hanging out

Things are going great around here. I've gotten so much done last week when the girls were at school and camp and this week with Mollie. I ended up having a few accidental playdates/lunches with my friend Jennifer last week and a few other lunches with great friends last week and this week. It was fun. Mollie is really entertaining to babies like the twins Cecilia and Owen! And she tried to be entertaining to my old friend KeAnne's new baby Daniel, but he slept the whole time:)
I have been tutoring this little boy who is a rising 1st grader, not sure if I've mentioned him, but we try to get in 2 sessions a week. When the girls were in school/camp I got 2 morning sessions in, but I try to normally do one evening when Phil's home and one morning and leave Mollie with Mom. I tutor at the library in Apex which is just across the highway from mom's apt. I'm really enjoying it and hope to continue once a week throughout the school year with him. And maybe I could pick up one more kid. I found out the going rate is $35 an hour so I'm really interested in keeping this up!
I checked out some new countertop samples as we are going to upgrade our kitchen a bit with new counter tops and ceramic backsplash. I can't wait! I'd love some stainless steel appliances, but we've already replaced our refrigerator and dishwasher seperately in the last 2.5 years so we're stuck with white for a while. If we had only known and had a few spare thousands of dollars...we could have done that all at one. We have white cabinets so it looks fine. ANYWAY! I also painted our downstairs 1/2 bath and it looks a lot better now. I had a color snafu and had to switch that up and prime over the first yucky color and go with a new one, but it all worked out. I don't really enjoy painting that much! I can roll a wall, but the trim and smaller area work are not for me. It gets old quick. I'd like to paint our master bathroom, but that will have to wait until Phil either wants to or I can pay Bob the painter to do it.

Last friday night the girls had a sleepover with Gramma and Grandpa at mom's apartment and they got to go to her pool. We went out with some friends to a few restaurants/bars in Apex and that was so much fun! Just had a drink at each place and sat and chatted. Might sound wild and crazy, but it was mostly lots of laughing and home by 11:) At Peak City Grill I ran into my grade parent/favorite parent ever from my first year teaching 10 years ago. Her son Joshua was in my first K class and he was such a fun kid. Very smart, very shy, very funny, very sweet. With a great family. Anyway, we toasted to each other and talked a little. I had talked to her briefly a few months ago, but hadn't seen her since before I had Mollie and Joshua was graduating from 5th grade I think.
We got to hang out with Chase some last Sat. night when we all went over to Nancy's for a small cookout.

This weekend is pretty low key luckily. We needed that. Phil got home early from work yesterday (because his golf game was rained out, don't you feel sorry for the man?) so he was able to meet Sydney at her bus stop. She started riding the bus home last Monday. So she's been on it for a week now. She loves it and says it's her favorite part of Kindergarten. I really like the bus driver. He is very particular about making sure he sees me before he will let Sydney off the bus. He had me fill out an information card and takes it very seriously. And her friend Caitlin is on Track 4 so she just started and is on Sydney's bus and they share an assigned seat! I think it's neat that they've known each other since they were not quite 1 I think? And now they're at the same school riding the bus together b/c they live closer now.

I tell ya, I have been loving year-round school. I love hanging out with Mollie. She's a funny girl. We have the best time and she's a great shopper:) If we hang out at home too much all she wants to do it watch tv, but luckily morning is good errand/playdate time. I have to really work to keep the tv off when we're playing because that girl is a couch potato!! And another reason I love it is because Sydney has 2 more weeks of school then is off for 3 weeks. I'm looking forward to that break for her and for us. We'll go back to the beach for a week probably and then to the lake for Labor Day weekend before she tracks back in on Sept. 8th. It was the perfect time for her to start school. I can't imagine how bored she would have been this summer considering she got out of preschool May 20! We would have made it work of course. I am aware that a lot of the real world makes it happen and that I'm the adult and I would have structured the time for her.
But man that girl can talk.....;)

Oh! And one more thing about school and Sydney. Remember her fashion and hair fettish? She had actually picked out matching outfits and fixed her hair 1/2 way "normally" every day for school! I think my friend Daniele who works there now is really impressed. Because she has watched her dressing progress/abilities since she was 2.5 and figured out how to change her own clothing and 4 when she started doing her own ponytails/hair. She does come home and tell me about things other girls are wearing and asked me if we could go to Kohls and buy this jumpsuit thing that Poppy had on b/c that's where she bought it. But I convinced her that no, she really had enough clothes, haha.