Dog Days of May

(4/26) Vacation is over and we're back at it. I made lasagna in the crockpot today and the house smelled so good all day long. It was nice out this evening whereas it had been cold and cloudy most of the day. I took advantage of the fading sun and brought my book outside to listen to while I weeded. 

(4/27) Meetings galore today. And of course they were right during when the boys were trying to have lunch. I had to shoo them away from the table and find somewhere else to crunch. I need to figure out a better place for next week, because that was ridiculous. I have a ton to catch up on, but it's good to be busy. 

(4/28) I had the day off today, and the boys had an asynchronous day of schooling. The puppy and I hung out while the kids did their classes, and then I spent some time weeding and listening to a book in the sunshine. D and I took a field trip to the store for homework bribery candy. Let's face it, we're at that point in the school year.

(4/29) Dad brought us donuts this morning, which was a delicious treat. We've been on the struggle bus trying to get D to do his work. He's been on a behavior chart and he earned his treats today, but ohmygoodness it was like pulling teeth to get there. I was beyond done with managing school when Dad got up, and I fled upstairs. It was so nice out this evening, we took our drinks out to the front porch, and even D joined us.

(4/30) Did anyone else's Friday creep along at a snail's pace or was it just mine? Today was tantrum city, but despite all the drama, D still managed to have the best day of the week thus far. I was so glad when Dad came down so I could go up and work in peace. I cannot wait for school to be over! The kiddos hunted for gems again tonight. They found a couple of really neat pieces!

(5/1) Dad woke up early so he and Rob could work on getting a new circuit set for installing a level 2 charger for the car. While the guys were working, I took the boys to Forest Park, which has been completely redone since we were last there. It was packed, but the boys wasted no time in jumping into play with the other kids. The sun came out and it turned out to be a really pleasant afternoon. 

(5/2) We had a pretty quiet morning here. Nanan joined us in the afternoon and went with us to the park because the boys had so much fun there yesterday and wanted to go back. She stayed for dinner too. It was good to see her ~ it's been too long!  

(5/3) Oh man, I really needed another day of weekend. It was a work and school day for everyone, and I think we were all feeling similarly grumpy about it.

(5/4) Whew, what a day. The company that we host our DNS through at work was intermittently down, which resulted in lots of calls and emails. The kiddos were crabby, which made me crabby back at them. But it was Star Wars Day, and I joined my work peeps for trivia and a happy hour (away from the kids!), and that was fun. The trivia was hard, so we did it as a group effort. 

(5/5) Happy Cinco de Mayo! I had the day off, and the kids had an asynchronous day of schooling. That just meant Zooms in the morning, and then they were pretty much done. The twins have been working on a fort down at the park, so I wandered down to take a look. They even have an armory. I'm not supposed to disclose the location because they don't want too many people to know about it though. So, shhhh! Dad made fancy tacos for us this evening, and we even used the coals to make s'mores for dessert.  

(5/6) Work and school for the boys and me today. Dad took D grocery shopping this afternoon again--he really enjoys going, and helps me update the list each week. C made us dinner tonight of shrimp fried rice, and did a great job as usual. 

(5/7) Merrr. What an awful way to kick off my day. My work email was compromised, so I had to deal with that this morning. Once things settled down, time seemed to slow to a crawl. I was ever so happy to close the books on the day by quitting time.

(5/8) Dad and I made today a date day. We picked up our wine, stopped for lunch, and then went furniture shopping. We found a replacement for our living room couch. I wasn't planning on buying a couch today, but this one was the perfect size and had a pretty amazing warranty for wear/tear/stain removal. Between our kiddos and dogs, it's definitely needed!  

(5/9) Happy Mother's Day! I ran up and had coffee and treats with Nanan this morning. It was nice to have some uninterrupted time to visit. J had the best time playing Minecraft with his cousins in Cali yesterday, and was up bright and early wondering when they would be on. We finally connected this afternoon, and let them play for a few hours. 

(5/10) How is it Monday again already? I need another weekend day! J sure gave us a scare this evening. We couldn't find him at dinner time and checked all the parks and friends' houses, but no J. We drove around and had all the neighbors out looking too. J turned up a few hours later. He'd been in his room the whole time with his headphones on, totally oblivious. We even had D go check J's room just in case we hadn't heard him come in. Ermahgerd ~ way to give your parents a heart attack, kid! 

(5/11) Meeting Tuesday was another busy one. I am so excited to be talking about going back into the building ~ and a new building & space at that! I haven't worked at work since March of last year. And to not have to mom/teacher/referee + work sounds like a vacation! Bring.it.on!

(5/12) I had the day off, but took a meeting this morning while the kiddos were in their morning Zoom. Cass had his annual vet appointment, so I hung out and read my book while he was in getting poked. Doc says he looks great! 

(5/13) Work and school for the boys and me today, and Dad was off for the day. Dad and Rob tetrised the old couch and hauled it away. I gave the rug a shampoo and Dad and I hung out in the front room tonight and watched our separate devices. 

(5/14) TGIF! This has been the longest week. We got our new couch today, which meant a lot of rearranging. We moved Noodle's crate and he was bewildered. Especially so because his boy got to go up and stay the night with a friend he hasn't seen pretty much this whole pandemic, and his highness had to sleep in a crate. He was not a happy camper. 

(5/15) The twins and I bummed around this morning and then decided on a trip to the park. I grabbed my ear buds to listen to my book, but then left my phone at home.  So no pictures of our outing, but we had fun. I ordered some solar lights for the front porch, and installed them after the front lawn was in the shade. We figured they wouldn't come on tonight, but they did and stayed on for seven hours. 

(5/16) It was a gorgeous day out today. I cleaned up our back yard flower beds and swept the back patio. I had to make a quick run to the hardware store this afternoon, and spent some time wandering the garden section, then grabbed lunch and sat outside with my book. We barbecued this evening and ate dinner outside, and capped it off with s'mores for dessert.  

(5/17) Oh man, I needed another day. But we're back at it today with school and work for all of us. We're all so very done and limped through this Monday.  

(5/18) Busy day of meetings for me today. I had to hide in J's room for one of the longer ones so I could hear myself think. I am so ready to be back in the office.

(5/19) Ugh, I'm so done with the kids' schooling. I had the day off, and the boys had an asynchronous day, but just getting through their morning Zooms is torture. After the morning session was over, I left. I went and got myself lunch and read my book in the sunshine for an hour and returned when I could stop making faces at them. One of our dear darlings carved a swear word into the door, as we discovered on tonight's call with Nanan. I'm ready to put them out front with a free sign. Ermahgerd.

(5/20) Up and at 'em again today. Work and school for the boys and me. Dad and D went grocery shopping and managed to ninja back in. Normally the borking system goes off and I go down and help them unload, but I didn't hear them at all today.

(5/21) Work for me today, and man oh man am I ready for the weekend! My head definitely wasn't in the game today. Dad went up and grabbed S for the weekend after dinner. The boys were so excited to bring out the cot and bunk in the same room that they were still wide awake when Dad & S finally made it home around 10pm. To make room for the cot, I cleaned their rooms and did ALL the laundry. Holy cats, how many clothes do two little people need? I also pulled out all the toys they don't use anymore. Sigh.

(5/22) Dad and S went up to Rob's to detail the Santa Fe today and remove the years' worth of trail mix embedded in the floor mats. LOL, oh children... I did some yard work and read my book until they got home. C and Dad made dinner tonight: Vietnamese chicken bowls. Another EveryPlate hit! It was nice to visit and catch up with S. It's been far too long! 

(5/23) Dad took S home when he woke up. He took a look at her car, and it was bad news there: likely no saving it. Sigh. The joys of adulthood. Sorry, kiddo. The boys and I had a pretty quiet day at home. J and I did dinner tonight. I really am glad we're doing this. I asked him to get out the colander, a baking sheet, and a measuring cup, and he had know idea where any of that stuff lived. It's very good practice! 

(5/24) Monday again already? It was gray and drizzly on our walk this morning, so we took an abbreviated loop, but still came home soaked. The rest of the day was work and school for us all.  

(5/25) Meetings galore for me today. Work is picking up which is awesome (and exhausting!). The kids are so excited about going to the grands' this weekend that they're ready to start packing now. We haven't been since... Christmas of 2019? Oy. Too long!

(5/26) I had the day off today and the kids had another asynchronous day. They got through their morning Zooms, and then D and I went to the grocery store to pick up something for lunch. It was chilly and intermittently rainy out today, so we didn't do a whole lot. 

(5/27) We're working and schooling today and Friday is already on our minds. Happy long weekend!