SCHOOL SHOPPING [STAAAAHP...]

So uhh ...

this is happening.

It's everywhere. Yeahyeahyeah, I know: This happens every year. Kids get out in May/June, and by the first of July, the [at that point] premature signs of all things BTS [Back To School] can already be sighted from the big retailers down to the mom & pop shops. This used to incite unbelievable frustration when I was in high school, trying to breathe in the freedom of summer without the driving reminder that I was headed back in like, 90ish days.

Fast forward to that thing we always talked about in high school: "Someday, when I'm a mom....."
When I was 17 and joking about this with my friends, we overlooked the details of mommyhood, including but certainly far from limited to: school supply shopping.

It sounds mundane to the childless folk out there, and like a mastered science to the seasoned parents, but if for a second I thought this would be a boring affair, well... nope & nope.

kindergarteners need earbuds ;)

First, Sydni's kindergarten check list includes the standard staple items that I would've expected:

Backpack, lunchbox, markers, highlighters, pencils, box of tissues, hand sanitizer, box of bandaids, etc. On the list also: One set of ear buds, which made me simultaneously laugh and feel ancient, because obviously that wasn't a thing in 1990 when I hit the halls of elementary school.

And then there were glue sticks. Not inherently a crazy request, but I'm still trying to lend a plausible guess as to what they plan to do with 18 glue sticks per child. I mean, in our house, as crafty as we are, I could easily rationalize maybe... 18 glue sticks per a period of 12 months, if even that many [glue sticks]. That's 360 glue sticks per class of 20 kids, and this isn't just for the AM goers. Guesstimating at 20 kids for each session, that's a mere 720 tiny tubes of stickiness. Haha. Yay, adhesive kids!

Anyway, Sydni was beside herself as we entered the glorious, glowing [literally, due to the neon signage.... everywhere] archway of the seasonal school supply section of the store. We knocked everything off the list with little to no fuss, save for a washable stamp pad and sticky-back velcro dots. Kindergarten supply scavenger hunt? Challenge accepted. We finally tracked down the velcro dots, and eventually left sans only the stamp pad, since the store didn't carry them. I think that's fair, and not a job badly done for first-timers.

*Whew!
Sydni exhausted herself into a celebratory nap, which we occupied with some catch-up on laundry and cleaning [trade ya, Syd?] before she was back in action and ready for the park. 

"the blur" - she's on the move!

Off to the park we were, with bike in tow. We squeezed the last bit of daylight out of the sky before we loaded back up and circled on home.

Happy Saturday, to you & yours!

xo | cmd

Flashback Friday..

Here's the reality: TOMORROW, Rob and I will embark together on the journey that is school supply shopping with Sydni. Of the three of us, Sydni is actually the one maintaining composure the best. Her primary objective for tomorrow's outing is to find everything in the store that is labeled, emblazened, embroidered, stickered, macrometed or otherwise adorned with anything My Little Pony. The girl is obsessed. Haha.

But that's tomorrow. We are kindergarten school supply shopping... tomorrow. 
For today, that meant reminiscing over the last nearly 5 years of life for my little girl, who in just a couple of short weeks, becomes a "school kid," as she calls it.

I'll be doing this whole flashback thing in much greater detail a few short weeks from now when Sydni turns 5, so we'll just consider this a precourser to that.

Just a couple of my favorite then & nows:

Crafts:


2010, 2011, 2013 & 2014

Eating [More specifically using any type of silverware]:  


2009, 2010, 2012, 2013
& mostly ice cream, apparently.. haha ;)

A Taste of the Seasons:
Summer:


2010 & 2014

 Winter:

2009, 2012, 2014

Carseat Memoirs:

2010, 2012, 2014

 The "Mom, I'm DONE With Pictures" Face:

staaaaaahhhhhp!

 & of COURSE, Enjoying Life!

LOVE LOVE LOVE.

Haha.. Miss Syd certainly is the epitome of love in my book. I can't believe my little girl is growing into elementary school. I'm so excited for her, and simultaneously wrecked because it's happening already.

Let's go do this [tomorrow], Syd. ♥♥♥♥.

xo | cmd

LBYC & London Bridge

We've been talking about going for a visit down to the Ludlow Bromley Yacht Club for a while now. The last time I was there was back in 2008, when we celebrated Jamie's birthday and had no idea what the LBYC really was. Oops.

lbyc!

We finally made plans with Becky to do dinner and decided LBYC would be the venue. We even brought along the same Whispering Beard coozie just because.. well, just because our minds both function that way. Hah.. 

becky!

Kalyn & Brian joined us soon after, and we made a little crowd of it all.

awh.

& of course, my best friend ♥♥

After LBYC, Becky called it a night and headed out. Kalyn, Brian, Rob and I were left with a decision on where to round out the night; we opted for the London Bridge back in Mt. Washington. The Bridge is exactly halfway between both Kalyn's place and ours, so it worked out perfectly; we could walk home from here had we so desired.

♥ this gal

That's a wrap, folks! We still have one more day before the official weekend, so it's time to call it.

xoxo.

G'Nite!

 

xo | cmd

Volleyballaholics

... Recreationally, of course.

Here's a true story: 

this was me today.
[image borrowed & personalized from here!]

I went to work today...and was tired before I even got home. It was a whirlwind but I couldn't tell you what even happened. Errr. Then I went to volleyball tonight. We nearly closed the place down. It's almost midnight, I'm home & still covered in sand.. and I'm tired.

Shower. Bed. Super lame blog entry.
See ya tomorrow.

xo | cmd

Yoga Breaks

FACT: Working in an office can be quite the challenging environment for someone who values physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle. By healthy, I mean a non-sedentary lifestyle. For those of us who are desk-bound for a large portion of our day, it's difficult at times to just pause for a moment and get up.

FUN FACT: I work in an office at which I am required to sit.. a lot. HOWEVER, I 1] am allowed to and permanently use a balance ball chair when doing so, and 2] have a beautiful, like-minded co-worker who shares my affinity for staying active.

So on days when we've put in strong load for the first half of the day and there are a few minutes of downtime, this is the kind of thing that starts happening:

head stand breaks

I'm working on some variations; it's a slow and sometimes painful process, but getting there!

slowly... but surely.

And here's evidence of the struggle [which is very real], haha.

And some more. Yes, I'm super wobbly.. but hey, wobbly is better than nothing, and I'm growing stronger getting into these things, so I'll take it and keep working.
That second video is admittedly awful, I know, but I've decided to vulnerably post that as a public declaration that it will be followed in the hopefully near future with one of redemption. Hah. Everyone starts somewhere, kids.

So yeah! That's part of our office routine when we have a few spare minutes and the pressing work is done; a quick break from computer screens and phone calls for some yoga. If you have the opportunity where you work to take even a 3-minute break from the grind, I would highly recommend it!

Happy TUESDAY!

xo | cmd

#ICANTEVEN

I saw this video posted a few days ago, and have since basically shown it to everyone I know:
The hashtaggy communication between just about everyone these days is amusing to me; I've not stayed entirely exempt, but this embodiment by Sam Tabor is one of the funniest I've seen in a long time.

Today, I viewed and printed off the itinerary and school supply list for Sydni, as she prepares for kindergarten in the fall.

get. outta here!
sidenote: 18 glue sticks?! haha...

STAAAAHP. KINDERGARTEN!?
*sigh. I'm handling this well, I would hope. I haven't cried yet, and as it stands now, the emotions I have on the matter are, for the most part sheer excitement that Sydni is finally going to have the school experience that several of the other kids at her daycare frequently share with her.

Anyway, I had a lapse in stability when I printed this thing off... and had myself a very pure moment of I.. CAN'T... EVEN. 

#ICANTEVEN

"On a scale of 1 to even, I can't."
"I am literally literalling, so hard right now."

Thank you, Sam Tabor.. this is seriously a gem.
And thank you, Mulberry Elem, for the stark reminder that I'm a total newb at the school supply shopping thing; I'm pretty excited to see how a class of let's say, possibly 20 students is going to use 360 glue sticks! Haha.. Oh, the joys of BTS [Back To School]. I'm finally joining the ranks, my fellow school-kid moms!

But still... I seriously, just.. can't....


.. even. ;)

xo | cmd

Home Again

We've been back to Illinois quite a few times over the last several months, but I still had yet to meet Mike & Kelly's baby Elaina. I was super excited when we decided to do breakfast at Apple Tree with the three of them before we headed out.

I mean c'mon, she.. is.. adorable!!

you are so stinkin' cute!!

i love those toothy grins :D

We wrapped up breakfast, said farewell to Mike & Kelly, and started the process of stopping by both Rob's mom & dad's before getting on the road. We had prepared Jamaican photo albums for both, and it was a blast going through some of the photos we included to detail our vacation. We started with Rob's mom, and had a chance to spend some time with them.

From there, it was on to his dad & Kate's place, where the new above-ground pool & deck have been fully assembled and were in full use by Ella, Rob's niece.

pool time!

We can gladly fast forward the rest of the day, since most of it included driving.. and more driving..

We're home now and getting back into our routine here; it's back to work tomorrow!

xo | cmd