High Five for Friday (11.17.23)

 

One

I was able to attend a Leadership in Board Service seminar at TAMU at the end of last week. Though not everything covered during the seminar applied to the boards on which I sit, the information shared - by the seminar leaders and through conversation with other attendees - was valuable and it was fun for me to put on my nonprofit leadership hat again...for the first time in years.

For fun, here's a pic of Hallie - sporting a "handle with
care" Red Cross onesie - that appeared in a Red Cross
calendar back when I worked for the organization.

Two

We have a new microwave and dishwasher! You know you're old when appliances top the list of things you got excited about last week...

Three

We had a great Nutcracker run-through on Saturday and a fantastic Nutcracker portrait day on Sunday. Yes, there were a few snafus, but those we faced didn't derail our forward momentum and it felt great to have both under our belts/behind us.

It's possible the adults running portrait day
had more fun than the kids taking pictures.

And we LOVED working
with Fig-Mint Photography!

Four

This girly has moved on to her furever home. We all miss her, but none of us miss her as much as Popeye, who spent all of yesterday searching for her around the house. He's such a fantastic foster brother.

Five

Happiness Highlights

Twice last weekend we all had time to eat/watch tv/play a game
together. This RARELY happens, and it felt like an absolute gift.

I love getting to put a new Buff City Soap in my shower.

Will and Hallie's "Consol Cares" group at the Arts Council. More on
this amazing opportunity and community outreach event in a future post!

He only snuggles when he's feeling lonely, so while it's
sad he was missing Gray, Will loved the extra attention.

Happy weekend, friends!

It'll Always Be November

Hallie no longer wants to sing "It's November" - one of her preschool "learn the month" songs, which accidentally became a tradition in our family - for the internet. 

But since she still doesn't want to grow up, or give up anything associated with her childhood, I will continue to hold space in my blogging schedule for this post. Let it serve as a reminder to cherish the "little" years. 

November 2011

November 2012

November 2013

November 2014

November 2015

November 2016

November 2017

November 2018

November 2019

November 2020

 

November 2021

        

Slow down, Father Time. 

I still can't watch the 2011 version of this video without tearing up. I miss that sweet, spicy, pleasantly precocious two-year-old… 

High Five for Friday (11.10.23)

 

This last week has been a doozy, and that's saying something, because the week before was a doozy as well. Hallie put it perfectly when at one point she responded to less-than-stellar news (this time about a school-related issue) with, "well isn't that just kick you in the crotch, spit on your neck fantastic." Thanks, Friends, for making sure we have a funny comeback to use in just about every situation. 

One

We had a great Halloween. We had friends over, the kids went trick-or-treating (and the dads accompanied for part of the evening), and the moms ran the candy cannon in the driveway.

Hallie's Halloween breakfast creation.

2nd Annual Consol Spooky Scrimmage - Will
played an entire game dressed in a Care Bears onesie.

Gray's dressed up as a mouse.

And Popeye dressed up as a candy corn.

Two

Hallie received a wonderful role - her first demi-soloist role - in her ballet academy's production of Cinderella (to be performed Memorial Day weekend 2024). She's thrilled, and is looking forward to starting rehearsals...after Nutcracker, of course. 

Three

Hallie had a great choir concert last Thursday night, but the best part about the night was when Will forgot that Hallie was in high school - they go to the SAME school and he drives her to school EVERY morning - and "went to the concert" at the middle school. Thankfully he called me, and once I pointed out his mistake he booked it to the high school and was still able to see and hear her sing.

Four

I didn't get picked for jury duty. 😉

Five 

This little pipsqueak has squirmed her way into Popeye's heart and has even managed to get Plié to warm up to her. 

Happy weekend, friends!

Civic Duty

I had something else planned for today, but pulling it together would have required most of my day yesterday and as luck would have it, I spent all of my day yesterday learning more about how the judicial system works. That's right: jury duty.

This was the first time I'd ever reported for jury duty. I received a summons once during my college years but didn't have to report, and then I wasn't summoned again until after I'd started having kids and their existence (and my role as the primary caregiver for a child under the age of 12) meant I was exempt. But I'm not longer eligible for that or any other exemption, so yesterday morning I found myself at the courthouse ready to serve.

To our court's credit, they have a pretty good system of assigning jury duty. Citizens are able to submit scheduling conflicts when responding to a summons, so jury duty dates are assigned to be as "convenient" as possible. This week, while not completely free (I don't have any of those weeks right now), was my best option.

I was there from 8:10am until 4:30pm - a LONG day - but I didn't end up on the jury. I'm grateful the cards fell like they did this time because I honestly didn't feel like I had the mental and emotional bandwidth to handle the specific case (or jury duty in general) right now. I learned a lot though, and I know that down the road, perhaps when I don't have kids at home who still need me, I would be proud to serve.

Just for fun (and because I didn't take any pictures while at the courthouse), here are pics of Will first in the Texas Supreme Court and second in the cafeteria of the United States Supreme Court just minutes after he saw RBG.

High Five for Friday (11.3.23)

Because I mixed things up a little - posting-wise - this week, today's HFFF post includes a couple of weeks worth of good news...and because the post includes a couple of week's of good news, I snuck a couple of extra high fives in there at the end. 😉

One

Will's fall orchestra concert included an extra "fun" song - Will didn't love playing it (apparently the cello part is pretty basic), but the crowd enjoyed listening to it.

I forgot to take pics of both sides of our (post-orchestra concert traditional dinner) IHOP table like I usually do, but I did take pictures of our table after Will finished his four plates of food plus everyone else's leftovers because it was impressive.

Two

We cruised through our first Nutcracker run-through and are only a week away from our second run-through, which means the show is nearly here!

Hallie and I left home while it was still dark outside and arrived at
the theater before the sun had fully risen. It was a VERY early morning.

One of my responsibilities as a Board member is to oversee our headshots. Due to a series of unfortunate events, we had to take these photos at a different time, at a different location, and using a different system than in years past...and all three - time, location, and system - ended up being far superior. We have room for improvement of course, but getting the photos done and streamlining everything about them felt like such a win.

A special thanks to Danielle House Photography for joining our headshots team and doing a great job on our photos!

Three

I was so excited to watch Will compete in a disc golf tournament for the first time a couple of weeks ago. This was a tough competition for him - he moved up a bracket and it was a championship tournament, so his opponents were considerably stronger than those against whom he's thrown in the past - and while the end result wasn't what he wanted, he hung in there and finished strong. 

When Will plays, Tom walks the course behind Will's group and keeps track of the score. I didn't want to walk with Tom, partly because being that close to the action would make me nervous and partly because I didn't want Will to have to share with the other (adult) competitors that his mom was following along, so I kept my distance and watched from afar. 

Of course he's wearing green...you have to really want to see him to
see him. This shot gives you an idea of how far away I stayed though.

It was especially fun for me to watch Will and his "caddy" - his buddy Graylen - interact on the course. It's incredibly heartwarming to see your kids' friends show up for them when it matters.

Again, you have to really want to see them. 😂

Four

Have you voted yet? I have (I love early voting), and while I know this is only relevant to my readers who live in College Station, I'm proud to share that I supported Geralyn Nolan for CSISD School Board and ALL FOUR propositions in the CSISD bond. Let me know if you have questions about the candidates or the bond propositions!

Five

On Friday night, we took in the cross-town rivalry football game between Consol (our high school) and CSHS (the other high school), which is the most authentic Texas Friday Night Lights experience one can have in our neck of the woods. Will worked concessions with the Lads the entire night, and Hallie and I arrived at halftime and stayed until the bitter end...when Consol lost by a touchdown with only a couple of seconds left. Despite the loss, we had a great time!

Six

On Saturday, the ballet company moms and I hosted a community-wide garage and bake sale to raise money for our upcoming trip to the Regional Dance America 2024 National Festival. We met our goal for the sale, which was a great start to our fundraising efforts - thanks to all of our local friends who helped us publicize the sale and who came out and shopped!

Seven

Hallie doesn't have social media, but many of her friends do and it's especially fun when I find pics of Hallie on their pages. 

Love this "little kid" filter because it reminds me...

...of what they actually looked like as little kids.

Eight

Happiness Highlights

We're getting ready to cheer on the Lads!

A great spot to watch the Hawkeyes
play on Saturday afternoon... 

This girl is as energetic, exuberant, and playful as
they come. When we're in "her" room, she affords us
absolutely zero privacy or personal space.

Love this candid.

One of the beautiful new murals recently painted around
CS is on the side of our favorite wine bar - it's been fun to
watch the building transform these last few weeks! 

Halloween crafting with my girl.

Sometimes, when Popeye misses the kids while
they're at school, he naps in their beds. Other times
he brings their toys to his bed. 😍

Happy weekend, friends!