Monday I had to sneak into Cecila’s room and kiss her goodbye before I left. Apparently I “always wake her up” so when she didn’t see me leave Friday it was a problem. The kids got to go outside for recess at school. Well, Gideon did. Cecilia didn’t have recess today. The whole half day K thing means she only gets it a few times a week. Last week they were stuck inside a few times and Gideon’s teacher said it was noticeable. I got home in time for the kids to start some free choice time, which meant they were both on their tablets. After dinner and some one on one time Gideon picked Ruff Ruff Tweet and Dave for a show.
I read Cecilia a story about the most fabulous doll in the world, or something along those lines. Gideon wanted to hear about Horton and his egg hatching abilities.

Tuesday Heather had her mom meeting in the evening. I got home in time to see Cecilia and Heather playing with Cecilia’s engineering set and Gideon get mad when his timer on the tablet ran out. We were finally able to calm everyone down for dinner and after nighttime routine was done we watched Mutt and Stuff or whatever that weird guy with the dogs show is. Well, the kids watched it. I didn’t. Gideon had brought Harold and the Purple Crayon home from the school library and Cecilia picked Gideon’s How To Train A Dragon 2 book. I suspect Gideon helped her out some.

Wednesday Heather and I had small group after dinner. Turns out we don’t need to leave as early as we did. Even trying to stretch it out the drive is barely 5 minutes. Heather’s parents came up to watch the kids while we were gone and everything seemed to go just fine. They were playing board games when we left but I’m sure they watched a show and had stories. They managed to both be asleep by the time we got there, but Cecilia was probably just barely asleep at that time.

Thursday was a fairly normal day, until there was an announcement over the loudspeaker during parent pick-up time of trick-or-treating at the High School that night. Suddenly the kids had a new activity they wanted to do. It resulted in the kids taking showers and eating with some haste so we could go to the High School for the trick or treating event. It took the place of a show and the kids enjoyed it. The High Schoolers seemed to enjoy putting it on as well. They both got two stories. I’m not sure what the stories were though.

Friday I forgot to bring my potluck contribution to work, and I got out of the house a little late. I got out of work late and there were three accidents on the route home. I also had to stop at Costco. It was a long day for me, but the kids had a fun day with Halloween parties at school and everything. We watched a little America’s Got Talent, the first results show, and then Amazing Race. Gideon had me read him Olivia goes to Venice while Cecilia had both of us read her Fancy Nancy and the Fabulous Fashion Boutique. I think Heather read Gideon Harold and the Purple Crayon.

Saturday started with some food prep. We had swimming lessons in the morning and took the kids to Home Depot’s Halloween event after. It was a tight schedule. Instead of church we did Trick or Treating, and Heather got to take the kids for essentially the first time. In this neighborhood a lot of people left their candy on the front step while taking their kids around. For us – I stayed home while they took the kids. When they got back Gideon and Cecilia spent some time handing out glow-sticks. Gideon also came in and asked me how to spell “just.” turns out he was making a sign for our bucket. They both played in the front yard handing out glow-sticks and throwing around the ones I accidentally activated trying to put the little bracelet connectors on them. Eventually we told them they had to either come in and start a show or keep playing and not get a show. We really didn’t mind either choice, but it was theirs to make. Gideon played a little longer but they both ended up watching the show. Cecilia picked Mutt and Stuff. No stories as it was quite late.

Sunday we went to church in the morning. It was a little rough getting out, even after the time change. This difficulty is part of why we generally do Saturday night. After church was a park, back for a meeting, and then the library. We finally got library cards at the local library. The kids stayed in the car for the next stop, a grocery store. No, not alone. I was with them. We got home and they wanted to play outside for a bit. As we were looking at likely the last 70’s Sunday for a while we let them. Dinner was not a bad experience and the kids started their show a little early. Gideon picked something. For stories Cecilia had me read her the Fancy Nancy she got from the local library while Heather read her the Strawberry Shortcake from the same. Gideon had me read him the Lego City book from there, but that was after a time of being very sad about the sponsor child he’s had moving out of the sponsorship program (Compassion International) due to a positive life change. It’s hard to explain that this is a good thing to an emotional 6 & 1/2 year old.

Monday the kids were back to school. Gideon wasn’t getting up as I headed out the door, but he must have made it to class and back since I didn’t get any frantic calls about doctor visits. I made it home before the rest of them got back from playing at a park and we enjoyed dinner together after which we tried to get the kids helping out with cleanup. Gideon and I ran his butterbraid orders to the cub scout pack volunteer in charge of it and he picked Wild Kratz for a nighttime show. I missed my nightly writing assignments this week and as such don’t remember the details on stories. I’m also not 100% on the shows, but they’re probably right.

Tuesday the drive in to work was bad. The drive home was ok, but not great. I offered a deal to the kids. What if I left before they woke up but got home earlier? I was able to get them to agree to trying it out. After dinner Cecilia picked PJ Heros.

Wednesday I left early. Cecilia had slept on the floor and I saw her head poking in between the shades and the glass of the window to see me leave. I’m fairly certain the garage door opening about 2 feet below her head woke her up. So, Heather got to deal with Cecilia being up early. It turned out to work OK though. The drive wasn’t any good though. It was a rainy morning and the drive actually took a little longer than normal, even though I left a good 20 minutes earlier. I made sure to leave at 4 though. I couldn’t have the first day of the experiment show me getting home as late, or later than, usual. I played with Gideon some when I got home and after dinner he stuck with Wild Kratz.

Thursday the drive wasn’t much better in the morning. It was raining again, even harder. No kiddos showed up in the window this time. I had to stop at Costco on the way home this time. When I got home early this time Cecilia got to spend extra time with me. Cecilia decided on Bubble Guppies.

Friday we all watched Amazing Race. The day started with Cecilia again peeking out to see me leave. This time the drive is what I was going for with the earlier leaving time. It was basically effortless. I didn’t leave as early as I would’ve liked to come home though. When I did get home the kids were playing Wii U after having spent some time playing outside at a friend’s house. We had dinner while watching America’s Got Talent. Well, Heather and I watched. The kids had gotten their tablets after I got home and were not exactly engrossed in the show. They, or Gideon anyway, did pay more attention to Amazing Race. I attribute this to the time on their games having run out. We each read one story to one child and they fell asleep very fast after that.

Saturday Gideon picked Wild Kratz.

Sunday Cecilia picked Mutt and Stuff or something. It wasn’t very good even as kids shows go.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night the kids were with Grandma and Grandpa. We don’t know a ton about what went on and how things went. We figure it was likely a bit of a rough week as there was a migraine shuffling around the household.

Thursday the kids were back home. I don’t remember who picked a show or what it was. I do know Gideon had me read to him from Eerie Elementary. I’m not sure what Cecilia had me read.

Friday Heather took the day off work. I had hoped to get home a little early, but things didn’t work out that way. We ended the day with Amazing Race as has become our Friday tradition for now. It didn’t really stick out to us, but Cecilia was less into it and more ready for bed than usual.

Saturday Cecilia was sick and stayed home in jammies all day. That means she missed her first swimming lesson. Gideon on the other hand made it to his. I had to take him as Cecilia was in a mode of wanting Mom. After spending a large chunk of the day watching America’s Got Talent we finally made it to the “Live Shows.” Instead of starting them Gideon and I went to church. After that Heather finally got to leave the house as I was starting to feel sick from lack of food and Cecilia needed someone to go get crackers. I stayed home with the kids and had dinner while Heather ran to the store. Cecilia fell asleep while Heather was gone, but woke back up when she got home. Cecilia had no story and her show was kind of Dirty Jobs which she fell asleep watching. Gideon got to watch the first episode of Star Wars Rebels. 14 more episodes or so and we can start watching them together as he’ll be caught up.

Sunday Cecilia was better. The kids started the day playing with Alexa which drives Heather crazy. After that they spent some time doing crafts, a decision they made on their own.This lasted essentially until lunchtime when everyone settled down, kind of, to watch the Broncos game. I headed out to a store after but the kids kept more or less watching. They also got toys and played in the room the game was on. We ended the night with some America’s Got Talent followed by Cecilia picking PJ Heros or something like that for a nighttime show. I read Give a Cat a Cupcake to Cecilia and a chapter from Eerie Elementary for Gideon.

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night the kids were with Grandma and Grandpa. We don’t know a ton about what went on and how things went. We do know Gideon got stung by a bee, two spots I believe. Turns out he isn’t allergic to them.

Thursday the kids were back home. They got home a little on the later side. We watched America’s Got Talent together before I believe Gideon picked Wild Kratts. We also read stories with the kids. I believe it was Encyclopedia Brown and I Love You Forever for Gideon and Cecilia respectively.

Friday we watched Amazing Race as a family. Cecilia doesn’t like this one as much as America’s Got Talent, but we made it through. We also don’t do stories or a kids nighttime show on these days.

Saturday we went for a morning bike ride as a family. Gideon struggled with it a little more than usual, but I think there was more incline as well. We had a picnic Lunch before the ride and went straight to church after. Cecilia wanted to see a Paw Patrol after dinner.

Sunday morning we went to a fall festival. Cecilia didn’t last long in the Corn Maze until she was done with it. This was a little strange as she hasn’t had trouble with a Corn Maze before, and that was one of the primary reasons we spent money on tickets for the four of us.  We spent some time with the kids playing on the playground there, as well as taking a short wagon ride to the pumpkin patch and back. The highlight for the kids was really the ride on pedal karts. We learned a little of the layout and will have a better plan of attack if we decide to try again next year. After that it was lunch at Heather’s grandparents where we dropped Gideon off followed by a long drive to drop Cecilia off at Heather’s parent’s. This was the start of another four days without the kids around the house, the second half of their two-week fall break.

Monday Cecilia didn’t want to wake up. I didn’t blame her though. My job requires a lot more interaction with people than I am used to from previous positions. As a poster introvert this tends to result in me being emotionally and mentally exhausted by the end of the week. This is partially from the actual knowledge work but also, more than you might think, due to the forced interaction with other people. Being as much of an introvert as I am I need the downtime away from interacting with people to recharge. Due to the family gathering and wedding I didn’t get much rest from people. When all was said and done the kids finished the day with a show and stories. I’m pretty sure the show was Paw Patrol.
Gideon had an Encyclopedia Brown story still ready and Cecilia, I don’t remember for sure what she had. Barbie and the Secret Door maybe?

Tuesday we went to the book fair at the school right after dinner. We like to encourage reading in the kids by picking out books at the book fairs and in the book orders that come home throughout the year. We did get back late and started Gideon’s choice of Wild Kratzz as he was coming down the stairs. Cecilia made it before the show got in full swing, but missed the pre-show roll that PBS has on it.
Gideon had each of us read him a new book from the book fair. Cecilia wanted her library book which was supposed to be returned last Thursday but was going back the next morning.

Wednesday started like any other day. It was the kids last day before fall break though. They also got to have Grandma come up to stay for a few days. This allows Heather to still work without us paying for the program at the school. When I got home I had Cecilia help order her Booster Seat now that she’s big enough. This is going to make moving the kids between different cars much than their current car seats. That said, their current ones, especially hers, aren’t actually all that hard to move around. The kids grandma showed up after dinner and we took Gideon to conferences. The last 5 minutes were for him to tell us how things are going. We got home and immediately started a nighttime show Cecilia picked (Paw Patrol, go figure) after which Grandma read to both kids, I read to Gideon, and Heather read to Cecilia.

Thursday the kids had to get up early even though they had no school. It was dentist day for them.I got home pretty late due to stopping at the store on the way. We watched some Amazing Race while eating dinner. Before long it was bedtime. Gideon wanted to watch Wild Kratz after which Heather’s mom and I read to him. Heather and her mom read to Cecilia.

Friday the nighttime show was Amazing Race time delayed enough so we didn’t have to watch commercials. They each got one story, Gideon from me and Cecilia from Heather.

Saturday Gideon and I went to his first Cub Scout camp-out. One of the pack leaders has a large property nearby. A 1.5 mile drive, and even less straight-line. It took place there and he had a wonderful time. He helped with setting the tent up and getting stuff to the tent from the car. He got to shoot a BB gun, probably the high point of the night, and showed me that he’s definitely gotten the introverted tendencies of his mother and I as well as her penchant for going to bed early.He did have a wonderful time though. I hear Cecilia had a good night with Heather as well.

Sunday morning Gideon helped get packed, but I did the tent without him while he had breakfast with the pack. He got to shoot a bow and arrow, again a high point of his day I’m sure. We re-joined Heather and Cecilia around 10AM, so not long into the day.We went for a hike as a family and dropped Cecilia off at Great Grandma and Grandpa’s house for the night. Then we did a long drive from there down to bring Gideon to Heather’s parents place. Her parents re helping out with the kids 2 week break so we could save money on day care.

Monday I took Gideon to his first Cub Scout Den meeting. He was a little bummed out by the whole experience as we did an activity in the book which was interviewing and writing, versus an outdoor play style activity. He still is excited to do scouts though. I think he was just expecting the meeting to go a little differently than it did. We got home in time to catch the end of Cecilia’s Paw Patrol pick.

Tuesday I got home a little late from work after a day of meetings. This was actually a bit of a problem as Heather had a “Moms Next” meeting. It’s basically the follow-on to MOPS I guess. She ended up having to leave within minutes of my arrival, and the kids had not been all that keen on hurrying up and eating before she left. After she was gone we did manage to eat and go to the nearby park for a few minutes. Gideon picked Blaze for the nighttime show, and they each brought a book to read together as the three of us on our bed.

Wednesday I got home a touch late due to interviewing for a new team member, but it wasn’t too bad. It was a pretty normal night from what I remember and nothing really sticks out. Cecilia picked Paw Patrol again.

Thursday Gideon had a walking field trip around the neighborhood. He was a little bummed that Heather didn’t join them for lunch at the local park, but she couldn’t due to having dedicated time to their fun run the week before. He picked Blaze for a bedtime show.

Friday the kids had the day off school. Cecilia had tried to convince me that I couldn’t go to work the next day, but she unfortunately didn’t come out of that discussion the victor. Their grandparents came to watch them so Heather didn’t have to either take the time off or try to get them to have a decent day while she was working. The day ended very late, with the kids doing a wonderful job of spending 3 hours at Kohl’s (where I joined them after work) followed by a stop at Target before going to a restaurant for a late dinner. No show or stories, but then they were pretty much dead tired by the time we got home anyhow.

Saturday we tried to get a simple chore done around the house. This didn’t work very well for some reason. It was a simple put clothes away form a basket chore but it didn’t play out that way. They spent their time playing with each other and not finishing, so they didn’t get to do much for the day outside of the previously committed plans. That included a birthday party for Gideon and a family get together at a nearby aunts house for all of us.

Sunday we had a wedding to attend. We went to church in the morning since the previous days schedule interfered with our usual Saturday night service. After that we tried to get everyone showered and changed. We finished in time, took a family picture or two, and headed out for the wedding. There were some outdoor games there so the kids had fun after the service, and didn’t get to bored during the service. (It was a nice wedding, but they’re young kids.) We got home just in time for a show before bed with some very tired kids. Cecilia started to freak out at Gideon’s choice of Ninjago, so I quickly put her in our room with Paw Patrol instead. After stories we did take a little time to see the eclipse. Due to lat/long, terrain, time, and tired kids we didn’t see any discernible movement of the Earth’s shadow, but we did see the moon essentially at totality.

Monday it was back to normal for the most part. After school was Gideon’s first Cub Scouts meeting. He seemed to enjoy it and there’s a good chance this will be good for him. We got home while Cecilia was finishing her show, Paw Patrol of course. No stories for either of them as the show was started late and ended late.

Tuesday Gideon had some trouble getting up. Hopefully this isn’t a sign and was an isolated incident. I worked from home to attend a “virtual conference.” I’ve watched/participated in many webinars, and this essentially was a full day of webinars instead of a full day of presentations in a hotel conference room. They even had them available for replay immediately after the presentation which allowed me to still attend my job meetings and just play the missed sessions after for a slightly longer than normal work day, watching webinars instead of driving. After the kids swim lessons Gideon picked Shimmer and Shine for a bedtime show.
I read him a shark book he got from the library while Cecilia had another princess story for me to read.

Wednesday I hurried out of the house giving a goodbye to the kids as their alarms started going off. This is pretty normal for Wednesday due to a weekly early morning meeting. I made it home for dinner and we managed to eat and get cleaned up fast enough that the kids and I went to the park. Heather had already left for a PTO meeting. After the park Cecilia picked Paw Patrol.
Gideon had me read the other one of his shark books while Cecilia continued working through her Princess Stories.

Thursday started a little more relaxed. The kids both got downstairs before I was ready to head out the door. I got home before they were back from swimming by just a little bit. They had apparently had a rough drive home, so the evening was a little tainted by that. Cecilia dragged her feet through the evening, making her shower after dinner instead of before it. Gideon picked Teen Titans Go and Cecilia only made it down for the very end.
Cecilia wanted a story from her princess book again from me. Gideon was done with his library books, but I’m not sure what we read instead.

Friday the kids ended the day very tired. I got home and they were already really tired. We watched some America’s Got Talent while we ate dinner, but they were too tired to finish the episode. Their bedtime show was a Paw Patrol that Cecilia picked. She had me read her the Red White and Blue book she got from the author that visited her class earlier in the week. Gideon read me Pizza Party.

Saturday we had house cleaning day. That went about as well as you’d expect with a kindergartner and a 1st grader. By bedtime the whole house was basically done, including the kids rooms. We didn’t do much else for the day though due to the time it took for the cleaning to happen. We did watch some America’s Got Talent during dinner before Gideon picked a show. I’m not sure what it was though. Gideon had us both reading Encyclopedia Brown stories. Cecilia had us read her new library book, the Gingerbread Baby.

Sunday we went to the park in the morning. The afternoon saw a bit of quiet time and a bit of “mom and dad time.” Basically, each child got to be with us one on one for about 20 minutes and got to choose what they wanted to do, for the most part. We also chatted with Grandma and Grandpa Nelson on Skype.Cecilia picked Paw Patrol. Gideon continued his stories from the night before and Cecilia cycled back to the Red White and Blue book.

Monday was a holiday here in the states. After such a late night Sunday we all slept in a little. It turned out to be a quiet day at home for the most part. Heather and Cecilia went to the store for some groceries and we watched some more America’s Got Talent. I think we’ll finish this season before the next one starts. After that Cecilia picked Paw Patrol for an early night-time show.
Gideon had me finish his F-117/A book. Cecilia continued her 5 minute princess stories.

Tuesday it was back to work. I was home before the kids were back from swimming. We had a dinner and a bit of a rough night getting God time, show, and stories. That show was Shimmer & Shine which was new as of this fall.
Gideon had snake books from the school library this time, so I doubt Heather read any of those to him. Cecilia continued with the princess stories. After bedtime routines were done and while I was typing this Gideon moved all his animals to his sleeping bag so he could save them if there was a fire.

Wednesday I got home right as the kids were heading out to the park with Heather. Unfortunately they were coming back right as I was ready to head out and join them. After dinner and Cecilia picking Paw Patrol they got stories.
They had to go to our room for the ones from Heather as she got hit by a really bad headache over dinner. I read Gideon some more out of his snake book and continued the princess stories with Cecilia.

Thursday started with me apparently not getting my lips wet enough before giving Cecilia a goodbye kiss. None of us are sure where she got this idea that people needed really wet lips before kissing her. I got home a little early, but used the extra time to get logged in to work and catch up on the day while the kids went to Swim lessons. They got back right as I finished. After dinner together Gideon picked a couple of Teen Titans Go episodes after which we continued the same stories we’ve had all week.

Friday morning I got a bit of a slow start. I didn’t hurry out either as the kids were going straight to Grandma’s and Grandpa’s after school. They were getting the weekend there and Heather and I were getting the weekend here. I know the kids brought their school library books to the grandparents place.

Saturday the kids went for a hike. So did Heather and I, but not the same one. We also went to a murder mystery dinner on The Royal Gorge, the kids did not.

Sunday Cecilia had a birthday party that was low enough on responses Gideon was invited to join. (The reserved location was for “up to” a number of kids.) It was after the party we met back up with the kids. They were happy to be home and see us. We ended the weekend with a pizza dinner. Cecilia decided to watch Paw Patrol. I read Encyclopedia Brown to Gideon, but I don’t remember what I read Cecilia.

Monday I was late getting home from work. We had interviews and the discussion after went a little long as the choice was a very difficult one. It was one of those times where I really didn’t mind not being in charge. The night kind of flew by with dinner as soon as I got home, shows as soon as I was done helping to clean up, and then stories. Gideon picked some show that I didn’t recognize. It’s good to see him trying new things out. I don’t remember what we read, but don’t think we read any of the school library books.

Tuesday Cecilia asked me in the morning to come home earlier. I did. I got out on time and the drive home wasn’t horrible, just bad. I think it’s going to stay bad until next summer or so when the two main construction projects along my route are scheduled to finish. Cecilia said my getting home time was perfect. Gideon helped Heather make dinner by cutting the tomatoes. After dinner Heather left for the equivalent of MoPs but for moms with school-agers. Cecilia had a bit of a rough go, but after a little bit and some playing with Gideon and I in her room she was fine. She picked Paw Patrol. I read them a book about helicopters from Gideon’s library collection for the week and The Gingerbread Girl from Cecilia’s room.

Wednesday I spent most of the workday at Denver International Airport. While I’ve been to DIA many times in the past it’s always been as a casual traveler. This time it was business, and not business travel. While it was a great learning experience for what we have going on there and how it’s working out it did result in me getting home very late. The kids got to have a special pizza and movie night. Partially to help raise money for their school and partially to help keep Heather’s stress level down. I got home before the movie ended and the kids got stories from us both. Gideon returned to the Encyclopedia Brown books while Cecilia had The Gingerbread Girl and Jeremy’s Muffler.

Thursday I got home at a decent time, but the kids had started to have a rough afternoon. Gideon woke up in the middle of the previous night with a bad dream, so I understood him being tired. Cecilia I’m not sure about though. I started reading Gideon a book about stealth fighters. Cecilia ended up not getting a story from me due to having a rough night.

Friday was Doughnuts With Dads at the kids school. I went to work late after heading up with the kids to enjoy a doughnut together and check out their classrooms. It was also a short day for me at work. Cecilia’s birthday too. And our anniversary. Gideon still had to get Cecilia a birthday present, so I brought him to the store immediately after school. It was PJ and Snuggly day for him, so he was in jammies but didn’t care. Heather’s parents had come up to have lunch with Cecilia and they stuck around for her birthday dinner too. Cecilia eventually picked Red Robin, but wanted a play place. We decided to get our food to go and went to a park we hadn’t visited before. Cecilia loved her kick scooter, she’d been asking for one for weeks. After Cecilia picked Paw Patrol I read her new library book to her while I read Gideon a chapter from a book on stealth fighters he had from school.

Saturday Cecilia had a birthday party. There were only two kids from her class that managed to make it out of 8 invited. Considering how new to the area we are we didn’t feel that was too bad. The day started with Home Depot’s first Saturday. We exchanged one of Cecilia’s presents at Walmart which I forgot to test at the store after Gideon picked it out. While there Gideon spent some of his money to get a scooter like the one that Cecilia had gotten for her birthday. After lunch was the party at which the kids all had a good time. Following church we watched a little America’s Got Talent (about 15 episodes behind) while eating and finally had stories before a late bedtime.
Gideon wanted to take a break from the library book about Stealth with me and instead had me read a couple pages from his Big Book of Airplanes after Heather read him Encyclopedia Brown. We both read to Cecilia from her new 5 minute Princess Stories book.

Sunday Cecilia spent most of the morning asking if it was time for the tea party yet. Heather’s aunt put one on as a small celebration of three birthdays all at about the same time. Cecilia loved it and Gideon and I hung out at home some. We were waiting for a delivery so couldn’t go anywhere unfortunately. When the girls got home we immediately set out for Colorado Springs to enjoy a bit of the evening activities for the Colorado Springs Labor Day Liftoff. This of course meant no shows and no stories, though Cecilia managed to get one out of Heather due to the energy gained by her nap on the way home.