Hello, fall. And sadly, it looks like we’ll be saying hello to lots of rain this weekend, too. NOT COOL. Mark also departs for a work trip and so the girls and I will have LOTS of 1:1 time. Wish me luck 😉 How that man goes to India and back in less than 5 days…yeah, it’s insane. And for someone that regularly requires 9-10 hours of sleep a night, I don’t know he transverses time zones as well as he does.
Mark is playing hockey in my league this season. I was instructed NOT to draft him (as a captain of 1 of the 6 teams, he asked this of me). So Sunday evenings are now always covered, in part at least, by a babysitter. But he seems to be enjoying it a lot and he even scored his first goal last week! I missed it – I was standing at the opposite end of the rink. Oops. My team, on the other hand, is 0-3 and yet to gel. Yours truly is also playing defense and that is not my learned position.
We had family pictures taken a few weeks ago. The photographer was a friend of a friend and she did amazing. Aren’t they adorable!? Piper was a real gem (sarcasm) the whole time, but she managed to get some cute shots, including those icy blue eyes. They’re just stunning! Her hair is growing so quickly and it’s funny how straight and glossy Piper’s hair is while Shea is my child through and through – curly/kinky hair that is mostly a hot mess at all times…but curls like a dream with some effort! 😉 Mark always complains about family pictures, but I just love them! The result that is – the process with children is always painful. 😛
As we move into cooler temperatures, I’m considering what fall and winter sports we want to get the girls into. We have had zero organized sports since t-ball and I think that will be our first and last year of that (kidding a little). I think we will start with dance and/or gymnastics for both girls and in the winter, move them both into swim and Shea back into ice skating. I mean, there’s NOTHING else going on in small town Michigan in the colder months, so might as well be busy with indoor stuff. Piper is super girly and I can see her L-O-V-I-N-G ballet and tap. She will own that leotard and tutu, no doubt!
The girls have decided on their Halloween costumes – Shea as a veterinarian and Piper as a kitty. Simple, cute, and coordinated! The coordination was coincidence, but I love it!
Our wonderful nanny is nearing the portion of her grad school program that will pull her into internship activities full-time and so we’ll lose her for all of November and then permanently in February. The clock is ticking if we want to transition in someone new. We interviewed one girl who appeared to not love children and never followed through, so she’s a no-go. We found our current nanny on Care.com so I’m hoping we get lucky again. I feel spoiled with my routine of tag teaming the girls in the morning (Mark is usually out the door by the time everyone is up) and then she drops them at school. In the afternoons, she picks them up and they have an activity of some kind – beach, carousel, library, park, etc. and then she brings them home for bath, books, etc while I sneak in a workout and she’s out the door by 6pm. We love our schedule and it just so happens that it works for all of us. The help with the girls is priceless and they love her, too! The evenings are so much less stressful without the grind of lunches, baths, etc. She also helps with after school activities when they’re in session. Gah, she will be such a loss to us! Best money we spend all month, ESPECIALLY because I never worry about the girls in her care. She’s amazing and genuinely loves them.
If you’re yet to check out my podcast, Dietitians Dish, what are you waiting for?! Maybe you’ve been waiting for our first live taste test? Protein bars! We will be sampling 14 different protein bars and ranking each based on taste and nutrition. Be sure to tune in! Oh, and drop us an awesome review if you do 😉
The Illini don’t play this weekend, so I guess they can’t manage a loss. Phew. I’ll probably make chili regardless because the weather dictates that being a good choice.
Have a great weekend!
Be well,
