August 2014 Family Update

Mike and I started out the month by celebrating our anniversary a little early. We took a train ride to Delmonaco Winery. It was such a neat experience to be able to ride on an old passenger train. The winery was beautiful and it was a perfect little day trip! Special thanks to Grandma and D-Dad for hosting tLG so that we could get away and reminisce on the last nine years. It’s hard to believe we’ve been married that long!

On the homeschool front, we’ve officially started 2nd grade and it’s going great! I’m excited about our curriculum choices for this year and our days have been running pretty smoothly. Granted, I’ve now entered the insane-crazy-busy period of work so I’m not quite sure how seamless September will go. But, because we started in July, we have 28 days already on the books, which gives me some much-needed wiggle room.

For example, last week, K-Diddy and MiMi offered to take tLG for a few days and tack on the holiday weekend. We did a girl’s day field trip on Wednesday and then tLG tagged along to Bama for 5 days. For starters, I love that we can plan a last-minute field trip in the middle of the week. We practically had the place to ourselves (more in-depth post on that later this week) and it was awesome! Next, I’m digging the fact that I can up and send tLG to the grandparents for 5 days in the middle of the school year. This homeschool gig is getting better and better all the time.

As a mama, sometimes we know when we are at our wits end and we call in reinforcements for help. But, sometimes, we are just trudging through and don’t even realize how exhausted we are. While I thought it was awful nice for K-Diddy and Mimi to offer to take tLG for the weekend, I didn’t fully appreciate the break until she was gone. It was exhausted and I didn’t even realize it. Work has been pretty stressful for the last 2 weeks and I truly just needed a few days to have zero responsibility, even of the personal kind. I meandered through stores and shopped. Like, I took my time. I browsed. I wasn’t constantly checking the time. I actually went into a dressing room and tried. things. on. It was nothing short of glorious. Hubby and I went to a restaurant that didn’t even have a kids menu. I don’t even remember the last time that happened. On the spur of a moment, we stopped by a friend’s house and (wait for it) hung out. I slept and then I slept some more. When she was younger, I would fill the time away with a million projects to keep my mind busy so I wouldn’t miss her. This time, I forced myself to rest. I watched movies. Movie-S, as in more than one. From start to finish. Mike will tell you that I hardly ever sit still, but I’m starting to appreciate this relaxing thing more and more! 😉

In other news, tLG has started piano lessons with a lady in our neighborhood. It’s a perfect set up! She can even ride her bike to her teacher’s house. She’s only had a few lessons at this point but so far, so good.

We also took a trip over to Wave Country for a little water action before they closed for the season. Even though we’ve been pushing temps of 100, I’m still not ready to let go of summer.