Ethan sort of goes back to school today! Ahhh. (Just a short orientation day, which as a sophomore basically means going to get his picture taken and receive new school ID and some other misc. tasks.)
His first real day is tomorrow! I always think it’s nice to start on a Thursday, to ease in and have a couple days for all the intro stuff. Then Monday I’m sure they’ll really hit the ground running.
Ethan had a summer assignment for his AP World History class, which he finished up… yesterday. Never mind that he got out of school at the end of May. Sigh. Drove me a little nuts that he procrastinated on it so long, but also trying to let him steer the ship and remember that I already had my chance at 10th grade…. One of the hardest parts of parenting is remembering that kids are their own people, not mini-versions of ourselves.
I do not love his schedule for this year. It seems he has all his “fluffier” classes at the beginning of the day. His study hall is 1st period!!! What? I mean, I guess this could come in handy for last minute test review, and now I know when every orthodontist/ doctor appt is going to go. But still. He then has his Religion class (which this year is Literature and History of Hebrew Script, so maybe not as “fluffy” as other years?) and his gym (Team Sports) elective…before finally getting to AP World History right before lunch. (Also isn’t that pre-lunch spot maybe not ideal for a harder class? Cuz you’re getting hungry/ distracted? Idk.) Then at the end half of the day he has more of the heavier hitters, with English, Chemistry, Spanish 3, and then an honors math class in the last period.
Last year I feel like it was more well balanced, and he had study hall 8th period. (I also don’t love math 8th period because occasionally they have to leave school a little early for away soccer/ tennis games.) He doesn’t seem bothered by it and says he thinks he likes the schedule just fine, so he can “ease into the day” a little bit. Ok, I guess… Not a terrible point. We’ll see!
Other Misc.:
In other news, a house on our walking route recently put this cute “Dog Treats” pail stocked with milkbones at the curb.
How nice is that!!! The only negative is that in theory we could walk past here up to 3 times a day, and Charlie probably doesn’t need 3 milkbones a day, nor do I want to drain their treat pail! It’s so funny how quickly Charlie has learned where this pail is, though. As soon as we turn onto this street, he picks up his pace and puts his nose down and makes a beeline for it. Then he’ll sit and wait and look and me like, ok, ready for my treat! lol. 😆
Charlie also had a playdate the other day! An older couple up the street from us got a Cockapoo puppy just a month or so after we got Charlie. (Charlie is a Cavapoo, so they’re pretty similar breeds.) They are both pretty hyper and overexcited by other dogs, so it’s hard to let them play when on leash without getting all tangled up.
So he came down one evening last week and we let them off leash in our fenced-in backyard.
They RACED around like crazy chasing each other and it was so funny!! They are BFFs. hahaha.
Also randomly throwing in here, a cute pic from last week out for Mexican food with my mother-in-law:
Also- this has become I think my favorite “soda stand-in” so far:
The Wild Cherry Chill’r Bubblrs. Some of the Bubblrs are TOO sweet in that fruity fruit way and while they’re ok, I don’t love them. (Well, I still am not convinced that I LOVE any sparkling water like I’d love a soda, but these Cherry ones almost evoke a little of that cherry hint that is in Dr. Pepper. And I’m not crazy about berry flavored stuff in drinks in general.)
Anyone have any other good cherry flavored sparkling water recs? I used to like Jolly Good cherry soda as a kid, so maybe that’s why the cherry flavor seems to work for me.
Quote of the Day:
I’ve made it a principle to not be overly influenced by minor disappointments. – poet Marianne Moore
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful for my mother-in-law making steak milanesas last night. Plus some perfect and delicious Mexican rice. (Why does my rice never turn out QUITE like hers? 😩)
GRATEFUL KAE 
Good luck with the return to school for Ethan! I feel like kids are more flexible about schedules to some extent, maybe because they don’t know themselves well enough to know what would work best for them. Ethan is a bright kid so he’ll make it work even if the schedule is not ideal for him in your view. Looking back on high school, I had a college calc class at 7:20 4 days/week when I was a senior and that was definitely NOT ideal, especially when I had mono in the fall, but I made it work.
That is great that Charlie has a buddy that lives close by! It will be nice to get them together so they can run off some of their energy!! And I love that he knows exactly where those dog treats are. It’s kind of like how my boys know exactly where the goose house is (the house w/ the decorated geese that has a bunch of kid toys set out). We avoid it most nights because there is no “quick stop” at that house. So we are either going straight to the goose house to spend 10-15+ minutes playing or we need to avoid it.
LikeLike
Yeah, as I thought about this more, maybe it’s actually not so bad to not have the hardest classes first! It is true that teens are not as much of morning people usually, so maybe this is actually for the best! He didn’t seem concerned at all, so it will probably be fine.
LikeLike
I am a person who likes to ease my way into the day and I’m best after lunch, so that schedule seems fine to me. *shrug* I spend the first 1-1.5 hours I’m at work mostly fiddling about with email and not doing anything that takes brain power.
I love seeing dogs play together. Hannah has one friend and I love to see them race around and then come home exhausted.
I think I like the sweeter sparkling waters than you. They sell a black cherry water from the Nice brand at Walgreen’s that I’m pretty much obsessed with. I think you just have to keep trying some until you find one you like!
LikeLike
I always think I should write first thing, but in reality, I write best at 10:30. I’ve done the school run, done some admin, the full dose of caffeine has properly entered my bloodstream.
LikeLike
This made me rethink my previous perspective on this! I think we hear so much about how people focus best first thing, but I actually think I don’t really either. I’m more like you and prefer some “fiddling” time in the morning too.. Actually, I often get a weirdly intense focused mind in the late afternoon! In the morning I often feel like I want to get some admin stuff done or organize myself etc, but later in the afternoon for some reason I’ll get like a second wind and find myself able to really dial in. Maybe will be the same for him! And I am totally going to try the Walgreen’s brand. I imagine that has to be cheaper than the Bubblrs too (which are definitely not the cheapest sparkling waters).
LikeLike
Oh well, that’s a good lesson for next year! I had distinct memories of doing my French homework while my HS boyfriend drove my car. First period study hall would have been a blessing, but my school didn’t have such a thing?
T went back today and seemed to have a great day. Looking forward to settling into the routine. We did our annual dropoff and cycle to brunch – I must have gotten stronger, I normally need to push my bike up one of the hills and made it today!
LikeLike
Hahah that’s funny. I think 1st period study hall definitely could be a lifesaver if he has a late soccer game or busy evening and needs a little extra time to finish something or review notes etc before an exam!! He actually will only have the study hall for 1st semester- in 2nd semester he will have a 0.5 credit elective in that place. I suspect he might miss his study hall after getting used to it now….
Nice job on your cycling!! That’s exciting progress!
LikeLike
I think this is the first “back to school” post that I’ve seen, so you win the award for this year. Sigh, it feels so soon.
Certain people in my house have waited until the end of the summer to do back to school things so Ethan is not alone!
We take Doggo over to a Doggy Day Care place twice a week for group play and it’s my favorite thing ever. They have cameras so that we can watch her play. There’s another German Shepherd mix in the play group who is exactly her size and it’s so fun to watch them together.
I don’t know of a good cherry drink, but I am really into my summer soft drink of choice. I really love plain tonic water with a slice of lime – so yeah, it’s a gin and tonic but with no gin. It’s really refreshing.
LikeLike
Ha, ok, good- procrastinators unite. lol!
I keep meaning to look into Doggy Day Care for Charlie for even 1 day/ week to mix things up, but he is generally fine and home and just naps by me most of the day anyway, so I guess I haven’t been too motivated to worry about it. I would like to get him set up though because it would be a nice option especially on a day when I have a lot of meetings/ need him NOT disrupting in any way. I am sure he would love it, too!
LikeLike
How those courses electives? I agree with you that it seems too slow to transition to actual learning. But you are doing the right thing, let him handle these things, the older they get, the more we become advisors than benevolent dictators 🙂
Milanesa looks fantastic! my girls love them. We don’t fry them though, just baked, not exactly the same but good enough.
LikeLike
Yes, so they have some certain required electives. Most of his classes are the full year, but he has a couple that are just 1/2 the year. So first semester he has study hall, but second semester he’ll have a required Public Speaking class in its place. Then he has this gym elective (required 0.5 credit class) 1st semester, and in 2nd semester he’ll have a required Health class in that period instead. The rest of his schedule (Religion, History, English, Spanish, Chem, Math) will all stay the same all year.
LikeLike
Okay, I was way off with Charlie’s breed. When I saw “Baxter” (my son’s roommate’s dog) in Texas I thought he looked SO much like Charlie- Baxter is a Goldendoodle. But now when I see photos of Charlie I don’t think they look so much alike after all. That’s funny about the dog treats- can you change up your route so you only pass that treat pail once a day though? I can see how it could get to be too much.
My first thought about Ethan’s schedule was “Oh good, he can do homework first period.” Ha, that’s what I would have done in high school- slacked off on my homework at night and then try to get it all in in study hall. Maybe not the best plan- but it will give him a chance to finish things up and/or review for a test. And, ugh- math last period. my brain would be completely fried by then. But I’m sure he’ll do fine.
I’m glad you found a sparkling water you like! I don’t have any great suggestions for you because I don’t love cherry. I’ve been enjoying some very summer-ish flavors lately, like the Waterloo brand blackberry lemonade. I think Engie’s suggestion is good- just keep trying them and you’ll find the ones you like.
LikeLike
Well, I think mini goldendoodles are fairly similar to Cavapoos! They’re like in the same “family”. I think all the poodle mix breeds have definite similarities!
Yes, I do think the 1st period study hall will probably be his friend! Ha. I forgot too, he actually only has it for 1st semester. 2nd semester he’ll have a Public Speaking class 1st period instead!! omg. Hahaha. That’d be my worst nightmare- wake up and go talk in front of my whole class. lol. Oh well… I’m a little nervous about him not having a study hall all year. It does give a little breathing room for like finishing up homework or studying. But I also have a feeling he kind of wastes some of that time anyway (pretty sure he sits on his phone if he doesn’t have stuff he “has” to do, and I do not like that at all…), so maybe its just as well to have another class.
LikeLike
This: “One of the hardest parts of parenting is remembering that kids are their own people, not mini-versions of ourselves.” YES. So difficult. And perplexing, for me at least, because I do not want my kid to be a mini-version of me. And yet I still sometimes think about her as though she IS. Ugh.
That school day schedule would give me pause, too! But probably because I am stuck looking at it through my own lens. After lunch is not my most productive or alert time of day! Maybe it’s easier for teenagers, though? Their circadian rhythms are different so maybe they are more alert later in the day?
LikeLike
My oldest is starting 10th grade in September! He will find out his schedule tomorrow.
Oy about procrastination… I try to encourage daily school work throughout the summer (they have math assignments + a book for English) but without much success. Letting go and allowing the kid to “steer that ship” is very hard. I can’t quite tell when it makes sense to allow the teens to make their own mistakes and deal with consequences and when to step in with some help (and help them avoid disaster that may affect their school careers). I suppose it really depends on a specific kid and family situation… which makes it even harder!
LikeLike
Our house in Utah was 1.5 miles from Starbucks if you walked there the most direct way possible. Our dogs knew where it was though, so they often went on longer, 2-3 mile walks to get there (and get their pup cups, of course!) before stopping by the river for a drink on the way home! Such smart pups. I didn’t complain about starting my day with someone else making me a hot tea either, haha.
LikeLike
Ok, stupid question what is “study hall” in 1st period? It sounds like it is a slot when students study independently? We didn’t have that at my high school.
Charlie’s so cute as he’s sitting there waiting for his treat.
LikeLike