Spirit Week

Ty and I both had spirit week at school including crazy hair days and costumes. I went as Scary Ms. Sherri and looked like I always do. The kids were not impressed. That being said, I failed to properly identify most of my little friend's costumes; I am a little out of touch. Ty, on the other hand was so excited about his school party, he hopped up and out of bed without complaint and checked in regularly, "is it time to go yet?" His energy opened my eyes as to what the day would hold for me in kindergarten. Holy candy, Batman. The kids were crazy. My personal favorite was the kindergartener sitting at his table, naked from the waist up, eating breakfast. He didn't want to get his costume dirty.

During team spirit day, the kids learned about labeling in non-fiction writing. They were delighted to label me.

We started last weekend at the polling center so Greg could knock out his right to vote when it wouldn't require missing work to do so. I had already voted but rode along anyway. This is the extent of our dating life at the moment. And then we ran by Home Depot for an electric box to finish a small project in the kitchen. I have been unhappy with the position of the light over the table for years. It wasn't centered. In order to remedy the situation, I either needed a very long light fixture or two small ones. Some birthday cash from my mom supported this project and I am happy with my choice.

Before

Greg almost lost his salvation over this but the result is what I hoped it would be......

He also lit the garage up like a stadium with new lights. My car broke down last week and repairing it with a flashlight sent him over the edge. I'm afraid we now need sunglasses out there. He is happy though.

While I was at a photoshoot, a friend brought her husband over to assist with the light installation and somehow got sweet talked into walking Layla. This dog has quite the fan club among our friends.

Since Greg was yelling at the wiring and also screaming at the first OSU game of the season, I took the kids to the trampoline park where they jumped until they dropped. It was a smart decision. 

Where is her helmet? 

Kate got to attend a nighttime flashlight corn maze with a friend. They had a blast.

I heard this line in a song this week and couldn't believe the relevance. "Even though I love this crazy life, sometimes I wish it was a smoother ride." Amen.

Sunday night, we made hot cocoa in travel cups to drive around looking at Halloween lights. 

 

Timehop produced some classic Ty gems......

And the reminder it has been one year since Kate sustained her second concussion. The road has been long. She still struggles with some memory loss and anxiety. She is easily overwhelmed by noise and stress, although not as significantly as she was in the early months. I never suspected we would still be on this journey one year later. 

I had appointments at the hospital for routine testing and decided to take a day off to accomplish them and spend time with Kate. She spends all her days tied to a computer screen for virtual learning and our schoolwide virtual days highlight for me the intensity of bell-to-bell online classes. I leave every one of them shouldering a significant amount of mom guilt. We ran some errands and wrapped up with a bowl of soup at Panera; her request. We both needed it. 

I surprised Ty with a consultation with the orthodontist Wednesday afternoon. He was a nervous wreck, literally shaking as we walked in. But the doctor was wonderful and spent a great deal of time reassuring Ty it was all going to be okay. In the end, it appears Ty will not require orthodontic treatment but as Dr. Mischler shook his hand and said it was a delight to meet him, my son looked that sweet man in the eye and stated, "I only agreed to this because I get to dye my hair blue for crazy hair day afterward." He is a real life Prince Charming. 

Thursday night, we finally carved pumpkins. Bucky and Captain America were represented. 

I have a new co-worker, Hal. He is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

Another co-worker lost her mother very suddenly two weeks ago and returned to work this week. As a group, we collected some money to provide some meals for her family. We chose one nice restaurant and DQ for the kids. When another co-worker picked up the Dairy Queen gift card, it said Congrats. She called our friend to explain the situation because that was absolutely the wrong message. However, as we discussed the irony during lunch, the recipient shared about how that silly gift card made her laugh in a low moment. I can't help but think it perfectly illustrated our group. We are a hot mess but we mean well. 

And tonight, Kate volunteered to pass out candy at the school's trunk-or-treat with a friend and Greg challenged Ty to a bowling game on the wii. We needed a quiet evening at home to recover from one very long week. Greg pulled his first 24 hour shift since his old UPS days. We are grateful those days are now rare.

Leaves, Sweets, Friends and Family

Another hour and a half appointment with the orthodontist left her with Halloween inspired bands and significant discomfort. She smiles despite herself. 

Her College and Career Prep course had her investigating one of her desired future goals as an FBI agent. She devoured the assignment, going frighteningly above and beyond as she dove into a serial killer from the early 1900's. She scares me a little. 

I have worried a fair amount about our decision to keep Kate on a virtual only school schedule; wanting her to make friends and connections. Teens are persistent and more resilient than we often give them credit. One of her classes started a group chat they used to organize a harmless prank on her teacher. The teacher loved it and has laughed in emails about their ability to overcome obstacles and still be kids. She has friends organizing virtual events and is finally attending an in-person club gathering for her Best Buddies group on Sunday. A new friend has been to the house and a group project was completed virtually this week with success.  Sometimes my concerns are unfounded. Sometimes. 

We visited Kristin and her family for a quick overnight to enjoy time around their new firepit last weekend. Ty and Avry loved exploring the woods, making s'mores and sneaking off to play video games together. The trip was relaxing. We then spent a day assisting Greg's parents with their upcoming move. They have sold the farm and are downsizing in the coming months. We helped prepare for the auction hosted this past week. There is a lot going on in their world and we left feeling as though we needed to be closer to better support them these days. We will miss the property but understand it simply grew to be too much for them as they have aged.

Makenna was preparing to leave for a wedding. As the makeup artist for the wedding party, she was carrying a large rolling cart of supplies. Within seconds of walking out the front door, she returned screaming, "get a gun! There is a snake!" She was dead serious. The sneaky little snake, estimated to be approximately eight inches long was no where to be found and she was not leaving until we confirmed it wasn't hiding somewhere in the cart she abandoned. We laughed far more than we should have as she drove away in tears, convinced it was going to get her in her car because we never did locate it. 

Ty made his first batch of cookies this week and was thrilled with the reaction. His sisters helped him consume the sweet treats and bragged on him enough, they hope he will do it again soon. 

We wrapped the week with Fun Friday milkshakes, a long overdue haircut for Ty and sleepover plans for the girls. Ty thinks he is pulling an all-nighter but his parents doubt he will see past ten. It was a long week spent easing back into the school groove.

Timehop produced this six year old memory. If the moment presented itself now though, he would be repulsed and lecture me about germs. Time flies and as much as I miss those days, this season is pretty amazing too.