Fun, Frenzy, and Forehead Cancer

Y'all there is too much to catch up on for one post. I'm going to try but this may be a two-parter. We have been SO busy and then I have worked every minute not actively doing something else (and sometimes also while doing that) and still squeezing out my one hour of yoga because without it I think I might just fall apart.

Maggie gets it

And while I don't really have time to write this post, my motivations are strong, namely; (1) the aforementioned near-falling-apart and need to see/hear my blog community; (2) James and I both love reading back on these posts years later; (3) Landon keeps bugging me about it ("Mom, do your readers get mad at you when you don't post? Because it's been WAY too long."); and (4) I need my menu posted so I can easily re-find each recipe I picked out while watching the Big Shot finale with the kids last Friday. So hello friends, I hope you are further back on the overwhelmed spectrum than I am.

medicinal mid-week secret Sonic ice cream stop

So 8 days/several lifetimes ago, the kids had their last day of school. Landon is now in 8th grade, one year shy of high school, and James is in pre-mourning for his eventual high school graduation.

Cora is now a 2nd grader and will never be in the same school as a sibling again, which I find sad and Cora finds totally fine because she's got this.

Claire graduated 5th grade and became a middle schooler.

We went shopping to pick out her dress as part of her birthday present the week before and she felt very grown-up about the whole thing.

I can't believe she's done with elementary school or that I now have TWO middle schoolers but I am so extraordinarily thankful for our sweet public school that has so lovingly guided her through her early education. She has such an enthusiasm for learning and is so blessed with her memories and experiences from the last six years.

Sweet girl on her first day of Kinder, which feels like maybe only 2-3 years ago.

Since this year's crop of 5th graders didn't get to do a lot of the traditional 5th grade things (like the field trip to Austin I chaperoned for Landon), our little friend group decided to throw a graduation party for our four graduating girls. We decorated with posters and pictures of the four of them through the years, had a nacho bar, and ranch water table (tequila, Topo Chico, fresh lime, ice - the best), beer cooler, and giant cake from Costco and it was perfect.

I was SO HAPPY to have people at my house again.

And the kids seemed to have a great time.

I think we all missed hanging out because James didn't even play "Closing Time" on the speakers until 10 p.m. and nearly everyone was still here.

We cleaned up, packed up, crashed hard, and then woke up at 6 a.m. so I could drive the kids to Houston for my sister-in-law's babies shower AND to drop the kids off at Papa and Gigi camp!!

And so we drove and drove to my parents' house, changed into party clothes and dropped Landon off for a fishing adventure with his Uncle Eric, and checked in on my dad who had developed an infected tooth the day before which was now making him look like a chipmunk and putting PapaGigi Camp in grave doubt. I wore a dress I bought in February before Covid that still had the tags on.

The girls and I headed to Kingwood, another hour+ away, with my mom for Aunt Tamires's baby (babies!) shower.

It was just beautiful and so fun to see family friends I hadn't seen in years. I still can't believe our family is being blessed with twins, but they'll be here in just a few more weeks and have many books, diapers, and baby entertainment devices waiting for them!!

Doesn't she look amazing? We're all so excited.

As we drove back from the shower it became clear my dad needed an emergency root canal and was in no place to entertain grandchildren, so my very disappointed, but very sweet children who tried so hard not to show it, piled back in the car with me to drive all the way back to Fort Worth.

I must confess, I was just as disappointed - I knew I had SO much work to do and was really looking forward to doing it guilt-free while grabbing late dinners with James (such an exciting life; what are you plans for your child-free week? Oh, just working ALL THE TIME, and also eating food I didn't make) and I didn't handle it nearly as well as the kids.

The next day was Father's Day, so James was very excited to have the kids around for that even if I was still in mourning. But James always loves having our ducklings all together at home. Anytime a kid spends the night, the first thing he says to me the next morning is, "when are we picking up X? can we text the parents now?" And I throw my pillow at him because it's like 7 a.m. and no.

We ate brunch AND dinner (and dessert!) out because screw it and then James planned the rest of the week's meals because I didn't want to cook.

And then began a week of James being slammed with his new summer session lessons (still at our house, omg), me being slammed with work, and the kids also present without a camp or parental supervision. Cue flashbacks to sumer 2020.

But they kept busy, I almost mostly didn't break down, and James had the life drained out of him from being in the sun all day Mon-Fri supervising his enterprise. Oh, I also had two doctor's appointments - allergy food testing (cow's milk, corn, and tomatoes were flagged, which is basically a nacho platter which is my favorite food, but the doctor thinks my eczema can be controlled with a better ointment we're going to try first). I also got a biopsy at the dermatologist for a spot on my forehead that's been stubborn and bleeding any time I pick at it.

One biopsy and a few days waiting later and it's confirmed as skin cancer, a-fucking-gain and I was so sad. It's a basal cell carcinoma again, which is for sure the least scary kind of cancer, but I just hate - I HATE - that it's in the middle of my forehead, I'll have another damn scar, and my skin is just betraying me. The surgery is scheduled for July 6. In related news, I wear visors now. Ugh.

James and I did sneak out for a date night at a new restaurant on Wednesday night, just so we could have a face-to-face conversation, something we'd both been too busy to do the previous four nights when we passed out in bed after closing our computers sometime around 11.

It was lovely and delicious and then hot tea was my dessert so I could turn comments in a documents while he attempted to sleep behind me. I'm sure the clicking of my keys was very soothing and romantic.

I worked a lot more, snuck in yoga, mourned my forehead, and didn't sleep very much. Hopefully the week ahead will be better. And to get us there, here is a Maggie story from sometime mid-week.

Scene: Maggie head-butts her way through a door a human child failed to close properly and settles in to the flaming hot grass.

Me: Maggie! You have to come back inside, it's too hot.
Maggie: I would prefer to be roasted whole at 105 degrees.
Me: No, you're scar is getting burned. Come inside.
Maggie, turns head: I can't see you.
Me: You're hot to the touch.
Maggie: I love it.
Me: [Points to the house with authority]
Maggie: [Closes her eyes to better soak up the flames of the sun]
Me: Fine! Roast Yourself!
Also Me: [Picks up the bulldog and carries her inside while telling her she's perfect.]

I love her so much. Now, food!

Fri: Chicken Picatta, whole wheat spaghetti, side salad (delish!)
Sat: Beet and Goat Cheese Salad (this was great! I added some apple cider vinegar to the dressing because vinegar is my favorite).
Sun: Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Potato Salad, Watermelon, Corn on the Cob
Mon: Pulled Pork Enchiladas (with the leftovers), Mexican Rice, Black Beans
Tues: Pizza Melts, whatever sides I can pull from the fridge at that point - raw veg, fruit, and chips?
Wed: Ang's Creamy Tortellini Soup
Thurs: Gyros, Greek Salad, Naan, Tzatziki
Fri: Cashew Crunch Salad with Sesame Dressing
Sat: Shrimp Tacos, cilantro lime rice, black beans. (Once a year I try to like shrimp; I really think this recipe might do it).
Sun: Takeout BBQ for the 4th, some sort of dessert- maybe magic bars with thematic m&m's?
Mon: Honey Mustard Chopped Chicken Salad
Tues: Pineapple Pork with Coconut Rice
Wed: Pesto Pasta Salad (whole wheat penne, cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, diced grilled chicken, kalamata olives, tossed with Costco's pesto because it's amazing)
Thurs: Strawberry Crunch Salad
Fri Roasted Tomato Pasta Puttanesca with Chicken Meatballs