We had a very rough and emotional first week of kindergarten and I have felt like a bundle of nerves about it 😔 It took Joey an hour to get him into school on Wednesday and he had to be pried from my body by four teachers on Thursday 😢 But hey, it only took two teachers on Friday and today was even a little bit easier, so I am doing my best to stay calm and trust the process. Tomorrow, we get to add Lydi Bitty into the school drop off mix, but she can’t be any worse than her brother, right?? 😉

As you can imagine, we were all more than ready for the weekend. Going into it, we had no plans but managed to fill it up with a lot of fun family stuff and I think it’s what we all really needed ❤️

I took Dempsey to school on Friday morning and nerves were high but we’ve been wearing matching skeleton tattoos to feel close to each other 🥹 Afterward, I worked from home then headed out for a 2 PM manicure that was much needed on both an emotional and a nail care level. Felt so much better afterward! Lori and Lydia had picked Dempsey up so they were all home when I got back. Once Joey was home, we ordered wings then ate in front of the TV (literally my kids’ favorite special occasion moment) while watching Hoppers. I really want Friday Family Movie Night to be a thing, so here’s to the start maybe! I really liked the movie (which the rest of the family saw in theaters) too ❤️ Afterward, got the kids to bed and watched Big Brother before we went to bed.

Sleep stuff has been a little rocky this week too, so Dempsey came into our bed some time in the middle of the night and I woke up to him saying “Namaste” with prayer hands 😂 Such a goof! We got up and had some time to ourselves before Joey returned from his run and Lydia woke up. Then I made us all some whole wheat pumpkin waffles — Dempsey literally ate four mini waffles 🥳 — before Joey headed out with both kids to pick up Dempsey’s uniform. My boy is a Scout! He literally could not look cuter.

They all picked me up and we headed to Elitch’s! A decision we had made the day before, but I’m glad we did because we had a lot of fun. Rode most of the rides in the kids’ area, ate lunch, got balloon animals and some really awesome face paint — both the balloon artist and the face painter put in extra time and effort to give Dempsey what he wanted and if only they knew how much that meant to me 😢 — then more rides and arcade games before Lydia made us ride the teacups four times in a row 😅 She was totally unphased by the spinning! We headed home around 3 to recoup and rest before dinner. Then bath/shower and bed for the kids. Joey and I watched Lola Versus, which I didn’t even know existed but I’m always happy to fill in a Greta Gerwig blindspot.

The kids woke up with twelve minutes left in my workout but I managed to finish before Lydia started yelling for me 😅 Joey and the kids picked up biscuit sandwiches for all of us and then Dempsey asked to go to the children’s museum so we decided to get out of the house and do that for a bit. Hit up the new phone exhibit, the art area, then played outside — Joey got to climb the Adventure Forest with Dempsey for the first time and it looked/sounded like they had fun — before everyone started getting whiny and we needed to head home 😅 Lunch, Zombies 3, chores and trying to get Dempsey to work on something for school followed. Then I made us some beef kebabs and we went out to use the neighbors’ tree swing. Between the teacups, a hammock chair at the museum and the tree swing, I’ve had enough spinning for quite some time! Got the kids to bed in time to watch BB live?! Who are we??

This week: September! JK’s birthday! TWO LA concerts that I’ll be livestreaming until 11 PM 😱 and probably some more school jitters. Hope everyone has a good start to the week 🙂

It’s the last day of “Dempsey Summer” and I’m big sad about it. He and I had a farewell tour today with a haircut, trip to a park of his request, lunch and a stroll through Toys “R” Us ☺️ And this weekend, we threw a surprise “Summerween” Party, the boys took a trip to Water World and Sunday included a trip to Home Depot and a blueberry cake. I have one more week of summer with Lydia but I can tell it’s getting darker earlier and we are winding down. Wahhhh. Good thing fall has so many good things to look forward to too!

I had seen someone post a “Summerween” Party earlier this summer and immediately knew I’d throw one for Dempsey while he was out of school. I had it mostly set up by the time he got home on Friday and the smile on his face was ✨everything.✨ We also invited my sister and Wayne, which Dempsey couldn’t have been happier about. He put out all his skeletons and set up a display with his new blow up tree and the gravestone he had made at Chaddy’s earlier that day, plus I got leis for all his skeletons. It looked great and we seriously had the best time. S’mores with ghost marshmallows for dessert, of course! Got the kids to bed and watched Big Brother before putting ourselves to bed. That party will be a core memory for all of us ❤️

Those kiddos were still tired Saturday morning but Dempsey perked up after breakfast. Shortly after, the boys headed out for Water World. I got a voice memo from Dempsey that said he cried a little bit on the way in because there were too many people but then it got better from there and he said he was having a good time! Meanwhile, the girls went back to school shopping! My girl had so much fun filling her basket with outfits and trying them all on in the dressing room. I seriously cannot relate, I have always hated shopping but taking her was so fun and I’m so glad she had such a good time. Maybe bought a few impractical things but you try telling her no when she looks that happy in a pumpkin dress! Afterward, we had lunch at Edgewater then went home to relax and make her All About Me poster for school. My kids could not be more different — Dempsey looooves a craft/art project and Lydia could not have cared less. She indulged me in some stickers at least. Turned out sooo cute!

The boys came home just before dinner and told us all about the fun they had at the water park. Dempsey’s favorite part was the kids lazy river and slides. He has grand plans to take his sister and I next summer! I made fish nuggets for dinner and both kids were a hard no on them, plus my house has smelled like fish ever since, so can’t say I’ll try those again any time soon. Got the kids cleaned up and into bed before watching Caught Stealing which I’d rate somewhere between mediocre and terrible. What can you do?

Sunday started with a workout and then I walked to get coffee and got that quick shot of the clouds — I love when they look like that! Once the kids were up, we all had breakfast and then I begged Joey to take the kids out of the house as everyone was hanging from me and I was desperate for some autonomy. He took them to HD, the park and the carwash before heading home for lunch. The kids actually agreed to watch Coco for the first time in a long time, so I sat down and watched with them and only almost cried ten times! I also made salads and then while Joey and Dempsey were building things in the garage, Lydia and I made a blueberry cake. We had some after dinner and an evening bike ride and it was so good! I’m like 8/8 on recipes from one of my new Ina Garten cookbooks! A very good way to end the weekend, in my opinion.

I hope everyone has a good week! Dempsey seems genuinely excited for his first day of school, so may we have a smooth transition into the school year with him ❤️