It’s hard to believe that real life starts again tomorrow. Even though I don’t get a summer break, I think it will be an adjustment for me, too. Josh has been traveling since last Wednesday, so we’ve been on our own as the days on the calendar go by. It’s been one part “squeeze all the fun out of every day” and two parts “get all of the things done”. We’re tired, but we’re in the home stretch now.
We’ve spent many days playing phone tag and having missed FaceTime notifications. You wouldn’t think it, but a two hour time difference when you have little girls is a big deal. We haven’t gotten to see his face, but we’ve managed a few phone calls here and there over the past week.
The girls and I stayed up late on Friday night, checking things from our to-do list so that the weekend could be full on relaxation mode. Ella went to her elementary school for a work day on Saturday morning, so Taz and I slept late and worked some puzzles until she got back home.
I think we were at the pool before 11 o’clock, with a cold pizza and enough snacks to last us for a week. The water was still and quiet and we spent some much needed downtime. Ella took her book inside for a while to read, while Sophie & I snoozed together in the sunshine. She woke me up when she decided she was ready to go for a swim!
Brother cousin wasn’t far behind and we were so excited to see him AND his mom for a few hours. I feel like I haven’t seen any of the people I love recently. Of course, he wanted to drink all my water and play with the lens on my camera, but we made it work.
We were so thankful for these friends who needed a break from home and decided to crash our party later in the afternoon. They swam together until almost 7 o’clock in the evening with only a few tears.
On Sunday, our church hosted the kids for a back-to-school party in the afternoon. We have a very small group of kids in our congregation, so we brought a friend and partied hard. Jana is a friend of Ella’s from school, but she and Sophie fight over her most of the time!
On Monday, it was back to reality. I worked a half day and then met the girls at the pediatrician’s office for their yearly check-ups. Ella was easy peasy, but Soph had to have an eye exam and get 4 shots before starting school. She did really well and in all honesty, I think she was more traumatized by the blood pressure cuff than anything else. Ella got good news — only 5 more weeks of a booster seat for her. She’s met the milestones, but our pediatrician bargained with her to wait for her birthday. Sophie was also saddened to hear she’s been restricted to 3 glasses of milk a day. We’re working on upping our water intake to balance it out, but it’s hard.
Our next stop was the Social Security Administration with both girls in tow. I’ve managed to lose Sophie’s card, which is just one more thing she needs for school. There were about 75 people waiting when we got there and only an hour and a half until closing. I was a little stressed, but fortunately they called our number with plenty of time to spare. The girls were really good, given the circumstances, and we were off to the mall for some school clothes.
Gap is always their store of choice and we found almost everything we needed there. Ella really wanted high-top tennis shoes, though, and fortunately Old Navy had those and a few more tops. They didn’t need too much, but we got a week’s worth of outfits to freshen up their wardrobe for the first semester. They had to try everything on and model for me in the dressing room. How adorable are their first day outfits?! Thankfully, Ella hasn’t realized that they coordinate just yet. It was a happy accident and will make for some sweet pictures in the morning.
We rounded out the day with a trip to the bookstore, Target, Panera Bread, the hair salon and Publix to pick up a few things for school lunches. It is a miracle that they weren’t screaming by the time we got home, but they didn’t last very long before bed.
Last night was meet the teacher at their elementary school, so I rushed home and we got there just in time. We picked up our carpool number and school t-shirts, dropped off some forms and got a sneak peek at our classrooms. Sophie got to meet her teachers and explore her room a little bit. She knows one of the girls in her class, but they start on different days! Tomorrow she’ll spend the day with new teachers and new friends. Ella, on the other hand, has several of her best friends in her class this year and is over the moon. Her teacher is a great friend of mine, so we’re working on not calling her by her first name. Ha!
