Out of Hand: 2026

Seven Years of the Fifth!

Thursday, August 20, 2026

The Fifth “is a kind and caring friend who is always the first to share with his peers or let them take a turn first,” according to his teacher.

He is authentic. There is no duplicity in him. The Engineer’s summer school teacher shared that the Fifth looked inquisitively at him for a while and said, “You’re handsome.” The teacher is a jock, a former Mater Dei/Villanova football star. DH snickered at the story when I told him and responded, “Well, he IS kind of handsome.” The Fifth is great at immediately saying what everyone else is thinking. We love him so much!

I took him to Disney for the first time (for both of us) to celebrate; and he loved it!

Stats Coming Soon!

Previous Stats:

Six Years, Five Years, Four Years, Three Years, Thirty Months, Two Years, Fifteen Months, One Year, Nine Months, Six Months, Four Months, Two Months, One Week, and Birth.

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Our opponent was no. 8 in the nation. The Eldest played defense, offense, and all special teams. The coaches kept him in for 3/4 of the game with only brief play breaks. It was 90* on turf in black. He was also playing opposite a veritable giant, who he nevertheless tackled a couple of times. I do not have those on camera; but there were reverberating cheers from his parents! Highlights:

The giant. “Is he actually a freshman?” was asked a few times.

Monday, August 17, 2026

“Why are you wearing a suit?”

“Because I want to.”

This is what he changed into at night after his shower.

First Day of Elementary + Middle School!

The little boys woke up at 6:15. “We can’t be late for school!” Sol announced no fewer than five times. He reminds me of his dad. Everyone left at 7:42. I’m always surprised by the time it takes to launch everyone: breakfast, showers, nail trimming, teeth brushing, clothes steaming, lunch packing, etc.

Today, this was a 2-parent effort, which is much more peaceful than doing it all alone. We love these people so much!

It was sunny which is noteworthy! We often have clouds (and sometimes a hurricane) in the morning this time of year. [The final photo is only slightly better than the outtakes. 😂🤣]

Saturday, August 15, 2026

“Mom, I’m helping Dad farm!” the Fifth announced as he picked pomegranates. We have two trees, the most fecund of which yields about 100 pomegranates per season.

The internet said to harvest all the pomegranates when the first of them splits. They are early this year.

Every time we see a $5 pomegranate in the grocery store, we ask ourselves why we aren’t selling these!

Thursday, August 13, 2026

We split up per usual tonight. DH took the youngest four. I took the Engineer to the Firstborn's first high school football scrimmage. Last week, we watched Gridiron Gang, the inspiring true story of a high school football team in LA. Today's scrimmage started earlier than advertized. So, I missed seeing him play. When complete, we joined DH at the elementary back to school bonfire.

D-Line coach:

Head coach, also has six kids:

Profundity from the Engineer

“Mom, you and Dad have a lot in common.”

“Tell me about that, Bud.”

(Of course, I know this is true but want to know his perspective.)

“You both have blond hair and blue eyes. You are both of average height. You both have wide feet, which are rare. You both have ADHD.”

“All true.”

“The only thing you don’t have in common is taste in music.”

“I know. I have significantly better taste.”

—————

Of Sol, “He puts the ‘date’ in ‘play date.’”

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

He’s been going to football conditioning and then regular season football practice (and fine arts class) all summer, but today is his actual first day of high school! We bought some last minute supplies at Target and setup a robust carpool.

“Are you excited?” the Target checker asked. He had the teenaged excitement vibe going on. “No. I shouldn’t have even asked,” she answered her own question with a laugh. “He’s excited about the school he’s attending!” I added with pep to remind the Firstborn of this fairly robust investment we’re making to turn him into a decent human. On the way out, he said to me, “Mom, I’m excited about the high school I’m going to but not the fact that I have to go to school.” “Would you rather stay home and be dumb?” I replied. “I would rather stay home and be SMART.” We both did the side eye to each other; and I snorted. Good times. 🎉

Best Laid Plans

Started with DH working from home and was so excited for a productive day! Quickly we realized the dishwasher and laundry machine were dead with all the underwear wet and in the wash machine. So, off to the laundromat I went!

Meanwhile, I researched whether the machines were salvageable or totaled. They were both totaled. This was part of a painful 55 minute chat with Best Buy’s AI:

Following that, was a 4 hour search for the best value appliances. Considerations were warranties, consumer reviews, price and whether installation and haul away were included, and delivery timeline. It was beneficial that DH was home so I could run each metric by him and get his feedback. We settled on a Maytag dishwasher and a Samsung wash machine through Costco, though Best Buy was our go-to for years. I wish we could have purchased a Miele, but by the time we added the cheapest model actually available, installation, and haul away, it was double the cost of the other dishwashers. Still, we would have bitten the bullet because all the reviews claimed they last twice as long as the rest, were it not for the measly 1-year warranty which is no better than the cheaper brands. If it’s really that great, then back it with a 2-year warranty!

Afterward, the Eldest went to carpool and DH completed his work in time for me to start mine. 😅 I worked only 2 hours but call that a win and am so grateful I can work on my timeline. The kids needed some TLC. So I made brownies and folded laundry and prepared for the first day of high school tomorrow! Half of the kids had evening activities. It’s so hard to pivot, but we did! After evening activities, DH worked out in the garage and inspired me to do a BTN (better than nothing) workout in the back yard. When I was convalescing after Sol’s birth, DH kept his word to me. I’d asked him when we were engaged to not make fun of me if I put on weight but rather to ask me to go for a walk with him. He walked with me back and forth across our back yard as soon as I was cleared to exercise. I remember feeling confident in my ability to get it all back while simply walking in my own yard. Tonight while jogging the same, I was reminded that something is always better than nothing and it can be the thread to big gains!

Monday, August 10, 2026

“Mom, I faced my fears! Are you proud of me?!” These kids amaze me with their fearlessness. They do encourage each other!

A sibling on either side stopped this one from hanging over the rail.

Sunday, August 9, 2026

It’s hot for us; and we’ve grown tired of our usual hangouts. So we are trying new things to stay engaged and motivated these last few days of summer break.