Around Here Week Seven: 02/12-02/19

Friday, February 19, 2016

A weekly review of what it's like to live in our home right this second.








Intentional Hours Outside: 9.71 hours (of 1000)
Imagine my letdown when calculating my minutes this week to discover that I still haven't pushed past the 10 hour mark.  Polar Vortex, people.  I got out only two days this week and even then it was still below 20degrees.  ugh.  anxiously awaiting the temp to rise above 32, I need some serious time outside..and not just to make up hours - but because I need the space and the air and the freedom.  as do the kids and the dogs...big time.

Reading:  A Man Called Ove with the Inspired Readers book club and really falling in love with the story.  It's a shock at first because it felt like the main character was so brash and so not my style in the first chapter or so, but you get small peeks into who he is and why and his backstory and suddenly you just want to hug him.  Also, still in slow sips reading Dear Mr. You - it's one you have to take a break between each chapter as it sort of taps into a deep part of my soul and I need to let it settle before going in for another letter.  Listening to Tell the Wolves I'm home on audible while outside, which was barely this week (!)

Cherishing family for Valentines day and enjoying a slow, easy heart-shaped cinnamon roll breakfast on Sunday since CCD was cancelled due to the super freezing temperatures.  Daddy had brought home a bouquet of roses for each of his girls and Gemma about flipped her lid, and they looked beautiful at our Valentines breakfast table.  The kids spent a big part of the day with my parents at an indoor playground which was the greatest day ever for them and while Brandon had basketball practice I got to hang out with my baby sis watching the TWD marathon and talking wedding (ha! perfect combo).  We closed out the night with an extended bedtime of books and then finished a movie with Brandon AND The Walking Dead season premiere.  so basically, it was perfect.

Closing out basketball season this week.  The team had a playoff game on Monday night and it was such a great game and came down to the last few minutes.  It was such a bittersweet ending, so heartbreaking to see the boys sad to see the end of their season (especially the seniors) but also a relief to know that we'll have Daddy back on regular programming moving forward.  At 24 weeks pregnant and being able to see my toes less and less by the day, I could use the extra facetime and help from that handsome guy.  Gemma held a mini conference with her favorite senior after the game, she called him over (with her legs crossed all grown up girl, of course) and said, 'why were you crying after you lost? Didn't you hear me cheering for you?' and sweetly laughed and gave her attention like she was the most important thing in his teenage life right now and it was the perfect image of exactly why we so fully support Daddy's coaching high school basketball.  Those student athletes, basketball players and cheerleaders alike, are role models to our children of what it means to be a teenager that we can be proud of.   thank you, blue jays.

Feeling nest-y this week with studerbaby4.  I combed through all our girl handmedowns for our new cousin baby Brooke and was at first worried that I would feel sad to let go of the girl clothes considering that we're pretty certain this babe is our last babe.  But, surprisingly as I packed them all up, I mostly didn't.  There were a few little outfits that I stashed away in hopes that my sisters' daughters will someday get, but about 90% of the clothes were packed up and dropped off with Brookie and it actually felt amazing.  Packing up the baby clothes also led me to dive into the beginning stages of figuring out bedroom arrangements for post-baby (exciting!) and although we're not doing anything quite yet, I'm starting to see it now in my mind and map it all out.

Enjoying a snow day (more like a freeze day; not snow but cold temps that caused the cancellation!) We stayed in and invited our cousin Gracie over for a playday!  The three big ones played so nicely together all day, it was a super productive day for me!  It was so nice to turn an already special day (no school!) into even more special because of Gracie!

Faceswapping with the kids and Greyson and I were laughing so hard we almost peed our pants.

Preparing for a birthday party tonight!  OMG you guys, it's a make up party for our Gemma Rose.  She was all hyped up on excitement last night so Brandon and I were each up with her separately in the middle of the night trying to coax her back into sleep as she was all kid-on-Christmas-eve'ing it with anticipation.  We have cupcakes to make today, and cleaning to do, and make-up station setting up to prepare.  It's going to be a long one, but also an awesome one.

Making right now muffins for breakfast and they smell so good (they're from a bag and I just added milk, so don't go thinking I'm super mom or something).  We have glitter cupcakes on the agenda for today(party!), and we made chocolate chip cookie cake this week which went in seriously a matter of seconds - so yum.  I tried to make Long Boy Burgers last night and boy, she wasn't kidding when she said if you leave any bread un-meated that it would burn.  I ate some, but put the rest of the batch in as a meatloaf.  Two big hits this week for dinner with the kids (YAY!), we had Chicken and Gravy in the slow cooker over mashed potatoes and we all love Ranch Porkchops (just baked breaded porkchops that have a packet of dry Ranch mixed in before you shake 'em).

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