Skipping Town

Greta got her braces off today! So exciting. She has retainers for top and bottom for the foreseeable future, but her braces are off. Andrew took her to her appointment at lunchtime, then he and Greta and Lucia got bubble tea and pizza.  We started packing up for New Hampshire tonight--there are always so many things to bring for two weeks. Books, beads, coloring books, swings to potentially hang in a tree, a drone that Andrew is going to play around with the kids, new inflatables for the pond. Oh, and clothes and toiletries and some food for the ten-hour drive. Will Nutmeg get into her crate easily at the crack of dawn on Saturday? We can only hope.  She actually did get into her crate today because the cleaners were here, and I'm too afraid of her being stepped on to let her stay free roam. Greta easily got her to hop into her crate this morning without any drama, and she even hopped in and out for the rest of the day. When she was finally free again, she ran into my closet to re

Andrew and I both had a day off work today for Juneteenth, and last week we'd made a plan to take the girls to Sandcastle--one of their summer bucket-list items. Only Lucia had ever been there--last year, with friends--and, with the temps in the 90s, it seemed like a good day for a water park. We got there right at opening time and, for a while, had a pretty crowd-free experience. The girls rode a bunch of water slides, and Andrew and I even went on one (twice). We jumped waves in the wave pool and floated on the lazy river. By our second visit to the wave pool, the park was extremely crowded, so after a final float in the lazy river, we called it a day. A fun way to spend a day off (at least, until the crowds took over). I overheard a new employee talking to her supervisor while we were in the lazy river. She was complaining about the boring assignment she had, overseeing the lazy river. The supervisor told her that if she did a good job, she'd eventually score a much better a

I thought having the kids home from school would make our days less crazy, but somehow their presence at home seems MORE insane. I'm constantly worrying that Lucia hasn't woken up, that they haven't remembered to take Farrah out, that they're wasting the day on screens. Some of these happened today--Lucia wanted to wake up at 8:30 but didn't get up till 10; they forgot to take out Farrah, then Greta took her out but forgot to bring her in and she was outside in the heat for an hour. Etc. It's not ideal. (But they're not on screens.) I went to work until early afternoon, then came home to do my final work from here, which was fine but my attic office is sweltering--I'll be getting a freestanding AC when we get back from NH. Then I drove the kids to their summer tutoring venue, where they worked on math with their new tutors. It went well, and I think it'll be a good addition to the summer. Afterward, we went to the pool for a swim and dinner. Hardly a

I started the day with my Couch to 5K training and was outside, in running clothes, at 6:15am. This is only my fourth session, and so far I have not "seen the light" and discovered the "magic of running." I dislike it as much as ever. The bright side of being out in the neighborhood so early is that the baby bunnies are out too, nibbling grass and hopping around. I look for them, and count them, as a way of distracting myself from the arduous physical ordeal of my thirty-minute walk/run. Today I counted ten buns. So cute. I worked from home today, Andrew went into the office, Lucia did boatloads of geometry, Greta read and did some paper mache. Then they both engaged in some slime-making. Needless to say, the basement has been destroyed, as neither the paper mache nor the slime has reached its conclusion. There's nothing to do but just keep the door closed and let the screen-free summer entertainment continue. As everyone knows, I'm not allergic whatsoever t

Happy Father's Day! We're usually in NH for Father's Day so it was a nice change to be able to celebrate this year with both Andrew and Dad. The girls and Andrew went for a run this morning, then we had waffles for breakfast. We then headed down to Connellsville for the day. A true Gift for Father's Day was giving Dad the wonderful opportunity to plod through eleven sections of summer geometry with Lucia.  Then Mom made homemade pasta and strawberry shortcake for lunch. Delish. The kids and Andrew washed Mom and Dad's car, we got a tour of Mom's gardens, and we gave Andrew and Dad some gifts. A lovely Father's Day. 

Greta and I went to Trader Joe's in the morning, and then I went to a hair appointment for a few hours (cut, color, highlights--the works). I spent part of the afternoon prepping some foods for our gathering Saturday evening--the usual group of friends came over to celebrate Andrew's birthday. We sat on the side porch and had kebabs on the grill, fruit, pasta salad, deviled eggs, and a cheese platter, and then a burnt almond cake from Prantl's for dessert. It was a fun night. My high school yearbook made an appearance. Farrah grabbed a devilled egg from a tray that was, unwisely, within her reach.

 It was an unusually busy day at work, and I ended up walking down to campus and got to work at 7:00am. Lucia was still asleep; Greta was doing a workout in the basement; Andrew was still in Peru. I spent half a day in the office then walked home and spent the rest of the day working from home.  Andrew finally did arrive home, and tonight we went to Alta Via to celebrate his birthday belatedly. Then we came home to open gifts and have cupcakes Greta made. A few days late, but nice nonetheless. We are still struggling to find our summer footing. I've been so busy this week that the kids have been completely on their own, and the lack of structure is beginning to take its toll (see yesterday's post re: daily Cup Noodles as sole sustenance). To be fair, Lucia has been working hours each day on geometry, which leaves Greta at loose ends. Her work with a math tutor starts this coming week, and hopefully she'll give her a plan for some daily work to do to start seventh-grade math

Yesterday, I went to work, and the girls occupied themselves at home. Lucia did geometry, and Greta experimented with paper mache. After work we went to the pool for a swim and dinner. That was a nice evening. I worked from home today. Lucia did a bunch of geometry (with Dad's help via phone), and Greta baked cupcakes, which proved frustrating since it turned out we were nearly out of flour, sugar, baking powder, and butter. Then they went outside to swing. The girls had piano lessons tonight, then we went to the grocery store for baking ingredients. Dinner was a haphazard collection of leftovers and meals I pulled out of the freezer. The kids have been eating Cup Noodles every day for lunch. I cannot keep every single ball in the air while I am both working full-time and solo parenting, and cooking has definitely been the ball that has been dropped. There is just no time to make dinner. And when I say "time" what I mean is "the will to do even one more thing after w

It's summer, which means it's time for daily, or near-daily, posts to Skipping Town. This summer is a little different, because for the first time since the kids were born I don't have my summer days free--I have a full-time job. Just a reminder that last summer, my job search made me so stressed out that I got SHINGLES, which led to a bacterial infection that landed me in the ER. I crocheted so many amigurumi that I alarmed even myself. Memories! And the resolution of all that was that I did get the job I wanted and I now have to work all summer. Yay? This summer, we are still finding our footing with our days. We were all happy when school finally ended--the name "Maycember" is so accurate, and the last few weeks of school were insane. But we all got through it, went to the girls' moving-up ceremony, and then went to Kennywood. Andrew and I drove separately to accommodate a shifting roster of friends to and from. Then Andrew promptly left for Peru.  The girl