7QT - Back to school edition

Thanks for hosting, Jen Fulweiler!

                                   

~1~  Back to School. These guys have been looking forward to school for a looooong time.  I didn't have to fuss at anyone to hurry and finish breakfast or brush teeth or find shoes, they were out the door like lightning! I feel a mixed combination of peace and fear that these two are at the same school for the first time in their lives.  I remind them every day "remember, Jesus walks beside you on one side, your guardian angel on the other side, be kind to those who struggle and don't forget to represent your family well!" 

But oh...how this picture takes my breath away. I imagine it always will. 

                                               
                                                     I will probably always cry when I look at this picture.

Our first stop was Kindergarten, where we are very blessed to have Dominic's kindergarten teacher again! Milo wiped my kiss off his cheek before I left, but he did smile at me. He was ready to get down to the serious business of coloring! So I put on my brave face.  All the role playing and talking through feelings has prepared him well.  I was definitely a little sad, but proud!  He sits at the same table as two dear friends and neighbors, one of whom is our goddaughter Melissa!

                                             
                                                      Eternally grateful for this amazing educator!

Our final stop was third grade, and Dominic sits with 3 former classmates at his table, which is all kinds of comforting for me, since he is an introverted kiddo. His teachers are lovely women and educators and we look forward to knowing them more, and watching him grow this year!

My sweet boy humored me with a smile even though I'm sure I was a tad embarrassing.

                                      Our family picture from Meet the Teacher night. Fake snake not included.

~2~ Confessions of a Night Owl.  Since I've had a couple of muscle issues after Jonas' birth, Bronius has taken over the morning routine.  But with 2 birdies hopping out of the nest in the mornings, it has not been a blessing to my husband to continue in this fashion. He rarely asks me to do anything, other than squeeze the toothpaste out properly, but he did ask me to help with the morning routine this year. I am a night owl, I do all my writing/reading in the evenings, and the various and sundry tasks Mothers can never fully check off their to do lists. I used to get to bed at 1am and then be up just in time to kiss foreheads and say morning prayers before getting out the door. Well, all that has changed. I have a decent bedtime now, and I get up before the sun's full radiance and wake my boys up and cook up some eggs and bacon!  It is NOT easy for me and it is NOT pretty. I require a lot of quiet time before I'm up. Thanks to my pilates class, I haven't needed to do my lengthy stretches for my plantar fasciitis before getting out of bed. I have to say, life is going much smoother now. I have to have the discipline to shut everything down and leave things unfinished until the next day in order to go to bed on time, but I'm working on that not bothering me. :) 

~3~ Back to school breakfasts.  I'm trying to jazz breakfast up to reward us all for being up with the sun. Here is what we did this week.  I don't know if I'll be able to shake a tail feather like this every week, but...you know, I'll try.  More breakfast ideas borrowed from amazing people here.

                                                 

M- bananas rolled in honey and granola
T- egg, bacon and cheese burritos
W - apples and almond butter on whole grain toast.
Th- ham and cheese melt biscuits
F- banana sunflower breakfast cookies, pictured below.

                                         
                                         I jazzed these puppies up with some shredded coconut and chocolate chips.


My gents have their breakfast with a hot cup of chai tea! Must be their Indian roots coming through!

~4~ Home improvement. We are trying to add some shelves to some closets, and I have a list of goals for the house which may or may not ever be accomplished.  For example, I don't know if I'll ever succeed in finding a lego storage system that truly works in my lifetime. But we keep trying new things and I'm sure we'll work it out eventually! I am also trying to refinish and reupholster my Grandparents' dining room furniture from the 60's (I am not handy - so this is a scary undertaking). I am also trying to create a work station for me to keep all the school papers and my lap top and my writing stuff all together. I love the way this looks. We have a leftover slab of granite in the garage which was cut out for the kitchen sink, and I'm thinking maybe if I can find a small second hand desk and affix it on top.... any diy lovelies have tips?

~5~ Interval running.  What a way to get off on the right foot at the beginning of the school year, literally! An incredible friend and neighbor and I have started walking two nights a week, and she is taking our routine up a notch with some interval running.  She inspires me to try harder and her positive attitude is infectious. Mary, I'm so grateful to have you as a walking/jogging partner! 

~6~ I've mentioned this book club before methinks, but I must mention it again. And again.  We just finished Anna Karenina (and when I say "we" I mean "they," I only got to page 400 because I was busy planning summer camps all summer!) I never thought I'd be reading this book, Russian literature completely intimidates me. But I'm plugging along. Leo Tolstoy is a genius. How he understands so many different aspects of the human condition is unfathomable, and he never forces a reader to feel one way or the other. He lets you make up your own mind, and come to your conclusion. He just presents characters in all the complexity and simplicity and you can see yourself and other people you know in the story, and you realize we are all flawed and in need of God's mercy. 

                               A few of the lovely ladies in Bookish Catholics, started by Lauren Gulde.  Photo credit: Lauren Gulde

~7~ Here's a beautiful excerpt from Mother Teresa that I think I must read every day. (but I hope #1 doesn't mean I can't blog anymore because it's my journal therapy!

Thank you Lord for my life and the wonderful people you have blessed me with in the form of educators, friends, parents, siblings, children and for my sweet husband.  Please watch over all our children and keep them safe, and surround them with those who keep them pointed towards You.  Give them the grace to be kind, brave, and patient, especially when they feel most challenged. Thank you for this abundant life which we can never understand and never deserve without your beautiful mercy. 

And thank you for coming by, dear visitors! May God bless you and your family abundantly in this new school year!