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Coffee Talk 08.19.18

Good morning, friends! What a week it’s been…

We had our closets installed on Monday in the pouring rain, and areas all over the Philly suburbs were flooded — including my beloved King of Prussia Mall. We all stayed home and off the roads, and then the sun came out on Tuesday and promptly dried everything out.

It’s taken me most of the week to get my closet organized the way I want it, and I think I’m done… until it’s time to switch over to my fall wardrobe.

On Tuesday, Alison came over and we shot a ton of looks for the blog. It feels so good to be set with new content for the next couple of weeks! I’ve been reworking old content all month, for lack of anything else to post. That’s actually been good, though. Those posts needed to be updated anyway, and by republishing them, they get more eyes on them than if I’d just updated them and left them in my archives to be found by Pinterest and Google searches.

Wednesday was my youngest child’s Middle School Open House, where she got to find her locker and her classrooms and walk through her class schedule and get acclimated. She saw a bunch of friends — and I got reacquainted with some moms I knew back in her preschool days, which was cool. They’re all back together at the middle school after being at different elementary schools for the past 7 years.

This one is by far the most social of my 3 kids, and I expect her to participate in all of the events the middle and high school years have to offer, so that should be fun.

It occurred to me this week that with my middle child homeschooling, I’m missing out on a lot of the typical teenage activities with her — she won’t have any more back-to-school nights, choir concerts, parent-teacher conferences, or school dances. And while she will have a high school graduation ceremony, it won’t be the same… I won’t know anyone, and the location won’t be familiar or full of memories. That really hit me at my son’s high school graduation last spring. I remember looking at my youngest and saying, The next time I do this, it will be with you! 

It’s weird to realize that while I’m used to going through all of the typical parenting milestones three times, for these iconic high school years, I’m only getting to experience them twice.

It’s okay, though. Allowing her to do a cyber charter school at home has turned out to be one of the best parenting decisions I ever made. She’s never been happier or more confident, and at this point she plans to continue through the rest of her high school career. (She’s in 10th grade.)

Anyway. As if that wasn’t enough to process in one one week, we had a gathering at our house on Thursday night with good friends from our former neighborhood, and then we packed up my son and moved him into his college dorm on Friday morning.

As it turned out, it was all a bit anticlimactic because there weren’t a lot of other kids moving in. Classes don’t start until next week, so Friday was only move-in day for the band kids, as far as I know — maybe for some of the sports teams too, but we didn’t see a lot of action. In a way, that was nice. There was no waiting for elevators or trying to squeeze our way through the narrow hallways with all the other kids and family members moving their stuff in.

We only had a two-hour window to get things taken care of, and we ended up spending an hour of that on a Target run to get a rug, so I was only able to make his bed for him before it was time for him to go to his first band practice. I left him with the rest of the room to set up and decorate on his own time, but he doesn’t like me fussing over him anyway, so that worked out fine. Plus his room is really small, and there wasn’t enough space for all of us to be in there for long. Hopefully he’ll take some time to hang his pennants and posters and unpack his clothes… but it’s up to him now!

It wasn’t terribly hard to leave, and I think that’s partly because I didn’t have to walk away and leave him in his dorm. Instead, we drove him and his roommate over to the music center and dropped them off for band practice, where there was only time for a quick good-bye in the car. Paul and I agree that it feels like we just dropped him off at summer camp.

Here at home, I’ve had some melancholy moments, but it really doesn’t seem that final, and he’s not that far away. Plus he’s with a friend, and he seemed happy and confident when we left, so I’m not worried about him adjusting or finding his tribe. And we get to go back down next weekend to see the marching band perform, so I’m looking forward to that. I hope we get to see him afterwards and maybe take him out for dinner, but we’ll have to play that by ear, so to speak! He may not be available, and if not, that’s fine too. I’m just trying to go with the flow and let him have as much independence as he wants.

And despite all of that, my crazy emotion-filled week wasn’t over yet!

We only had a few hours at home Friday afternoon before it was time to head over to the high school for the marching band parents’ preview night, where my 7th grader performed for the first time in the middle school marching band. That should have been a fun night, albeit a tad bittersweet, but this rainy summer got us again, and they had to move the performances indoors due to thunderstorms in the area.

So instead of enjoying a nice summer night in the football stadium, we had to crowd into the high school auditorium, and the 3 marching bands (there is a combined one for the elementary schools, then a middle school band and a high school band) performed there — without the marching, obviously.

My daughter is the one on the marimba. Evidently they were told to look serious, lol! And I don’t know why she doesn’t wear a hat.

She the only kid on mallets this year, so she will be by herself in the pit, but she doesn’t mind too much. She’s been able to make friends with kids in other sections, and she didn’t want to do the marching part anyway. She was intimidated by learning a whole routine, although she has been participating some when they’re practicing, and she’s learning that it’s not as hard as she had feared.

Saturday was spent visiting the in-laws and back-to-school shopping, and last night we all crashed in the family room and watched The Devil Wears Prada. My poor husband… he’s already bemoaning the fact that he’s the only male in the house now. He is going to get overruled on ev-er-y-thing. Haha!

As for today, I had a nice 3-mile run this morning and church afterwards. It’s a dreary day, so perfect for napping, but that may not be in the cards. I’ve got some tidying up to do around the house, and I’m going to try to bribe Paul into replacing our master bedroom ceiling fan — our new one arrived yesterday, and I can’t wait to get it installed. We have a prayer meeting tonight, and then tomorrow it starts all over again. It will be our last week before school starts for all 3 kids, but they’re all pretty much set with clothes and school supplies, so I’m hoping for a fun and relaxing week. The weather is looking up, so I plan to enjoy the pool and savor the last days of summer.

Anyway! That’s the latest from me. I hope this next week is a little less eventful than last, but I can’t complain. Everyone seems to be in a good place, and I’m ready to get back to a routine and find our new normal.

Have a great rest of your day!

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32 Responses

  1. Your closet looks amazing! You now have more space for your clothes. And, look how organized! Mine starts out like that at the beginnings of each season but quickly the colours get out of place. At least it stays organized according to sleeveless, short sleeve, long sleeve, etc. I like to think if it was bigger it would be easier, but…no. 
    You had a busy week with getting your son to college and your daughter to school plus your closet, blog, etc. You’re one busy mom! 
    Looking forward to your ankle boot update. Oh, and I bought a pair of jeans with a touch of embroidery on one thigh. Are they out this year?

    1. I’m not sure. They definitely were trending last season so probably still good. 🙂 My closet stays fairly organized, but the colors do get out of place at times. I clean it up often, though, since I’m always cycling clothing in and out due to my job.

  2. It sounds like you are in a good place with all of the changes going on at home and with your children. From my vantage point here in front of my computer, it looks like you have handled everything with grace.

  3. Loved this newsy update!  Having been through this phase already, it’s amazing how long ago those days were already!  The days may seem long, but the years are short!
    Your closet is fabulous ❤️

  4. Wow!  Busy may be an understatement!  😲🤣

    Have you ever done a blog post on homeschooling and why you chose to go that route for your one daughter and not the other two?  How easy / difficult was/is it on her and you?  Or maybe that’s too personal?  If so thats ok.  

    I hope your week coming up is filled with beautiful relaxing days.  😊 😎 

    1. I mentioned it when I was going through it. She just never liked school, and this is something she asked to do for years. We knew other people doing it, and finally I decided to let her try. It was an adjustment, but she was immediately happier than she had ever been before, and I knew it was the right decision for her. The second year got easier. This will be her third year, and it’s 10th grade, so I just hope she can handle the assignments… I have a tutor who comes in for 2 hours, 2x a week to help with the bigger assignments, but mostly Language Arts and History. She may need someone who can help with math and science this year, so we’ll see how that goes. Sometimes I help her but I’m hoping not to do much more of that. As the classes get harder, the less I can really be of help.

  5. I was wondering if I had missed your post this morning.  Your closet looks very nice and orderly.  Are you good at keeping it that way?  Was Paul satisfied with what you had done in his closet?  When your daughters band is on the field, will she stay in one spot?  I am not familiar with the instrument she is playing.  Most boys are a lot more laid back about their space than girls are.  Isn’t it wonderful that cyber school is an option now!  I hope you were able to get the ceiling fan put up along with a nap.  Poor Paul!  He better get used to being outnumbered.  Have a wonderful night!

    1. Yes, I usually keep it pretty neat. What happens is things get thrown on the floor. 🙄 And yeah, Paul loves his side. He’s not good at organizing so he was happy I went ahead and put his together for him. His is the one that will get messy, but now I don’t have to look at it! 🎉

  6. Love your new closet and wishing your kids an amazing and wonderful school year! 
    My daughter starts back to college a week from Monday but she lives at home and commutes everyday but I won’t see much of her between school, work and her boyfriend. If you think the primary school years go fast; the college years seem to go even faster. Your son will be home more than you think. Lol 

  7. You did a wonderful job organizing your closet – and so quickly. What hangers are you using? I love the white because they show up so nicely.

  8. I am absolutely drooling over your closet!  So spacious and well organized!  I’m curious though— I’ve always kept my shoes in boxes and purses in a drawer,  I love how accessible your are sitting on shelves, but how do you keep them from getting all dusty?

    1. I pay my daughter to dust. 😉 The shelves get dusty too, and my old closet had the dark wood shelves, so they really showed dust. I do have my more expensive suede shoes in boxes up on a high shelf, and one of my nicest handbags is in a dustbag. I use most of them often enough that they don’t get too dusty, but sometimes I have to wipe it off real quick when I grab one to go.

      1. Good idea!  Think my dream closet would have a shoe cabinet—with glass doors so you could see all the shoes but they wouldn’t get dusty!  Lol

  9. You are so real and open Jolynne. I look forward to your blog everyday but especially your Coffee talks on Sunday! It sounds like all your kids are doing well which in turn helps make the adjustments easier on Mom and Dad. You have done a wonderful job raising them! Your closet looks so nice and I’m looking forward to your blog on booties. X O

  10. Your closet looks amazing. I am impressed with how much you accomplished in it with the college send off and middle school band event. I always enjoy your Coffee Talk and catching up with your family happenings. I am missing your house updates. It was fun to folllow along on your new home adventure. Thanks for all you do 

    1. There’s just not much to share lately as far as house updates. 🙂 I’ve been at a bit of a standstill with the company we had for a week and then getting my son off to college. Later this week my family room curtains get hung, and my office floors get installed on Friday. YAYAYAY! I also want to get curtains ordered for bedroom and office, so I”m working on that. Oh and we’re working on my daughter’s room… so a lot coming up! 🙂

  11. Wow!   Now THAT was a Coffee Talk!   Talk about  crazy weekend for you!  I liked that life would fall back into a routine once the school activities started when our girls were in school.  Back in the day (I seem to say that a lot these days), I used a Lang Pocket Calendar for the girls activities.  I even had to color code it. Our daughters are 2 years apart and each did 3 sports, plus school clubs. And, to add even more miles on our vehicle, they also helped out with the boys activities, one was a trainer with the football team, & the other did stats & videography for the boys basketball team. We were NEVER home.  We ate in every gymnasium/football stadium around – cold pizza & steamed hotdogs were a staple for us!  And I wouldn’t change a thing.  You’ve got so many more great memories coming your way, especially with the marching band at the high school & college level.  So sit back & hold on!  

  12. Have you looked into homeschooling support groups and/or co-ops in your area? Here in NC we have groups that offer so many of the traditional high school activities, incluidng proms, student council, sports teams, group classes, field trips, etc. Neither of my kids, who are both in college now, felt like they missed out. It’s nice to have some mom support too!

    1. Yeah, she has no desire for anything like that. In her words, “I hate people, that’s why I don’t go to school.” Ha! (She really does not hate people, and she’s actually quite social. She just hates the riff-raff and the confusion of a traditional classroom.) I don’t feel she is missing out. I just sort of feel that I am — if that makes sense. And it’s not even missing out, it’s more like I just have to adjust my expectations. As a mom of 3, I’m used to getting to do these things 3x, and I forget sometimes I won’t get to do some of those same things with her. Oh the other hand, I enjoy having her home with me, and we’ve really gotten closer as she’s been doing schooling at home. So it’s all good. 🙂

  13. Love your closet.. My ideal closet would have my fall and winter clothes  on one side and my spring and summer on the other… the changing of the seasons with your clothes is exhausting .. Maybe someday 😉😉.

    1. I guess, but I also hate having stuff in there that I don’t wear. My daughter did that, though. Her new room has 2 closets (no clue why) and she has a winter closet and a summer closet. 🙂

  14. My daughter is away at school so now it just me, my husband and my son. I sympathize with Paul I’m out numbered. I have wrangle up my inner testosterone. I’m learning a lot about sports…that’s all they watch! Lol 
    Have a great week

    1. Haha, I would hate that! But then again, my dad and brother always watched sports, so I find something comforting about a sports game playing in the background — either in the car or in the house.

  15.  Im with you on the emotional  week. I had a crazy week at work.  Then on Thursday I  took my daughter to the high school to get her schedule and walk thur her schedule. I asked her if she was excited. She said no and  do you think I can transfer to a different school.  Its crazy I wonder if she would do better going to online school . Where she doesnt have to deal w the  riffraff. Hmmm

  16. I have been reading your blog for a while and love your gentle and real life ‘chats’ and I love that you bring your christian faith into the Sunday posts. Thank you and blessings from Australia 

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