Our 1-child week marches on.... again, it's been an oddly nice little break having Asher away! haha. I feel bad saying that - I miss him, too. I really do. He's often my more "snuggly" kid who will randomly come and hug me, or that sort of thing. But time with just the 14-year-old this… Continue reading A week with only 1 kid and old vans
Swim is officially over!! I didn't get the greatest shots of Asher swimming this time. Just wasn't really sitting in the right spot, I guess. But here is one of him getting situated on the blocks. And now, swim is over until September 6th. His coach told him to mostly stay out of the pool,… Continue reading A little breathing room…Summer phase 2?
I've been missing the opportunity to come here and just blab on a little about random topics/ updates! As much as I absolutely LOVE writing travel recaps (well, they are a lot of work to put together- but I love reading them when I'm done, and I strongly believe my future self will love them… Continue reading Recently
I barely have the emotional energy to write this post, because I just feel kind of exhausted, mentally. To get to the point, our other hamster, Steel, died suddenly and unexpectedly on Tuesday morning. I shared recently that Ethan's hamster, Flint, had to be put down in June. (Read my tribute to him here.) That… Continue reading Grief and happiness, in one day
So Ethan is officially enjoying his first full day as a 14 year old. 🙂 I think he had a great b-day! He seemed to be in good spirits and all smiles most of the day yesterday. Ivan and I both had to work, and Ethan actually did too (a shorter day, though- just 8… Continue reading Quick b-day recap
#1: Ethan's farm job is going well, overall! Let's see, he has officially worked a total of...4 full days now. (2 days on, then a week at camp, then Monday was a holiday, then they got rained out on Wednesday this week.) Today will be Day #5. Oh! And he got his first ever paycheck… Continue reading Farm job injuries & people pleasing
"It's a big job gettin' by with nine kids and a wifeBut I've been workin' man, dang near all my life, but I'll keep workin'Long as my two hands are fit to useI'll drink my beer in a tavernSing a little bit of these working man blues...." -Merle Haggard, 1969 We have a workin' man!!… Continue reading Workin’ man blues
I did some actual CARDIO at the gym yesterday (the stairmill) after my shoulders/triceps workout. Crazy, I know, because I'm not usually big on traditional cardio. While I climbed stairs, I listened to this recent The Mom Hour episode about household chores. It got me thinking about a couple of things: #1- It would be… Continue reading Kids, Chores and Allowances
Swim camp: On Thursday I dropped Asher and friend off at swim camp. The camp is being held at UW-Stevens Point, and the kids all stay in the college dorm rooms. Both boys were really excited about it all! They went to camp last year, but this is the first time they are staying in… Continue reading Asher to camp/ free weekend
(*Okay, topic for today is mostly just a little general "musing" on an interesting (to me) topic. I don't want to accidentally offend anyone, though, so just know that I don't actually have a super strong opinion on this either way- I'm mostly just mulling it over.) So. Last week I was at the gym… Continue reading Kids and expensive brand name clothes?
GRATEFUL KAE 