It’s very different this year having only one cross country runner at home and also being a coach on her team. Plus, one older sister at college and the other two later at school for band camp, B and I spend a lot of time together.

Sometimes, it’s post practice and waiting for everybody else to get home for a much later family dinner. Taking pictures while we wait helps pass the time.

Then this weekend, it was time for the first middle school race. The last 5 years, Mr. Serious and I have had to divide and conquer for races because the high school and middle school were at two different locations most of the time. But not this time! The middle two had an all day band camp, so it was just the three of us at the race.

I’ve been notoriously bad at getting a picture at the race, but remembered this time on the walk in!

It was so incredibly hot and humid with sweat literally dripping down us (and I wasn’t even running), but our kids did so well with the team even taking home a trophy! B ran on the varsity team and was very close to her overall PR and still beat her current year time trial time! I’m excited to see where this season takes us. And, soon enough, I’ll be at football games and marching band competitions!

What did you do this week?

GET IN THE PICTURE WITH YOUR KIDS! Who cares what you look like? Who cares how you appear? Who cares what you are wearing? JUST DO IT! Come share your picture on the Facebook thread or use #MommyAndMeMonday!

It’s time again for Mommy and Me Monday. Pop out from behind that camera and capture yourself in action with your kids. Check out the inaugural Mommy and Me Monday for more information. Need another reason to participate in Mommy and Me Monday? Read my post about why I blog with words from a friend’s husband.

The post First Cross Country Race of 2026 | Mommy and Me Monday | 872nd ed appeared first on Really, Are You Serious?.

I’m not a huge fan of a Monday start, but here we are. The first week of school has already come and gone. We’ve got a 2nd year in college (who starts next week), a 12th grader (ack!), a 9th grader and 7th grader. And they still let me take their pictures with their signs.

My stairsteps are no longer stairsteps.

I had to get in one, too!

Mr. Serious’ birthday was nestled right in the week. With marching band practices, middle school cross country practices and all other things school, we’ve definitely had to adjust how we dinner and how we do our evenings. But we made sure to celebrate Mr. Serious…it was just with a pre-purchased (yay for thinking ahead) Costco cake.

And a bonus picture from B’s weekend run and my bike ride. She had a great time trial earlier in the week!

Week one down! Lots more to go!

What did you do this week?

GET IN THE PICTURE WITH YOUR KIDS! Who cares what you look like? Who cares how you appear? Who cares what you are wearing? JUST DO IT! Come share your picture on the Facebook thread or use #MommyAndMeMonday!

It’s time again for Mommy and Me Monday. Pop out from behind that camera and capture yourself in action with your kids. Check out the inaugural Mommy and Me Monday for more information. Need another reason to participate in Mommy and Me Monday? Read my post about why I blog with words from a friend’s husband.

The post First Day of School and Mr. Serious’ Birthday | Mommy and Me Monday | 871st ed appeared first on Really, Are You Serious?.

It was the week before school started and we were all feeling it a bit. Besides running and band camp, there hadn’t been a ton of back to school preparations (I did go buy school supplies and I’m sure we’ll need more).

So this week we did some back to school clothes shopping. The girls had done some closet and dresser overhauling over the summer and it seems like everybody grew this year. N decided to do some shopping with a friend. The rest of us decided to see what we could find thrifting. What’s old is new again and stays out of the landfill! We found some good things and came out spending a lot less than I had planned.

The oldest actually didn’t get anything which is a shock to all of us! But, it was also her week to move into her college apartment. And she had been preparing for that pretty much all summer.

When we arrived, they were still working on cleaning the apartment and there are renovations still happening so there was a lot of working around that. But, she’s mostly moved in (her bathroom is still in the works).

And this is literally the only picture I took of her apartment and the move in. The second time moving her was a little easier than the first. But, it’s still weird that she’s not here all the time again!

What did you do this week?

GET IN THE PICTURE WITH YOUR KIDS! Who cares what you look like? Who cares how you appear? Who cares what you are wearing? JUST DO IT! Come share your picture on the Facebook thread or use #MommyAndMeMonday!

It’s time again for Mommy and Me Monday. Pop out from behind that camera and capture yourself in action with your kids. Check out the inaugural Mommy and Me Monday for more information. Need another reason to participate in Mommy and Me Monday? Read my post about why I blog with words from a friend’s husband.

The post Back to School Ready | Mommy and me Monday | 870th ed appeared first on Really, Are You Serious?.

Last week, N and E had their full week of band camp with themed dress up days every day. One day was twin day.

And it was pretty dang cute when they came into the kitchen matching and I asked if they planned it (not knowing it was twin day). They had decided to twin together with each other instead of friends.

It was also one of my days I signed up to chaperone/serve dinner. When I was getting ready in the afternoon, it dawned on me that I also had the same green shirt (and some dark blue shorts), so I put on my “twin” outfit and it became triplet day.

I had guessed who would notice first and it was N…as I predicted. But they both did notice and also claimed I didn’t embarrass them! Whew!

One week until school starts! It’s been a slow fast summer!

What did you do this week?

GET IN THE PICTURE WITH YOUR KIDS! Who cares what you look like? Who cares how you appear? Who cares what you are wearing? JUST DO IT! Come share your picture on the Facebook thread or use #MommyAndMeMonday!

It’s time again for Mommy and Me Monday. Pop out from behind that camera and capture yourself in action with your kids. Check out the inaugural Mommy and Me Monday for more information. Need another reason to participate in Mommy and Me Monday? Read my post about why I blog with words from a friend’s husband.

The post Twin Day Turned Triplet Day | Mommy and Me Monday | 869th ed appeared first on Really, Are You Serious?.

It was another rare occasion when everybody was going to be home for dinner. I actually sent out a text that said “by my calculations everybody should be home tonight, so please don’t make plans!”

Between work, running and marching band practices it’s going to be even more rare.

I had heard about a new pizza place that had true Italian pizzas and I wanted to give it a try.

Individual pizzas for all. None of us ventured too far from traditional, but it sure was tasty and so very quick. Bonus is it’s not too far away from home and there’s free parking.

We’ve only got 2 weeks of summer left and I know it’s going to fly, so we have to grab each opportunity to have some family time when we can.

What did you do this week?

GET IN THE PICTURE WITH YOUR KIDS! Who cares what you look like? Who cares how you appear? Who cares what you are wearing? JUST DO IT! Come share your picture on the Facebook thread or use #MommyAndMeMonday!

It’s time again for Mommy and Me Monday. Pop out from behind that camera and capture yourself in action with your kids. Check out the inaugural Mommy and Me Monday for more information. Need another reason to participate in Mommy and Me Monday? Read my post about why I blog with words from a friend’s husband.

The post Italian Pizza Closer to Home | Mommy and Me Monday | 868th ed appeared first on Really, Are You Serious?.

We decided to spend a week in Michigan visiting family and hopefully escaping some of the heat. We didn’t avoid much of the heat, but it was a little cooler and a nice break from home.

B snapped an ussie before she headed off to float in the water. I joined her shortly after with the rest of the family in the tubes. The water felt amazing.

While some of the kiddos ran, E and I took off on a walk with my aunt. We got some good steps in with some nice views. One walk we saw a family of deer.

On one of our trips to take my grandma back to her place, we stopped and got ice cream. It’s not everyday you can get ice cream with your grandma/great-grandmother. You can only see B’s hair (the glare was bad and I didn’t realize you couldn’t see her), but she’s there, too. They had a raspberry Dole Whip and it was dreamy.

While in Michigan, N did a tour on the University of Michigan. What a pretty campus, especially in the summer. Not sure what it would look like in the middle of winter. We did get caught in a couple rain storms.

After dinner, one day, we hopped on the paddle boat and took a ride around half the lake.

It was a nice visit with family and spending time on the lake and we are grateful for family that hosts us.

What did you do this week?

GET IN THE PICTURE WITH YOUR KIDS! Who cares what you look like? Who cares how you appear? Who cares what you are wearing? JUST DO IT! Come share your picture on the Facebook thread or use #MommyAndMeMonday!

It’s time again for Mommy and Me Monday. Pop out from behind that camera and capture yourself in action with your kids. Check out the inaugural Mommy and Me Monday for more information. Need another reason to participate in Mommy and Me Monday? Read my post about why I blog with words from a friend’s husband.

The post Michigan | Mommy and Me Monday | 867th ed appeared first on Really, Are You Serious?.

We picked an early morning orthodontist appointment for B. And it was already hot outside. But one of the nice perks of our orthodontist is they offer frozen treats during the summer to both patients and the parents!

B quickly grabbed hers and I looked for one without ice cream! Thankfully there was an option.

There hasn’t been a lot of free time, but there has been some time for one-on-one with the kiddos. N and I grabbed a quick lunch and got our toes done together. It’s nice to be able to sneak in time with these kiddos when I can.

What did you do this week?

GET IN THE PICTURE WITH YOUR KIDS! Who cares what you look like? Who cares how you appear? Who cares what you are wearing? JUST DO IT! Come share your picture on the Facebook thread or use #MommyAndMeMonday!

It’s time again for Mommy and Me Monday. Pop out from behind that camera and capture yourself in action with your kids. Check out the inaugural Mommy and Me Monday for more information. Need another reason to participate in Mommy and Me Monday? Read my post about why I blog with words from a friend’s husband.

The post One-on-one time | Mommy and Me Monday | 866th ed appeared first on Really, Are You Serious?.

At the beginning of May, I received an email for “First Timers Friday” to advance book a spot in studios for a Peloton class. I had always wanted to be able to do an in person class, but trying to schedule it out a few weeks in advance and making everything work wasn’t in the cards. That was until I go the email invitation.

I immediately booked the class and figured everything else later.

Well, figure it out, I did. I was gifted some airlines miles which helped a ton, booked my hotel and started entering lotteries for shows. If I was going to go to NYC, I was going to do NYC.

One class booking, turned into making it to 5 total classes, 3 broadway musicals and a trip to a museum.

It was so fun being live in studio. So much energy and enthusiasm. And everybody was so nice!

While waiting at the airport Friday night to fly home the oldest asked me if I would ride while she did her 10 mile run. What’s a few more miles, right? It was definitely the easiest ride of the week, however!

I might have flown a little too close to the sun with my packed schedule as I’ve definitely got a fun summer bug and will be laying back down right after hitting post, but it was such a great time!

What did you do this week?

GET IN THE PICTURE WITH YOUR KIDS! Who cares what you look like? Who cares how you appear? Who cares what you are wearing? JUST DO IT! Come share your picture on the Facebook thread or use #MommyAndMeMonday!

It’s time again for Mommy and Me Monday. Pop out from behind that camera and capture yourself in action with your kids. Check out the inaugural Mommy and Me Monday for more information. Need another reason to participate in Mommy and Me Monday? Read my post about why I blog with words from a friend’s husband.

The post In-Studio and Outdoor Rides | Mommy and Me Monday | 865th ed appeared first on Really, Are You Serious?.

This summer, getting everybody together for a meal…either in or out means putting it on the calendar and letting everybody know. It also means getting a gift card deal at Costco and then going to said place when they have a deal on sushi!

Oh and snapping a picture of the occasion with the whole family while we wait for our food.

The oldest then told us all to get another picture once our sushi arrived and you can see that most everybody was already ready to be eating.

I do not remember going out to get sushi growing up!

And one picture of our gasp rising senior from her senior portraits this week. I can’t believe it’s time to do another senior year all over again!

What did you do this week?

GET IN THE PICTURE WITH YOUR KIDS! Who cares what you look like? Who cares how you appear? Who cares what you are wearing? JUST DO IT! Come share your picture on the Facebook thread or use #MommyAndMeMonday!

It’s time again for Mommy and Me Monday. Pop out from behind that camera and capture yourself in action with your kids. Check out the inaugural Mommy and Me Monday for more information. Need another reason to participate in Mommy and Me Monday? Read my post about why I blog with words from a friend’s husband.

The post Family Dinner Out | Mommy and Me Monday | 864th ed appeared first on Really, Are You Serious?.

It was a little different this year with only 3 of our 4 kids at the pediatrician for their well-visits and sports/band required physicals.

I’m also running out of lap space for when we change seats!

And not beneath a bribe…the kids know there’s still a treat after their well-visits and vaccines. This time we hit up RaceTrac’s SwirlWorld! They were happy with their choices, even with sore arms.

What did you do this week?

GET IN THE PICTURE WITH YOUR KIDS! Who cares what you look like? Who cares how you appear? Who cares what you are wearing? JUST DO IT! Come share your picture on the Facebook thread or use #MommyAndMeMonday!

It’s time again for Mommy and Me Monday. Pop out from behind that camera and capture yourself in action with your kids. Check out the inaugural Mommy and Me Monday for more information. Need another reason to participate in Mommy and Me Monday? Read my post about why I blog with words from a friend’s husband.

The post A Well-Visit and Treats | Mommy and Me Monday | 863rd ed appeared first on Really, Are You Serious?.