One Week Down (and 18 years)

Weekly Happenings: Monday was out 18th wedding anniversary. 🙂 It kind of got swallowed up in also being the first day of school for Joseph, but we did take time to have a special meal. Paul grilled steaks and I made sauteed mushrooms to go on top as well as some corn on the cob. I also made a strawberry pie with fresh whipped cream for dessert. Oh and we exchanged gifts as well. We’ve got one week of virtual schooling under our belt, too. It actually went really well. There was a small hiccup right at the beginning (the servers for the district were a little bogged down by all the increased usage and there were other issues with some of the programs as well. We were able to bypass all the issues simply because Joseph was still logged into everything from when we tested things over the weekend…so we were able to get onto everything just fine. I guess it pays to not wait until the last minute to try and see if everything works! School did encompass most of our week, though, since it was just like a normal school day, time-wise. I did take the kids to the park earlier today, though, just for a change of pace.

The Weekly Weather: I don’t think it rained at all this past week…we were warm and dry (and humid). I must admit I’m ready for fall and cooler temperatures!

What Paul’s Been Up To: He’s helped to make sure this first week of digital learning went well (thank goodness this happened to be his work-from-home week). He also painted Joseph’s old bed frame and got it set up in Abigail’s room. She was so excited!

What Sarah’s Been Up To: I met up with my book club, which was fun as always. Other than that, I was mainly helping Joseph with school and helping Abigail try to understand that while yes, he was home, he couldn’t play with her.

What Joseph’s Been Up To: He did great with school this week. His teacher is very organized and helpful, which has been great!

What Abigail’s Been Up To: She’s been getting used to not having her brother at her beck-and-call. She has also started saying, “Yippie-skippie!” (something that a character in Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood says) when she’s happy or excited about something. She loves the improvement to her bed (her mattress had been on the floor before).

This Week in Pictures:

His teacher had printed up these cute signs for everyone to use for the first day.
Flowers, a cute card, some yummy chocolate, and some pretty earrings. I got Paul a new yard-work hat and something he can use to clean his AR-15.
A close up of my earrings. Paul looked up what the traditional gift for eighteen years was and found that it was porcelain…so he got me porcelain earrings. 🙂
Always keeping me on my toes, this one…
We had put the gate up in front of Joseph’s door so that it would be easy to poke our heads in every once in a while to check on him (without Abigail barreling in). Abigail insisted on having a gate in front of her room, too. This was the quietest part of the week. 😉
Giving virtual learning a thumbs-up.
Completing a writing assignment.
I don’t know where she was going…
…but wherever it was, she was prepared for anything.
Snuggled up after a long day.
Abigail’s new set-up. I love that Paul thought to take one of the old baby gates and use it as a headboard. It was already the perfect width, so he didn’t need to alter it at all.
Because the kitchen is as good a place as any to play pirates.
This is a fun bridge. The swinging platforms are chained to the ground and you have to step from platform to platform as they sway back and forth.
Talking to each other through the pipes.
Weeee!
He took her back into the trees to show her the spot he and his friends like to hang out. I thought they were pretty cute walking back there.
 

One Last Week

Weekly Happenings: This was our last week of summer vacation before school starts (virtually) on Monday. We went to the zoo, hung around the house, did a drive-through Meet the Teacher, and just relaxed because we know that from here on out, it’s going to be back to business as usual.

The Weekly Weather: It’s really been a mixed bag. We’ve had random storms come through (and by random, I mean they weren’t showing up on my weather app until it was actually raining…and then the app would update and all of a sudden show rain, haha). The only time it was really irritating was when I walked out of the grocery store with a cart full of bagged groceries only to find it raining…that was a fun run. I am grateful for the rain, though…we always need it!

What Paul’s Been Up To: He’s finished and installed Joseph’s bed! It was a big job, but so worth it. Joseph has a really cool set-up in there now. Other than that, he’s been busy at work (as usual). This next week will be a work from home week, which I’m grateful for, since it’ll be Joseph’s first week of distance learning. It’ll be nice having my resident IT guy here to help with any technology hiccups.

What Sarah’s Been Up To: I took the kids to the zoo and then did a bit of organizing. I had a gigantic pile of stuff in our room that I’ve been meaning to donate but haven’t had a chance to. That pile was giving me major anxiety (I’m kind of anti-pile), so one morning, I loaded it all up into the back of the car and hauled it off to the donation station. It felt really good to get rid of it all! I’ve also washed all of Joseph and Abigail’s new clothes and gotten them into their drawers.

What Joseph’s Been Up To: He has been soaking up every last minute of this last official week of summer vacation. He enjoyed getting to meet his teacher and finding out more about how things are going to be for the first little bit of school.

What Abigail’s Been Up To: She has really gotten used to Joseph being home. It might be a little rough come Monday when Joseph needs to be doing school instead of being able to play with her. She didn’t really understand it last year when Joseph was home but not able to play (and she really didn’t like that she was closed out of his room). Hopefully Joseph will be able to go into his classroom after Labor Day…because that’s the type of schedule that Abigail is used to when I say that Joseph is doing school. 😉

This Week in Pictures:

Laundry Day in 2020 looks a little different than I imagined…I needed to wash my masks, one of Paul’s, and all of Joseph’s (since he’ll need to wear them when he does eventually get to go back to school).
Checking out the spectacled bear at the zoo.
Zoo train!
Say “cheese” everybody!
All snuggled up to her big brother.
Do you see the satisfaction on her face? She had been asking me for a banana for two days before I had the chance to get some from the store. She was especially excited that I let her just hold the entire thing instead of cutting it up and putting it on a plate.
Some days, breakfast and lunch kind of meld together for me. I’ve discovered a pretty yummy smoothie combination, though: frozen mixed fruit (peaches, strawberries, cantaloupe, grapes, and pineapple), frozen blueberries, milk, plain Greek yogurt, cashews, and a bit of honey. It’s so good and so filling! I love that I’ve been able to add a little more fruit and protein into my diet in such an easy way! I took a picture of this because right as I set it down, Abigail was next to me, asking to share my banana and my eggs. I wanted to document it before it got gobbled up by the resident food thief. 😉
She wanted to wear her Vampirina costume AND her Texas boots. Why not?
All painted…
…and installed.
Paul added a bit more of a railing so Joseph would feel more secure up there. I like that his bookcase, desk, and nightstand all fit under there. His room feels a lot more open now.
When trying to figure out a way to get more light under there, Paul came up with the idea of using some old LED lights that we were no longer using (they had been in Paul’s office until he got more lighting in there). Joseph seems pretty pleased with the result.
 

Soaking Up Summer

Weekly Happenings: Summer is swiftly coming to an end. At first it seemed like it would never get here, and all of a sudden, it’s here. We tried to squeeze in some more playing and a zoo trip when it wasn’t too hot.

The Weekly Weather: It’s been downright gross, haha. We’re having a heat wave, so temps have been over 100 degrees and it’s been humid and yucky. It’s supposed to cool down a little by the middle of next week, but I would belying if I said I’m not looking forward to cooler weather…so…November? 😉

What Paul’s Been Up To: This was a work-from-home week, so he also had some time to work on Joseph’s loft bed some more. He’s currently painting it. Once it dries, he’ll take the legs off so that we can get it upstairs and then he’ll reassemble it in Joseph’s room. Yay!

What Sarah’s Been Up To: I’ve mainly been just doing what I can to keep the kids healthy, fed, and (relatively) happy.

What Joseph’s Been Up To: He starts school on the 24th (virtually) and will hopefully be able to go back to school itself after Labor Day. He’s soaking in as much sleeping in, backyard playing, video game playing, LEGO building, etc. as he can until then.

What Abigail’s Been Up To: Her imagination is exploding right now. The other night, I overheard her playing in the bathtub. She was pretending that her washcloth had kidnapped one of her toys, who was the mom of another one of her toys. I heard her say, Hey? Where’s my mom?” and then in a slightly different voice, “I have her! Ha ha ha!” (that’s her villainous laugh). Then, I heard her say, “Hey! Give her back!”, “Oh, okay. Sorry!”, and “That’s okay.” At least things were resolved peacefully. 😉

She’s too cool for bedtime. 😉
“Mom! I have your boots on!”
She was so stinkin’ proud of herself for getting them on her feet.
Playing with the letters on the magnet board.
I realized Abigail needed bigger shoes. When I figured out what size she was going to need, I remembered I had set aside Joseph’s old cowboy boots from when he was about this age.
It doesn’t get much more “San Antonio” than Texas flag boots and a Spurs shirt.
Her little sister game is on point. All those empty chairs to choose from…and she chose the one that Joseph was already sitting in.
Another attempt at applesauce since I was able to get the correct amount of apples.
The finished product! It’s pretty tasty!
There was one night this week that I decided I needed to be in my comfy, stay-at-home clothes a bit early. Abigail was excited to see Jack on my clothes. She kept saying, “Oooooh! So spooky! I love it!”
I decided to switch up the homemade pizza that I normally do by making a calzone instead. It was pretty tasty!
Abigail asked me to give her a hairstyle, so I did two ponytails.
She told me she wanted the narwhal clips because they had horns just like the unicorn on her shirt.
He was running laps. He also got new shoes (that he said made him feel like he could run faster than before).
Getting some swinging in before the swings got too hot.
She knew Paul was in there working…so she ran up and knocked on the door. She loves getting into his office because there are so many things for her to explore, haha.
Playing with the frisbee.
We need to work on Abigail’s form just a bit. 😉
Checking out a black bear. I was pretty excited that I got Abigail’s hair to stay in a full ponytail!
Hanging out with some pachyderms.
Saying hello to the okapi.
They both love looking at this fun guy (or gal).
Taking a break in the AC (inside the hippo enclosure).
She had been bringing down one block at a time…until she decided to bring down the entire bin.
Once she brought the bin down, she plunked it it down and then said to me, “Look Mom! I found a bin of blocks!” almost as if she had just happened upon it, instead of having purposefully brought it downstairs.
He’s got Joseph’s bed all built. Now all that’s left to do is paint! Once that’s all done and dry, he’ll take the legs off so that we can take it upstairs and then he’ll reassemble it in Joseph’s room.
Google Photos did this then-and-now photo. I forgot how squishy his cheeks were.