End of Summer – Wait, What?!

This post covers July 8-27 for the most part. 

However, there is some overlap and sharing 

about our three weeks of touring the Great Lakes!

More on that trip in the next post!

Zach of Note

• Week of no camp worked well. Quiet day with a pool excursion. A visit to Hershey Park. Time with the grandparents
• Sportsters with Theo and new friends, Francls and Mabel
• Workbook fell off the week before our vacation, and we never picked it up while on vacation. Zach really fought it. So, I guess he did it for 5-6 weeks.
• Headed out to Canada! I can’t believe how quickly 6+ weeks passed
• Fun at Blue Mountain’s Beachside camp with Brody (whose grandmother lives in Thornbury)
• Zach is an extrovert. I mean, I knew it but Frank and I are starting to really unpack that. The only time he takes to himself is to listen to stories and take a bath! I listened to a podcast about raising a child different from you. In that episode it was an extravert raising an introvert. More work to be done here!

Zach Words and Music

• Piano
• Listening to Harry Potter and Big Nate - good questions from Big Nate about words like “procrastinate.”
• The One and Only Bob - reading
• The One and Only Ivan - listening
• A Black Belt attitude and “Yes, I can.”
• Some words like “hell” and “damn” have appeared. He’s also asked about the meaning of words: frivolous and procrastinate
• We talked about Kamala as the nominee for president, and he said, “If she’s elected, will she be our first girl president?” We also talked about the word “political,” and how having a sticker like “Cats for Kamala” would be political.
• After watching a kid have a tantrum, Zach and I talked about it, and he said, “If I did that, it wouldn’t work.”
• I got a “Mommy, you were right!” related to the questions he was asked at the border when we went into Canada, and in telling him that a “powder room” is a bathroom!

Zach and soccer

• Too hot for goalie training for several weeks, but Zach ended up attending all sessions with three practices in one week to make up for all those hot, hot days.
• Recruited to be Team Manager. Womp. Womp.
• Worked on the budget and on registration for the first tournament, the Revolution Cup taking place over Labor Day weekend

Callie

• We love Callie
• Neighbors came over to meet her and visit; Logan enjoyed our piano
• Thanks to Susan and Jonathan for taking such good care of her!
• Thanks to Rachel, Teddy, and Jewelle for playing with her
• Thanks to Grandad for hosting her at his house

S&Z

• Check for lice in July
• Farmer’s market
• Cascades library
• Karate
• Despicable Me movies (especially #3)
• Driving up to Canada through Pennsylvania and New York - Zach commented on how beautiful it was! It really was!
• Good questions and conversation with Z. We went through some photo albums and he asked good questions, like, “Why didn’t you stay in Germany?”
• Really working on boundaries. I am aloud to set a boundary, and Zach is allowed to feel however he feels. This is how he will learn that it’s safe to have emotions and learn to manage them, not just stuff them down as “unacceptable.”

F&Z

• The pool, the Water Mine, Hershey Park
• A bike ride?

F&S

• Enjoyed a date evening and watched a Pete Yorn concert!

Susan’s birthday!

• Brunch at the Duck and the Peach and a visit to the Portrait Gallery
• A family excursion to the see Inside Out 2
• Had to cancel to karaoke because Auntie Em was sick
• Officially adopted Callie on July 13

Family Fun

• Dinners at Glory Days and Reds Table
• On vacation:
• Listening the Crossover and Ghost
• Watched Spy Kids, The Long Shots

Good Food

• Peppers, capers, olives and tahini + tofu and black beans - Yum

Connection

• Kathleen and Brian came for a visit and we played Castle Panic
• Zach and Grandad and Z saw friends at Udvar Hazy + went on a 1.5 hour tour with Grandad!
• Zach and an overnight with Gamma and Daddy Bob
• Auntie Em

Grateful

• Capturing gratitude on Sundays

Fun Stuff (Personal)

• Walks with Mary
• Learning Spanish (hiatus in Canada and Michigan)
• GoodInside app is AMAZING! Started learning how to handle confidence, Back to School, and now Rudeness and Problem Behaviors

Reading

• Anita de Monte Laughs Last - skipped big sections, but finished up one of the story lines
• Black Buck - though also did not read all of it; skipped whole sections in the middle because of the demise of the good judgment of the main characters
• The End of Drum Time
• Manitoulin Island books

Watching

• Hacks
• The Diplomat

Listening

• Creativity and AI
• Coaching for Leaders on Neurodiversity
• Podcast on Working Daughters and Elder care

Not So Fun Stuff (Personal and Professional)

Health Stuff

• Starting to think about/worry about colonoscopy
• GYN visit

Professional

• A meet and greet with Bluebeam; Judie’s general sentiment; and the meeting with Angela and all the jargon. Sigh.

Good Reminders – Nuggets / Emotion Skills

• Comfort with Discomfort coming from Susan David and Dr. Becky Kennedy
• Ask a tough question before bed to embed in your subconsious
• Feeling some anxiety about school starting back up
• Worried about the new school year and routine changes possibly and changes to soccer
• Being team manager
• It’s good to think about my thinking and I have been doing that!