Back to Routine

Michael:
had a busy call week a couple weeks ago and never wanted to take call again, but then had a calmer week this week apart from Saturday. I tried to calculate his hourly wage for the call work he did do to see if it felt more worth it then but he told me it was impossible to quantify the mental toll it takes throughout the week every time your phone makes a noise :) So, scratch that idea. We love him for working so hard for us. He had a Seattle Study Club meeting at Ginger and Baker Friday night, with spouses this time, so it was fun to see some friends and go out together. But the lecture was about longevity and had me feeling like we should just wrap things up and go work out. But really, he and I have woken up before our children for a solid month now to get a workout in five days a week, plus a few Yoga workouts in, plus walking, so I feel like we are in a better groove than we've ever been in together in that sense. Which in turn makes me feel like we can eat whatever the heck we want to, which is not how this works. Someday I need to learn how to reign in both nutrition and fitness habits at the SAME time.

Maddie:
did a tour stop on Westin's downtown field trip this week, while Camden went to soccer with some of our friends on the team. Asher was a total nightmare but I expected as much, so I drove around until I got a parking spot right in front of the building I was teaching the second graders about. That way I could strap him in his carseat for the three presentations rather than wrangle him, while still being right next to my car so no one would call the cops on me. Worked just fine :) Also Luna was spayed this week, and managing her surgery recovery felt like a lot for 24 hours. She's doing great now though. I took the boys to their babysitter's graduation party on Saturday night, but Michael was called out to the hospital. It's amazing how something can feel so fun when we're all together, or like straight up work and exhaustion when I'm doing it solo. But the boys had a good time. 

Westin:
is loving soccer, but doesn't like some of the pressure he feels with it. He'll make a pass before a shot any day and has refused to play goalie. But maybe next year he'll give it a try. He loved his field trip and was ready to walk to school an hour before we needed to leave that day. This was his first time on a bus, between Covid and being sick the day of their one field trip in first grade. He loved the whole day. He also loved going to a Home Depot workshop with daddy and Camden on Saturday.

Bennett:
stayed home sick on Friday, but seemed to be doing better this weekend. He seems to have such a sensitive stomach. He was feeling down and just not well, so I started telling him stories about when he was a baby and he just giggled and giggled. He loves to hear about the trip we took to Colorado before we ever even thought about moving here, where he would happily hike for hours in my Ergo on my back and just fall asleep whenever he was tired. He really was just an angel of a baby.

Camden:
is loving playing with our neighbors out front. Last summer he just seemed a little to little to fly solo out there and I was always checking on him or assigning Westin attentive Camden duty. But lately he just loves to call over to Madden and play with her on their bikes or on our swing. He really loved going to soccer without me in "Sistah Bailey's" car. He's come a long way :)

Asher: 
has yet to come a long way, in that department :) Still very much a clingy cutie and it was so gross to see him crawling around the sidewalk downtown on Westin's field trip. But he hates to be contained and still isn't taking steps, so that's where we end up! But man is he a sweetheart, too. I absolutely love how he says, "Hello!" instead of the typical, "Hi!" Even when you get him out of his crib in the morning, you open the door to hear, "Hello!" And he says "Tank You" all the time and for so many things and it melts my heart. He goes to the doctor next week for his 18-month check up. How!?

Caught him mid-yawn at story time and when I went to do a re-take he said, "No more pictures, mama!" 
So this is what we got :)

These boys are just full on staring at the worker painting our door and adding trim to the basement doorway while they eat lunch, like creepy little cuties.
The basement continues on... we're really looking forward to when it's done this summer.

Breakfasts made for the week. I've been drinking my chocolate smoothie for breakfast for almost 4 years now, and prepping them like this for almost 2. I love it. I mailed my mom some of these smoothie cups for her birthday because I've just loved how convenient they are so much.

Luna is so sweet to the boys. Her happy wagging tail does still make Asher cry pretty often but she just can't handle how happy she feels.

Just have to leave this here to remember the awful, awful Xfinity phone saga.
My new phone is super annoying in a couple ways, mostly the way that I randomly sound like I'm in a tunnel to whoever I'm talking to.
I spent forever chatting and talking on the phone to them, they sent me a new phone, it wouldn't activate, I went into the store, waited with them for 90 minutes trying to figure it out, until they ended by telling me that I needed to send this new phone back in and get a new one from Apple and no Xfinity rep should have sent me a new phone in the first place.
I just stared at them and walked out of the store without a word at that point... 
So, I still suddenly sound like I'm in a tunnel if you talk to me. But I'm not :)

Can you handle these soccer buddies?
Thursday mornings are my favorite.

Sweet Luna had surgery this week. No puppies in her future.
She handled it so well! Sweet girl.

This cone, however, is not her favorite....

His loupes crack me up.

These two went to a Home Depot workshop with daddy. 
We used to go to those so often, they loved being back.