Showing posts with label 2016. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2016. Show all posts

Monday, May 9, 2016

Mother's Day Weekend

Mother's Day 2016 in the books!


Our weekend started out Friday evening with Reagan and I going to the art show at the high school while Lily and Violet went to bed super early --- 6:30pm early ---, Andrew went to see Captain America Civil War at the movies with friends, and George slept before work that night.  Lily and Andrew both shared with me what their contributions at Arts Alive were, so we were on the hunt!

I love that the elementary school art teachers have each class contribute something and display them this night too. Lily's class made "a quilt out of paper."  I wondered if I would find Lily's square and sure enough I recognized her letter Q. A quick glance on the back and sure enough, it was hers.


We looked at all the art on display in the gym and found Reagan's wizard that the 6th graders contributed.
 Andrew has taken some classes as part of the Tech Ed program in the high school that he loves. Last year he had a robotics class, this year is a class called Evolution of Games. He will be taking Mobile Game Design and both 2D and 3D Programming as well.  He and another student designed this games below and printed the pieces using a 3D printer.

Reagan and I made our way around the high school looking at all kinds of artwork --sculptures, photography, quilts, model cars, pottery, you name it.  I was so impressed with the talent in our district! It was also great for Reagan to be able to see all the opportunities available for middle school and high school students as she starts middle school next year.

We headed home and after a long day, I went to bed early!

Saturday started out very early. Like 4:25am early.  Lily came into my bedroom complaining of a sore throat and she was burning up.  I stumbled to the kitchen for ibuprofen and some water for her and finally convinced her that it would help her feel better if she went back to sleep. Thankfully. she eventually did.  

George arrived home early morning and luckily let me sleep until around 9 or so when Lily woke up again.  This time I noticed she was covered in a rash, red faced, and still warm.  With a spot in her throat, I suspected she had strep throat.  A trip to urgent care was imminent and strep throat was confirmed.  She felt terrible. :(  

We took a trip to the pharmacy right after so she could get started on her antibiotics and she spent the rest of the day resting and eating popsicles. 

Reagan was going to a sleepover birthday party later in the day, so we had to do a little birthday gift shopping before the party. I dropped her at her friend's house and headed home, looking forward to relaxing for the evening watching the Penguins playoff game with the girls and George.  Andrew ended up going bowling and after the game, I snuggled in bed with Criminal Minds on Netflix.  I started watching the show from the beginning recently and have made my way to season 8 currently.  

Mother's Day started out really nice. George let me sleep in again which was fantastic for two days in a row!  Lily excitedly woke up and shouted "Happy Mother's Day!" --ever our celebrator who loves to remember others!  We picked Reagan up from her sleepover around 10 and went to pick up doughnuts for everyone.  When we got back, George started working on getting the boat ready for the season, Andrew mowed the grass, Reagan worked on pulling weeds, and Lily wanted to help too. Violet hung out on the boat with George and ran around the yard. When George finished up with the boat, he used the leaf blower around the front of the house and the driveway for a bit.  It was really nice just having everyone working together and getting things done which is a rarity because of our schedules.  I appreciated so much their acts of service for Mother's Day!  The only thing I told G I wanted for Mother's Day was not to have to cook. He suggested either going to or getting food from one of our original local favorites.  A place where we celebrated many milestones early in our relationship.  It was thoughtful and sweet.  I opted for us to eat at home.







We all hung out outside for awhile then George and all the kids went to run a few errands and see his mom for a few minutes.  I relished in the complete and utter silence at home by myself while they were gone. It was refreshing!

I love the sweet gifts kids make in school so much!

Lily gave me a sweet flower pot that she wrote and colored at school. It will forever have her drawing of herself at 5 years old in kindergarten and "I love you, Mommy!" in her handwriting. 


 She also made me a card where under each petal she wrote something for "my mom is:
a good cook, sweet, pretty, nice, awesome, and careful."



 This is the first time in the nine years that George and I have been together that Reagan has spent Mother's Day with us. She thoughtfully made me a gift at school also.  The back side has a letter she wrote to me that was sincere, genuine, and I truly appreciated it!

I got sweet cards from my husband and Andrew and flowers from them all as well.  It really was a happy, content day!




How did you spend Mother's Day this year?

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Adventures in 2016!

A new year always brings a renewed sense of hope for me.  For my family, it means we're embarking on a new year of adventure!


We've made some logistical changes with our blended family schedule which is very good for all of us.  We've also started making plans for summer--which takes a lot of planning due to kids' schedules with their other parents, marching band schedules, and a work schedule.

We are looking forward to 2016 being a year of adventure for us--as a family and as a couple! Beach trips, back yard camping, fishing, and an amusement park are on our radar!  Family  time sometimes means 4 of us, sometimes it means 5 and sometimes all 6. We are just making the best of it!

We started out 2016 with a family date night {Lily's term for it}--a few hours of playing in the snow, sled riding, and then ice cream before supper!  It was Lily's half birthday and we celebrated the kids' report cards.  Positivity is the 2016  theme in our house.



Netflix is a big part of our family. We are officially now 2 years cable free and have no interest in going back thanks to Netflix!

What have y'all been watching lately? Making a Murderer along with the rest of America? I recently binge watched and finished Nurse Jackie. I loved it!

We can't wait for the new House of Cards...and Fuller House-- TGIF has just become TGIN! (Thank God It's Netflix!!  Netflix just does not disappoint!


As always, the kids have the best shows to watch and I love that it's at my convenience.

The Croods is one of our favorite family movies, so we were very excited about the new Netflix original series Dawn of the Croods --Lily especially!


The Croods' Best Family Adventures

Every step out of the cave is a new adventure for The Croods, but we've compiled a few of our favorites. You can watch all of their pre-hysterical adventures now on Netflix.
Sandy Bugs In Mouth
Ep. 6: When Grug and Ugga go out on a date and leave the kids home alone, Eep throws the first-ever house party.
Grug Cheering
Ep. 11: Grug won't let Eep join his winning team, so she forms her own group to play in history's first sporting event.
Thunk Face Plant
Ep. 12: Because he is so stinky, Thunk pretends to be something he really isn't.
Grug Crying
Ep. 13: When two things go missing in the middle of the night, Eep hunts for clues to solve the first mystery ever.
***

New on Netflix for Kids, Tweens, Teens and Families

Sofia
Sofia the First - Season 2 (1/3)
Dragons
Dragons: Race to the EDGE - Season 2 (1/8)
Degrassi S1 2x sdp
Degrassi: Next Class (1/15)



I hope 2016 brings lots of adventures to you and your family, as well! What are you looking forward to this year?

 Disclosure: As a member of the Netflix #StreamTeam I was provided subscription to Netflix and also exclusive insights or other products. All opinions are my 100% my own and I was already a proud Netflix subscriber prior to this opportunity. Please see my full disclosure.