7 Quick Takes about Looking Like a Little Kid, Back to School, and a Schnauzer Discovery

It's 7 Quick Takes Friday! How was your week?

—1—

Our Labor Day weekend was just the right mix of having fun and getting stuff done. I cleaned out so many closets.

We also biked a rail trail near us which takes you to an ice cream place after about 4 miles. It was a hot day and the ice cream melted fast, though. Good thing we were outside.

Impressively, he ate while leaning over the grass and didn't get anything on himself except for his hand. And wrist. And a little bit on his arm. And all over his face.

—2—

The other day my 10-year-old hugged me and then giggled, "Hey Mommy, I come up to your chin just like you come up to Daddy's chin!"

I looked down at her and saw the she was right. The small child was hugging me with the top of her tiny little head just level with my jaw, the same relative height as me to my husband. 

Horrified, I turned to Phillip and asked, "Is this what I look like to you? How can you take me seriously??"

He just laughed and said, "Kind of."

My daughter is growing so fast she'll probably be as tall as me soon. The other day I had to run out to the garage for a second so I slipped on the first pair of flip flops I saw by the door and realized that (1) they were hers and (2) they fit.

—3—

Our pet rats are getting... weird in their old age. 

They keep sleeping in really bizarre positions. I imagine it's because elderly rats, like elderly people, get achy and usually have some body part or other that is hurting them. (I myself am sleeping on my back for the first time in my life to relieve the discomfort of suspected bursitis in my shoulder.)

So I get it, but even so it's unnerving to walk by the cage and see something like this:

Lying on her back with her feet in the air, cardboard house flipped upside down and being used as a blanket. We didn't pose them like this. They actually chose to sleep this way.

This is why it's become a normal occurrence for someone to walk by the cage, then stop to tap the bars and say "Piper, are you still alive?" before continuing on their merry way.

—4—

Phillip is our go-to tech guy in the house, so when I realized I wasn't getting the texts people said they'd sent me over the weekend, I immediately went to him.

"Why am I not getting texts?" I asked him.

My teenager sitting nearby looked up and helpfully suggested, "Because you don't have any friends?"

I laughed and answered, "Well, yes, I mean besides that."

—5—

School started up this week for my kids. 

This year more than ever, stepping back into the madness of our regular fall schedule feels like getting shot out of a cannon. One minute we were having fun on vacation, and the next minute I'm running around at 6:30 AM throwing shoes to my kids and yelling "Why would I  know where your lunchbox is?!?" 

It's probably even more disorienting for my 14-year-old, who stayed behind on our last family vacation for a "boys' retreat" with the Evans cousins and got home jetlagged about 18 hours before the start of his first class.

All is can say is, thank goodness it's Friday. We all need naps.

—6—

After sending the little kids back to public school, I also started homeschool with my 11th grader. By the end of last year, she was so burnt out she could hardly stand it and asked to homeschool. 

Luckily, 11th grade was coincidentally the same year I homeschooled her older sister so we're reusing a lot of the same curriculum (taking my older daughter's criticisms of it in mind to make some tweaks.)

While I know now that no schooling system is perfect, I feel confident we can make this work and more importantly, that she can fill her tank back up this year and focus on enjoying learning. In fact, after I finish this post we're headed on a history field trip to the war history museum. Wish us luck.

—7—

This actually happened last week, but I have to mention something my son said while we were visiting Phillip's family on vacation. 

His sister and brother-in-law's have this miniature schnauzer puppy named Walt. Walt preferred taking naps on Grandpa Evans's lap, but if Grandpa wasn't around then Walt decided Phillip was a good second choice and slept in his lap instead. 

After it happened a few times, I commented on it and my 8-year-old nodded, "Yeah, Walt likes old men."

Me trying to change the subject ASAP.

The night before we left, we saw something really strange. We stayed at a resort for just that night, and someone in the pool area brought their dog on a leash. It looked exactly like Walt, but blown up to 100 times his actual size. It was as big as a Mastiff.

I was so intrigued at what this giant schaunzer could be that I went and asked the owner what kind of dog it was. He said it was — wait for it — a giant schnauzer. That's right. I had no idea that breed existed.

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