Go, Go, Goers!

What a wonderful holiday week that we had at home. We didn't go anywhere, or do anything exciting, and that's ok! A year ago we were battling a blizzard and plane mechanical issues to get down to Florida, and this year...nothing! There were no weather issues (actually it's gorgeous right now...sunny and mid-40's) and the only battling was debate over who was going to sit where on which couch for movie night. Pretty easy and low-key, if you ask me... I picked up a "feast pack" from a local restaurant, and we enjoyed that for Thanksgiving dinner. There was turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, mac & cheese, dinner rolls, and pumpkin pie. It was pretty tasty and way easier than making everything from scratch. Plus, we were supporting a local business, so I can get on board with that. We talked to both sets of grandparents via video chats, so it was nice to see family faces, even though we couldn't be together. For Friday's movie nig...

We had a full week of doing a whole lot of nothing! Well, that's not entirely accurate. Ava participated in distance learning all five days this week, as well as going to her baton class. That definitely kept her busy and out of trouble. :) Other than that, she has been busy building amazing things in Roblox. Most recently, she was building a city, including an apartment building. She was so excited to give me a tour of it the other day. I know there might be a time where she doesn't share details like this with me as easily, so I'm doing my best to listen and pay attention, and make time for it when she wants to share (even though it's often when I'm right in the middle of doing something else, or I'm exhausted and am trying to wrap things up so I can go to bed. Ha.) G only had school three days this week, and Monday was his last in-person day until at least mid-January, when the district re-evaluates the COVID-19 case counts at that time. It was really nice to...

Remember last week when I posted that it was 70 degrees and sunny, and we enjoyed a fun outing at the park? Well, just a few days later, a snowstorm blew through the area and dumped several inches on us. The timing was such that I opted not to take Ava to her baton class on Tuesday night, so we've been tucked inside more than usual. In the last seven days, I have only driven to G's school and no where else. I didn't even have masks to wash for Ava and I this week, because we haven't needed them! I have a feeling that this is what this winter season will be about...staying home and staying safe. And that's ok. I'd rather have people alive, even if they are going a bit stir crazy. G and Scott have been hanging out in the garage every night when Scott gets home from work. I am so happy to see the two of them bonding (plus it gives me some space and time to focus on self-care.) In fact, G was super excited to help Scott shovel after the snow. Cute! We got the news o...

Oooof, this last week felt like it lasted a full year! I'm super happy that the asteroid that was predicted to hit the earth on November 2 didn't fulfill its destiny. With that disaster averted, the week was off to a great start.  And then Tuesday arrived...election day, which then turned into Groundhog Day for FOUR more days! I honestly didn't get a ton of work done this week. I was constantly refreshing the electoral college map, and having side conversations with co-workers on the literal "state(s) of the union". I was thrilled when WI and MI turned blue, couldn't believe it when AZ leaned towards the dems, and then just about fell out of bed when I woke up one morning (couldn't tell you which morning...they were all the same) and saw that GEORGIA was blue, as well. I mean.....whaaaaaat?!  It's been a lot to take in this week, and when the AP finally called the election on Saturday, I had to stop cleaning my bathroom and take a few moments to celebr...

This is the week that always kicks off our holiday chaos...after this, we won't have any calm/down time until January. Even with a pandemic. Guaranteed! On Monday night we decided it was time to carve our pumpkins. G and I had a blast making a Minecraft Creeper face on his (right), and Ava's was...unique (left). Hers was a pair of block eyes and a block mouth. Scott spruced it up a bit, but long gone are the days when we would carve four+ pumpkins with fancy patterns. Now it's all about efficiency! Thursday was...G's 7th birthday! Plus, it was also the day when they were dancing for their dance-a-thon fundraiser at school AND it was his class Harvest Party. And then after that, he was invited to a birthday party (no, not for him, but for his buddy Isaac who has the same birthday as G.) Isaac's family was so kind and picked up a candle and party hat for G as well, so he could share in the same birthday fun that Isaac did. I finally picked him up at 7:30pm on Thursday...

We had some wacky and weird weather this week. On Monday it started to snow, and I noticed the strange juxtaposition of the softly falling snow and the beautiful autumn leaves that were still on the trees. And not just a few leaves...those branches are still very full! Add in the still-green grass, and I believe that Mother Nature might have been a little drunk. So that was really weird...and then we got about 7" of snow dumped on us throughout Tuesday. The roads were a mess and people forgot how to drive. I was so happy that we didn't have to go anywhere (Ava's baton class for that night was cancelled due to the weather.) Fast forward a few days and on Thursday, around 9am, the sky turned a very strange, dark orange color. It was so dark outside that the streetlights popped back on, and Ava refused to stay in her room to do her schoolwork. She spent most of the morning with me on the main floor. There were two factors that contributed to the sky looking like that: 1) the ...

It was another wonderful week, filled with family adventures. Last Sunday, Scott and I headed northwest-ish and went to a winery. It was about an hour drive, and it was freezing when we got there, but it was still worth the drive in order to spend some time together. The winery is super cute, and they had live music and a plump little beagle that loved getting all of the attention. It was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Ava and I made another one of the Raddish recipes this week...sweet potato gnocchi. It was SO good - Scott couldn't stop talking about how great it was. I'm very pleased that we joined this cooking club. It's been fun to get Ava out of her room/away from her phone, and helping out with dinners.  This was shortly before she grated her thumb...hard lesson to learn, but necessary The kids didn't have school this Thursday/Friday (MEA), and I took Friday off of work so I could spend the day with them. We kicked it off with a trip to the library, ...