Freezing rain, ice and remote learning! Oh my!

 What a week or two we have had!  The last couple weeks have been filled with less than ideal temperatures and weather for my two active boys.  While they have desperately wanted a good snow... all we got was freezing rain and ice!  Here is how we have entertained ourselves as we are counting down the days to spring!  Zander met one of his best buds, Christian, at the roller skating rink for an afternoon of fun! Zander was zipping around the rink and showed a huge confidence which was exciting since we haven't been to the roller skating rink since before the pandemic started a year ago.  Both boys enjoyed spending their money at the arcade as well!

Maddox requested gel one morning!  He gets his thick hair from his mama!  He did fess up this week that he cut a couple locks from his hair using daddy's beard cutting scissors.... he proudly proclaimed "it didn't hurt at all"! haha  I told him he will not be cutting any more of his hair in the future no matter how cute his explanation was! ;)  

Linds and I suited up for our first 10 miler of 2021.  We have a virtual half marathon we are running at the end of March so we are trying to increase the mileage in the next few weeks as we prepare for 13.1 again!  Ironically, our entire run was in freezing rain with trees falling in front of or behind us along the path.  It might have been one of the craziest things we have done lately but really made us feel like true runners who get out there in all types of weather!  When we got back to my car, it wouldn't start again! This would make the second time in a week and a half!  The last time the battery was replaced so we have no idea what is going on!  Fortunately, dad came to the rescue and the jumper cables worked this time!  Zack met me at the dealership and we got a loaner to drive while they figure it out.  As of today, it looks like it might be another couple weeks without my vehicle which I know and love!  Hoping they get it fixed and I get back to driving it soon!  (These pictures were taken prior to the car not starting.... where things got even colder as Linds and I waited for dad and mom to come rescue me!) 

As I mentioned, this past week was filled with freezing rain and ice.  This meant for lots of indoor fun.  We watched a little tv and cuddled while the kids played on their tablets for a little break for mommy! ;)  We also played Uno, Guess Who and a few made up games around the house!

On Saturday, the weather got up to 50 degrees for the first time in weeks so we headed to the science center for some indoor and outdoor fun that was not within our living room! haha  We enjoyed our day!  Zander decided not to do the carousel this time... I hope that he hasn't outgrown things like that just yet.... we shall see! 

Thursday was a no school day due to the icy conditions and fear of many power outages which meant both boys were with me but we didn't have to worry about getting schoolwork done.  Other than that, Zander and I worked from home the rest of the week.  Thanks to Grammy and Grandpa, my sidekick went to their house on Tuesday so I could get a few things done at the school.  I enjoyed snapping pictures of him working while I was also knocking out the daily to-do list. I have to say I am very excited we are going back to school tomorrow..... it just feels right for Z to be in class and for mommy to get her work done with a few less interruptions. ;)

To My Little Valentines

 To My Littlest Loves,

Well.... you are not so little anymore.... at five and seven years old, I truly cannot believe that you are in PreK and 2nd grade!  As I think back on the last year, I had no idea at this holiday a year ago, this would be the last holiday you would celebrate with your classmates for sometime.  By March 13th, you were with me full time until school started back in August for Maddox's Pre-K year.  Zander stayed with me full time until January of 2021, making ten months of remote learning for his first/second grade years.  Can you believe that we learned, played and mommy worked altogether for this long?  When I look back, I am impressed at how we juggled it all and am also hopeful you only remember the good.... the extra time to sleep or cuddle in the morning, the laidback attire, the bike rides to the school down the street to play at their track, field or courts to get some energy out between work sessions.  I pray that you always remember that mommy and daddy did everything in their power to give you great experiences while we were under a "stay at home" order.  Daddy went to work every day and both of your parents continued to provide for your needs and some of your wants.  We were still able to go to the beach, a mountain waterfall adventure and Great Wolf Lodge! We have made so many wonderful memories this year! I have enjoyed watching you grow, watching your love for sports get bigger and watching all that you are learning! Zander, it amazes me how you so quickly went from reading words and small picture books to whole chapter books this past year.  Maddox, it amazes me how you are able to confidently count to 100, read letters and numbers and how you can use your knowledge of letter sounds to put three letter words together through blending the sounds!  This all happened so fast and I am so proud of both of you! I love to hear you say your prayers at mealtime or before bed.  I love listening to you sing songs on the radio when K-Love is playing or to sing songs you learned at church in your sweet five and seven year old voices!  I cannot wait to see what this upcoming year has in store for my little valentines.  I hope you will always know how much you are loved and prayed for.  As Grammy mentioned on one of the hearts she put on your doors, you are the boys we prayed for..... prayers that started before mommy and daddy met, prayers that continued after mommy and daddy got married and prayers that are said daily since you have arrived.  You bring us all so much joy and we love being able to celebrate all the holidays with you!  You eagerly count down to the next one, giving us something to look forward to every month!  We love you!

Love,

Mommy (and Daddy) ;) 

**Grammy makes each holiday special.... she created calendars for each boy's bedroom with stickers to count down to this holiday of love.  She also wrote every single heart note that is on their doors (along with ones for us as well).  We pray we love like she does every day.  We are so lucky she is ours! ;) 

**Maddox had a Valentine party and got lots of goodies.  He even made his own valentine container at Grammy's!  Zander couldn't have a class party or exchange valentines due to Covid-19 restrictions.  He was able to pass out valentines to the other staff kids at our school which made him happy to give them out and also to receive a few in return! ;) 

On Valentine's Day, we went to church and then ate lunch at Arby's afterwards.....we enjoyed jamocha and mint chocolate chip shakes with lunch!  After lunch, the boys got fresh hair cuts for upcoming picture days this week and next!  We enjoyed a nap time and then watched the movie "Up" while the freezing rain continued from the day before!  After the boys went to bed, Zack and I watched "Psych 2: Lassie Come Home".  This movie was a spin off from a show we watched before the kids were born... it felt great to get some laughs in and enjoy some mindless entertainment just the two of us!  I truly enjoyed my relaxing day with my boys.... a perfect Valentine's Day with my forever valentine and my littlest loves!

Home and School Things!

First... the school things... both boys finished their 100th day of school for this year!  Maddox can successfully count to 100 and loves showing us his counting abilities.... I will always love the pause as he goes to the next set of ten when counting!  Zander also celebrated the 100th day and we dressed as if we were 100 years old.... this year has really aged us! haha  I made sure to get a picture of him with this teacher, Ms. Richmond, too! 

We also had superhero day at school, meaning my oldest and I matched with Spiderman themed costumes!  Maddox wanted to join in the fun so he wore a Captain America shirt that had a hood which completed his outfit! I know Maddox is counting down the days until he can be with us at school every day!  It won't be long now!

We celebrated the end of a long week with ice cream BEFORE dinner! Why not?! haha

Zander continues to love reading and has really enjoyed the series he started over Christmas break.  He finished the third book last week and has already started into #4..... I love that he reads while I drop Maddox off at this class!

Z also took his first spelling test!  He really wanted an "A+" as he said.  He got all of them correct and was so excited!  I cannot believe how big these boys are getting!

Also at school last week, I was honored to accept the "title" of Certified Instructional Support Person of the Year for my school.  Our district created this new recognition this year which made me so incredibly grateful that my colleagues voted for me for this award in the first year it was created.  I appreciated the flowers, chocolate cake and students clapping for me and giving me air high fives as I went through the building on the day it was announced! I love the people I work with and am thankful to be at the same school as Zander.  I cannot believe I will have both boys with me for the next few years!  I cannot wait!

Now to the home things....Zack and I celebrated our first date, 16 years later, with a date night to Waffle House... I'm glad I am a cheap date! ;)

I got to eat dinner with these ladies last week... first time out in months for dinner and it felt great!

Burke is on the mend after what appears to have been an intestinal parasite.  He was throwing up frequently.  We didn't know if it was the cancer or a food allergy.  The vet suggested a prescription to ensure he didn't have an intestinal parasite before looking at other options, and I am happy to report, our boy seems to be back to normal.... hope I didn't just jinx us! ;)

We have been doing a lot of "adulting" lately.  First, the whole working through a pandemic while also helping educate and transport your kids from place to place continues to feel hard.  On top of that, we got what I hope is the last bill from Maddox's ER visit in the mail on the same week that we had to get a new heat/air unit for our downstairs.  We went about a week and a half with no heat downstairs, and we are very thankful for heat now!  It is staying in the 40s as a high most days around here so I look forward to getting home and not going back out until I have to the next day! haha  Also, while getting ready to leave our nice warm house this week, my car wouldn't start.  I knew I needed to pick up Maddox since this was a work from home Wednesday and hurriedly asked dad to come over and try jumper cables.  They didn't work.  After a couple more hours, we finally had a tow truck come and take my newest, fanciest car I have ever owned to the dealership to have the service department look at it the next morning.  (I will point out that this is the first time I have ever had to have a car towed.... which is a blessing and somewhat ironic due to the newness of the car!)  Zack dropped all of us off at school/work that next day and picked us all up in the afternoon to get my car.  They changed the battery and while the car was there, I got an oil change and changed an air filter.... because who has time to go back to the mechanic with the crazy schedule these days?!   I am hopeful that the upcoming weeks will be a little slower pace in the "adulting" department!

Quick Catch Up Post!

Things have been pretty busy since we started back to school after Christmas break.  Here is a quick catch up post of some of the things we have been up to!

I received our 2020 blog book in the mail.... I get our blog printed every year (since 2013) so that one day the boys will have a record of their childhood.  I feel that 2020 will be extremely valuable and memorable in the future as we made it through a pandemic!  Zander has started reading these books and it has made me thankful I've documented the daily, weekly, monthly and yearly adventures of the Houstons!

Zander didn't have school half of the first week he returned.  They started off in cohorts to ease the transition back to school.  Grammy was going out of town with her girlfriends and Grandpa took over watching him for that Friday.  I think they enjoyed watching tv together and Zander loved getting to eat Bojangles for lunch!  Fortunately, he is now going four days a week and spends Wednesdays with Grammy and Grandpa while I'm in all day meetings on the computer.

Zack and I watched the Kennedy kids last Sunday night and we had a blast spending time with our niece and nephew.  I successfully fed them dinner and kept everyone alive and happy when Linds and Boom returned!  I don't know how parents do it that typically have this number (or higher) of kids!  There was never a dull moment for sure!

We have no heat downstairs.... we are going on a week and two days now.  We initially thought the fan motor needed to be replaced but when the technician went to install the new fan motor, it was discovered we would need a whole new heating/cooling unit for downstairs.  Fortunately, we have heat upstairs since our house runs on two separate units.  We have tried to entertain upstairs more this past week.... including a bath with color bath drops!   They typically don't bathe together anymore but mommy was desperate to have a little entertainment while staying warm! haha

Zander finished the 2nd book in his series he is reading.  He is already into the 3rd book, and I love that he is working on his reading stamina through this novel series!

I signed Maddox up for Kindergarten this week!  I cannot believe that both our boys will be school age by August!  Time really does fly by and I am already getting excited about us having the same schedule and having both boys with me for a few years!  I am praying that the school year looks a little more "normal" than the last year has.  

Yesterday's weather stayed in the 40s and after we threw out the idea of going to Triad Park, I just didn't want to leave the house!  So after church, we fit in rest time and some football watching.  Zander created a new game using the laser tag guns and Nerf guns!  I will have to say the house I grew up in where my dad was outnumbered looks a lot different than the house where I am outnumbered! haha  We had fun and thanks to a space heater from Grammy and Grandpa and our gas logs, it isn't too bad downstairs when you give it time to heat up (something we don't have time for in the mornings and evenings during the work week)!  I am praying everything works out to get our new unit installed on Wednesday nonetheless! 

First Snow and First Day of School (in person)!

We finished up our Christmas Break with some time with our family of five (Burke included).  One of our favorite activities right now is walking to our neighborhood school and playing football or soccer in the afternoons/evenings.  Burke loves joining us for some family fun!

When Maddox returned to school, we were able to pick up his Christmas presents since before the break.  I love that his teacher had a plate made for us to keep of his precious 5 year old handprint, documenting Christmas 2020!  

We had our first snow the Friday before Z started for in person learning at school.  I was supposed to have a workday and was able to work from home with both boys.  They predicted 3-6 inches and we got a light dusting.  The boys were still excited to walk in the snow, layer up in all their winter gear and throw a few small snowballs.  Hopefully we will get a larger snow before winter is over because these boys really want to go sledding! ;)

After 10 months of remote learning, finishing 1st grade with a computer and starting 2nd grade with one, Zander came for school in person!  So instead of a computer, he has an island, a mask and social distancing guidelines.  We are thankful for interactions with teachers and students, even if they look different and are not as close as they have been in the past.  We pray for safety and success in the upcoming months.... stay tuned as we continue with concurrent instruction.... in person learning and remote learning all at the same time!

We celebrated with donuts for dinner! Mommy had to celebrate too! For the first time in 10 months, I wasn't wondering if Zander had all his work completed for the day, had he signed on all of his zoom meetings for the day or had he eaten his lunch?!  It was nice to focus on checking off my to-do list during the day and spending my evening hearing about both boys' days at school!

This week has been crazy! Zander came with me on Monday and Tuesday and is with Grammy and Grandpa for the rest of the week!  We are coming back in cohorts to help with the transition back to school.  I am so thankful for Grammy and Grandpa for helping us survive this pandemic and all the changes that have occurred within this last year.  I am also helping with car rider duty in the mornings and afternoons as we are making changes and adapting to the "new normal" once again!  It has been rainy and cold but we are checking off this week one day at a time!  Z and I even matched on Tuesday... my dress is made from the same fabric as his shirt! ;) 

Grammy took the "bookend cousins" for a bike ride/stroller ride while she walked this week.... I am so impressed at how she juggles it all and is always smiling... I want to be like her when I grow up! ;)

Great Wolf Lodge!

We surprised our boys with an overnight adventure to Great Wolf Lodge.  Originally we planned to go there last spring for Zander's 7th birthday but with Covid restrictions, the resort closed and we were refunded our money.  Fast forward to this winter and us continuing to worry about future restrictions imposed by Covid, we decided to be spontaneous (as in we booked our night away less than a week in advance) and gave the boys a day/night to remember before going back to school.  Since the boys are taller and more advanced swimmers than they were last spring, I can't help but feel that the timing was absolutely perfect for our getaway!  Maddox was able to do all of the water slides except one based on his height and both boys enjoyed every single water feature since they love swimming in the water!  This made us less nervous to let them explore what the resort had to offer (always within a quick swim or a few steps away from mommy or daddy)!  I took this picture on our way down when the boys thought we were going to a new "park".... they had NO IDEA it was a water park!! I had packed our things and hid them in the back of the car without them seeing our suitcase which of course included swimsuits!  They couldn't believe we were spending the night when we pulled up and even asked if they had swimsuits which mommy proudly mentioned that I packed everything they needed for this surprise adventure!

When we got there, I was able to check us in quickly and they said our room was already ready!  We got a KidKamp Suite which meant a queen size bed for mommy and daddy along with a tent-themed sleeping area including bunk beds for the boys!  They loved the waterpark the most but a close second was being able to sleep in bunk beds and have their own TV in their area!  After exploring the room, the boys were ready to see the waterpark!  We quickly changed into our bathing suits and spent the next 4-5 hours tubing down waterslides, jumping and swimming through waves in their wave pool and exploring the other water features (including a giant bucket that would fill up and pour on your heads) that were all indoors... which meant even though it was rainy and 50 degrees outside, we were comfortable swimming in the 80 degree temperatures inside!

We grabbed a pizza for dinner and ate it poolside while also seeing how different the waterslides were after dark when the tubes go out past the building space and back into the enclosed property!  We grabbed a sweet treat before bed (ice cream and cookies)!  We were going to explore some more but Maddox's tummy was a little upset from all the water attractions (a.k.a. drinking too much pool/saltwater).  We watched a little TV before bed!  Maddox was ready to go the next morning, eating some leftover pizza, hot chocolate (that I had packed from home) and his uneaten cookie from the night before.... a breakfast of champions!  I had packed some breakfast items that we all had and Zack even took advantage of the Dunkin Donuts on the property to get an iced coffee to start his day!  We checked out of our room by 10:00 and then went back to the waterpark for a few more hours before heading home.  We rented a locker for the day so we could easily change into comfy, warm clothes for the drive back!  I cannot express how much fun we had!! It was the best way to start 2021 with our family of four!  Great Wolf Lodge was the perfect place for the ages and abilities of our kids!! I am so thankful we had the opportunity to do this before we get back into the daily/weekly routines with work and school!  I know we hope to be back for a visit in the future!

In other news since my New Year's Day post, I did have my annual pork and sauerkraut (thanks to Grammy), so here's to good health and good luck in 2021! 

Our pup continues to be sick over the break so he has enjoyed extra cuddles with each member of our family while we have been home.  Grammy stayed with him while we were gone overnight and took such good care of him.  We are thankful for all these extra moments together to relax and slow down our typical busy pace!

Zander made it a goal to start and finish a chapter book that he was given by one of his best buds, Christian, while we were home over Christmas Break.  It had approximately 180 pages and I feel it is at about a 3rd grade reading level.  He read a chapter or two (and 5 the last day) and finished this book by New Year's Day.... giving him almost a week of extra time that he didn't need to finish the book!  Zack went ahead and bought him the second book in the series (which he is about 50 pages into already).  He also surprised Maddox with his very own copy of the first book.  Maddox has been so excited to be like his big brother! We read a page or two together each day so he can feel as big as his brother.;)  Maddox requested I take the picture of him with his book (see below). ;)