It started out as post-swim lessons dinner but turned into my birthday dinner because Tom is sneaky. 🙂
We all really enjoyed it and we learned Katie doesn’t like caramel sauce and Owen’s favorite is hot fudge. (I was partial to the hot fudge myself, though the caramel was better all by itself.)
On our way out, the kids saw other kids getting their picture taken on the PF Changs horse so they had to do it, too. 🙂
It was a really nice day out, so where did the kids play? Across the street in the neighbor’s driveway. Really guys?!
Hauling in all the outdoor toys for the end-of-season run through the dishwasher…and garbage toss.
Today was Katie’s first game and she was SUPER excited…new jersey, new shorts, new shoes, new shin guards, and new headband!! Doesn’t she look the part?!
Owen got the very first Good Character Award in his class (again!) this year—YAY OWEN! (And his teacher let me know the day before so that was a huge bonus for us!!) Second grade is off to a flying start!
The award recipient gets to put the teacher’s hornet seat cover away!
Kudos to Julie for not freaking out and remembering to take a picture. 🙂
He’s having a blast and getting better every game! Also, my mommy guilt got the better of me and Katie starts soccer practice next week…
Black and gold for everyone! (Katie and I were planning on going to the morning program so we dressed for it as well. Also, I was excited to finally wear fall clothes!)
Since daddy was home this morning we got him in a pic, too—but he wasn’t spirited.
And then at school! Can you see Owen?
Seriously, how awesome is this chair?! But how would you even use it?!
Owen’s first game was today! It was hot as blazes but they all worked hard and did awesome! Since the teams are so big, they split them so two games are going on at a time. Owen’s team technically tied, but they don’t officially keep score. We are so proud of him!!
Tom was out Pokémoning with the kids and Katie had the phone. They were headed away from where she needed to be to catch some balls when he heard from the backseat:
I do not know where I’m going.
Katie has been wearing her tap shoes all day (she LOVES them). The kids were going to put their Halloween costumes on to show uncle Rob on their weekly Skype call. As she was walking to get her costume, I heard her mutter:
Katie: Pikachu is not going to have any tap shoes on.
Katie: Crumbs grow in my eyes when I go to sleep at night.
Owen completed a dribbling drill during soccer practice and I heard him ask the coach: Did you see my moves?
We went out to eat after soccer practice. Katie called my Pomegranate Margarita “a big bowl of drink.”
I was able to get the perfect photo to redo Owen’s 2nd Grade Q&A when he got off the bus, so here it is. I’m not twitchy any longer. 🙂
As we headed off for Owen’s Lego build, we tried two selfies. Sometimes they’re awesome, sometimes they’re just okay. Today was just okay. 🙂
Katie was so excited to be waiting for him. As soon as she saw him she was yelling “Owen!! Owen!! OWEN!!”
He did say hi to her…
And then he saw daddy and bypassed her without a second thought. 🙂
Katie had wanted to put on her matching shirt for him (if you recall, she had her ballerina skirt on this morning).
After the Lego build, it was off to Red Robin for dinner!
Even with the amount of pictures I take, I’m still surprised when I have almost identical shots—without posing—that will work for Then & Now collages.
Seriously…we are cuddling on the couch and I’m scrolling through Timehop and see the pic on the left. So of course we have to do a Then & Now!! I mean really, what are the chances that we would be cuddling on the couch? It rarely happens. But it did. 🙂
And I took the tongues-sticking-out photo before I scrolled through and found the old one.
Last one: Results courtesy of Naturally Slim!
A few test shots with the camera:
Owen was super excited about school. And his new Pokémon shirt and socks. 🙂
It was brighter than it looked!
He had to take some Pokémon cards with him…
There were only two kids at the bus stop this morning instead of the normal 15 or so!? I figured some were being driven (first day and all)…but turns out the bus was early! The published time for our stop is 8:48 and he was pulling away at 8:44! I talked to a neighbor later and she had to chase down the bus…and another posted they missed the bus. So hopefully they get things straightened out.
I may end up redoing this one because I’m anal and I didn’t take the right photo for this—there wasn’t enough space on the side for the text box so I just covered up Katie and it’s touching him and makes me a bit twitchy. 🙂
For a special treat, I decided to make a Tres Leches cake for Tom’s cake—I’d never made one before but it didn’t seem too hard and it was a Pioneer Woman recipe so you know it’s fairly easy and should be delicious. I’m talking from scratch here, people. Like whipping egg whites and making my own whipped cream. I set the cake timer for the minimum stated time…and it was obviously too long and the edges were burnt. GRRR. I always set the timer for 10 minutes EARLIER than the minimum just in case but not today. I trimmed them off and hoped for the best.
One of Tom’s favorite meals is sloppy joes so that was an easy dinner as well—and they were delicious. After dinner I got out the cake and poor Tom lit his own candle. 🙂
And then I excitedly tried the cake and MEH—it was nothing special. I think the cake was just too dry from being overcooked and I had only put the suggested two cups of liquid into the cake when I should have tried for more because of it being overcooked. Oh well. Tom liked it and the kids loved it but now I want to make it again and try for better!
So then we were clearing off the table and loading the dishwasher…when suddenly Tom trips and I see something flying through the air. WHAT THE…?! Turns out, it was sloppy joes. Yes, sloppy joe meat was all over the place. Tom’s flip flop caught on the edge of the gel floor mat and he tripped. The dishwasher door was fully open so he was violently trying not to fall into that so while trying to catch himself, he slammed his hand down on the kitchen island/stove…RIGHT on the spoon that was still in the sloppy joes on the stove…which sent sloppy joes catapulting across the kitchen and then, as Owen noticed minutes later…on the ceiling as well! Keep in mind we have like 10′ ceilings in the kitchen.
Maggie cleaned up all the chunks off the floor and I wiped up after her while Tom got out the ladder and wiped down the ceiling. Then it was a matter of looking around and discovering all the tomato sauce speckles all over the place…on the cake, on the stove, on the refrigerator, on the wall… Hoo boy. I’m sure we’ll be discovering them for days to come.
Of course, I posted about it on Facebook…and I love our friends:
So we got that cleaned up and then it was time for the kids to Skype with Uncle Rob (which had been temporarily postponed to clean up the mess). Well, Owen asked if they could put on their Halloween costumes to show Uncle Rob. GRRR. A simple request, right? Except they’d both been asking me ALL DAMN DAY to wear their costumes and I had already told them at least four times that I’d let them wear them before Halloween…just not today. So of course I was annoyed but agreed. Well, Katie had taken hers off like a kid does so it was completely inside out. She knows how to fix it, but she didn’t want to. I was still busy in the kitchen so was talking her through it—but it wasn’t good enough for her. She actually had it about 95% of the way fixed when she started stomping her feet at me. That’s never the answer, so she got a warning that she would be going to bed if she continued. She continued. So she got taken up to bed and she was a HOT MESS. (She really needed an early night—she hadn’t caught up from the late night when we had friends over for dinner plus being at the pool for three hours…)
So…HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TOM! Burnt and dry cake, a kitchen mess, and a tantrumy toddler. What better way to celebrate, right? :heart:
Labor Day has become a somewhat sad day at our house because it’s the last day the community pool is open. The kids love eating down there, but it’s bittersweet because we know the hot weather will continue and there will be no fun escape! Unfortunately, Tom wasn’t feeling that great, so he only lasted about five minutes before he went home.
Then I gave Owen the camera…
Katie found a mermaid tail and was in heaven!
Her second bag of chips!
Then one of the lifeguards came over and asked if he could take a picture with the kids at breaktime. Of course! What a sweetie. He would play football with Owen in the pool, always said hi to Katie, and always knew who we were. I emailed them to him right from the pool (I love technology).
Pokémon all around! Katie is Pikachu and Owen is a Squirtle.
Owen: I love my little Pikachu!
After a summer hiatus, we had a back-to-school/Tom’s birthday Saturday Night Dinner!
Waiting for guests to arrive:
Putting together the new picnic table at the last minute:
Our guests!
Putting away the table:
Putting the kids to bed:
It ended up quite a bit shorter than I’d planned (Tom took him so I had no control!)…but he seems to like it. As Uncle Rob said (and I totally agree): I like this, and yet I don’t.
He needs to stop growing up. Right now.
We only went twice this summer—and today was the only time Owen got to go! Where did this summer go?! (Oh yeah, I was lazy and just always took them to our pool instead of driving a 45-minute round trip.) And Tom was home early today so he went with us! Unfortunately it was a bit chilly and the kids were cold after about a half hour.
The weather was GORGEOUS this morning—a perfect 66°—so I told the kids we were going for a little walk. We hatched an egg, gathered some Poké balls, caught some Pokémon, and played at the playground.
They actually played well together today. 🙂