I took this picture so on an upcoming day when she’s being a little brat, I can point out to Tom that there was a point at which she was being cute and sweet.
We did have Anna take a family photo later on the walk to prove we actually got out of the house.
Going off trail to explore the lake. They were so excited you’d think they’d never seen water before.
There are lots of parks and nature preserve around so we’ve started checking out some of them with our friends. I need to take more pics—this was one Anna managed to get.
We discovered this destroyed Xbox controller this morning—little orange pieces of Nerf foam that had been picked off the controller the previous night when they were all playing. So it was Owen, Katie, Aiden, or Evan…yet every single one of them flat out denied it. Because of course.
She was all sorts of sassy in her new garage-sale-find princess ball cap with attached long hair.
So this was the tech issue I had to deal with today. Katie connected just fine in the morning but after lunch… nope. Long story short, I ended up putting her on my laptop. Turns out Google is having some unknown issue plus these school-provided Chromebooks aren’t great…so this happens. And is happening across the country. Good times.
We had a quick rainshower and Katie always runs out to see if there’s a rainbow. There rarely is but there was today. I’m hoping it’s a sign that things are going to get better.
Then the kids went out on their bikes to look for the end of the rainbow.
Even though the kids weren’t going to school buildings, we still dressed for first day of school pictures!! (I made them shower and make their lunches, too!)
It’s so awesome that this field is across the street at the park! Tom just carries down the pitching machine and a bucket of balls…
Walking to a friend’s outdoor karaoke night… She’s doing one-handed cartwheels. I think she needs to get back into gymnastics. If only we weren’t in a pandemic…
So I get home from my haircut and there’s pineapple chunks in the sink. WAIT, WHAT?!
I innocently ask about it. NO ONE HAS ANY IDEA WHERE IT CAME FROM. I say it looks like someone ate a fruit cup and threw out the pineapple. Nope, neither of them. I look in the garbage and yep, there’s a fruit cup on the top. YET STILL NO ONE ADMITS TO IT.
REALLY?! This is getting ridiculous.
Our neighbors brought us some sweet corn from the local stand that is often hard to come buy because it goes fast. The kids decided to make them thank yous. Katie did this… Hahaha. She used scented markers.
Normally it’s school supply drop-off…but not this year.
Waiting in line to pick up Katie’s Chromebook.
Owen’s turn.
It was hot and sunny so Owen came over to sit under the shade for a bit.
I took a picture of [a Chromebook model number] text because it was too small for me to read. 😭 I guess it’s time to start wearing readers around my neck. 😂
Found this around the house. I have no idea when it was from or what happened.
One of the new mom friends I have has a pool and invited our small group over for a play date! I was sitting in the water for most of the time (it was HOT) so I only got one pic to show Tom (who opted to stay at home and work on the garage).
The kids had a blast on the diving board and the slide. We had fun watching them of course. The parents basically stayed in the shallow end and visited.
So with my love of margaritas, can you believe I’ve never really made any? (Well, I have made a special “beergarita” for parties, but that really isn’t a margarita as most people would think of one.) I even bought the Margaritaville drink machine to make them but never really did anything except use it with premade margaritas.
Enter our new friends Lindsay and Mike, who regularly (and quickly!) make frozen margaritas. Of course I had to ask how they do it… And turns out it’s super simple.
The funny thing is they make completely different ones. He gives her crap about using limeade vs real limes and she gives him crap about taking longer to make his. Both are good but I’m usually lazy so I’ll do the limeade ones!
I did my very first batch—actually in my Vitamix—today. And they were super easy and super delicious.
I actually got out the margarita machine for the kids to make lemonade slushies! They came and sat at the bar and said “This is like being on the cruise—you just hand them your glass and they refill it!”
Both kids claimed complete innocence—like VEHEMENTLY denied it. It wasn’t a cream of mine or even a smell I recognized. I was thinking we had squatters in the attic or something (I can thank Anna for that).
Then muscle memory came back and it hit me: diaper rash cream. Which we still have around since, well, kids can’t wipe and butts get red. So then I went to their bathroom and yep, the brand new box was open and the tube was missing. Well of course she sees me in there and runs right in. Long story short she “remembers where it is” and yep, same smell. And that guilty look. Man.
So she only admitted to it since I gave her immunity (because I was honestly freaked out thinking about squatters). She said she was just playing with it and then it made a mess and she didn’t want to get in trouble. Like we aren’t ever going to figure it out?! (And I’m still not sure why she was in my bathroom instead of hers.)
We have also told both of them that it’s not the THING so much as the LYING about the thing. But she lies like this ALL. THE. TIME. I am trying to find a counselor to help (because there are other issues, too) but in the meantime, we have no idea what to do or how to handle this.
Isn’t parenting fun?
Anna had the idea to take all the kids to Goodwill and let them pick out something to take apart (okay, destroy). So we all masked up and wandered the aisles until the kids found fun stuff. Then we just gave them screwdrivers and let them go.
So we’ve been letting the kids go to both parks—the one across the street and the one on the other end of the neighborhood. I originally thought Katie was a little young to go by herself so I made her go with Owen a few times but eventually they want to do different stuff plus she wasn’t afraid to go by herself so I let her go alone. She has to take her watch and be home at a certain time. She might meet a friend there or just go to see who is there. No big deal.
Well today Owen was also at the park (her went before her) but he texted me from his friend’s phone to ask if it was okay to go to the friend’s house. Yep, thanks for texting and asking.
Fast forward to Tom coming home early to surprise me…and then noon when Katie was supposed to be home. And she wasn’t home. Hmmm. Okay. We’ll give her a few extra minutes.
And then…I got a text from a mom friend asking if Katie could come to the park to play. Um, what? She’s there. Or rather she most definitely SHOULD be there. They looked around and said she wasn’t.
CUE INSTANT PANIC.
Tom took off toward the park while I finished talking to the mom. I was about ready to get in the car to also head to the park when it hit me—she was probably with Owen at his friend’s house. Which would have been fine…except no one told me and she was supposed to be home at noon.
I texted the friend and Owen called me back immediately. Yes, she was there. Phew. So I told them they were both to leave immediately and meet us at the park. “But Mom you said I could stay here!” Change of plans, buddy.
Needless to say she got in big trouble. She got a stern talking to in the parking lot from both of us, she got her bike thrown in the car, plus she also had to see her friends at the park that she couldn’t play with because she didn’t follow the rules. Owen also got into some trouble because (long story short) he didn’t put his foot down and tell her no she couldn’t be there. (She actually bullies him into things by threatening to tattle on him for stuff he didn’t even do but he’s afraid of getting in trouble so he lets her get away with murder.) He did not want her there but since he let her, he was also kind of responsible for her and to let us know what was going on. (We also told him he could have called us when she wouldn’t listen and let us deal with it.)
It’s tough because they have both gone over before to swim in their pool and Katie ended up playing with one of the older daughters (like age 12) so she thinks she can just go over and play with them any time. She doesn’t really understand that they really only played with her that day because they were over on a play date with the brother and the boys went off and did their own thing and they were nice and hung out with her—and that a 12yo doesn’t really want to hang out with an 8yo.
So they both got a huge lecture about us needing to know where they are and if they can’t handle the responsibility they will no longer be able to go on their own. And Owen is the big brother so he needs to watch out for his sister.
Tom had to run somewhere before we could discuss her punishment so Katie got sent to her room—no music, no Alexa, no talking to Owen—until further notice. After a mere 15 minutes or so, she announces on Alexa that she doesn’t want to stay in her room. Hahahahahahahaha! She’s never really been punished before so she doesn’t get that I don’t really care and it’s not supposed to be fun. Then I didn’t hear this but it came across as a notification…
Tom and I eventually decided that she was locked down at home for two days, then for the next few days she could only go to the close park if Owen wanted to (because she had to stay with him), and then she could start going by herself but had to come home and check in at random times (like in 20 minutes or 10 minutes).
Owen’s punishment was having to take Katie with him. Haha.
Because why not?
Katie loves running so when I was clearance shopping at Kohl’s today I picked up a pair of running shoes for her (like not just generic tennis shoes). She was SO excited she wanted to go out and run immediately. So Owen went around the block with her on his Segway.
We knew storms were coming (I even moved patio furniture) but then we heard the sirens! Everyone down to the basement—cats and all! Owen actually did really well for being the one who gets super freaked out about storms. I worked on getting the pantry organized and opened a bag of M&Ms as a treat for everyone. Tom was working on the bathroom toilet as we learned it’s in need of fixing. It only lasted about an hour, nothing bad happened, and then it was back to normal!
Washing ALL our dishes for an undetermined amount of time because one of them is lying about things that happen during dishwasher duty and neither will budge. Owen tried to take one for the team and admit to it but he has been too adamant for too long that he didn’t do it so we didn’t fall for it.
And the look on their faces when they thought they were getting close to done and then turned around to see all the dinner dishes STILL on the table was priceless.
Katie asked to go to the park. I asked if she put her costume away and if her towel was hung up. She said yes. So imagine my surprise to walk upstairs later—after she’s long gone to the park—and see this on the floor.
These lies happen all the time these days and it’s exhausting.
Amazingly, all the kids played really well together for like two hours.
They spent their first night out there last night while I was at my mom’s night. Tonight Tom is at a guy’s night (totally separate from the moms I just met!) so they’re out there again! They love it!!
Solo stove fire going. I’m drinking. Tom is cutting wood from our trees with a chainsaw. Katie just put on an Elena princess dress. Owen is talking about mages and normal knight boots?!
So this is what happens when you “clean” your room by shoving everything into your closet after mom clearly says that’s not the solution—mom dumps it all in the middle of the room!
No, they don’t need immaculate rooms, but it also shouldn’t look like a garbage pit less than two weeks after moving in. It took her ALL DAY yesterday to do about an hour’s worth of actual work (because kids) but now it’s at least decent.
And honestly, it was this or it was all going in the garbage. That’s where I’m at with all their crap.
