Well, one week of summer down, twelve to go. This week has had a lot of really fun days and one absolutely horrible, going down in the books as one of the worst days EVER, day. I wanted to try and fit in some adventures this week as summer school already starts tomorrow. There won’t be a lot of opportunity to get out of town between that and afternoon pool trips, which are basically a requirement in summer. (At least for my kids – I could happily live without ever needing to be at the pool!) So we tried to make the most of the week!
Monday
On Monday we went over to my mom’s – with Annie – to see how she did with all three of her dogs on their turf. Even though boarding at the vet seemed to go relatively well a few weeks ago, at least from what I can tell, it’d be really nice if occasionally Annie could stay with my mom too. So I actually know what she’s doing during the day. Anyway, Juno (the yellow lab/golden retriever mix) had zero problems with her. And Annie seemed to realize Juno was too old and fragile for playing, so they just sniffed each other and then Annie left her alone. Gracie (the dachshund) was meeting Annie for the second time and a lot more curious than scared, like our first meeting at the dog park. She was occasionally engaging in Annie’s “play” by yipping and running after her. And Pip (the Boston terrier) was just about as vicious as the last time they tried to meet. They were only outside together for a few minutes and Pip never really let up. Though Annie can definitely outrun her and I don’t think she could really do any harm. Anyway, it was a mostly successful trip. We’re trying again in a few days.
Tuesday
I wanted Tuesday to be a work day for me, but it started bright and early with Caden yelling at me about something, so I knew we needed to get out of the house again. It was a lot cooler at the beginning of the week, so I wanted to spend more time outside while we still could. We decided to take Annie and walk to Fireman’s Park. The boys were having such a great time and decided that they want to walk everywhere this summer so we can take Annie with us. Then they realized Annie can’t go into restaurants, so they nixed that plan! At the playground Annie nicely sat while hordes of little kids pet her. Then she started noticing all the squirrels and couldn’t relax after that. We walked over by the stream and she jumped right in. The first thing she did was squat to pee in it, which the boys thought was hilarious. That excitement really hyped her up, so our walk back was a lot more arm destroying than the walk there. We stopped at another park before going on. All together, about 3.5 miles of walking.
After lunch, we headed to the pool for quite awhile. It was too cold for me, so I sat and read. Shepard got out and took a little zoning out break. It’s hard for him when we go to the pool and no friends are there and I don’t feel like going in. Caden only wants to hang out in the deep end and Shepard isn’t there yet.
They always want treats at the pool, but it gets so expensive. So I’m trying to devise a way this summer that they can do extra jobs to earn money to use for treats at the pool. At least they’re actually learning a little bit the value of money that way. And get jobs done. But…they haven’t done a whole lot yet! They were so cute at the front of the line counting out all their nickels and dimes to pay for these treats.
Tuesday was really a great day! I didn’t get a shred of sewing done, but I’m okay with that. I want to be more in the moment with my kids and make sure they’re always the priority these few months we have together. Even when it means I’m really not going to get much done.
Wednesday
On Wednesday morning we went to the Madison Farmer’s Market. I haven’t been to the Saturday market in awhile and thought it’d be a fun excursion. Caden got one of his favorite, over-priced, spicy beef sticks. I also bought romaine lettuce, cilantro, jalapeno cheese curds, asparagus, and some garlic dip that the boys insisted on.
We walked around Monona Terrace for a little bit after the market. My mom had never been on top before. We had fun watching a stand up paddle boater zoom across the lake.
After this we drove a few blocks to Gotham Bagels to pick up some of our favorite super egg everything bagels. The guy who waited on us was a super huge jerk about everything, though, and it’s going to be awhile before I go back again. Which sucks because I LOVE those bagels. And their jalapeno garlic cream cheese.
We ended with a french fry lunch at DiscoFries on State Street. Our third parking place in like a one mile radius. 🙂 I ordered the Southern Fried Chicken Poutine. Everyone else just had fries and dips. I’m not really a huge french fry person, but it was fun to go somewhere unique. And actually, we ended our Madison trip with a stop at Sun Prairie Target. I did some speed shopping while Grandma filled the boys with Starbucks cake pops. 🙂
Wednesday was also Greg’s dad Steve’s birthday. So we met everyone at Pizza Hut in Beaver Dam for dinner. Greg and I split a four pepper pepperoni pizza with salted pretzel crust, which was actually really good. The boys split boneless wings. Steve and Cindy had a sausage pizza.
Back at Grandma’s house for presents. We gave Grandpa tickets to the Star Wars themed Mallard’s game on Saturday.
Some lawn mowing headphones.
Birthday desserts – lemon meringue pie and flourless chocolate cake.
Recreating a photo the four of them took on Steve’s birthday six years ago. Kids are much bigger!
Wednesday was also a really nice day! I was feeling pretty happy with how our first few days of summer were going.
Thursday
And then Thursday. Oh, Thursday. It began at 5:45am with Caden screaming at me because he wanted to play tablet. He had his tablet taken away for the week because of how he acted at the end of our time at Grandma’s house on Monday. I gave them back for our drives on Wednesday because he was so good on Tuesday. But we’re trying to establish some screen time rules this summer where they need to clean their rooms and read before they can play. And well, neither of those things happened by 5:45 in the morning, but he didn’t even give me a chance to try and explain that.
So. I don’t want to rehash everything that went wrong that day. But it was horrible. An absolute nightmare of a day. With Caden. And allergies. It’s gotten to the days of grass allergy season where I absolutely want to shred my eyes out of my face they are so itchy. And I’m constantly getting little irritants stuck in them that I can’t get out and make me want to scream. For most of Thursday I could barely even open my eyes. I was so itchy and in pain, I was SO fed up with the way Caden was acting and treating us, it was just a TERRIBLE day.
On the bright side of Thursday, Willow spent much of the day here playing with Shepard. They seem to be getting along extra well these days. It really helped having someone to keep Shepard busy in the midst of the Caden chaos. Though it was very embarrassing to have another person around to witness him that day. He doesn’t normally act so fiercely when non-family members are around. So I guess he considers Willow part of his inner circle now.
After Greg got home, I took Shepard and Willow to the pool as a reward for playing so nicely all day.
They had fun. And were adorable. 🙂
Friday
Friday was a work day for me. I really needed to get SOME work done. Photo is showing how lately Annie seems to think Jack is her play toy and spends half her day trying to chase him around. He most definitely fights back by smacking her in the head over and over again. But she’s starting to think it’s all good fun and enjoys the occasional chase through the house. I don’t think Jack is too bothered by it. Keeps him young. 🙂 Annie still steers clear of Rory, though the last two days I had both animals in bed with me for a nap. Annie at my feet, right in front of the air conditioner, and Rory pressed up against my face. Fun.
Willow was over again and all three were playing together fine. No residual drama from the day before. I wish I knew what triggered these days with him. They suck.
Meanwhile – our lego area?? Yeah, legos have taken over this entire room. I’m glad they’re having fun and using their imaginations, really. But I kind of miss my beautiful peaceful room I had all to myself!
Saturday
Saturday morning was more work for me. I just get so much more done when Greg is home to take care of other things. I don’t like that that’s the way it is. But…it works. I finished up my last patriotic dolls for the year. And I sold four of the six right away, which was awesome. Sales have really dropped the last few months, after record breaking sales earlier in the year. I just need to keep making. Which is very hard in summer.
Saturday evening we headed to the Mallard’s game! It was super hot out, but I was smart this time and bought tickets so we wouldn’t be facing the sun. It was also super windy, which helped keep things a little bit cooler. I didn’t really feel like it was TOO hot. Anyway, the game was fun!! Usually when we go the boys are so much more interested in walking around and checking out all the kid activities. But this time around we mostly just stayed in our seats and watched the game!
We all had our unique ballgame dinners and then the boys had cotton candy.
Grandpa bought them duck whistles. Which made the end of the game so fun. 😛 Actually, the game really heated up in the eighth and ninth inning. We ended up losing, but it was really enjoyable. The boys were even really into the game!
Cuties.
Sunday
So that brings us to today! We had a birthday party to go to, which was fun. But also kind of miserable because my eyes are little sockets of itchy death again today. Then I got home from the party and randomly saw this article about introverts at social gatherings. It definitely hit home seeing as I just came from a party where I spent the majority of the time by myself, playing with their puppy. I’m getting worse in social situations these days. I don’t know how to be in the thick of friendships anymore. I need work.
This Week
So! The week ahead. Summer school starts in the morning and that’s every day from 8:30-1. It’ll be nice to reclaim a few hours to myself each day. I’m hoping to get a lot of sewing done in that time. I only have 2.5 weeks before REAL summer begins, so I need to make work a priority now.
Top Priority – Work!
Second Priority – Take Care of Myself
I’m not generally a fan of summer. I can’t stand being hot. I loathe being out in the sun. BUT one of my favorite parts of summer is going on adventures, exploring new areas of Wisconsin, and getting treats. Treats, treats, treats. Which is all awesome. But definitely not healthy. So starting this week I’m going to pay a lot more attention to the food I put in my body. Hopefully try harder to think about meals ahead of time so I’m not just snacking on whatever is easiest to find. I continue to gain weight and I know I only have myself to blame. I want to turn things around this summer. For good.
I also want to get back to my exercise goal. Starting with hitting 10,000 steps a day, no matter what. Even if that means I’m taking a walk at 10:00pm. Hopefully it won’t come to that, but if it means walking in much cooler temperatures, it’ll be worth it!! I’m hoping this week I’ll get most of my walking hours in after I drop the boys off at school. With Annie.
Third Priority – Have Fun!
I need to keep my overall summer goals always in mind. Even though I have more hours to work this week, I still want to have fun. This week that will probably just mean pool time with my kids. And hopefully lots of reading. It will be a good week!
