Git 'er done...

It was quite the week around our house.  Carter started at camp #2 for the summer, and Jacob was off to basketball camp at the University of Rochester.  After we'd decided to split the summer between Carter's old daycare and the fancier Doodle Bugs, we were eagerly awaiting this week for the switch.  His time at his old daycare was fine--it was nice to have some familiar faces, and they seemed to keep him busy enough, but I never felt like he was getting much out of it.  Only one field trip, a few lackluster theme weeks, and not even a lot of projects.  But since Doodle Bugs, which we've sort of pined after since we toured four years ago and marveled at the offerings, somehow became affordable, we figured it was worth a test run.  I'm not sure if their price went down or everyone else went up, but we were excited to have the chance to try it out.  He did a couple field trips this week--the science museum and the yogurt place next door--and seemed to enjoy their water balloon day and his outside time.  So far so good, I guess!

As for Jacob, he did a full week basketball camp on campus instead of his usual sports camp at the medical center gym, and he was very eager to spend entire days playing basketball.  He definitely seemed to enjoy it and was sad to get back to normal this morning.  I don't think he was quite as successful as *he* planned on being, but he did really well based on his evaluation at the end of the week.  They played full days with only a break for lunch and a couple water breaks, doing skills and scrimmages.  He even got to eat "normal" lunch in the dining hall, which was exciting for him (and me, who's been packing his lunch nearly every day since the start of Kindergarten)!

We had another session of Carter's lacrosse on Tuesday, then on Wednesday we headed downtown in the evening for the farewell party for a downtown restaurant that's been the Knighthawks' home base for years.  It was where we celebrated a couple championships and Craig went to countless postgames.  We went to one wedding and one vow renewal there, too.  It's sad to see it go, but the downtown climate got too difficult for them financially and it's time to move on to something new.  It was sad for everyone, but the owners are looking forward to their next phase.  I did get to finally meet Craig's boss, his wife, and their kids, which was fun.  Our kids were pretty grumpy, of course--apparently Jacob didn't get enough basketball that day and really wanted to play more at home--but it was fun to catch up with some of our Knighthawks fan friends in the middle of the off-season.  Oh, and it's rare I get to wander around downtown these days, so I took advantage of the walk to and from the restaurant...

Little details...

Rochester's own Frederick Douglass

Genesee River looking toward High Falls

Times Square Building, featuring the Wings of Progress

Mercury

On Thursday Craig left for Los Angeles, to cover the biggest box lacrosse tournament in the country.  It spanned from youth up to college, and Craig wrote some articles for the organization putting it on.  It was a neat opportunity for him, but we're very much looking forward to seeing his face when we all wake up in the morning tomorrow!  He even got to sneak in a trip to Disneyland, and I'm sure he very much enjoyed his time away from our bickering boys!  Of course, that left me as the sole referee back at home.  Yes, they made me absolutely crazy because the teasing and battling and nit-picking nearly never stopped, but we managed to fit in a decent weekend nonetheless.

I took off work on Friday because we get two "free" Fridays off and I was ready for a day off (and running out of time).  It wasn't ideal since I was flying solo and therefore had to get up at my normal time and drop both kids off in two separate towns, but it worked out because I was able to start my to do list early!  I had to register Carter for the afterschool program, call Spalding (finally) to order parts for our hoop that was damaged back in May, and start packing for our weekend trip.  I also did a load of laundry--the last batch of my winter clothes that had been hanging around the laundry room (literally) for about a month and a half waiting to be washed and put away...just in time to pull them out again in probably another month and a half.  Sigh.

But my big project for the day was to start sorting through the mess of baby/kid stuff in the crawl space.  As the kids have outgrown things, from toys to clothes to gear, I have essentially just packed it away in the crawl space.  Even things like sippy cups and extra supplies, just because I had this irrational fear of accidentally ending up pregnant and kicking myself for not keeping that stuff around.  In this round I didn't even touch the dozen-plus bins of clothes, but I figured I could start by tackling the problem spot--the precarious pile of toys and gear that was unorganized and almost impossible to climb through to reach our outdoor hose shut-off valve twice a year.  Last week when I found myself with a free afternoon after my work's annual baseball game summer event, I forced myself to stop at the consignment store to ask about their process and policies.  I knew I should use my day off for that, and if I didn't stop in then, I was afraid I'd lose my nerve.  I was also afraid that if I waited until the last minute, I'd find out it wasn't a good option and then I'd be stuck with either a lot of stuff with no destination, or a day off with no solid purpose.  So I did it, and psyched myself up for Friday.

Anyway, in that unruly pile was a bunch of toys, two high chairs and a booster seat, two potties, a bathtub, a bag of stuffed animals, multiple bags of sippy cups and bottles, a stack of crib sheets and changing pad covers, a bin of bibs and burp cloths, two baby carriers, a vibrating seat, and so much more.  Despite the limited space (it's cramped back there already and I lost count how many times I bumped my head on the giant beam running through there), I started piles--things I figured I could sell at the consignment store, things I was keeping, things I knew I needed to sort through more, and things I knew I couldn't sell or donate through standard means, but that still seemed too valuable to toss.  That last group includes the bathtub, potties, and the linens.  I knew the consignment store wouldn't take the hygiene items, and I figured the bibs and burp cloths probably needed some de-staining and washing (much like the baby clothes did when I pulled them out before Carter was born), but they still have a lot of wear left and I'm wondering if there are other places that might take them--like shelters or places that help young moms, or maybe even a daycare would take extra linens as backups.  But it was easy enough to pull out the toys and some of the gear.  I wiped the toys down, corralled loose parts, and even remembered to track down instruction manuals for most of them.  I set aside what I wanted to take to the consignment store, left another batch of stuff to clean, and set aside a few more things that probably just need to be donated elsewhere.  The high chairs were probably my biggest annoyance, as the chairs themselves are in great shape, but the straps (which generally can't be removed) are a bit stained.  I'm still going to work on them, and maybe even ask the consignment store if stained straps are normal or not, and hopefully eventually I can find a spot for those as well.  But in the end I took over a solid carload and a half to consignment.

I won't lie.  It was hard.  Maybe not as hard as I thought, but hard.  Most of the toys were of the electronic variety--all of the singing, light-up, interactive, battery-guzzling toys that made up birthdays and Christmases for years.  Most of them got plenty of use and were well-loved, and yet most were in really good shape.  But what are we going to do with them?  It occurred to me as I went through this process that the electronic stuff just doesn't have the same staying power as most of the non-electronic toys that my mom saved for us.  I actually only set aside three things: the Incrediblock, a shopping cart/kitchen, and the Little People parking ramp.  Yes, two of those have electronic elements, but even if those parts don't work 15 years from now, they're still fun toys.  The Incrediblock (which goes with the always adorable Peek-a-blocks) was my much beloved eBay purchase after it (temporarily) got discontinued, but it worked out perfectly because I got lots of blocks in addition to the big block for way cheaper than any of it would have been in the store.  The shopping cart was Carter's impulse half birthday purchase when he was obsessed with the shopping cart at daycare.  He also seemed to enjoy playing with the kitchen there, but because he was a boy I was hesitant to go all out with a full kitchen set (I know, sexist), so when I found both of them combined into one toy for a fraction of the price, I was sold!  The Little People parking ramp is just solid, old school fun.  I'm not sure it will endure quite as well as my Little People stuff, but I'll keep it around anyway.  To be fair, there are still an absurd amount of toys around the house, and a good fraction of those will probably be kept once the time comes to pack them away.  Those toys are generally the more universal, timeless ones, which is also why many of them are still in active rotation.  The Legos, Duplos, Hot Wheels, Playmobil, magnetic tiles, and maybe the Imaginext (?) will be packed away for the boys, to bring out years from now when they have their own kids or are ready to move them to their own house, or to keep at our house for visiting grandchildren.  I loved the toys at my grandma's house, and my kids have loved the toys at their grandparents' house.  Someday, hopefully it will be our turn.  As long as we have the space, I'm cool with it. 

I took the first carload, and there were a couple other people selling at the same time so I offered to go get my second load and come back in a bit.  By the time I brought that load, it was nearly time to leave to pick up Jacob from his last day of camp.  They still needed to tally things up, so I said I'd be back at 4:30.  I had a few minutes to kill before I had to be there, and I was hot from all the loading and unloading, so I stopped for my guilty pleasure, a Speedy Freeze from the gas station, and headed to campus.  I found my parking spot to be rather interesting, as I could see a little of everything from there.

Way in the back behind the trees is Wilson Commons, built in the 60s and designed by famous architect I.M. Pei.  In the foreground LeChase Hall, home of the Warner School of Education and one of the newest buildings on campus.  It vaguely looks like the original buildings on campus, but with a modern twist.

To my side was the fraternity quad, home of fancy looking fraternity houses that I think fall under the Georgian style of architecture.

It made for a nice little quiet moment in the midst of a busy day.  On the way back to Greece, Jacob obsessed over his basketball evaluation and I tried to explain to him that having all 3s, 4s, and 5s was really good.  He was disappointed they lost the championship game, but all in all it was a great week and he's really wishing there were more weeks of that camp!

We stopped back at the consignment store to cash out.  I ended up with $58, which is more than I would have had from just donating, but not a lot for all that I sold back.  Less work than a yard sale, though!  I took one last photo of the bulk of our stuff, and that was it!

In the end, we said good-bye to the coolest little ride-on car that popped balls out the front, the jumperoo, the little baseball tee, the ball popper, the mini-basketball hoop, a bag of ball pit balls, a soft-sided bus, a singing fire truck, a shape sorter, a corn popper, two baby laptops, two puzzles, a Halloween costume, an Elmo's World cell phone, and a couple extra random toys.  They gave back a vibrating rocker, two talking Elmos, the lion walker, the cutest little piano toy, a rolling music-playing ball, a Moby wrap, a shopping cart cover, and some other random little stuff.  Most of it will be donated, but I'm trying to find homes for some.  I'm giving my new mom co-worker the walker, the piano, the ball, and a tummy time mat that she requested before I took anything over.  I'm glad they could go to a good home.  A couple days later, the whole thing still makes me sad, but I know it had to happen.

We made a quick Wegmans run to pick up ingredients for the food I was making for reunion #2, then picked up Carter.  After dinner, I decided we needed to mark one more thing off the to-do list.  We hopped in the car and went over to Walmart to do school shopping.  Carter only needed a handful of things, but Jacob needed a couple dozen.  It was not the easiest trip, but it really had to be done before the folder and binder colors became limited.  And even then, we left without two two-inch binders because they didn't have a green one and the only blue ones were super heavy duty ones and therefore quite expensive.  We also still need to get Carter some headphones, but Five Below is the place to go for those!  I was mentally and physically exhausted by the end, but hey, at least it was close to done.  And after one half-successful Target trip on Sunday (we got locker shelves), I ordered the binders from Target online and they'll be here by the end of the week.  But anyway, when we came out from Walmart, I was amazed by the view.  This doesn't really do it justice...

My real camera couldn't capture the fading sunset, so I used my phone which made everything pixelated but sort of artsy.  The sliver of an orange-ish crescent moon was magical.  The parking lot lights made it all awkward, but the funky lighting in the trees ended up sort of cool.

On Saturday morning, we had two tasks on the agenda--the library and the uniform store.  I was determined to get the uniform ball rolling by going to the store that has the shirts we need.  Jacob tried on a couple to get the sizing down, and despite his general lack of excitement about the whole situation, he handled it well and we ordered six--two polos, two short-sleeve oxfords, and two long-sleeve oxfords, one color of each available in each style.  We'll just have to feel out his use and see if we need more, or need to buy him a fleece down the road.  We still have pants and shoes to go, but it's a start.  At the library we had to take back our last load of books, renew Jacob's summer reading book, pick out book #2, and get Carter a new load of bedtime books.  Jacob is only a couple chapters away from finishing The Trumpet of the Swan.  I finished it on Friday.  While it's certainly not a 6th grader's style, it wasn't too bad by the end.  Weird, but cute enough.  He still needs to do his writing part, but we can work through that now that the book has been renewed.  I convinced him to pick a new book for #2.  It's pretty short and seems like an easy read, so we'll see how that goes.  It was actually one of the few our library had, but worst case scenario we can go back to the one he's already read.  But I think he'll be good!

Back at home, we ate lunch and finished packing up before heading to my family reunion.  Despite Jacob being a bit grumpy about the lack of basketball (as usual), we had a good time.  We played some corn hole and badminton, and I ate way too much and enjoyed time with a couple generations of cousins, plus my usual aunts and uncles.  The weather was perfect.  Carter nodded off pretty quickly in the car on the way to my parents'.  Sunday was just church, quick shopping, and a tasty lunch with my parents before loading up and heading out.  We stopped at the park on our way out of town so Jacob could try to play on his favorite court and Carter could get some playground time.  Shockingly, the court was free, but unfortunately Jacob kept getting freaked out by people nearby.  First he thought someone had a gun (!), and then he thought people were pointing at him and talking about him.  Not sure what was actually happening, but I gave Carter a solid 20 minutes on the playground before we got on the road.  Back at home, the kids wanted to do a movie night, but after no one could agree on a movie and I started freaking out about how messy the entire house was, we had a quiet night.  Not my best mom moment, but after a challenging weekend of wrangling them alone, my sanity needed some reinforcements, and the clean-up was needed.  Today was fine enough for a Monday, and I even fit in a workout.  Now I'm eagerly awaiting Craig's arrival.  He should be landing at any moment now.

Tomorrow is lacrosse for Carter and Jacob's first basketball game in a new league.  More on that soon, I'm sure!  Let's just hope this week can be as productive and fun as the weekend was!