Return to blogging---January

My blogging has fallen way behind.  In fact, I rarely even think about it and now when I do it causes me anxiety.  So many months have passed and I haven't done a single update.  The thought has crossed my mind to just forget about it and move on but I know that down the road I'll look back at all my past blog books and I'll regret not sticking with it.  The kids love to look through past years and see all the things they did and places they visited.  So I'm going to try to catch up as best as I can and do monthly summaries until I'm up to date.

First up is January. On the first the kiddos and I went to an early matinee of The Good Dinosaur.  I love when we're the only people in the theatre! We can talk and not worry about bothering anyone else.  After the movie we headed home for our annual stone crab claw dinner.  Walker was so excited to get involved in the cracking this year.  And as usual, Oscar ate himself into a crab coma and has once again vowed to not eat crabs until January 1, 2017.  

 Both kids started speech therapy with Ms. Anne.  I now go to her office on Tuesdays at 1:00 with Walker and back again at 4:00 for Savannah.  Needless to say it's a long day for my little man.  I didn't realize how delayed his speech really is but I'm hoping he will progress quickly.  Savannah really only needs a couple of sessions.  There are a couple of sounds that she still struggles with (th- and r's) and once she trains her tongue/lips she will be right where she should be developmentally.

napping during Savannah's session

 This month also was the beginning of our Girl Scout cookie sales.  I had no idea how time consuming this job would become.  My days literally revolved around distributing cookies, collecting money, and inputting sales for about 2 and a half months.

my dining room in January - March

this was my view every night

selling door to door 

Savannah received ice skates for Christmas and she couldn't wait to try them out at the indoor rink in Hillsborough.  She caught on really quickly and managed to go around multiple times on her own.  Walker and I on the other hand desperately needed assistance.

 One evening Savannah decided she wanted to help do the dishes.  Yep, she voluntarily did a chore without being told.  I was so excited that I had to document this.  Unfortunately, it was a one time thing and she has yet to do it again.  But she does often volunteer to take the trash out.  So that's something I suppose.  

 After weeks and weeks of training it was finally time for my marathon.  The kids and I flew to Houston on Thursday the 14th and spent a couple of nights with my parents.  Oscar flew in on Saturday and he and I checked into the hotel near the start/finish and went to the expo.  This was only my second night away from my children which would normally make me a nervous wreck but I desperately needed this night away from all possible sleep wreckers.  After dinner with Harlan and Kendall we went back to the room and I drugged myself with Melatonin and passed out.

he's finally an easy-going airline traveler

just chillin at the airport

on the roof with Grandad taking down Christmas lights

there's my name!

 The morning of the race I woke up ready to go.  Normally I feel very apprehensive and anxious before races but this time I was calm and confident.  My goal was to get a 3:45 and qualify for Boston.  I started out a little faster than I had planned but I felt good.  I first saw Oscar around mile 9 and I was several minutes faster than I should have been.  When I saw him again at mile 19 the fatigue was starting to creep in but I still felt strong.  Shortly thereafter my right knee started to hurt.  It reminded me of what happened in DC several years prior.  It wasn't a shooting pain but it did start to get worse over the next couple of miles.  My pace started to suffer but I refused to stop.  I knew if I started to walk then I may not be able to run again.  I just wanted to finish.  I didn't look at my watch again until right before the finish line.  And then I saw it!  I was going to BQ!!!  Even with the knee pain I finished in 3:30:09---over 9 minutes faster than I needed!!  With a lead that big I should be guaranteed a spot in Boston for 2017.

Back at home our days continued as usual with school, Girl Scouts, speech, playtime, etc.  

Walker's first dress up jammies (finally not wearing a princess dress)

Savannah using her new pottery wheel 

We didn't get much snow this past winter but there was enough for a school delay and one cancel.

the first dusting

hot chocolate is always a good idea

second snow was a little heavier

modeling a real Buzz costume

We finished off the month having to say goodbye to cousin Nik.  His term in the Air Force is finished and he's heading back to Cali to be in the Reserves and finish school.  He stopped by for a couple of days before driving across the country on his motorcycle.  We sure will miss seeing him when we visit NYC.  And don't even remind me about Michael transferring in a few months!

Snow Days 2015

We got our first snow day on Tuesday, February 17th.  Savannah has been waiting over two months to wake up to snow and she finally got her wish.  Unfortunately, it was more like ice than snow.  Living in North Carolina it's rare to get actual snow.  We tend to get mostly ice storms that sweep across the area and leave you trapped indoors because the roads are too slick to drive on.  So we were stuck at home for three days----three missed days of school, three days full of bickering and fighting, three days of being bored.  Savannah loves to be outside and play in the ice/snow but Walker hates to be bundled up and he really dislikes being cold and wet.  So for three days it was pretty much impossible to keep everyone happy.  Thankfully school was back in session on Friday and we (referring to all adults) were hoping that would be the end of our snow days.    

checking out the first dusting of snow

he's not sure what to do about this

munching on some ice

finishing touches on her snow girl

nearly impossible to make a snow angel on top of ice

attempting to shovel the driveway

our finished icy snow girl

jumbo snowflakes

So needless to say we were very unhappy to woke up to some unexpected snow the following Tuesday.  First Walker's school was delayed, then cancelled, and then Savannah's school was delayed.  We all got dressed and ready for the day only to find out at 9:00 am that her school was cancelled as well.  Here we were all dressed and ready and no where to go.  So we spent another full day at home and watched the snow fall ALL DAY LONG!  This time is was nice, soft, fluffy snow instead of the wet, icy snow like before.  

Walker is SOOO OVER this mess!! 

S wishes every day was a snow day

And we hoped this would be the end but no.......the night of February 25, we received soooo much snow that we lost power at 2 am.  I know exactly when it happened because this was the exact time that Savannah had a little.....ummmmm, accident in bed.  Oscar still went to work that morning and left us home with no power, no heat, and no hot water.  Needless to say, we didn't last long.  After I managed to shovel the entire driveway the kiddos and I headed over to the always gracious Moray home and spent the day playing and eating with them.  Savannah had a blast playing outside with Avi, Walker loved not having to play outside, and I loved having hot coffee and adult interactions.  Lucky for us, our power was back on that night so were able to go home to a warm house.  There was no school the rest of the week and the snow lingered around for about another week.  I'm happy to say that I think the snow is finally behind us.  I'm even ready for pollen season!

notice the trees that have fallen over due to the snow

fun times at the Moray's