The Nelson Narrative

I love doing posts where I document our “typical” day (mostly for my own future reference.  I love to go back years later and read about it), but usually it’s a normal weekday (with work/school).  This time I’m documenting a random weekend.  This particular weekend was sort of busy (for us, anyway) so later in the fall or early next year I will document a light one, ideally one where we have absolutely no plans. Friday afternoon, 2:30ish:  Kayley has already left to go to Starbucks with a friend and Olivia leaves to go boating with a friend (Fridays are early dismissal days so they get home from school a little after 1:00). Friday afternoon, 3:00:  My workday is over.  I shut down my laptop and the weekend officially starts.  I go outside, lie on a lawn chair and once the neighbor's loud edger/leaf blower whatever stops, I fall asleep.   I was tired from getting up much earlier than normal all week (school just started o...

Today was great.  I love taking random (well, the first day of school isn't exactly "random ") school days off so I can have a day to do whatever, uninterrupted. Today I got up early and got ready way before the girls had to leave so I could maximize my time alone and not have to waste an hour showering and getting ready.  Then, once they had left I enjoyed a relaxing morning drinking coffee, watching a little of the Today Show and folding laundry (can never not have SOME chore sneak in there...).  I also vacuumed because our housekeeper was sick and didn't make it this week.  I wrote my annual First Day of School post and listed a model horse on Ebay. After all that I went to Target to return a bunch of stuff and ran a few other errands.  When I got home I had lunch and then took Kona for a walk.  By then it was almost time for everyone to get home.  I sat outside for a bit and then made a marinade for the salmon and got that marinating....

Today is the girls' first day of 6th grade/middle school!  They were up before 6:00 AM and ready way ahead of time.  A friend's mom offered to drive them because her daughter didn't want to walk in alone on the first day (the mom drives her and her sister everyday--they chose not to take the bus) so they had even more extra time than they would have otherwise. I took today off so I could have some time to work on projects while everyone else is away at work and school.  I love taking the very first day off so I don't have to rush in the morning and so I can be here when they get home to ask them about their first day, but most years they start on the last Wednesday in August which always coincides with my team's monthly staff meeting so I don't always take it off but have a few times. I look forward to hearing all about it when they get home! First day of 6th grade

I haven't done a What's Up Wednesday post in a long time.  Most months I start one but never quite finish so then I just keep changing my answers to apply to the current month.  Anyway, here goes! What we’re eating this week Like of lot of other bloggers I’m noticing, a lot of Trader Joe’s or Costco pre-made stuff.  We love Costco’s street tacos and TJ's beef and broccoli.  Bonus - the girls will eat them!   What I’m reminiscing about It's always the same, something to do with the girls being little.  I particularly am missing them playing outside.  Lately they mostly stay inside playing Minecraft or making videos. What I’m loving I always get what I call "dry skin slits" on my finger tips.  Where the skin just gets so dry it splits open and it is SO painful.  I've tried all kinds of lotions and creams and then I found this.  It actually works! Also, we have had a much cooler summer this year.  Seein...

We are 9 weeks into summer break and I have yet to post anything.  So here is a summary of our summer so far. This is the first summer since I returned to work back in 2014 that we have not had any kind of nanny or childcare and it has been going really well.  Paul has most Mondays off, I work from home 2 days a week and the other 2 days the girls are home alone all day, except I go home for lunch and check on things.  The only negative is that with no one there to take them places or force them to do otherwise, they end up spending WAY too much time on their phones/computer.  Even when I’m home I’m working so it’s still hard to steer them in another direction but I try.  They do occasionally go to the park, ride their hover boards or skate boards, bake, paint, organize something, build a fort, etc., but not enough. At the end of June we had a family reunion with my Dad’s side of the family at the family farm up in Mount Vernon (my brother and sister-i...

I remember a day back when the girls were just babies thinking that in 5 years or so they would be starting Kindergarten.  It seemed SOOOO far away.  But that first day of Kindergarten was now almost 6 years ago and today they went to their elementary school for the last time ever!  I can't believe it.

Today was the last full day of 5 th  grade/elementary school.  I haven’t done a “typical day” post in a long time and I've been meaning to document a typical school day this whole school year and just haven’t gotten around to it.  So here was our school day routine up until today and then I hope to document our summer routine once we get into the swing of it. I get up between 6:30 and 7:00, depending on whether I’m going to shower or not (sometimes I shower at night).  After peeing and brushing my teeth, I go downstairs to let Kona out and make coffee.  Sometimes while the coffee is brewing I will sweep the floor or unload the dishwasher.  Then I pour myself some coffee and go back upstairs to get ready. I usually finish getting ready around 8:00 and will then get the girls up if they are not already.  Then I go downstairs and make their lunches.  I have given up making them the night before because I just don’t want one. more. thing to do ...