Hello! Happy Friday!

We are super happy because Husband comes home today. He’s had two weeks of travel, and we are so excited to have him back home for a while.

Despite missing him, it’s been a pretty good week. I feel like the kids have grown so much over the summer. They seem like big kids now, figuring more things out on their own, helping out, and learning so much already in school. I am finding a lot of joy in this phase of life.

Here are a few other things on my mind this week:

1. Playing outside. This was the first full week of school. I don’t know if it’s fact that the only homework BB will have this year is 20 minutes of daily reading (praise the Lord!) or that BG is no longer napping regularly and we now have lots more afternoon hours to fill, but we’ve hit the park more this week than any week of this summer. And it’s been amazing. We met up with school friends and made new ones. I sat in the cool shade and talked with other grownups while the kids ran wild for hours. We came home each day with a little sun on our cheeks and a little sweat on our foreheads, and with that good, deep, tired happy you get from being outside. It has been so good for all of us.

(BG – above – as she showed me her sand art on her foot: “Look at my tattoo! It’s a peregrine falcon!”)

2. This vinaigrette. Yes, seriously, I can’t stop thinking about it. I made it a few weeks ago to dress my own version of Chipotle salad, and it turned out really well. But instead of using purchased adobo sauce (the ones at my grocery store all contain gluten), I just pureed the whole can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (LOVE that spicy, smoky flavor), added one tablespoon of puree to the dressing, and spooned the rest into ice cube trays to freeze. Now I have a little bag of chipotle pepper cubes in the freezer, ready to thaw to whip up more dressing any time. (Note: I will probably add a little less honey next time. It was pretty sweet. As in, BB said, “I want to drink this dressing.” And that’s WITH “spicy” peppers in it.)

3. This quote. As a stay-at-home parent, I feel like 50% of my job is Materials Management. Finding things, dropping off things, sorting things, folding things, buying things, putting things away, calling about things, following up on things, emailing about things. It seems I’m always talking about getting rid of things. And it’s not that we’re hoarders or messy or even cluttered at all, really, but there are seasons of life where “stuff” just gets to me. The start of a new school year is one of those times. I need clear surfaces. I need everything in its place. I need a tightly-run ship. This week, when I saw something where it shouldn’t be, I kept thinking of “unmade decisions fueled by procrastination”. (And the Getting Things Done two-minute rule – if it’s something that can be completed in two minutes, DO IT.) It’s been a “Tiny Tweak” that has helped my sanity.

4. On a related note, I enjoyed this piece, too.

5. This made me laugh so hard I cried.

What are you up to this weekend? Husband gave the kids some day-trip ideas for our three-day weekend – Tahoe, the beach, splashing around in some swimming holes. None of these were met with NEARLY the enthusiasm as “panning for gold” so apparently we are headed for the hills to seek our fortune. Wish us luck! Hope you have a wonderful Labor Day. Thanks for reading!