Goodbye 2020!

While Christmas was better than I thought it'd be and E's birthday was fun, I can say I am glad this year will be behind us in 5 hours. Even with the pandemic, historic hurricane season, racial tension, presidential election issues and murder hornets (was that ever really a thing??) there have been some bright spots and good memories in 2020. I got to see my parents this year, even if it was only for a weekend. My brother survived a bad bout of Covid. He was one of the first Covid cases in Southern California so it was a very scary time for us while we navigated this new virus. We bought 10 acres in April and have enjoyed spending time there during this crazy year. We went primitive camping for the first time as a family. We didn't get much sleep but we created a lot of fun memories. P got to go to church camp for the first time, which he thoroughly enjoyed. I was stretched more than I imagined with virtual teaching. It caused tears for me, the parents and the students but we got through it and I know I can do it again if needed. We found the perfect home for our dog, Charlie, and adopted another dog. He's a great dog but is currently a nervous wreck because of the fireworks. Ha! This Fall my beautiful niece was born and I can't wait to meet her in person. Thankfully we have FaceTime so I get to see her quite a bit. We traveled more than we thought possible this year and explored new places. I won a year membership to a gym I've wanted to join for a long time so hopefully I'll lose my Covid weight. And in between all this we've learned how to slow down. We've spent a lot of family time together...and have enjoyed it. We've learned how to play new games. We've enjoyed a lot of walks around the neighborhood and local park. We've enjoyed more home cooked meals than usual. And we've appreciated our health. 2020 has been exhausting and I am ready for the NEW, but I am thankful for all the bright spots, the things the Lord has blessed us with and the memories we've created this year. 2020 will definitely be a year we never forget!

Bah Humbug

Tomorrow is Christmas Day and I don't want to celebrate it. I want to stay in bed and let the day pass. Nothing seems normal this Christmas season. We did not go to the lighting of the City Hall Christmas tree. We did not candy cane bomb cars. We did not do Christmas parties. We did not do a big family gathering with Rob's side of the family. The town Christmas parade got cancelled. We didn't send out Christmas cards. Our friend Jonathan and his siblings aren't doing their infamous gingerbread house competition that I look forward to every year. I had to talk the boys into sitting on Santa's lap because they said it was going to be too weird. My heart wasn't into Christmas shopping this year. (The only thing I truly enjoyed was baking for others.) Our Christmas tree died a week after we got it so we haven't turned the lights on in fear it'll catch fire. Christmas gifts still haven't arrived because they got lost in the mail. The only thing that is remotely the same is our elf on the shelf. But, even that wasn't the same because the boys were not overly enthusiastic about him like years past. I miss my family terribly. Every time I think about tomorrow I tear up because it'll be the second Christmas in a row that I won't be with my family. I am trying to be happy, knowing it's about celebrating Jesus's birth and not about all the other stuff. I know we are blessed with so much, including our health and good jobs. But it's hard. I will put on a brave face for the boys and will cherish the memories we'll create tonight and tomorrow morning. But, deep down, I just want to go to sleep and wake up when it's 2021. 

Christmas Struggles

 Christmas is supposed to be the happiest time of the year. But, sadly for some, it's not. For us, Christmas is usually the most stressful time of the year. Trying to coordinate schedules to get to Christmas parties and do all the Christmas shopping while making time for traditions and memories doesn't make for a relaxing Christmas holiday. This year's struggles are different. While we have been spending a lot of time as a family, I am struggling with what activities are safe to do and which ones need to be skipped. Our church puts on a HUGE Christmas event every year, which has become part of our annual traditions. This year, however, we are going to skip it. We may do the drive thru nativity scene but we will not take part in singing Christmas songs in the sanctuary. Neither Rob nor I want to take a risk on getting quarantined, nor do we want to get others sick. Sitting on Santa's lap will most likely get skipped as well. If the boys do decide they want to sit on his lap, it will definitely be a different experience from years past.

Another, non-Covid related, struggle is our Christmas tree. We have had live trees my entire life. We used to drive to the mountains with families from our church and cut down the perfect tree. We'd make a day out of it and pray for snow to play in. (I doubt my dad prayed for the snow since he was the one having to haul the tree back to the car!) Now we go to tree lots to find the perfect tree. The problem is, however, that our tree dies about two weeks in no matter what we do to take care of it. By Christmas morning there's more needles on the ground (and gifts!) than on the tree. This is the first year I've toyed with the idea of buying an artificial tree. I can't quite warm up to the idea though. Maybe it's because of the memories that surround searching for the real tree. Maybe it's the nostalgia of putting the lights on it and enjoying its uniqueness. I don't know, but it is nice to have an "unrelated from Covid" struggle. Ha!

Whatever your struggles may be, I hope you find happiness this year. I hope you're able to enjoy the special moments that Christmas brings, whether it's more family time or finding the perfect tree. I hope you realize that, despite the struggles that Christmas can bring, you are blessed. If I don't get around to blogging again before Christmas, I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas!

Covid Sucks....Just Sayin'

 It's not just Covid that sucks. It's this whole year. There, I said it. 

Last month I was all excited to go visit one of my closest friends, a friend whom I met in college 20+ years ago. (Wow! That makes me sound old.) We don't see each other as often as I'd like, but when we do we pick up right where we left off. The night before my flight I started to get anxious. I never get anxious over flying. Never. But I continued to pack my bags, putting aside my worry. Friday I left school right when the bell rang so I could race to the airport. But the closer I got to the airport, the more nervous I got. I wasn't nervous about the flight itself. I was nervous about wearing a mask for hours, being in a confined plane with people breathing the same air. Something I've never worried about before. The closer I got to the airport the more I prayed, "Lord, if this isn't Your will then close the doors." Well, guess what? He did. Technically He broke the door but it's all the same. After 3 delays, 2 announcements that I'd miss connecting flights and a call that my BIL had been taken to the hospital for liver failure I knew I wasn't supposed to go visit my friend. When I went to the podium to cancel my flight, I asked the ticket counter guy (Is that their official title??) why there were so many delays. He said, "The door of the plane is broken and we can't figure out what's going on with it." See? God literally broke the door instead of just closing it.

Another reason Covid sucks? The holidays! I'm huge into tradition and family and memories and all things Christmas, starting with Thanksgiving. To be honest, Thanksgiving is my least favorite holiday but it kicks off the Christmas season so I like it for that reason. This year I didn't get to see my parents. (In fact, I haven't seen them since January and the boys haven't seen them since last Summer.) Then Thanksgiving was just odd. I am not naturally a hugger but Rob's family is. There weren't hugs exchanged and we kind of kept our distance from each other. As soon as the meal was over and we cleaned up, Rob, the boys and I got back in the car and headed home. I thought about early Black Friday shopping but none of the stores were open. (I'm good with that because those poor retail people need a day off!) Overall, it was just an odd day filled with good food.

The closer we get to Christmas, the more things get cancelled and the more paranoid I get about quarantining. Don't get me wrong. I am not concerned in the least about getting Covid. I'm worried about missing out because I have to quarantine. I am so thankful that the students were able to come back to school after the Thanksgiving week because this is my favorite time of the year to teach. That being said, I don't want to do anything to jeopardize missing out on what's left of the Christmas festivities because of Covid. Already, all work Christmas parties were cancelled. The boys don't want to do Santa pictures because they will be separated from him by plexiglass. Our church is doing a drive-thru Christmasville this year when in years past the kids have been able to sit on Santa's lap after riding a little train, enjoying the petting zoo and watching the Christmas Story come alive. This year we won't get to see my parents once again and I'm sure it'll just be the 4 of us on Christmas day. We've only done that once before and I wasn't a huge fan. Like I said, I like family and memories at Christmas, which includes Christmas day itself.

But it is what it is. Someday we'll look back on this year as a year of historical events....Covid, an unprecedented hurricane season, Kamala Harris becoming the first female Vice President. But right now I see 2020 as the year nothing went as planned. It is what it is. Bah Humbug!

Bothersome

 I debated about whether to blog my thoughts and in the end I felt compelled to. Some of you may not like what I have to say but so be it. Yesterday Biden/Harris were announced as our next political leaders of the USA. And since they have been announced many of my friends have taken to FB to belittle them or point out their "sins". I get that people aren't happy about the outcome. I'm not happy about it either (although, like I stated in my last blog, I wasn't a huge fan of Trump's either). But pointing out mistakes people made years ago isn't right. I would hope people would use their anger to fight for what they believe in. I would also hope (and pray) that God doesn't judge me as harshly as some people on FB are doing to Kamala Harris. I have no doubt that, like me, sometimes people wish they could hit a "rewind" button to go back and right a wrong they had done. Whether she has that wish or not is none of our business. How she leads the nation as second in command is our business. Do I agree with her political agenda? Not at all. But do I feel the need to belittle her on social media because of her choices in life? Not at all. I am a firm believer that children learn by example and what I'm seeing on FB helps me understand why some children act the way they do. It frustrates me and puts a knot in my stomach. Why be ugly? Some of the people who are making these comments and posting memes are the ones who cried the loudest when others bashed Trump. As the old saying goes, "If you don't have anything nice to say about someone don't say anything at all." 

In closing I'll leave you with one of my favorite sayings... "In a world where you can be anything, be kind."

Take the high road and be kind..... mic drop

Sleepless Nights

 I feel like I've titled a previous blog with this same title. Maybe it's just become a theme in my life over the years. I don't know. I used to lie awake for hours, worrying about finances, our marriage, P's health. Now I'm awake because I feel like I've aged10 years in the past year. I take a very high dose of medicine for a medical condition (to no avail) that causes night sweats and hot flashes. (Doesn't that sound like an old lady issue? But wait! It gets better.) I have plantar fasciitis that makes walking pretty uncomfortable if I choose to wear cute shoes instead of sensible shoes. I have eczema that will cause my hands to feel like they are on fire some days. I have gained weight faster than I can think about losing it. (Although the pint of Blue Bell that I ate for lunch today probably didn't help.) I have arthritis in my hips, making exercise uncomfortable. By the time I fall into bed (at an old lady time of 8:30) I am uncomfortable and exhausted. I try to read to relax but my eyesight has gone downhill pretty fast in recent months. I wear my glasses a lot these days just to see the book I'm reading to my students or the computer screen that sits on my desk. By the time I go to bed, I don't want to wear my glasses and it's difficult to see the words if I'm reading a "small print" book. Oh the joys of aging! I can only imagine how I'll be in 20-30 years. 😞

Maybe I am dealing with insomnia because of the political junk going on. News media has declared Joe Biden as the new President elect as of today. I'm not a fan of his. But, in all honesty, I haven't been a fan of any of our presidents in recent years. I guess this election just made me mad because of all the fraud. The American people deserve better than that! When it's all said and done, whoever is inaugurated in January will be our President and, even if I don't respect the person, I respect his position. But I really just wish the USA could go back to the good ole' days of Ronald Reagan. 😃

No matter what causes my insomnia, I am thankful for nights like last night where I slept 7 consecutive hours. I rarely sleep more than 4 hours at a time and then it takes me an hour or two to get comfortable enough to fall back to sleep. I usually get one good night of sleep a week and I'll take it. I'm thankful when I wake up rested and do not take it for granted. So here's to more nights of good sleep, waking up rested and ready to take on a new day.....

Fun and Busy Month

 October has always been a busy month for our family. I feared, with COVID this year, that it wouldn't be. Boy, was I wrong! Between P's cross country season, birthdays, hunting, Rob's storm work, Halloween and our every day commitments, we had something filling up our calendar several times a week. 

At the first of the month, I felt like our lives went from 0-60 in no time flat. Rob was working long hours. I was a "mom taxi". P was involved with cross country, youth group, hanging out at friends' houses and wanting to go to his school's football games. E started piano lessons and spends every waking moment with his best friend.

On the weekends that we didn't have any big plans we went to camp to celebrate family birthdays. It was nice to be able to spend time with family, celebrating in the most normal way possible this year. 

Last weekend ended P's cross country season. We were so impressed with what he accomplished in only a few months. He practiced diligently and was able to shave 2 minutes (!!!) off his time by the end. It was fun to watch him blossom and find his athletic niche. 

Last night we rounded out the month with neighborhood trick or treating. I thought it would be cancelled since so many other things have been this year. But, much to my joy, it went on as scheduled. For the first time since moving to this neighborhood, most of the people handed out candy. After the boys and their friends were done stashing their bags with every form of candy, we went to our neighbor's house for dinner. Afterwards we sat around the fire pit, talking and enjoying the beautiful Fall weather. When we got home, both boys said it was the best Halloween they'd ever had. I guess when so much has been taken away from us this year, it makes you appreciate the things you are able to do. 

Here are a few pictures to highlight our month....

A Change of Plans

There is nothing I love more than a good surprise. Why? Because I love trying to figure out what the surprise is. Last week I was able to piece things together and figured out that Rob graciously used his "storm money" to buy me a side by side for my birthday. What I didn't figure out is that he had planned a huge surprise party for me tomorrow. So many friends were going to show up tomorrow afternoon to celebrate my birthday with me. But, alas, hurricane #268 of the year is about to hit Louisiana. Rob didn't want to chance him having to work or us losing power so he played it safe and cancelled the party. As much as I would've loved to have been surprised with my friends coming over, I am glad he changed the plans. Today I was going to take the boys to the gulf for the day. We were going to go to an aquarium and to a new restaurant. But, this morning we decided to stay home instead. I am glad we changed the plans.

Why am I glad the plans have changed? One of the reasons is that the weeks have gotten so busy that it's nice to have a day to relax once in awhile. As I said in a previous blog, we've gone from zero to sixty in a short time. While I'm glad some things are getting back to normal, I'm still not ready for all the busy schedules. For the first time in my life, I'm okay with the fact that I'm still kind of a home body. As much as I love doing new things with the boys and having friends over, I am thankful that we have a relaxing weekend ahead of us. Time to recharge after a busy week!

Grass is Greener

 I know the old saying “The grass is always greener on the other side.” But, this year I have really been feeling that. In March, when the world literally shut down, I would’ve given anything to have social interaction outside of our 4 walls. I felt claustrophobic and at times, lonely. I don’t do well being cooped up so I made the best of it by doing endless house projects that I never have time for. By July, things were slowly getting back to normal. We were busy to some extent but a lot of things were still closed due to Covid. In August school started, but we started on a hybrid model. Some students came Monday and Wednesday while others came Tuesday and Thursday. I had a lot of “prep” time due to our schedule so life wasn’t crazy busy. Then we had hurricane after hurricane after hurricane hit the gulf. The thing with hurricanes is that you don’t know exactly where they’ll hit until about 24 hours prior to making landfall. So we had a lot of days off of school in August due to “storm days”. Then all of a sudden...BOOM...life went completely back to normal. Talk about a shock! For 5 months, life was pretty much slow and easy and then within two weeks, life gets crazy busy. Between the boys’ activities, hair cut appts, car issues and errands, this week has been insane. Not to mention, I no longer have a lot of prep time at school so I bring work home in the evenings and weekends. This week it was overwhelming. I was so thankful that yesterday was the first day where we didn’t have any after school commitments. Usually on the weekends I run around, trying to get everything done for the new week. But today I had to decompress. I worked all morning and then I sat on the couch around 2pm and haven’t done much since then. I need this time to rest- physically and mentally. I do NOT want to go back to life being shut down but I am ready for a slower pace again. I’m not quite ready for life to completely go back to normal yet. That’s one thing I learned during the pandemic. That being said... how’s  the grass looking on your side of the fence??

Well Rounded Boys

Today is rainy, gloomy and shall I say chilly?? I don't think I ever remember wearing a jacket in mid September since moving to the South. But today I did and it was glorious. It's the perfect weather to cuddle up in a blanket, with a book and cup of coffee.....or blog. Usually I start my Days of Thankfulness in November but this year I decided to start early. Due to all the chaos, destruction and heartbreak this year I thought I'd start listing the things I'm thankful for now to remind me that we are so blessed. I am not going to go back to Day 1 on this blog but I will say that, by writing about our blessings on social media, it has made me realize just how blessed we are.

My biggest blessing is my family. This week I was thanking the Lord for everyone in our family. It got me to thinking about our boys and how well rounded they are. I am thankful that they have so many interests. Our oldest is thriving this year, which is so nice, since last school year was rough. This year he's got his confidence back. He is rocking all of his classes! He is on the cross country team and is trying out for the football team. He also enjoys playing his guitar and riding dirtbikes. He wants to get into trapping this year and has his first real job, mowing our neighbor's lawn every week. At night, he'll fall asleep reading and likes to use the money he earns to buy books.

Our youngest loves football and is obsessed with dirtbikes. He also loves hunting and fishing with his daddy. When it's raining or his best friend isn't home, he'll spend time drawing and painting. I love that he likes to help me in the kitchen, learning how to bake. He wants to start learning how to play the piano as well. 

Both boys love to help others and both do well in school. They are outgoing and have a great group of friends. Just like other kids their age, they play video games. But they would rather be outside than in front of a TV. I love that they challenge themselves to be better. 

Yes, they argue. Yes, sometimes they can work my nerves. But, I never take for granted that we have been blessed with such awesome boys. I love how well rounded they are and that they are so thoughtful. I can't wait to see how the Lord uses them in life!

Chaotic Month

There's been several times in the past month that I've wanted to blog. But I either lacked time or motivation to get it done. So this will be a hodge podge of stuff. There were a few times I wanted to get on my soapbox about stuff- defunding police, COVID politics, etc but I was convicted about sharing my thoughts publicly so only Rob got the honor of hearing them. Ha!

August has been a busy month. A week or two before school started we took the boys to ride dirtbikes and then stopped by a friend's house for a BBQ. That night E started complaining that he was tired and that his legs hurt. We chalked it up to riding his dirtbike. Monday, after playing with his friend all day, he started complaining that he was cold and that his muscles hurt. Out of nowhere he spiked a fever and we couldn't get it down. Tuesday I took him to his pediatrician and she was certain he has strep...until the test came back negative. We asked for him to be tested for COVID because of the fever and muscle aches. Tuesday was a rough day, full of tears (Both he and I cried several times). By Tuesday evening his fever broke and he was back to normal- eating, full of energy. By Thursday we hadn't received results but I was positive he didn't have COVID, mainly because Rob hadn't got sick and he always catches everything. Friday afternoon we got the call that he did test positive and that we all had to quarantine. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal but this was 3 days before I had to report for my teacher workdays. Talk about stressful!

That week was bittersweet. I hated that I missed the first day of school for the first time in my entire teaching career. But I loved that the boys got to go to theirs because they were done with quarantine. P got invited to have breakfast with some of his close friends before staring the first day of school. Then E wanted donuts to celebrate his first day. I took both boys to school then came home and cried. I literally watched the clock all day, wondering what my students were doing and counting down until the boys would be done with their school day. It was not fun.

Then I started teaching the next week and I have to say it's been a rollercoaster. I LOVE my group of students and I love teaching only ELA. But our district is doing a hybrid model and it's nuts. I can never remember which group is coming what day and what handouts have been given to what groups. Testing is all over the place because of grouping. It's a fast paced day, every day, trying to teach the kids in my physical presence while making sure the kids who are virtually learning understand the assignments. I come home exhausted every day, not because of the kids or any type of physical demands but because I'm mentally drained from trying to keep up with it all.

The weekends are fun, though. The boys are really into dirtbikes so E raced his first trail race a couple weeks ago and finished Top 10. Then last weekend Rob took the boys to watch a motorcross race, which the boys loved. This weekend both boys had friends spend the night. Then P spent the night at a friend's house the next night. Me? I've been working. I worked a few hours Saturday and then found out yesterday that school was cancelled today and tomorrow due to TS Marco. The thing fizzled out this morning and, other than a little wind and 10 minutes of rain, it's been a beautiful day. I'm sure tomorrow will be the same. Usually I'm thankful for storm days. But because of the craziness of this year, I don't like days off. I already have limited in-person time with my students so I don't want it wasted. I will be so thankful when the governor puts us at Phase 3 and all students can come back 5 days a week. 

This year has been crazy. But I'm thankful that I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. P is doing cross country and has his first scrimmage this week (If Hurricane Laura doesn't affect us. I have a bad feeling about that storm.). Both boys are having friends spend the night again. I am meeting up with friends when schedules allow and trying to get to Spin class when I can. I loved our much needed family time for a few months but I am also happy that life is getting back to a somewhat normal routine. All in all, it's been a good month, full of good times, and for that I'm thankful.

Camp Fun Memories

Growing up, some of my favorite Summer memories were of church camp. If memory serves me correctly, I went every Summer from the time I was in 2nd or 3rd grade through high school. So when we cancelled our trip to Cali this Summer due to dumb Rona, I asked P if he wanted to go to camp. Being in quarantine messed with him for awhile and he had become pretty anti-social until mid June. Needless to say, it didn't surprise me when he first said no. Then he asked if I would go as a counselor. I knew if I went he'd go and that's exactly what happened.
At my childhood church camp, I remember small group Bible studies. I remember outdoor chapel in the evenings with powerful worship songs and a dynamic speaker. I remember only having volleyball, an open field and a limited amount of pool time. I remember a snack shack that you would have to wait in line for what seemed like forever to get your sugar high. I remember a pay phone where homesick kids would anxiously wait for their turn to have a few minutes of talking to their parents before their change ran out. I remember racing to the bathroom to take a shower so you could be one to get hot water. I remember keeping the cabin doors closed during the day to keep the hot weather out and opening them at night to let a breeze through. I remember late night chat sessions with new friends. I remember camp crushes. I remember hot weather!
The hot weather hasn't changed a bit but everything has. Well, maybe the late night chats and camp crushes haven't changed from what I'm told but my sweet cabin girls were in bed early each night and didn't talk about cute boys. The cabin situation at P's camp was high class compared to mine.....air conditioning, showers IN the cabins and porches with rocking chairs so you could enjoy the view of the lake. Chapel was very different than what I experienced at church camp when I was growing up. There were silly songs, games and no guest speaker. The kids enjoyed it, though. What really got me was all the activities the kids got to choose from- canoeing, GaGa Ball, hiking, a Ninja Warrior course, a Survivor course, swimming, tetherball, basketball.... There was an endless amount of stuff to do. And the snack shack line was non-existent after the first night so P didn't have to waste his whole free time waiting for candy and soda instead of playing games. (His favorite, hands-down, was GaGa Ball!)
I am glad I was able to join him for his first camp experience. I am glad I got to meet new people from church. I am glad I got to see P form new friendships. I am glad I got to see him come out of his shell again. What a blessing the long weekend was at camp!
(I am going to be lazy and not take the time to proofread this so it is what it is. Sorry.)

Rowdy Rebel

So, Rebel. The one that I described as chill and a non-chewer in the last blog? Yep, not the way I'd describe him anymore. In the past few days he has taken a chunk out of our bed frame....our brand new bed frame. He has eaten a strip of E's swim trunks. And he LOVES chewing on empty plastic water bottles. He has an adversity to chewing dog bones unless they're small and can be eaten within a few bites. And chill? Ha! He is only if he can see one of his people. If he can hear us but can't see us queue the howling and whining. After 9 days with us he still whines and howls when we put him in the laundry room at night. Last night we put him in one of the boys' rooms to see how that'd work. It worked great for me because I never heard him. But he kept our son up because he couldn't decide where he wanted to sleep.
This morning I wanted to "sleep in" (ie wake up at 6:15 but lay in bed and read until I had to get up). But, Rebel was up so I fed him and put him in the dog run. We've had a lot of rain this week and the dog run is grassy *insert muddy*. Rebel decided that he wanted to come back inside once he had eaten so he started digging under the fence. He was whining and howling so loud that I finally gave up on staying in bed. When I went to bring him in he was COVERED in mud. He's not supposed to take a bath for another week so I wiped him down the best I could.....and mopped again for the 5th time in 3 days.
One thing about Rebel is that he is SUPER smart! Like, probably the smartest dog I've ever had who hasn't had formal training. I have been working with him on walking on and off a leash. He has quickly learned that he needs to be on my right side and does this a lot without me reminding him. He had me laughing (and frustrated) yesterday because I forgot to bring the dog treats with us on our walk. Somehow he knew I didn't have them and he acted like he couldn't hear his commands. Little stinker! He did come back eventually after he got tired of sniffing the neighbor's yard.
Since we were told he had been thrown out of a car as a puppy, I am working on building his trust in vehicles. It's been super hot here the past couple days. But, if I am not leaving my car (dropping P off at a friends'. going through a drive-thru, etc) I put him in the back. The first time I put him back there, he jumped right back out 3 times. The second time I put him in there, he sat there with his tail between his legs, shaking. But by the third time he knew he was safe. He let me put him in there and sat obediently as I closed the back hatch.
Another big change is he's lost his cone of shame. It came off yesterday and what a difference that made! He isn't scraping up our legs with it and even Fetcha decided she likes Rebel now. They've played a bit and, knock on wood, she hasn't attacked him like she did Charlie when he was a puppy. Eventually I think they'll get along great.
I'm still nervous about him with other people because of how fast Charlie changed on us but so far he has yet to meet a stranger. He likes watching the boys play in the pool but is not high strung like Charlie was. We taught him how to "hug" by putting his front paws up on us. But we decided that probably wasn't a good trick right now because he could easily knock people off balance if they weren't ready for his hug. He has pretty much mastered the "sit" command and does well on walks. Other than yesterday, he comes when called. So, if he continues to be friendly with people and other dogs he'll be the perfect addition to our family. Fingers crossed that's the case....

Life Update

The past 10 days or so have been exciting, fun filled and memorable! About 10 days ago we went to the coast for our only "big" vacation this year (to date). We stayed at a beautiful condo and enjoyed the beach. We even got to see dolphins! E loved that his best friend was staying at a condo a few miles down the road so we even spent an afternoon with him and his family. We didn't leave the condo area much but we did venture out to a famous milkshake shop for ginormous milkshakes and a dolphin tour. The boys loved doing both!
The day we got back from the beach we welcomed a new boy to our family- Rebel. He's a 7mos old Husky mix. For the first few months of his life, he roamed the woods. He was found, with his brothers and sisters, starving, before he was rescued. At times he's skittish as he learns to trust us, but he is beautiful and so mellow. It's nice not going through the usual puppy phase. Although he's 40lbs, he thinks he's a lap dog. He has to be by one of us or on our lap constantly. He whined the first couple nights at our house but now he's adjusted and does well throughout the night. To date, he has not had any accidents and only seems fascinated with bath mats. (Ha!)
Thursday night P had 2 school friends spend the night and Friday we celebrated his birthday. He and his friends swam, did fireworks and built Legos. We went to TopGolf and grabbed Mexican food for his birthday lunch. P kept thanking us for an amazing birthday and said it was one of his best ones yet. I felt bad that it wasn't a big party but he didn't mind. He was perfectly content with having a low-key birthday.
Although the 4th of July is my favorite holiday, we don't go out and do anything big for the 4th. Yesterday was no exception. We had some neighbors come over for a BBQ feast and then we let off some early fireworks. Rebel did pretty good all things considered. I can't say he liked the fireworks as much as the kids but he just went to our room until we were done. At bedtime, I turned a fan on for him and we only heard a few whimpers as he settled in.
As fun as the past several days have been, I am looking forward to the lazy, rainy days ahead. I have to start preparing for the new school year and teaching a new grade (5th grade ELA!!). So, I am using this week to do school stuff, clean the house and the usual weekly chores. So thankful for the mix- fun, exciting and mellow routine stuff. Like I've said many times before, we are blessed.

12 Years and Counting

This past weekend, Rob and I celebrated our 12th anniversary. Since we don't usually do a lot of date nights, we go big on our anniversary. This year we opted to have a family weekend instead of an "us weekend". We did get to enjoy a dinner out, just the two of us, at Rob's favorite restaurant (Thanks, Mom and Dad, for paying for our meal!). It was so nice to get dressed up and just talk, take a walk down memory lane, and discuss how far we've come in our marriage.
We've come a LONG way! The first 7 years were pretty rough. We got into some monumental arguments. Sadly, I was ready to throw in the towel on more than one occasion and walk away from our marriage. But, then 5 years ago, we went to marriage counseling. While I don't feel we got a lot out of the counseling sessions per se, I think it both opened our eyes to some things. In the past 5 years we've learned to talk more and argue *way* less (in fact, I don't remember the last time we've gotten into a big argument). We put each other, and our family, first. We let the little things slide for the most part and focus on the positive things in our marriage. It's amazing how a little perspective and a huge attitude change can positively affect your marriage!
We had a friend over for dinner the other night and Rob said 2 things that I've really thought about this week. We were talking about the give and take in marriage. I said, "Sometimes it needs to be 50/50. Other times it needs to be 70/30." Rob replied, "I disagree. I think every day it needs to be 100/100." I couldn't agree more, even though sometimes that's not easy to accomplish. He was also talking about peaks and valleys. He said the more you put into your marriage on a daily basis, the less valleys there are and the more shallow they become, making it that much easier to get out of. What a profound thought that I couldn't agree with more! We've been there. We've seen our share of valleys. But because we have shifted things in our marriage and our priorities in life, our valleys aren't so deep. In fact, I don't think we've been in a valley in a very long time.
Our marriage is a blessing. I know that there are some people who probably didn't think we'd make it. And there was a time I would've agreed with them. But, over the past 12 years, Rob has become my best friend, my confidant, my supporter, my rock. I can't imagine being married to anyone else and I am so thankful we have this wonderful life together!

A Family First

I have been meaning to blog all week but this week has flown by so far. We went from not leaving the house and having limited interaction for 2 months to being busy, busy, busy! Some days I handle it great and other days I'm ready to go back to the slow, monotonous pace of the quarantine. One thing I have enjoyed as we've moved into Phase 2 is more freedom. I ate in a restaurant for the first time in 3 months on our anniversary. Another thing we got to do is go on our first family vacation of the year. (By now we should've gone on a few vacays.) We did something that E has been obsessed with lately- tent camping (aka primitive camping). We stayed at a campground that offered plenty to do! From petting "wild" deer to a pool complete with a zipline to fishing to a Saturday night concert. Rob also surprised me and got me a bike for one of my anniversary gifts. So the boys and I rode bikes a lot at the campground. It was beautiful!
I can say that I'm more of a RV camper because I like my sleep and amenities (coffee pot, anyone?) too much but I'm glad we experienced it. It was loud and the two nights we were there we got maybe 8 hours of sleep total. But the smile on the boys' faces was worth it. They loved the experience and we're already planning our next tent camping experience....when it cools down.