Around Here Week 32: 08/09-15

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

2020 vs 2026

Rusty can climb to the top of the uprights to watch practice. LOL

Intentional Outdoor Hours: 426+ hours (of 1000)
Summer is still reigning supreme, but the gnats are slowly driving everyone mad. Maybe because of all the rain sitting wet in the ground(?), but good grief - the gnats are out of control. Anytime we stand in the grass they swarm our faces; trying to climb in ears, eyes, and nostrils. It's actually insane. I have to stand with my arm raised while filling up the water buckets at the farm and while watching kids' practices (the gnats go to the highest point) but even then they are still aggressive. LOL, you can easily see the swarms floating around the yard and fields. eww.

Reading Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstine and I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. I missed book club this week with the Somerset teachers which was a bummer but I was glad to be able to take Gem and Abby out to soccer team camp at SFU. 

Summer to do list completed: 

• Registered Grey for Driving School with TDS Driving Academy (we do not have driver's ed at our high school) so that he will get 6hrs behind the wheel practice with not his parents and complete his driver's test at the end of the training. Also completing the program will earn a discount on insurance for a teenage driver!
• Cleared out the closet floor in our room and switched all our Spirit Week items into a bigger tub so that it would all actually fit! (Spirit week items = random clothes/ costumes that can be worn in the various school spirit weeks throughout the year. Like tie-dye, crazy socks, reindeer antlers, Christmas jammies, spooky shirts, Hawaiian leis, Steeler shirts, etc) It's all in a tub for easy grab when needed.

Back to school/ Fall sports prep completed: 

• Rusty and Grey got their football cleats and I ordered Grey's QB towel
• Took Gemma to the Peds to check in about her POTS symptoms. We are going to do bloodwork and an EKG to make sure there is no other underlying issues next 
• Paid for: Reddy's basketball uniform and fall program happy ads
• I ordered my teacher planners!
• I brought out my football season tea towels and oven mitts to add some football season sparkle to the kitchen! lol
• I renewed my state clearances that were set to expire in December (future Tab says thank you!)
• B schedule back to school hair cuts with Lamont for next week!

A belated SURPRISE birthday party for Rusty at the Quemahoming Dam. We booked campsite #7 near the back dock and had a lowkey fishing/ swimming afternoon at the Que. Well, as lowkey as five 9&10 year old boys can offer - hah! Rusty was truly surprised; he did know we were going to the Que but thought it was just to hang out. He was baffled trying to figure out why they were all there! We had hot dogs and buffalo chicken dip and I repurposed the family reunion sheet cake into gob cake in the shape of the number 10 to sing. It was a beautiful sunny, hot afternoon to celebrate our Mr. Handsome. 

End of Summer Que day with the Conns as is our annual tradition for the last six years. It was me and Grey's first solo drive while hauling the boat, but we did it successfully, mostly to his diligence and care. Grey, Reed, and Rusty got to go out fishing for a little bit while Brycey hung back with the little kids and helped Reddy fish from the dock. Then a storm rolled in and trapped us in the pavilion for an hour eating and playing Spot it. We tried to wait out the storms, but to no end so the trip was short but always worth it to spend time with our Conn bonus family and keep the end of summer tradition! 

Dog-sitting Rosie while Pappy is in South Dakota exploring on his motorcycle! Rosie got royally spoiled with snuggles and books read to her. She loved chasing the chickens like a real farm dog! It was nice to have a pup in the house for the week and now the kids are even more eager to get another dog - but not until after football season!! 

Time with family and friends Violet had a playdate with Evaley at our house and had Bria over for a sleepover. Gemma went to breakfast with the Varsity soccer team at Gather at Flood City and babysat Lily U this week. Grey went to Old Tollgate Inn for wing night with the football team and went golfing with Chum on Thursday and golfing with Gabey on Saturday. We got to babysit the Moore boy cousins on Tuesday and then had a playdate with them and Uchie at our house on Saturday night.

Sporting with fall sports blast off! Reddy had one basketball practice and he got his 'drippy' ice cream jersey! Rusty had two minors football practices, weigh-in day, and one football scrimmage. Violet participated in three jr high soccer practices as the manager (but she and Bria go through all the drills and conditioning along with the team). Gemma had two Varsity soccer conditioning practices, one weight lifting day to finish summer testing, and then she had sleepover Team Camp at Saint Francis from Thursday to Saturday! Grey had five days of Heat Acc for Varsity football and participated in two weightlifting and conditioning days to finish summer testing. Coach Dad ran Heat Acc week and also attended the PIAA rules meeting. I attended the Football booster meeting and signed up for our team dinner (09/13), signed up to lead the tailgate event, and got squared up on my money due for happy ads and booster concessions. I also signed up for our concession duty for youth football and organized the Varsity players to volunteer as the chain gang for a home youth game. God bless all of those booster organizations in all sports! Thank you for making sure our athletes are supported! 

Making sheetpan chicken fajitas, mini chicken meatballs with shells&cheese, copycat Olive Garden chicken over noodles with roasted broccoli, takeout pizza, instagram chicken with pasta peas&cheese, chicken/ veggie/ biscuit casserole, Korean beef with rice and green beans, and smash burgers. For breakfasts we had double chocolate pumpkin muffins and chocolate croissants. For dessert, I made a double batch of oatmeal, peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and for the LAST weightroom Wednesday I made chocolate chip cookie sheet cake with homemade icing

Intentional Movement: I rollerbladed 0 miles and weighted vest walked 0 miles! YIKES, but I was pretty tired and honestly, on the very crappy side of things (pun intended): I had been adding a heavy tablespoon of chia seeds to my yogurt every morning for about a week and the fiber caught up to me. It was several days of suffering through fiber shock which was pretty miserable (like 3 days of urgency and then another 3 days of general malaise). I'm not giving up chia seeds; just making sure I soak them first and using only a teaspoon. 

Around Here Week 31: 08/02-08

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

ODU campus

The Bluestone Playground Norfolk, VA

The Dirty Buffalo  Norfolk, VA

Uch & Kevin exactly in front of us!

photo cred: Becky C

photo cred: B

Heritage Conference Media Day

Intentional Outdoor Hours: 400+ hours (of 1000)
I took down the hummingbird feeder to refill it after vacation and forgot for literally one day and a hummingbird flew up to me when I was outside like, "um, what's the wait, lady?" I said aloud, "oh honey, I'm sorry!" ...Like what in the Disney Princess is going on over here? LOL. I don't hate it even though I do already talk to and care for so many living things over here at Studer HQ. I made a bee waterer with things I found from all my deep cleaning/ organizing and put it in the flower bed, but don't tell the kids or Brandon, they already think I'm out of control. 

Reading I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith and Junie by Erin Crosby Eckstine

Summer to do list completed: 

• Rusty had his orthodontist appointment to check on the progression of his front top tooth (#8 tooth!) to see if it is going to break free on its own. It really looks promising on the x-rays and he has orders to use his tooth brush to lightly brush the gum there to try to stimulate the break. If not, in February we will check again and have the orthodontist break it free or put partial braces on to move his other teeth out of the way. Fingers crossed that thing finally breaks free (it's been 3+ years waiting on it!!)
• I went through all the shoes in the laundry room, dining room, and foyer and got them organized which produces a giant garbage bag of donations. Sports shoes (cleats, etc) get stored upstairs for future last minute panics in seasons, and anything that was busted went into the trash. I am trying to clear the space for the kitchen-dining wall break through to make an island project
• I also house mapped the foyer that generally becomes a dumping ground and I picked up a chair, a basket (for shoes that inevitably find their way there), and tiny end table on Clearance from TJ Maxx to put there. 
• I moved the GIANT, viney pothos plant from the dining room to the hallway and got it all wrapped up and stacked up like a bush instead of snaking all over the place. 
• I picked up Grey's eye contacts (finally!)
• I picked out a new possible front door and set ambitious timelines for the three big projects:  Front door by start of school (!), roof over front porch before the first snow (!), and my kitchen/ dining island before the annual Christmas eve party (!!!) A girl can dream.
• Violet sewed a couch cushion back together with her sewing machine. The zipper broke so it's been hiding in our closet all summer because the stuffing is such a problem. But she and I worked together to feed it through her machine (a million re-tries and tangles, but my Vi does not give up! Thank goodness!) It is all closed up and back on the couch! 

Back to School & Fall Sports Prep: 

• Made my back to school snacks order for Brandon's office so the kids have snacks before and after school. I send my order to Heather and she gets them for me through Sam's Club and delivers them to my house! Thank youuuuu - appreciate you! 
• I ordered Grey's football gear: base layer pants, compression shirts, and his towel 
• Both Grey and Rusty got their mouthguards fitted
• I submitted my artwork for the Fall Sports program for Coach Daddy, Grey, and Gemma

Feeling weirdly relaxed though about going back to school. Like whatever, it will all be fine...? I don't know why I'm being delulu but I'm going to keep chilling in this state of relaxation until panic sets in. HAHAH.

ODU unofficial college visit just to get a feel for what a college campus could look like in a completely different town/state. Grey doesn't have very many thoughts yet for post-high school graduation besides a hope to play sports at the next level (any sport, anywhere essentially). I was given great advice from a mom of an older athlete to make a list of the top 3 wish list items and Grey's top 3 wish list is: 1) fishable streams nearby (LOL, but seriously) 2) scholarships/ financial aide 3) gets to play all four years. So since ODU was on the way home from the beach, we made a stop in Norfolk, VA to check it out (we got to walk around campus, popped into the student center, and checked out the baseball and football fields. While Pappy, Daddy, and the oldest two walked back across campus to get the cars - the littles and I visited The Bluestone Playground next to the ODU football field. Then we all got lunch in Norfolk (The Dirty Buffalo) before making the long trek back home after vacation.

The long drive back home after vacation. Oof, the long ride home with a car full of stuff that needs unpacked is always a bit of a bummer. We hit crazy torrential rain in northern VA along with traffic and we were all about to go a little bonkers. Grey and Violet drove home in the truck with Pappy and the rest of the crew was in our car. We made it all the way back to Bedford (one hour from home) after stopping for the ODU visit, eating lunch, and hitting the traffic/weather only to pull up to the light AND KEVIN AND TASHA AND THE BOYS were exactly in front of us. Absolutely insane considering they left Sandbridge and stopped two random places on the way back to let the boys play, run, and eat. And then somehow, we all pull up to the light in Bedford at exactly the same time. (the same thing happened last year when we both stopped at the same random park/ playground on the way home without planning it!)

Took a couple days to dig out of the vacation backlog of laundry and unpacking. Our poor washer & dryer took a beating with some sandy bathing suits. Most of the kids did well unpacking their own bags although Olive wanted to play 'travel girl' with her suitcase all week and I kept finding it refilled with clothes - she was not happy to unpack every single day, but girl...maybe choose a different game!? By Thursday though, I felt like maybe we were back to baseline. 

Learning more about POTS because I suspect Gemma has it. She has been experiencing lightheadedness/ dizziness, fast heart rate, nausea, and anxiety when she exercises (especially in the sun) or after waking up in the morning or even after a long hot shower. All of which are signs/symptoms of POTS. It first started about a year ago and her flare ups were months apart, but within the last few weeks they have becoming more frequent. There is no cure but it is not life threatening and some people with POTS have found ways to eliminate symptoms all together through lifestyle changes like removing blue light at night, decreasing sugar in diet, drinking way more water, adding more salt in diet, and increasing electrolytes. First things first, I scheduled an appointment to check with the pediatrician. 

Camo season starting again. Brandon took most of the kids to the woods to hang tree stands and trail cams this week (although they got caught in a huge thunderstorm and waited it out under a pine tree!) and Grey went to Archery Zone with Pappy to get his bow all sighted in and get new arrows. 

Uzelac family reunion on Saturday with our extended family. It is always nice to see great aunts and uncles and cousins, especially our Forte/Burgh cousins! My godbaby, Mallory, is heading into her senior year!! (crying with pride every time I think of it!) The kids had a blast all day on the playground, running the BINGO table, singing karaoke (!), and playing wiffleball. Grey and B played in the horseshoe tournament, we ate delicious potluck food, and everyone smiled while the little kids completed the annual costume parade and listened to the money tree story. It was a good day with family and I am grateful my momma is one of the cousins that keeps up the tradition! (good job, Abba! and the reunion falling on your birthday! you are loved!!)

Time with family and friends Gemma went to see the new Spiderman movie with Peyton and had a day with Abba and babysat the Moore nephews this week. Violet had a playdate with Giada (she got a ride down through the neighborhood on Pappy's motorcycle!) Grey went golfing with the fellas, went to play pickleball with the friend group, and also fishing at the big bass pond with Bryce and Reed.

Sporting with Reddy's first basketball practice! He is obsessed and we are very grateful that Coach Jeremy has taken on the task of coaching this K-2nd grade team (the patience! Bless you!) Rusty had three minors football practices, and Gemma participated in the Alumini vs. Varsity soccer fundraising game on Thursday. Violet and Rusty volunteered to be ball runners for the game. Grey and Gemma attended five weight lifting/ conditioning practices. Grey and the boys went to personally request sponsorships from local businesses for our upcoming football program. Coach Daddy, Grey, and four football players attended the Heritage Conference Media Day to talk to local news and newspapers about the upcoming season. I attended the soccer booster meeting and Coach Daddy sent out the August football schedule that includes Heat Acc, Team Camp, the first scrimmage, the first Friday night game, and the first team dinner! Here comes the Boom, baby. 

Making homemade stromboli, crack chicken sammies, sheet pan kielbasa/ veggies/ tortellini, ground turkey tacos (Violet did most of the cooking!), viral chicken kebabs on naan (with gr chicken), shredded beef and cheddar sammies, Marry Me Chicken over orzo, and meatloaf with roasted potatoes and carrots. The cost of ground beef is killing me honestly. For the reunion, I brought a crockpot of meatballs for meatball sub sammies.  For desserts, Loopy helped me make rice krispie treats, and I made cowboy cookies too. For weightroom Wednesday I made Tandy Cake.

Movement with 2.5 miles of weighted vest walks and no miles rollerblading. I did start mindful eating (aka tracking all my food to see true calorie intake) and trying to eat more protein at every meal. I just want to feel good - perimenopause is truly kicking the shit out of me right now so I'm trying to be better focused on the fuel I'm putting in my body and the rest I'm getting.