Inadvertent Slow Down

 Ok, first things first: you need these PJ pants. THEY ARE HEAVEN. I am worried I will wear them outside the house which would be terrible because they are SO UGLY. But wow. The most comfortable pajamas ever.

We have had an unexpectedly low key week because of 2 bummer things:

1. Harry has pericarditis-- no effusion, but a week of chest pain and exhaustion. He told us he was having chest pains on Thursday night. We saw the cardiologist on Friday, and he stayed home Friday and every day this week so far. He feels better and is going to try school tomorrow, but he plans to call for a ride home by lunchtime if he is feeling bad. SO. He has been home to help with Minnie, which has been great and turns out is something I really missed these past weeks. And also, he couldn't start tennis, so we decided to wait until next month when a new session starts to fold that into our schedules.

2. Someone on Cooper's swim team has covid. The person came to practice a week ago (with no symptoms), got sick Friday last week, and had a positive test on Monday, which is when the club reached out to the rest of the team-- RIGHT AS WE WERE LEAVING FOR PRACTICE. The coach said that according to the county none of the kids was a close contact (HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE-- THEY SWIM WITHOUT MASKS), so practice was on like normal. We decided, though, to keep both kids out all week just to make sure no one else gets sick. SO. No swimming-- also a bonus in terms of business. (But Cooper really missed it.

ALSO! No dive this week because there's something wrong with the indoor pool where the kids dive-- it has also caused the swim schedule to be a mess.

So, we are busy, but not as busy as I feared we'd be.

Minnie has also enjoyed having Harry home

I did a mini LEGO challenge with Cooper, where I gave him a bag of LEGO and asked him to use every piece to build a vehicle and there he was like 8 FREAKING MINUTES LATER.

Having a snack. Like you do.

I love my new glasses, but she might have worn them better.

The sweetest sisters:

Picture day for this handsome kid

Walking Baby Who Walks

Same video posted in 2 places, so don't think I have 2 videos here LOL 

I hope I never forget her little babbling, lip smacking, arm waving walk-- so much so that I put this video on both YouTube AND Blogger.

With the new leap has come BAD SLEEP, which is always harder to deal with when you have been experiencing GOOD SLEEP. But! She is so stinking adorable walking around shorter than the kitchen table (seriously, she just cruises right underneath it) that I don't even care that we're zombies, and that she is a tiny tornado throwing stuff off shelves and leaving chaos in her wake.

Also, let's talk eating pickles:

And crawling up the stairs:

(I am always delighted when I come upon old videos of the other kids, so I want to sprinkle them like breadcrumbs here)

 

Weekending

 Minnie woke up at 5 am and was pretty insistent. I thought if I fed her, she would go back to sleep-- and she did for a minute, but I couldn't, so I got up to do a little work-- just odds and ends I thought I could cross of my list, and now she is crying, but it's not even 6 am. BAH HUMBUG.

Love catching Dorothy reading-- happens more and more often

Sometimes we even read together

Seesters

Ben's parents spent the day with us yesterday, and we had a blast

(A hot blast)

Minnie is a writer!

Being a walking baby is exhausting

Rhythmless

 I cannot find a rhythm, you guys. 

Part of this is because the little kids don't really start virtual school until next week (last week was a joke, and this week, they have substitute teachers and many broken links). Part of it is that Minnie STILL does not have a consistent morning wake time, so I can't **really** bank on early AM work or workout time. Part of it is that Ben's schedule is up in the air. He always is WFH on Mondays and Wednesdays, and he always works from the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but Fridays he is mostly gone but sometimes home, and there's no rhyme or reason. When we have things like ortho appointments (turns out Dorothy's mouth is metaphorically big but literally quite tiny because she is getting a palate expander), he usually is the one to take sick time because Minnie can't wear a mask or go inside anywhere, meaning he is unexpectedly there to drive a kid to school, but not always and it's just A LOT FOR ME because I am someone who thrives on routine. And also! The kids' winter swim club has started up, but the schedule is a total shit show because there's a lifeguard shortage. I mean, you guys, the schedule looked intimidating from the get-go because the club doesn't have a dedicated pool, so the kids rotate around the indoor pools in town, but then one of the pools has no lifeguards and other one is having water filter problems and it is all very on-the-fly and head-explodey. Like, I am not someone who can just be like oh okay 4:45pm email that turns my night on its ear. No problem. And! Dorothy is doing dance team, (adorbs) and taking 3 additional dance classes starting next week AND Harry starts playing tennis 4 nights a week PLUS debate and speech season is beginning AND Jack is trying out for his fall play and OH YEAH Cooper and Jack are doing winter dive team, but the fall schedule isn't final yet and OH MY GOD.

And if you are reading this and thinking what the hell lady I thought you were so COVID-conscious you are having your unvaccinated kids do school at home, let me tell you: Harry and Jack are vaccinated, so we are OK with them doing school and low-risk activities. They wear 3M N95 masks with back up KN-95's in their bags. Neither of them is playing an especially dangerous sport, etc. Dorothy and Cooper are staying home, and we have vetted their activities carefully. The dance studio, for example, has completely redone its ventilation and everyone wears masks all the time. Both swim and dive are very safe, spaced out, and require masks on the pool deck. We decided those activities would be a better use of their interaction budgets. We will see how it goes **grimace emoji**

Library story walk: our favorite

Working on their books:

She's plugged in to Alexa listening to Britney Spears "Toxic." I AM SO PROUD

Minnie was wearing the cutest leopard-print denim skinny jeans of Dorothy's, but they were so tight she couldn't walk (and they were an 18-24 month-- I love her so much)

I know there are 4 other kids in this house, but Minnie is the only one who just learned to walk

She is skeptical, but that's mainly because she's wearing shoes, and shoes are weird.

She cannot even believe that Dorothy and Cooper can climb all the way up the play structure.

WALKING! I hope she doesn't lose her rubber band wrists now that she toddles.

It was a double park day the other day-- what can I say?

You guys! Pancakes are a delight.

I love when she destroys Elsa's castle.

Taking Jack to school is exhausting.

 

First day of class!

 Apparently we need a line item in our budget for masks now.

And also, our local library recycles masks, so that's awesome. I am setting up a bin the garage for used N95's and we will take them in on Library Thursday, which was such a hit this summer we are rolling with it all year long.

Speaking of library! I am in a reading rut. Like, I have not been reading AT ALL. If it wasn't for my audiobook habit, I'd be getting NO BOOKS. NONE. I keep telling myself it's because I am so busy, but I have all the time in the world for mindless scrolling, so that literally cannot be it.

I almost lost my shit in a coffee shop today because it was the first time I have been in an indoor space with naked-faced people. I just had to keep telling myself that if the baristas are not getting sick, I am not going to get sick waiting for my latte. and then I left and waited outside for it which was awkward, but I felt better.

I was even more awkward than usual in my lecture today, and that's really saying something because damn! I am awkward on the regular.

It has been humid and gross outside since the very minute I got bangs, and today is no exception. Also, MY HAIR IS SO GRAY.

It is a luxurious delight to be back working in a room of my own, and I will never take it for granted again.

We pulled off the sweetest little surprise...

...surprise PARTY that is-- for Cooper's birthday.

He thought he was just taking a walk with me and Minnie and Jack while Ben,. Harry, and Dorothy ran a fish-tank-related errand. But really Ben and Harry and Dorothy were corralling 15 kids at the school playground so when the rest of us walked by, everyone could jump out and yell surprise. AND BOY WAS HE. (Dorothy was happily playing with a couple of friends on the school playground because she is a leaker and couldn't be trusted to even walk across the street in a way that wouldn't inadvertently or not spoil the party).

I saw all the kids before they said surprise, Cooper told me. But my brain needed a second to catch up.

A whiffle ball party!

With giant cupcakes

Minnie was a fan, too.

HER MASK THO