just way too late at night by the time the game ended around 9pm. I'm hoping the game play improves, but also very curious about how kids will function on this little sleep at least one day per week. B seems to still have a great time and the other kids enjoy playing along the sidelines. Here's to a great season and learning a lot!
8. Last week, I took E to the zoo. Just the two of us. I am fairly sure we've never done it before. It was totally different. He spent much more time just watching each animal and has a much different pace. Our visit was totally inefficient as we walked back and forth past the lions (his favorites) many times, but fit in lots of animals. We ended it with a new Cheetah stuffie and a very happy boy and mama. I just love his sweet self at this moment (at all times when we're not fighting over potty training). He is so snuggly and wonderful. He adores one-on-one anything. Tonight, we played catch in the front yard/drive way for 30 or so minutes. Nothing big and sometimes I was just watching, but he was so happy and excited. I'm grabbing the moments whenever I can as I know they are flying past, but it does make me miss some of the ones I give up with more work hours. It is what it is and I'm so glad for all the time we do have together.
9. We've gotten to spend lots of time with the Korenaks lately too, which is awesome. Sometimes we go to the park, pool, or to lunch. Other times we're just riding scooters in the drive way or having dinner at one house or the other. Having church and Sunday School together weekly is awesome and a built in time to just talk and hang out. Living so close to my sister is a big bonus to the new location. I did get to see my brother this week too for coffee and a little catching up on Monday. My mom has also been staying with us more often, which is so lovely on a multitude of levels. There is a reason so many cultures live multi-generational lifestyles. It is great for everyone involved.
10. House projects - The new house comes with a multitude of new projects and projected purchases. We spent quite a lot of time this weekend on budget and planning for the next year to 18 month of big projects and purchases. It feels better to have a plan and to work through that plan in a responsible way. We left room for the smaller things to evolve across the year and I'm looking forward to checking some of those off while being patient about the bigger things. Today - I installed a Cooking Pot Lid Rack, Key Hook, and organizing thing in the pantry. Little tiny projects in the grand scheme of things, but just little things that make life easier or less chaotic. The great thing about being in a home we plan to stay in for quite awhile is making it our own with all those little things. My next little project is lights in the pantry on a motion sensor and maybe getting around to the hand rail in the garage. The big purchase du jour was two new sitting chairs for the living room as it definitely needs more seating. Now, I just have to wait until November for them to arrive.....
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