Fashion Trends

Henni is a salve to fashion.  She puts her outfits together with precision, tests them for their spinning ability, re-evaluates, puts together another outfit with precision, tests it for spinning...and so it goes throughout the day.  She will, one day, likely be featured as an up and coming designer or a someone to watch for her trend setting style (or else she'll be stopped by the fashion police).

For now - capes (made by Davis) are all the rage.

Think capes are just for backyard play? No way.  Capes are the perfect accessory for the soccer fan.

And for the day at the beach?  A sunhat, bag, baby, and everything pink.

A night on the town?  A hat and sunglasses are essential.

And the must-have accessory - a pink Harley.

Wheels

I must admit the idea of becoming a soccer mom was not appealing.  Not only is there that image of the haggard mother driving the mini van, but there is the whole practice and game schedule that doesn't fit very neatly into our typical schedule.  The first practice - I was happy to ave the excuse of Lucy's birthday party so that I didn't have to go and fall off the precipice into soccer mom land.

Then, last weekend, was the first game - the Eagles vs. the Hawks after just one 45 minute practice.  From first kick I was hooked - I didn't fall off the precipice, I jumped.  Yes the game was hectic, silly at times, and often looked like a tumbleweed going up and down the field - but it was damn exciting.  The head coach is just plain amazing.  He and Oliver have really hit it off and Oliver thrives on the coach's praise.  Oliver, or "wheels," as his coach has taken to calling him - is super fast out there and is driven.  And he is fueled up.  The kid loves the water breaks and downs upwards of 40 ounces per hour game.

Today the future Beckham played the Rockets and scored 6 goals - all in the correct goal!  I tell you, I am hooked and will drive that kid to games and practices - albeit in my Pilot.

Henni takes being a spectator very seriously.  She likes to have a beverage in hand throughout the game and a food item of some sort in the other hand.  This morning Oliver and Henni polished of 25 pancakes and 6 pieces of bacon.  2 hours later, at the game, Henni consumed pretzels, goldfish, and an obscene amount of applesauce.

And worries that soccer would cut into our adventuring have gone away.  Despite the mid-day games, we have still managed to get out and enjoy the end of summer.

Firsts

Today was a crazy day of firsts.

Oliver and Henni both had their first back to school experience today.  I hesitate to say first day of school because it was orientation day and so Davis and I were with the kids as they got introduced (Henni) and reintroduced (Oliver) to their classrooms.  Although it wasn't a drop off day, both Oliver and Henni were eager to explore their classrooms and spend time with their friends and teachers.  I am hopeful that they will both be as enthusiastic for tomorrow's day of first - Oliver's first day of kindergarten and Henni's first drop off day of school.

I am still getting my head around the fact that activities need to be signed up for months in advance.  I feel like soccer sign-up should be in September and summer camps sign up should be in June.  The reality is that soccer sign-up in in April and summer camp sign up is in February.   Because I am not thinking soccer in April, I have missed sign-ups the past two years and Oliver has been devastated.  Thanks to the help of some friends, I managed sign up this year and tonight Oliver headed off to his first practice (mind you he has worn his soccer shirt almost everyday for the past two weeks in preparation for this day).

Davis took Oliver to practice and I am told Oliver loved it, was an amazing listener, and was actually quite good.  Thanks to the team's 45 minute practice tonight, they have their first game scheduled for Saturday.

While Oliver was at soccer, Henni and I went to Henni's best friend's house to help her celebrate her 3rd birthday.  Lucy and Henni are true friends and watching them give each other a kiss and hug good-bye and then plan their strategy for meeting up after school was just plain lovely.

Responsibilty

As a mother, wife, dog owner, home owner, bill payer, employee, board member, parent rep, friend, sister, daughter, aunt... I feel as though responsibility is a heavy weight on my shoulders.  For some reason this week has felt especially responsibility-ladened and, because of this,  I have managed to sleep maybe a total of 20 hours.

Today was my day to exercise.  So at 5:30 I got out of bed and ran.   Because this was the responsible thing (and because I hate missing my morning).  I made my mental to-do list in my head while I ran.  While having a cup of coffee, and putting my to-do list onto paper, I heard chattering from upstairs.  After a few minutes I went to investigate.  Oliver and Henni were snuggling together in bed and Oliver was telling her a story about a unicorn.  At that very moment the do-list disappeared.

Yes, there are things that need to get done, but what really matters?  Does it matter if the floor is mopped today?  Or what about the bathroom?  Does it need to be cleaned today?  The answer - no.  What really needs to be done is fun.  Imagination.  Play.  Love.

The kids just went to sleep.  The house is a disaster.  Toys are everywhere.  The pile of laundry that needs to be folded is threatening to collapse the house.  Either Davis brought home another dog today or the house needs a serious vacuuming.  It isn't clear if we can pull together a breakfast of anything other than basil, artichoke hearts, cheese, and peaches.  But today we rode bikes to get bagels, we played with Charlie, we went to the playground, we went swimming, we painted, we played trucks, we played babies, we played with friends, we read... and I am headed up to go to bed.

Today was, I think, one of the most responsible days I have had in a long long time.

Summer Daze

A couple weeks ago we spent the week in Maine.  Typically our visits to Maine involve leaving the house by 9, 10 at the latest, and adventuring for the day.  While some may find this type of vacation exhausting, I find it relaxing and love that it maximizes the day - the whole day.  This year, because of weather and schedules our vacation was different.  A couple days into the vacation I commented that it was 10 and the kids had not yet had breakfast and we hadn't left the house.  Ok, commenting might be nice - I was stressing out about this.  Davis turned to me and told me to relax.  He pointed out the kids had slept in, both he and I had gotten in a run, we had done some serious tree-house planning, the kids were happily playing together, and we were on vacation. I took a deep breath and decided to wrap my head around this new type of vacation.

Our vacation included a super fun afternoon out on an island with Jon.

Shopping (and making some calls)

And the very beginnings of an elaborate tree house.  Oliver was a super big helper with the tree house.  He proudly pointed out to anyone interested (and not), that he "dragged the 2 by 6s into the woods like a skidder."

We also spent time with Papa in the garden.

And got in a few hikes.

And spend more time on islands

And made s'mores.

Back at home, we've continued to enjoy these last few days of summer before school starts.

We've been getting strong and showing off our muscles,

And have been using said strong muscles to kayak on the Parker River,

And to relax poolside (surely muscles are needed here),

And to carry our chairs up and down the beach.

We've also done some surfing.

While I am starting to come around to a more relaxed approach to vacation - I do like squeezing in as much fun and adventure as possible, especially with the days being as beautiful as they have been.