Paint Party

 So in the past few years I have gone to a few fundraising paint parties. And every time I come home with a canvas (on which is typically a not-so-masterful-masterpiece) my kids talk about how much fun it would be. 

Then I saw a sign up for a kid paint party through city recreation. As it turns out we still have credits with them from 2020 swim lessons so signing both kids up was free*. I say free* since the money was spent 2 full years ago obviously, so it felt as though we were paying nothing. 

Saturday was the big day. It was held in a restaurant and parents were invited to stay and enjoy the menu/watch or leave. We stayed. 

Other than the fact that I really judged a mom who moved a chair to sit exactly next to her kid right in front of my kids, I thought everything was well done. 

Please note: Mom in teal, while ridiculous as well, is not the mom I thought was overly helicoptery. 

That prize goes to Mom in gray right next to C's shoulder. Honestly, when she placed a chair there I thought perhaps her daughter was hard of hearing and needed her mom's help to interpret the instructions. Nope. Just overly cautious and particular. 

Obviously Husband and I were there and we watched, but we gave thumbs up from across the room and didn't run right over when say M got paint on her arm. It's funny because I would call myself a little bit of a helicopter mom when it really comes down to it, but I looked calm and collected at this event!

I was glad to give them the chance to paint. They liked it so well they'd like to do it again! 

Fun Friday

Today, on this first Friday of the month I am back to work! It kind of feels like starting over new. I imagine it's like riding a bike right? 

To wrap up Catholic schools week, they're having Red, White and Blue day for the Olympics! We love the Olympics as you probably know. But it's ALSO 100s day in first grade so M is dressed up like a 100 year old today. 

We decided the floral dress and sweater "grandma" look isn't relevant to today's senior citizens and we went with a more updated Active Granny look. 

Please note the tissue in her sleeve (I safety pinned it in place.) She is also holding a Werther's Original. You can't really tell that I sprayed her hair grey and it's in a nice low bun. But it is. I personally think the applique sweatshirt is hilarious and exactly what the hip senior citizens wear I might add. 

Remember when C was in first grade? 

Yes, they are using the same "Life Alert" because siblings. 

Yesterday was mismatch day. M had it down to a science. 

They've had a good week! C was in the spelling bee yesterday. 

He made it to the 4th round and got out with the word "irregular." He was disappointed because he wanted to win but I was very proud of him. Since it was mismatched day it cracks me up that the pictures are all of kids not looking their best exactly. I imagine someone needed to explain that to any guests viewing the bee. 

Lastly, my friend sent me this while I was in isolation. 

I personally got both! So did she, which is why she sent it! 

Today is also Husband and I's 16th dating anniversary! I am so lucky he's loved me for so long and loving me so well. He is such a good man and kept the house running while I couldn't this last week. I am so thankful for him and his service to me and our family. 

Happy Friday!!

Oh Hey!

Hello February! Where have I been? Well, you know. Busy. 

First things first, C turned in his finished church last week. 

We are so proud of his hard work. And he really did the bulk of the work, with some guidance. If you're looking for a way to grow in patience might I recommend handing a hot glue gun to your 9-year-old? This kid is just the sweetest though. A few weeks back we got to go out on a special date. 

I mention it was a few weeks back and I dropped off the planet because last week, M tested positive. So we all got the 5-day quarantine! She was just acting off, in that Mom can tell kind of way. (Cranky, she maybe felt warm and she was tired which is unusual.) Anyway, by Thursday she was right as rain and like nothing ever happened. Maybe she had a stuffy nose. 

School online went incredibly smoothly and though I am glad it isn't a long-term thing, it wasn't that bad. 

But then Friday my throat started feeling tickly and I had a little cough. Still tested negative. But Saturday morning... boom! There came my positive test. I had way more symptoms than M unfortunately. But today I am feeling much better (just some sinus pressure left) and can come out of isolation on Friday! Day Zero is the weirdest thing btw. All things considered, it has been pretty minor but also annoying. Stupid virus. 

Luckily the boys are both asymptomatic and testing negative so the kid got to go back to school today.

The downside of the whole thing was we missed seeing the third-grade community in person. And it was so very disappointing to all of us. But we have good friends who sent us pictures after mass. 

We are happy that the kids didn't miss all of Catholic Schools Week. We really do so love our Catholic school. (Someone turned the lights on in his church to make the windows pop later on but I didn't think we needed more pictures.) 

So that's where we've been. Since M used my computer daily for school I haven't been online much. Which has been nice really. Taking some time to rest and recharge has been good for the soul. 

Laughs, Building a Church, Soccer

 It's Wednesday. It's super cold and windy here. So here are a few things that have made me laugh out loud this week: 

I mean, I still enjoy staying up late, but don't expect anything from me.

This is me. Every day. Even if I try not to be.

I don't know if I have ever written about my disdain for clapping. But I really hate it. It actually does hurt my hands if it makes a noise. So that was funny to me. I sent it to Husband who doesn't get my clapping thing... he thought it was me for sure. 

I don't even know why that made me laugh so much. But it did. 

In other news, C is working on the 3rd grade community project. Basically, all the students make a building found in a community. He was assigned a church. And we have been having a good time working on it. 

We used Shrinky Dinks to make the stained glass windows. While Husband or I helped trace, C did most of the coloring. 

He also used his 3D pen to make the cross for the top of the steeple. 

We aren't meant to have anything inside the buildings but how could we make a church without Jesus inside?! I made a little monstrance using the 3d pen. 

This is my favorite of the windows. It's the window on the back of our sanctuary. 

It looks like this: 

I can't wait to show you the finished project! We are super excited!

In other news, indoor soccer season is over! And they won their last game!!

This picture was the team on the bench counting down the last 20 seconds of the game, they were SO so thrilled to finally win! 

M played probably the best she ever had all season. It was awesome. I was very very proud of her. Now we have 2 months with no soccer!

We Don't Talk About Him

 Here's a little desk shot for you. Because it's January. And Thursday. So okay. 

Keeping me company is my friend Bruno. Subject of the hit song I've been singing for 14 days straight since we first watched Encanto on New Year's Eve. 

So even though, we don't talk about Bruno, the jam about him keeps my work day peppy. And looking over at him makes me smile. He keeps my phone dinosaur company. And my small chirp wheel. (Perfect for the office, I've found it also helps me work out the tension in my wrists.) 

I am so very thankful for the sun shining today. It wont be as warm as it was yesterday. 

Even still I was able to get my car washed yesterday which makes so so happy. It has been so cold that all the water mains are breaking. Last week I was driving home with the kids in the car and I didn't know a water main had burst, so the road was extra slushy. The city clearly kept coming through with salt trucks to try and keep it slush instead of ice, with the running water. Another car going the other direction just sped through and COVERED my car with salty slush that instantly froze. 

I was able to get the windshield cleaned off during the drive but had to scrape the drivers side windows once I was home. My car looked super gross and dirty, plus that's not great for the paint so getting it cleaned made me super happy. After the car wash, we met Husband at a restaurant for their $3.99 Wednesday burger baskets. 

The kids approved! Happy Thursday!! If you're singing along with me now... just know you're in good company!

Wednesday Happenings

 It's kind of crazy to sit here and think it's January 12. Already. Only. I go back and forth. In some ways this month is flying by and in other ways it's dragging on. 

I feel like everyone is getting COVID. I feel like the walls are closing in a bit. But enough about that. 

My girl has been singing and playing and I love to watch her. I also like to join in when I can. She's obsessed with the Owl Diary books right now. 

This kid, has been doing okay. There's a big third grade project coming up and we've been excitedly working on it. I've been excited about this project for years in fact! I hope it turns out nice! 

He also had his well child exam. He's such a peanut still. Which does ease the sting of him getting older let me tell you!! (He was less than thrilled with this appointment because... shots.)

This is my word of the year bracelet from Pink Salt Riot. (LOVE THEM!) Last year I really enjoyed having a bracelet all year to keep me focused. This year I am doing it again. My word, clearly, is worthy. It's a multifaceted word choice and I am hopeful that it plays out well. It was abundantly clear that this was my word though. (No random generator used, just prayer and journaling.) 

Poor M hates spelling. She's not even bad at it, but getting her to practice her words is like pulling teeth. Last night we tried bananagrams  to mix it up and that did seem to go over pretty well. 

It's been really cold. But it's warmed up a bit today. I might try and go get my car washed at lunch today in fact! 

Happy Wednesday! 

Hello 2022!

 Our New Year started out with snow. It snowed ALL day on Saturday. But because it was so cold it didn't actually amount to a ton of snow when it really comes down to it. 

We shoveled and stayed in. Which was a cozy and relaxing day together. 

Monday was supposed to be the first day back from break. But we woke up and got the message school was cancelled due to a bus driver shortage. We follow our local district's policy on this but it was decided mid day that going forward a bus driver shortage will not keep our school closed again. (We will follow their lead on severe weather and extreme cold however.) 

But yesterday everyone got to go back to school and we celebrated by having soup in the kid's new soup bowl/cups they got for Christmas. Just like Medieval Times! 

We are getting back into the swing of things, and honestly, this week has been exhausting. I am already ready for Friday and it's only Wednesday! Alas. But I don't want to go wishing time away. 

Happy Wednesday!