Friday, July 19, 2024

I’m sitting here on my covered patio with some light rain going and it feels like a gift. It’s Wednesday morning (7:00 am) and I feel like I’ve already lived many lives this week.

I decided to write about this to help anyone else and because a lot of us in the blog world are experiencing this stage of life – aging parents.

And, if this isn’t your thing, that’s ok, too!

My mom in June with her three daughters:

My mom is super strong and independent. She suffered a stroke last June and fully recovered with no rehab or therapies needed. It was pretty amazing. She is 81 and lives alone since my dad passed. None of us live in the same town, nor does she have other family there. So, that’s really hard.

Last week she started saying that she felt weak and had no appetite. She went to the doctor on Wednesday and he said she was dehydrated. She did a few things the rest of the week, but still didn’t feel that great. Over the weekend, she continued to feel weak. My two sisters and I were available to go see her or take her back to the doctor, but she refused the offers. Sunday night at 10 pm she finally agreed to let her friend take her to the ER. She is really lucky to have a really good friend who she has traveled with and who also sadly shares the widow status with her. In fact, their husbands died within 3 weeks of each other.

So, her friend kept us updated from 10pm until almost 3 am Sunday night into Monday. They finally saw my mom, admitted her, and then started giving her blood as they determined that her hemoglobin was down to 4.6 and it’s supposed to be 11-12.

I had already told my sisters that I would head there in the morning on Monday. So, I was going for sure. We learned with my Dad in the hospital for 7 weeks, and then my mom’s stroke that we have to take turns and be smart about creating a shift schedule I guess you could say. So, I was going to take shift number one and see what we were dealing with.

Her friend started texting us again around 7 am (she had already gotten back to the hospital just 4 hours after going home! Good friend!) and told us mom was getting more blood and doing well. I told her I was on my way and would be there a bit after 8 am.

Well, as I was driving, the friend started texting us that we all needed to come and that my mom’s BP, body temp, etc. were all very low and there were many health professionals running to her room.

So, my two sisters both started getting stuff together to come, too. We talked on the phone through tears and just talked about being on the same page, my mom’s wishes, and things like that.

I got there and my mom had gotten stabilized but had been moved to ICU. I thanked the friend and she left. I started taking notes on everything that the friend had told me, then a nurse and doctor came out to talk to me and even though she was stabilized at that point, the doctor made it clear how serious it was. The nurse asked me about wishes for “full code” which means to do anything necessary to keep her alive. So, this was serious.

I got to go back and see my mom and she looked really bad. She knew who I was and was talking but I couldn’t understand her very well.

One sister arrived and I met her at the elevator and I filled her in before we went back to see my mom. Her body temp had been 95 and they were using a warming blanket to bring it up. Her blood pressure had been really low and it was coming up with dopamine. They were going to do an endoscopy to find out if she had an internal bleed and they were going to do a colonoscopy but needed to wait “a few days” until she was stronger.

The second sister arrived and we filled her in, too. She had all her kids but we told her to keep them at mom’s house for now because of how much equipment was in the room and how bad she looked. Mom was talking and knew who all of us were but she was pretty out of it and sleepy from all the drugs. The endoscopy was done and we found out it was clear. All three of us got to talk to the doctor.

Nothing happens (or not as much) on the weekends in hospitals so we were all thankful it was a Monday!

At some point, Molly and I stepped out to find the power of attorney paperwork in case it was needed. Molly is the only one living in the same state as my mom, so it was easiest to make her the POA. We dropped it off with her financial advisor in case we needed to start talking about the business side of things -what money is set aside for mom’s care. It may seem in poor taste to mention this, but please make sure you have this is place for your parents.

As the day went on she kept improving! Her body temp was normal, her BP was normal, her talking was normal and she was acting like herself. Then, we got the news that her hemoglobin was back to normal – at 12!

So, something like this is not only physically exhausting but also mentally and emotionally exhausting.

The three of us talked about how we all have our strengths – I am the oldest, type A, ask lots of questions, take copious notes. Molly, the baby, is probably the best caretaker type, and Kate the middle is very smart, does the research, and is really flexible and able to do whatever is needed in a crisis. She is so strong and such a rock and has been through a lot so is really good with stuff like this.

Kate’s three kids got to come over and visit for a while.

To go from thinking we are saying good bye at 7 a.m. to such good news by late afternoon was pretty crazy and a testament to how strong our mom is!

So, Kate had three kids and a dog with her and was staying at my mom’s house because she lives over 3 hours away. Molly was also staying at my mom’s house because she lives 2 hours away. I decided to go on home because it was my anniversary – lol. And, now it seemed weird that Tom’s Montana trip got cancelled because of the timing of everything with my mom, right? I’m still sad he couldn’t go, but it was nice to have him here as my rock.

Tom and I met at a Mexican restaurant when I got back to town and I showered and crashed, but couldn’t sleep. There were so many unknowns and I honestly think the oldest child feels responsible and that was me.

Sunday night I probably got two hours of sleep, Monday night I probably got four hours of sleep, and then finally last night I slept great!

So, back to the story…

Another thing I always do is call the night shift nurse to get a report before they switch to day. I found out that mom had bleed significantly (remember that we were looking for the reason the hemoglobin got so low) and they were going ahead with a colonoscopy. Maybe this was actually good because before they were going to wait a few days.

Kate and Molly got back to the hospital after I told them this and started sending me reports that she was getting prepped.

Tuesday morning Tom drove me back. It was really nice to have him drive since I was so tired. I also didn’t know what the day held. We were lucky to have the kids on hand to handle the puppy all day, too.

Tom dropped me off and went and ran a few errands – checked on my mom’s house, her garage door opener was broken, got gas, stuff like that.

The hospital had a German food truck already parked out front so I told Tom it was his reward! Tom loves German food and was born in Germany.

So, I was at the hospital at 9:00 ish and met my sisters in the colonoscopy waiting room (that’s not really what it was called) and I was ready to take over. They wanted me to remind the staff that we were there if the doctor wanted to talk to us. They like me to handle the communications issues and I have no trouble talking (or writing – as you can see – if there is anyone still out there – ha!).

So, we didn’t have to wait long and a nurse came out and told us that they found her issue and it all has to do with the blood thinner she is one because of the stroke. She had something called ischemic colitis and it’s a very easy fix with an antibiotic which they had already started in her IV.

What? We were just dumbfounded. So we had gone from thinking this was it Monday morning to Tuesday morning being told she just needed an antibiotic.

The rest of the day we didn’t get to talk to anyone else – missed the doc doing the rounds while the nurse was talking to us in the waiting room – boo and mom was sedated and sleepy until dinner time. We kept going in and out but mainly stayed in the waiting room.

Molly’s hub arrived with 3/4 of her kids so that was nice. Then, Molly’s hub and Tom went and did some “guy stuff” so that was good for them. I think they shopped and looked at ATVS. Yes, we also ate German food in the waiting room. Sorry to anyone for the smell of sauerkraut. Also, the elevator still smells like sauerkraut.

A case manager came to get information from us for future discharge just to get some things on file. She also gave us lots of resources for maybe not now but in the future. That was really helpful.

Tom and I stayed until 6:00, I think. Molly went home around 7:00 with her hub and kids (in 2 cars).

Kate is doing today (Wednesday) and then I go back tomorrow (Thursday).

Molly is doing Friday.

We just don’t know how long she will be in the hospital and we learned the lesson that as much as we like it to be all three of us, that we have to manage our resources.

If your loved one is on a blood thinner and gets very weak, this is extremely common.

So, now it’s Thursday morning as I finish this post…

So, Wednesday on Kate’s shift, she got to talk to the doctor. He said that even though we have figured out the immediate problem, that she is still very sick and this has to be happening (losing blood – not producing enough blood) for some reason that will be figured out in an out patient setting. So, we were also kind of shocked about this after what we thought was good news the day before. I guess we shouldn’t have been shocked, but we were.

He said she would be going back to her hematologist and her oncologist after this immediate threat is handled. She has had lymphoma before and she was having kidney issues and had already met with both of these doctors before this happened. In fact, they had thrown out a possible multiple myeloma possibility but my mom refused the biopsy to know for sure. So, even though I was home on Wednesday, Molly was home on Wednesday, and Kate was the hospital person, we talked and texted for quite a bit and were kind of reeling from this latest news.

Remember I said that my mom is very strong? Well, what comes with that is independence and stubbornness, too. After her stroke last year she refused physical therapy and she has already made some remarks about how she plans to handle the current situation. And, she is still saying she does not want the biopsy.

She definitely wants to continue to live alone in HER house, but we know that at the very least she will need some help. Kate started the conversation about her needing to do some therapies and agree to some things if that is her goal.

Any advice is appreciated! If you have also been through this, let me know. And, maybe you won’t need this for a long, long time with your parents, but I hope it will help someone.

Also, this week I finished this:

Loved it! So, I think the most recent Emily Henry and the first Emily Henry were my faves. Her others were just meh for me.

And, I started this:

I’ve been so busy it’s been hard to shop, but I managed to still participate in Prime Days!

I ordered sunglasses that go over glasses (you know you’re old when…), a “set” recommended by a few people all over the internet, and a Nespresso! The price was great and if I don’t like it I will send it back.

Our Mexican anniversary dinner:

I really need to do a Tom appreciation post. On my day back at home we went to Costco together even though I told him it was his day to pick what we did – and he just really let me rest. He did keep his days off this week since he was supposed to be in Montana. He has helped me, done house projects, and done lots of puppy time. Tom is not a grand gesture guy, but he’s pretty great to have around.

If anyone is still here, happy Friday and I hope you have a fun summer weekend!

Amy

Thursday, July 18. 2024

Well, I continue to rock the bike shorts with a graphic tee. I even bought myself another pair since I’m wearing them daily. Now, I have three pairs and they all have pockets on both sides. Here is my newest pair.

I can put my phone in one side and my Airpod case in the other. They are great for walking and for cleaning around the house. I wear them out with an opened button up shirt, too.

I’ve been reaching for my new Old Navy outfit:

I got a third pair of the linen shorts and I got a short sleeved gauzy button up.

Walmart Free Assembly dress for dinner out:

Walmart Free Assembly dress for dinner out:

This week I have had a fun press on mani:

Do you do jewelry for the pool? I like this fun stack that I have had forever:

And, I usually do wear earrings, but keep it simple and make sure it’s earrings I could easily replace:

Am I chic in the summer? Not really!

What have you been wearing lately? Are you chic? Or, are you just hot?

Amy

Wednesday, July 17, 2024

I heard that Kroger started carrying one of Australia’s top skin care lines (or the top skin care line?) and I high tailed it to Kroger to see what is was all about.

Yes, I went inside Kroger! I didn’t get a pick up!

I was pretty impressed by how much my Kroger had.

Here is the makeup:

Here is the skincare:

I came home with a mousse type facial wash, an eye cream, a serum, and a toner:

I also grabbed a foundation, a dupe for the popular Drunk Elephant bronzing drops, and a blush stick.

My favorite of the makeup (and probably the only one I would buy again)is the blush stick. I would be open to trying some other makeup products.

I really like the skin care so far! I am still using coconut oil to remove my makeup and witch hazel, but then I am adding in the new products.

The prices are all really reasonable and Kroger had them on sale.

Have you heard of this or tried this line?

Amy

Tuesday, July 16, 2024

I think this post is mainly for me, but here we go!

June and half of July were months of:

coffee, devotional, blog reading and writing on the patio with Eddie Otis

a month of working with puppy to learn routine and decent behavior (still not there yet)

taking daily walks with pup

slow mornings piddling around the house

reading on the patio when I could

boating almost once a week

cooking quite a bit – lots of salads and Tik Tok pasta were made, 3 cakes were made!, 2 quiches were made, and 1 failed attempt at a sourdough starter, a slight orzo obsession

watching tv with the family (Monk, The Bear) and just me and the kids (New Girl, How I Met Your Mother)

watching Bridgerton by myself, DCC, and starting Hacks

not running a bunch of senseless errands and letting Walmart Plus and Amazon come to me

not clothing shopping as much as in the past

5 pool days – 2 at Erica’s CC, 1 at Heather’s house, 1 at Beth’s house, and 3 at Myriad Swim Club, and 1 time at the place with an adults only pool

1 road trip to Samira’s grad party (niece)

2 happy hours with Mason

1 new coffee shop with Mason

2 lunches with friends

1 breakfast with friend

1 solo breakfast while my car was worked on

1 Mexican lunch with friend

2 celebrations of Tom – birthday and Father’s Day

1 guitar concert with nice dinner beforehand

1 girls dinner out

1 dinner and live music at brewery

4 press on manis

Let’s see how I’m doing and what I need to work on...

My post from June 4 if you want to go back and see my original Summer List…

I want to lift weights at least 4 mornings a week. – I have been to the gym a few times, but I have not gotten a routine down.

I want to walk almost everyday with pup or alone with a podcast or both – yes! I do this everyday without fail.

I also want to have dinner done so I can walk with Tom and Eddie Otis after Tom gets home from work. I know this means a lot to Tom to have me walk with him and it’s a great way to download our days. It’s also fun to see Eddie Otis explore the world together and he gives us lots of laughs. – No – sadly I am usually still getting dinner together or I just need a puppy break by this time.

want to spend lots of quality time with Tom, kids, and pup. I have a drop everything attitude when my kids ask to hang out with me. – yes! I have done well with this I think!

Celebrate Tom’s birthday and Father’s Day in a way that makes Tom happy.- I think so! Tom had a four day weekend for his bday and on his day we went to Mexican lunch and Cuban dinner and on Father’s Day we went to a buffet for brunch and watched a movie. We gave him work out clothes, a snackle box, and a hat from The Bear.

Celebrate our 24th wedding anniversary. – we went to a New Orleans inspired restaurant!

Teach Eddie Otis how to use the doggy boat ramp.- yes! He did well!

Enjoy the scents of summer- coconut conditioner is currently in my shower and I’m using the Trader Joe’s bum bum dupe body wash and body cream.- yes! loving having these wonderful smells!

Try some new recipes – last summer was so fun making some French recipes with Mason. – yes! I have been obsessed with trying orzo recipes and I have worked on my quiche skills. Mason wants to make jambalaya.

One pool day at Erica’s pool – already enjoyed one day and might do another. – yes – did another one!

Rooftop or boutique pool day with my friend Beth. – was invited by Victoria once and went two other times to the boutique hotel pool!

Go to the adult pool with a friend or even by myself to read. We no longer belong to a pool, but there is a pool where I can pay as I go that has a pool set aside for 18 and up. Most of the people are way way up if you know what I mean, but it’s lovely and you can take a float. – I did this with Beth.

Coffee dates or happy hour dates with friends. – haven’t done this very much. Mason has been my partner in crime a few times.

Take lunch to Elizabeth at her office and sit outside and eat lunch with her – already promised this and need to make a plan. – yes! I think she loved it and I enjoyed getting to visit with her. Her office is pretty close to my house.

Catch up on movies and tv I missed. – I have been on a Bridgerton kick so I think that counts. I have watched or tried to watch a few other movies I missed from the last year, too.

Boat with friends to lunch or sit in cove and have a picnic on the boat. – yes! We have done this a few times.

Finally try pickle ball with my friend who is obsessed (Heather). – No and I don’t think I’m very motivated to try it anymore. I think I am just tired of hearing about it!

Plan and take a trip with family even if it’s small – have not done this yet and it probably will only be a day trip.

Plan a bigger trip for either fall break or winter break – in the works.

Plan a day in my hometown with my mom, sisters, and their kids. – Yes!

Go to a matinee movie alone. – no, nothing really Amy alone-worthy.

Go to lunch alone at a kind of nice place – no, but went to breakfast.

Read on my patio – Yes! I have done this quite a bit, but I’m not sure of my offical book count of 2024.

Go out to the patio after dinner and enjoy the longer daylight – not much. The mosquitoes seem really bad this year, even with bug spray.

Get a few pedicures in summer colors – white will be the next one – possibly invite a friend – Yes – did white and royal blue so far.

Declutter as many spaces as possible – this might be a better time of year to do 40 bags in 40 days! It’s normally a Lent activity where you choose 40 spaces in your house and get a bag of stuff to donate – Yes! I am more motivated than I’ve ever been. I’m being ruthless and I love it. I feel the need for more minimalist tendencies.

Did you have a list? How have you done? Now is the time to start thinking about what you still want to do – fun things only!

Amy

Monday, July 15, 2024

How was your weekend? I feel weird talking about my weekend after everything that transpired this weekend. I pray for our country that I love so much.

Let’s go back to Thursday…

Erica had never been to Myriad so it was her turn to go with me. I’m basically a member now – lol.

Aperol spritz that matches the decor?

We had a really nice day! I think we stayed from 11:30-4 or so. It was hot so we were in the pool basically the whole time.

Friday morning I went to pick up bagels from my former student – she has started a little bagel baking business. I did a double take and there was a pig being walked on her street. She told me the owners thought she would be miniature but you can see from my photo, Cora is more of a venti sized pig.

It was so nice to chat with my student and meet her two kids! And, her bagels were amazing!

You think you are just going out for bagels and you get to see a pig on a leash. Life, amiright?

I was pretty lazy Friday and Eddie Otis was a sleepy boy who let me start the show Hacks on Prime. Anyone? I’m enjoying it!

That night, Tom came straight from work and I met him and we met our two couple friends at a Venezuelan restaurant.

We had a lovely dinner catching up!

Saturday was my favorite kind of Saturday – super lazy except for a trip to the library…

Look at their cute Olympics book display:

There are books about Paris, too!

Look what I got:

I love color and attention to detail. The pages are hot pink! Well, I should say they are only hot pink on the outside. I don’t think I could read an entire hot pink paged book. Ouch!

I stopped by the farmer’s market at the tail end and just grabbed a few things.

I read while Tom watched the Tour de France until it was time to get ready for our anniversary dinner. Tom was going to be leaving at 5 a.m. on Sunday so I asked if he wanted me to see if I could add the kids to our reservation and he did. So, all four of us celebrated at a New Orleans inspired restaurant on the outskirts of downtown. And, I walk in and I got to see another former student! She is a sommelier for a few restaurants in town.

I got a voo doo punch drink and it was steaming!

We got hush puppies:

And, I had an incredible salmon. I only took pictures of my food.

Gracie (my former student) sent us a bread pudding and it was other worldly. Is that a word?

Then, we went down to their cellar where a bartender from Myriad was playing. Guess how I knew this? Yes, I met him during my many trips to Myriad.

It was such a cool space! And, when we left, we took an anniversary photo!

Sunday morning I had some time to read with the fans going on my porch! Ahhhh!!!!

So, remember how I told you Tom was leaving at 5 a.m. yesterday? After we had changed the reservation to include all four of us since Tom wanted to hang with them before he left, Tom’s friend cancelled on him for their boys’ trip to Montana. Tom was going to be gone all this week. So, I feel really bad for Tom. I know he was really looking forward to it. I guess I will play A River Runs Through It for him.

Tell me a highlight from your weekend!

Amy

Friday, July 12, 2024

I summered hard this week! I am linking up with Andrea and Erika so if you want to know more, read on!

So, here are my favorites for the week…

Summer Reading!

First up, both Lucy Score books I’ve read this summer started to bore me about half way through. They just don’t need to be that long. The love interests have already fallen for each other (btw, the intimate scenes are spicy if that bothers you) and she just needs to make her books shorter!

I’m a pretty fast reader and I ended up abandoning both of the above when my library finally came through for Summer Amy. I really have no problem not finishing a book because I am reading for pleasure.

I am loving this new Emily Henry so far! It seems like it’s back to Emily Henry’s Beach Read, which I loved. I did not love her second two much at all, if I remember correctly. Maybe I just overhyped them in my head and they fell short.

I also picked up:

I also thoroughly enjoyed the two books I bought. Now the haters might say, “duh, none of this is earth-shattering” and they would be right, but I find it to be nice reminders of many things I already do and many other things I could easily do to eek as much joy out of my life as possible.

Basically I’m a chic European now.

Bagels!

We had a bagel shop within walking distance of our house from the time of our kids’ birth until end of elementary school? It was such a family thing for us to eat there. Later on, it became a tradition to go there one day before school each week. The owner loved my kids and sadly he passed and the family wasn’t able to keep it open. I know we aren’t from New York, but we haven’t found a bagel that is as good since that time.

I found out my former student is baking bagels and I am picking some up today! How fun is that? I was really close to this girl and several others in her class. We even had one day a week where they could come to my room with their lunch if they only spoke Spanish and we had “Spanish Lunch”. I am thinking about bringing that back this year.

Summer Clothes!

I made two purchases this week (one consignment purchase last week). I love the shade of green in the shorts. These won’t go out of style, so this is a good time to get some deals. If you want more details on my new stuff, check out Fashion Files from yesterday.

Have you played around to see what inch short looks best on you? It’s worth doing! I like shorter on me since I’m short.

CFA!

I have not had Chick Fil A all summer. In fact, I don’t think I have done any drive thrus at all this summer. I had a big craving and enjoyed that original sandwich in my car while doing errands one day.

Pampering!

I got a pedi. The salon had a horrible nail polish selection and I have thrown all my polish out. I should have bought what I wanted ahead of time. I ended up with a shade of blue I wasn’t quite going for, but the leg and foot massage and all the other parts were quite nice. It’s quite blue.

Pool Days!

Here’s why I say I summered hard this week. Tom and I did two boat days this weekend on Saturday and Sunday. We usually only go out once because it’s a lot of work, a long day, and we usually have yard stuff and other stuff to get done. Then, on Monday and Tuesday I had pool days! So, four days in a row of Amy in the water and on the fifth day I was ready for some productivity.

One of the pool days was back at the Myriad Hotel pool:

with Mason!

They let us in for free and the day was sponsored by Tito’s and they wanted photos.

They have really good food. We split ham croquettes and potato wedges.

The other day was at a neighborhood pool that is open to anyone if they pay with my friend Beth.

It was really hot so we stayed in the pool on the floats the whole time and I brought us veggie sandwiches. This pool is nice because they allow you to bring your own food and drink (including cocktails) and they allow floats and they have a pool just for 18 and up.

This is a fave this summer:

I use vegetable cream cheese and then layer on as many vegetables as I have on hand.

Puppies!

Guilty as charged:

I swear that this dog has full grown dog sized legs and paws. He is growing so fast! He has started raising himself up on tables like this. This was him trying to “edit” my blog post.

What were your favorites this week? I would be lying if I didn’t admit that the month is going way too quickly for me. I am basically full time on July 29. Eek!

Amy

Thursday, July 11, 2024

Well, I’m not sure how much fashion is in my files this week, but here we go anyway! I had all these plans to take better photos this summer and…well…you see how that turned out!

Linking up with Kellyann and Jill today, of course!

Here is what I wore for a pool day:

I have on my very old Aerie hot pink suit that needs to go bye bye, my Aerie pink shorts, and my new Cynthia Rowley gauze shirt $22 from my consignment store.

Tito’s was sponsoring the day at the boutique hotel pool and Mason came with me!

We are drinking a special Tito’s blueberry lemonade.

Boat Day Outfit:

I discovered a hole in my very old Target cover up that day. I think it can be fixed. Victoria? Ha! She fixed my Aerie pink shorts because Eddie Otis made a hole in them. Victoria can take long sleeves and make them short. She showed me how she adapted a coverup. I am so envious of people who can sew, yet I don’t really want to learn.

I wore this to drop off a car and go to lunch:

I have on my Umgee gauze pants and my new Walmart blouse. Also, I think you can see how much use my Target silver faux Birks are getting!

Here is my 4th of July outfit:

I’m not sponsored by Old Navy, but my strawberry shirt is Old Navy a couple of years ago and the linen shorts (which now have a hole from Eddie Otis) are this year. Victoria?

Ok, let me explain. Eddie Otis jumps up and greets you with his teeth right now. He jumps up and greets my clothing with his teeth and my skin. Yeah, it’s not great.

Our weather cooled off on Wednesday morning:

And, I wore this for errand day:

One of my errands was a pedicure, so I wore flip flops. I also have a new Amazon belt bag on in this photo.

Also, this week, I was in Trader Joe’s which is near Old Navy and I walked in. The green color was on clearance for $9.99. Regular price was only $14.99, but still. Isn’t this a pretty green?

And, I picked up this gauzy short sleeve for $19.99 on sale. I thought it would come in handy with some of my bottoms.

I can’t quit you Old Navy!

New Purchases this week:

Amazon black belt bag $8

Cynthia Rowley consignment gauzy long sleeve button up $22

Old Navy linen green strip short $10 (rounded up)

Old Navy short sleeve gauzy button up $20 (rounded up)

What have you been wearing or buying lately? Are you shopping the big sale that shall not be named? It sounds like next week we have Prime Days coming up and I think Walmart is competing with them, too? Target are you in, as well? I am not shopping the big sale that shall not be named this year, I have a few things in my Amazon cart that I am waiting to see prices on, and I don’t know about the other sales yet.

See ya tomorrow for Friday Favorites!

Amy

Wednesday, July 10, 2024

Each Tuesday, Joyce from This Side of the Pond, posts questions and bloggers can answer them. Thanks, Joyce! I need all the blog topic help I can get!

1. Do you feel older or younger than your age? Elaborate. 

Joyce, are you trying to get us to state our age? Ha!

I am 52.

I feel younger. I think it’s because I’m a high school teacher and the kids really do keep you young. Sometimes I’m with adults and use teen slang and feel very weird when I realize what I just said.

I don’t think my face or my body look younger, but I think I have a younger style, maybe? I do like Chico’s, though. I have gotten some great basics there.

Also, I am a Surfer Nephew this summer, so they are pretty young.

I keep up with trends and pop culture, too.

2. What’s one thing you should toss right now, but just can’t? 

I’m really not having any trouble tossing things this summer so far. I have a project going where I work on a tiny space at a time or a very specific category.

Here is my list:

I’ve done a few more than I have crossed off in this photo. I guess anything of my kids’ childhoods would be hard. I have a Rubbermaid tote for each of them but I need more space now, probably. Also, it’s not super organized.

3. Have you visited many of the 63 National Parks in the US of A? You’ll find a list here. Do you have a favorite? What National Park that you haven’t seen do you most want to see? 

I didn’t think I had, but I realized I have gone to more than I thought!

Grand Canyon, Hot Springs, Dry Tortugas, Everglades, Yellowstone, Indiana Dunes, Mammoth Cave, Gateway Arch, Great Smoky, Badlands, New River Gorge, Grand Teton, Glacier National, and I feel like I might be missing one or two from Utah and one from Washington State. I took two pretty amazing trips that knocked many of them out. One was when I was 12 and my family took an Amtrak from Chicago to Seattle stopping at Glacier National on the way and then going through Grand Canyon on the way home. Another was a church trip where we took a converted bus that we slept on all the way to California stopping at lots of places like Grand Teton on the way and on the way back.

4. How often do you get take out? What’s your favorite? 

We have been Door Dashing way too much this summer. I guess it only amounts to once or twice a week, but it’s just so easy. I do currently have a 25% off the next two orders (and already used it on one) so that’s good. It’s terribly expensive, but it’s so convenient. I am cooking a lot so when I need a break, it’s nice to order.

Our favorite as a family is Shiraz Mediterranean. We can order two meals and have enough for all four of us.

I would say once a week is the general rule but we go in spurts where we rarely get it.

5. Do you have many (or any) subscriptions? Not necessarily magazines, but thinking more along the lines of boxes or products that companies offer, and you can sign up to receive on a regular basis. Could be weekly, monthly, quarterly, even daily. Tell us about them. 

No, we do not. We don’t have anything on subscribe and save on Amazon. I cancelled my Ipsy subscription because I was accumulating too many products and not loving all of them. It was fun for a while, though!

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I’m out of meal ideas! Help! What have you cooked lately? Bonus points if you link a recipe. I feel like I have done all the basics tacos, spaghetti, BLTs to death. I have one kid who is dabbling in vegetarian life and that has also made it challenging.

A recent sun dried tomato shrimp dish that people were meh about. I kept the shrimp off for the one kid.

Happy Hump Day,

Amy

Tuesday, July 9, 2024

I’m excited to finally pull back the curtain and share our college experience. I kept the exact college a secret on the old blog (locals may have figured it out) while my twins were there, but since they graduated I am going to tell you everything I can think to tell you about our experience.

I’m also going to link up with Joanne’s Talking about it Tuesday, so check out some other posts there, too!

Why, you ask? Because…

I had a lot of fear of my only two kids leaving the nest at the same time and what that would look like – mentally, emotionally, and financially.

I guess it’s hard to see this because I started my blog when my twins were 16 and I have tried to make my blog about me and not them to respect their privacy (remember when I only used an initial instead of their names?), but I loved momming so much. Being a mom was my dream and it was everything I wanted and more. I really could hardly think about the college years because it made me so sad. I hope that makes sense and is relatable to someone out there.

I hope this post helps you if you have kids approaching college age!

First, yes it’s so stupid that college costs so much.

We were told we had to fill out the FAFSA or the college wouldn’t give any money for academic scholarships. It’s all about the FAFSA. Also, it’s all about the parents’ income. Tom was in charge of FAFSA each year, thankfully.

Many kids should not go to college and it’s silly that we are basically shaming kids if they don’t. You might be surprised to hear a high school teacher say this. I want to normalize kids choosing other paths. There are so many types of smart and we have kids that are bored to tears with the high school curriculum we force upon them. When we took away vocational education we made a big mistake.

Please be ok with your kids choosing a technical school or an apprentice training program.

Please don’t be ok with $200, 000 in student loans that will seriously affect your child’s life for a long time.

Look for the programs your state offers – mine is now offering free junior college. Your kids’ guidance counselors are very busy, but they have a lot of knowledge. Email them or better yet have your kids make an appointment with them. They need to be a bit pushy to get time with them but it should pay off.

We were able to take advantage of state money by staying in state for college. My kids accumulated $6000 for good grades and ACT score. See what incentives your state has.

So, junior year we started talking about college and which ones we wanted to visit. We pretty much told our kids they would have to stay in state unless an out of state school matched the money they could get by staying in state. Neither of them seemed upset by this. If they had felt strongly about a certain school in another state, I think we would have been open to looking. In fact, I think some kids can’t handle not having boundaries. It overwhelms them. There is nothing wrong with giving your kids a radius or a few states to choose from.

I tell my students that they are going to love anywhere they go because it’s college! You can have a great experience at a lot of schools! If it comes down to two schools, go with the one that will set you up the best financially for your future. Also, it doesn’t make sense to pay for Harvard for a teaching degree where you are only going to make $50,000 a year as a beginning teacher. Just my two cents! I also tell my students that no one ever asks where I went to school when I am in a professional setting. After you have your first job, no one really cares in my opinion.

So, back to our story. March of 2020. My kids were seniors and they had just received their scholarship packages. One applied to three schools and one applied to four schools, I think? Each of them had at least one big state school and one or two small liberal arts schools. Remember that the state schools are not hurting for students, but the smaller schools might be and they can be more generous with alumni money. We even got more scholarship money for just stepping foot on campus for an in person tour. It’s crazy. It’s like buying a used car to some degree! I learned quickly to not scoff at $1000 because it all adds up. I don’t throw away dollar bills, you know? One of my kids got additional money for the music department and one got money for participating in a scholarship competition. He didn’t win but everyone got an extra $1000 of academic scholarship money and $1000 to put toward study abroad. See, this all adds up!

I should also give you some background information and say that my kids did really well in high school – 11 and 9 AP classes respectively and one was one of the valedictorians with a 4.0 at graduation (our school has like 50 or more valedictorians, by the way). Hard work in high school really does pay off financially. Yes, their mom is a teacher, but remember that these little things arrived into the world at under 3 pounds each and 10 weeks early and we were told they might have learning disabilities due to prematurity.

So, March of 2020… pandemic arrives. My kids are seniors. We hear from our district that we are going home on March 13th and we don’t know when we will be back. We stay home for two weeks and don’t do much and then we have spring break…during this time, one of my twins came to me and said I think I know where I should go. He didn’t tell his twin. I didn’t tell his twin. A week later the other twin comes to me and says his decision. I let the cat out of the bag that they both had picked…

Bellarmine!

I didn’t feel like my kids were large university kids. I felt like they needed the smaller class size and attention so I couldn’t have been happier with their decisions. And, the fact that they both chose the same school made me happy and frankly made it easier on us to only have one set of information coming our way. And, sending your kids to college in the fall of 2020 – well, let’s just say the close to home situation made life easier in lots of ways. We were told all the Covid protocol and that added to the mix of my emotions – not only was I sending my only kids away to live at college at the same time, but during a global pandemic.

They were not going to room together and they were going to live on campus so this made me happy so that they would have the full experience even though they would be close to home (That turned out to be true – they never roomed together. But, senior year one did move home because the dorm situation was not a good one and it wasn’t worth the high price of the suite they assigned.)

Ok, so here’s the deal. My kids went to this school for less money than they would have paid the big state university. I also knew that if we did have a financial hardship living at home was an option. This school is about 20 minutes from our house in the same city, by the way.

Just remember that you can have the same experience close to home but you have to stay on campus and treat it like you are farther from home. And, you have to get involved and not go home on the weekends, but this is true no matter how far away you go.

By being close to campus, we were able to go see plays and concerts and some things during the week that we wouldn’t have been able to if they were farther away.

So, school starts in August of 2020 and all the pandemic precautions were in place. We had to wear masks and fill out a health screener for move in day. The classes were in person, online, or hybrid. With this climate, again, I was so happy that my kids were close to home. I was so worried for kids that had to be quarantined in special houses near campus. Do you remember all this? Then, they had to have vaccinations and they held them on campus. They had to show their card and get the booster eventually. I don’t want to turn this into a Covid blog post, but I will say that Tom and I both talked multiple times how we felt so much better with them being close and how their small college handled the horrible situation. They got really creative and still did so much for the students.

So, over the four years, we actually got to meet some professors at different events. They knew us by name and greeted us. We would run into them at restaurants near campus sometimes. We couldn’t believe how much any and every Bellarmine employee seemed to love their job. We were able to make phone calls to campus housing, financial aid, student accounts when we needed to and everyone was always just so nice.

The way payment worked for us:

We had some money saved in a 529 and used most of that up the first year. We wanted to have more, but we just didn’t. That really helped us to have that money for the first year as we were figuring it out, though. Twins ain’t cheap, y’all, but it’s just a different way of paying than one kid goes, then the next a few years later! After that, our kids had to sign all of their scholarships online saying they accepted them and understood the terms (had to maintain a certain GPA, for example), then we got a total for just that semester. So, Fall of 2021, for example was $6500 including tuition and room and board. You can pay in full or have it broken into monthly payments. I did monthly payments where it automatically came out of my checking account. I had two different monthly payments coming out each month and these amounts added up to more than our monthly mortgage payment, as you can imagine.

We also had them take out a small loan of $5000 a year so they would have some “skin in the game”. They were able to sign up for a program that matches your loan repayment amount as long as you are making under $40,000 upon graduation. We are going to help them set up a plan to automate these loan repayments and take advantage of “free money”.

Other than that, they have no additional debt and we have no additional debt.

Whew, it’s hard to believe their four years is over and they now have a piece of paper that says they did it!

If you have any questions for me, let me know. I hope this post has helped somebody out there that feels like I did.

I will tell you that 2020 and 2021 were really hard for me because my whole world changed. Pandemic, kids left for college, I taught from home and had to learn a whole new way to do my job…

Some of you have been around to witness all of that!

I think over the four years Tom and I grew closer and I actually grew closer to my kids, too! So, there has been so much good with this stage of life that it’s hard to be sad. I’m still trying to figure out how I’m old enough to have college graduate kids!

Amy

I’m linking up with Sarah and Holly for Hello Monday and with the gals at Share Our Lives for their theme “Day in the Life – Summer Edition”. Lots of linking up today!

So, first for the weekend…

Thursday was 4th of July and it was really lame at my house. Mason was at a party, Jack didn’t feel well and went to bed early, and Tom went to bed at 8:15! He still had to work Friday and was extra tired from the night before, I think. Lame, I tell you! But, before this we had a day of storms and I just read my books and piddled around. Mason and I tried to go to a little 4th of July market, but it wasn’t set up yet. For dinner we had hot dogs, baked beans, and mac and cheese along with a side salad. Oh, and Tom and I watched Unfrosted and we both really liked it!

Mason, “Mom, I don’t think this is a thing”

We had these really good hot dogs from the butcher case at Fresh Market.

Friday was a normal work day for Tom so I got him out the door and then we had to take a car in the shop, pick up groceries, and do a few chores. Mason and I went to lunch after dropping off the car.

Friday night we picked up the car and then we used up all of the week’s leftovers and all had something slightly different. Yay! That made me so happy!

Saturday morning Tom paddle boarded on the river beside our friend who was practicing his swimming for the Iron Man.

I tried to learn more about how to be chic..

while it just came naturally for Eddie Otis…

Then, I took EO down to meet Tom when he got off the paddle board and then we pretty spontaneously decided to take the boat out and called some spontaneous friends, too!

We at lunch at Captain’s Quarters and then…

Best foto of the weekend… I only wish Tom would cradle me in the water like this…

We went in around 4:00 and Door Dashed some sushi and a chicken teriyaki bowl with our kids.

I finished up Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and I actually cried in a couple of the episodes. I thought it was really well done and it gave me an interesting peak into something I knew very little about.

I decided to give up on Our Lady Jane but Tom is finishing it – I sometimes am reading while he has it on. I’m so lost.

I realized Friday night that I really need to be asleep by 10 because puppy is ready to go at 6 am. Mason had him sleep with him Friday night and I woke up Saturday feeling like a new person! Also, the humidity broke overnight and it felt so nice! Yes, we are probably doing the puppy training all wrong.

And, Sunday, we had another boat day with some other friends and just hung in the cove. It was so nice!

We were pooped and got home around 4:00 again. I made dinner and showered. Whew! So much summering this weekend!

And, now for a Day in the Life…

I will be doing a day in the life of Summer Amy, by the way…

I get up anywhere from 5-6:15. If I had my dream summer schedule I would get up at 7:00 but it’s just not that season for me right now.

I feed Eddie Otis and then we go to the patio.

I read my devotional and a few blogs and then if I am able I go ahead and finish up my post for the next day.

Tom leaves for work around 7:40 if it’s a weekday so we see him off (he usually does a quick playground walk with EO – we have an elementary playground behind our house and can do a lap around the school with our dogs pretty easily) and then I usually take EO inside and we do a few kitchen chores – straightening up or whatever needs to be done.

Then, we take a neighborhood leash walk and I listen to podcasts or talk on the phone. This is usually 8-8:30 or maybe a bit longer.

It looks like we are out in the country but this is my neighborhood which is less than 10 miles from downtown Louisville.

We go back home and pup is tired and hot. This is when he naps in his dog wash in the mudroom.

I do more chores and make my breakfast. Some days I go to the patio to eat but I go out my bedroom door so I don’t wake the sleeping puppy!

I often do some food prep for dinnertime in the morning, too.

Now I go shower and get ready for the day – sometimes that is swimsuit and coverup, sometimes it’s keep on the bike shorts and big tee, and sometimes it’s a little nicer errand running/eating lunch out attire.

I usually try to take EO out again and play with him when he wakes up around 9:30 or 10.

Then, he is either with one of my kids or he gets crated for a little bit. He is usually in major need of crate time by now and acting kind of crazy. We have found he gets overtired and acts crazy.

My first errand is often to drop off donations from my 40 bags project – feels so good to do this!

This day I also stopped at CVS and got one polish, Elf brow pencil, and a detangler brush.

I also got some day old bread from Jimmy John’s!

Now, I make my lunch and eat outside or inside depending on the humidity. EO is much better behaved outside. If I stay inside he gets more bitey and needy, I think. Outside he has lots to look at!

He usually takes another nap from 2-3 or 4 and then we go outside again before I start dinner.

I start dinner at 5, Tom comes home at 5:45, EO gets a playground walk, and then we eat. This particular night we had a zucchini pasta with chicken.

After we eat and the kitchen is clean, I take my shower and then I watch tv in the basement where it’s nice and cool. Tom and I have eaten together and then watched a show so we have spent time together. Our kids are living back at home and they are home for dinner some nights and some nights one or both are gone.

Tom and EO go to bed at 8:30 and I follow around 9:30-10. I want to stay up later, but usually nothing good happens. I start wanting to snack and I feel like crap the next day!

And, that’s it! It’s pretty boring and routine, but that is my life right now. The puppy factors into pretty much every aspect of my life. I do think it’s good for me to get out once a day right now to enjoy that freedom that summer allows and so I will be fresh for EO. My kids are a really big help, too, but this is generally the routine.

Amy