The calendar page turned.
With the onset of August came an overwhelming sense of, 'If these kids don't go back to school I think I may...' I'll have to allow your imagination to wander. I wouldn't want to put anything in print that could potentially land me in a straight jacket. Although, three weeks ago? That may have felt like a vacay. I kid. I kid.
The August days creeped by like those in June and July had not. And the girls. OH MY. They fought. And they whined. And they fought. And they FOUGHT. Wright had more tantrums than I could even try to count, and more than once I just broke down right with her. One can only be physically assaulted after chasing and eventually wresting a 19 pounder to the ground all in an attempt to simply change a poop so many times without just losing your sh*t, ya know?
Somehow, though, we made it. We ALL survived, and I am coming to you over halfway through our big girl's first week as a first grader and on the eve of the two littles' open house for preschool which is all set to begin next week. {That's right. Littles. Plural. Everybody's going to school! Woo-freaking-hoo.}
Overall, things have gotten off to a good start. The mornings are still rough for this non-morning Mommy. That first day, when my alarm went off at 6:40 AM, I thought for SURE it had to be the middle of the night. Realizing the sun was actually up and that I should be as well, I stumbled up the stairs to wake Carter. Poor thing. She sleeping like the dead, and I just could not rouse her. I carried her limp body downstairs and set her on the potty. She eventually came to and was generally pleasant, but these early mornings are definitely an adjustment.
One thing I really did enjoy in August was taking Carter back to school shopping. We took advantage of some one on one time and created a fun little first grade wardrobe. When she walked out the door on Tuesday in this little ensemble, I melted.
That tunic! Those leggings! And the glitter toe flats?! I mean...
And moments after she and her Daddy drove off I realized,
SHE HADN'T BRUSHED HER TEETH. oops.
One thing that I do find challenging about getting back into the swing of things when summer ends, is being on such a time crunch, particularly in the evenings. While summer days allow for flexibility in bedtimes, bath times, meal times, etc... school days need to be much more scheduled. So, this week I've been moving us towards an earlier dinner time than what we'd been accustomed to this summer. This morning I had a craving for Campbell's Tomato Soup. I haven't bought the stuff in years because of all the preservatives, high fructose corn syrup, etc... and have never fed it to the kids, but - out of nowhere - it sure sounded good. So, I did a quick Google search for a copy cat recipe.
The first one sounded fantastic but took three hours to prepare and multiple moves to and from the food processor. (Strike one.) The second one seemed easy enough and the reviewers said it tasted just like the Campbell's, but it called for something called xanthan gum. 1) I don't know what that is and 2) I didn't want to go searching for it. (Strike two.) The third recipe I clicked on seemed easy enough, containing only six simple ingredients, most of which I already had at home. (We had our winner.)
I literally prepared this soup in the time it would take to open two cans of Campbell's, add the water to the condensed soup, and stir it together. It could not have been more simple. While it was simmering, I whipped up four grilled cheeses, and, and in fifteen minutes flat, dinner was served.
My bowl with added fresh cracked pepper on top.
And with grilled cheese strips for dipping.
Such a comfort meal.
Threw in a few Annie's saltines with the girls' place settings.
I wish I could say that the soup was a hit for the whole family, but this is real life people. So here are a few glimpses as to how our family dinner went down...
Carter, always the polite first-born, took five bites, kindly said, 'No, thank you,'
and then asked if it was ok to fetch the ketchup for dipping.
Murphy, flopped and whined around, asking how many bites she had to eat
before she could go "dot-com" again.
(For the record, she ate zero, licked one, and spilt a giant spoon-full.)
Wright, before I was even three bites in to my own dinner,
decided to climb on to the table for a borderline tantrum.
And, at the conclusion of the meal,
her grilled cheese looked like this. Completely intact.
The hubby didn't get home from work in time to join us for this completely typical family dinner. I kept the soup simmering on the stove and made him a grilled cheese with pepper jack when he got home a little later. He seemed to like the soup; at least if he didn't he was able to remain in his seat for the duration of the meal and refrain from substituting it with ketchup for his main dish.
As slowly as August began, I can hardly believe this week marks its end. I'm happy to be getting back into a routine. I still need to work on going to bed earlier and waking up earlier - perhaps trading in some of my Orange in the New Black binge watching for some book reading prior to the 11:00 PM hour. I know it will all come together, and I am hopeful that my sanity will be restored.
{Till Christmas break, anyway...}
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