1. We had Isabelle’s baptism on Sunday, and it was absolutely wonderful. We had a great weekend leading up to it with our friends here from Virginia; the kids had a ball playing and it’s just so much fun to be together. Isabelle, although crazy tired, held herself together remarkably well for the baptism ceremony, aaaaaaaaand then proceeded to scream the entire time we took pictures. Then she fell asleep in my arms :) She wore the same Christening gown that my sister and I wore, which was originally my mom’s. Kudos to my grandma and mom for keeping it in such immaculate condition!

Some photos from the weekend:

(Dominic did not enjoy water balloons or the hose)

(Oh hello there, teenagers)

(They were born four days apart!)

This was Isabelle’s headband – my aunt made it with material and beading from both my mom’s and grandma’s wedding dresses. This is the same aunt who has made framed cross stitches of photos of Joseph and Dominic by the Christmas tree on each of their first Christmases – she is incredibly thoughtful and talented.

2. I can’t believe that Joseph is going to be heading back to school in a few weeks! This summer has absolutely flown by, I can’t believe that it’s already been three months since he finished up. This year he’ll pick up an extra day (going three days a week instead of two) and an extra half hour (2.5 hours vs 2); he did so, so well with school last year and loved it so much, I can’t wait to see the friends he makes and everything he learns this year!

I want to do something with Dominic, too. We do swim lessons once a week, but I’m debating between a music class and a tumbling class. He didn’t totally love the music class we tried this summer, and he is a total monkey (he taught himself how to do somersaults!), so I’m thinking he might like a toddler tumbling class.

3. Even though Joseph doesn’t need to pack a lunch for school yet (he only goes in the morning), I’m loving the back to school lunchbox guide from Sweet Peas Meals – tons of great ideas for meals and snacks at home, too!

4. All this talk about back to school has me craving the copycat Pizza Hut breadsticks; getting those BookIt personal pan pizzas was the best!

5. Last week or the week before I mentioned that I made my annual trip to the dermatologist and had two small moles removed. Well, the biopsy on the one under my eye came back as a basal cell carcinoma, so I had Mohs surgery performed this week. It’s basically a procedure (in the office) where they take a little more tissue from around the initial spot, and then examine the slides in a lab in real-time to see if there are cancer cells extending beyond the margin of the tissue that has been taken. If there are, they go back and take a little more. My mom and aunt have both had this procedure, so I was familiar with it. Sometimes it only takes one pass, but other times it can take three or more. I was fortunate in that they were able to remove it all with the first pass, so not TOO big of an area had to be removed. I’ve had a pressure bandage on since Wednesday and will remove it today, hopefully the scaring will be minimal.

So, big-time PSA: get annual skin checks! I totally thought what they removed was an oil-clogged pore before I went in.

6. One of the things that I really, REALLY need to do is organize my digital files. They are all over the place. I need a streamlined system! Anyone care to share how they organize or a link to a system they’ve found helpful?

7. Crazy question – do you keep your raisins in the refrigerator or the pantry? I have always kept them in the pantry (we buy a big canister at a time) since they say to store at room temperature, but they tend to dry out. So one day my husband did some Googling and found a ton of sites saying to transfer them to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. So I started doing this (using a freezer ziploc bag) and oh my gosh, they stay SO fresh and plump! Game changer!

8. I am SO ready for fall sports to get back in action! Pre-season football already started and hockey will start next month. Can’t come soon enough!!

9. Have you seen this recent Nature Valley ad about three generations of kids and what they did for fun? Absolutely heartbreaking. And just reaffirms how we feel about getting our kids electronics (yes, we will totally be the uncool parents, sorry kids).

10. TGIF! I hope you have a fantastic weekend, maybe including time with a good friend! :)