The Saturday 7

1. I survived another week of May! It's the perfect storm of spring sports, end-of-school events (both for my kids, and things I need to cover for my development job), something new we're doing with the church library, and the beginning of soccer camp planning/prep! At one point this week, I had my day mapped out by the minute so I wouldn't forget anything. I've also continued to battle this dumb cough. It's not as bad as my usual bronchial inflammation/pre-pneumonia, but it's still annoying and keeping me up at night. 

2. Lucy turned 15 on Sunday. 15! 😭 As I was buying birthday presents off her list, I couldn't help but marvel at how quickly we went from Lego sets and stuffed animals to perfume and skin care. (She also asked for a lot of books. Girl after my own heart.) We went through a few rough years, but she has become such a sweet and thoughtful young lady. When I was melting down about my to-do list the other day, she asked what was on it, and then proceeded to fold the laundry and clean the kitchen just because she could tell I needed the help. On Saturday night, I had written on my list "Make monkey bread" - since Sunday morning was both mother's day and Lucy's birthday. But she told me she would do it instead, and made this masterpiece:

3. This week I was the unfortunate victim of a spam-blast. On Tuesday, I received 44 spam calls over the course of 5 hours. It was the same on Wednesday and Thursday. By Thursday night, I figured out how to go through and block every number, so there were significantly fewer on Friday, and none today - but that's probably just because it's the weekend. I don't think I gave my phone number to anyone I shouldn't have. I actually think someone else is giving out my number. A few of the callers left messages for "Kevin," - mostly about loans and refinancing. Thanks a lot, Kevin!! 

4. I attended two field trips this week. The first was the public museum with Levi. I drove downtown, dealt with road construction, and parked in the parking ramp like the adult I am! Levi is actually not a fan of the museum, and complained that it was boring most of the time, so that was fun. 

Tiger's exhibit

5. That night we had a "tornado." Really, we had a run of the mill thunderstorm, but it whipped up some nasty weather in other areas of our county, so our tornado siren went off for a solid 45 minutes. Levi and Justin were already in bed (in the basement), but the girls were a little anxious, so we went down too. In another testament to the power of Zoloft, I was not even nervous. This is a big deal, because I spent the first 25 years of my life absolutely terrified of tornados. Like, to the point, that I had anxiety attacks when it rained because I was so sure a tornado was imminent. Thursday night, I stood in Levi's bedroom watching the storm out the window.

6. On Friday, I went on a field trip with Lucy's class to our local Mexican restaurant! That's my kind of field trip! It was for her Spanish class, and the students had to order and interact with the waitstaff entirely in Spanish. I just had to go take pictures and make sure thirty 9th graders didn't get too unruly while eating a burrito the size of my head. I actually had it for dinner that night and lunch today it was so big!

Lucy only ordered french fries, but she did it in Spanish! Haha.

I had an interesting realization while a the restaurant with all these teenagers. Everyone was responsible for paying their own bill, and I was amazed at how many of them didn't know how to calculate a tip, or even how to leave it. The other chaperones and I had to explain that if you have cash, you either ask the waitress for change, or leave the cash on the table. And when we told them that it was best to leave a tip of 20% or more, they all whipped out their phones to figure out what that was. It dawned on me that most kids (Lucy included) aren't really part of paying the bill at sit-down restaurants with the family. I don't show Lucy the total, explain how I figured out the tip, and show her how to leave it. But apparently that is something that needs to be explicitly taught. And I got to thinking . . . what other life skills do I need to explicitly teach my kids? I'm thinking about having a "Life Skills Summer" where we tackle some of these basics. What else would you suggest I teach the girls? Maybe Levi too, but he's still learning to tie his shoes, so anything else might be too advanced. 😂

7. As if May isn't busy enough, our town also had its annual festival this weekend. We met up with the cousins for the carnival on Friday night. It was in the mid 80s and I actually had to break out the shorts! I shelled out big bucks for unlimited ride wristbands, but my kids are scared of most of the rides, so they rode four of them a few times each, then said they were done and wanted to go home. 🤦 At least I got a couple cute pictures:

Here's a life skill for you moms out there: if you have a kid that tends to wander, dress him in bright colors when you go to large public spaces! Levi's neon shirt in this pic is 100% intentional. Haha.

Then this morning, 18 hours later, we were huddled under blankets at the coldest parade I've ever attended! Temps were barely in the 50s and a misty rain fell most of the time.

Can you spot the photo-bomber? I didn't see her 'til I looked at this photo on my computer screen. Haha!

8. Bonus point in lieu of memes. Tonight, Lucy went to Celebravo with her friends. It's kind of like Prom for homeschoolers - or anyone who's interested in attending. She found this dress for free at a free-dress event we went to a month ago! I'm always shocked at how grown up she looks when she gets all dressed up. 

Isn't it funny how when I want to look formal I curl my hair, but when she wants to look formal, she straightens hers? Haha. She looks so different with straight hair!

Such a great group of friends! 💓