Our street is torn up and being rebuilt. It has been in terrible shape for literally decades. Two years ago the street had so many potholes it looked like a war zone, and they filled so many holes they practically covered the whole street with cold mix asphalt. The repairs…

Last spring The Banana had an idea of having a real genuine birthday party to celebrate turning eighteen, since she had never really had a true birthday party with all the trappings, including party favor bags. I said, “Sure! Great! You plan it!” Henceforth, to celebrate turning 18 she invited…

Peanut Maximus loves his balance bike, and a few weeks ago I started taking him to Hartley to ride on the trails. I wasn’t sure how far we’d get, but it didn’t take long and he was zooming around a flat loop that has to be close to a mile…

The Banana has had plans to remove one of the sets of bunk beds in her room for months. All summer long no progress was made in this department because there never seemed to be a chunk of time when both she and Dr. Peds were not scheduled for something.…

It was the last Sunday Night at the Beach before school started! We drove down to the rocky beach. Access is still somewhat limited there, but we walked in and found a comfy stretch of rocks and water. The Banana helped Peanut Maximus walk in the water. He was soaked…

As we say goodbye this week to carefree, minimally scheduled summer days and hello to highly organized, maximally scheduled school days, I am reflecting on some of my favorite summer moments:

No one was overly cheerful about the first day back to school, including me. (I used to love it so much when I was a teacher and a student, but I hate it more and more every year as a parent!) Mr. TOF was off to eighth grade. I offered…

Peanut Maximus loves to sit in the front seat and get his hands on the steering wheel, and because it often keeps him occupied for a stretch of time, Mr. TOF is generally happy to comply. It is very good that this little guy has such a patient older brother.

The Banana was working a lifeguarding shift, but we picked up YaYa, purchased some chicken strips and chicken sandwiches, and drove down to the sandy beach. The waves were a little high, and you have to be careful at the sandy beach, so we did not get into the water.…