Random notes on the last day of September.

Now that we are headed into the second month of school, I can say with confidence that on most mornings there is some sort of crisis, but only five minutes before it's time to go. So, you know, no time to solve said crisis.

Halloween negotiations have begun, which means Alla trying to figure out how to get as much as she can in the way of dress-up clothes.

One thing I did well in September: joined the Y and started regularly taking the Body Pump class, so I can truthfully say that yes, I do lift weights. (A few dumbbells at home aren't the same, I learned this month.)

Apparently the kids on our street have moved on from baseball and are only wanting to play football now, which is breaking Fisher's heart.

We are hoping the Twins don't break our hearts this week.

Alla's latest obsessions: finding a babydoll (apparently at some point she gave all of hers away), and making working quills.

The best book I read in September: The Marvels. I recommend it to everyone.

Ten on Tuesday.

1. I am always suggesting that moms get in the picture, too, and rarely taking my own advice. Last Tuesday we were at a Twins game and I handed the camera to my daughter, who came through with this shot. Thank you, Alla!

2. We wore shorts and t-shirts to that game. In September. It is strangely warm for late September.

3. The way I know it's September is that both kids are coughing, and they have managed to gift me with a sore throat, sneezes, and snot. Thanks, school! No better way to enjoy the last day of summer than curled up with a cup of tea, I always say.

4. Our street was paved over the summer, and it is now a complete hazard to little boy knees. And elbows. And hands. Every kid in the neighborhood has fallen and completely left skin on the street. These are not clean cuts, they are just ripped off skin. Thanks, City of Shoreview.

5. With the kids back in school I decided to take on some ambitious personal care, namely joining the Y so I can be more focused on weight-training. Yes, you can work out in 10 minutes on You Tube, but no it's not the same as lifting a bar for an hour. My body will thank me, one day, I think.

6. The book dilemma has been resolved, as I finished Did You Ever Have a Family (fairly good) and got to move on to The Marvels (so far, lovely).

7. I've got a new spot over on the photo blog that showcases where I've been featured over the past few months - check it out!

8. The kids and I just finished up reading Gooseberry Park, which was a lovely read aloud. Heads up: you'll need four different voices for the four main characters.

9. Costco has a new chicken sausage that is chipotle lime flavor and calling my name for a late lunch.

10. On Sunday Fisher and I went out to lunch to celebrate his half birthday, and the ridiculous people at Red Robin decided that all three screens needed to be on the Vikings and not one could be switched to Twins baseball. Not one. If I had a Twitter account, I'd be alerting the Twins president. Luckily, we followed the play by play on MLB.com, which made my little seven and a half year old mostly happy.

Camp.

Last month we sent Alla to camp. For a week! This was all her doing; she asked in the spring if there was some camp she could go to and do all those fun outdoor things. She got her fill, let me tell you. She went during the one week where we had torrential rain and cool temps two days in a row, and she had to kayak to their cabin's overnight camp spot.

 

But. She was in good spirits when we picked her up and had so much to tell us, and you could tell it was good for her, and she learned things and was so confident. But needed hot water and clean clothes.

This happened to be the very same day we had to pick up Fisher from his last day of Diabetes [day] camp about an hour away from her camp, so we sped to a Target for clean shoes (I had brought everything else fresh, but who knew all three pairs of shoes would be muddy and there would be dirt in between her toes), and then walked around the lakefront in Hudson, Wisconsin for a bit.

 

The wind blew and she chatted all about the days and the kids and the counselors and the games and songs, and we just listened to her voice that we had never gone five whole days without.

 

Ten on Tuesday.

1. She's done it again, grown a whole bunch of beautiful sunflowers for us to gaze upon as fall rolls around.

 

2. That said, fall is taking its sweet time this year, and we're glad about that. The weather is still in the 80s and just gorgeous. It is so very nice to sit outside in only one layer.

 

3. Perfectly gorgeous weather for one more Twins game, I'd say. We have our fingers crossed that they can pull off a Wild Card slot.

 

4. I am anxiously awaiting today's delivery of my pre-ordered The Marvels.

 

5. I am, however, only about halfway through my current read, Did You Ever Have a Family, and those who know me are aware that I can only read one book at a time. Dilemma.

 

6. Yesterday I tried a class at the local Y, an all-over weight training class that is similar if not exactly the same class I used to take pre-kiddos, and I would be lying if I said that the entire back side of me is in very much pain today. I apparently need to add weight if working muscles on the front side of me.

 

7. This weekend our neighborhood had itself a mini-block party, which if you're not familiar with the term, means bring your own dinner to our driveway and eat it. We also stayed out past dark (!) with a lovely bonfire, chatted with our neighbor friends, and only got a few mosquito bites.

 

8. Our kids wanted hot dogs for said mini block party, but it was much easier for me to put something in the oven early in the afternoon and pull it out in time for sitting outside to eat it. If your neck of the woods isn't too hot for turning on ovens (or if you had to turn your A/C back on like me), then definitely make this Oven-Braised Mexican Beef. Couldn't be easier or more delicious.

 

9. We are back into it here. Alla came home with homework yesterday. Fisher is playing fall soccer. Alla had her audition for The Wizard of Oz this morning.

 

10. I just remembered I have at least a cup's worth of coffee still in the pot! Oh happy afternoon!

First day of fifth grade/first day of kindergarten.

This is my very first time getting to post a comparison like this, first day of kindergarten and first day of fifth grade. I may have jumped the gun, and yep I'll most likely get back here and do it again in June, but I simply couldn't resist. Obviously.

First day of school: 5th and 2nd.

5th and 2nd, for the love! It's a big year here with Alla rolling out of elementary. It means that it's the last time they will be together until Alla is a senior in high school. Okay, moving right along. Do not dwell on that little statistic, I just wanted to put it out there for posterity and that is all.

I have all those hopes of the start of every school year. For them to be kind and experience kind. For deep learning and a love of learning. For very good friends. For confidence. For finding what makes them tick. For feeling like they are just rocking it. All the hopes.