Happy Friday!! We are having a fun and busy week. Each evening when I sat down to write a blog post, I fell asleep. But I’m back now, mid-morning on a Friday because we don’t have school today!! I’m bringing yo my favorites from the week and linking up with Narci and the girls.

Favorite 1: MOM!! This week has been unusually busy! Jeff was late at work every day this week. That happens a lot, but our schedule works because I rarely have evening obligations. Jack’s and Luke’s practices overlap every day but I have figured out how to make it work to get everyone to and picked up from all the practices. However this week, I had to stay until 6:30 for parent teacher conferences and then had a pool board meeting at 6:30 on Wednesday. The kids had a half day on Thursday and I had to work all day. My mom came to the rescue!! She met the boys with a smile on the bus both days, even when it was raining cats and dogs, managed homework and trumpet practice, got everyone to their practices, fed them, and made sure they had great days. She also delivered her homemade, incredibly delicious applesauce to my fridge and freezer when she came. And, she can’t wait to have the boys spend the night on Saturday because we have an adults only Halloween party. My parents stay on my favorite list because they are wonderful and always willing to help and hang out with us. This week though, my mom is a total rock star!! Thanks Mom!!

Favorite 2: AUTHORS!! We hosted W. Bruce Cameron at our school on Thursday night. I collaborated with our fabulous local public library and my favorite local bookstore, A Likely Story, to host Bruce. The crowd was a big mix of adults and kids because he has books for everyone! He was so funny! I didn’t realize that he wrote the book that inspired 8 Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter with John Ritter. It makes perfect sense now because he was hilarious! When we got there and initially met Bruce, Jack didn’t want any of his books. Jack is NOT a dog person. He doesn’t have any desire to have a dog, doesn’t like to be around dogs, and would be perfectly happy if he never interacted with another dog again. But, after hearing Bruce talk, he decided he needed to read not one but 2 of his books!! I tucked both of my boys into bed last night with a brand new autographed book. It was a perfect way to say good night!

Favorite 3: CORA’S DEN!! I love a monogram! Some of my friends joke that if something stays still for 10 minutes, I will put my monogram on it. I stumbled across Cora’s Den on Instagram (coras_den) and I fell in love with everything she makes!! I placed my first order last summer and was thrilled! I got these two necklaces which were so perfectly me – USA and pink monogram – and a great keychain!

I got an Etsy gift card for my birthday and I knew exactly where I was going to shop – CorasDen!! She was so wonderful to work with! I made a small change to one of the necklaces (switched out the charm from leaf to pumpkin) and Katie was lovely about it! I had my proofs so quickly and my necklaces are perfect!!

I like the option to wear the big bead necklaces a little longer, so I do add a necklace extender. For a frame of reference – the USA monogram is 2.5″, the pink monogram is 2″, the key ring is 3″, the tortoise monogram is 2″, and the white monogram is 1″.

Favorite 4: READERS!! We had our Summer Discovery celebration at school this week. Any student that completed the Summer Discovery (reading, book reviews, library programs) at our local public library was celebrated at our school. We had yummy donuts and each student got a new book and a certificate. It was a fun school party!! I was so proud of the 70+ students that completed the program, especially these two cuties!!

I just finished Elin’s new book, What Happens in Paradise. I LOVED it! I love reading series because I’m always so curious about what happens to the characters after the story is over. This sequel to Welcome to Paradise takes us back to St. John to find out what happens to the family Russ and Rosie left behind. Irene and her sons are heading back to St. John. Huck, Ayers, and Maia are trying to figure out how to continue without their beloved Rosie. All six characters come back together and it is a great story with Elin’s usual charm. Like the first book, this one ends with a major cliffhanger. I don’t want to wait a whole year for Trouble in Paradise!!

Favorite 5: EYES!! I was off on Tuesday for the boys’ eye doctor appointment. I giggled all day long watching them try to figure out how to function with dilated eyes. We took Playaways, all in one audio books, to listen to while they were waiting for their eyes to dilate. They were so amazed by just how big their pupils got!

Favorite 6: BILLY JOEL!! He’s back!!! The Billy Joel channel is back on Sirius XM on channel 30! I stumbled across it the other day and we were so excited!! The boys love the stories that Billy tells and are anxiously awaiting the Downeastern Alexa story and song. It makes our rides so much fun!

Favorite 7: HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS!! We went to the big rivalry boys’ soccer game this week. There are two high schools in our town and every time they play, it’s exciting! We accidentally sat in the middle of the student section and it was super fun. The students cheers were clever and supportive. Luckily our future high school got the OT win!! My boys know a bunch of high schoolers from the pool and they love to see them and cheer them on. I consider us pretty lucky that these high schoolers are so good to the boys and go out of their way to say hi.

Favorite 8: POOL!! The pool is closed and the cover is on, but I stopped by yesterday to take care of some business. I took a moment in my favorite spot while my boys were playing basketball and the person I was meeting was walking the property.

I’ve also been loving my time back in the pool. I swam on Tuesday and Friday mornings and my shoulder are feeling it. I’m keeping up with my running but I love adding this extra time in the pool.

We have a fun weekend ahead. Jack has a baseball tournament and Luke has a soccer game. The boys are spending the night at my parents on Saturday night so Jeff and I can go to a Halloween party. In the past we’ve been Thing 1 and Thing 2, Thing 2 and Thing 1, the cast of Saved by the Bell, and lifeguards.

Have a great weekend full of sunshine and books!