We are settling into a nice little summer rhythm over here. The kids get up when they’d like, make their own breakfast, consult the day’s plan, then play outside for (at least) an hour. They come inside and are usually happy to scamper upstairs and work on something together: crafting a tiny lemonade stand for Mouse Town, playing school, constructing a fort, building with LEGOs, messing around in the kitchen. Around noon John and I break from work and we eat lunch together, then I read a chapter or two from our current readaloud. We’ll take a zip around the block if it’s not too hot. After lunch it’s quiet time for an hour and a half in their rooms (they usually read or listen to the Yoto, while Shep sometimes draws or plays with LEGOs and June sometimes plays with her American Girl). Once they’re released, June practices piano and they do any clean-up that needs doing, then they can watch a show or movie for 30 minutes to an hour as I finish out my work day. After that there’s time for a bit more play before the kids change into their suits and I pack dinner into our cooler. We eat in shifts poolside for two hours or so while the kids cycle through swim team practice, then it’s back home for quick showers and another chapter or two of our readaloud before a little solo reading in bed. Of course, not every day proceeds exactly like this — or as smoothly as this short litany makes it sound (especially now that, as of yesterday, Annie’s co-op has ended and she’s in the mix at home). But these are good days, and I’m grateful for them. More of this in July! (Most of) the completed watercolor landscape

Sweet summer! We’re in our last week of school but it feels like it’s already in full swing in some ways. All school-year extracurriculars are over, we have our summer planning TTT on Thursday (excited to fill these out!), we’ve printed out summer reading challenges, and our first swim meet is tonight – whee! Here’s what else we have planned this month… Wrapping paper courtesy of Annie + a watercolor penguin card by yours truly = a sweet Father’s Day package On my calendar:— Swim meets! Our neighborhood swim season has begun and it’s a fun vibe to spend many of our evenings at the pool surrounded by friends and neighbors. Since practice runs from 6-7:45pm across all three kids, we’ve packed sandwiches for dinner most nights alongside this 8-compartment bento box filled with fruit, veggies, pickles, chips, and cookies.— Father’s Day! I’m once again organizing a pastry bar from a local favorite cafe for the men at our church, and celebrating my own wonderful husband, Dad, and father-in-law.— Our 20th high school reunion! We fly to Connecticut later this month and can’t wait to squeeze our friends and revisit some of our favorite haunts on the shoreline. What I’m loving right now:— I picked up The Detective Dog from the library on a whim and it is a new family favorite picture book! The rhyme scheme is excellent (thank you, Julia Donaldson!) and the illustrations are equally charming. — I am late to the party but I recently made my first (and then second) purchase from Bookshop.org! If you, too, are late, their goal is to give readers the convenience of online shopping while supporting independent bookstores at the same time. You get to choose the local bookstore you’d like to support and they’ll earn 30% of the purchase

Our children have been gifted with incredible teachers at every level of education. From infant daycare, to Montessori preschool, to public elementary school, we have found wise, talented teachers happy to partner with us in educating our kids. Each has shaped their lives in ways that are already visible, but whose full impact we might not know for years. Grateful, grateful, grateful. Naturally, I wanted to find a way to keep these teachers close over the years, and that’s how we found our way to the graduation book tradition. You’re probably already familiar with it – parents choose a picture book and ask their children’s teachers to write a note in it each year, kind of like a yearbook. As a words gal, I love the idea of capturing memories and hopes for the future from these dear ones. June’s book now has several years of notes penned inside, and Shep’s has been broken in by his beloved preschool director. They’re both already on the short list of items I’d save in a fire. While this tradition isn’t a new idea, it’s become a beloved one in our family, and so I thought I’d share a bit about it today! How to organize a teacher picture book signing tradition Though this tradition requires a bit of sustained effort over many years (your child’s entire K-12 education!), it’s really an easy lift: once you’ve chosen a book (see below!), you simply have to produce it at the right time each year for the teacher to sign – and, perhaps more challenging, keep it safe all the months in between. (We keep ours in our children’s memory boxes.) Here’s the email I send to our kids’ teachers in late May: Hi [teacher name]! I hope you’re enjoying these last few days with

In March, I mentioned a trio of unwelcome disruptions to our family’s typically-stable life. Interestingly, all three arenas have experienced movement of some sort just one week into May. Not resolution, necessarily, not total healing, but movement — and as my physical therapist sisters like to say, motion is lotion. Sometimes, you just need to move forward, even if you’re not sure if it’s the right step, even if you’re sure it’s not a forever step. One tiny example? I now find myself an interim movement and music instructor :) After abruptly saying goodbye to our preschool (the preschool we’ve had children enrolled at for 8.5 years, sob), Annie just completed her first week at a short-term teacher-led and parent-organized co-op. We’re all chipping in as we can, and for our family, that mostly means bringing the snacks and leading parachute chaos every other Wednesday. Here’s what else we have on deck for May! The garden on April 20th and the garden yesterday! On my calendar:— Teacher Appreciation Week! We’re going with gift cards for a favorite shop in our cute downtown for our kids’ primary teachers, local ice cream shop gift cards for secondary teachers, and small Target gift cards for specials teachers. And hand-painted cards for all, inspired by Jodi’s ideas!— Mother’s Day! I’m organizing something special for the ladies at our church and celebrating my own wonderful mom and mother-in-law. — A weekend trip to Wilmington! The last time John and I visited I was a few weeks pregnant with June, so things will be a bit different this time around. The battleship, the beach, and some fun restaurants (here, here) are on our itinerary — recap to come in due time :) What I’m loving right now:— Let’s make this the John edition! I recently rounded