I’m late again, but it wasn’t my fault this time, I was having laptop issues and my iPhone photos wouldn’t load. I know you were really concerned.

Sunday:

Annual Nutcracker Conference

You’re “welcome”.

Teaching the children naval dominance

Monday:

Pretty pleased with his own driving skills

THE FORCE AWOKE

We play a lot of cards in Ohio

Tuesday:

Child-sized hamster run was quite entertaining

No caption needed

HEY GUYS I FOUND OUTSIDE

Wednesday:

The doc is in and she’ll fix you up…

Drive thru banking is so convenient

This is what happens when I want Linc to pose for a picture

Thursday:

Cousin Christmas is a little crazy

Trouble face

More cards

Friday:

Out?

I forgot to bring my phone inside COSI, but it was REALLY fun

Disco sparkle tree

Saturday:

So many pine needles

Post-Christmas disaster house

Post-Christmas ER trip for some face-gluing

I got both big kids out the door and off to school on time with no crying and no screaming, so reintroduction to real life is going pretty well. It’s currently softly snowing outside while I drink coffee and watch Lincoln destroy the house I already cleaned once today, so my day is going well. That’s not sarcasm, that’s a perfectly lovely day with a 17 month old.

I went a little crazy signing the kids up for activities (again) because bored kids trapped in a cold house are the worst, so this week is going to be B U S Y. Let’s hope they wear themselves out too much to whine, since I am all full up of whining children after 2 weeks off school.

Alternate title: The first week after the time change so all my photos are dark and blurry because I haven’t gotten used to the sun setting at 4:30. I’m going to schedule a nice, colorful, sunny photo post to go up tomorrow morning because this is too depressing to leave at the top of the blog for long.

Sunday:

They both love this

OMINOUS ORCHARD IS OMINOUS

Putting the kids to work making a pie they refused to eat

Monday:

Toddlers on the loose

Riding the dog like a small horse is frowned upon in this establishment!

Stupid time change

Tuesday:

Why look at fish when you can hang out in the aquarium reading area?

$3 worth of dead fish make the stingrays way more fun

The force is strong with this one

Wednesday:

He’s plotting how to knock the largest number of things off the shelves

While the sun is up the weather is GORGEOUS

Poor ear infection girl

Thursday:

Matching leggings 4 life

MUCH needed nap time

Super ambitious sewing plans (so far so good)

Friday:

Wearing two babies instead of one

Suspicious baby is suspicious

Sleeping like he’s posed for a newborn photo

Saturday:

Weirdos

Bacon crackers. So simple. so delicious.

Playing cards is my favorite

I was really confused when I realized today is November 8th, which means November is 1/4th over already. HOW is that POSSIBLE? As ready as I am for Christmas decorating, I’m not actually ready for Christmas. I still have to plan Thanksgiving and Caroline’s birthday, schedule our family pictures, order Christmas cards, and buy all the presents. Plus E has a bunch of travel for work, which means I’ll be doing it alone. At least that means I can have cereal for dinner along with the kids.

Vacation is over as of bedtime tonight, so back to regular life we go. But if ever my children say we never did anything fun with them, I have tons of photographic proof their childhoods were MAGICAL.

Sunday:

Linc felt he needed a snack JUST as the tide started coming in.

Boogie boarding

The Russian judge only gave them a 8.7

Monday:

It’s Pims O’Clock – time for Pims Cups and cards

He likes the beach house

I love the beach house

Tuesday:

Good bye bunk room

Good bye pluff mud

HELLO LAKE HOUSE

Wednesday:

Topless at Walmart, because we’re super classy

Drinking and boating (when you’re 4.5)

Drinking and boating (when you’re 1)

Thursday:

Water fun

Bucket head

Poor baby has no idea he isn’t a big kid who can kayak

Friday:

Linc loves the ugly couch

On your anniversary you don’t have to split a dessert

Happy 11 years to us

Saturday:

How many guys does it take to deflate an air mattress?

It’s a good thing he was wrapped or he would have climbed right onto that horse

Evening cruising and tubing and water skiing and kneeboarding

Want to hear something crazy? Even though we’ve been on vacation almost 2 weeks when we get home we get to have a staycation for a few days. We plan to alternate between doing all the things and doing nothing (preferably at the lake) so we can enjoy the last days of summer before school starts. I’m not ready for school. This year I have two lunches to pack every day and there is nothing I hate more than packing lunches.

It looks like I spent the WHOLE week at the lake. Which I guess I did.

Sunday:

Lake food

Lake view

Lake naps

Monday:

WATCH OUT FOR THE PINK FLOATY IT WILL RUIN YOUR KID

Love our BityBean in the water

Party countdown is on

Tuesday:

Lashes

Loaner wrap is super cushy

Star Wars, kids playing, me editing = mom life

Wednesday:

This baby is finally learning to sleep in his own room

He doesn’t know how to use that phone yet. Probably.

SO GOOD

Thursday:

Linc’s bouncy house makes him popular with the girls

When he can’t find his own blankie, brother’s will do

They are both very pleased with themselves

Friday:

Linc slept in his room. I woke up to this on my vidoe monitor.

Someone should watch that baby near the water

Gorgeous evening for a walk

Saturday:

Wore my lobster wrap down to the lobster docks

Double chocolate cake for lunch

Cards for dinner

My goal for this week is to get the kids to bed BEFORE 10 pm every night. It’s finally getting dark almost early enough for a real bedtime – no one will sleep when the sun is still up at 8:30. But I need 2 kid free hours after they all go to sleep and right now that means I’m still awake at 11:45 pm. Why can’t kids and grown ups switch? I will go to bed at 7:30 every night and they can stay up until whenever? Oh right, because then nothing would ever get done.

This week’s agenda includes two farmer stands, more lake, a horse barn, blueberry picking and car repairs. One of those things is less exciting than the others.

I took about half as many photos this week as I usually do. I started Weight Watchers so I’m on my phone tracking what I’m eating (or trying to figure out if I can afford to eat another cookie) a LOT and it keeps dying. It’s hard to take photos with a dead phone.

Sunday:

Totally normal grocery shopping face

Wrap nap at the lake

Doing out best midwesterner impression with some Hand and Foot

Monday:

Grabby little toes

Mermaid

I don’t even know what I was trying to take a picture of, but the saddest baby in the world interrupted it.

Tuesday:

You dropped this, let me just crouch and get it like a REAL HUMAN

Tired girl

This is all I could see of Evan’s soccer practice because it was POURING

Wednesday:

My new make up adviser

#lakelife

Having fun pretending he’s not a baby but he IS STILL A BABY

Thursday:

I woke up like this

She’s obsessed with tying things

Working mom life

Friday:

Kinder orientation bus ride, like a pro

Weirdos at Target

It was like 90 degrees in his room but he won’t sleep without the blankie

Saturday:

Crafting! He’s like, “What is this even? We never do this at home.”

TAKE THAT YOU STUPID ASS THORN BUSH

WEIRDOS

THIS WEEK IS THE LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL. It’s not even real days, just half days. We also have every possible kind of appointment. Luckily swim and soccer are over, so we just have to get through dance and the recital and then we are ALL FREE. I cannot wait to just NOT DO STUFF. I could sleep past 7 am! Linc can nap whenever he wants! I DON’T HAVE TO MAKE PACKED LUNCH.

I have big plans to wear everyone out with tons of lake visits and hikes, so we won’t actually be doing NOTHING. But I will definitely enjoy letting the kids eat popcorn for lunch on the regular.