Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I’m drinking a mimosa for now (hello, vacation!), but I’ll be sure to get a beer before the day is done!
Holy smokes! My last Family Friday post was in mid-November. Not that I haven’t blah-blah-blahed around these parts, but I miss Fridays spent with extra blah-blahing on the blog. My uncle remarked recently that he missed the life updates and preferred my blah-blahing about life versus blah-blahing about food. Can’t win’em all!
This week was a doozie with day light savings. Those mornings are dark and my body just wouldn’t wind down on command. I spent last week pulling double duty at work which was better knowing that it was coming because I blocked my calendar from both patients and meetings that allowed me to be a front desk and referrals specialist extraordinaire. I’m a list person and there is something very satisfying about task mastering my days away. I put in a lot of hours and skipped my mid-day walks a few days so that I didn’t go into next week or vacation with anything outstanding! Spring Break and Cancun, I’m looking at you!
We recently got all new furniture for our formal living room which will double as a tech-free room in which I can READ. My reading “nook” that I’ve wanted for years and years (thanks to Pinterest). I’ve got a giant fiddly fig tree (fake, of course) and it brings me much joy. I even have a canvas photo that I’m obsessed with. What animal is this? I don’t even care, I love him! He makes me happy and totally finishes the room with a fun flare!
I’ve been doing some reading and have enjoyed all of the following (4 and 5 starts from me):
- Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
- Remarkably Strange Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
- Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
- November 9 by Colleen Hoover
- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Other than reading, Mark and I watched Dopesick on Hulu – an 8-part series on OxyContin and the opioid epidemic. So scary but well worth the watch. We have also been watching the new season of Yellowstone and will soon start Ted Lasso. And at times, we are known to mindlessly watch Below Deck — our favorite reality TV. In truth, we do very little TV watching because the girls are going to bed closer to 9pm these days and by the time we wrap up any adulting or other commitments, we’re lucky to squeeze in an episode of anything.
Remember when I said I wouldn’t volunteer to help with the kids’ school variety show this year? Well, I didn’t so much as lie as I got worn down by my mom tribe and am suckered in again. Love my friends, but managing middle-of-the-day trips to the school for auditions just wasn’t in the cards this year, but I was glad to join for a few planning meetings and the practices for the opening act. I can run a wireless speaker and YouTube with the best of them 😉 I’m also on flower duty and so far, the wholesaler and parents have all been pleasant to work with. 🙂 The show is a week after we return from Cancun, so it will be a busy week back with Act 1 and Act 2 rehearsals and 2 shows! But, I’m shoving all of that to brain space for another time.
The girls’ swim season has officially wrapped up and the season end pizza pool party was last Friday. They didn’t see my girls coming when it comes to pizza orders, those girls can PUT IT AWAY. No clue where it goes. They are their daddy’s daughters 🙂
In the past few months, we’ve been surviving the perma-cloud with a local beef fest (outdoor, of course), a trip to Grand Rapids for a fancy seafood dinner following a Griffins hockey game, a Notre Dame hockey game sans kids, and a few other fun events. Two weekends ago, we made a trip to Chicago for the Forest Park St. Patrick’s Day parade where my brother and his family joined, as well as my bestie and her family, and several other friends. It was a lot of fun and the girls LOVED it. Being the town over from where I grew up, it’s a little crazy that I’ve never been.
My latest woe has been summer camp and summer plans for the girls. I have 2 issues. The first is coverage for them both during the day. I was told from the YMCA that registration would open on Monday, March 13th for those not currently involved in Y programming when I called on Wednesday, March 8th (the day registration opened). Okay, got it. On Saturday, March 11th, I happened to be speaking to another mom at the girls’ soccer game who informed me that she was able to register her kids for the Y’s summer camp, neither of which are involved in Y programming (WHAAAAT?). Background information of importance: there is 1 local summer program (the YMCA) and there are 75 slots. That it. That’s all. Snooze and you’re SOL. I IMMEDIATELY called the Y over the phone to register the girls. I was told that they were waitlisted for weeks 1 and 2 but she said that interviews were occurring so that more slots could be opened and our chances were good for both girls being placed all 10 weeks. I log in to my account at the Y (made in anticipation of registering ASAP!) and see that Shea is registered for 7 of 10 weeks (not 8) and Piper is registered for only 5 of 10 weeks. I’ve called TWICE this week, leaving voicemails both times, and none have been returned. So, that’s issue number one for the summer. Issue number two is that the girls want to swim on the swim team and that is some time mid-to-late morning (up to 5 days/week), 20+ minutes from my work, and they are likely to be in different swim groups. I’m not sure how working parents are to manage this one. I have no plan other than to graciously offer the loving offer of a friend to bring the girls to and from swim team a few days a week and perhaps I can fenagle being off on Wednesday mornings to attend swim meets. I’m just not sure how summers work in households where both parents work full-time. STRESS. Summer sabbatical? 😉
That’s enough blah-blahing for now. Off to Cancun we go!
Be well,
