Alabama + Graffiti

(linking up with Steph and Jana for SUYB)

A Flicker in the Dark – Stacy Willingham ||  Whoa this book.  This one got my heart rate  up y’all.   Literally everyone is a suspect in this one, and my jaw fell to the floor so many times during this book.  This book was so well done, and kept me guessing until the very end.  I loved the suspense and all of the back stories that were woven into this one.  It was fun from start to finish.

Cultish – Amanda Montell ||  This book was so interesting.  I’ve always been intrigued by cults, but never really understood what could “qualify” as one.  The book mainly speaks of the importance of language when it comes to cults – and it delves from the serious ones, Heaven’s Gate, to things such as Soul Cycle diehards.  Definitely worth the read – my first non-fiction of the year.

The Therapist – B.A. Paris ||  I saw a lot of people that didn’t like this book, but it delivered for me.  I was hooked from the beginning, trying to figure out what had happened and what was going on.  It was the same as Paris books always are for me – quick and easy and good.

Notes on an Execution – Danya Kukafka || I really really loved this book.  It comes from the perspective of a prisoner on death row, and goes in the past to talk about his family and how he came to be where he is.  This one has stuck with me long after finishing it.

The School for Good Mothers – Jessamine Chan || Whoa.  Dystopian novels always make me have a way of going, what if this happens?  I think being a mother made this even tougher to swallow – however, completely relevant even if you’re not.  The simplest of motherly infractions could land you in this “school,” where you are trained to be a perfect mom.  Completely terrifying, but in a good way.  Read if dystopian novels are your thing.

No One Will Miss Her – Kat Rosenfield || I have to say that I did not see the twist in this book coming not even for a second.  It kept me hooked from the very first sentence, where you’re getting the story told from beyond the grave.  Two women play the main roles – one from the wrong side of the tracks, one a beautiful and rich Instagram influencer.  The story unfolds when one of them is murdered, and you’re left to figure out who and why.  A good little dark mystery.

 

Last Friday was a good day.  And even though it was a really long week (Bennett was traveling for work in Buffal0), Sheff and I made the most of it.  We had a pasta date night one night, baseball practice for 90 minutes Wednesday followed by Wendy’s, and then we Door Dashed some Mexican food on Thursday and crashed on the big comfy couch and watched Monsters University.  I was certainly glad to see Friday – getting the kid ready for camp is essentially another job – so we celebrated by going to the Summer Reading kick-off party at the Hoover Library.  They did such a good job – Sheffield loved it!  The theme was Oceans of Possibility – and they had a ton of stations for crafts and fun things to do.  I was really impressed – we’ll definitely be doing that for the next few summers.  After the event, we picked up a pizza and watched Bobs Burgers in bed.  I let him fall asleep in our bed that night, and it was so sweet.

Our Saturday started bright and early with a Yanks baseball game.  It was close, but they pulled it out and got the win.  They ended the season undefeated.  So it’s onto the playoffs for the team – and to be honest, I’m really sad that this team will be dismantled next year.  Kids moving up, changing leagues.  The moms decided to put together an end of season party after championship Saturday – no matter the outcome, because an undefeated season is nothing to sneeze at.  I’m so proud of Sheff and those kids.  Sheffield loves it – we’ve signed him up for a baseball camp that’s supposed to really work on his skills, so hopefully we can see a big improvement before signing up for fall ball.

We had friends over that afternoon to sit on the porch and just hang out.  We ordered pizza again for dinner, played name that tune, and made ice cream sundaes for the kids.

Sunday was spent getting the outside cleaned up and lounging around.  We had dinner outside, and called it an early night.

It was a good weekend.  We’ve got a bye weekend for baseball this weekend since the Yanks are the #1 seed – so maybe we can bust out the kayak and turn off the phones and enjoy a quiet weekend.  Here’s to hoping!!

Checking in live with a sweet sunburn and about 70 yellow fly bites.  Florida bugs are no joke, y’all.

Friday afternoon, Sheff had a baseball game.  They squeaked by with a win – leaving them undefeated and with the best record in 2A.  Sheff had two amazing defensive plays, getting his first out at second!  He stopped the ball and then stepped on the bag.  I about lost my crazy mom mind – and B said it sounded about as loud as it ever had.  They definitely needed that out.  I was so so proud of him.  He has gotten exponentially better this season, and it’s definitely all hats off to the coaching staff.  They’ve been amazing this year.  After the game, we headed down to FL.  Definitely how we’re going to do it, as there was zero Memorial Day traffic – and we made awesome time.

Saturday, I got up and got an actual run in.  Sheff and Poppa went to get some doughnuts, and then after breakfast, it was immediately time to hit the pool.  B and I went in search of cheap liquor (thanks, FL!) and Sheff and Poppa put together another model car – a Lamborghini this time!  The rest of the day was spent hanging out in the pool and lounging.  We had an amazing steak dinner, key lime pie for dessert, and called it a night.

Sunday, I got up and did a 45 (!!!) minute run – I was so proud of myself after that.  It’d been awhile since I’d run that long and that far.  Sheff and I had some pool time, and then we got ready and headed to Pier Park.  We walked the pier, saw a giant sea turtle, and did some shopping.  Sheff needed a sun shirt since he’d already gotten burned, and we got him a cute shirt that changes colors in the sun.  He also got a super delicious Nathan’s hot dog for lunch.  We all got showers and glammed up for dinner at Old Florida Fish House.  It was so nice, and the food was so delicious.  We got some great family photos on their dock as well.  We went home and then went next door to my dad’s neighbors house.  They had their grandkids over, so Sheff and his new friends played in the pool until about 9pm.

For Memorial Day, we hit the beach in the morning.  After the beach, we all lounged around the house some more until it was time for the cookout.  We ended the night on the couch watching League of Their Own.  Sheff loved it!

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, so we came back to real life.  Sheff started Y Camp today – he was pretty excited about it.  They’ve got a ton of really fun weekly programs this summer, and although it’s a whole other job getting him ready in the mornings – I know he’ll have a ton of fun.

Hope you all had a nice relaxing weekend and a good start to the week!

I had intentions on coming to this blog today with a super cute post on how to make your summer more colorful.  But in light of the events that happened yesterday, there are a lot of people who won’t have color or joy in their summers – and it didn’t feel right, for me, the girl who always wanted to be a writer, to not put my thoughts and feelings down somewhere.

Yesterday morning, we did our normal school morning routine.  Sheff got up, took a shower, got dressed, ate his breakfast and packed up his backpack for the last day of school.  I took that picture above yesterday morning before dropping him off at his elementary school.  I picked him up after an uneventful last day of school and brought him home.  We went bowling and out to dinner to celebrate.  He did, after all, make all S’s (equivalent of A’s for first grade), and completed the school year being able to go on to the second grade.

I cannot imagine not being able to say those last three sentences.  I cannot imagine that his last day of first grade picture would be the last picture I have of him.  I cannot imagine having to go through what so many parents have had to go through – having their children murdered in school.  A place where they are supposed to be safe.  These are children.  CHILDREN.  Louder and bolder for the people in the back who don’t quite comprehend that.

My kid is six.  Six years old.  In addition to tornado and fire drills, they practice “bad guy” drills.  He. Is. Six.  They practice turning all the lights out, hiding, and staying away from the door.  They had to go into a code red earlier this year when a robbery suspect sped by the road the school is on and slammed his car into a power pole.  Sheffield said he was scared – that there were other kids in his classroom who were crying.  But he was told they needed to be quiet.  That they had to stay hidden and stay silent.  This is in no way normal – and nor should it ever become that way.

We have expected our children to adapt to these heinous school shootings.  The teachers are trained.  They drill our kids.  Teachers are there to teach.  They are not there to be police officers, and to arm them is the most asinine and irresponsible approach.  The answer to bad guys with guns is not good guys with guns.  That has been proven over and over and over to NOT work.  There were “good guys” with guns in Buffalo.  And in Uvalde.  And 31 people were still senselessly murdered.

If you’ve ever seen the movie Home, you’ll get the next sentence, but I was and am sad-mad.  It may have been the second time I have cried in front of Sheffield, but we sat down and we talked about it.  He asked me if kids got hurt.  I told him yes.  He asked me if they got really hurt.  I told him yes.  He asked me if teachers or grown-ups got hurt.  I told him yes.  We talked about the boy who came into the school and shot kids in a classroom.  That those kids won’t be able to go home tonight to their beds or moms and dads or brothers and sisters or even to their favorite stuffed animals.  We talked about the importance of listening if something like that were to ever happen in his school.  He promised me that would never happen to him.  I did not have the heart or the guts to tell him that he just can’t promise that.  I hugged him and we watched an episode of Bob’s Burgers – stuff that makes us happy.

But I did also get mad.  In public spaces, I normally keep quiet about things.  I much prefer to keep the peace in all situations, but I can’t anymore.  I reached out on social media for advice from people who are better at this than me.  I did the small things – I donated to Everytown and the gofundme for Uvalde.  I joined a local chapter of Moms Demand Action.  I wrote to and called Senator Shelby. I am working on identifying the local representatives and doing the same.  I will not idly sit back and be quiet anymore.  I will not be quiet when 19 children are murdered – hours after receiving awards for being on honor roll.  Hours after their parents saw them for the last time and didn’t know it.  That is not the country I want to live in, and it shouldn’t be the one you want to live in either.

Coming at you live and right off of watching the movie that Sheff’s teacher made for them as their end of the year gift – so you can imagine me covered in tears while writing this.  I can’t believe how much Sheff has grown in a year – tomorrow is his last day of first grade.  Still working on believing that.

Friday was a pretty good day – we did pizza and movie night with a screening of Lilo and Stitch, because believe it or not, Bennett nor Sheff had ever seen it.  I had forgotten what a super cute movie it was.  Pretty early bedtime, because it was a beast of a week.

Saturday, I got up and got my workout in before going to baseball.  We were down five players and their parents, which meant that I had to be dugout mom.  Pretty much all that entails was making sure the kids were up and ready for at-bats with helmets and bats at the ready.  The Yanks won another, which keeps them undefeated for the season.  Sheff even got to play pitcher for a couple of innings – something he promptly told me after he was not a fan of.

After the game, we met up with some friends to do the zoo.  Sheff got to feed the giraffes for the first time, and it was so cute.  It was also blazing hot, so there was a time limit of two hours put on the kids.  After that, we went to Taco Bell for Mexican pizzas!!!  Oh, I was so happy.  It was so good.  Then we headed back to the house for the kids to get in the pool.  B had made some strawberry margaritas, so we sat on the porch well into the night just hanging out.  It was a good day!

Sunday was our slug day, and man was it ever needed.  We got up and did our tradition of the walk down to the school’s little free library – it’s about a mile round trip, and Sheff will exchange out books.  We then headed to get provisions for a bomb ass charcuterie board, and ended up getting doughnuts and kolaches for breakfast.  The weather was beautiful yesterday, so we spent all afternoon out on the porch.  We ended the weekend playing some Mario Kart and went to bed.

We’ll celebrate the last day of school by going bowling and out to dinner – a fun thing we started at the end of kindergarten that we decided will be a new tradition.  Well, as long as he’ll let us have it anyway.  I hope you all had a great weekend as well.