Fall Break 2024

The kids went back to school today after fall break. I always dread fall break because I’m never quite recovered from summer. I’ve reached a point in my parenting journey where I’m just kind of done. I’m done trying to provide my kids with fun and activities. We’ve done it all. There’s nothing left. 

Even though I’m utterly exhausted from 17 years of entertaining children, I tried really hard to give them a good fall break. I didn’t want to do any of it, but I toughed it out. 

On Thursday we got Ghostbuster donuts from Krispy Kreme. 

Then we went for a short hike to Lisa Falls. 

It’s been in the mid 80’s here for the last few weeks, so I wanted to take advantage and spend a little time in the mountains. 

We also walked around the temple quarry.

My kids found a praying mantis, named it Trevor, and carried it around everywhere. They were upset when I didn’t let them bring it home.

Trevor was very uninterested in goldfish crackers, for the record.

Eva went out to dinner and on a shopping spree (sponsored by the dad) with a friend for the friend’s birthday that night. While Eva was gone, I took Zoe to Target to look around for a while (per her request). Zoe found a toy penguin she really wanted and decided to save her money for. Then, by sheer coincidence, Eva came home from her friend’s shopping spree with the same penguin. Zoe went ballistic, and we ended up having to manage hours of jealous rage. 

On Friday I left my kids with a big list of chores and went to work for a few hours. Then I went to the dentist to have a tooth chip repaired. 

When I got home, I was a bit of a bum for the rest of the day. But I made Halloween nachos with orange and black tortilla chips, so I feel like that should grant me some awesome mom points (even though my kids didn’t eat them because there was too much “stuff” on them).

Our neighbors came over and played for several hours with Zoe and Eva, so that was nice to have them occupied for a while. Daisy and I watched 13 Going on 30, which she got a kick out of. 

On Saturday I catered a wedding luncheon, so I was up at 5:00 a.m. working on that. I don’t think I even sat down (other than driving in the car) until after 5:00 that evening, and the only reason I sat down was because I finally squeezed in a shower, and I dried my hair seated at a vanity.

My family and a couple of friends helped me get everything served. We did a pasta bar with penne and spaghetti and three different sauces. Also broccoli, green salad, and garlic bread. Then we did sundaes for dessert. Everything went well for the most part. There’s always something, but we got through it. 

Sadly, I didn’t get a single photo of the food other than this one of my chickens eating some leftover salad. 

They were so happy!

That night, Scotty and Nicky worked at the Imagine Dragons concert while the girls and I represented at the wedding reception. I got to see lots of old friends there! 

On Sunday I took Scotty to the airport to go to North Carolina for work. 

I’m not gonna lie… it was really hard to come back home and go to church, but I did it! After church, I got everyone fed and then I said, “I’m going on an outing. Any of you who would like to join me are welcome, but if you’re going to have a bad attitude, stay home.”

Everyone came. Including one who ended up with a bad attitude despite my earlier warning.

She didn’t know there would be walking involved. Apparently it was very traumatic to have to walk. Poor baby. 

We walked around Memory Grove. Some of us chose to enjoy it. 

I wanted to go to a few other places, but Grumpy Pants wouldn’t let us, and Nicky needed to go to a fireside anyway (with Elder Rasband), so we cut our outing short. 

That night I was really, really tired. I ended up going to bed at 8:30, and I didn’t get up until 8:00 the next morning. It was wild! 

On Monday I took Zoe and Eva to the skate park. They rode their bikes and skateboards for about an hour. Zoe accomplished new milestones while Eva crashed twice, so I had one happy kid and one sad kid.

We went to see White Bird at the movie theater (I might actually write a post about this experience because it was a bit of a milestone for my family).

 

I snuck in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We were the only people in the theater, and that was nice because my kids asked a lot of questions, and I didn’t have to shush them.

When we got home, we cleaned the house, which was a huge job. Everything was in disarray from the crazy weekend, and there was a lot of stuff that needed to be put away from the wedding. I also spent about an hour and a half on a chat with Gabb trying to sort out some problems with Zoe’s watch (a few hour later they informed me they will send us a new device, which is exactly what needed to happen, but it took them a really long time to come to that conclusion). 

Zoe went to play with a friend, which was a huge blessing because she and Eva really needed a break from each other. 

Nicky appeared a few times over fall break, but for the most part, he was gone. We don’t see a whole lot of him these days. On Sunday he met with the bishop to start the process of getting his mission papers ready. I can’t believe it’s already time! 

I ended fall break by letting my kids spend way too much time playing video games Monday night, and I sorted the Rubbermaids. It’s been on my to-do list for several weeks, so I actually feel like quite a champion over it. For this brief moment, I have corresponding numbers of containers and lids. That’s the highlight of fall break for me personally. But my kids didn’t need to be home for five days straight for that to happen. I’m just sayin. 

 

Memory Lane: Episode 1

As we do, I sometimes remember things from my childhood that I haven’t thought about in a long time. I thought maybe I should write some of these things down once in a while, thus beginning a blog series I will call “Memory Lane.” (Super original, right?)

This morning I saw this on Facebook:

I’m definitely of the Goosebumps generation. While I wasn’t a “mega” fan, I still read a few of the books and watched some of the shows. We watched “The Haunted Mask” a lot (my brother was a big fan), and at some point, we scrounged up a cat, and my brother named her Carly Beth after the girl in “The Haunted Mask.” I say “scrounged up a cat” because we had lots of cats, and we really did tend to find them in weird circumstances, and I don’t remember if we found Carly Beth in a ditch, in a dumpster, or at a shelter. 

I knew that Carly Beth’s name came from Goosebumps, but until I saw the images on Facebook, I’d forgotten what the story was. Now I remember that Carly Beth put on a scary mask, and it became her face (Oh, man! I’m totally going to make my kids watch this!) 

The interesting thing (and something I didn’t connect until now) is that our cat Carly Beth ended up with a mangled face for a while. She got some kind of infection and lost all her fur on one side of her face. It was pretty gnarly and oozy, and I often compared her to Two Face from Batman because that’s what she looked like.

Carly Beth was pretty miserable and unpleasant during that time. Kind of like her namesake. So be careful who you name your pets after - you never know what they’ll have to go through.

Ten Things I Text My Teens

10. “Home by midnight!”

9. “Clean or dirty?” (with photo of their laundry basket sitting on the laundry room floor)

Coulda fooled me!

8. “Congratulations! It’s your day for dishes.”

7. “There’s a sandwich in the fridge for you” (and other food-related things).

6. Embarrassing pictures from their younger years

5. “Do you have rehearsal today?”

4. “Who are you going with?”

3. “Why are you at (insert location here)?”

2. “I’m here!”

1. “I love you!”

Him & Me

1. Who is more likely to embarrass the other while drunk?

Since neither of us has ever been drunk, I don't really know, but probably Scotty because he embarrasses me while sober, so it would probably just be amped up with him on alcohol. 

2. Who is most likely to die in a zombie apocalypse?

I've already decided to just surrender to the zombies. Why not just join them? So me. 

3. Who is most likely to discuss your private life in public?

Me.

4. Who is most likely to prank the other?

Me. Because Scotty would like it. If he pulled a prank on me, he would be in the doghouse for a long time, and he knows that. 

5. Who is most likely to buy a gift the other person hates?

Scotty.

6. Who is most likely to be arrested for something stupid?

I don't think either of us. 

7. Who is most likely to forget the name of someone they know?

Scotty. Hands down. 

8. Who is most likely to cook dinner?

Me.

9. Who is most likely to quit their job to travel?

Neither of us. We kind of need the jobs so we can travel, but I know that's not a mentality that everyone has. 

10. Who is most likely to get jealous over something trivial?

Me. 

11. Who is most likely to lose something in the house?

Both of us lose stuff. 

12. Who's most likely to be grumpy when they're hungry?

Me.

13. Who's most likely to overspend at the grocery store?

Me on the day to day shopping, but Scotty if there's a camping trip involved. 

14. Who is most likely to tell the best jokes?

Me. Scotty's jokes are dumb.

15. Who is most likely to buy a new car without telling the other?

Neither of us would do that. 

16. Who is most likely to win a game of cards?

Scotty. Unless it's a word game like Quiddler. 

17. Who is most likely to complain about something?

Me. 

18. Who is most likely to go to bed before 9 pm?

Scotty. 

19. Who is most likely to come up with a world-changing invention?

Scotty. 

20. Who is most likely to bring home a surprise kitten?

Me. 

21. Who is most likely to binge-watch a TV series?

Either of us. Scotty watches a lot of shows while donating plasma twice a week, and I usually have a show playing in the background while I work. 

22. Who is most likely to plan things on a vacation?

Scotty does the logistics while I do the food and packing. 

23. Who is most likely to be pulled over for bad driving?

Scotty. He is more aggressive, doesn't signal for the proper amount of time, passes on the right... 

24. Who is most likely to retrain in a new career?

Either one of us could, but Scotty is the one who actually has. At this point, though, he'll probably stick with what he knows, and I'm the one who might end up somewhere entirely new someday. 

25. Who is most likely to want to go on a cruise?

Scotty. 

26. Who is more likely to drop something?

Me. I'm clumsy.

27. Who is most likely to watch a horror movie?

Scotty. 

28. Who is most likely to forget why they walked into a room?

Me.

29. Who is most likely to get annoyed with the other's music?

Me. Scotty listens to some stuff that's just awful!

30. Who is most likely to fall asleep at the movie theater?

Scotty. He always does. 

31. Who is most likely to be scared of spiders?

We don't love spiders, but neither of us is particularly scared of them. 

32. Who is most likely to have nightmares?

Me. I'm a dreamer. Scotty is not. 

33. Who is most likely to get dressed up in a fancy dress?

Definitely me. 

34. Who is most likely to spend all the savings?

Me. 

35. Who is most likely to read a book?

Me. 

36. Who is most likely to drop their phone in the toilet?

Me, considering I've done in three times, and Scotty has never. 

37. Who is most likely to grow their own fruits and vegetables?

This is something we do together!

38. Who is most likely to win in a spelling bee?

Me. I'm the better speller between us, BUT I can't spell aloud. So there will never be any reason for us to do a spelling bee together. 

39. Who is most likely to get a piercing?

Me.

40. Who is most likely to start a business?

Scotty.

41. Who is most likely to forget where they parked the car?

Me. 

42. Who is most likely to fart in public?

Me. Scotty has manners. I'm practically Shrek. 

43. Who is most likely to eat spicy food?

Scotty.

44. Who's most likely to use a swear word?

Me.

45. Who's most likely to get plastic surgery?

Me. 

46. Who spends the most money on clothes?

Me.

47. 

Currently (October 2024 Edition)

Reading: 

Wearing: weird striped overalls.

Laughing about: the fact that pigs can have up to 32 nipples. And why do I know this?

Buying: clearance sandals. Might as well enjoy this perk of the season.

Dreading: washing, drying, and styling my hair today. I don’t want to do the work.

Enjoying: long pants. Although, I’m still wearing shorts a lot because we keep having hot days!

Looking forward to: a lil upcoming road trip.

Worried about: kid things. Always.

Watching: 

Eating: no-bake cookies.

Annoyed by: loud cars.

Listening to:

Craving: a long nap on a cold, rainy day: 

Needing: to do my girls’ IEPs today. I wish I could just send an email that says “keep everything the same, we’re good,” but we have to do all the official and legal stuff.

Sad about: the various things people are suffering from. Mental and physical illnesses and other hardships. Everyone is facing hard, heavy things.

Drinking: protein shakes that cost a bazillion dollars but we got for free. 

Cooking: Cowboy Dinner. If I follow through with my meal plan (50% chance).

Singing: “No Way” from SIX.

Sick of: my kids leaving their dirty clothes on the bathroom floor and their socks all over the house. 

Hoping: that some new clothes I ordered arrive this week. 

Playing:

Ark Nova is still a favorite right now.

Procrastinating: returning my kids’ library books. Luckily they automatically renewed for the third (but last) time yesterday.

Bummed about: the ice maker in our fridge no longer working. I’ve been buying bags of ice to get by.

Loving: my new comforter. I used my Sam’s Cash to buy it last month.

Avoiding: ministering. Sorry, Shirley. 

Grateful for: glasses. I don’t wear glasses (my vision is still really good - it’s one thing I’m holding on to with pride while the rest of me is falling apart), but I have a daughter who needs a pretty intense eyeglass prescription. Last week I taught Relief Society, and the lesson talked about the healings of Bartimeaus and the man in Bethsaida, both whom were blind, and as I thought about these miracles, I realized what a miracle it is that we can so easily correct so many ailments these days that would have been hindrances back then. My daughter, in biblical times, wouldn’t have been able to do anything for her sight. She would just have to live life blurry. But in today’s world, all she has to do is a simple eye exam, and she can see. We’re so used to these miracles that we forget they really are miracles. 

The Ones I Didn’t Write

It’s the end of September, and even though today isn’t the last day, I’m going to go ahead and put the September Writing Challenge of 2024 to rest. It was a lovely month, and even though I didn’t produce the best writing of my life, it felt good to do some regular blogging. 

I’ve hit the point now where I don’t have any umph left for the remaining prompts. Here’s what I thought I might have written for the leftover prompts if I’d ever had the gumption:

Makeshift - we have a lot of stuff around our house that is making do; things we’ve had to jimmy rig to make last longer. 

Impulse - something I did on a whim. Or maybe an impulse buy (which this month, I think my most exciting impulse buy was new underwear for Scotty).

Deal or No Deal - things I bought at the thrift store vs things I passed on (I went to the thrift store a few times this month but just didn’t yield the right experience to make a post like this).

Utah - a list of things I like about my state or maybe a post about a particular place.

Believe - something I believe strongly in. Like how stores should have their hours posted large enough for me to read them from my car as I drive by.

Victory - a celebration of some kind of accomplishment, like going to the dentist or finally refilling my salt shaker.

My Way - an explanation of something done my way.

Something Sweet - perhaps a recipe for a yummy treat.

Shape - no idea. 

Let’s Go! - I thought I’d go somewhere and be able to blog about it. Never really happened other than going to the mountains one time, but I wrote about that in a different prompt. 

Last Week - a flashback for something I experienced the week before, but there was never anything left behind from “last week” that I could write about. 

So there you have it. September Writing Challenge 2024. Thanks for checking in. I’ll now leave you with an obligatory photo (since I don’t include one in my last post, and two posts in a row without a photo feels like I’m breaking a law).

I regret not acting on this impulse buy.

On the Tens

September Writing Challenge - Prompt #32:

10:00

For the last several days I’ve had a reminder set on my phone for 10:00 A.M. & 10:00 P.M. so I can jot down what I’m doing. In hindsight, I should have taken a few photos for blog aesthetic, but I can only be so on top of things, you know? 

Here’s how I’ve spent my ten o’clocks lately:

Saturday P.M. - laying in bed watching The Goldbergs.

Sunday A.M. - attending a sacrament meeting presentation by an outgoing missionary.

Sunday P.M. - laying in bed writing a blog post about movies.

Monday A.M. - at work putting our logo stickers on backboards and listening to By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult. 

Monday P.M. - sound asleep with my CPAP (an unusual occurrence).

Tuesday A.M. - at work, cutting canvas, and watching Emily in Paris.

Tuesday P.M. - in bed watching Friday Night Lights, making my to do list for my day off.

Wednesday A.M. - in the waiting room at the dentist. 

Wednesday P.M. - in bed watching Wednesday.

Thursday A.M. - at work building frames and listening to an audiobook.

Thursday P.M. - playing Wingspan on my phone and watching Friday Night Lights.

If nothing else, you now have proof of my terrible TV habits.