No more break! For the rest of those suckers anyway.

 We had our end-of-break feast, and I was charmed by how seriously the kiddos take their sparkling grape juice.  We are still eating turkey, BTW.  A 12-pound turkey and 4 extra drumsticks is a day of turkey and sides, a day of leftovers with turkey soup, a day of turkey soup and sandwiches, and now my very favorite thing that the Pioneer Woman says I should make:  turkey tetrazzini.  Not bad for like $50 worth of meat.

 Harrison also won our hotly contested house Mario Kart 8 championship.  We played like crazy all week, and he ended up with the best record.  Probably because he spent most of everyday racing and racing and racing.  ben and I could only play when we rid ourselves of the babies, and for a couple of days, my hands were permanently cramped in Wii remote position.  SO FUN.  A ton like Mario Kart on the Nintendo 64 that took up a large part of my undergrad time.

 And then, just like that, the temperature dropped like 30 degrees, and the kids went back to school.  I knew I would really miss them, and I did, but that first day when the boys walked to school and Ben took Cooper to preschool and stayed at a coffee shop prepping his classes, and it was just Dorothy and me between 8:30 and 11:30.  Man was it nice.  By 11:30, I had cookie dough chilling in the fridge so I could make cookies that would still be warm when the big boys got home, I had a workout and a shower.  Dorothy and I were both dressed, and I had 4 loads of laundry done and put away and Harry and Jack's bathroom wiped down.  That's more productive than I was the entire break.  Plus Dorothy was playing tea party and I was almost done with a Scarpetta book.  A really great morning.

 Today, we were a little lazier, and Ben worked from home.

 Dorothy got some new boots because her brown Uggs do not appeal to her anymore.  Everything must be pink.  I was happy to oblige.

 Dorothy loves to plop down in Beatrix's bed and say "Chee," and she's right--I usually do take  a picture.

Today, I volunteered in Jack's class, and his teacher was having me read a book about dolphins to groups of 3 kids at a time (which? holy shit-- just let me read it once to all the kids because I cannot engage about dolphins for 60 minutes-- fortunately, the 6-year-olds can.  They all watch Wild Kratts and know a shit ton about dolphins.  I did find it totally alarming that they didn't know mammals have milk.  The picture of a nursing dolphin blew their minds.  So I talked with them about other animals that have milk, and they were shocked that anyone besides cows made milk.  I asked if they knew that mommies had milk, and they all giggled like I told a potty joke.  What the hell, first graders?).  Before I took the first kids out in the hallway, (DID YOU KNOW DOLPHINS LIVE IN RIVERS??? I did not but the Wild Kratts already told that to all the kids apparently) she walked me through the book in case it was over my head and explained to me that it was non fiction.  I mean, I was happy for the refresher.  I have been on break and all, you know.