August Tidbits

We did a mock interview for Tim to prepare him for his upcoming residency applications.

Brent: Why anesthesiology?

Tim: It combines a lot of things I like...

Ireland: ... swords?

I accidentally used too much bubble bath... don't know if you can tell.

*loud fart from bathroom*

Me: Sydney, did you fart?

Sydney: No, Daddy did.

Me: That didn't sound like a Daddy, fart.

Sydney: Daddy, can you close the door?

We connected with some old friends from Schaumburg and had the best time catching up with them. We both had little ones when we lived there and now our kids are old enough we can properly date again! 

Afterwards, Brent and I stopped in a neighborhood that is exclusively for retired people (ie no kids) and walked around. It was so peaceful and nice to sit with my love for a while.

I had a dream the NYC Ballet told me I was dancing the part of Puncinello in The Nutcracker. If I didn't do it, they'd have to cancel the entire season just because of me. I tried to tell them I can't dance but they just threw a costume at me and said, "This is happening, you're doing this." Worst night of sleep ever. For the record, Punchinello is a character from Max Lucado's You are Special whereas a Polichinelle is a character in NYC Ballet's The Nutcracker but in my dream I was definitely playing Punchinello.

I saw this sign on a utility closet right outside the restroom and it made me laugh. Gas and Solar Employees apparently have to use a different restroom.

Fun fact: since having my eyebrow microblading touched up, my computer no longer recognizes me. 

Whitney got me all excited about this mop system that spins out the dirty water and filters in clean water. 

I thought I lucked out and found one at my local Walmart but it turned out to be a different version that doesn't filter in the clean water all fancy schmancy like. I ended up returning it and waiting for my backorder online like everyone else. 

Our stake has been asked for volunteers to help with Afghani refugees being processed in Wisconsin.  At dinner-

Me: Do you guys know why the church is asked to help in situations like this? When there are fires and hurricanes?

Ireland: *ruefully* Because we'll say yes?

I just about fell off my chair laughing. Kinda true though...

Brent and I returned to the temple for the first time in forever. It was so lovely to be back!

I thought the NYC Ballet dream stressed me out but then I had a dream I was told I would be administering all the Covid-19 vaccines... to the entire world population! I tried to tell them I didn't know how to do it and they told me if I didn't then millions more people would die. Another awful night of sleep. 

Just a pic I took while sitting on the end of the dock in our neighborhood during a walk. I love where I live!

Once upon a time Tim asserted he knows enough abt women that he thinks he could reasonably come across as one online. We asked him lots of question to try and catch him out and joked he was "Timette" because he did a pretty good job. While Sydney and I were at the laundromat, we watched some TikTok videos to pass the time.

Sydney: Is that a boy or a girl?

Me: That's a boy dressed as a girl.

Sydney: Why would he do that?

Me: Some people think it's fun.

Sydney: *excitedly* Like Tim? You know, Timette?!

Liesel finally, finally finished her quilt. Not only was it bigger than Ireland's, Liesel is much more careful when she sews and oh man, it was a lot of work getting to this point... but we did it! Off to the quilter.

Did you hear the guy who invented the throat lozenge died? Yeah- at his funeral there was no coughin'.

Liesel was basking in the sunshine and snapped this selfie.

Gita thinks she can speak Spanish:

Brent was working when the girls started a kick line and he dropped what he was doing to join in. It's nice to still have him working from home- I'm gonna miss him when he has to go back into the office.

Found this lovely pic on my phone- I'm sure I was doing Gita's hair which is why I'm weirdly there in the background- haha!

Liesel took this photo of Ireland curled up and reading in the car.

A New Driveway

Our driveway has been a problem pretty much since we bought our house. For reasons unknown to me, the majority of driveways are asphalt rather than concrete in our area. Not only does asphalt need to be sealed every year, but too much heat makes it melt and sink. Given our hot summers, you'd think everyone would make concrete their choice but no, most people stick with asphalt. Our asphalt had sunk so much it actually ruined the alignment on our Pilot and damaged the lawn mower. There were some other issues too:

We had a choice to make- keep pouring money into the crappy asphalt for a temporary fix, or get a concrete driveway for a permanent fix. We decided to save up for a concrete driveway. Initially we were going to try and get the manhole cover extended and then incorporated as part of the driveway but that required village signoff and they only meet monthly and the manhole has to be cut separately from the rest of the driveway and the cost on top of it... it just wasn't worth it. However, the concrete company promised to pour as close as possible. The biggest problem of the sinking asphalt at the top of the driveway was going to be solved, so we were happy with that. 

We received a call that they were ready to start work two weeks earlier than scheduled. I was blown away with how quickly they scraped off the asphalt. It came off in huge slabs.

Just like that, it was gone. You can also see where they ripped out a section of the sidewalk. With the driveway raised by 5 inches, the sidewalk would have been a major tripping hazard if they hadn't made that flush. 

They dug out the culvert and shifted it to the left. Here's the framed right side- straight as an arrow.

On the left side, they kindly took out the rusting basketball hoop. While there's still a bit of a curve, it's not nearly as pronounced as it was. The village just requested that where the concrete meets the street that they use the exact same footprint of the asphalt. There was a bit of a lip on this side where garbage and recycling could be set without blocking the driveway so they framed that in as well. 

They poured one half of the driveway at a time. Brigitta and Sydney were just headed off to school when they started the second half and the workers were so kind to them. I have to admit, it's really cool to watch! They were also kind to our neighbors with little kids who were fascinated with that huge cement truck with its spinning back. 

They roped everything off and returned a couple of days later to cut the grooves for water drainage. In that time, a mischievous little traveler crossed our path, and now these squirrel prints are permanently etched in our beautiful, new concrete. Grrr...

We no longer drive in and out of our driveway, we glide. It's so smooth! The girls love riding their bikes and Gita's had a lot of fun on her rollerblades. Even though all the work was on the driveway, somehow the house looks more substantial and solid. It was definitely expensive, but so very worth it!

Perfectly flush with the garage. They screwed rebar into the garage footing and then poured the concrete so it will never sink again.

Smooth and solid- they poured 4 inches of concrete at the top and 6 inches at the apron which is an extra 2 inches than most cities require. 

We've received so many compliments from neighbors. It's funny, I thought Brent and I were the only ones who even noticed driveways because ours was in such bad shape. I'm so happy it's redone! Absolutely no regrets.

Meet the Teacher & First Day of School

I decided to make a day of Meet the Teacher and kind of have some pampering with the girls. We did masks, pedicures and bubble baths. It was kind of nice to have a relaxing morning. As Meet the Teachers go, this was probably the easiest one I've been to. Not only did I have Liesel and Ireland as helpers rather than students at the elementary school, this was the first time I didn't need to turn in medication to the nurse. It was refreshing and odd all at the same time. 

We started with Brigitta and got her situated with Mrs Meucci (Ireland also had her).

Then we headed over to Mrs Pellikan's class. Amazingly, no one else has had her. I feel like poor Sydney always ends up with a teacher that one of the other three have already had. Sometimes even a teacher who has changed teaching grades over the year. I think it will be good for her to have a teacher who has no history with any of her sisters. 

Liesel couldn't help but marvel at how teeny tiny the school suddenly seemed compared to the middle school. She could just reach up and touch the basketball hoop. 

A friend gave me the idea to write a note of encouragement and slip it in their locker when they weren't looking. However, I thought it might be fun for each of the girls to write each other a little note too. They had a lot of fun with that- more than I ever thought they would. It was important to Liesel to "hide" the notes a bit so each sister would have to kind of hunt for them. She was a little disappointed we put hers front and center just inside her locker door. 

Ireland was happy to discover one of her teachers is big Harry Potter fan.

Traditional end-of-summer ice cream. To be clear, we eat ice cream all year round but we don't go out for ice cream like we do on the last day of summer break. As everyone is still on the Chocolate Challenge, they enjoyed the many non-chocolate options at Cold Stone.

Sydney was especially happy to wear one of her Sunday dresses. She's really missed getting all gussied up for church since the little ones are still virtual. Something about wearing a dress just made her shine a little more.

Everyone wanted their tips chalked so I was up early working on that. Its so tough because it's easier to do when wet, but the color is brightest when dry. I ended up chalking wet and then touching up dry but it's chalk so that made the hair really tangled and difficult to brush. By the time I was done with Ireland I told Gita we'd just have to do it another time. It was getting late and I just couldn't do one more head of hair!

Ireland loved her red tips. That chalk got on her shirt and backpack and eventually her quilt when she fell asleep on top of it instead of her more easy to wash pillowcase. I wanted her to feel as confident as possible as she started middle school and the chalked tips seemed to do the trick!

I asked Ireland to pose in a way that expressed how she felt about starting middle school. She laughed and cried out, "I don't know!" 

But she was willing to give me an epic jumping shot.

They were excited to find they had a new bus driver who has the cutest little girl who rides along there in the front row. 

While I was able to get Liesel's tips a purple hue, it wasn't as deep and dark as the stylist did in Iowa City. Still, it gave her some color and Liesel seemed happy with that.

When I asked Liesel to pose showing how she felt about starting eighth grade, she also gave me a shrug but no laughing, just a "meh". No jumping shot either. Poor kid has really struggled with school during Covid-19 so I understand how going back with masks and distancing was less than thrilling.

Somehow she'd managed to leave her backpack at school during locker set up so she just had her little Fjallraven sling bag and water bottle.

I think Sydney's picture says it all. She was SO excited!

 So very, very excited!

She and Gita wanted to be at the bus stop waaay earlier than they needed to so they killed time by trying to jump up and reach the street sign. Still a little bit shy on that one...

She could hardly hold still long enough for me to even get a picture. This is the only one I could snap before she rushed onto the bus.

Gita was also pretty dang excited. And she also insisted on wearing a dress.

Love this pic- sooo Gita!

She could tap that street sign no problem.

Gita was the last one on the bus and I walked home to an oddly quiet house.

Although the middle school lets out first, Liesel and Ireland hadn't even arrived home on the bus when I received a text from another mother letting me know she was so sorry about what happened at lunch to Liesel. Mystified, I asked for clarification since Liesel hadn't texted or called me about anything. Apparently due to Covid-19, the middle school implemented assigned seating for lunch. Liesel ended up at a table of mostly boys and some not so nice girls. She burst into tears in front of everyone and then spent the rest of lunch in a stall in the restroom where she barely ate. Big tears spilled down her freckled cheeks as she told me how stern the lunch supervisors had been saying, "We don't care if any of you don't like this." It just wasn't a great start to the school year for her. 

After wiping away her tears and some long hugs, I reminded Liesel that her little sisters weren't yet home from school. If she wanted, she could leave them some chalk messages on the walk leading up to our door. I'm so dang proud of how she pulled herself together and got to work. 

I think it says a lot about her that she'd had the worst day and was still wishing her little sisters a good one.

I'm gonna tuck that moment in my mama heart.

Brigitta is NINE!

Our Gita girl turned 9 this year. Because she is such an exuberant force of nature, she's pretty fun to celebrate.

This is actually an ice cream cake with strawberry flavoring on top. This girl is intent on finishing the chocolate challenge, fo sho!!!

Aunt Whitney not only gifted us with her (and Dakota's) presence, but she gave Brigitta this fabulous paint set.

She also gave her some paint by number images of dogs. It was the perfect gift for her!

Not sure who is more excited in this pic- Gita who got the fun food or Sydney who gave them to her.

 Some quick pics to mark the day:

Gita loves to amass her money. She was pretty darn thrilled with the cash enclosed in her card from Grandma and Grandpa Wuehler.

Her breakfast in bed request was waffles and a couple of breakfast burritos.

Always thinking outside the box that one! Happy Birthday Gita Girl! We love you so much!!!