For the sailing trip, and so as to ease my children into a change, I got them new backpacks. If I had told them I was getting them new backpacks for school straight up, both of them would have balked, dug their heels in, and insisted on using their much smaller, worn out backpacks they’ve been using for the past two years.
There were complaints about the backpacks being too big for them and they couldn’t possibly manage them when we first put them on their backs as we headed to the airport for the sailing trip. By the end of sailing and the family reunion trips they didn’t think much about the backpacks, hoisting them on their shoulders without a word of complaint.
Which meant I could hide their old backpacks in the attic and declare mission accomplished, or at least for that item on my list. Today I filled my daughter’s backpack with lots of things she’ll be carrying to school tomorrow from the teacher’s classroom supply list. This includes things my daughter will use, and things for general classroom use such as a box of tissues and Clorox wipes.
The other thing I put in the side pouch of my daughter’s backpack was a special water bottle we got on at the family reunion. Aunt A had them made for everyone. They have the reunion date and location and a nice beach picture on the side. And because we were all going to have the same water bottle, to keep them straight my husband created name labels my father-in-law put them on each bottle. Here they were, all lined up, ready for everyone to arrive for dinner the first night:
The water bottles were a nice way to remember the reunion but also helped with plastic waste as we used them over disposable water bottles. There were a lot of us at the week-long reunion, which adds up in plastic water bottles saved.
The water bottle fits perfectly in the side pouch of my daughter’s backpack. The narrow part or neck is just at the right height for the elastic band of the side pouch to hold it in snugly. I told my daughter she could take her special water bottle to school…but she couldn’t lose it, we didn’t have another one!
It was right about then that my husband came in the garage door with four of those very same water bottles. His parents had brought us some of the extra ones from the batch Aunt A had ordered when they returned to town today. I’m very happy about that, because if you know children like I bet you do, they are great at losing things. And I didn’t want my daughter to lose her water bottle.
And on another water bottle note… I ran my first race a long time ago it would seem. Maybe six years ago? Ever since then I’ve had the cup they gave me when I completed the race on my nightstand. I use it every day. It’s pretty beat up after all this time and the crack in the side makes it so I can’t wash it in the dishwasher anymore. So last night when we got home I officially retired that cup and have replaced my nightstand water container with my family reunion water bottle. Thanks, Aunt A!
The Big Boy Update: My son has had YouTube removed from his iPad. He was watching some things that weren’t that bad, but weren’t really great choices for him either. My husband removed the app, leaving him with YouTube Kids (which he dislikes). He can, however, watch YouTube on the main television for screen time. We will be around and can tell if he’s not making good choices on what to watch.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: My daughter has a sneaky way to get dessert. She goes to our sitter’s house next door and asks Bryna, their mother, if she can have a popsicle. Bryna can’t say no to a cute little girl who came all the way over, feeling her way slowly and carefully through the grass and concrete, until she found her way to their front door. Heck, I don’t think I could say no to that either.
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