Around Here 23: 06/03-06/09

What it is like to live in our home just this minute

 

photo cred: Kate

my great grandmother

Intentional Outdoor Hours:  169+ hours (of 1000)
Up 26 hours this week, my new normal is about 3 and a half hours a day, but I'd like to up that to at least 5 hours a day for myself (the kids have me beat everyday by at least 2 more hours). I have been holding strong on our no screens until 11am in the summer and maintaining #screenfreewednesday. The babies and I ran to Dollar General after sweating all morning on Sunday to pick up a little pool and a slip 'n slide - only to return and have it start thunderstorming (hah). But we made good use of them both this week in the pockets of sunny weather that we've had off and on. (rain, rain, go away!!)

Reading the Only Girl in the World by Maude Julien for books & brews book club. It is really fascinating but I need to take it in small doses because of how horrific and depressing the memoir of her childhood was - and the way she writes; so detached. Gosh, it's a tough one to get through, but so interesting. I ordered a batch of new summer picture books for the kids and we set a goal of reading 100 picture books this summer. Our new books include The Book of Mistakes, Summer Days and Summer Nights, Everything You Need for a Treehouse, Blue Sky White Stars, Roxaboxen, and my favorite of all Little Brothers & Little Sisters.

Celebrating our Rusty James as he turns two! We had a low key day at home, singing happy birthday over breakfast, marking down his height on the kitchen wall, and having a little last minute dinner party with family. (He and Grey are scheduled to have a joint birthday party later this month at Pappy & Gigi's pool). Our littlest babe is two and it feels kind of awesome. He is talking more everyday and is on the brink of potty training (our earliest ever!) Ages 2-3 are both my least favorite but the funniest so I'm bracing for that - but all in all, it feels like I've turned a corner in parenting; that we've made it out of the baby stage and it feels like my shoulders have relaxed a teeny bit. We ordered Rust a Strider bike and on the same day it arrived, he also received two hand-me-down Power Wheels tractors from family friends (thank you Valentines!) which he loved so much and has said everyday upon waking up since "Tractor, mine, outside."

Enjoying our first full week of summer vacation! We dove head first into #nobedtimesummer which has meant long mornings of sleeping in kids. I know full well that it is not textbook parenting - but I'm a morning person and having at least two hours to myself to read, work on chores, or just drink coffee quietly has been miraculous for my soul. Plus, we've mostly been outside until late in the night, so whatever to those parenting textbooks. Grey has been sleeping on the couch every night and is joined by either Violet or Gem (Violet asked, 'Can I sleep with Grey on the couch for a lot of days?) And Violet hasn't quite grasped what summer means and has asked almost everyday, "Do we have school today?" We still have a lot to figure out in terms of summer slide prevention (school worksheet packets, writing, & reading), and snacks (good Lord, the snack attacks!), and the sibling arguing - but it's summer time and the livin's easy.

Getting help from chore charts that I made for the three biggest kids. They each have a daily task (Grey - garbage & helping Rusty feed the dogs, Gem - chickens free range in & out, Violet - making the kids' beds) and then they have 1-2 chores for each day ranging from doing the dishes, to bringing down dirty laundry, to vacuuming or cleaning bathrooms. Grey said, 'Do we get paid for this?' to which I said, "You do! You get to live in our house and eat for free" HAH. It has always been our rule, "We all live in this house and we all have to help take care of it." so yeah, we don't do allowance, you just help because you're in our family.

Sending off paper lanterns in honor of a beautiful life on Tuesday night. Even though we didn't get to know and love Olivia Red, we do know and love the people that she knew and loved which is how we were blessed and honored to attend her memorial service. She was tragically killed in an auto accident last week and our hearts ached for her sisters (basketball moms), nephews (basketball players), and her boyfriend (former basketball player). The service was beautiful with paper lanterns floating to heaven while Tim McGraw's Humble & Kind played over the PA system at the high school football stadium.

Ending regular season summer sports. Gemma and I had our last soccer game and finished the season with pretty good record. Gem had a lot of fun, made some new friends, and learned a little bit more about the game. I think she'll be playing for quite a long time. I loved getting to know our little players and was so grateful to have my Dad coaching alongside me (thank you Chum!) Grey finished his regular season of baseball (the Mayers came to see his last night game!) and he head into playoffs this coming week. Brandon and I have been trying to be really aware of the pressure that comes with having a child in sports at this age. There are travel teams and all-stars and year-round leagues for every sport and it feels pretty intense. We are firm believers in clearing space for our kids to do nothing, to go fishing with grandpas, or jump into short notice visits with family and friends, or just be bored. It feels like a lot of pressure for them to participate in all this extra stuff because they'll 'fall behind' or something. We don't want them to burn out in any sport (or activity) and more than that - I don't want them to burn out from overscheduling. I don't know what's best for any kids, but we're trying to be really intentional and aware of what's best for our kids and our whole family when it comes to the school-age stage of our parenting.

Starting no bummer summer with the Fiores as we met up at the Juniata Memorial Spray Park for the afternoon. Kate & I have loosely outlined our list to include:  an Altoona Curve Baseball Game with fireworks, Delgrosso's Water Park, Drive-in Movies, take the Fiore boat to Raystown Lake, blueberry picking trip, and a visit to the Quemahoming Dam.  So much fun with our favorites! (on Spray park day, Grey got to have a playdate with Halen all day - thank you Angie for hosting!)

Surprising Ninna with a early 30th birthday fire and cupcakes at our house. We were so happy to have a sleepover with the Kochs when the boys had a golf outing. The kids were over the moon to get to spend time with Baby Tessa and my parents and sister came over for a fire and a very low key birthday celebration for Nin. It is always like slipping on a favorite hoodie when we are with the kochs - cozy, familiar, and warm. we love you guys. xxo

Visiting with distant cousins at our Adams family reunion (my Dad's Dad's family). We spent the day outside at the playground and even got in an afternoon swim in at the park pool (it was freezing!) It always makes me smile to see recognizable facial bone structure at this particular family reunion (those Adams genes are strong) and makes me so proud to represent my Pap and Gram's legacy. I love writing out my kids' name tags with "great grandchild of Jim and Helen" miss you both, every single day. 

Teaching nothing, nor did I do anything this week for next year's school year. Which felt both great but also brought on small waves of panic that I need to get a head start on preparations for both the class and my own professional development. Chin up, mind right, and heart full starting next week!

Making cripsy bbq chicken tacos, spaghetti, and french toast. I'm suddenly remembering that summer requires proper breakfasts and lunches too, so I've been scouring Pinterest looking for easy summer lunches - a grocery store trip is definitely in order. For desserts, we had cupcakes in ice cream cones for Rusty's mini dinner party, and Gemma helped me make brownie bite cookies that were really easy and delicious (despite the bowl of sugar we had to clean up #clumsyGemstrikesagain )