A glimpse into what it is like to live in our home just this moment.
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| photo cred: Becky C |
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| photo cred: Abba |
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| photo cred: B |
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| photo cred: B |
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| selfie cred: Gemma |
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| photo cred: Jeri H |
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| photo cred: Michael O'Ship |
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| photo cred: Michael O'Ship |
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| photo cred: Michael O'Ship |
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| photo cred: Steph M |
Intentional Outdoor Hours: 516+ hours (of 1000)
Reading Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Whew, this week was a doozy! It was homecoming week at Township and that means all.the.things!! Dress up days every day (even dress up day at Red and Olive's school too for "fall" week). But we layered on even more things than just regular hoco madness - like Rusty and Violet had marathon fun day on Friday. We helped honor soccer seniors at their senior night game, Grey had to attend the Varsity girls' game for his video production class and the truck got inspected just to name a few things that we were also managing that made this whole week feel like an absolute dead sprint from start to finish.
To top it off, we had some sick kids. Olive was the one I was most often worrying about this week because poor little thing had a fever. I had to pick her up early from preschool on Tuesday and thank goodness for our secretaries and my administration that just allowed her to sit in my room and color for the last half hour of the day. Liv's fever was completely manageable with Tylenol - like she would bounce back to 95% after she took it, but she was very sleepy and runny nose and I hate kids' fevers more than anything (maybe in another life I was a mom during a time period when fever managing medicine didn't work? because the irrational stress I feel about kids' fevers is legit crazy). Reddy had a gross phlegmy cough all week, Gemma's body finally said no to her constant-go-go-go and she got really light headed and dizzy at soccer practice and needed to leave early to hydrate and go to sleep at 7p.
Dryer appointment and we've discovered that we are under warranty (yay!) but the part we need won't be ready to be installed until Oct 16 which is very annoying. We did get the green light to use the dryer (like it shouldn't catch on fire...lol "shouldn't") but we are advised to only use it while we are both home and awake. That sounds like common sense - but when you live in a house of 8 people (4 of them athletes) having the washer and dryer running almost 24 hours a day is almost necessary. So I'm working with the situation, it just takes extra thought and planning (2 things I have plenty of...LOL).
Grateful to attend Teacher Appreciation night with my student Abby who picked me as her teacher guest! The volleyball boosters hosted a little picnic after school for all the teachers selected and it was so nice to spend time with Abby and the whole team. Red and Olive loved being included too since they were with me and Abby even had them stand in our official photo together (hah!) I love all my kids (actual and students) so much. What a blessing it is to be involved in the raising up of young people.
Celebrating Reddy's half birthday! He is five and half (and very proud of that half!) We had strawberry crinkle cookies for dessert and measured Reddy on the height door frame. He was pretty excited to be a little older because that means one step closer to playing organized sports (LOL). Literally, he said, "I can almost play flag football and baseball now, right?" Yo, slow down Reddy Sketti - you're just my little fella yet (always?)
Updating the fridge calendar and getting it all color coded and organized to keep everyone on track! I doodled a haunted house in some of the open space and had such a relaxing time doing something creative and unnecessary.
Participating in all the homecoming traditions because we love community so much! We had the homecoming bonfire on Wednesday night and since Gemma is in student council, she helped organize and put on the hoco dance after the bonfire too. Grey, Coach Daddy, and the rest of the team spent the whole day volunteering at the elementary school on Thursday. They read books to the classes, ate meals with the little kids, and volunteered at the K-2 Marathon fun day helping the PTA parents with the games. We got so many compliments and thank yous from the staff and parents - we are so proud of the team for doing such an incredible job with the little kids. Gemma volunteered on Friday all day with student council decorating the school and local buildings with window paint to get ready for the parade and football game. Rusty, Violet, and Gemma all participated in the homecoming parade and Red and Olive loved cheering and getting so much candy from all the parade people! Congrats to our new CT Homecoming King and Queen Julian and Andie!
Annual Color Run on Saturday morning. Violet and Rusty ran in the race while the rest of our family (except Grey who needed sleep after the Friday night football game) volunteered to throw color. We always pack our big speaker and blast music and dance and cheer on the runners (one of my all time favorite activities in life is cheering on racers!) Rust and Vi both did awesome and Vi even slowed her pace to stay beside her teachers' young son to be his buddy the whole time. After the race, Rusty and Violet then went and played football and cheered later that afternoon in their games! Oh, to be young and full of energy!
Nephew sleepover two weekends in a row! and thank goodness because they make us all so happy - the only thing better than six kids in the house is nine kids in the house and if you know me, you know I am being for real. Last weekend was for an out-of-town wedding for Uch and Kev (congrats Michael & Matt!) and the following weekend was for the YIFC 10th annual Zombie Crawl (which Uchie organizes and plans!) We took the little fellas to the youth football game and then played all day at our house. When we got to the football game, Heath gets out of the car and Gemma says, "Heathy, where are your shoes?" and he answered like it was obvious, "At Tia's house." Hahhaa, so in true Studer fashion - Heath spent the day running around in socks! The boys weren't supposed to sleepover initially but then they all fell asleep and I was like, um - we do not have to wake these sleeping babies, so "Uchie and Uncle Drip - be safe and have fun; this Tia is going to sleep too!" Very few things in life are more delightful than being an aunt.
First day of archery and Grey was happy to go with Pappy on Saturday afternoon. I know these fellas won't shoot anything until the last hour of the last day (lol, long standing joke in this family) but I am always grateful that they have this time together. It will be camo, trail cam pictures, and boots from here until mid December around here now.
Fun with family and friends. Reddy and Olive got a day with Chum and Abba because they stayed home from school with fevers and coughs. And truly, what is better than being at grandma and grandpa's house when you're sick? They were loved up on and taking care of and I am so grateful they got a much needed day of rest from school (thank you Mum and Dad!!) Miss Heather brought home the babies after school on parent-teacher conference night when I had to stay and then also watched Gemma's soccer game (thank you, so grateful for you!) Rusty got off the bus at Chum and Abba's once this week and got to go to the driving range and do a little fishing with Chum. Aunt Kitty came to the rescue when Rusty needed an EXPRESS ride to football practice after a soccer game because I forgot what time practice started (eek! thank you!!) Violet had her special day for her birthday with Chum and Abba after school this week too (out to eat at her pick of restaurant - Primanti's and a shopping trip!) Gemma got to swing by Dunkin Donuts with her friend Danika on Friday morning before all the Student Council homecoming volunteer day. Grey went to Lily Oakes' annual homecoming fire too (he hitched a ride with the Huffmans and Conns - thank you!!)
If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times. I have read this book before and it was historical (not dystopian or sci fi). A cringeworthy address to military top brass, accusations that one HALF of the country is a threat to the other half, blatantly obvious propaganda...it's all already been done. Spoiler alert as always - it does not end well for any of us; even if you think you're on the side that is favored...friend, there is no favored side. There is only power and greed and all of us are potential collateral. The genocide continues in Gaza and the flotilla to give aide to Palestinians has been sieged.
Teaching about Mexico in elementary school, the kids loved learning about cenotes and Chichen Itza. In Language Expo I got a new group of students which means we are officially at the half way mark of Q1 already! Spanish 1 got ready for their Unit 1 test and then learned to dance the Cumbia. As always, everyone was really nervous to do boy-girl partner dance because they thought it would be cringe, but again, as always - everyone loved it and realized it is not weird but fun! Spanish 2 worked through Somos 9 and we learned about Hispanic legends like el Chupacabras and el Cucuy! We had our first (of 2) Parent Teacher Conference night this week but I didn't have any parents visit me - so I took advantage of the time in my classroom to get caught up on a lot of things that have been on my to do list from the start of the year. It made for a long but productive day.
Sporting with two football practices and a minors football game for Rusty. Violet had one cheer practice, one soccer practice, and she cheered at the Majors football game. Gemma had two soccer practices and two soccer games. Grey and Coach Daddy had team dinner, four practices, and the homecoming game vs. Penns Manor (we won!) A few of the team also volunteered at St Francis Sharing and Caring this week to organize and unload their food bank donations. I worked the concession stand for half of Gemma's soccer game and got Gemma a case of orange soda to donate to the Hoco bonfire dance for student council. We also needed donation candy for the homecoming parade which Gemma, Violet, and Rusty all marched in before the football game.
Making buffalo chicken dip with veggie dippers, homemade little noodle soup, peanut butter siracha noodles, sloppy joes and roasted broccoli, crack chicken sandwiches on Hawaiian rolls, chicken fajitas, spaghetti with meat sauce, pierogies-kielbasa-cabbage on the Blackstone, roasted bacon-ranch-cheddar potato fries. To celebrate Reddy's half birthday, I made a batch of strawberry crinkle cookies and on Saturday I made peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
