JV Football 2016-1

Homecoming Week was as hectic as I'd imagined it would be.  It was a lot of fun for us all but I am so glad that it's over. Today's post will be heavy on photos, short on words.

Fin accompanied me to Meg's JV game on Wednesday evening.  We lost the game by one point.  :-(

Fin was totally entranced by the cheerleaders.  

Colleen, Fin and I watched the Homecoming Parade in our little downtown square.  A little snack while we wait...

He spies the fire truck!  :-)

And behind it are the cheerleaders.

The big smile on Meg's face was for the mother of a friend who was kind enough to share the photo.

On Friday night the JV squad was invited to cheer with the Varsity girls during the big Homecoming Game which was a complete runaway, our favor. 

As part of the American Sign Language National Honor Society, Meg performed during the pre-game festivities....

....as well as cheered during the game.

The week concluded with Saturday night's Homecoming Dance.  Meg went with four of her besties. They all looked so beautiful!

Meg is actually looking fairly short here but, for the record, she was the only girl in flats.  The other four girls all had on at least 3.5" heels.  *insert bulging eyeballs*

My baby girl *sigh* ....

And that folks, was our Homecoming Week in a nutshell, sans all of the drama.  *wink*

Where's Waldo?

My apologies, but lately I just can't seem to find the time for blog entries.  Just to give you a peek into JulieWorld, here's what last week looked like on my calendar...


Sunday - Wednesday ...
Four Grandma Days while Jay and Colleen enjoyed some time with old friends in Orlando. Fortunately I had a bit of help on Sun/Mon due to the Labor Day holiday.  Tuesday was a "quiet" day home with Fin.  On that Wednesday Fin had swim lessons in the morning while Meg had cheer followed by tutoring at Barnes and Noble after school.

Thursday-Friday ...
My girlfriend Cristina visited Thursday AM until Friday PM.  She accompanied me to my local book club meeting Thursday night.  Friday evening Fin was back for an overnight stay followed by another Grandma Day while both his parents were at work.  Meg had an American Sign Language event at the mall Friday evening but fortunately Randy took care of the transportation.

Saturday ...
Grandma Day ...  'Nuff Said :-)

Sunday ...
I drove Meg and a friend down to West Palm where we went to two different malls looking for shoes to go with Meg's Homecoming dress.  We had a great time shopping and were eventually successful in finding somewhat dressy flat shoes for the tall girl who will be wearing a short dress.  :-)  We were gone most of the day and the 10,000 steps I registered on my pedometer should give you an idea of how much walking/shopping we did.  *insert bulging eyeballs here*



Here's how my this week is looking as of today...

Monday ...
I was able to get back to Zumba after missing all of last week due to other commitments.  It was great to be back but I'm exhausted.  Meg has tutoring after school (which means a trip to her former middle school) and then Fin will arrive for an overnight visit.

Tuesday - Wednesday ....  
Grandma Days for Fin and I.  Tuesday he has swim lessons in the morning.  Meg has cheer after school.  Wednesday he and I will be attending Meg's first home football game.  (Could be interesting. LOL!) and I'll take him home later in the evening to meet up with his parents once they're off work.

Thursday ...
Hopefully back to Zumba for me.  Meg's cheer squad will be walking in the Homecoming Parade later that evening.  I may take Fin if he's available.  *wink*

Friday ....
More Zumba in the AM.  The Varsity Homecoming Game is this evening and the JV Squad will be joining the Varsity squad in cheering.

Saturday ...
A morning mani/pedi appt for Meg followed by a hair appt in the afternoon.  The Homecoming Dance is that evening.  Not sure if I have Fin that night so the logistics of who she's going with and how's she's getting there have yet to be worked out.


I'm hoping to fit in some "play time" in my craft room this week.  I tend to get a bit grouchy if I don't have some time for me in between all of the above and regular errands, etc.

And Grandma Days?  They consist entirely of feeding/changing/playing/playing/playing with Fin. He is such a good boy and we have a lot of fun together.

Speaking of Fin...while I don't get on the computer much to blog you can find regular updates on my Instagram accounts.  Look me up and send me a friend request.  For my personal stuff (a private account) I'm 2GenMom.  There you can find out all kinds of Fin cuteness as well as what I'm doing, eating and yes, drinking.  *wink*  I also have a second account (public) for my crafty stuff.  You can find me by first and last name, which for obvious reasons I'm not posting here.  Those of you who know me will be able to find me.  :-)

So that's my life in a (sorta) nutshell.  I'm hoping to have my Grandma schedule for the next month later today so I can plan out my next several weeks.  Subbing has been out of the question recently but if this next month's schedule permits, I do have days lined up.  Today though I think I'm going to just do a bit of quiet vegging while I'm alone in the house.  :-)  

Bummer!

We were all set for the first football game of the season this evening but just got word that the other team has canceled, no doubt due to Tropical Storm Hermine.  (The opposing team is/was Okeechobee which is inland and I'm sure they didn't want to risk running buses should the rain bands reach them later today.)  Total bummer though.  We were looking forward to it.

I love their game day cheer shirts which they all wore today....

And I even got into the school spirit last night with my new manicure....

Their next home game isn't scheduled for two more weeks so we're really, really bummed.  :-(

Truck Obsession

I mentioned Fin's obsession with trucks in a previous post.  He goes nowhere without at least one truck in his hand.  Diaper changes, swim lessons, meal time, doggie duties, anytime we go "bye-bye"... you will rarely find him without a vehicle of some sort on his person.

As is our early morning routine we sit on the couch (he with his bottle and bag of Cheerios and me with my "hot") and watch some sort of kiddie show until I'm fully caffeinated.  He will hand me the remote and ask for "truck" at which time Grandpa has to give up his morning CNBC Squawk Box.  :-)  I recently discovered a really cute toddler level show available on Amazon Prime called Tom the Tow Truck and it totally mesmerizes him.

Once I'm fully alert and functioning we start right in with playing.  You may be asking just how does one play with trucks?  Well, we stack them. We crash them.  We wash them.  (Especially after he's eaten lunch with them.)  We line them all up. We practice their names.  We talk about what each one does....and then we start all over again.  He can do this for hours...and hours...and hours...so lately this is how we've been spending our days.  

I shared this video on Instagram recently so I apologize to those who've already seen it but I need to do some bragging to the rest of my family.  

At the time of this video we were missing the helicopter and the fire engine but trust me, he can pick out all seven by name.  I know I'm biased but I think that's pretty incredible for a 20 month old.


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Other randomness...

Against her many pleas, I attended Meg's high school open house this week.  I realize that she's in high school but I like to be able to place a face to a name when it comes to her teachers.  Chemistry (Honors) will definitely be her most challenging class but I have full confidence in her.

I started a Zumba Gold class last week.  (Think Zumba for the "older" generation.)  Two of my local book club friends attend and it's been a lot of fun. The ladies were all very welcoming and it's so nice to exercise in privacy (no windows to the outside world) and without judgement.  (I have no Latin blood in my whatsoever so while I can do the moves, I can't do them with style.)    

My Miami book club meeting is this Saturday.  Our book is  Lab Girl by Hope Jahren.  I loved it and while you certainly don't need to have a scientific background to appreciate it, I am very interested in hearing how our non-scientist members felt about it.  

That's all folks!  I know I'm not posting as regularly as usual so I appreciate that you're still taking the time to stop by.

Fin Can Swim

Fin began private swim lessons a few weeks ago, something I consider a must for all Florida toddlers. His instructor actually lives one block away from us so it's been very convenient to keep up the routine on Grandma days.

I've watched him slowly progress but was floored by this video that Colleen shared with me yesterday.  He has come so far in just the last couple of lessons!

I love that in addition to swimming, he's also learning to count.  :-)






I am soooo proud of the little guy and as you can see from that final smile, he's pretty darned proud of himself as well.  Go Fin Go!

Family Photos

My brother and his wife recently organized a family vacation in The Keys.  It's difficult for our entire family to all gather at once so this trip was extra special.  

I know not everyone in my family is keen on having their photos shared online so I will only be posting my immediate clan.  Today I thought I'd share a couple of photos taken during our first night's dinner.

You'll have to excuse my mussy look.  I had just spent 15 minutes entertaining a very active Fin outside in the 150 degree heat.  But my husband and daughter look fabulous, don't they?

And is usually the case with a toddler, it was impossible to get a photo of my son, daughter-in-law and grandson all looking at the camera at once.  But given that it was way past his bedtime, a busy boy is a happy boy.

I had no problem getting him to look at me later, especially when he decided he wanted to take the photos.

I'll share additional photos as I get them sorted and edited...not my favorite activity.

Back to School

If you think that only the parents of younger children relish "back to school" you would be wrong. Very wrong.   :-)  The summer boredom of elementary/middle school soon morphs into high school teen drama and while I love her like crazy, I was not sad to see her out the door this morning.

She is officially a high school sophomore and, as is traditional in our house, she is required to pose for a first day of school photo.  Please note her carefully chosen "all new (but doesn't scream new) slouchy outfit" as she put A LOT of thought into this plain white tee, gray sweatshirt and skinny jeans ensemble.   *eyeroll*

She has a fairly rigorous schedule so I'm hoping she likes all of her subjects and teachers.  This and "a bunch of friends in her lunch hour" will make the difference between smiles or tears when she walks through the front door at 3:00.  Wish us both luck.