MP-Monday

1st morning of green smoothies
1st day at the gym this week
1st minimum day of the school year
1st day in a long time that Brian called in sick
1st softball practice of the week
1st throw up of the school year-Logan is battling his cold-the phlegm always wins

DINNER: 3 out of 4 approved
Uncle Jon burgers (Yoshida sauce) with Tillamook Cheddar Cheese
Baked Beans
Potato Salad-store bought
Ruffles Bar-B-Q chips
Cantaloupe

MP

Enjoyed catching up with my hubby this weekend. Some days we don't end up with much time to 'really' talk, and it was nice to get a chance to do that this weekend. It was also nice that 3 out of 4 family members ate the dinner I cooked-and liked it.

Ciera's cold is gone, but the rest of the family is at various points in the cycle. Logan currently has it the worst.

MP - Mini Post

I'm stealing this from a fellow blogger. I find I'm not updating the blog due to updating my Facebook status. So I will try the MP-mini post and see if it works better. Hopefully at points I can come back and fill in the details.

I REALLY need to get to the store, do some laundry, finish my book, buy some birthday presents, get to the gym AND make dinner at home tonight!

ETA: I got to a few of the stores on my list, bought a few of the birthday gifts I needed and did some of the laundry. I made it to the gym, only 3 days total for the week, but there's always next week to try for 4 or 5 days. I did make dinner, it may have been my Salsa chicken taco night, not too sure anymore. I stayed up late Thursday night to finish the final Percy Jackson book and was very pleased with the conclusion.

First Friday

I don't have much to say today.

Last night was our busy night. Logan had a final basketball practice and Ciera had her first softball practice with her new fall team, Rocklin Hype and they were both at the same time. I returned home to find Logan distraught over his math homework. Honestly I think the week had caught up with him and he was just tired. He did fine once we sat down with him and talked him out of his panic.

The kids got up fine today, I slept in until nearly 7 and then went back to bed after dropping them off at school. I've done nothing today except a load of laundry and picking up a bit.

We've received a ton of bad news this week and lost a few people from our lives. I don't think I'm depressed as much as I'm emotionally exhausted. This weeks news came on the heels of having to deal with other extended family issues and I'm just spent.

My brother in Alaska is headed down for the services and it will be good to see him. Hopefully things will go well and everyone can continue to stay strong.

Tonight is Logan's last basketball game of the summer season (they may have a playoff game, but I don't expect they'll win it). We have no regrets about having him play with this coach, he's definitely become a better ball handler and much more confident about his abilities on the court, but they've only won 1 game.

The weekend looks to be fairly clear, aside from a service, so it will be nice for the family to relax and get ready for week 2.

A much better morning...

I got to bed before 10 last night and I feel MUCH better this morning. I even slept better once I fell into a deep sleep sometime after 12.

Ciera has been battling a cough/cold since the weekend and the cough got to her again last night. I know she's not feeling well when she's willing to take nasty liquid medicine. She woke me around 11:30 to get her cough syrup.

Logan had some trouble falling asleep last night as well, but he worked ahead on his math assignment and then went to bed around 10. It still remains to be seen if he wakes up grouchy as a result.

Logan has his last basketball practice of the summer season tonight and Ciera has her first practice with her new team. They are both at the same time, so Brian and I still have to flip a coin to see who goes where. We really prefer it when we can both go to both practices.

I'm headed to Folsom to meet up with a friend and pick up a face mask for Ciera (to protect her braced teeth and her face from any line drives).

Day 4 is looking good so far. We even have a beautiful morning breeze and I am hopeful that the day will be tad cooler.

Day 3

I woke up even later this morning and I'm still tired and grumpy. The kids however are doing great with the morning routine. There has been no fighting or attitude or lounging around. They get up and get things done, except breakfast. Today was the first day Ciera ate breakfast and I just can't seem to get Logan to ever eat. This is nothing new and he does eat a healthy snack at school almost immediately. He just needs time in the morning before eating.

I didn't think I'd make it to the gym right after drop off, but at 7:45 all I had left to do was brush my teeth so off I went with no time to take a picture. You will have to trust me, they looked dang cute today. Logan wore one of my favorite outfits for him and Ciera pulled together another bright outfit.

While trying to get dressed this morning I realized I'm out of clean, comfortable undergarments, so laundry is on the agenda for today and a little more Percy Jackson-book 5.

It has been miserably hot this week, high 90's. I know it's been hotter at points this summer, but I believe we slept away a lot of the hot hours. The heat has really gotten to me this week though and has made me rather cranky. Is it wrong to have Grandma pick up the kids from school while I float in her pool?

Last night we had an amazing dinner. Logan had suggested Italian marinated chicken breasts, so I grilled them up, threw them on a bun with romaine hearts, some cheese, bar-b-q sauce and some leftover bacon. Delicious!! Plus we had watermelon at Ciera's request.

I had a good time at book club last night, while Brian and the kids played basketball and pitched.

Tonight Logan has basketball practice and we will have enchiladas (frozen from 2 or 3 weeks ago) or spaghetti with meat and mushroom sauce (frozen from 2 or 3 weeks ago) with garlic bread. The spaghetti will actually require more prep and time, so I think we'll have it tonight and save the easy enchiladas for Thursday's crazy schedule.

Here's my dinner time issue, Ciera hated last nights dinner. "I don't like chicken." Brian will not care for the spaghetti dinner and Ciera will not even eat the enchilada dinner, "I don't like red sauce on my enchiladas." Logan is the least picky, but he doesn't eat much. I have no idea what Ciera actually eats aside from lettuce and cereal. This is why I'd found it easier to just eat out somewhere, plus I don't have to cook, but lately we can't even all agree on one fast food place. I think I will just have to start planning menus around what is on sale or in the freezer (previously on sale) and hope that they will eventually all start enjoying the meal.

With Brian looking at 3, possibly 4 furlough days, I have to really look at employment for myself or really start controlling our budget and getting us the most for our dollar. Since I don't want to fill out applications, much less a resume, it looks as though option 2 will win out.

2nd day of school

I found the camera and the kids grudgingly took a 2nd day of school picture for me as we headed out the door (almost on time). Ciera has become a bit of a picture freak, so she didn't really complain and Logan claims he was just unhappy because the sun was in his eyes (which it was).

Day 1 went well for the kids. They both came home happy, although they pointed out I was late. School gets out at 3:00. I arrived at 3:02, but most kids must've left a bit early that day. I can never really win, so I've stopped trying. Ciera loved being back with her group of friends and they even invited the 1 new girl and 1 of the new boys to join their group (sit with them). Logan hung out with his friends and was pleased to have an old friend back in his class.

I had a nice but nonproductive day. I finished my book club book, The Invisible Wall, and took a wee nap after going to the gym. I neglected to take anything out for dinner so we had a Back to School dinner at Jack in the Box (with 2 coupons). Upon returning home I took chicken out to marinade so we'd have a dinner at home on Tuesday.

Today they both packed their own lunches again, with only minimal help in finding the right sized containers for their food. (I stopped buying baggies last year-trying to reduce my carbon footprint-and Ciera has really hated it ("all my friends use baggies"). I headed to the gym right away and am now trying to decide if I should enjoy 1 more day of napping before getting serious about all the stuff that needs to be done around the house. I'm thinking the dog looks really lonely sleeping in the chair and I should go snuggle him in my bed, for just 1 more day.

Back to school

Ciera and Logan headed back to school this morning! As it was time to leave I frantically began looking for my camera-can't forget the first day of school picture. I couldn't find it and the kids were anxious to get going. Fortunately we recently discovered that Ciera's laptop has a web cam. C quickly got it set up so that it could get both of them in the shot for me and we were set.

Friday Ciera had an appointment to get her hair cut and add some bangs. She's pretty pleased with how it turned out, but would've liked it to have been a bit shorter (although she didn't say anything while we were there about it). On Sunday Logan decided he would like to clean up his hair, so off he went with his dad for a trim. Imagine my surprise when he came back with a 1 & 2, with nothing left to 'muss up' with gel. He assures me that it's not a buzz cut, although when I gave him this same haircut for the first 9 years of his life he definitely thought it was a buzz cut. In the end, he's happy with it, his dad loves it, and I will love not having to worry about the back sticking up although it's still going to take me some time to adjust to it.

Without further ado, my 7th and 6th graders.

And no, I did not require them to wear matching outfits. They both chose their own clothes and they just both happened to be yellow (you can't see either one of their lower halves, which is really why they are wearing yellow. Logan has on plaid shorts and Ciera is wearing her new favorite neon yellow skinny jeans.)

Hopefully they have a great day. I am always a little sad that I'm one of the few parents that just drop the kids off on the first day, but they both have asked me to not walk them into class for the last 2 years. I didn't even make them lunches today, they both made their own all by themselves. Fortunately, I'm ok with that.