Are you tired of my skating videos yet? We went again today and the kids are rocking! Another time or two on the ice and they’re going to be better skaters than I am… which isn’t really saying much. :) Today Eve figured out how to stop by dragging a skate. I don’t know if that’s the proper way to stop (remember my skating skills?) but it works for her. Often it results in a fancy figure skating spin at the end. :)
It looks like she fell at the end there, but really it was a fancy figure skating move and she recovered nicely. I should have left the camera running for a few more seconds! :)
I’ve been neglecting this poor blog lately. For some reason I’m just not in the mood to write. I’m not even sure when I last picked up the camera! So much going on. So little time. I thought I’d have a calm, slow week home with Alan, but nope. Life is busy. He is doing very well, by the way. Healing nicely and enjoying hours of TV, video games, and card games with the kids. He got to spend his birthday on the couch eating cookies! And diagnosing heating issues. Today he and I replaced a circulator pump that may or may not have failed. The upstairs pipes have been frozen for a few days an the old “space heater in the knee wall” wasn’t working so he was the brains and I was the brawn and we replaced the pump. The good news is the heat is back on! :) And the temps outside are above zero!
As I was putting the kids to bed tonight I was crafting a long blog post in my head. How’s that for completely not “present” and “in the moment” at bedtime tonight! However, it’s now hours later and I’m just getting here and my tired brain has forgotten it all. It was just my ramblings anyway. About what, I forget. Oh well.
We are looking forward to a quiet weekend. Dinner with friends on Saturday. Hopefully get the kids to the ice skating rink again. That’s about it.
Hope all is well with the rest of the world. I’ll try to get myself mentally back here again soon. At least a few pictures or something. :)
Alan had his hernia surgery today. They found the hernia had grown quite a bit and apparently they found another one as well! They patched up both and promised us he’ll be as good as new.
I dropped the kids at school then met Alan at the hospital. We hung out in the hospital room for a few hours until the OR was available. Then they gave me a pager and sent me on my way. I hung out, had lunch, tried to do some work, made friends with a teacher in the waiting room, and generally kept myself busy until they paged me. Order up!
After the anaesthesia wore off we headed out. Home by 5:00. The kids went to an after-school program for the day and I picked them up once Alan was settled on the couch.
I have no catchy ending for this. Sorry. Tired! Send warm wishes to Alan for a speedy recovery. I suspect he’ll be up and at ’em in no time!
Valentine’s Day is coming up (in four weeks!) and the kids are eager to get started with their cards. Last week I showed Lex several cool ideas on Pinterest (this, this, this, and this). He said, “Cool!!” I asked if he wanted to do one of them this year and he said, “No, let’s just make our own the way we do every year.” Ok then. So out came all the crafty reds and pinks. Our table has once again become a perpetual craft table. The kids also decided to use the rest of our Christmas candy canes on the cards. They are red and white after all!
Step across…
… to my heart. Isn’t he sweet!
He’s made many creative cards. I guess I only took pictures of the one for me. :) I’ll take a few more before they get delivered to friends and family.
E-card for Eve
We’re having fun with a Valentine’s Day Mad Libs I picked up in the grocery store. :)
Today we made Valentine’s Day sandwich cookies, a la Martha Stewart! I haven’t had one yet, but the filling I licked off my fingers was delicious!
Sandwich cookies
A few days ago Eve spent a very long time building “Cupid.” At first I had no idea what she was talking about and it appeared as though she were randomly gluing and cutting. But when it all came together I finally was able to see her creation. It kept falling over so she smartly pulled a yogurt container out of the recycling bin and glued the whole thing onto it, thereby providing a solid plastic base. Smart girl!
Eve’s cupid
The other side of cupid. Here you can see the “bow” and the tip of the red “arrow” coming through.
Eve took several pictures, but she framed them all such that my 6am face was included!
I’ve been working full-time lately! I just finished my 4th day as the art teacher at school. It’s fun, but this working full-time thing is for the birds! Here is a quicky of what we’ve been up to:
Lex started swimming in the big pool today! Two of his classmates have their lessons in that pool and today he joined them. I’m super excited that he got over his fear of the big pool because he is a great swimmer and the big pool is necessary for continued development. Today he took the plunge and loved it!
Eve has started reading to me! I’m so excited! She read all of Runaway Bunny last night, and Hop on Pop, and Freddie and Flossie books. She caught on recently that if she reads to me she gets to stay up a lot later. :) I’ll take it!
Alan is prepping for his hernia surgery next week. Logistics are difficult, but it will happen and we’ll all be happy when it’s over. I’m secretly looking forward to a few forced days at home to take care of him.
I have decided to apply to the Upper Valley Educators Institute and get my teaching certificate!! I’m really enjoying substituting (some classes more than others, of course!) and the more I think about it the more teaching feels right to me. If all goes well I’ll start in August.
That’s it for now. I’m not working tomorrow, but I am spending the morning with my volunteer family and trying to figure out which of the six things that need be done can I fit into the afternoon before picking up the kids. Working again Friday for a few hours. Life is busy, but good!
I realize my posts are getting lame. Sorry. Life is going well, but busy. I’m working every day next week and already exhausted by it! (sob story, I know) Here are a few pictures and videos to give you the low-down.
After school one day last week we went bowling with a few friends. Just for something to do on a Tuesday afternoon. Everyone had a really great time!
The little guy in the blue pants is in a bowling league. He showed Lex and Eve how to bowl with the big ball!
Then Eve taught some other friends. Like her technique?!
Weekend fun.
A castle for the pony.
Alan lets the kids play a computer game called Tux Cart sometimes, which I think is a Linux version of Mario Cart. Lex decided this weekend to make a real life version. He’s has built and rebuilt it several times so far and has a great time driving around.
Tux cart
Last night we had a movie night. We decided on a movie and then Alan went out to pick up dinner and rent the movie (he had errands to run as well) and the kids and I stayed home. They got all ready for bed, did a ton of chores, and then we played Uno until he got home. It was a great night!
The kids were so excited that they did a ton of chores while waiting for Alan to return with dinner and the movie. Mostly Eve, I guess, did the chores. She decided to fold, and put away, the basket of clean laundry that was sitting in the laundry room.
Last time we had movie night I gave them little ice cream sundaes for dessert. We had no ice cream this time, but Eve wanted dessert, so she made yogurt sundaes with honey and minty chips.
They were actually pretty good!
Today Eve and I went to a birthday party at the pottery place. She was very excited. Lex opted to spend some time at our neighbor’s house entertaining his poor buddy who broke his leg last week! Everyone had fun and everyone came home exhausted!
I love how much effort my kids put into birthday presents.
Mema, thank you for the MyPlate plates! The kids LOVE them and request them for every meal!
Eve’s dinner tonight consisted of yogurt, watermelon and honeydew melon, dry cereal, and cucumbers.
Lex had watermelon, bread/butter/yeast, and carrots, with a yogurt on the side.
I have some tired fishes tonight! The aquatic center offers free lessons for 2nd graders. One session, six weeks, not the whole year! The kids get transportation to the pool, free swim for an hour, then a lesson. Eve and I went over after school and swam as well. I renewed my membership on Monday. Me and the rest of the developed world, re-upping gym memberships in January! I’m back at the gym and we are planning to do lots of swimming now.
I realized tonight that I missed my boy today! I left him at school at 8am and didn’t get him back until 5pm! I guess that’s normal for some folks, but not me.
If anyone wants to come swim with us, now’s the time! :)
They decided to start making a packing list for our Florida trip!
Eve eating melon “just like Uncle Barney!”
Lex opted for the melon baller instead. When he was done he asked if he could try the cheese grater next. I guess we’ll be working our way through the kitchen tools. :)
Lex finished up his thank you notes. He did them so nicely this year, all on his own. The last few even got special decorations on the envelopes. This one is a monkey holding a sign (left) and a lizard using its tongue to hold up the “y” (right).
We’re done with our Christmas tree for the season, so we decided to give the birds a treat. Eve made a popcorn and cranberry chain. I hope the birds like it.
Eve decided to stay outside and play for awhile. This made me laugh because even when she is out and he is in, they still have fun together!
Look at the sweet love note I found when I went out to bring Eve back inside.
How’s this for big muscle activity?! I asked him to put a new bag in the garbage and thus began an exciting game of garbage bag parachute. (he did put the new bag in first)
Eve’s turn! This picture is neat because her feet look like they’re on the ground, but you can tell from the bag and the clothes that she’s in mid-air!
We went ice skating again this afternoon. No tantrums, no drama, all fun. Both kids are definitely getting the hang of it. Lex generally stays on his feet and has learned to get up easily after a fall and Eve, when she focuses on what she’s doing, can make it around without falls too! She discovered today that she can get going really fast with the crates.
Lex looks like a pro in this picture! :)
A quick break
Always, the best for last!
Unfortunately I took my first fall today! My butt hit first, then my back. My wrists must have hit at some point too because both sore this evening (sorer than usual, that is!) Otherwise no pain. Mom, remind me of this if I’m dealing with sciatica again in six months!
