Around Here 12: 03/17-23

 A glimpse into what it is like to be in our family just this moment. 

photo cred: Jackie F

Intentional Outdoor Hours: 15+ hours (of 1000)
It was the first day of spring this week! (it snowed!) hahaha, it is still pretty stinky chilly and I can only daydream about sunshine and no coats & shoes. 

Reading The Body, a guide for occupants by Bill Bryson and I am just blown away by the details and way the information is explained - what a master he is at storytelling facts; truly a gift he has. I think science is so fascinating - especially when you go big-big-big (ie. solar system, universe, etc) or when you go teeny-teeny-teeny (microbes, cells, etc). So learning about all the tiny microbes, bacteria, and cells that make our bodies work everyday is absolutely mind-blowing. Here I am just walking around everyday like "man, my hair looks greasy" when all these teeny things are working behind the scenes to make me be alive...like what?! And since every single page of that book is blowing my ever-loving mind, I needed a book I could read a little faster, so my cousin/bestie Heather dropped off High Achiever by Tiffany Jenkins and I started that one too (loving it!)

Listening on my commute to Never Lie by Frieda McFadden. I nearly hurt myself rolling my eyes at the writing, and the narrators were unreliable and repetitive...and most disappointing of all; the story was unnecessarily dark and twisted (in a self-serving way, not an interesting way). I didn't like it at all. I'm relieved it's over and not a recommend from me. 

Not catching that tricky leprechaun AGAIN this year. Reddy was so fascinated and cute in the morning and Liv still kept calling him Mrs. Conn (hahha - thank you Mrs. Conn for being so sweet and generous and sending Liv text messages back)

Swapping out the St. Patrick's decor for Easter decorations. The youngest four hung up eggs on an outdoor tree and Gemma put together an elaborate Easter egg hunt inside to prepare for the real deal in two weeks. 

StuMoo cousin monthly dinner. Trying out a new tradition and carving out a specific day to have dinner with Uch, Kev, and our nephews. I know it seems so simple, but with six kids and full time jobs, and lots of activities - it does have to be scheduled intentionally or it's not going to happen. 

Counting down the weeks until April when we get to meet our new nephew!! Keep cooking baby, but we can hardly wait to meet you! (love you Uchie xxo)

Trying out a new schedule for Osa who made a run for it AGAIN this week. The state police actually picked her up and took her to the local humane society (shout out to the humane society volunteers! you guys are amazing!) B and I are so frustrated because she really is just running straight for the highway which is crazy considering we have 13 acres and are surrounded by woods and farmland...why run to the highway!? The kids were out building forts and hanging trail cams and she was with them until she made a run for it. They came in the house half crying, half panting (from sprinting to get us) but by then, she was gone. B drove around looking for her, but she must have been picked up already. 

Cheering on cousin Caleb at the championship hockey game - and they won! Of course it took a matter of watching the game for 2 minutes before Rusty and Reddy were both asking if they could play hockey (hah). Caleb plays with some of our friends too (good job Louie, Landon, and Owen!) so we had plenty to cheer for! So proud of you, Caleb, you are loved! 

Squealing when I saw Rusty's finished diorama for school. I had helped him with the glue gun and cutting out the tree shadows. But before I got home from school one day, he and Violet had glued the animal figurines and went out to pick dried wheat grass to add to it too! It looked awesome and he was proud to take his Savana diorama in for Reading Night. 

Attending Reading Night at the kids' elementary school. The PTA always puts on an incredible night - this year's theme was "Who was" books. We got to bring cousin Remi with us, so it was extra fun. As soon as Vi found her third grade friends, she bailed on us (hah!) Grey had baseball practice, but Gemma spent the night volunteering at Reading Night with the band. They had a room dedicated to "Who was Louis Armstrong" and they played What a Wonderful World and yes, I did whoop and holler when they finished - hah! I couldn't help myself! 

Taking my two big Easter bunnies for a Target trip on Friday night. I looked at the calendar this week and realized Easter is NEXT week and was too overwhelmed for online shopping. So my two biggest kids and I took an hour drive to the closest Target to get everything we needed (Easter clothes & basket stuffers). The whole way out, Grey and I picked songs back and forth to rate for each other (Gem slept her motion sickness off in the backseat) and then the two of them were equal parts helpful and hilariously dumb in the store. Grey found a mini basketball that kept him occupied euro-stepping every mannequin he saw and Gemma picked up 18 thousand plush pillows, fake plants, and home decor items telling me about what her future house is going to look like. We got everything we needed for the Easter bunny and it was fun (and funny) to listen to the two of them and laugh at their silly teenage ways.

      It is my goal to be able to say I love the teenage years and so far, I really do. It's really emotionally exhausting and they can be so annoying it is actually insane...but raising little kids is really physically exhausting and they are also annoying (hah). But little kids and big kids both make me belly laugh, and they are are sweet and thoughtful in very surprising ways. You get to snuggle little kids but you get to have inside jokes and thought provoking conversations with big kids. And you clap and cheer for little kids when they try something new, but you are struck in awe when you see your big kid do something all on their own and be the person you've been trying to raise up all these years. It's both harder and easier, I'm just trying everyday to remember that big kids are growing and developing just as much as they were when they were little and they need the same (if not more) doses of grace, patience, and understanding. They're still learning how to be a person yet, and just because they look bigger doesn't mean I can forget that they're still trying to figure it out in their hearts and minds.

PCT Kitty & Bryan update: they camped at Mile 0 on Wednesday night and stepped their toes on the trail on Thursday morning at the terminus of the PCT's most southern start! They hiked their first 20 miles to Lake Morena. Kitty says everything is more than they expected (more cold at night, more hot while hiking, more strenuous to hike 10+ miles a day with 27+ lbs on your back). As of Saturday morning, they only have 2,630 more miles to hike! So proud to be her big sis. (1) to follow their journey on instagram: @kankla or @bweimer27 (2) If you want to send $ for real food, coffee, and supplies along the way - venmo @kankla . (3) All other good vibes and prayers - please push those out freely and generously from your heart for them so they can stay healthy, safe, and strong for the whole hike! xxo

Teaching the second phase of capibaras (finishing our disguises and learning about capys as pets!) The kids are all so excited about their designs and some of them really are very creative. I started hanging them up in the room too and they look so fun! Spanish Expo was in their fourth and final week and we learned months, colors, days of the week, and Me Gusta. Spanish 1 finished up Unit 4A with a vocab test, a selfie project/presentation, and firming up those question words. Spanish 2 finished up Unit 4A with a vocab test, practicing more of the past tense, and a De Pequeño project and presentations. 

Sporting with 2 Sparks soccer practices (indoor) for Violet. Gem had a quick practice on Friday night, then she played in a 3v3 tournament to raise money for the Backpack Project on Saturday. Her team did great and it was so fun to see them play the fast-paced style of 3v3. Grey had a Chaos basketball practice, 4 baseball practices for the school, and a QB practice on Saturday morning. We did make it once for a family weightlifting night but we've been so inconsistent since the start of the year, it's like starting over every time (hah!) Our legs were dyyyying the next day.

Making crockpot potato soup & Irish soda bread (for St Patty's day lunch with StuMoo cousins), chicken/ veggie/ stuffing casserole, air fryer chicken tacos, bagel / egg / cheese sammies, spaghetti, chicken / veggie / biscuit casserole, baked ravioli, For desserts we had chocolate chip/ Lucky charms cookies and banana/ coconut/ oatmeal cookies.

Around Here Week 11: 03/10-16

 A glimpse into what it is like to live in our family just this moment. 

art, photo, and edit credit: Gemma

selfie credit: Grey

selfie cred: Abba

Intentional Outdoor Hours: 15+ hours (of 1000)
the daffodils have arrived! The kids got to play outside after school almost everyday this week thanks to the sunshine (trampoline, shooting hoops, chalk art, bikes, etc) and then we all got some time in the fresh air when we had a little picnic with cousins to celebrate Remi's birthday at the Que. On our way home right before dusk, the reflection of the sky on the water was so gorgeous I pulled right over to grab a picture. The kids were cheering me on from the car as I made me way down through some briar bushes to get the best vantage point - hah! 

Reading and finishing Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter. So adorable, so many tingling lovey moments - no spice (a nice surprise!) and just full of all those teenage heart fluttering moments. (gah, how is it possible to be able to access those feelings for my high school boyfriend so easily? I mean, luckily for my husband it just makes me want to kiss him because he WAS my high school boyfriend, hah!) Then I started The Body by Bill Bryson and well, Bill Bryson is just a master and I am loving it. 

Listening on my commute to Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange and finishing it. So interesting and capitivating. I loved listening to it because of all the different voice actors that narrated the book, but I think I would have preferred to have a copy of the book in front of me to flip back and forth and re-read some parts. Then I started Never Lie by Frieda McFadden

Getting to check in with a former student Tyson who was sweet enough to collect all my popcorn orders from the prom fundraiser for me! We met up at our local microcafe Cafe Dodie and had coffee and chatted and it was so nice to see him. We were laughing about how our goodbye this time was much less hysterical than the last time we parted ways (hahah - both of us crying in my classroom on my last day! LOL) 

Visiting with Kitty before she heads out for our PCT hike (!!) She will be gone for about 6 months as she hikes the Pacific Crest Trail northbound (Mexico to Canada) with her fella Bryan. We are going to miss her terribly but are so inspired and in awe of her. What an incredible experience for mind, body, soul - I am only a teeny bit jealous. She has researched, prepared, made arrangements, and trained. I cannot wait to hear about her trip and see all the pictures and videos. Follow her and Bryon instagram to be inspired too: @kankla  @bweimer27 

So touched about a sweet message for me in our staff compliment notebook. It was so specific and really was a boost to my heart after still feeling like I'm floundering to get my feet under me (thank you Ms. Pyle!) Most of all - I want to share the idea with you all, because what an awesome tradition to start in a workplace! Please go add a 'compliment notebook' to your place of employment and get those supportive vibes going! 

Tell me you have a (nearly) teenage daughter without telling me...how about staying up until almost 11p with a hair straightener in your hand while she giggles at ridiculous things and you have to shush her through a smile so she doesn't wake any of the other kids up. This is the good stuff man, please Tab, don't forget this. xox

Seeing my biggest boy smile because it's fishing season ya'll. He got to fish at Yellowcreek this week and there ain't nothing that makes my child happier than being in a creek with a fly rod in his hand. 

Fangirling at the CT high school musical - they did Mary Poppins. It was flawless and left me getting teary-eyed proud to be a member of this community. It is very cool at CT that the whole student body seems to makes an effort to support the musical, either by attending or volunteering. Our Gemma ushered twice this week (directing audience to seats) and when we attended Brandon had varsity football players there passing out programs and selling flowers. If you want to be inspired, please get your butt to a local high school musical; these young people are out there dazzling.

Watching The Eras Tour on Disney+ and at one point our entire family was sitting on the couch, smooshed together, staring in awe. 

Enjoying lunch & a cousin playdate with Heather and Caleb. They stopped up with lunch in hand (thank you!) so Heather and I could catch up (25 different topics interrupted 85 times - it's hilarious how we can keep all the strings connected, hah!) The boys played outside and even took a little bike ride to DG. Cousins make the best friends.

Shipping Gem and Vi off with Abba and Chum to work on their new house. Nothing these girls like more than demo days. Hah! Chum had them jackhammering and knocking walls down. 

Volunteering with You in Flood City at the first annual Paddy's Day Pub Crawl. B and I were stationed at The Haven for registration - along with Russell, Mo, and Jake. We had a lot of fun chatting and face painting pub crawlers while sipping on green beers and people watching. After the registration, B and I got dinner at The Boulevard (also a pub crawl stop) and there was live music and delicious bruschetta. My sister is the head of YIFC and like always - she put on an amazing event. Check out the video of the event here (bravo to Bridge Perspective you guys are honestly the very best at capturing the essence of the thing. xxo) 

Setting up our leprechaun trap! Grey was actually a great support in getting the trap designed and organized; he had the kids all excited about the leprechaun. Reddy was a little scared about it at first (a man who breaks into our house?!) and Olive kept thinking we were saying "Mrs. Conn" (our friend who is the mom of Grey's besties & is also Gemma's teacher), so she kept asking, "When Mrs. Conn coming?"

Teaching 3 full days and 2 shortened days thanks to a 2hr snow delay on Monday and a regularly scheduled early dismissal on Friday!  It felt like a much needed adjustment though so that I could get my school life organized and I was thankful. Spanish special continued with our capybara projects (kids are having so much fun and being so creative!) Spanish Expo learned about Spanish speaking countries and geography. Spanish 1 started Unit 4A (ir, places) while we also worked through Somos 1 Unit 2.5 (Cumbia) and Spanish 2 started their 4A (imperfect tense, childhood items) while also working through Somos 2 Unit 7 (acosador). After a wonky yet busy week, on Friday, I received a very sweet thank you and a potted plant (thank you Destiny & Nik!) and it was such a nice way to end the week on.

Sporting Violet had 1 indoor Sparks soccer practice and Gemma had the championship game at the CV tournament; they came in second but she was proud to represent her team as an all-tourney player. Grey had baseball practice for the school 4 nights this week (including photos and the team meeting), and on Saturday, he had a pony league baseball practice. B had his Franklin basketball game on Sunday night and our whole family was able to be there to cheer him on after Gemma's tournament. It is always nice to watch him play something he loves so much (and is ridiculously talented at. my handsome, talented husband - proud of you always).

Making chicken&gravy over mashed potatoes, Sloppy Joes and Shells&Cheese, Dump & Bake Aloha Chicken & Rice (yum!), For breakfasts we had pumpkin/chocolate muffins on the Act 80 day. For dessert I made a double batch of cowboy cookies!