Tag: back to school

It’s a good day

First, it’s our 15th anniversary. That’s a big deal, yeah? Multiple of 5?

George got me a new Apple Watch, which is very exciting since my last one broke in January. And he got Apple Care on it so if it happens again I can get it fixed! 😀

Look how pretty! The only problem is now my steps are being counted again. I mean, there wasn’t any point in doing them if they weren’t being counted, right?

I can’t tell you what I got George but I will tell you tomorrow. And I can guarantee he will like it. Maybe.

The other good thing about today is that the boys went back to school. Of course it’s also a little bit anxiety inducing, but I just hope everyone stays healthy. At least they’ll get to see some friends for a little bit. That’s good for them.

And of course they didn’t even try on their uniforms until yesterday (even though I’ve been asking them to for weeks) and I now have a pile of about 12 pairs of shorts and 12 shirts that no longer fit, some of which I bought in February. Sigh. So I will now be doing laundry every night until the uniforms I ordered last night get here.

PS The Zyia activewear party I’m hosting is still active! You can order here or join it on FB.

Linus update

Linus decided that he actually didn’t want the Star Wars backpack and lunchbox he’d picked out last week. (Because the lunchbox wasn’t rectangular like his brothers’. Okay.) So we returned them to Toys R Us and headed to Target, since Toys R Us was pretty picked clean.

He ended up with…

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A not-rectangular Mario lunchbox and backpack! Sigh. (Well, at least it’s more rectangular than Darth Vader’s head.)

We also went to the dentist so they could tell us how much it would cost to take care of his yellow tooth. Turns out it’s not as expensive as I’d thought it might be (I think it would be a veneer) so his smile won’t look like this for too much longer:

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Well, it’ll still be goofy, just a bit whiter.

Linus, part deux (plus more)

I know you’re on the edge of your seat. “WHAT BACKPACK DID LINUS PICK!?!?” you’re screaming. Well, your wait has come to an end. He chose…

Minions.

But there was no matching lunchbox.

Okay.

Mario, then.

No matching lunchbox.

There’s gotta be something.

Lego? Nope. Skylanders? Nah. Power Rangers? Oh please, Mama. Eye roll.

How about…

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Darth Vader?

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Yesss!

Whew.

Now, this was after dinner. And honestly, because of what Linus did at dinner, I would have bought him every backpack at the store.

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This is what I put on their plates. Grilled chicken, a few square inches of sauteed kale, and half of a tiny roasted potato. The chicken, I knew they’d eat. The other two things I threw on just because I am an eternal optimist.

Well. Linus ate his kale. And liked it. And asked for seconds, and thirds. They all gobbled up the potatoes (you’d think roasted potatoes wouldn’t be a hard sell to kids who eat french fries, but well, you know my kids.) It was a triumph! Woot!

I’d like to thank Penzey’s for their help. The Country French Vinaigrette was what I tossed the potatoes in before roasting and the Trinidad marinade went on the kale. (They also will eat the heck out of fish when I sprinkle it on.)

Linus Day (part 1)

Finally, poor Linus got his turn. He’d been waiting and waaaaaiting and life isn’t fair and why does he always have to go last? I reminded him that he was the first pulled from my uterus, but he didn’t think that was funny.

We hit the mall first, where there’s a Payless. Shoes first!

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He knew exactly what he wanted, we were in and out in five minutes. I thought, this is going to go way faster than the other two!

The skies were black when we left the house, and while we were in the mall it started pouring. So we hit the salon in the mall for a haircut. I forgot to get a before, but here’s one from yesterday morning to give you an idea:

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He looked so cute in the chair, but I was sure he’d lose an ear because every time it thundered, he’d twitch.

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After. Still kind of a mess because of his cowlicks. But still adorable, right?

Dinner next! And so many choices at the mall food court! Ha! So fancy. He had chick-fil-a, while I got to have mall Chinese, my favorite! Bad mom, no pics of our fancy meal.

It was still storming like crazy, so we went to Dillard’s so I could get a wedding gift for a friend. Even got it wrapped all fancy since we couldn’t leave the mall.

Eventually made a mad dash for the car while it was still pouring, and we got soaked to the bone (see top pic for evidence.) There was no way I was going to drive all the way to Toys R Us in that weather – the roads to our neighborhood flood in storms like this – so I told him we’d have to wait for another day. He just wanted to get out of the storm, so he was okay with it.

So I’ll get two trips with Linus, lucky me. 🙂

 

Miles Day!

Last night, it was Miles’s turn. I decided I didn’t feel like driving all over the West Bank, plus I was crossing my fingers that Miles would choose Chipotle for dinner, so we headed across the river to hit Toys R Us first…

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Look, I don’t mean to brag, but I predicted that he was going to pick the Pokemon backpack. And he did. Do I know my kids or what? (PS early prediction for Linus: Skylanders.)

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He was pretty hungry after backpack choosing, so I asked him where he wanted to eat (heavily hinting at delicious chicken burritos) and he said IHOP. Sigh.

Well, the kid loves waffles and bacon. We don’t even bother ordering off the kids’ menu anymore.

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He also ate half my fries. (For which I’m grateful.)

After Breakfast for Dinner #2 for me, we hit the hair salon. (It would have been funny to bring them to the same places, just to see if anyone noticed, but I really wanted to have their hair cut by different people so the results wouldn’t be the same.)

Before:

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He wanted his hair a bit shorter than Oliver’s in the front. Results:

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Happy guy!

Finally, it was time to hit the shoe store. Miles is pretty picky about his shoes, and I think his feet are a little wider than his brothers’. He ended up with the same shoes as Oliver, only half a size bigger and in black:

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Tonight is Linus’s turn. I’m really loving this time with my boys, can’t wait to see what he chooses!

Oliver day!

One thing I’m doing this week is taking each boy out individually for a haircut, new shoes, a new backpack, and dinner. Kind of like what I did in December before Christmas.

This week, we started with Oliver.

First, haircut.

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Before.

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After.

Then, off to Toys R Us, to pick up a crappy character backpack that will probably last two months. I told the boys they’d be using their trusty LL Bean backpacks again if these new ones break.

Ant Man for Ollie!

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Next up was dinner. Oliver chose Waffle House. We had shockingly good service.

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And finally, it was shoe time! Against my better judgement, I let Oliver pick out a pair of blindingly white sneakers. They’re so dorky, they’re almost adorable. At least they won’t be bright white for long. 🙂

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Tonight, it’s Miles’s turn! Fingers crossed he picks somewhere different to eat, but I’m not hopeful.