365.2: WEEK 34

Now that school is well underway, life has taken on a pretty routine schedule. Cousins come to play on Monday. Preschool Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Splash pad in the afternoon on Wednesday. Library outings or adventures with friend on Friday. Yard work and house work on Saturday. Just surviving on Sunday. Swimming any place we can squeeze it in. Tons of play in between.

August 22nd - August 28th

365.2: WEEK 33

For the first time since the beginning of the year, I have missed a day. I did not touch my camera. I did not capture a moment. I did not take one single photo. Thursday was hard. As I normally do, I began the day by checking my email. I hadn't even greeted the littles for the day, business as usual. I had one email in my professional account; an email from a client of five and a half years. I've been capturing them since their daughter was 3 months old. Oh how I love that little family. I hadn't seen them since the first of the year, when I photographed their long awaited newborn baby boy. Expecting a request for a fall session, I stopped dead in my tracks when I read the message. Their sweet baby boy had passed away unexpectedly the week before. SIDS. Taken shortly after turning 6 months old. I broke down. It was an all-around awful day. One where I didn't care to photograph our comings and goings. So instead, I am sharing an image from his newborn session. He was a precious little guy and will be missed by so many.
Outside of this devastating loss, our week has been relatively normal. Abandoned naps. Breathing treatments. Missing teeth. Bittersweet reflections. Playful waterfalls. Donut runs. Little bookworms.

August 15th - August 21st

365.2: WEEK 32

HALLELUJAH, school is in. We've had a summer filled with awesome adventures, but saying that I was beyond ready for school to resume would be an understatement. I cannot even begin to describe how much easier it is having only half at home; I feel like I can conquer the world with only three in tow. Not to mention the school year means everyone who's at home naps. Oh, how I've missed this solitude.
Anyway. This past week was chaos. Meet the teacher for our kindergarten with curriculum night the same day. A trip to The Soda Shop for cookies and pop to celebrate the end of summer break and the beginning of a new school year. THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. Torrential downpours resulting in flooding resulting in half of the school being late on their second day. The littlest three helping plant a new [partially edible] garden after I killed their first. Family temple day with the mr. and some of his family. Being glutened by a supposedly safe restaurant. Again.

August 8th - August 14th

OVERNIGHT

I'm pretty sure that we all know that I am crazy and impulsive. So it shouldn't come as any surprise that I basically up and went to California for an overnight on a whim about a week and a half ago. Rented a hotel room (**more about that after the pictures), brought along my teenage neighbor friend, and surprised the littles with one last beach trip before the start of school. The trip was full of all sorts of memories, nearly all of them being good. Top of the list: discovering new beaches in Sand Diego, dinner with my BFF of 16 years and her family, and donuts on the beach before heading home. And as crazy as it was, I wouldn't change a thing. Including being refused my prepaid hotel room...
** So hotel. 20 hrs before heading out on my adventure, I looked online for a place to stay. Cheap, easy, and close. Priceline directed me to a Super 8 hotel in National City; I found a 2 queen bed room, which would be enough room for me, Mimi, and my littles. I booked it - without the option of specifying the number of travelers. NBD, I could deal with that on-site. We arrived in the San Diego area well before check-in, but I wanted to get a feel for the area so we stopped by the hotel. I've heard of hotels adding a late fee for travelers checking in too late, so to be sure, I decided to ask. None of the phone numbers listed on my itinerary or online were correct. I pulled into the parking lot shared with a sketchy 7-11, parked, went in, and asked the receptionist. No late fee, phew. Seeing that the ONLY entrance into the hotel was directly through the lobby AND knowing that I have a billion kids, I also inquired about additional guest fees - which prompted him to ask how many were in my party. Myself, a teen, and six small children. "You cannot stay here." Our party exceeded the number of occupants per room. When I asked if there was anything that I could do to stay, he told me that I could rent another room. But I couldn't because there was not an additional 18+ adult with me, so... no. Refund? Prepaid room so... no. I calmly walked out to the car before calling the mr. slightly hysterical. I also called my BFF (who was also traveling seperately to San Diego) and told her of my situation. She urged me to call Priceline, which I did. The lady, while pleasant, was not helpful. She told me that I could rent an additional room, but then was hesitant as there was only one adult in the party. She called the hotel to see if they could relocate me to another hotel, but they could not. She again told me that I could rent an additional room, to which I inquired about an adjoining room with a door. They could not confirm an adjoining room with a door until I committed to buy an additional room. Umm... SIX SMALL CHILDREN. Not going to commit unless I know I will be with them. A dozen "I'm sorry, ma'am, but...". A half dozen calls on my behalf to the hotel. Nothing. I asked about a refund. I mean, the hotel rejected ME, its not as if I was a no-show. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but...". No. Well yes. But a refund comes with a penalty fee, which in your case would be the entire amount of booking. Awesome. I was a bit heated by the end of our 30 minute call and ended it by informing her that scathing reviews would be left for stranding a mother and her small children. Because, I'm sorry, but that is unacceptable. Luckily, I have a family friend who lives in the Los Angeles area, so we just made the drive up the coast that night to stay with them. But Priceline and Super 8 will never have my business. Nor any other cheap hotel, for that mater. Home Away, for life.

GLOW AWAY

Our last Friday Fun Day has long since passed, but boy was it a fun one. Glow stick swim party with friends and family. We kicked off the night with pizza followed by pool play. Once the sun began to set, hundreds of glow sticks were popped and dropped into the pool. A couple dozen glow balloons were inflated and tossed in, as well. After a while, we took a little break for some otter pops, but a storm blew in before we could return to the pool. The mr. and I jumped in and quickly retrieved the glow sticks from the bottom of the pool before everyone was ushered inside. Once dry, the kids were given all of the glow sticks to play with in the toy room; it basically turned into a rave in that tiny room before the end of the night. So many happy screams... And can we just note that my oldest had a tonsillectomy TWO DAYS before this party? Eating pizza and swimming like NBD.