Happy, happy birthday, Issa!

We had a fabulous weekend celebrating our girl turning 15:

After pandemic birthdays, I was truly overwhelmed by watching Issa's people love her well on her birthday--including a few that were surprises even for me!

Saturday morning, Issa actually got to have a birthday party! Her competition dance team joined us at AR Workshop:

I had so much fun painting pillows with these girls:

They are truly just fun people to hang out with! Our teacher had also been a competitive dancer, so she jumped right in--watching their videos and laughing with us:

And the gifts were so incredibly thoughtful. A butterfly necklace:

A World's Best Mom candle because she is the one who is always prepared with the Band-Aids and snacks:

A photo album of them over the years:

I kept tearing up all morning just watching them love each other so well, and the final pillows were pretty great, too:

Saturday night we had birthday dinner number one at our place, and Issa opened Evan's gift:

He had wrapped it in 15 layers of tape, and she was not amused:

But it was worth it:

She now has her very own copy of her favorite movie, In the Heights:

We were supposed to go to a dance performance, but Issa had been mildly glutened and opted to just stay home and watch the movie and have cake:

She woke up on her actual birthday to the usual decorations:

She also got a surprise visit from her dance student with an Easy Bake Oven cake:

She had dance rehearsal, where they sang to her and had brownies from the local bakery:

I sat in the car and snapped a picture of their celebration before they yelled at me to come join:

Issa and Nana went shopping, and we all met up for Maggiano's. She came home and blew out the candle on her cake so she could send a picture to Etta:

I am so, so proud of this girl, and it makes me so happy to see her celebrated so well.
 

Seasonal Fun

One of the many perks of working in an education department is that we still get to have a little seasonal fun! I very much look forward to changing my message board throughout the year, and my new fall décor makes me very happy:

 The bonus is I get to see that cute little gnome every time I look up from my desk. 

Grateful

 We are finally really settling into a routine and the new school year. We have the general drop-off and pick-up schedule figured out, and we are a lot less tired at the ends of the days. We are eating more solid meals, and the house is actually staying tidy. We have found a groove.

A huge part of that groove has been Brad. Since he is the only one home during the day, he has taken to throwing in laundry and cleaning the kitchen. He has jumped in for me on pick-up when I have a random meeting pop up, and he has taken to fixing me breakfast and packing my lunch. (I am good at a great many things, but taking care of myself is not always one of them.) 

Beyond everything, I'm just so, so grateful for him. He makes our crazy possible in so many ways, and I don't know how to do life without him--I'm awfully glad I don't have to.

We had the most lovely, quiet weekend. I did some yardwork and Brad did a little garage cleaning, but other than that it was just rest and family time. We toyed with the idea of a beach or zoo run, but we decided we were all tired and a little rest was exactly what we needed!

The only big thing we did was decorate for Halloween. I am usually a stickler for waiting for October 1, but it's Issa's favorite holiday. I did put my foot down about waiting on the outside things, but I am loving the fall mantle:

Tora is also loving snuggling Squish:

If the last 18 months have taught us anything, it's that we double down on the little things that bring us joy. Watching Halloween movies all snuggled up on the couch brought us great joy, and now we have an extra month to enjoy it!
 

We Made It!

 It's Friday! We made it! We are slowly settling into routines, and we had a great evening last night with very little homework and time to enjoy some fall weather on the front porch.

This was supposed to be a big dance weekend for Issa, but those plans got cancelled. We are looking forward to a slow, quiet, restful long weekend!

I feel like this sums up life right now:

 It was the best of times. It was the most puzzling of times. I feel like I am constantly scratching my head trying to figure out the next right thing.

Thankfully, Brad is really stepping into the breach. Yesterday I literally packed myself grapes for lunch; I forgot to actually make the sandwich because I got interrupted by something. This morning, in addition to making me breakfast like he does every morning, he packed my lunch. We are laughing our way through this crazy transition and the Delta variant, and there is no one else I would rather do life with right now.

For Me

Work has been brutal this week and it's only Tuesday. The world needs a collective chill out and reset. That is all.

Last night, I needed to do something just for me, so I did this little project:

 I made myself my own little manicure basket. All of my supplies are actually organized, and the nails are filed by category. No more flipping a messy bag through to find things. It makes me very happy. Onward...

Much Needed Rest

The big highlight of the weekend was getting haircuts, when my family stole my phone and left me with these beauties:

Other than that, we had a quiet, quiet weekend. After a full first week back, it was just what we needed. We did play D&D with Nana, and the boys went to the dojo, but that was about it.

Issa did get to open her first birthday gift:

We got her a subscription to Lunarly, which is natural self-care products that come each month. We had planned to wrap the first box up, but it very clearly said it had a live plant inside, so that would have been a very bad plan. She can just start celebrating a bit early!
 

These Two

Brad and Inks have such a strange relationship:

 This is their new thing. He taps his shoulder, and she jumps up. She purrs so loudly, and it just cracks me up.

We're Making It!

 It's Thursday. We have successfully made it to school four days in a row. With all of the things. And all of the homework completed. We are tired. We are making it. One more day...

Creating Art

Issa had her first big Monarch "performance" last weekend! I put it in quotes because it was actually a filming rather than a live event. We actually started the day with pedicures:

While sporting our matching Monarch shirts!

I was the one designated parent who got to attend the filming. I was really there to keep track of these little caterpillars:

But I loved getting to watch Issa lead them and then dance with her team:

All of the footage will be sliced together to make one film that will become part of the Nasher Art Museum, and I couldn't be more proud.
 

Bright Spots

Both kids had really great first days. They like their teachers, and no one got lost, so we are calling it a win! 

In addition to that little bright spot, Issa gained a literal bright spot Sunday:

She really wanted the bottom layer of her hair dyed, and Brad did an awesome job:

She loves her magenta hair, and I loved listening to the two of them while he was doing it. 

 

First Day!

Both kids are officially back in school today! It was so bizarre to drop them off again.

They woke up to a decorated downstairs courtesy of Buddy:

It's been a long time since they have gone to school, so we ran the checklist twenty million times: lunch, water bottle, laptop, mask, sanitizer.

Issa is ready for her sophomore year:

All of her favorite classes are next semester, but she is ready for this one.

Evan saw no need for a picture of his start to seventh grade:

This is his first year actually changing classes, so he's pretty excited about that. 

This is the best picture I got:

I guess I'll take it. Now we are hoping for a great first day and a healthy school year!
 

Torn

Yesterday I posted this picture because I was so excited:

 I taught EDU 234 to 19 undergrads who are so excited to be back on campus and in classes. It's the first course I ever taught here, and it felt so, so good to be back. It feeds my soul.

But when I got home, I got a bit nervous. I was in a room with 19 undergrads. While we are masked, we are only three feet apart. Our numbers are inching up. I'd be lying if I said it didn't make nervous.

So I'm torn. And I'm letting myself sit with that for a while.

She Misses Me

This is my second week of being on campus every day, all day. Honestly, my days will probably actually be shorter next week once classes are settled. It's been a bit bumpy for us all to adjust, but my pandemic kitten is really pitiful:

 Issa says she meows for a while when I leave, and when I get home this is what happens. She just needs extra love. I'll take it.

Good Friends

 Yesterday was another one that didn't go as planned.

Almost a month ago, we accidentally left our dome light on in the Outback. Oops. We were able to jump it, but it was a little funky.

Two weeks ago, we got the battery tested and it definitely needed replaced. Oops. Of course it happened on a weekend, so we just went to AutoZone to replace it.

Saturday, I was driving home and all the lights on dash lit up. Not great. It was driving fine, though. So, Monday morning I took it to a local shop. They found a loose wire on the battery, which cleared out the codes and we thought we were good.

Until I got gas yesterday and the car wouldn't start after. I had Issa in the car, and we were headed to pick up one of her dance friends for a team meeting. I texted another dance mom, who went to get the friend, and thankfully I finally got it started and got Issa to the meeting.

We just kept it running and Brad took it straight to the dealership. We are waiting to hear from them, but we have figured out how to be a one car family for the next few days.

We are also grateful for great friends. One friend brought Issa home from the meeting so we could drop the car off. Another heard about it and texted to offer help the rest of the week if we need it. I love our little village, and although yesterday was not fun, it was a great reminder of how very lucky we are.

The Best of Plans...

We had a very relaxing weekend--although not how we planned. Friday, the kids were with Mom and Brad and I had a lovely night in. Saturday, the boys spent most of the day at the dojo and we girls went thrifting with Aly. I was only looking for a flannel, but then I met Squirrely Dan and knew he needed to live with us:

He just cracks me up with his little acorn bowl. Issa found a suitcase and a top, so it was a good day all around.

We had big plans to go to the beach on Sunday, but we cancelled Saturday afternoon because of the forecast, which was very good because I was up most of the night with food poisoning. Super fun. But...it passed and I got lots of good snuggles Sunday to recover:

We are hoping for a quiet-ish week for the kids before they start school next week. I start teaching today, so here we go!

 

Full Circle

I don't usually post on the weekend, but Friday was a blur and I ran out of time. This moment needs to be documented:

Issa has been giving our little neighbor girl dance lessons all summer, and Thursday night, wearing Issa's first recital costume, she had her little recital:

The demonstrated their stretches, ballet position song, and a little piece Issa choreographed for her. It was so sweet, and I was so very proud of my girl.
 

Soaking Up the Last of Summer

We are starting to gear up for school around here. Bedtimes and alarms are getting earlier. We are trying to remember how to get up, get dressed, and get out the door quickly. We are getting better every day.

We are also soaking up the last of summer. Ice cream runs after dinner. Slower days and extra family time. To that last point, the kids have spent more time playing board games and being together. And to make that more fun, Evan built a fort:

It takes up his entire room, and I have loved listening to the laughing in it. I think it will stay up until school starts, and I won't complain one bit. I know these days of forts are almost over, and I'll soak them up while they last.
 

Sometimes You Get Lucky

 Yesterday was a big day for our girl. When she first joined Monarch, she had to choose how many dances she would compete. Because everything was new and she had no idea who would be joining the team, she decided to do one, and we supported that decision. Pretty quickly she decided to add a solo, which we were thrilled about.

Last week, we got the list of team dances, and Issa was thrilled to be in a musical theatre/tap piece. The other three high schools are in it along with two middle school dancers. All was well, but she was a little sad she was only doing one. But...we had made our choices based on the information we had at the time. Onward.

Yesterday, we got a text from her teacher. A dancer had the opposite reaction and felt like she was in too many. It opened a space in a modern/contemporary piece with the other three high school dancers, and she invited Issa to join. No pressure if she still wanted only one--just an offer. Issa jumped on it! She is so excited to be dancing a second piece with her friends.

We are loving watching her love dance again. This little team has bonded, and she is finding so much joy at the studio, which is bringing me so much joy.

Squeezing in Some Family Time

I'm back in the office full-time this week. It does feel odd to be back on campus bright and early every day, and the kids are not so sure they are loving this idea. I think it will be easier once they are in school, but these two weeks are awkward every summer--more so this year when I haven't come in every day since March 2020.

We knew this was going to be an adjustment, so we scheduled some extra family time over the next few weeks, starting with a bowling trip last Saturday:

We had way too much fun:

Even if we are not the best bowlers:

The "O" key was broken, so I became Mum, and then Brad decided to be Starlord:

He also crushed us.

Evan remains the football throwing king:

Issa and Dad are an even match with a basketball:

And I had a ball watching them.

 

A Bit of Quiet

This week has been nuts! Next week is the official start of my semester, which means I'm trying to be sure everything is prepped and ready to go! I also submitted my promotion portfolio, which is a lot of mental and emotional work. To say that I'm ready for the weekend is a huge understatement. But...I managed to squeeze in a little bit of quiet yesterday at the pottery studio.

Issa bought a dish in Blowing Rock that she wanted to convert into an incense burner, so I made an insert:

After it's fired I'll glaze it to match the dish:

I had a lantern to glaze, and I picked up my finished soap dish:

It's amazing how centering clay centers me...
 

This is happening...

 Yesterday was a big day. Issa got her first college mail.

Now that she has a class rank and GPA, colleges are really starting to pay attention. She had gotten a few emails, but yesterday the first mail arrived. It's a college that doesn't have her major, but they were interested in her.

Next summer will start the for real searching, but it looks like we are already starting that adventure!

Getting Ready

We had a really lovely weekend. Friday night, we all went out for a family dinner at Gatewood. I don't remember what we talked about, but I do know we laughed a lot.

Saturday, Issa went with her team to an all day dance workshop in Greensboro. I dropped her off at 7:30 at her teacher's house, and they all road together. Stephanie was kind enough to text pictures all day:

Issa is so incredibly strong, and she had a fabulous day. It was really odd to have her in another city, though!

Yesterday, Nana came home! We were so excited to get her from the airport and catch up over dinner!

And this morning, we are starting the going back to school process. This week, the kids are getting up at 8. We will slowly back that up over the next couple of weeks.

I'm getting back in the habit of spending time in the yard every morning, and this morning I actually ate my breakfast on the front porch:

 It is actually cool here this morning, which is lovely after a beastly hot week last week. We will enjoy it while it lasts!