I thought I’d again combine my post with my Week 3 Cool Blogger’s run down since clearly writing two posts in one week is too much for me right now between work, sleep, and sewing Hallowe’en costumes like a fiend.
First off the Hallowe’en Costume update – the kids are all dressing up as characters from Avatar The Last Airbender. (I always have to specify because otherwise people ask me if I’ve invested in blue body paint.)
Kid #1, going as Katara – Dress is finished, just need to hem it. Still needs a belt, but I have the materials for that.
Kid #2, going as Aang – Purchased yellow shirt and joggers, brown legwarmers. Today I made a capelet out of orange fleece (no sewing, just cutting a circle with a hole in the middle). I still need to sew the blue arrow to the pink hat I bought him.
Kid #3, going as Toph – top is done, just need to hem the collar (this is a bit of dilemma because I lost the pattern for the collar. I might just stick some white bias tape on it and be done.). pants are done, need hemming. Headband made. Belt ordered (if I have time, I’ll add the gold accents). Still need to make a tabard, but I have the material, so should be quick.
All of that seems doable on Hallowe’en morning, since that will be my next day off. And this coming week is tech.
Also – added to the mix was that last week, the 9 year old said to me, “I need a costume for the Fall Festival.” The Fall Festival was maybe ten days away. It’s an event at school where kids dress up and there’s a parade and then a party in the classroom.
“Well good,” I said, “you can go as Aang.”
“No. I need to go as a book character.”
“Oh.”
Because it would be too easy for parents to allow kids to just wear their Hallowe’en costumes to school. To be fair, in all previous grades, the students made their costumes in class. This was the first year my kid had to make one at home.
There was much angst because he didn’t know what book character he wanted to be and he was afraid that none of his favorite book characters were recognizable. And then he said, “I’ll go as Harry Potter.”
And I said, “Honey, you haven’t even read Harry Potter. I don’t think that is the spirit of the exercise. Why don’t you go as Dog Man.”
“Oh that’s good idea.”
So this morning I also helped him make a Dog Man costume. So that’s four costumes I had to make this year.
Anyhow, on to Cool Bloggers’ Walking Club.
Welcome to my week three Cool Blogger’s Walking Club recap. Thanks again to Elisabeth for leading the charge.
Week Three’s theme was Fall Foliage. It actually was a little early to be in peak fall foliage, so this theme was a little bit more of a scavenger hunt than I had thought it would be – a lot of trees were still fully green and leafy here. I think that’s good, though, because the walks became an exercise in noticing.
Thursday 10/15:
10 minute morning yoga
Walked kids to bus then took the long way home. Fall foliage is starting to peek out. (“peek”, not peak – that comes later…)
Friday 10/16:
20 mins yoga in the morning.
The kids were off school since it was a grading day for the teachers. Everyone was antsy by 8am so we went on a 30 minute walk down to the trail.
At work, I biked to take my bike to the bike shop for tune up and then walked back to work.
Saturday 10/17:
10 minute. Yoga in the morning
30 minute run walk along the trail while the 14 year old was at her voice lesson. It was a little grey and chilly, so the fall colours were rather muted, like this res vine:
Sunday 10/18:
20 minute yoga in the morning
10 minute walk during half time of the 9 year old’a flag football game. I walked the track around the field and then a loop of the parking lot where I saw this gorgeous tree.
Monday 10/19:
14 minute yoga.
Walked the long way home after the bus drop off. I was very amused by the pruning of this tree:
Then I took a loop through the park before heading home:
Tuesday 10/20:
15 minute yoga
30 minute walk taking the kids to the bus stop and then choosing the long way home. There was some beautiful yellows:
Wednesday 10/21:
10 minutes of yoga in the morning.
I had to be downtown for a site visit this day. Parking around the venue is not easy and I ended up parking about 10 minutes away. Which was a little annoying, but then I realized that this was a good way to get my CBWC steps in. No foliage picture from this urban stroll because I didn’t pass any foliage in the city.
Then on my dinner break I walked to pick up my bike from the shop and then biked back to work. There was fall colour on my bike, but I haven’t mastered the art of biking and taking photos :).
That’s Week #3! Next week’s theme is Hallowe’en, and I think it will take me to the end of the month since next week is also tech so I don’t know that I’ll post before Sunday. Which is November.
Speaking of November- would it be bonkers for me to participate in National Blog Post Month? I’ve started it a few times, but never manage to pull it off. But this year, I should be done the hardest part of tech by November 1st so I think it might be doable….
Grateful For:
-The other parents at our bus stop. One day last week, the bus was super late, so one mom put my kids in her car to take them to school. The bus actually pulled up as they were leaving, but it was so nice of her to be willing to do that. And then on Wednesday, when I had to be downtown by 10am, I was able to drop the kids with another parent at the bus stop. I mean, I guess the kids are old enough that they could just wait on their own, but it was nice to know there was another parent looking out for them.
-Clear blue skies and crisp autumn air for the last flag football game of the season. Also grateful for the 9 year old’s coach. The team lost every single game this fall, but they were playing against teams that had been together for two or three years, while the 9 year old’s team was new this season. Anyhow, I’m grateful the 9 year old had a chance to try things out – he came away with some nice NFL swag and has decided that he’s going to go back to playing soccer.
-Spare laptop at work. One day, I forgot my laptop at home and when I got to work, I had that sinking feeling. Luckily we had a spare lap top at work, so I didn’t have to go home to get my own lap top.
-Our Technical Director at work who is such a bad ass and is doing some amazing work transforming the venue space into an opera stage. She is responsible for so much planning and coordinating and balancing to make things happen safely and smoothly. What she is leading is a huge undertaking and I’m sure she is fielding demands left and right. So much respect for her. Also so grateful that she is at the helm..
-Dogs who stick their heads out the windows of cars. They look like they are living their best live and it makes me so happy to see. Last week I passed a car with a dog in the back seat, head out the window, tongue out. It just made my day.
-TMI, but I’m grateful I got my period this week because next week is tech and of course I can still do my job while on my period, but it is always easier to not be on my period during the most intense week of a show.
-An afternoon contra dance. We went dancing today and it’s nice that the dance is in the afternoon because we can take the whole family and not worry about the kids staying up way past their bedtimes. I’m also really grateful that everyone was super kind the the kids while they were dancing – the 7 and 9 year olds still don’t quite get how to do a hey for four, but no one got annoyed at them, instead they just gently pushed them along. We were on the fence about going, but I’m grateful that we did go to the dance, and I got to dance with the Husband.
-Also – grateful for a bounty of apples. One of my favorite parts of fall is the abundance and variety of apples.
Looking Forward To:
-Tech. I mean I’m not looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to being on the other side of it. I really am trying to be excited about tech and the show – we are in a new venue in a huge new way and it is, honestly, a little intimidating. I’m trying to not be toxically positive about the situation (“I’m so excited for this challenge!!”) but also trying not to be just toxic and catty, which is sometimes a defensive mechanism.
-Okay, one thing I am looking forward to is our new venue is by the Mall, so I’m looking forward to running on my dinner breaks near some iconic DC architecture.
-Thanksgiving… At our family meeting yesterday, we discussed what folks wanted to eat for Thanksgiving. The 14 year old would like to make the pie this year. And I guess the 9 year old is going to take on the mantle of rainbow Jell-O.
-Kabocha squash. On a whim I asked the Husband to pick me up two kabocha squash from the Farmer’s market. This was one of my grandmother’s favorite foods. Not sure what I’ll do with them yet – my Ama liked to just steam them and eat them plain. I love their sweet nutty flavor – and the texture isn’t as stringy as other winter squash.
-Voting. Early voting started last week in Maryland. Most of it is fairly predictable given where, but still, I like going and I like going early.
-Soup Party! Our annual departmental soup party is this coming week. I was debating between cream of mushroom, hot and sour soup, or chickpea gnocchi soup. I think I’m going with the chickpea gnocchi soup because I can make a double batch and the kids will eat it. I’m not sure if they will go for cream of mushroom or hot and sour soup.
-Gilded Age – Season Four is coming November 1st!! The trailers show some very fun scenery chewing. Can’t wait.
-Fluffy happy reads (or I hope…) to get me through tech week. Just borrowed this on Libby:
What We Ate:
Monday: Gumbo’s Daddy from NY Times Cooking. This is a sort of simpler version of gumbo that I made because we had five lbs of chicken wings to use up. I also added okra to this because I like okra. I did the cooking step in the InstantPot so I could make it the night before, after I got home from work. Next time I would add the okra later because it kind of melted into the soup. Tasty. We ate it with rice and I had it for dinner later the week and froze two containers of it for leftovers. I was at work and had the leftover quinoa salad from the week before.
Taco Tuesday: We pulled some smoked pork out of the freezer and the Husband ate that with the kids as nachos. I had the leftover quinoa salad from the week before.
Wednesday: Sweet potato and black bean soup from the freezer. “From the freezer” is a theme of our dinners this month. Still more quinoa salad for me.
Thursday: The kids had mac and cheese out of a box – the 14 year old cooked because the Husband was out with a friend and I was at work. I had some leftover take-out Thai for dinner.
Friday: The family had take out pizza and watched K-Pop Demon Hunters for Family movie night. I had the faux gumbo from Monday night for dinner.
Saturday: The family went out for dumplings and noodles. I had their leftovers when I got home.
Sunday: We’re trying a new thing for Sunday dinners. We used to have pasta and red sauce on Sundays because it was fast and easy. Well, now we’re going to try “fend for yourself” – aka Leftovers or cereal. The leftover situation in the fridge and freezer was getting out of hand. And also, I don’t want to have to cook on Sundays. Maybe it’s just this slew of Sundays when I’ve already worked all Saturday…? Anyhow – the 7 and 9 year old made themselves eggs. I think they each ate five eggs a piece. They’re obsessed with frying eggs and eating them. They’ve practically made it a competitive sport, seeing who can make the prettiest, unblemished egg with a fully in tact yolk.
That’s the week. I’m girding my loins for this upcoming week of tech, and reminding myself of the important things – sleep, food, and kindness. I have to remember to pack good snacks and healthy meals (thank goodness for the freezer full of soup), go to sleep at a decent hour, and hug the family when I can. I do think tech week is harder for the Husband because he has to essentially single parent while doing his paying job and I mostly just concentrate on my job and come home late at night.
I hope you have a wonderful week!
Are there any Hallowe’en costumes in your future? Any bad-asses at work? In a good way :).