It's a Zoo out There!

(11/2) I went to Zumba this morning, and spent the afternoon with my nose in a book. We went to the Tips game tonight, which they won. Woot woot!


(11/3) The boys and I met the grands at the zoo this morning. It was a beautiful day, and so fun to go through the zoo!  Dad scored some housewares for the teen, and took a trip down south to retrieve them. He had to work this evening, but made us a delicious shrimp alfredo for dinner.


(11/4) I worked from home today, and the boys had a half day. I went to C's conferences, and all his teachers had nice things to say. He's a good egg. We did some rearranging last night and J will get his own room later this week. He is SO excited!


(11/5) Today was a work day for Dad and me, and the boys had a half day for conferences. The time change and the half days have really thrown everyone, and the twins both were disasters.


(11/6) Day off for me and the boys all had school. I worked in D's class this morning, and had conferences for the twins this afternoon. They went about as expected. J is having a challenging time, but D is doing really well! J's mattress arrived and he was able to sleep in his new room. Dad drove all the stuff up to the teen and got to see her new place tonight.


(11/7) I worked from home today so I could meet Nanan at the doctor's this afternoon. Things are trending in a positive direction, which made me happy.  D had a great day and again scored 100% on his behavior report.  He sent me some animated messages, and I virtually high-fived him til I could get home and do it in person.


(11/8) Work and school for the boys and me today. Today was the last half day, and the boys were so quiet when they got home that Dad didn't wake up until really late. They decided on attending a fundraiser dinner for the twins' school, and even brought some goodies home for me! I told them to go on ahead since traffic on a Friday night is always terrible. They got home not too long after I did too.

(11/9) Sarah and I opted to walk in the rain this morning over going to a Zumba class without our normal instructor. The boys made cookies this afternoon "because there was nothing else to do" (complete with teenager eye roll and sigh of exasperation). The kiddos are not thrilled at me curbing their screen time, but it has gotten waaaay out of hand as of late. I attended a celebration of life this afternoon for Amanda's mom (our former nanny). The slide show was lovely, and I'm sure the service was just what she wanted.

(11/10) The kiddos played on screens in morning, and when I kicked them off, we decided on a walk to the coffee stand. J again tried an interesting concoction of Sugar Daddy + blueberry for his Italian soda. Once we got home, J went full Captain Underpants and "Tra-La-La"ed the afternoon away. D and I decided to trek to a different playground, and then kept going to the one at the lake.

(11/11) The kiddos were off for Veterans Day today and I worked from home. D was so excited about the park trip yesterday that he got his brothers to go again. Which left a quiet house for about... a half hour. I finally hid in the garage to finish out my day where I could hear myself think.


(11/12) Work day for me in the office. It never ceases to amaze me how in a city where it rains most of the fall/winter months, that people still don't know how to drive in it!  I'm glad I have my audiobooks, because sheesh.

(11/13) Day off for me and I worked in the twins' classrooms. I cut up number cubes for a math game D's class is playing and then listened to kids in J's class read.  Nanan came over this afternoon to visit and stayed for dinner. D was so excited about our dinner tonight that he told a friend at school all about the roast we were having.


(11/14) All aboard the struggle bus! I was woken up early this morning and then couldn't go back to sleep. And then the kids were up and at each other. Dad didn't get much sleep either, so it was a gripe fest kind of day. I hope tomorrow is better.


(11/15)  Work day for me, and the boys had school. Dad is sick, and tried to sleep most of today without success. He made chicken soup for dinner and will hopefully be on the mend soon.


(11/16) I hit the gym this morning and then ran errands. After errands, I came home and had lunch with the boys, and then we all bummed around the house 'cuz we're exciting like that. Dad still wasn't feeling great, so we let him sleep, and he joined us late this afternoon. It started raining, and D was especially bummed that we couldn't go play at the park, but J came up with a new menu and decided he wanted to start cooking everyone breakfast. D got out the playdoh and both boys had fun with that.


(11/17) Lazy Sunday for the kiddos and me. J was so excited to start cooking that he put on his apron and chef hat about a hour and a half before it was time. He and Dad made breakfast for dinner, which included waffles and crispy bacon (J's fave). D really wanted to put up our Christmas bells, so even though he didn't get to help cook this time, he was pacified with helping me get out the bells and hang Santa pictures.

(11/18) I worked from home today and the boys had school. I had a doctor's appointment this afternoon, and since it was up north, I met Nanan for dinner. We went to the Bone Fish Grill--which is always tasty--and had a nice visit.


(11/19) My office had a potluck today, and I brought in my spicy eggs (deviled eggs). D was crushed when I didn't bring home any leftovers. Everything was so delicious! My coworker made the turkey in the office and the whole suite smelled amazing!

(11/20) Day off for me and a normal school day for the boys. I worked in D's classroom this morning, and then popped home when his class went to lunch. I returned to listen to kiddos read in J's class. I went to the hardware store afterward to find some twinkling LED lights for D (not blinking--twinkling). I told him to go look in his room when he got home and he was thrilled! It has 8 different modes and it's a regular light show in D's room at night.


(11/21) Today was a work day, and the boys had school. The day was a complete cluster, and we'll all be glad to put it behind us. Dad had to work this evening, and the rest of us turned in early.


(11/22) I worked from home today so I could take J to an appointment. Dad and C went with the guys to a Silvertips game this evening. The Tips creamed the Blades. I hear it was a great game!


(11/23) Sarah and I went for a walk this morning in lieu of Zumba. After lunch, the twins and I hiked to the park for some outside time. Dad went up to deliver a book case to S this afternoon, and then helped them purchase and haul home a new-to-them love seat.


(11/24) We had a mostly lazy day today. The boys and I walked to play at the park, and we went to a Silvertips game this afternoon.  Tips won in OT!


(11/25) I worked from home today, and the boys had school. I walked with their classes to the store to purchase ingredients for stone soup that they'll be making tomorrow. Such a cute trip, and we lucked out and it didn't even rain on us!

(11/26) Meeting Tuesday will have lots of meetings. And we're off and running!

All My Pumpkins

(10/12) We had the twins' birthday party today at the pool. We had the whole pool to ourselves since we were the only party. It was really fun! The grands all came, and we had a few friends out too. Nanan came over after the party and hung out with us and then joined us for dinner. I went to Pink the Rink tonight with Sarah, Rob, Mel and Marc. Tips won in the first overtime ~ it was a goalie dual with both sides fending off shots.

(10/13) Lazy bum day for the boys and me today. I put up our Halloween decorations, and the twins and I walked to the coffee stand, but that was the extent of our day.  J ordered a French vanilla, banana, Rocky Road Italian soda. It was super sweet, and kind of like drinking a banana split.


(10/14) I worked from home today, the boys had school, and Dad worked this evening. I got caught up in a book and ended up staying up way too late. I'll be paying for that tomorrow.


(10/15) Work and school for all of us today.  We had a pretty chill evening at home. I watched the debates, and the boys YouTubed. I think they got the better end of that!


(10/16) Day off for me, and school for the boys. I volunteered in D's classroom this morning and got to see the butterflies that have emerged from their chrysalises. D was very sad that the butterflies are going back to the lab tomorrow, and there never again would be something orange at the science table. (Oh the horror!) Dad had today off too, and went to the hockey game this evening. The game would've gone well past the twinsies' bedtime mid-school week, so I kept them home.

(10/17) Work day for me, and it was the boys' Friday since tomorrow is a teacher work day. C has neglected his homework in one class and very nearly lost all screen time for the long weekend, but he managed to find and do enough assignments that I think we can turn the trend. Otherwise, it was a pretty uneventful evening with all of us doing our own things.


(10/18) Work day for me. The boys had the day off because it was a teacher work day. They were up bright and squirrelly to play on their tablets. On normal school days, I have to start prodding them at 7am, and it takes roughly a half hour for the twins to emerge.

(10/19) I went to Zumba this morning by my lonesome since my partner in crime was away. After spending some QT with my coffee and book, we had Rob and Mel over to help install the microwave that celebrated its first anniversary in our garage last May. Ha! Dad took C and his friends to a Tips game tonight, and the twins and I made use of their Baskin & Robbins gift cards and went out for ice cream.


(10/20) Lazy bum day for the boys and me. It was gross outside, so we hung out inside and played video games and read books.


(10/21) I worked from home today. Today was pretty uneventful, which is just how I like my Mondays.


(10/22) Work and school for all of us today. Meeting Tuesday was relatively quiet for me. I only had one meeting on my schedule, and that was a quickie. The small dog race qualifiers were tonight to race on the ice at the Silvertips game. Noodley was eliminated sadly, but it was still fun!

(10/23) Today was my day off.  I worked in D's classroom this morning and helped the kids publish their stories. D really wanted to be involved, but had not yet written a story. We story-boarded an idea for one, and then his class left for lunch. He had finished his story and had it illustrated and bound by the end of the day.  He was so thrilled; it was adorable! I popped my head into J's classroom and his teacher she said she could use me to listen to kids read. I did that for an hour or so, and then went to lunch myself. D had counseling this evening, and I spent a quiet hour reading. Can't complain about taking him!


(10/24) I worked from home today so I could attend a doctor's appointment for my mom. We had such a good visit, I'm seriously considering changing to her NP for my primary care! Dad took the boys to pick out costumes tonight, and we're finally going to get around to carving pumpkins this weekend. We're totally on top of things around here.


(10/25) I kicked today off with a walk to coffee with Sarah, and then in headed to work. I usually get home late on Fridays due to traffic, and today was no exception. D had a wonderful day and they sent me a picture from school. He was so excited!


(10/26) Sarah and I went to Zumba this morning for the Party in Pink to support breast cancer. I ran out to get pumpkins for the kiddos to carve afterward. Snow and Seth joined us for pumpkin carving and dinner. We loaded them up with moving boxes, dishes, and towels. They're moving out together next month. Big steps!


(10/27) C was awake nearly all night with an upset stomach, and was not up to going to the zoo as we had planned. So we'll do that another day. The boys and I bummed around home and had a proper lazy day today instead.


(10/28) I worked from home today, and the kiddos had school. The teenager-in-training grumped at us all evening because we pulled the plug on his screen time. Sorry, dude. There's a direct correlation between turning in your homework and your grade coming up. Shrug.


(10/29) Today was a work day for Dad & me, and the kiddos had school. I stayed late today and carved pumpkins with the after-hours work group. It was so fun ~ we watched The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Great Mouse Detective. My office peeps are so creative!

(10/30) I had the day off today and worked in the twins' classrooms. I learned all about bats from D's class, and listened to kiddos read in J's. Nanan came over this afternoon and joined us for dinner. She and I attempted an aqua fitness class this evening, but 10 minutes in we had to get out because a kiddo had gotten sick. Eww. We spent the rest of class in the hot tub and will try again next week.

(10/31) Happy Halloween! I worked today and the kiddos had school. The twins dressed as Steve and Alex from Minecraft, and we had to hunt down a missing diamond sword before we met up with Sarah. Then D left it at a house and I had to backtrack for it. Mostly I ended up carting it all over. J and D got frustrated with their masks, and kept not even putting them on when they trick-or-treated. LOL!  D got tired, but I took J, Jor, and C around to the fancy lit up house and we did a haunted house across the street. J said it only gave him a little heart attack. 

(11/1) Today is pajama day at the office. I brought my robe, and spent a cozy day at work. The kiddos have an early release today and all next week for conference week. I can't believe it's November already.