Taking care of BUSINESS because school is on the horizon!!

 School supplies: CHECK

(Well, we need to buy Harry a round of school supply stuff and junk food and shower stuff, etc, when we move him into his suite at the end of the month)

We also BOUGHT A FRIDGE and a DISHWASHER-- cannot wait until they are delivered-- the luxury of having a working freezer in my kitchen (lol). I cannot even wait to start filling up the freezer again (our downstairs fridge has a small freezer-- it's one of those fridge on the bottom/freezer on top old school models). This feels very back-to-school to me as I think about lunch packing options, grab and go snacks, quick dinners-- all of it!

appliance date:

Minnie has been asking all summer to go see the butterfly exhibit at the botanic gardens, so I finally googled it only to see that it ended THAT VERY DAY. We hopped in the car. SHE WAS ALREADY WEARING A BUTTERFLY DRESS.

I actually do not love butterfly exhibits. It's always so hot in the enclosure, and butterflies are big and have gross bodies and they fly all over you. My instinct is to swat them, which is HIGHLY frowned upon. I was not sad when Minnie got too hot and was ready for ice cream.

(I had to try this ice cream-- it was cake batter flavored with those awesome pink and white iced animal crackers ground in)

My fall stuff is locked and loaded-- classes could start tomorrow, and I would be fine (they start in a month, which is even better).

Everyone has been registered for school, and we have paid all fees.

Dorothy is finishing up dance tryouts this week, and I swear to you the only time these pants have ever been used for their actual name is when she trotted into Starbees for her pre-class Pink Drink with cold foam (want to annoy your tween? Insist on calling it a Pank Drank). (JOGGERS)

During this idyllic scene outside the dance studio while we waited for Dorothy to finish a private lesson, I got stung by a wasp. THREE TIMES. (I think it got stuck in my dress and got scared)

I listened to THIS Lazy Genius episode about back-to-school and immediately did a brain dump and figured out what needed to happen for me and for the kids and also for our house (hence the new fridge just in time for lunch season) and started crossing things off.

My stuff was the easiest since past me did a good job looking out for current me. (I need an undated weekly planner and also a new daily planner) (And soon because Jack got THIS one inspired by SHU's review on Best Laid Plans, and he and I have a date to do our September calendaring on 8/26 when PUMPKIN SPICE IS BAAAAACK).

I still need to 

• clean and restock my car (snacks, wipes, Touchland, lip balm, extra sunglasses, travel mascara just in case-- you would be surprised how handy this is-- tons of charging cords) for the school runs
• spot clean the kids' back packs because no one is due for a  new one (we tend to buy before preschool, before middle school, and before high school)
• buy school clothes: the kids all want first day of school outfits, and some people still need shoes
• book a few appointments for various people's teeth, skin, and nutritional health
• put dive and dance on the calendar and adjust my level of martyrdom appropriately (schedules won't be out for a hot second; already feeling put-upon about that, so CHECK)
• buy MYSELF some back to school shoes
• figure out what to wear for my work head shots and my first week meetings (I do not want to update this pic because I look so good. BECAUSE I WAS 10 YEARS YOUNGER) (what I want to wear to my meetings is not always what I want to look at in pictures for TEN YEARS but I could get new pics every fall if I wanted to and also maybe a white puff-sleeved dress is exactly what I want to wear forever)

But really? Most of my energy can focus on the big 0-5 coming up on WEDNESDAY! And on prioritizing pool days, since the pool closes Labor Day (**whomp whomp**)

Ben is the literal worst:

But Jack! Is the BEST-- he APPLIED TO COLLEGE this weekend!!!! Talk about checking off a huge box!

He applied to UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, and BRADLEY!! He had to get transcripts, secure letters of rec from 2 teachers, and write 3 different essays. Phew!

He has received direct admit offers from all of the other UW system schools (except Madison), and he completed the application process at Whitewater and Milwaukee to see what kind of financial packages he might get and compare other offers.

 Applying took about 4 hours Saturday afternoon, but he had already done a lot of prep by asking his teachers to write for him and supplying them with a detailed brag sheet, making decisions about his 2 safety schools (Whitewater and MKE), deciding exactly where to apply for selective admission, figuring out if he could use the Common App (yes for Bradley and Eau Claire; no for La Crosse, so he ended up doing the UW system app for Eau Claire and La Crosse since he could also apply to the ones he already got admitted to (MKE and Whitewater) through that app. Then he used the Bradley application to apply there- no Common App at all, which felt weird) and brainstorming his essays.

It was easy and fun and very low stress, and now he can go into senior year ready to relax and enjoy himself with 2 gym classes (he loves gym class) and the culinary arts class he has wanted to take forever, plus stage craft for actors and AP Gov (also math and English because pesky state requirements). He is excited for his senior dive season, senior speech season, and running social media for his student government club-- a fun year, indeed!