We started off the week with a holiday, which was nice. Monday was Labor Day, so we decided to go to the zoo and then also go to a special exhibit the zoo has right now that’s all about dragons. It’s only here until the end of October (and only open on weekends at that). We were a bit bummed that they didn’t have any of the activities going on or booths open, but it was still fun seeing all the dragons. Another drawback was that it was HOT. Another parent walking through told us that the port-a-potties were actually air conditioned (they were the type that had stairs up to them and a couple of stalls in them)…so we spent a few minutes in there, haha.
I’ve been trying to get more active, so I’ve started walking twice a day. Ideally, I walk in the early morning and the early evening, but on some days, I needed to switch one of my walks to the early afternoon (due to appointments and activities). I really like it! It’s really peaceful and a nice way to reconnect with myself and my thoughts. Abigail joins me when I walk in the morning (since she’s not in school yet) and she’s really good at keeping up (and not complaining). We make it fun: she’s the gingerbread man and I’m the sly fox…she’s a little piggie and I’m the big, bad wolf…”race you to the next tree”…stuff like that.
Joseph had quite the week. Not only did he have his six month dental exam (no cavities), but he also had his annual physical. I hadn’t originally planned it that way, but they had to move his dental exam due to a scheduling issue on their part and I confirmed the new appointment before realizing his doctor’s appointment was the same week. Whoops! Well, I guess that’s all done with now.
Paul has been quite busy with work and HOA business. He’s also squeezed in some work around the house as well. I’m so grateful for him!
Abigail has been really funny about school this week. She’ll tell me that she’s nervous about leaving home and leaving me, but as soon as we get to school and she sees her friends, she’s off and running, calling out, “Bye, Mom!” over her shoulder. She’s always really happy to see me at the end of the day, though. One funny story: she was skipping out of the restroom at school, slipped, and bumped her head on the doorknob of the restroom (that’s not the funny part). When she went to the nurse’s office, the nurse gave her an ice pack and called me (as per requirements whenever there is a head-bonk). She had me on speaker so that Abigail could talk to me. Abigail said that she was skipping and then the door bonked her head (THAT’S the funny part). That made both me and the nurse laugh. She’s fine, though…no bumps or bruising or anything like that. Good thing our kids are hard-headed. 😉
Riding the Komodo dragon.Obligatory butterfly photo.She wanted to climb on the hippos but noticed ants on them. After that, it was no dice. I can’t say that I blame her, though…every any we’ve come across in Texas bites.Elephants!Okapis!Dragon number one.They really liked this chicken dragon. I know it doesn’t look like they’re very happy here, but this was about the moment where they were starting to get really hot.This photo makes me laugh every time I see it. I can’t help it…poor Joseph’s face.This dragon had a speaker that played a recording, so it looked like the dragon was telling a story.Abigail kept jumping up and down, saying hello to it. I think she thought it could hear her.Abigail really liked this one.Joseph jokingly told me that this arctic dragon must have gotten lost…and must have been really mad that it was so hot here. 😀It’s not officially fall yet, but I went ahead and decorated anyway.I’ve always wanted something to put in the scarecrow’s basket, so this year I picked up these little velvet pumpkins. Unsurprisingly, Abigail loves them. I also got this fun silver pumpkin. I’m pretty sure it’s plaster because it’s rather light and when you tap it, it doesn’t really ring, but I love the fact that it looks like galvanized metal.I love this little corner!This is a portion of a quote from Emily Bronte. The entire quote is, “Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.” I just didn’t have enough letters for the entire thing, so I only put up the first half.These are also new this year. Abigail loves that the acorns are bells (I think it’s supposed to be a doorknob decoration). I love the gingham!I think it’s the perfect thing for this corner!My walking buddy. She was giving me a double thumbs-up.On one of my evening walks, I heard a bit of rustling and looked over just in time to spot this sweet thing.I was in this outfit a lot this week. I love that the leggings have pockets that are deep enough for me to put my phone in on one side and my keys in the other pocket.Peek-a-boo sunset…Sunsets are kind of my favorite.I love this kid.Abigail found one of my childhood favorites on Amazon: The Secret of Nimh.I was about to tell her to get down, but then I stopped, listening to the little song she was singing to herself as she very carefully played with the blinds. She’s only going to be this little right now…and she got down on her own accord a few minutes later anyway.Afternoon walks mean that my hat is a must-have.When the ballast went out in our kitchen light, Paul asked if I wanted him to replace the ballast or upgrade the light. I voted for upgrading the light to something that matched our dining room chandelier. I love it!More wildlife!This is probably the biggest praying mantis I’ve seen.Last night, Joseph pointed this little guy out……a cute little gecko that was feasting on the bugs that were congregating because they were drawn to the light.
The first week of September is always a little bit hectic. My birthday, followed by Joseph’s birthday, followed by a party for Joseph…but we survived another year of it. 😉 For my birthday, we had take-out and Paul picked up a little cake at the store. For Joseph’s, he and Paul went and saw a movie together. Then for his party (the next day), we had a few of his friends over for pizza, cake, and an epic super-soaker battle (the boys got to take their super-soakers home as party favors). Let’s see…what else? Oh, we had Orientation for Joseph’s class (Abigail’s class still doesn’t have a permanent teacher, so Orientation for her class will be another time). Outside the classroom, his teacher had put up their “all about me” papers. One fun thing I learned about Joseph is that he wants to be a beekeeper when he grows up, but only for carpenter bees. At first I was wondering about the distinction, but then I remembered that carpenter bees (for the most part), don’t sting. Smart kid. Oh, and I can’t forget to add that I saw my first hummingbird moth. They’re huge. One got into our garage just as Abigail and I were getting back from dropping Joseph off for school. It buzzed around us a bit (they actually make a buzzing sound and they flap their wings fast, like a hummingbird) before it (thankfully) found its way out. I was glad, because I had no idea how we were going to be able to get it out without harming it. The joys of Texas living!
I added one more candlestick to my collection (the tall one). This one is extra special, though!It’s actually signed by Clint Harp, who is the wood working guy from the show Fixer Upper. The two smaller candlesticks are the ones that I purchased in his shop in Waco when Tracie and I went last October, but this taller one I ordered during a special weekend where Clint said that he would sign every candlestick purchased that weekend.She used her animals, monkeys (from the Barrel O’ Monkeys game), and trees to make a campfire. I love her imagination! Pretty birthday flowers.Fun birthday cake and a cute llama candle.My birthday presents: rain boots, a sun hat, and new Crocs. I also got a powered USB hub so I can consolidate a few of my charging cables.One thing I’ve been trying to do the last few days (and ideally I would like to get to the point where I’m doing it every day) is taking a walk around the neighborhood. I love the area I walk along. It’s got some pretty scenery. Paul had the day off yesterday, so after I dropped Joseph off at school, I left Abigail at home and off I went!The beginning of Joseph’s birthday cake. I used gel food coloring to make the different colors so that he could have a tiered cake with two different colors.Out of the oven! They got a little browned on top, but that’s okay. 😉Cooling off! I love my stackable cooling racks!All frosted!He wanted a symbol from one of the Legend of Zelda video games. The symbol starts out orange but turns blue when activiated (hence the two colors of the cake). I looked at the picture of Joseph’s backpack (which has the same symbol) to make sure I got it done correctly.I snuck in an extra walk last night…the cicadas were sooooo loud (I should have recorded them), but I could also hear crickets chirping and frogs croaking. It was nice!I decided to start off my Saturday with another walk. I’ve decided that walking outside is way more interesting than using my elliptical.Breaking in my new sun hat while I watered and did a bit of pruning this morning. I really like that it’s open on the top so that the heat can escape…and yes, I promise to remember to put sunscreen on my part so that it doesn’t burn. 😀Opening presents…Nerf gun for the win!Books, Pokemon cards, and candy…A new SD card (for much needed storage).Legend of Zelda gaming stuff.Cake time!I actually put ten candles on there this year. Usually we get number candles, but the store I went to didn’t have any zeros in stock (so that I could make a 10).Cake and ice cream! I was so happy with the vibrancy of the colors. Gel food coloring is amazing. I only put eight drops in for the blue. For the orange I had to use a bit more (I think I put in twelve drops), but that’s still way better than having to use a ton of regular food coloring (and trying to combine the red and yellow to get just the right orange…the gel food coloring already had orange pre-mixed).Super-soaker battle! They were using the boxes and slide as extra cover.
This week was a momentous one. Not only was it the first week of school (and Abigail’s first time at school), it also contained our nineteenth wedding anniversary! It seems almost surreal when I realize we’ve been married practically twenty years. We celebrated by having a lunch date while the kids were at school. That was super nice! The kids had a great first week at school. Joseph likes that his classroom has a Harry Potter theme. Abigail loves getting to play with all her new friends, but she says that sometimes she’s a “liiiiiittle crazy and wiggly” (a direct quote) and that she sometimes forgets to share the toys. It’s all a learning process, so I’m sure those two things are going to get better with time. Oh, one funny interaction between me and Abigail that happened this week:
Me: Abigail, what do you want for bedtime snack?
Abigail: No, he’s Pikachu!
M: Pikachu, what do you want for snack?
A: He doesn’t talk.
M: Abigail, what does Pikachu want for snack?
(a bit of back and forth banter as she plays both herself, asking Pikachu what he wants for snack as well as pretending to be Pikachu and making little noises)
A: He wants pretzels!
M: Well, alrighty then.
This kid cracks me up!
I was happy to finally find a longer dress for her. She’s rather tall for her age, so the shorter dress trend that seems to be happening for little girls means that the dresses are super-short on her. She was happy because the dress has horses on it and she was allowed to wear her boots to church. 🙂She squealed joyfully when she saw that I decided to wear my boots as well. Living in Texas definitely has its perks, haha.First day of school! Abigail has afternoon pre-k, so she doesn’t go as early as Joseph (who is in fourth grade this year), but she still wanted a picture with him. 🙂All things video game-related for this kid this year: Minecraft shirt and Legend of Zelda backpack and lunchbox.She has all her favorites, too: Paw Patrol shoes, Frozen II backpack and lunchbox……and a Stitch (he’s the crazy alien from Lilo&Stitch) shirt. I had to get a picture of her in front of the school, since it was her very first day. I dropped Joseph off using the parent drop off, so no picture of him in front of the school.Our first outside friend: I love finding praying mantises!I started to head outside to bring our flag in and found another outside friend……a little toad!She asked to snuggle after school (I think this was…Thursday?)…I think school makes her tired. She’s been sleeping really well all week.Paul got me a fitbit (fitness tracker) for an anniversary present. The funny thing is that I didn’t realize he was getting me one and I got him one, too. 😀 I like that it tracks my steps, heart rate, calories burned, etc..
