It’s been A LONG time since our school did a full-fledged family outing. That changed tonight when a group of us gathered in 5° weather to do some sledding and ice skating. It was heartwarming to see so many folks come out even though it was crazy cold. Here’s hoping it’s not 2+ years until the next one!
We had so much fun celebrating Chris today. The boys put together a birthday mantle for him, we got takeout from a yummy restaurant, enjoyed delicious dirt dessert, and played video games as a family. We also got him this mini fridge. His office is going to be so much cooler now (see what I did there?).
We’re so lucky to have this guy in our lives. Like, the thankful-every-day sort of lucky.
I had such a good day. Some self care (an amazing massage AND a lovely manicure!), a bit of reading scattered throughout the day, a snacky dinner, ice cream sandwich special treats, lots of family time (all dressed up, as you can see), and some thoughtful gifts. It really doesn’t get much better. Being 38 is pretty great, it turns out.
The little one was home with me today because of a stomach bug, but luckily he felt ok so it was a sick day without feeling too sick. Luckily, our Valentine’s Day plans were able to continue as planned: cut-out cooking decorating, flowers to swoon over, and a pizza + video game evening. Our Valentine’s Days have stayed shockingly consistent over the last 19 years.
I hope all of you were feeling the love today, too.
It might have been 5° outside but we managed to sneak out for a little while for the boys to try out snowshoeing. I think the last time we tried it was about three years ago (maybe four!). The wind was pretty uncomfortable and the snow wasn’t *quite right* for prime snowshoeing, but we did it. Cross it off our winter 2022 bucket list!
One surprising fact about bunnies: they seem to go through seasonal shedding. So far, this bun sheds like crazy about every three months. Weird, right? He doesn’t shed at all the other months and then it’s real crazy all of a sudden. Let’s hope this current shedding-fest wraps up soon.
Another round of 100 posts. Boy, these always sneak up on me. It’s a nice reminder to slow down and reflect on what’s going on in our lives, though. And I really love looking through the past 100-day posts (see below). New for this round of updates: bunny-related categories. Obviously, we couldn’t leave him out! Not to sound too obvious, but, man, the days really do fly by, don’t they?
Here’s the team update. Enjoy!
FAVORITES: reading (my new favorite is The Book of Longing…I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!), dried mangos (always), homemade chai lattes (my official cold-weather beverage for winter 2021-2022), spotting the boys in their natural habitat when I’m subbing, Chris’s hot toddy recipe (my official adult-beverage for winter 2021-2022), listening to musicals, playing board games with the boys, volunteering at/for the school
FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE BUN: when he jumps up on my stomach (while laying on the floor) and requests pets
LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE BUN: navigating his propensity to communicate using the only method he thinks we understand—peeing (thankfully, it’s not smelly and he expresses himself this way in small quantities).
BIGGEST HURDLE TO OVERCOME: saying no to subbing requests. I just want to help out that lovely group of educators in every way I can, you know?
DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE: being warm again. I don’t need winter to be over entirely but temperatures above 30° with some sun would be welcomed.
FAVORITES: Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1&2, researching and planning upcoming vacations (this guy is becoming a deal-finding expert on flights), listening intently and responding enthusiastically to all video game/role play game/Pokémon commentary going on around him, enjoying music from his new record player, playing HeroQuest
FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE BUN: periscoping (when he stands up on his hind-legs…it’s adorable)
LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE BUN: not receiving the amount of love and attention he would like with every encounter.
BIGGEST HURDLE TO OVERCOME: finishing all of his continuing legal education credits before July. He’s making good progress.
DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE: the chance to use his new outdoor lights for a sweet game of football with his new sticky wide-receiver gloves (can you tell we’ve been cooped up in the house for too long?!?)
AGE: Almost 10 (Eek! Ten!)
FAVORITES: Roleplay games, being in charge, Smarties, video games, school (including his teacher), pretzel hummus sandwiches, chocolate chip pancakes, drinking tea, reading (and reading and reading), the Encanto soundtrack, giving Flopsy treats, re-reading books he’s already read
FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE BUN: the sheer excitement and intensity in which he accepts every meal he receives.
LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE BUN: getting scared when the bun startles after being sneaked up on.
BIGGEST HURDLE TO OVERCOME: all of his pants shrinking. It’s the weirdest thing…they just keep becoming too short.
DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE: having all of his friends over for a role play game hangout
AGE: Almost 8
FAVORITES: Pokemon anything, the card game Frog Juice, puzzling, reading graphic novels, playing video games, sneaking snuggles from Flopsy, waking his mom up in the middle of the night for bonus snuggles, chocolate chip pancakes, hot cocoa with Reddi-wip and peppermint stir-sticks
FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE BUN: when he washes his face with his cute little paws.
LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT THE BUN: not being able to hold him (the bunny rescue told us young children shouldn’t)
BIGGEST HURDLE TO OVERCOME: waiting. For anything and everything. He’s always just waiting.
DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE: collecting all the Pokemon cards in the world.
It was a lovely weekend in Tampa. The musical was AMAZING, the company was THE BEST, and the food was DELICIOUS. The weather could have been *a bit* warmer for a fully tropical vacation, but that didn’t keep us down.
Trip highlights included:
Touring Skylar’s campus (University of Tampa, baby!)
Experiencing Tampa Fresh Foods a grocery store made out of all hand-crafted, felt products. Zoom in on the photos below. It’s crazy impressive.
Several yummy meals - Urban Cantina (the tacos!), First Watch (the eggs benny!), and American Social (the cocktails!)
A stop at Skylar’s apartment.
An evening hot tub party.
Lots of walks in the sunshine.
The Dear Evan Hansen musical production. It was everything I hoped it would be.
The only thing missing was my favorite boys. Luckily, I got home in enough time to catch up with them last night and they had a super-fun weekend, too. Everyone wins!
Look at me at an airport! Without children in tow! Can you believe it? Neither can I. I guess that’s why until I boarded the plane I didn’t let myself actually accept that the trip was happening. I didn’t even pack until last night/this morning. That’s never my traveling strategy—but living/learning through a pandemic will do that to a person.
This trip is 2.5 years in the making. No joke. I had the dream of attending a production of Dear Evan Hansen with my nieces pre-Covid down in Madison. Fast forward all those 30+ months and we’re finally going to see it…in Tampa. Three nieces, two sister in-laws, my mom, and I are all together for a little girls weekend with hopes of soaking in some sunshine, laughing a lot, and singing along (in our heads, of course) to a musical that I’ve been listening to on repeat for years and years. I have no doubt that my high expectations will be met and then some!!
I’m taking a bit of a blog-break as I disconnect over the next few days. I’ll be back with photos to share as soon as I can.
A perfect tile configuration for our game of Carcassonne tonight. That’s a pretty big deal.
The temperature was pretty reasonable so we busted out of the house for a walk downtown today. You can tell it’s been cold, though, as the river is pretty iced-over. I don’t remember seeing it like this (but maybe I’m just never out of the house to see it when it’s that cold). It is pretty beautiful, though.
I have one tip to make laundry-folding more fun…ask an adorable bunny to join the party. He’s really good at walking all over freshly stacked piles.
I had a bit of a subbing break at the end of 2021 but things have really picked up this week! It’s been nice to be back in the school again and I’ve enjoyed catching quick peeks of the boys in their secret world. Man, teaching is exhausting, though. I know you know that, but it really is. Hence the lack of blog posts this week. I’ll be up bright and early for another round tomorrow. And then I’m hoping there will be a bit of a break—it’s hard to keep the “cool sub” status if you’re around too much, you know?
I hope your Sunday was filled with just as much silliness as ours was with these two crazies.
Sometimes they just love each other so much.
The temperature is supposed to drop tonight so we had to make the most of some outdoor time today. We opted for a sledding adventure on a hill close to us. After the snowtubing disappointment, the sledding hill was well-received. Now back to indoor activities for the next week.
Look at my super-cute coffee date! He’s smart and funny, too.
We’ve been loving our holiday weekend at the lake. Snowshoeing, ice skating, domino-building, hot cocoa-drinking, puzzling, and so much more. Thank goodness for getting out of the house.
We did a new thing today. We tried out Christie Mountain’s snowtubing. It was a beautiful winter day for some outdoor fun, but we decided snowtubing might not be our favorite cold weather activity. It was very fast and very bumpy. Three out of the four of us walked (hobbled?) away with hurting tailbones. I’m not going to lie, it was pretty intense. I can see how some people really enjoy it, and maybe we’ll try again with some fresh (and maybe slower?) snow. Apparently we’re just not the thrill-seeking type. Good to know.
This is one of my favorite art exhibits I’ve stumbled upon. The Fabulous Florals and Fine Art exhibit at our local arts center just brings me so much joy. Local artists submit their art pieces and then local florists interpret those art pieces in a floral display. So fun, right?
The last time we attended this event was in 2019. I can’t say how happy I am that they hosted it again this year. And a special thanks to a friend for giving me the heads up it was happening—I would have missed it and been devastated otherwise!
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