octobering in 2021

When summer ended and school started, life sped up. I still feel like I'm running behind it yelling wait for me! while people throw things at me (halloween costumes, class parties, school pickups, homework folders, soccer cleats etc.) This time of year always feels this way but I think it's a bit more because of all the limited activities last year. But all in all, we're doing great.

Heard around here...

Mya: (from upstairs) Angus can you bring me two trash bags, please?

Angus: No! I just want to watch Paw Patrol and have a good life!

Winter: Eeew Addie, did you just come over here and fart?!

Addie: No!... Oh wait. Yes.

Angus: Mom, can I do chores for money?

Me: Yeah. You can help put away the dishes. I'll give you a quarter every time.

Angus: Well, I actually need dollars. #4thkid

Winter: It's funny how many questions we ask you all the time, huh.

Me: Hilarious (as Addie and Angus start fighting)

Winter: You have an intense life, mom.

The girls tried to exclude Angus from their tea party but he wasn't having it.

A friend gave me this awesome water bottle as a gift. Angus has taken it hostage and has made it his school water bottle. He calls it his "Gold Grannies" water bottle.

Mya spoils these children. I admire her patience and nurturing heart. And I love that she calls all 3 of her siblings "the kids" like she's co-parenting with me. 💕

Back in early October...

It was 100 degrees that day so we took our picnic indoors. (I think Mya was doing homework. She's a busy girl lately)

But mostly the weather has been lovely...

I have never seen Addie get more furious than she gets with Angus. However, there are few people she loves more. I love them.

Angus thought this deserved a spot on the fridge. I like his confidence. 

Soccer paparazzi here...  

I usually find Angus on a "water break" instead of actually playing. He's all tangled up in his net shirt thingy.

I'm going to start calling Saturdays and Sundays naked weekends. At least for the littles they are. It would be inappropriate for anyone else to walk around like this.

I paid Mya to clean out the storage so we could get to the costume box for Halloween. This always happens.

We have an awesome pastor. He's not boring at all. But this one fell asleep mid-sermon.

I like to take pics of them when they are all sitting together. And what a lovely parking lot backdrop.

(Five minutes after we put our names in, waiting for a table, hadn't even entered the restaurant yet...)

"Ugh, when is our food gonna get here??" 

-Angus

Waiting to pick up Addie. Takin sunroof pics.

Not really sure what these girls are doing... random poses in the middle of the street, being 12 💗

So nice of Angus to give his tools his pillow to sleep on.

I went to high school with most of these dear people. I'm not going to say how long we've known each other but 25 years is a long time. None of them have kids so they continued the PJ birthday celebration and I headed home at the ungodly hour of 10pm.

Recommendations: 

This lunch box keeps food cold all day. Mya picked it out on Amazon so she gets all the credit. All the other kids come home with warm snacks usually, which is super annoying. I don't even want to think about the number of warm gogurts that have gone into the trash lately. 

This lunch box could sit in the sun all day and keep food just as cold as it was in the morning. It's pretty magical. And affordable. And there are 41 different patterns to choose from. I'm trying to convince the other kids to get the same kind. It's hard to tear them away from their beloved Paw Patrol, Hello Kitty and JoJo Seewa ones they're currently using. 

Amazon.com: Simple Modern Kids Lunch Bag - Insulated Reusable Meal Container Box for Girls, Boys, Women, Men - Small Hadley, Polka Play : Everything Else

That's all I got! Happy Halloween prepping. I am not a fan of the holiday as I'm sure I've mentioned before. It's mainly the costume thing I have beef with. And the four little people that can't decide what they want to be until a few days before Halloween when they desperately need something I can only find on Amazon that may or may not arrive in time. BUT, I do like this little meme. 💗 I would totally be the ghost to forget her sheet.

Newport 2021 - Best One Yet

 It may be the fact that the kids are two years older than the last time we vacationed in Newport, or the fact that we didn't get to experience the blessing of living at the beach last year, but this year was more lovely than ever. We got back last Tuesday and we were full throttle into regular school and work and life. It took me a good week to catch up on the million things that were put on hold as I fully and completely vegged out for two weeks straight. 

There was lots of boogie boarding, wave jumping, seashell hunting, digging for sandcrabs, front porch relaxing. The best times to do that are in the morning with a cup of coffee or at sunset of course. We did crosswords, read books, played games like Rummikub and a card game called 9 card. Look for the pic of Addie after she won Rummikub and Angus having a complete breakdown over losing. He is more in touch with his feelings than anyone I know.

We took walks to the coffee shop, the farmer's market, local restaurants and ice cream shops. Dan and the kids have a beach morning tradition for years now of eating those little storebought chocolate donuts. I think they taste like plastic. They're fine with not sharing with me. We made new friends including the dog pictured below. We also had a few visitors which is always the most fun.

Dan flew the kite with the kids and let Angus hold it which I encouraged but may not have been the best idea. He let it go a few times. Once it went up on top of a roof and we thought we lost it forever. Unfortunately, I didn't get a pic. I was too busy holding the string up above the heads of the passersby trying to look normal. Nothing to see here folks. Somehow Dan managed to get it down from the roof and was deemed the kite whisperer.

Dan and I tried to take turns taking the kids out on "dates" to dinner or lunch. I took Mya to Dinner. He took Winter. Dan took Addie out to lunch. And Angus and I biked to the fun zone where he rode a ferris wheel for the first time and a ferry boat that carried cars across the marina to Balboa Island which blew his mind. On our way back we saw an SUV stuck in the sand. She had driven up over the boardwalk and parked on the sand. Totally illegal in Newport but I guess it's legal on the East Coast. Maybe they weren't from around here. Anyway, it took a tow truck to get it out so Angus insisted we sit and watch the whole thing unfold. Buildings under construction were also mandatory stops on our bike rides with Angus.

Dan and I went paddle boarding and out to dinner a couple times. Thanks for babysitting Wendy!

Auntie Wendy (Angus calls her Auntie Wenny) joined us for a week which was super fun since she lives in Orlando and we don't get to see her all of the time. And she helped with homework. And she took lots of pics including some family shots. Angus was melting down after the 2nd pic so I bribed him with cheetos. He's still pretty allergic to dairy and rarely gets to eat them so of course, he agreed.

Well, that's it! We 💗 you forever Newport.

My recommendation this week is to take the kids out of school for a day and head to the beach. Nobody is there right now.