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Post by ovenrack on Jul 5, 2023 18:50:19 GMT -6
Arbitrary date new thread!
I’m stuck in a room with T and her 101° fever on this random 90° summer day. She can’t sleep. I wish I had eaten dinner before bedtime.
How’s your summer going?
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Post by ovenrack on Jul 5, 2023 19:02:18 GMT -6
My kids have been swimming a lot. None took serious lessons, ever, but all have managed to become comfortable in the water through continued visits to local ponds and lakes.
We do have a few one-off lessons coming up, mostly for T who is the youngest (5 now!) and still needs something to hold on to.
Summer is tiring. Being Fun Mom is tiring.
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sarenu
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Post by sarenu on Jul 6, 2023 7:05:29 GMT -6
My kids have been swimming a lot. None took serious lessons, ever, but all have managed to become comfortable in the water through continued visits to local ponds and lakes. We do have a few one-off lessons coming up, mostly for T who is the youngest (5 now!) and still needs something to hold on to. Summer is tiring. Being Fun Mom is tiring. Right there with you. F is great in the water, but is so fearless someone always needs to be with her. Even in the shallow end because she has no fear of going under the water and trying to swim. Lessons are in our future this fall. |
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sarenu
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Post by sarenu on Jul 6, 2023 8:42:52 GMT -6
So far we have:
Replaced the carpet in 3 rooms with wood flooring (pee smell is gone after removing drywall and subfloor in the dinning room).
Painted the dinning room, office, hallway, 3 closets, and a mess load of trim that either needed a fresh coat or wasn’t properly painted.
I’ve hemmed 12 curtain panels from IKEA. Still have 6 to go.
The laundry room is in process right now. We have the cabinets painted, trim removed, dry wall cut out (more pee and litter under the trim).
Working on a rug for the dinning room and then I want to order matting for pictures and get them up.
Next is F’s room since something was peeing in that closet as well. Then my office carpet is going to be ripped out and replaced with luxury vinyl cause pee smell in the closet as well.
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sarenu
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Post by sarenu on Jul 6, 2023 14:07:43 GMT -6
I have 5 vacation days planned this month.
It is not enough.
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mapleme
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Post by mapleme on Jul 6, 2023 17:10:32 GMT -6
We've got a lot going on this summer. We went to London right after school got out and it was fantastic. FIL died before we left and now we're going up to QC for his funeral this weekend. Having such a long window between death and funeral has been hard on DH. C's birthday is coming up. Then I'm going to to be vending at a hot sauce show. We have a trip with friends planned for mid August, and that will be great. My mom is supposed to visit for a couple weeks in late August, but she's having some health problems, so that's up in the air. DH and I were going to go on a couples trip while she was here, but now we can't plan for that. In September I have two business trips, including being invited to a round table and food tasting with Bernie Sanders, which is fun.
Plus all the summer camp shenanigans.
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Post by pbandj714 on Jul 7, 2023 7:45:16 GMT -6
Summer has been fun but so tiring. We've been a little more lax with bedtime for the bigs so I feel like I never really get time to myself. Post bedtime has always been my solice. Baseball was wild but that's wrapped up now. J and I have a long weekend trip away for our anniversary this month and I'm so excited! Trying to juggle summer camp hours, tutoring, baseball, work, all the things has been a lot. The first 2.5 weeks of August between camp and school will also be a lot in a different way. I am able to work remotely for those weeks with the big kids here. So a bit more relaxed with the running around but also trying to work with them here, ha.
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DGM
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Post by DGM on Jul 10, 2023 6:12:59 GMT -6
Our summer has been busy too with swim lessons and road trips to visit family in Seattle last month and San Diego this week. Our homeschool playgroup has been sparsely attended because of everyone else's busy summer schedule too so I really miss those mom friends. My kids haven't even asked about those friends since they see other kids at other places LOL.
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mapleme
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Post by mapleme on Jul 10, 2023 8:20:11 GMT -6
This summer feels crazy for everyone. Everyone I run into is all, "OMG THIS SUMMER." I don't know if it's crazier than it was pre-pandemic, or we are all just acclimating to the way it used to be back when we could go places and do things.
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mapleme
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Post by mapleme on Jul 10, 2023 8:25:12 GMT -6
Vermont is flooding. Our summer camp closed for the day out of concern for the roads. One of our other camps is already closed for tomorrow, so we might be SOL for tomorrow as well.
It turns out that it's a good day to find all the leaks in the roof though!
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DGM
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Post by DGM on Jul 10, 2023 20:16:03 GMT -6
Vermont is flooding. Our summer camp closed for the day out of concern for the roads. One of our other camps is already closed for tomorrow, so we might be SOL for tomorrow as well. It turns out that it's a good day to find all the leaks in the roof though! This is such a scary situation to be in. I hope your family and people stay safe 🙏 |
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mapleme
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Post by mapleme on Jul 11, 2023 7:39:17 GMT -6
Vermont is flooding. Our summer camp closed for the day out of concern for the roads. One of our other camps is already closed for tomorrow, so we might be SOL for tomorrow as well. It turns out that it's a good day to find all the leaks in the roof though! This is such a scary situation to be in. I hope your family and people stay safe 🙏 We're fine and so is the business. I'm actually really proud of all of the drainage work that I've done around my house, as I can see how much water it's just handling without issue. Basement is bone dry. My town, however is totally flooded. It's the second highest flooding ever recorded. The river is at 21 ft (15 is when the low lying parts of the town start flooding). The largest flood for the town was in 1927, when it was at 29 ft. In response to that, the state built a 115 ft dam (which yielded a very nice recreation area). That dam currently has 3 ft of capacity remaining (as of 9 am - at 4 am it had 6 ft of capacity), before they have to release the spillway. They have never released the spillway in the history of the dam, so they have no idea what damage will occur. The city also said that there is nowhere left for people to evacuate to (the roads are flooded/washed out), so they recommended that folks go to the upper stories of their buildings. I've heard since then that they opened up our middle school to gather people until buses can get to them, but the middle school is still near flood waters, so I'm not sure what that means if they release the dam (but it is directly next to the hill if people need to gain elevation quickly). ETA: We're on the backside of the valley where all of this is happening. We have a different river in our valley, which would still be affected, but not up as high as we are. |
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jnu76
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Post by jnu76 on Jul 12, 2023 11:24:12 GMT -6
Hi, everyone. I used to be on here quite a bit- not sure if anyone would remember me. I thought I’d check in when I saw that Montpelier is underwater. Mapleme, I’m glad you’re ok! I’m heading up to Killington this weekend to perform at a chamber music festival, but it looks like most of the flooding is a little further east.
It’s been quite a year. I got separated, bought a house and moved across town, and my divorce was finalized about a week ago. Coparenting is more cooperative and pleasant than being married was and the kids are adjusting very well. I feel better than I have in years.
As for summer, I just took my kids to Acadia National Park for a week and we had an amazing time.
I hope that everyone is doing well.
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nikkipal
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Post by nikkipal on Jul 12, 2023 12:20:42 GMT -6
I was just coming in to check on mapleme. I’m glad to hear that you all and your business are ok. I am so sorry for your town, the photos look so devastating. I pretty much occasionally lurk these days. We have had a good summer so far. We went to the beach and brought our dog along, and that was great. Good to know we can travel with her. M has been busy at camps, currently in theatre camp. She did a theatre camp last summer and just loves it. She’s been in 3 plays since then. End of the month she goes to Girl Scout camp, and will be gone for 5 days! Omg. Then school starts up again in 4 weeks. I can not believe that she will be in 4th grade. |
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mapleme
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Post by mapleme on Jul 12, 2023 18:16:18 GMT -6
Turns out that my business did flood. Not nearly as badly as some others though. There is a brook and a dirt road behind our building and the brook decided that the road would be happier in our parking lot. Muddy water also came about 1/2 way into our building. We finally got an excavator to dig the 4 inches of mud out of our driveway, but it looks like a bigger mess than ever. But it's drivable, and that's a win. We got most of the mud out of the building today. Most folks will be able to resume normal activity tomorrow, with a smaller crew working on the mud. We store everything off the floor, so we managed to only lose a little bit of cardboard.
I have a friend who has a business right on the river in Montpelier. She said that it's a total loss. The floors and at least 4 feet of wall will have to be ripped out. She lost all of her equipment. I know restaurants who keep their coolers in the basement and lost everything. Flood insurance doesn't cover basements at all. It is all just awful.
That said, this place is awesome. Masses of volunteers are helping businesses and residents clear out. 12 years ago we had devastating flooding statewide, and this flooding was worse. But this time, folks are all, "Ok, this again. I know what to do." And everyone is just doing it. Even the disaster relief folks said, at the height of the flooding, that they were busy, but it wasn't chaos. I just love how often this place shows me why it's my favorite place. I have no doubt that Vermont will figure out how to exist in this new normal.
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mc13
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Post by mc13 on Jul 12, 2023 19:28:51 GMT -6
Wow mapleme. I'm glad your business is ok, but so sorry about everything else in the area. It's heart warming to hear how everyone is coming together. |
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mc13
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Post by mc13 on Jul 12, 2023 19:33:21 GMT -6
We're having a "lazy" summer. No trips other than visiting my parents. R (8.5) started back with horseback riding and she amazes me every week. She rode the biggest horse in the barn last week and was asked to be in her first competition next month. E and A will be 7!! next month and are taking tumbling. I figured it they're going to be attempting flips, they should probably learn the proper way to do them. 🙃
The girls made a family summer bucket list so we've been working through that and swimming almost every day. It's been lovely.
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sarenu
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Post by sarenu on Jul 20, 2023 8:36:48 GMT -6
300 days sober today.
It feels nice.
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DGM
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Post by DGM on Jul 20, 2023 23:09:35 GMT -6
This summer feels crazy for everyone. Everyone I run into is all, "OMG THIS SUMMER." I don't know if it's crazier than it was pre-pandemic, or we are all just acclimating to the way it used to be back when we could go places and do things. This subject of busy summer came up tonight in a group of moms and grandmas. Someone pointed out for those of us who had only young kids in 2020, we are just now experiencing the general busy-ness of older kids. I like that perspective on it. |
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milano
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Post by milano on Aug 22, 2023 10:33:54 GMT -6
Just popping in to say that I have been thinking of all of you - I miss this place! Summer is winding down but it has been busy & fun, lots of beach time and several trips to visit family. We have 2 weeks until school starts so trying to make the most of what time we have left. I joined a travel agency in the spring and have been doing that part-time, which is fitting perfectly into the schedule of life right now. Hoping to post with more regularity once these kids get back to school!
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Post by pbandj714 on Aug 23, 2023 8:07:28 GMT -6
Just popping in to say that I have been thinking of all of you - I miss this place! Summer is winding down but it has been busy & fun, lots of beach time and several trips to visit family. We have 2 weeks until school starts so trying to make the most of what time we have left. I joined a travel agency in the spring and have been doing that part-time, which is fitting perfectly into the schedule of life right now. Hoping to post with more regularity once these kids get back to school! I was just thinking of you the other day! Glad you guys are having a good summer! We've been back to school for a week now and I'm thankful for the routine. |
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mapleme
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Post by mapleme on Aug 23, 2023 12:30:44 GMT -6
I miss you all too! We've had a summer full of trips and rain. We're a week away from the start of school and we're all looking forward to it. My mother was supposed to be visiting and watching the kids during the week of no-summer camps. But she had to cancel for health reasons and fortunately a neighbor was able to step in and help out. My kids are LOVING it. This neighbor has 4 kids, two of which are old enough to babysit and two are my girl's age. M called it a "week of playdates." I love how happily they are ending their summer.
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Post by rhymeswithdisco on Aug 24, 2023 6:37:30 GMT -6
My kids are back to school on Monday. I am so excited but summer went WAY too fast. They had a combination of camps, time at their dads house and downtime with me. I started a new job a few weeks back and we were supposed to spend this week at my parents cabin in the woods but things changed earlier this summer. We are rolling with it.
I have to say I am built for parenting older kids. I am LOVING these ages (9, 6, and 6). I can finally confidently take them all somewhere on my own. We've been to the beach, the pool, an amusement park, and on a small overnight road trip this summer.
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