Wintery Hello

 So... what's new with us? Not a ton. 

We had a snow day yesterday. This little girl played outside for so long that she fell asleep early and slept in until we had to wake her for school. Her super rosy cheeks just slay me. 

This is a picture C took of one of his snow penguins. I bought a snow mold online. I swear they had some better results than this picture that you can't even make out anything in. But this was the picture he took and he's proud of it so... okay then. 

In other, significantly less exciting news, my Grandfather passed away on Monday. It was an anticipated loss, as he had been declining, but a sad one all the same. One can never truly prepare their hearts. We take comfort in his faith and the knowledge that God is good. 

I believe, as a Vikings fan, he was holding on until the Packers did not make it to the Super Bowl. I know I was thrilled with the results of that game anyhow!

Anyway, if things are a little quiet again here, that's why. But I will be back! 

A Quiet Holiday Weekend

 Hello and Happy Monday! I am so grateful that today is a work holiday as well as a school holiday so we are all home together. We had a fun, but quiet weekend full of lots of good things. 

We watched Frozen on Friday night for Family Movie Night. I adore that my children take Friday night as gospel, hopefully, we can make this last for a long time. 

Saturday I was up bright dark and early because it was GIRL DAY! Which is a fancy description for spending the day doting on my M. We went to Target right away at 7:00 AM. My gal has been aching to go INTO Target, not just a drive-up pickup. But Target on a Saturday is horrible, even in COVID times. Maybe especially in COVID times? 

I decided that if we were going to go, we were going to go as they opened. We were out by 7:40 and still felt as though we had browsed and enjoyed ourselves. Then we got donuts on the way home. 

The rest of girl day involved doing clay face masks, M had a bath bomb bath, and doing her nails. 

Sunday included Mass and then Husband took the kids to Icestravagaza, where there are ice sculptures all around downtown. And the kids got to be on the news! 

Pretty exciting!! (This is a picture my friend took of her TV, which turned out way better than mine!) 

Today we have mostly been playing. I made muffins. And then I helped the kids memorize a poem, and they performed it, in costume. I videoed it, but here's just a still shot. 

The sun is shining, and so even though it's cold and winter is NOT my favorite there's still fun to be had. I hope you have a wonderful Monday!

Oh Hey 2021

 So... I dropped off the planet there and that's maybe okay. The world has enough going on that my ramblings or lack thereof aren't going to influence it. 

We've had some snow. And a lot of ice. While I would love to tell you that I am here for it... apparently, snow and ice are my breaking point and mostly, they have brought out my grumpy side. 

Except for the other day, the sun finally came out. And the trees were so beautiful. It had been foggy for 3 days solid and the fog froze on the branches. (It's called rime... in case you didn't know. Different from hoarfrost.) 

This was simply a picture snapped from my cube window, but it sure was a bright spot in the cloudy yuck. 

In other news, I won my fantasy football league. 

I'm pretty darn impressed by the whole thing. Perhaps I will retire and go out on top. I mean, probably not. But until August, bragging rights are mine!

Work has been going well. I am right on top of that Rose! My mom got me this awesome vinyl sticker for my Yeti. It sure makes my coffee taste more fun. 

Work is going well. I am enjoying it and I think I have learned a lot. The learning curve was steep but I think that I've held my own. I can't wait to see where I am in a few months! 

Husband and I had an at-home date night. We streamed a concert, ate some food, had a drink and played Bananagrams. It was much needed and wonderful!! 

I mean, I still can't wait until things open up and we can go to actual establishments and hire babysitters again. But in the meantime... this works for us. Bonus points for not having to wear shoes! 

In kid news... they're good. School has been back from break for nearly 2 weeks. I don't take for granted their 5 day a week, in-person learning and they're rising the occasion. It's been SO good for them! 

M has been doing a good job with the learning to read program, and she got to watch The Duck Song as a reward. After a comic book stint that I wasn't a huge fan of, C read a whole decent length chapter book in one day so I am super excited about that. 

I've been reading up a storm, though the latest Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick Outlaw was NOT one that I enjoyed. This is odd since I typically think Reese has great taste, I hope this is a fluke and not a sign of things to come. 

And that's all I know. Have good weekends everyone! 

See Ya 2020

 I mean, let's be real. 2020 was not without challenges. 

But there was a lot of good stuff that happened too. 

Family time. My kids both got rid of training wheels. We baked. We played. We swam. We snuggled. I got a job. The kids have been at in-person school for months. (And it looks like that should continue.) 

We got some fun new stuff for the backyard. We even got to spend some time with friends. Perhaps not as much as we would have liked but still. There were pumpkins and strawberries and even apples at the last minute. 

We had a very Merry Christmas. 

Don't get me wrong. I love a good New Year every bit as much as you do. But there's still been a lot to be thankful for in 2020 and for that I am grateful. 

Enjoy this holiday kickoff to what's yet to come! May it be wonderful and just how you like it!

A Christmas Scavenger Hunt

 Our Parish planned a scavenger hunt for families to celebrate the season. No big Christmas party but we could certainly all celebrate together anyway. It was so well organized, everyone was given a list of where to start so no one place was too crowded. 

There was a combination of places to do activities and games and places that were just photo ops. 

When we did encounter others it was masked and outdoors. (Except when we went to church and even then, masked and distanced!) It was so fun and really felt almost normal. 

A big thank you to all 11 homes who opened their yards and driveways to a lot of carloads of people. 

The funniest part of the night was when I guided Husband incorrectly and we drove by a house with a bunch of people in front of it and luminaries. I said it was a good thing we didn't crash that party. Turns out... it was the next house on the map! 

We really had a nice time! Prizes are being awarded this week sometime, but even if we don't win... I am pretty sure we won in our hearts. 

'Tis the Season

 We have been trying to keep all our traditions alive. We kicked it off last night with our typical Family Movie Night pizza and our annual viewing of Elf. This year I got us all Elf shirts. 

Then today we made some of our cookies. I decided to break up the cookie making into two weekends. 

C made Peanut Butter Blossoms. 

M made Molasses cookies. 

And there were smiles all around. 

And we rounded out this evening with our first time watching Christmas Chronicles. It's the talk of the town these days and we haven't seen it before. So we needed to remedy that situation. 

Christmas movies and cookies? It doesn't get much better than that!!

Fri-Yay!

 This gal had a half-day of work today. Which was excellent. Ultimately, it was because we are getting a new server and we couldn't be on our computers for a single second today. We had training on the new server yesterday... 

And it was long and boring. And I had to have my phone to my ear the whole time. I sent myself the video though because they are realistic. 

Anyway, we went in this morning and tackled the file pile... and we finished it!! 

For sure took a picture to prove it happened!! :) 

This made me laugh out loud. So I am sharing it with you. 

This also made me laugh out loud. I am for sure one of those "never call me" people. Getting phone calls at work is still the worst and I seriously pray that no one calls me daily. Send me an email!! A text! Why do you need to talk to me? 

And that's about what I know. Happy for the weekend and some special time with the family. More on that soon!