7QT: Mother's Ring, Soccer is King, Retirement Planning, and Multi Level Marketing

Happy Friday once again!  When will I ever find time to write more meaningful substance?  I don't know but for now, it's a look back at the week in Seven Quick Takes.

1)

For the longest time, I have wanted a Mother's Ring but also wanted to be sure that I wasn't going to buy one only to realize later that I needed to add a new stone. 

#thatfertilelife 

Side note: Did I ever tell you about the time I bought a cheap ring with the kids names on it when I was pregnant with Brendan?  We knew he was a boy and were planning on naming him Charlie so I have a ring with all of my kids' names on it but the last one is wrong.  I mean, the ring was only $40 but I totally jumped the gun on that one.  Sorry Brendan!  You don't even look like a Charlie!  

Anyway, now that I'm 42 and a half and couldn't wait any longer, I designed this ring online and I am so happy with it!  I originally had the ring with each of my kid's birthstones in it, but each of my kids has a different birthstone (seven kids born in seven different months) and it looked a bit too colorful and discombobulated for me.  Then I thought to myself "Self...what if you had blue sapphires for the boys and a pink sapphire for the girl and it would look all symmetrical and not so clownish?"  Voila!  The finished product:

2)

Soccer is well underway.  Five kids, five different teams (I should have had twins!) and they are all so adorable...well the big guys are handsome but you'll just have to trust me since they won't let me take their picture easily, I'll have to bring my big camera to their games to get some.

Declan is way too nice on the field - we are working on being more aggressive.

Maggie does not have any issues with being aggressive - the girl has grown up with 6 brothers.

Brendan scored four goals but clarified that it's only practice for him, not real games.

7QT: The Difference Between

 1)

The difference between boys and girls can easily be seen in the letters some of my kids wrote to their big brother...

2)

The difference between moms and dads can easily be found in the items I sent to JP in college after talking to him on the phone about how sore he is from working out a lot...

With love from Mom:

A heating pad and some magnesium with a note saying how much I miss him.

From Dad: 

A discussion on how sore he used to get when playing sports and working out but he never once used a heating pad or took magnesium and he turned out fine.

7QT: Late Summer Memories for the Books

Life has been so busy - but I'm not complaining - just trying to play catch up which is why these 7 Quick Takes are a wee bit late.

1)

After returning from bringing JP to college, I started my new job!  I actually had to start a day late because we had to delay our return trip home due to Hurricane Henri.  How embarrassing to ask for a day off on your first day.  Luckily my new boss is awesome and understanding and had just dropped his oldest off at college far away as well.

Last morning heading to old job

 

First day at new job

I used to work (for ten years) as the Business Manager at a Catholic high school and now I work as the District Accountant for public schools in a nearby town.  It's very different except for the accounting part :)

I walk on my lunch break either to the beautiful town on the water, or around the huge cemetery next door.  I miss walking with Phil at lunch, and will be listening to a lot of audiobooks now - send me any good recs.

The kids were very sweet and made me cards, Phil got me flowers, and Andrew brought me home some ice cream to celebrate the big transition.

First Day of School 2021

Today was the first day of school for all of my little lovies!  They all had different start dates this week, but today was the first time they all went out to school together.  Even though the uniform color schemes are similar - we have two in high school and four in elementary school this year (and let's not forget one in college!).  Everyone's at great Catholic schools, thanks be to God!

Goodbye Summer, Hello College!!

As always happens, this summer has flown by, and this year I had the added mom-guilt of trying to squeeze in enough family time before our eldest headed off to college.  We managed to go to the "big wave beach" in Rhode Island as one last family event before JP left.  It was a cloudy day, but fun, nonetheless!

On JP's last day of work at the ice cream store, we went to visit him.  This shop was such a great summer job for him (and Andrew).  He made lots of tip money that paid for his portion of his first semester of college, and the owner and manager were so so nice to him.  The owner shook my hand on JP's last day to thank me for raising good kids, which made me tear up.  I hope all of my kids work here for a very long time!

7QT: A New Restaurant, A New Recipe and A New Job

 Thank God it's Friday!  And thank God that Friday's motivate me to come write here so I can join up with Kelly and the others for some Quick Takes...

1)

Phil and I went away to the Caribbean for a much needed getaway!

JUST KIDDING!

We went to a new restaurant in the city next to us.  Can you believe this view and vibe?  It was so fun!

The place is right on the water, with sand and a stage for music.  We played cornhole and went for a walk while we waited for our table and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.  Cisco Brewers, we will be back!

2) 

I found a great recipe for Chicken Shawarma Salad (the kids ate it on naan) and it's the first time we all ate chicken thighs and liked it!