greatest hits

you guys, i have embarked upon a new chapter in parenthood.  it's my new reality, and will likely be that for a time, so i better get used to it.

you see, my baby started kindergarten.  we have been looking forward to this (not gonna lie) for some time now.  i work two days a week, mondays and tuesdays.  for quite some time, the rest of my days were spent dropping off at pre-school, watching my niece while my sister works, picking up two littles at two schools at different times, then picking up my big boy.  the space between was spent being busy.  getting shit done.  you know, mom stuff.

but now there is only one school.  one drop-off.  one pick-up (aside from the days i pick up addy).

as nice as summer is with it's lazy mornings and later bedtimes and days spent figuring out something to do or nothing at all, august just about kills us.  by that time we are done.  the boys try to kill each other on the daily and i try not to kill them .  plain and simple.

and now that they are out of the house, with full days of structure on their agendas, i sit here looking for ways to stay busy, to be productive.  and believe me, i have managed to knock things off my to-do list left and right at lightening speed.  i FINALLY have uninterrupted hours to draw houses and complete my orders, yet somehow when i turn on the real housewives of new york/orange county (a.k.a. the only two that matter) to entertain me as i work at home, it suddenly feels like i'm eating bonbons.

it's making me uncomfortable.

i'm not whining, i promise.  i'm just baffled.

i feel like an empty-nester!

i am dumping most of my summer photos here, but don't be fooled!  we did fill many of our days with some really fun things (of which i documented) but there were just as many days spent doing a whole lot of nothing with an occasional group grocery outing to super target.

here's the best of:

1) aaaahhhhh, camps.  a working momma's summer savior.  this is a photo from camp kindness.  the kids were rewarded for being good citizens with face paint.  a win-win.

 2) the dallas museum of art is my favorite place for many reasons.  a membership pays for itself for the free parking alone, but it is especially helpful in the summertime because a) it's free b) it's air-conditioned c) the kid's connections area and d) it's free.  it's the perfect summertime way to eat up a couple of hours.

 3) my doodle started taking piano lessons.  y'all.  i can't even.  

he's in a class with his best friend in the whole world from pre-school (who attends kindergarten at a different school) and they hug fiercely when they reunite weekly at piano lessons.

(the boys take lessons from the studios of sarah strout.  i can't recommend it enough).

 4) and speaking of my doodle, this child really deserves his own blog post for the things that fly out of his mouth.  here's a sampling:

c: mmmm, momma this chapstick tastes like wood.

me: wood?  what do you mean?

c: you know, like jesus' cross.

me: wait, what? you know what the cross tastes like?

c: yep.  you can have it.

me: what, the chapstick?

c: no, the JESUS chapstick.

 5) thirty minutes from home is the best peach ice cream in the world.  in the summertime, we drive out there for a "snack".

 6) my man and i celebrated twelve years of marriage.  dinner, drinks and a hangover.  i love him.

 7) big boy went to theater camp!  be still my heart.  that child has been putting on the theatrics in front of the mirror his entire life, but once he got up on a real stage, he was a nervous wreck.  he was brave and he had fun, so we couldn't be more proud.

 8) the zoo.  it's all my children care about.  gorillas, specifically.

 9) dallas experienced great tragedy this summer.  we cried.  a lot.  i stayed awake worrying at night.  my heart breaks every time i let myself think about the events of that day in july and the complicated and gut-wrenching events that led up to it.  i am proud of my city and the way it handled itself in the days, weeks, months following the tragedy.  we were able to take the kids to pay our respects to the fallen officers.  i am so glad we did.

 10) lake highlands creamery opened less than a minute from our house.  this is good/not good news.

 11) we found a church we really like.  it happens to be the church i grew up in, but that's not why it fits us.  been having some of those full-circle life moments since we've been visiting, though.

 12) for the most part, we pretty much have to drag ben to do anything.  it's been that way his whole life.  but this summer he discovered that he loves to ride his bike.  not very far, mind you, but ride it nonetheless.  he wakes up early every morning before school to ride his bike while his daddy walks the dog.  cute.

13) dixie chicks, y'all.  it was everything.

 14) august brought us a new nephew!  look at my man lookin' fine holding that baby. (no, we are not having any more kids).

15) in all honesty, this is what summer really looked like.  tents for movie time, afternoon swims and legos everywhere.

16) and then before we knew it, back to school activities were underway.  

superfly haircuts, check.

 meet the teacher, check.

 crosby was timid because he got the teacher of his dreams and has a crush on her.  therefore, he refused to hug her or pose for a picture.

(and yes, both boy's teachers look like teenagers).

 second annual back-to-school hibachi dinner, check.

 17) poof! just like that, our lives changed.  our baby started big kid school.  i wanted to bawl my eyes out and do cartwheels down the hall at the same time.

 i was a little emotional, so that's why i am puffy, okay?

 how in the hell do we have a kindergartener and a third grader?  you know what that means?  that they will basically graduate from high school tomorrow.  i can't.

 

maybe my new normal will allow me to show up in this little space more often.

as always, thanks for reading.

looking forward to fightin' texas aggie football and a weekend spent with friends and family.

how was your week?  what are you looking forward to?

love,

coco