Around Here Week 44: 10/29-11/04

 A glimpse into what it is like to live in our family just this moment. 

cheering section from two families of eight (hah!)

cousins: Grey & Gracie!

photo cred: Brady at her birthday party!

photo cred: B

Intentional Outdoor Hours: 673+ hours (of 1000)
ah snow! On Nov 1, we woke up to a thin layer of snow. Reddy asked, "Is it Christmas!?" haha. It was all melted by the afternoon and then we got some beautiful sunshiney warm-ish days later in the week, so we're not quite done with fall yet (yay!) The boys are still squeezing in time for the treestand; now that Grey doesn't have football after school, he's been going between school dismissal and dark. Pappy took him out again on Saturday morning while B and Rusty spent some time together in the double tree stand.

Reading and finishing What Alice Forgot by Lianne Morarity. I liked it and I'm having a lot of feelings about it since the main character was my exact age and mirrors me in many ways (volunteers to help too much, has a romantic heart, etc) so it was wild to read it and recognize so many feelings from my own literal brain. And then I was mad at Brandon after reading it (LOL, reason number 784 why he gets annoyed with me reading) but then I was happy with him by the end! I started reading Aristole & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

So grateful to have Abba and Aunt Kitty pinch in to watch the babies all this week while our nanny Miss Emma got a chance to get away to warm weather in the Happiest Place on Earth (ie. Disney). I was able to go to work as usual thanks to Abba and Aunt Kitty and the babies were thrilled to get in some extra time with them without the big kids hogging them (hah). Thank you both for this week!

Enjoying spooky dinner at our Rummell cousins' house to celebrate cousin Lainey's 10th birthday. Heather did an impressive jobs staying on theme with all her appetizers and food (so cute!) and the kids all had fun playing Halloween themed games.

Scrubbing jerseys before equipment turn-in. Every single time I am scrubbing a sports uniform hunched over the sink with my eyebrows creased trying to get some mud and grass stains out I feel so deeply connected to motherhood. This thing we are doing; holding the ends together in the invisible moments of the day: scrubbing jerseys in between games, swinging by to grab milk, bread, and diapers on the way home from work, braiding hair before bed so it's wavy in the morning, signing permission slips and jotting down the dates for three weeks from now, tucking in toesies (even if they're a size 10.5 men's teenage toesies now). When I'm doing these vital yet entirely invisible tasks of motherhood I think of all of you out there that are doing them too. I see you. Love you guys, keep on fighting the good fight. xxo

Trick-or-treating one last time as is tradition at my sister's house on Halloween night. It was a weather 180 from last weeks' trick-or-treat, but the kids didn't really care anyway. We stopped by a few houses to get treats but mostly hung out on Aunt Kitty's porch with our family laughing and chatting. 

Volunteering for the football boosters at the Jr High end of season pizza party. Big thanks to Mel O who made beautiful and delicious desserts (thank you!) and to Becky C who was my last minute pizza delivery woman (thank you!) The dinner went well and I was cracking up and only slightly panicked for a moment or two when those bottomless pit teenage boys zipped through pizza box after pizza box. Zero leftovers of pizza or salad (hah!) After the dinner, the team got to watch the season highlight video and got their end of season gift. It was a good evening and I was only a little emotional about the closing of Grey's time in jr high football. (which means only 4 more football seasons; gulp, gulp, gulp). 

Jumping in leaves! tis the season and we had plenty - so the four youngest kids and I spent Friday afternoon and Saturday morning raking, jumping, and burying each other in the leaves. The dogs love the leaf piles too. 

Cheering on my students at the football playoff game on Friday night. First Friday night since August that B didn't coach, and yet we were still at a football field (LOL). It was freeeeezing, but I was glad to be there cheering my kids on and giving our cousin Gracie a hug. 

Sending Grey off with the Valentines to Cleveland. He got an opportunity to join the Valentine boys at the Browns game. What a lucky kid (thank you Valentine family!) They headed out on Saturday night to stay in a hotel before the game on Sunday. 

Teaching Día de los muertos in Spanish 1. We talked about the celebration and then watched The Book of Life. Spanish 2 finished El Silbon de Venezuela (chapters 10-13) and then took their final quiz and writing assignment. Spanish 3 & 4 watched La Llorona the movie since they finished the book last week. We had a fiesta on Friday to celebrate Day of the Dead! We had a pep rally on Friday to wish our football team good luck in the playoffs and to send one of our cross-country runners off to States! (good luck Dom!)

Sporting with 2 wrestling practices for Rusty (his first time and he is loving it!), Violet had a basketball practice and a game, and Gemma had a basketball practice and a lift/conditioning. Grey had a baseball practice, then turned in his jr. high football equipment, and got in some lifts this week. Brandon had his Varsity football equipment turn in this week too. 

Making sticky chicken over rice with roasted veggies, spaghetti and garlic monkey bread, and baked ravioli. Abbba made us a pork roast one evening (thank you!) and Kitty had pizza, mac&cheese, and snackies for us on trick-or-treat night (thank you!) I made chocolate m&m cookies for Halloween, and salad with the fixins' for the Jr High end of season pizza party. I used up some trick-or-treat candy for the topping on a Tandy Cake that I made for the kiddos for dessert.