what's up weekly.

The major news of this week is that we started back to school, and uffda, y'all.  It is taking everything I have in me to actually sit down and write this blog post instead of using my mite of free time zoning out with a Harry Potter book like a real dork.  A real exhausted dork.

Okay, so I will admit the week wasn't nearly as bad as I was anticipating, and I actually feel pretty proud of that.  I think that I'm finally starting to adjust to the full, fast pace of this school year.  But I will also admit that we didn't actually finish an entire day's assignments at any point this week, so take that how you will.

But whatever the case, this week was actually encouraging in many ways.  Even after two weeks off, the kids didn't struggle too much with the transition back to the regular routine and workload.  My attitude was actually not horrible.  (On a scale of "Scrooge - Pollyanna," I would say I fell somewhere right around "Danny DeVito" - knowing that even that data point encompasses its own scale.  He's an actor with a wide range.)  And to be honest, we're all still really loving our subject material.  There is not a single book or subject that the kids or I dread.  Interest is the love that covers a multitude of motivational sins.

We did some other stuff besides school this week, too.  First of all, Juni is on the move!

I mean, she has been for a while, and also, I mean, she is never really on the move.  She likes to just be where the action is, and then park it.  I have never had a baby so content to just sit near where I am.  She doesn't need to be held most of the time, but she also doesn't feel the need to wander or explore the house much.  She just sits by me and chews on stuff and smiles at the world.  (Seriously, she smiles all the time.  Her resting face is a smile - Todd calls it Resting Friend Face.)  She genuinely could not be more pleasant.

On Saturday morning, I took my usual Sabbath retreat to the library and finally found my sweet spot: a table that was not near the kids' area (I obviously love kids, but I don't love Library Kids), not near a drafty window, not near the balcony where The Oglers congregate, and not near anyone smelly.  (There is nothing like the library on a Saturday morning to give you a literal taste for the vast array of human smells.)  I can't tell you more specifics about the location because I can't risk you taking my newfound library campsite.

Monday was a busy day: it was our first day back to school, I had a Walmart pickup scheduled in the afternoon, Rocco got his cast off (!! And I forgot to get a photo!) and I went to Aldi in the evening.

Yes, Rocco finally got his cast off!  His arm seems to have healed well, but he's still limited in his range of motion.  They said that's normal, but that it shouldn't continue much longer.  He got to take a Real Boy Bath instead of a Zippy Dunk, and he can now put his own pants on again without help.  Life is better for everyone.

I took him with me grocery shopping that night, too.  I take the kids out shopping with me one at a time, and this week was his turn.  He was so fun to hang out with!  It's been a while since it has been just me and him, and he's such an easygoing kid.  I let him pick out a treat, and he picked Pop Tarts, but he kept forgetting what they were called.  "What is my treat called again, Mama?  Poctors?  Poppers?"  He also got a Starbucks hot chocolate that he insisted on bringing home and putting in the fridge until the next day.  So really, he got a "chocolate milk tomorrow."

On Wednesday, we made our trip up to the Amish in the morning, and then did another Walmart pickup.  (Now that our town boasts not one, but three Walmart pickup locations, I can reorder the stuff that was out of stock on my first try and pick it up at a different, better-stocked store.)  I also started taking down our Christmas decorations and hauled the trees outside.  The upstairs living room looks way better now that all the clutter is out; the basement family room looks way sadder.  Once I get the rest of the Christmas stuff put away, I will focus my home efforts on recozy-fying down there.

Yesterday, it was sixty degrees outside, so I sent the kids out to play as much as possible.  No one in our house is complaining about it, though it does feel weird that this is January.

Guess what else is weird?

Callista.  Callista is weird.


In First World Problem news, Netflix got rid of Frasier, and now we have to check it out from the library on DVD.  There are so many strange things about that sentence.  We watch Frasier.  On DVDs.  That we check out from the library.  Which has Frasier on DVD.  ("Crazy world.  Lots of smells.")


And that was our week!  Off to tackle Friday!