Normal Everyday

Today is the LAST day of February! I can't believe it!

I wish I had a lot to report or say but I really don't. Life is about as normal as it gets around here.

It was 64 yesterday so we grilled! That was fun.

The kids had dentists appointments this morning. That was good.

I haven't even taken pictures lately so here's these from car line on Friday.

M and Minnie Baby. She got a Bitty Baby for her birthday and named it, what else? Minnie. But in order to distinguish it from the 95 other Minnies in the house she is Minnie Baby. This girl also got an American Girl catalog in the mail and flipped her lid. Like mother like daughter. Those catalogs are rite of passage I guess. 

This kid is rocking TK. He has been doing a really great job and while I am nervous he will be academically bored next year, I will never regret getting an extra year of him. I am going to be so sad next year when he's gone all day!!! 

Happy Wednesday friends! See you in March! (Seriously how is it March tomorrow? That means there's only like 50 days left of school!) 

CEW

On Friday night at 7:30, Husband and my kids dropped me off at C's school. (Our Parish school.) I had registered in mid-January for our Parish's annual CEW (Christian Experience Weekend) retreat. It had been recommended to me by lots of people so I thought why not?

Everyone told me that it was a good way to meet people, get involved and that the food was really good.

All of that was true. No one mentioned how little sleep you would get and that you would come out on the other side absolutely exhausted. Which is probably for the best, but I wish I had taken a nap on Friday!

Anyway, many times the leaders would talk about how some people really had "mountain top experiences" that were life changing. And some people would really hate their weekend. I think I fall somewhere in the middle. Which is good.

I met good people. I heard good talks. I did cry some, though not as much as some people. We had time spent in prayer. Not a lot of time spent in rest. We had Mass. We had a really beautiful setting for Reconciliation. We had pretty good discussion. And I am glad I went.

It's weird, there's a lot of secrecy surrounding the retreat. And it's kinda like a secret club--once you're in the know, you're in the know. So there are many things that were gorgeous and surprising that I would like to talk about but I can't. Husband is going on the men's retreat in two weeks so at least I can talk to him about it when he gets home.

Throughout the weekend, every clock in the school was covered with a sign that said "God's time." And the windows were mostly covered. As in, we could generally tell if it was light or dark but not too much. We were DEEPLY encouraged to not bring our phones. I did bring my phone but I left it in my bag by my bed unless we were sleeping. I did exchange a few text messages with Husband and he sent me some pictures of the kids but I was able to almost completely disconnect from internet and THAT was good.

No phone however meant no pictures, which is a shame because some of the decorations were really beautiful. I would have instagramed the heck out of them! Alas. :) My family picked me up at about 5:15 yesterday and I kissed the heck out of those cheeks.

I'm not sure what the lasting impact will be of the retreat yet. But I am looking forward to finding out.

Our Week So Far

We've had a busy week so far with no plans to slow down! Monday was a no-school day in honor of those Presidents of ours. We read some books about the Presidents but as it turns out February 19 is a big deal in our house because it is Walrus' birthday.

Yes. C's stuffed walrus, named Walrus, has been a member of our family for four years now. And we celebrated him in style. C thought perhaps Walrus would like fish sticks for dinner. I'm sure that was true but since I was saving our fish for Friday we had spaghetti because the "noodles are like his mustache."

Walrus rubber duck was his "present." Then we had cake. Obviously.

Walrus' piece had four Swedish fish minis acting as his candles. Because they're fish. And I didn't feel good about fire next to a stuffed animal. Also note the "plate" is a tupperware cup lid. Because I don't have tiny plates!

Our celebration continued with a reading of "The Pigeon Wants a Puppy" (He changes his mind and asks for a walrus at the end.) and our favorite book to read on birthdays "I am Invited to a Party."

C was the designated reader. So M got a chance to sit with the birthday boy. And both kids donned walrus shirts for the occasion.

And everyone was happy! Including me because seriously it still makes me so happy that C still loves walruses and Walrus.

Tuesday was roundup over here. C did Kindergarten roundup for the second year. So that was fun for him, less exciting for us. Especially when our principal was showing the assessment and said "we don't expect them to know all these words because then they don't need Kindergarten." Oh the side eyes between Husband and I.

If you're new, the TL:DR here is we changed our mind 97 times over whether to start C last fall or not, and ultimately decided not to. We're undecided as to whether that was the right choice.

But M got to go to her roundup which is truthfully a less exciting round up. Parents fill out paperwork while kids play a bit and the teachers walk around so we can chat and ask questions. She was delighted to play with the dollhouse and the shape matching jewels.

I am so glad that she has priority in the school so she will definitely get a spot! She is so excited. She will have the teacher who is currently C's teacher, which makes it even more fun!

Yesterday was a perfectly normal Wednesday. I don't know if I've ever talked about Wednesdays in our area, but our public district, and our school by default as we share busing and their calendar, has 1-hr-early-out on Wednesday. Every week. It's for staff development and then they don't need whole days as much or something. I'm sure research tells them that this is good.

As a parent it's heck-a-annoying. So Wednesday's M doesn't nap because school is so short. Yesterday we went to Target and it was so much fun! we finished our shopping with some time to spare we had a juice/popcorn combo at the cafe. And played I Spy.

It was wonderful. Golly I love her so much!

And now it is Thursday! This week has gone by fast!

Do You Want to Build A Snowman?

We had snowman snow on Saturday! Just a little bit but enough to fashion a snowman at least. C was very excited!

From this angle you can't tell that the yard was down to grass in front of the snowman because we didn't get that much snow. 

M who once again played no part in the snow activities because of her nap, wanted a picture with him before Mass. And it's a good thing we got this photo evidence of his existence. 

It was mid 40s yesterday and is in the 50s today and raining so there isn't much snow left at all!! Poor snowman is just a small lump. But that is how a snowman's life goes. And since we checked this winter activity off the list I am perfectly content if it doesn't snow again until December. (Unlikely but a girl can dream right?!)  

Have a lovely President's Day Monday. No mail today. Boo. But otherwise it's a pretty good day!!

Thoughts on Friday

1. We are in the midst of a "something every day" streak. And I am exhausted just thinking about it. Truly. So bear with me here. Most of them are fun things. Good things. Spiritual things. So it's good. I just have to get myself mentally prepared for it all you know?

2. If you are a super crunchy mama please just ignore this next bit here okay? Deal? McDonald's is taking the cheeseburger Happy Meal off the menu. I read the article so I realize that you can still order it, it just won't be listed on the menu. But seriously. What the heck? We have come a long long way with C and his eating but for a long time a McDonald's cheeseburger was the only meat that he would eat. It is his special thing and that is what he likes. So I am super annoyed that it's going to be a special order (that will probably cost more) now. Then while they were at it, the took the two cheeseburger meal away too. What do they have against the cheeseburger?

3. The news out of Florida is horrific right? Yes? We can all agree. It just makes me sick to my stomach that my first reaction on Wednesday was to research the online public school in our state and looked at when an information session would take place. I hate that my reaction is fear.

Here's the thing, I don't consider myself anti-gun. Do you want to go hunting? Great! Go hunting. Do you feel the need to have a hand gun just in case? I don't personally share that sentiment but you do you I guess. However I have a hard time understanding why any general citizen has a need for a military grade weapon. I don't have the answers but I am at my breaking point of waiting around for something to change.A guy tried to bomb a plane with his shoes. Now we all take off our shoes. Somebody with a lot more power than I have should be able to do something.

4. The Olympics. Here's the thing. I love the Olympics. I love them. But my heart is just not into it right now. Maybe it's because they aren't on when my kids can watch really. I don't know. I am happy for these athletes. And skeleton still freaks me out. But I am not getting the same thrill I usually do.

5. I saw this on Facebook. I liked it. I am going to put it here.

6. My kids have a play date today. I am dropping them off and my friend is driving them home! Other than being ever so slightly nervous since this is M's first drop off playdate since she's been potty trained I am kind of excited. I am going to use my free time to... take a shower and dry my hair.

7. Because tonight I am going to a concert with my bestie. We are going to see Lonestar and hang out with the cowboys. It should be a hoot. (Please appreciate my lack of "Amazed" comments and puns.)

Happy VaLENTine's Day

You don't need me to remind you that it is Valentine's Day and Ash Wednesday.

But it is.

We started out the day with a quick, not exciting, breakfast before dashing off to Mass. I took the kids by myself because it was really the only Mass time that worked with their schedule. We could have gone to the 6:30 AM one as a family but someone ahem me is a delicate flower who can't get up that early without a really good reason. Waking up early was definitely a bigger evil than Mass by myself.

The kids were also able to open their treats from Grandma and Grandpa. "Wrapped" lovingly by me.

We went to Mass. Both kids were not excited about "getting dirt" on their heads. And somehow, lo and behold, Fr. Bill picked up on that subconsciously because when we got back to our seats there was like no ash to be seen.

And I was holding their hands so I know they didn't rub it off.

There's a tiny smudge by his hairline.

A slightly bigger smudge by the hairline. They loved it and were so happy!! But I got like all their extra and mine is a bit of a mess. (Which sounded like Mary Berry in my head when I typed it out.)

It's like the letter K? I don't know. We went and started Lent and that's the important part.

M got a JoJo bow and I can't get over it. They are a tad ridiculous. But I also love them. And hers is so cute and valentiney but also good for any day!

And that's all I know. Have a blessed day!

Monday!

Let's start out with the good news, there is no snow today.

We have gotten so much snow in the past week. Like every single day we've gotten more snow. And 1-3 inches every single day adds up.

We did lots of playing in the snow. And by we I mean the children and Husband. And there's actually no photo evidence of M playing in the snow. This one was taken during her rest yesterday.

After they came in, they had some "hot chocolate" and then C read some Junie B. Jones to us. I used quotes over there because C, at best, likes lukewarm chocolate. Like even calling it lukewarm is overkill. Tepid. He likes tepid chocolate. We are working on his breathing while he reads. It's not the words that are the problem usually but he hasn't figured out taking a breath in at the end of a sentence. It's kind of a weird and hard thing to teach to be honest.

The sad news is we have another funeral this week! Well actually just a visitation because it's an hour away. But still. Use this as a reminder to call your mother and tell her you love her. Sometimes there is an illness leading up to an earthly departure (last week's funeral) and sometimes it's very sudden. (This week's.) Husband knows all too well what it is like to lose his mother so he feels especially called to attend the funerals or visitations and support our friends. It's a hard club to be a part of.

Anyway, Monday is here. It's sunny today which is just invigorating and wonderful. Enjoy your day friends!