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.