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| photo cred: Lyndsy |
Intentional Outdoor Hours: 526+ hours (of 1000)
Up a little over 2 hours in the past two weeks (bleh) and mostly from taking care of our cold weather chicken girls. We are still doing the water can swap each day because their water so easily freezes. B got their coop all winterized (securing any drafts, adding extra bedding in the coop, and putting up a tarp over the bottom of the run to keep the wind and snow out. They are doing good, but I'm daily worried about their boredom (hah). They can't come out if it's raining, because getting wet would be bad for them (it's hard to dry out), but if it's dry - even if it's snowy and cold - we leave the door open and they wander out for a little bit before deciding its too cold (and no bugs to peck out of the snow!) They are still laying though and we currently have about 13 dozen eggs in the house (!?) I did the dogs out for a muddy walk or two which was good for them and me.
Reading Juntos by Ally Condie
Awaiting to hear from my boys who were in the woods on the first day of buck with their cousins and Pappy. It was such a cold and rainy first day of buck that Brandon and Grey only spent about half the day in the woods. No luck for them, but Grey could care less - he just loves spending time in the woods with the guys.
Battling this virus that has taken down most of our family. So much post nasal drip and nagging cough. It takes several days to move on and we've been clinging to Vics VapoRub on our feet at night, nasal spray, and hot tea like it's our job. The babies missed several days of daycare and Gemma missed school days for a fever. I
Taking the Praxis Spanish exam on Wednesday. It was totally traumatizing but I did it. The most unfortunate part about it was that I had to leave at 5:45am in the pitch dark while it was snowing, and my gps wasn't working properly, and it was a two hour drive, and I hit some Pittsburgh traffic - so I was already traumitzed before I even stepped into the building just being worried about being late. Add the cherry on top that I was sick (runny nose, sore throat, fever) and you'll get the whole sundae. The test is 3 hours long (cruel and unusual punishment) and by the end I was totally drained - but it's done.
Meeting with an early intervention specialist for the RustMan and his speech. Rust is by far our slowest to speak, and he struggles with the clarity so that everyone is always saying "what?" to him. Poor guy is getting frustrated to not get his point across, so I set up a little eval with the early invention folks and he had a blast playing games and interacting at our house. He falls right at the line of adequate delay to qualify so he will get to see a speech therapist at day care once a week for an hour. I'm so excited for him to get a little extra support to really push him over the edge of communication. He is going to be so thrilled to be able to communicate more clearly - I can't wait to see all the progress he makes.
Finding comfort in my own (odd) little resting spot. Whenever I need a minute to calm down and clear my head, I've been laying with my feet up on the wall in our dining room near our door frame kid-height chart. When I was young, I used to find odd peace laying on the floor of the kitchen of my parents house and now it's on my dining room floor with my feet all the way up the wall. Everyone has their quirks, right? lol.
Feeling so grateful for family these past few weeks. My sis Kitty came in clutch a few days when we had kids too sick to go to school or daycare, cousin Tausha invited the babies over for a mini playdate one evening while Grey was at basketball practice so Gemmi and I could have some one on one dinner time together. Cousin Heather (a true angel on Earth) showed up with arms full of soup and snacks, and crafts for the kids during one of the weekends that we were all miserable with this neverending cold. My parents, Abba & Chum, have had several weekends in a row with sleepovers for sets of the kids which they all love the special attention, especially Grey who got to spend a full day in the woods hunting with Chum!
Welcoming our elf Marco back to our house for the season. The kids were all so happy to see him! He helped St. Nicholas fill the kids' shoes with candy on Dec. 6 and he turned our milk green (some yearly favorites).
Receiving the most incredible news after waiting around in the Shadyside surgery waiting room all day on Monday. Thank you to all you prayer warriors who have kept our family on your lists. It was a very big, important day and it went so well. It will be a long, slow recovery but we are truly over the biggest mountain and your love and support has helped us get there. xxox
Celebrating our Rustman's half birthday - he is two and a half! We had monster cookies and sang happy half-birthday, measured his height, and took the #fourstuderkids picture. Oh Rustman, you are so loved.
Being blessed (again!) by my classroom fairy godmother, Ashley, with another sweet surprise off of my classroom wishlist. She has been sprinkling extra joy and kindness all year in my class. This time we have a new Spanish doormat for the room (the kids are obsessed!) and my classroom is such a bright, colorful, and lively spot in the students' day. Thank you Ashley, you are so sweet and thoughtful it brings tears to my eyes!
Enjoying some family time for dinner in Pittsburgh with Pap on a school night - which meant a very late night but the kids loved hanging out and giving hugs and presents. To occupy the kiddos on the drive out (2hrs) we listened to a very cool kid podcast: The unexplainable disappearance of Mars Patel, which blew Grey's mind that a podcast is like a movie only you just listen to it (hah!)
Basketball season'ing. Coach Daddy started his season with the first games at the Westmont tournament this past weekend (1-1) while Grey had his first ever basketball game with Duke Andrews on Saturday morning. He is also playing with a CT team - so he has basketball practice 2-3 times a week (plus games now twice a week) while Coach Daddy will be at practice or games through the rest of the season nearly every night of the week. B also plays in an adult league on Sunday nights and he bruised his rib a week ago (?) which has been driving him nuts.
Teaching only six days in two weeks! Between deer season vacation, an act 80 day, my Praxis test, and a flex day taken, it was a sporadic two weeks of school. Spanish 1 students worked on finishing their class schedule projects, Me gusta Somos Unit, and got new action verb vocab. Spanish 1 honors read chapters 7-11 in Capibara con botas. Spanish 2 and 3 all watched the movie The 33 about the Chilean mining accident in 2010. It is such a great movie and interesting true life story. The Spanish 2 got back into Somos Unit 5, Spanish 2 Honors started the pre-work for their next novel Tumba (which we are going to read one whole novel in one week! so excited!) and Spanish 3 Honors is continuing practice in the Imperfect Past tense. I added a little Christmas decor to my classroom while my first period students are working on our door decoration for the school wide competition. The theme is gingerbread houses and my students have a little Latino flair to add (hahha). They are doing a good job, but there is some serious competition in the building. Winners get a donut breakfast!
Making pancakes for dinner, hot dogs and buttered noodles, frozen stromboli, spaghetti & meatballs, and spicy garlic shrimp over noodles. We had pizza (frozen or take out) so many nights these past two weeks it's not even funny (but I'm not complaining because I love pizza like a child does). Aunt Kitty made us potato & cheese soup and the babies helped me whip up a batch of monster cookies. I still feel like I'm in a pretty big meal planning/dinner cooking rut - any suggestions?
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