Flowers And Fascinators!

What?!!! Three posts in one day??? I don’t even know what to say. Except:

This triple post is brought to you by Chicklet’s swim team commitment, and the fact that they transitioned from indoor to outdoor pool today (!), thus I’m not sweating it out in the humidity and, instead, outdoors, in the glorious breeze, in a lounge chair, with nobody harassing me! The end.

Okay. Back to the triple post…

Sometime soon (dare I wish for a fourth post?!), I’ll share about the overall feeling of go-go-go at the moment.

It’s been a lot, in a short amount of time, but…thus is the springtime snowball that leads to the end of the school year, and it’s mostly manageable. Mostly. 

Part of what sends our schedule over the edge this time of year is the vast number of “extra” events. You know the kind. They’re popping up everywhere, right now. They can be fun, stressful, or any combo of both, and, last night, was one such event—though, mostly fun, thank goodness.

It was a women’s charity event a local nonprofit. My Barre ladies all attended the event last year, to support and be rowdy, and we managed to turn out again—in fantastic “Derby” themed fashion, no less!

I mean, who doesn’t love an excuse for a fascinator???

Honestly, this scene isn’t my jam. At all. In fact, I’d probably avoid this kind of event like the plague—if it weren’t for my Barre ladies!

That said…what a gorgeous sea of color!

With beautiful florals and fantastic hats, some raucous handbag Bingo, wonderful food, and valet parking, it didn’t feel like a chore. :)

And, just look at this rainbow of color!



I love. :)



Okay…three, whole posts! I miracle! Not sure if I can manage a fourth, but we can dream, peeps, can’t we???

Over and out. 

Little Man’s Spring 2024 Basketball Season!

Woohoo! Double post night!! 

I give you…Little Man, all suited up (in fan-freaking tastic colors, I might add) for his basketball season that launched last Saturday. (Yup, the same day as Chicklet’s bday hoopla):

He was a happy, color-coordinated, vibrant kid. ;)

So. Here’s how it went:

In mid-March, we were thrilled to be offloading both a soccer season (Little Man) and a track season (Chica). 

It felt like a deep inhale, or a reprieve, or a glimmer of hope that the end of the school year was, indeed, in sight. And that we might have just a teeny-tiny bit of unscheduled time, once in a blue moon 

Pfffft.

So delusional.

I literally recall telling the moms from Little Man’s soccer team that we would not be signing up for another soccer season until Fall. And I felt really firm in this opinion.

Again, delusional.

Fast forward two weeks, when a whole different slew of mom friends started popping up by text, inquiring about sports. The hubby is too much of a rockstar coach, and the buddies seek us out, ha.

Not much to say, other than: I caved.

We not only signed up for a Monday after school round of basketball, but a Saturday full season, as well—with the hubby coaching.

Whatevs. I’ll sleep in another ten years (Right?? Right??? Lie to me.)

For anyone keeping track (like me, when I’m trying to dig to the root of my exhaustion), this year, we’ve had…cross country, tennis, track, orchestra, choir, private violin lessons, school soccer, i9 soccer, chess club, tech team, swim team, school basketball, i9 basketball, table tennis, and…a slew of other things that come and go and make me feel like it’s normal to be an unpaid ride-share driver, ha. 

I don’t even want to think about the fact that, next year, we rotate Confirmation back in (for Chicklet), along with band, dance, and freaking theater arts.

I wave the white flag!

And count down the days to summer, when it might, might ease up for a brief spell.

These are the years, peeps. I know this. And I’m sure I’ll be crying in my Cheerios when the kiddos age enough to drive anywhere themselves.

Still.

Me tired.

But Little Man is so tall and cute. :)







Happy Double Post Day, peeps!

Over and out.

P.S. In other over-scheduled news (ha)…I chaperoned a GT field trip for Little Man, today, and we toured the massive, 200 acre, Toyota Factory that’s the exclusive manufacturer of all Tundras and Sequoias in existence and employees nearly 9,000 people.

This plant produces 120,000 vehicles a day, a new car comes off the assembly line every 60 seconds (it’s WILD), and it was hands down the coolest, most mind-blowing feat of engineering I’ve ever seen close up, and I would have taken a GAZILLION pics, but…we WEREN’T ALLOWED TO! Safety, first. Deep sigh.

Caught this one on the bus with my boy, though. He was delighted to have me there, and so loving in a physical way that’s rare these days, so I was in HEAVEN. I’ll do any field trip, any time, if he buddies up to me like that!

 Now, really, over and out.

Chicklet’s 11th Birthday!

Whoop whoop! Look who’s eleven years OLD!

I gotta say, she simultaneously feels older and younger than that, but the predominant word to mark this milestone is bittersweet.

This beautiful, unique, unicorn child of mine is about to grow and change the most she ever will, over the next couple of years.

(Insert Mama sobbing.)

I’ve seen it with my eldest, my darn Google photos with its retrospective pics only confirms it: a ton of change is coming! Middle school and growth spurts are upon us. Chicklet is literally closing other childhood and entering her teenage years, and…UGH.

It was a toss up to see how she might want to celebrate, this year. We’ve been all over the spectrum for the past decade: themed decoration explosions at home, hooplas with little friends, the world was her oyster, yet again.

And you know what she decided??? She wanted to chill. Have a home Saturday (officially celebrating a day early, because “Saturdays are better than Sundays” ha) with little to demand, other than the opportunity to reign as Queen and enforce her Yes Day demands. ;)

Needless to say, we were happy to acquiesce! We built a balloon arch Friday night, wrapped up her presents, and let our girl live her best (lazy) life, all day Saturday. :)

Now, the one thing we proposed, to make the day over-the-top happy: a sleepover with a school buddy, and, man, was it a hit!



I have soooooo many mixed opinions about sleepovers (more on that in a coming post), but middle grade kiddos regard them as the holy grail, and there’s no swifter day to make mine feel like they won the lottery.



This little friend got to hang with us for nearly 24 hours! Even attended church and lunch with us on Sunday to round out the whole shebang, and I’m grateful my trio of crazies managed to be on their best behavior and get along, with a friend in residence so long.







I’m really so grateful to say that we ended the weekend with 100% certainty that Chicklet felt loved and celebrated for her birthday weekend, and, that, my peeps, is what it’s ALL ABOUT.

Okay, I have approximately 2,743 catchup posts to tackle, as well, so there might be more incoming, today (fingers crossed)! It’s my goal to keep up, not catch up, but…LIFE, I tell ya!

More, soon, peeps!

Over and out.