what's up weekly.

Hello, all!  This week, I kept thinking it was Thursday.  Now that it is actually Thursday night as I write this, I keep thinking, "Wow. How is it Thursday already?"  One of those weeks.

We really didn't have too much scheduled this week, which was mostly nice, but it also made for long days.  I tried my best to add at least a little something to the list each day to change things up - Monday, we ran some errands (more on that in a sec); Tuesday, the plumber came for our yearly drain maintenance, so the kids spent the morning staring at him while he worked (I'm sure he loved that); Wednesday I woke up grouchy and we had nothing on the agenda, so we went to pick up library books just to get out of the house.  And yesterday, it was hooooot, so I let the kids play with Duplos that I hadn't gotten out in a long time.

Okay, but let me back up.  On Saturday, we made our trip to the Amish, and the sweet corn is finally in!  We celebrated by having the world's easiest, summeriest dinner: Chicken salad sandwiches, sweet corn, and watermelon.

On Monday, we ran some errands: first we had a grocery pickup at Walmart, then we headed across town to run into Staples.  I always just dread going in there - the kids always have some kind of meltdown, the copy center guy always takes a million years to do a simple task, at least one child almost gets kidnapped or hit by a car.  You know.  But sometimes you just have to brave it, and this time I had to brave it: I needed my Natural Cheese cookbook rebound.  (Did you know that for $5, you can have them remove the stupid book binding on a cookbook and add a spiral binding to it - allowing you to lay it flat on a counter, or keep it open to a specific page for later reference?  GAME CHANGER.  I have now done this with my two most used cookbooks, and it makes such a huge difference.)  I also like to buy maps and periodic tables there - they have really nice, detailed, binder-punched, laminated, fold-out copies for $7.  

So we got everything taken care of, and nothing dramatic happened.  The guy behind the counter was quick and courteous, the kids were obedient and quiet, and no one got Pied Piper'd by strangers.  I felt so confident, we braved going into Walmart (a different one than our grocery pickup one) to pick out school supplies.  Ten boxes of crayons and sixty spiral-bound notebooks later, I think we are now set for the school year.

While we were out, Penelope had the idea to buy suckers for all the kids for doing so well, and Laurelai saw these Pringles she thought Todd would like.  ("Too my Dady. do not toche, athr peyrpls [other peoples]!") I like getting to indulge treats like that when we go out - I think it makes everyone feel special and seen, and it costs so little.

Throughout the week, I got some deep cleaning done around the house: I cleaned out and organized the linen closet and bathroom cabinets, I took the dining room rug outside and hosed it down and scrubbed it, and I finally got up the energy to do some decorating in the basement.  Plus, my dishwasher is still broken, so dishes are kind of a never-ending project around here.  (I'm hoping to find some good sales over Labor Day, so I just need to stick it out for a few more weeks before I can hopefully get one ordered.)

It felt good to get so much productive work done (and also, I took a 2-hour nap yesterday, which I like to think is its own kind of productive), but I suspect some of it was done as an attempt to procrastinate on a few more pressing items.  We will be starting school again soon, and I have a lot still to organize and plan for with that, and later in the summer we will be taking a road trip that I haven't even started thinking about yet.  I'll need to start thinking about planning the itinerary, packing, ordering library books, shopping, cleaning... but that seems like a lot to think about, so I'm just going to pretend it doesn't exist.  

Instead, I'm going to focus on how cute the kids are:

Finneas, holding the world's tiniest toad, who looks like he disdains the whole affair.  The lovable, squeezable, unimpressible MR. TOAD!

Penelope is a sewing MACHINE.  (Well, not literally a sewing machine.  But you know what I mean.)  She loves taking her sewing kit with her wherever she goes, and stitches away on little projects while she listens to audiobooks.

Juni picked out her own outfit, and I say she did a fantastic job.  This is a well-deserved jump for joy.

These little girls are thick as thieves, and I have to say I just LOVE sisters!!

In pregnancy news, I am celebrating turning the big 2-0! Halfway through, baby!  Which is terrifying, by the way.  My insurance still isn't sorted out, all these hospital covid regulations have me considering alternative birth options, and I'm still feeling somewhat sick and very exhausted.  I simultaneously want time to speed up a little so that I can start feeling better, and slow down so I can feel more mentally prepared to make major birth decisions.  

I eat bacon, a fried egg and black coffee every day for breakfast, just like always, and that consistently sits pretty well, but after that it's a free-for-all.  The only things that consistently sit well in my stomach are Snickers bars, bagels, and microwave popcorn.  Deep nutrition right there, my friends.  Other than that, it really depends on the day what I'm able to stomach.

And just like that, another week has been logged in the books.  I have to say, I'm really enjoying this summer.  Last summer felt like it just dragggggged on, but the pace this year is so good.  It feels productive and restful and the kids are genuinely enjoying their time off, rather than going stir-crazy.  These are good weeks.

'what's up' weekly: The Boys Are Back In Town edition!

This week was full, full, full and I'm exhausted but not complaining.  We had tons of fun, got a lot accomplished and enjoyed our days together.

When I left off last week, I was preparing to take the girls on their Mommy-Daughter dates.  First thing on Friday, Lissy and I headed out to IHOP for a sugary (and, unbeknownst to me, glutened) breakfast.  She got cupcake pancakes and apple juice; I got an omelet (who would have guessed they mix pancake batter into those?!), and the 'black coffee' I ordered showed up looking and tasting suspiciously like an extra large hot chocolate with whipped cream.  I was the only one who seemed at all distressed, though.

Surprisingly, then, it wasn't ME who had to declare a bathroom emergency and run into HyVee for a pit stop on the way home.  Oh, well; I "needed" to buy some specialty cheese anyway, so we added grocery shopping to our date once Callista was done in the bathroom.

After we got home, I took Laurelai to Culver's for lunch.  (Actually, I took her to Steak 'N Shake, but their dining room is still closed for the pandemic??, so we switched plans.)  We got to eat burgers and watch the birds and sit under the umbrellas and watch the rain fall around us.  It was fantastic.  We also got to hear the guy at the next table over drop every cuss word in the English language while he griped about living in his mom's basement.  That part was kind of a mood killer, but we made it through.

After we got home, I took Penelope to Starbucks to play Scrabble and drink coffee, and then we walked through the mall looking for maternity clothes and buying gumballs.

The driver of the Weinermobile must've needed something at the mall that day, too, so we got an exclusive photo op.

Not to brag or anything, but that Q is on a Double Letter Score block, and there is also a Z in the word if you missed that.  But like I said, not to brag.

All in all, a very successful date day.

On Saturday, the boys returned home from their week away!  The girls got the house ready for their arrival.

On Sunday, we did church at home to give everyone the chance to start the day slowly and rest, and we had popcorn party for dinner while we watched A Knight's Tale.  (A family favorite, though there is one gratuitous scene and one rude joke we skip through to keep it family-friendly.)

Juni found the Popcorn Trough in advance and did her best to allocate resources where they seemed to do the most perceived good.

I also started cleaning out the garage Sunday afternoon.  It has needed it for a while, and it was quite the undertaking.  I pulled everything off the shelves, wiped it down, sorted it out, reorganized it.  I powerwashed shoe bins and milk crates and rugs.  I washed coats and sorted shoes.  I literally cleaned everything.  And it only took about four days in the long run.  I'm so glad it's done, but I think I'll wait another five years before doing it again.

On Monday morning, we busted out a sprinkler toy Callista got for her birthday.  The big kids were super into it, the little girls were a bit more apprehensive.  

It was supposed to wiggle around, but it kept twisting itself up, so the kids just took to picking it up and blasting each other with it.  

I was having flashbacks to these water fight photos from days gone by...

...especially after I started yelling to Todd to "Get Juni, get Juni!" By which I meant, 'get her picture.'  The big boys literally thought I was yelling at them to get her with the hose, so obedient children that they are, they complied cheerfully.

She was not a fan.  I did realize my mistake and told them quickly to stop, but I was not the most sympathetic savior.

It, again, reminded me of those water fight days of yore.

I will say, though, that the boys are a more equitable match for one another these days.  Here's a moral of the story for you, kiddies: If you are the recipient of injustice, just bide your time.  One day you will take your vengeance and it will be sweet.  Just like it says in the Bible.

Anyway, the little girls spent the rest of the morning huddled by me, airing their grievances.  The boys made it up to Juni by being so sweet and getting her all dried off and dressed in a puppy towel.  She can't possibly stay mad at them for long.  Plus, in seven or eight years, she will probably get to blast them in the face with a sprinkler hose anyway, so she should really just suck it up.

The rest of the week was spent outside or doing more projects.  I finished up the garage and started in on the laundry room.  I also went to Salvation Army and scored some amazing cotton flannel and wool blankets, so I am hoping to start some sewing projects for the new baby soon.  The little girls were ADORABLE.  So what else is new?

Laurelai finally lost two teeth that had been hanging on by a thread for a while.

And Finneas made a new pal.  I'm not a fan of slugs, but I marvel at their design.  Such an intricate, intentional, beautiful pattern for something as disgusting and destructive as a slug.  

Beyond that, all we did was enjoy the sunshine.

Listening to Harry Potter and crocheting a hat for the baby.  The hat itself is basically just a flat disk with a looooong tassel with a pompom at the end and I DIE every time I think of it.  I am indescribably excited to take photos of it on the baby.

See? Full, fantastic, glorious week.