Another cold tried to gaslight me into a mini depression, but this one was actually incredibly mild and we managed to keep it contained to just Dempsey and I, so we were still able to really enjoy our weekend. We had an outdoor movie night, visited Spirit Halloween, celebrated Henry’s fifth birthday and ended the weekend on the highest of highs when we put the pedals on Dempsey’s bike and he just… took off! He rode off to his first day of school this morning and I’m still trying not to feel emotional about it all 🥺😭

Our boy has been asking to ride over to school and even though it meant having to ride Joey’s too tall bike (mine hasn’t been ridden since 2019, so I don’t even want to know what kind of shape it’s in 😱), I had to do it! After I perilously made it home, I headed out for a manicure and how pretty is this neutral color?? We try to do an outdoor movie night once a summer and Friday seemed like the night! We didn’t think Lydia was ready the past few years, so this was her first time and I think she really enjoyed it. The neighbor kids joined us too and I thought The Mitchells vs the Machines was really fun and cute. The little brother was my favorite! Dempsey was tired and acting a bit loopy toward the end of the movie, then had a full on screaming meltdown afterward, but otherwise it was the best time 😅

We let our boy sleep in on Saturday but woke him up in time for zucchini bread pancakes (sub patty pan squash because Dempsey brought another huge one home from school!), then we all headed over to the rental house. Joey had a list of things to fix and I chased the kids around and tried to prevent them from getting into trouble. Afterward, the boys headed to Home Depot for supplies, skeletons and lunch and Lydia and I grabbed coffee, played at the park, then went back to our own house for lunch and her nap. The boys were gone the entire time she slept, so I got a little alone time and it felt so nice! Once Lydia was up and the boys were home, we took a much much much anticipated (first) trip to Spirit Halloween! Demps was so happy 🥺😂 Half of the animatronics weren’t working but then they fixed them and it was like unlocking a whole new level. He even bought himself a pumpkin head skeleton with his own money! We had a Target order to pick up so we did that after we left, then grabbed dinner at Adelitas Cocina Y Cantina and we were very impressed, so we’ll be back for sure. Got home and got the kids bathed and into bed before starting One of Them Days, then going to bed ourselves.

We had a relaxed start to our day on Sunday, then headed over to Henry’s birthday party to let the kids run around, play, eat too much sugar and, of course, dance to the soundtrack from K-Pop Demon Hunters because Hannah and Josh’s boys are into it too! I have desperately been trying to get those seven absolute bangers out of my head for days, but it does not help when it’s all the kids want to listen to 😂 I guess there are worse things to have to listen to on repeat! I cannot believe Henry is five already! Does that mean my own son will be five in two months?! Not allowed. Dempsey was not pleased when we literally carried him out of the house to head home and Lydia cried almost the whole drive before falling asleep five minutes from home but Joey did manage to lay her in her own bed and I got salads made. The kids and I played in the sprinkler while Joey made us dinner and those tacos were so good! Afterward, we put the pedals back on Dempsey’s bike for a second go at riding with them and he needed help getting started ONE TIME then was just off on his own. I cannot believe how easy that was!!! I’m seriously so proud and happy that he seems to love riding his bike 🥺🤍 After we got them to bed, we finished our movie and I did not expect the plot to be so Dude Where’s My Car-like but I thought it was a lot of fun. SZA is a natural!

I hope everyone has a great week, especially if you’re surviving a first week of school!