Around Here: Thirty-Three 08/11-08/18

A glimpse into what it is like to live in our home just this minute.

photo cred: Steph Oakes (thank you for the pic text!)

Intentional Outdoor Hours: 420+ hours (of 1000)
ugh. Only up 13 hours from last week - we are feeling pretty pulled at the seams with this end of summer last minute mania, new job start up, curriculum planning, and day care searching spiral of death we are in right now (HAHAH). I did get a few walks in with the pups, and some of our fun activities and visits we had lent themselves to outdoor time.

Reading, ugh, again.  Same issues with the spiral of death comment above.  I have been trying to squeeze in a chapter or two of Emma by Jane Austen for my local book club when I can (the chapters are nice and short so I can get them in while I wait for a pot to boil or while I drink my first few sips of coffee.  But it's not been too fruitful of a reading week.

Playing with cousins at our annual Uzelac reunion.  We spent Saturday with our extended family catching up, playing games, and singing karaoke at the 49th annual family reunion (my grandma Irene; my mom's mom, was one of fourteen! so it's a big extended family!) The kids are always so thrilled to see their cousins and it is undoubtedly a great summer day each year. Grey has a blast with the abundance of boy cousins playing softball in the morning, followed by the wiffle ball homerun derby, and then cornhole - I barely see the kid all day.  Rusty got plenty of hugs and kisses and found a new BFF in his teen cousin Duncan, and the girls went all day long with Mallory and Maddy. Then we had the Burgh kids and Tete sleepover at our house to the kids' absolute delight.

Spending some serious time and brain power in my classroom and working on curriculum and lesson planning.  At times I feel a huge wave of overwhelming terror creeping towards me but I just try to remind myself that it's not going to be perfect and I need to embrace the long, slow process of building my room and lessons like I envision them to be. It can feel so scary to try something new (or something you haven't done in a long time) with a lot of unknowns - but that means it's all the more reason to do it. As Abraham Maslow said, "At any given moment we have two options: Step forward into growth or to step back into safety."

Updating my closet.  Ya know how sometimes you go clothes shopping and you hate everything you see on the racks and also hate everything you try on and it's a total bust?  I had the opposite of that happen this week and was overjoyed to score a bunch of new clothes - especially pants - to finish my capsule wardrobe for teaching.  joy of joys!

Feeling grateful for family and friends who continue to reach out and love us and help and offer dinner and playdates even when I don't answer text messages for a minimum of 32 hours.  My parents came by this week to hang out with the kids and I, help clean, and attempt to fix our broken toilet handle.  Our besties; Katie, Michael, Sophia, and Charlie invited us over for an outdoor movie and dinner which was such a perfect summer-is-almost-over playdate.  Grey's school friend, Halen, invited him over for a swim and playing at their house (thank you Angie!), Gigi and Pappy watched the three little kids so I could go clothes shopping without children (a vacation in itself!) and on Caleb playdate day, Heather surprised me with the sweetest teacher cup & straw with my name on it (from Baby Claire Designs)!

Roadtripping to Erie for a sleepover visit with our friends the Plummer girls.  Jess and I have been friends since seventh grade (like 'circle yes or no - will you be my best friend' friends xxox) and we've tried to get together at least once a year for the last few years. The girls and I left mid afternoon on Thursday and after a quick stop for some drive through dinner- I must have tapped randomly on my phone gps and then just followed it for AN HOUR. Finally, we were precariously low on an empty gas tank and with lost signal that I pulled over to ask where we were...and with an incredible sense of despair, the girls and I learned that we had driven backroads an hour back south.  #LawdNo.  I filled up on gas and sweet reassurances from the girls that it 'was alright momma, you're still the best mom ever' (hah, yeah right) and we headed back North (again) and arrived five and half hours later instead of the three it should have taken (hate myself).  It was definitely worth the extra driving though, we had a super fun Girls Only visit at their home in Erie; chatting, playing, and hanging out.  Jess and I adjusted to any little glitch that came up (bad news phone calls like the one below, sick kids, messes, etc) while remaining calm and enjoying our time together.  #momlife  It was the perfect little mini-getaway before the madness of school starts (thank you JP!)

Taping my momma heart back together after getting a call while in Erie from Brandon (who was in Johnstown) that Greyson (who was visiting his cousins in Elizabeth town) had broken his wrist on Friday afternoon.  (For non-PA readers, each of those locations are three hours from each other). Grey was luckily in the such capable hands with our cousins Ray and Lisa who both have medical degrees and three kids of their own.  He was riding a scooter down a steep hill and went to stop himself with his foot but flipped over and landed hard on his left wrist. They confirmed with X-rays that it had broken through the growth plate and he'd need a long cast (up to the armpit) for at least 1-2 weeks to make sure it set right again.  And then a short cast for another 4-5 weeks. His first question on the way to the hospital was, "What about football?" and then after he got his cast on, his first question was, "We're still going fishing tonight and sleeping over, right?" HAH. I waited to talk to him until he was all cast-ed up and on pain meds because I knew hearing my voice would only make him realize how miserable it all was (a guy can be tough as nails until he sees/hears his momma!) and B and I were so grateful that he was with Ray and Lisa if he couldn't have been with us.  It was heartbreaking to be so far away from him for B and I - but he was totally strong about it and we grew a little as parents too.

Making chicken, veggie, and stuffing casserole (a no-complaints family favorite!), grilled teriyaki chicken, and tacos.