Mini season week 2/2

 Con: MOVE IN on campus, and all roads there SUCK. 

Con: Plus also my parking garage is getting a facelift. It was built in 1999, so when I came to campus in 2003, it was still new and amazing and called the Taj Garage by people lucky enough to score a pass to park there. But! You guys! That was 27 winters ago. SO, if needs a bit of work and is getting some car chargers near all the gates. During construction, we have to use a basement entrance around the corner from where I usually enter, and there will only be a single gate for all incoming and outgoing traffic. And one lane access up and down the ramp. WHAT THE ACTUAL EFF. I estimate an extra 15 minutes each way no joke.

Con: Ben has a slightly different schedule to accommodate his campus welcome week, and you know that change discombobulates me.

Pro: Not as many meetings

Pro: POOOOOOL DAYS

Pro: Maybe getting dance team placements? LOL. Probably not. The jazz company list did come out because there is choreographer coming this weekend, so that was fun.

Plans for today:

EMAIL TRIAGE MY GOD IT IS A DISASTER IN THERRRRRE

Various admin tasks

Prep for Thursday/Friday meetings on campus

Make a quadruple batch of cookie dough and freeze little dough balls so I can make cookies anytime

Speaking of cookies-- this cookie granola is amazing.

The only school supplies I need

Ben and I had a schedule meeting and hammered out the whole first semester. We both have schedule anomalies that require the other person to do a little juggling, and it was great to look at everything at once. Also Ben realized that he maintains 2 totally separate calendars which explains why so much is falling through the cracks. We had a little lively discussion about how it is maybe not my responsibility to manage that but perhaps his to subscribe to his personal calendar via his work calendar or vice versa. Honestly not sure where we landed on that and typing this out makes me think that I need to follow up.

Have I mentioned that we still don't know the after school activity schedule?

Lots of mermaid tails and painting and saggy baggy birthday balloons over here.

Season 3 is a MINI SEASON: It's Welcome Week, betches

 You know what you guys??

This next 12-day slog? Is a MINI SEASON. Welcome week (which has expended to Welcome TWO Weeks, thanks to the growing realization on campus that incoming graduate students need to learn how to teach before the semester begins) has ALWAYS been a difficult epoch in our lives because it is the one time when both if us have the same busy schedule but we still also have FIVE KIDS to deal with. Phew!

Of course I had to go to WW as a grad student, but I had Harry so late into my career that is was NBD and I barely had to be on campus. I just brought him with me, breastfeeding and all.

The first year I had my current job was 2008, and Jack was a bebe and we had a former student who was the best nanny ever and also, I was in my role as interim while I finished by PhD, so the stakes were lower (and probably higher, but I was ignorant). My most vocal complaining was 2012 when we had a mere 3 kids, and WW was only a single week. My parents came to watch Dorothy ON CAMPUS in 2013 because I had not ability to bottle feed her, so I needed them to sort of hover near my classroom. I was full of complaints in 2015, even though Ben handled the kids. LOL to 2016 me marveling about 3 days in a row of work, but by 2021 I was thrilled be on campus (with matching kn95/Rothy's even). I have literally no idea what we did with the kids in 2022. Left them home? But Minnie was so little? Ditto 2023. Ben WFH all week in 2024, and last year, that also seems to be the case. 

This year, it is dance tryout week, so Harry is driving the carpool. Cooper is working at the pool. Minnie is Harry's responsibility, and Ben and Jack are in Peoria, Ben because he works there and Jack because he is getting read for the speech team season.

My expectations for the first week:

Laundry is going to be a shit show

The house is going to be NOT CLEAN when I get home

Sunday will be a huge cleaning and errand day, and nothing house-related is so urgent that it can't wait until Sunday

Food this week:

Sunday: BBQ chicken sliders with cauliflower and corn

Monday: Chicken noodle soup with crusty bread and roasted borccoli

Tuesday: Tacos with fajita veggies (zucchini, peppers, mushrooms, onions) on the grill because raw produce is poison RN

We are going to have leftovers Wednesday and Thursday and whatever Jack wants for his last dinner home before college (he's gone with Ben from Tues-Thurs, comes home Friday and works his last shift and the pool and then goes back for official dorm move-in on Sat) on Friday. We already bought burgers and buns for Saturday and have frozen fries and those Chef Hack Costco frozen veggies to go with them because we knew if we didn't plan something for Saturday we;d have takeout, after eating out all day in Peoria.

Treats this week:

Kind bars in my fave flavor

Lisa Gardner on audio for my drive

Brand new weekly planner just waiting to be planned in