February, Get the Leap Outta Here!

(2/4) Work and school for us all today. It snowed today, but thankfully didn't stick around. I had to bring up my new flowers and put them under the covered porch so they wouldn't freeze. It's early to be buying flowers, but I needed me some spring!

(2/5) Sarah and I went for a very wet walk this morning. I worked at the boys' school for the entire morning. I used the die cut machine for a project in D's class, and then helped a group write about their favorite dessert in J's. C had counseling this afternoon, and D went with Dad to pick out Valentines for his and J's classes.

(2/6) I was two weeks early for my meeting at the school this morning. I just saw Thursday in the email, but not the date. Whoops! Good thing we're close! The rest of my day went as planned. Sarah and I bailed on the gym tonight because our favorite teacher wasn't going to be there, so I went home to watch TV with the hubs.


(2/7) Work and school for us all today. I got word that my niece was born this afternoon, and that everybody was doing great.  I'm looking forward to meeting her!


(2/8) I went up to Nanan's today to do some heavy lifting and make a dump run (fun stuff, lemme tell ya!). The boys played D's new voice-banking Monopoly in my absence, and had a lot of fun. This evening we got started on Valentine's Day boxes. D's is orange, because that's is his favorite color. J wasn't feeling so hot, so I wrapped his, and he can finish it later.


(2/9) I got to meet my new niece today! I felt so bad ~ I missed a text from my sister saying not to come because her hubby and son were sick, but fortunately (for me!) she and the babes and the grands were all there. I got to be a baby hog for a bit, and have lunch with them. It was a lovely afternoon. Once I got home, I worked on fencing off a portion of our back yard for the doggos. So they get their side, and I can have mine. I got about halfway done and will finish up this week, if the weather holds.


(2/10) Today was a work and school day for all of us. D was presented with a Life Long Learner award for cooperation in a school assembly today. He was SO excited, and was practically doing calisthenics to get ready for his turn up front. He wanted ALL the family there, and Oma & Opa made the trek over the mountains to be there for his day. J's glasses arrived, and we were able to pick them up this afternoon. He looks pretty handsome!


(2/11) Work and school for us all today. Nanan grabbed the boys for us after school, but left before dinner, so I didn't get a chance to see her. Dad picked up pizza and bread sticks from Enzo's and had to chase feasting boys away to make sure there was still some left for me.


(2/12) I had today off, and volunteered in the boys' classes this morning. D decided not to do much of his work this afternoon and lost screens for the day. He went with me to the hardware store after school and shadowed me while I hung chain link out back.

(2/13) Work and school for us all today. Dad ended up calling out because he threw his back out the other day, and was feeling pretty miserable. D had a MUCH better day and the boys were all YouTubing when I got home from my class.


(2/14) Happy Valentine's Day!  C woke up with a fever and a cough, and stayed home today. What a rotten present! I came home to flowers and chocolates. I'll say they're both delicious because every chance he's gotten, Jimmy has been up on the table enjoying the "salad". He's the main reason I haven't filled the whole house with plants.


(2/15) Sarah and I went for a coffee walk this morning, and when I returned it was on to weekend chores. I finished strapping down the fence today, and secured it with a rebar post. I cleared out the flower pots out back, and planted some iris bulbs out front. I also put up the bird feeder that I purchased a while ago. Now I can see both feeders from where I sit when I work at home. I love watching the birdies! Dad went up to Rob's to work on the car for S. They worked all day and are still not done. He came home in time to take C and his buddies to the hockey game. We loaded the barking seal up on cough meds, and he said he felt okay enough to go. The twins and I watched Beavis & Butthead (as you do on vacation), and then I streamed the game for D when he went to bed.


(2/16) Sarah and I went for a coffee walk this morning. Dad & I thought about taking the kids to go play in Seattle for the day, but with C looking and sounding so bad, we decided we'd put that off til spring break. I reminded Dad we still needed to go pick up our wine club order so we headed out to Woodinville for the afternoon. We picked up our wine, stopped in at Patterson (on our passports), and then had to go to J&A's to pet puppies. Because puppies. We had a low-key evening, and let the kids watch a ton of YouTube. Ahhh, vacation!


(2/17) President's Day ~ we were all off today for the holiday. Sarah and I caught a Zumba class this morning and then I went up to meet Nanan for an appointment. We went to IHOP afterward for breakfast. Yum! Dad went to Rob's to continue working on the car, but they broke a couple of the seals so had to knock off early for the day. C is still feeling miserable, and spent most of the day holding down the couch. I hate it when they're sick.


(2/18) The boys were off for their last day of mid-winter break. I went in to work for a busy day of meetings, and less sick people! J woke up feeling miserable this morning and had a fever to boot. Dad had to run him in to the doctor this morning for a med refill, and while he didn't have a fever there, he spent the day feeling pretty cruddy and hot. Poor bubs. C also spent the day at home barking.

(2/19) Today was my normal day off. Both C & J stayed home sick today, and D said it was weird going to school without his twin. I can imagine! I didn't go in and volunteer today, which was actually convenient since I had an appointment and would have missed volunteering in J's class anyway. Other than that, we had a pretty quiet day at home.


(2/20) I ended up working from home today because J was still feverish this morning. C sounded okay enough to head off to school. He made it through, but looked pretty peaked by the evening. Dad came home early also not feeling well. Ugh, plague be gone! J's fever broke this afternoon, so hopefully he'll be off to school tomorrow.


(2/21) Yay, all three kiddos went to school today! And I was able to go in to work.  Dad took Noodley in for his annual vet appointment, and the chonkster has benefited from a little fewer treats lately, and weighed in at a healthy amount.

(2/22) Sarah and I met for Zumba and coffee this morning. Dad ran out to Rob's to work on the car for S. They got it all back together this time! Dad came home not feeling so hot, and ended up staying home with the twins who both were running fevers this evening (it's never-ending!). I took C and a friend to Star Wars night at the Silvertips. It's so different taking big kids and not having to monitor them every second, but I had some Storm Troopers behind me kicking my seat, so it felt like normal after all.


(2/23) We had a pretty lazy day at home today. D and J both were feverish all day, and laid around feeling miserable. I read my book in the morning, and then decided to pull out the power washer and hosed down our back patio. It's looking great!


(2/24) I worked from home today. D stayed home with a fever. Poor bubs. This stuff is rotten. J made it through the day, but hardly had a voice when he came home.


(2/25) D stayed home again today, and I worked from home. He watched a lot of YouTube and held down the couch, while I worked in the other room.


(2/26) D was home again today. Poor guy has the leg pain that J had a few days ago. The kiddos are getting too heavy to carry up and down the stairs. I cancelled my volunteering and appointments for the day, and we had a stay home day. When I picked up J, he said something about wanting candy, so I took him to the store, grabbing C on the way, and we got some treats. J says he wants more "best days ever" like that.


(2/27) D was still hot and achy this morning, so he stayed home with Dad so I could make it in to the office at least once this week.

(2/28) Hallelujah!  Everyone was well enough to go to school! D was pretty wiped by the time he got home, and we had a mellow evening.

(2/29) Happy Saturday ~ I thought I'd get to sleep in, but alas J had other plans and had the whole house up at 6:30a. Yawn! I went for a walk with Sarah this morning around the lake. Things are blooming and we saw the heron out there today!  

Is It Spring Yet?

(1/10) Sarah and I kicked our morning off with a walk to coffee. After I dropped the kiddos off, I went on to work. I came home to a quiet house this evening since the boys were all out getting their hairs cut. We had a quiet evening in other than that.


(1/11) Sarah and I opted for a coffee walk this morning over Zumba. We took the kiddos to the aquatic center for rec swim this afternoon. They are big enough now that I wandered from kid to kid and didn't have to help anybody do anything. So weird! D even tried out the water slide, but since it leaves the building, he said it was coooooold! We had a celebratory dinner this evening for Dad now that he's back on days. Huzzah!


(1/12) We had a lazy start to our Sunday. All of us bummed around the house this morning. I ran out to do some errands in between bouts of snow/rain/hail. We're supposed to get snow this evening, so we took the SUV to the hockey game tonight. Sure enough, it started dumping snow as we left the game, and we got around 5" overnight.


(1/13) Snow day! I work remote on Mondays, so after Sarah and I trekked for coffee, I settled in to work. The kiddos played screens and then all went outside after lunch for a major snowball fight. They even got the ski goggles out--now that's doin' it right!  Nanan came down this afternoon and said there was hardly any snow except for in my neighborhood. We had an appointment in Seattle this afternoon, and were able to get there and back with no difficulty. Nanan and I went to dinner at Bob's once we got back in town, and she opted to head home tonight because we were expecting more snow. Can't say I blame her!


(1/14) Guess what? Another snow day!  I worked remote today, and wandered down periodically to check on my sledders. J was out there ALL day, and refused to come in until it was almost dark.


(1/15) Today was my normal day off. I love the snow, but it's day three of the kiddos being home, and I'm over it. It's supposed to warm up and rain, and I can't wait!  The wind kicked up and blew some snow/rain/sleet/hail around this afternoon. But it's looking like schools will be 2 hours late tomorrow, so hopefully?

(1/16) HOORAY! We're all going in today. D and J both had great days, which was a shock since D had such a rough transition back after break. Granted, we arrived at school in time for lunch and then recess, so maybe that had something to do with it?


(1/17) Sarah and I picked our way through what was left of the snow on our walk this morning. It's been giving me an extra 2,000 "micro" steps each day. I guess it's good for something!


(1/18) Happy birthday to Dad! I made monkey bread this morning, and then went out for a walk with Sarah. Dad and I went wine tasting this afternoon, and hit up a new place, plus a few of our favorites. There is one winery we go to specifically to pet puppies, but there weren't any at first, so we stayed and chatted with the owner. He'll be retiring this summer, which is a bummer because we like all of his wines. There was a pupper that showed up toward the end, who plunked himself down right under my feet. After wine tasting, we grabbed sushi for the kiddos and had dinner at home before the game. The Tips absolutely womped on the T-Birds tonight, shutting them out 8-0.


(1/19) Today was a day of extreme laziness. I didn't go anywhere or do anything. I just read my book, and caught up on some sleep.


(1/20) MLK Day ~ the kiddos and I had the day off, so Sarah and I slept in and went for a walk in the daylight. Nanan had a doctor's appointment this afternoon, so I met her for that, and we went to lunch afterward. Dad's schedule has moved up to early-squirrelly, so he was already home by the time I returned. We had dinner and watched some Gordon Ramsey and AFV before calling it a day.


(1/21) Work and school for us all today. Nanan picked the boys up from school and joined us for dinner tonight.

(1/22)  Day off for me, and I worked in the boys' classrooms. D was not having anything to do with his writing project, so I took him out in the hallway and we quickly story-boarded an idea. When I peeked in at him after lunch, he was conferencing with his teacher and getting his story typed. Yes! Tonight we did sciencey things. J's rocks completed their days in the tumbler, and Dad re-purposed a glass container in which to display our treasures. They put another set of rocks in to tumble, and set up some new crystals to grow. J and I also made sensory bottles, and he wants to take one in to his teacher.

(1/23) J created a necklace and ring from his rocks last night, and wore them to school today. So cute! We got an email from the principal this morning that D had visited and read his story to her. She is so impressed with his writing gains this year. Yay, D! I worked today, and then took a class this evening, and got home late. It sounds like everyone had a pretty good day.

(1/24) Work day for me, and the boys had school. Dad had the day off, but decided to tackle replacing the kitchen sink that has been leaking. We did not have all the tools necessary, so he ended up stopping for the night. But it definitely wasn't a relaxing day off as planned.


(1/25) I went to Zumba this morning while Dad argued with the sink. He was unable to get the faucet out even with the right tools, so called in the plumbers to come finish the job. We went to Middleton this afternoon for an early linner and enjoyed some beer cheese nachos and beer mac. We had game night tonight, and C beat us at Catan. So fun!


(1/26) Dad got the fun job of repairing the boys' toilet this morning. I decided to leave so he could swear in peace.  I ran to the gym, and stopped for coffee on the way back. I ran into Sarah on my way home, and turned around and went with her for coffee. Dad was successful in my absence, and went out to grab subs for lunch. We had an afternoon Silvertips game, which the Tips won 4-1!


(1/27) I worked from home today, but felt really cruddy all day. I ended up going to sleep at 8pm once I'd put the twins to bed.


(1/28) Work day for Dad & me, and school for the boys today. I felt soooo much better, which was a good thing since I had a busy, meeting-filled day on the docket. The boys all had good days from the sounds of things too.


(1/29) Day off for me and work/school for the rest of the fam. D had a doctor's appointment this morning, so I missed my volunteer shift in his class, but did get to read with the kiddos in J's class. D had counseling this afternoon, and after we all got home, we were in for the night.

(1/30) Work and school day for us all today. I took a class after work and got home late, but still in time for us to watch The Witcher with C, and then for Dad & I to indulge in watching Picard.


(1/31) Today was a work and school day for us all. We had quite the windstorm tonight. As I was driving home, the sky lit up over our house, and sure enough, when I rolled into the neighborhood, the power was out. Dad had luckily had already made dinner and dessert, so all that remained was to frost the cupcakes by lantern light. About half way through frosting, the power came back on, and we hung out and watched some TV together.


(2/1) Today was a day of epic laziness. Sarah wasn't feeling well, and without my gym buddy, I lost all motivation to go out at all. This afternoon we played Catan, and D won!  He's getting really good at that game. I disassembled the extra bed in his room (now that J has his own room), and we cleaned under both beds--holy cow, that was a project. He now has a little reading area, and is just thrilled with his space.


(2/2) Dad made us breakfast and we loafed around. I went out to grab some flowers to spring up our front steps. It's supposed to be an early spring, and my primroses up on the porch are already blooming. We went to dinner at Olive Garden, and the boys predictably fell into the eating too many bread sticks trap, and didn't eat much of their dinners. Guess they'll have tasty breakfasts tomorrow!


(2/3) Today was a work and school day for us all. We went through the gambit as far as weather today--it has been clear and sunny, and dumping snow. Hope it doesn't stick around!