Around Here Week 31: 07/28-08/02

Wednesday, August 7, 2019

A glimpse into what it is like to live in our home just this (not quite a full) week.




















Intentional Outdoor Hours: 443+ hours (of 1000)
Up 24 hours this week that included a hike to the Staple Bend Tunnel with the kids. Sometimes, ho.nest.ly. I need a reality check. I took all four kids on an 85+ degree day to a 4mile trail in hopes to get my marathon miles in while they biked alongside. My optimism can be detrimental to my well-being sometimes (LOL). Rusty made it about half a mile, Violet a mile and then we abandoned their bikes on the side of the trail and my run turned into a 'weighted brisk walk' as I carried one child while Grey rode the other one on his bike spokes. We made it though - all the way through the tunnel and back!

Reading Still Life with Tornado by A.S. King and really enjoying it. I missed the time frame to read along with the Book Love Foundation discussion boards, but I plan to go back afterwards and read through some of the comments. It's so odd but also exactly perfect. I love the NY Times quote on the back, "Unapologetically strange...You may find it's the exact shape and size of the hole in your heart."

Half Marathon Training this week: 12 miles
After practices on Wednesday, I still have four miles to run and B had a coaches meeting - so I loaded up the three kids (Grey was at a sleepover) and we headed to the CT track with a pizza for a picnic dinner while Mom runs. The kids did really good actually waiting it out (thank goodness for the pole vaulting mat that kept them occupied after dinner) and I got my miles in! Later in the week, I took Bullet with me to the Que to run 3 miles and by about mile 2 he kept looking up at me like, "What the hell are we doing here, Mom?" HAH. He did make it the whole 3 miles and then got the bliss of swimming for a little bit in the dam before heading home - he was SO happy but also so so tired. I am still listening to The Lost Man by Jane Harper on audible and loving it!

Celebrating 40 years of Gigi & Pappy! We kept it low-key with swimming at their house all day and dinner on the grill. Gigi and Gemma made some funnel cakes for dessert that were delicious. In place of a big surprise party (which I would have loved to plan!) we instead had a 'cyber' surprise party where many of their family and friends wrote them heartfelt messages to a secret email address that I shared with them when we were getting ready to leave. Thank you so much to everyone who participated and helped make their 40th wedding anniversary special. xxox

Renewing our library card with our first (!) visit this summer. We snagged a bunch of books and spent over an hour playing in the children's section. The kids also had free lunch there (a summer program everyday from noon-1p for anyone under 18yrs!)

Using Walmart Grocery Pick-up for the first time! I've decided that it's going to be one of my back-to-school self care routines because grocery shopping during the school year can be such a negative domino effect in my life. Going to the grocery story is hard because of the time and challenge of kids but if we let it go and don't have the groceries we need, meal plans fall apart and we end of ordering in which hurts our bellies and wallets - and so on and so on. I had a good first experience, if only our local Aldi would jump on board - I'd be over the moon!

Double date nighting it with the Stankans at the Jean Bonnet Tavern and enjoying delicious dinner that was mostly not-keto but also worth it! Thank you for babysitting Miss Hannah!

Watching some professional development videos on the Somos Colloboration facebook page. I really am so grateful to have stumbled upon Martina Bex's Comprehensible Classroom blog, and then her Somos Units, and then Allison Weinhold's Mis Clases Locas, and then from there it's been a beautiful, bright journey through all kinds of Comprehensible Input digital mentors and activities. I am really getting excited about the new school year and have lots of notes and ideas marked down.

Singing Happy Birthday to our sweet friend, Charlie at Urban Air - the new trampoline park in Altoona. We spent the afternoon bouncing and trying to do the Ninja Warrior courses (only thing that proved to me is that I have next to zero upper arm strength - LOL), and flipping.

Fall Sporting if you can believe it! We had equipment handout night on Monday for football and cheerleading only two days after Grey's last baseball game (I'm dead.) Brandon is head coaching the minors football team and I'm coaching the flag cheer squad...so here we go again. Hang on to your britches, Studer family. Minors football had practice W-Friday and the flag cheer had practice W&Thursday. Both teams did awesome and Brandon and I are so impressed and excited for the season. I have a new little cheerleader this year who was pretty hesitant to join in our first practice and then jumped in a little quicker at the second practice. Her mom told me after practice, when they were arriving for the second day, her daughter (1st grade) told her, "Mom, our coach is just so......cheerful." HAHAHAHA. truest, most legit cutdown of my life.

Frugal Living by borrowing a huge stack of 14 children's books from library. Brandon found the washing machine door hinge we need to fix it himself (ahem, Gemma) for $50 cheaper by doing a little research. We harvested our first zucchini from our garden, and I watched two Spanish professional development mini-sessions for free in my Somos Collaboration group and jotting down some great thoughts for the upcoming school year. Speaking of school, I also dropped off a free Upcycled mini fridge to my classroom (thanks Gigi & Pap!)

Making for the kiddos - spaghetti, frozen pizza, pb&banana sandwiches, buffalo chicken dip (at Rusty's request, lol), and taco pasta.

Keto'ing a little lazily but still going strong (Lazy Keto is a real thing, hah, it involves not tracking all your food everyday and I have been caught in this lazy rut for about two weeks, bleh). We had cheesy 'bread' sticks (so easy and so good), chicken, veggie, &cheese quesadillas using low-carb wraps and taco meat over zoodles.

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