2019 :: week 8

February 17

With all the cold weather we have been having we've been forced to be more creative about using our indoor time. Will, Anthony and I have started playing nightly games of Bananagrams after Lauren and Elliott go to bed. We usually have just enough time to play two rounds. Will is pretty impressive for a third grader. He's never won, but he hold his own against his 30-something parents,and I've been impressed with some of the words he has come up with. We aren't very cutthroat and help each other when we are stumped with letters.

February 18

Due to Presidents Day we had a scheduled day off of school. I took the kids to 360 gymnastics again and they had a great time. This time the open gym session was two hours long, but none of our friends were able to join us. The kids played well with each other, and played with new friends as well. Will spent most of his time in the dodgeball room. Both Lauren and Elliott played a bit of dodgeball too, but their main job when they were in there was to retrieve balls for Will to throw for them. Apparently our kids all agreed that Will is the most accurate thrower. It made me feel very happy to see my kids cooperating and playing together even though there were other kids they could have played with instead. They also developed a "routine" on the balance beams.

February 19

On Tuesday we had a teacher work day, and Elliott and I wanted to stick with our routine of going to the library story time in the morning. Lauren and Will came too, but opted to read because "it was so babyish." I am glad that I can trust them to be in a different part of the library than me, and I know that they will stick together and behave.

February 20

On Wednesday we had our seventh snow day and 6th day off from school in a row! The kids had the previous Friday off due to snow, then Saturday and Sunday, then Monday for Presidents' Day and Tuesday due to a teacher work day. I had a version (ECV) scheduled for 7am that morning, which became logistically more difficult with the day off, but it all worked out. Unfortunately, I was not able to have the version because the umbilical cord was wrapped around out baby's neck and shoulder. They do a preliminary ultrasound and I knew within two minutes that I would not be having a version that morning. I had been anxious about doing it and hopeful that it would work, so it was a little anticlimactic. Apparently, it is too risky to attempt when the cord is wrapped, but both my doctor and the doctor who was going to perform the version were optimistic that they baby could turn on his own. Because they baby is still in an anterior position and it's head has been on my hip for at least a week, it seems like he is trying to get down there. I am now scheduled for a C-section on March 4th, but they will do another ultrasound beforehand and if he has moved I will get induced instead. These cups of ice have become a staple of my pregnancy and I have strong feelings about the pebbled ice in the Overland Park area. Sonic is great because you can buy it in bags--drive through without leaving your car!--and store in your freezer, but once it has been in your freezer it has to sit out a bit to get that perfect crunch again. The pebbled ice inside the Hy-Vee kitchen is amazing, but you can only get it in small cups sizes that don't last long. At their convenience store you can buy it in 52 oz. cups for $0.25, but the ice is slightly larger. Chick-fil-A also has good pebbled ice, but like the Hy-Vee convenience store, it is a little large and best when left out for about 30 minutes.

February 21

I get our carpets professionally cleaned once a year and we finally got it done Thursday. I had scheduled it for the week before but they they had to cancel due to weather conditions. I haven't been nesting as much as I expected with this pregnancy, maybe due to all the cold and extra days with all the kids home, but I have been feeling it this week and it felt nice to get some more things checked off the list. Elliott and I also vacuumed and cleaned the surfaces of our van in the afternoon. I did NOT want to install our new car seat in a dirty van.

February 22

One of the people we deliver meals to lives in an apartment building and every time we deliver to her Elliott climbs on the ledge next to the stairs and starts making shooting noises towards me.

February 23

Will had his last basketball game of the season and they won again! He had a great first quarter and scored 6 of his team's first 8 points. He had a bit of a headache (which he didn't mention until after the game) and didn't score for the rest of the game, but he had a few great rebounds and steals. It has been so fun watching him and his team improve this season. He is so much better at dribbling and handling the ball in general. Also exciting, we met with our friend and contractor and taped out the new floor plan for finishing our basement this year! Anthony's long-awaited sauna is going to happen! As well as a new bathroom, bedroom, office room and large storage area.

2019 :: week 7

February 10

Lauren used her Christmas money to buy a Garmin Vivofit activity tracker. They finally went on sale at Target and we bought it Saturday afternoon. We weren't able to open it and get it set up until Sunday after church. She spent a good portion of the rest of the day running laps around the main floor of our house and ended up with over 20,000 steps before the day was through. We also celebrated Tyler's fifth birthday and had the youth over for a BYD.

February 11

Lauren and I have been more consistent about reading together. She brought home some new Elephant and Piggie books and she read to Elliott and me. The extra reading practice is really starting to show!

February 12

Tuesday morning while I was going about my "morning chores" I had to stop and take a picture to capture the moment. Elliott was busy coloring and practicing his letters and it hit me that my days spent with just him are coming to an end. He’s been a sweet buddy the past 3.5 years. Will and Lauren started kindergarten and preschool within a week of his birth, so besides summer, vacations and weekends it’s been just the two of us most of the day his entire life. Now that he is not napping much anymore we have a solid seven hours a day together. I love this little guy so much, and when I think about how much I love him it makes me excited to meet his little bro.

February 13

On Wednesday I had my 37 week appointment (I am technically 37 weeks 5 days). Unfortunately we found out that the baby had moved into an oblique (diagonal) position. Last week at my 36 week appointment he was head down and engaged in my pelvis. An ultrasound confirmed that his head is now located near my hip. My doctor has recommended a version (ECV), which I will have next Wednesday if he doesn't move on his own before then. Thankfully other than his position change, everything else seems to be progressing as we would hope.

February 14

Valentine's Days started of gorgeous. The snow and ice finally melted and I was able to walk the kids to school for the first time in over a week. By lunchtime it was close to 50 degrees! I spent the morning running errands and getting a pedicure (my V-day gift from Anthony). That afternoon Elliott and I went up to the school to help with Lauren's class party. By the time we walked home the temperature had dropped about 15 degrees!

February 15

Friday was another snow day! We are officially over the built-in limit. I am very curious to know whether the district will add extra days at the end of the year, or minutes to the day. Anthony's work closed at 12:30pm and in the afternoon he took the kids sledding. I drove over solely for documentation purposes. The kids went sledding down a trench on the far side of the elementary school. Elliott was in heaven. His face was a perma-smile except for minute after the three kids rode down the hill together and their sled tipped and Elliott got white washed. Overall we had a great time and Elliott woke my up Saturday morning before 7am asking if we could go sledding again.

February 16

Elliott got his wish and Anthony too the kids sledding again Saturday afternoon with the Ules. This time they went on the hill between the elementary school and the Catholic School. Will went sledding with his friend Knox at Corporate Woods. We ended up with a lot of free time Saturday because EVERYTHING got cancelled. Will's basketball game and the ward talent show were both cancelled.

2019 :: week 6

February 3

Van selfie on the way to church. We are settling into our Sunday morning routine, just as it is going to get a lot more challenging (baby due in less than a month!). We had a good time at church and Elliott has finally decided it is okay that I go to nursery without him. That evening we invited several families over to watch the Super Bowl with us. Despite not getting very many firm confirmations, almost everyone came that we invited, so it was a full house.

February 4

One of the skills Anthony has been working on with his basketball team is rebounding. One of the keys in the boys win last week was their improved rebounding. Elliott and I watched a bit of their practice because Lauren was also up at the school for her monthly Girl Scout meeting. I really like the troop leader, parents and girls, but I wish the meetings weren't so late. Lauren is not a morning person and it is always a bit rough the morning after her meetings.

February 5

Two late nights for Lauren in a row proved to be too much for her to handle and she was late to school Tuesday. After we dropped her off at school Elliott and I went to Chick-fil-A for a free breakfast before heading to the library story time.

February 6

Due to inclement weather, the third grade field trip to Kauffman Stadium was postponed. Despite iffy road conditions they went Wednesday! Will had a great time. They got to visit the dugout, hall of fame, see the World Series trophies and more. It's a good thing they got the field trip in when they did because another storm rolled in Wednesday night.

February 7

On Thursday we had another snow day! I'm starting to get anxious that we are going to have to add days on at the end of the year. We had a mostly quiet day at home.

February 8

Friday was another snow day. I didn't feel great in the morning, but felt well enough to take the kids to 360 Gymnastics with some friends from school for their open gym hour at noon. The kids have been dealing with the bad weather remarkably well. They are all pretty active and typically spend a fair amount of time each day playing outside, weather permitting. Well the weather has very much not permitted much outside playtime! They've been watching more movies than usual, but have been exceptionally creative in coming up with things to do without my guidance. That being said, an hour at the open gym was very welcome.

February 9

Sometimes Lauren and Elliott aren't always the most enthusiastic "fans" at Will's basketball game. We had a very busy Saturday. We went to Will's basketball game in the afternoon, another close one where they lost by four points in overtime. After basketball we went to a baptism for Will's school classmate and church classmate, Maya. We ended the night eating fondue at the Sanners. 

2019 :: week 5

January 27

Lauren read some Dogman during her quiet time Sunday afternoon. It is fun to see her reading interests expand as she gets more proficient with reading. She has been working extra hard to get better at reading and we are working with her to help her meet them. At school she is tested five times a year on her reading progress, and her score went down quite a bit between the beginning of the year and the end of the semester. I feel partly to blame because the two of us spent all summer reading together for at least 20 minutes five days a week. After school started and life got busier we got out of the habit. I've started reading The Boxcar Children with her at night and it has been a fun way to spend one-on-one time together.

January 28

Elliott knows how to chillax. I promised him a movie after lunch and he chose The Letter Factory. We had a busy morning of washing clothes, going to water aerobics and getting Will's glasses fixed. Elliott was a good helper and didn't complain, even though it was crazy windy outside and he could hardly walk straight. I lost control of the cart I was pushing at Wal-Mart when I was trying to load our groceries into the back of our van and almost nailed the car next to us. It has been a weird weather week.

January 29

Storytime started back up at the library and Elliott and I went Tuesday morning. We saw many friends there, including our neighbors Blaise and Luke. The "theme" of the day was winter and Ms. Angelica read The Mitten, one of Lauren's favorites when she was a little older than Elliott.

January 30

Wednesday was cold. Very cold. So cold, that most of the school's in our area closed for the day. It was -4 degrees when we would usually be walking to school, so it was legitimately cold, but it seemed a little excessive to cancel the entire day. I assume our district must not have a good late start plan in place, and was concerned for children waiting for the bus. We had a pretty cozy day watching a few movies Lauren had picked out at the library, reading and drawing. The kids convinced me to take them to McDonald's for lunch and we ran into the Mullens there as well, which was a pleasant surprise. On our way home we stopped at the library for about an hour. The kids played with toys and I read a bit.

January 31

My sister in law Hillary sent me this awesome pregnancy pillow and it arrived on Thursday and Elliott was happy to test it out for me. It is supposed to give support to your belly, back and legs, depending on how you position it. I have used it to sleep for a few nights now and really like it. Hopefully only about a month where I will need it pregnant, but it looks like it could be useful in other situations too. Lauren likes to snuggle in it and read.

February 1

Will went to a birthday party for his friend Knox Friday after school. They went to Skyzone and jumped for an hour. Will was looking forward to this party all week and when he woke up in the night coughing the night before and got me to help him find cough drops he desperately whispered to me, "I'm not too sick to go to the party tomorrow, am I?"

February 2

The Raptors got their first win of the season today! The monkey is finally off their backs! This little team that could is playing better each week, despite some setbacks. They started as a team of eight, but one kid quit. Two of the boys have never played before and one is a grade younger. Today, everyone played great, the boys were passing and rebounding better than ever, and more boys scored in a single game than ever before. Will was out for blood. He was shooting hoops in our driveway before the game and the entire drive there was talking about what he was going to do during the game this week. Oh, and I must mention, that after our freezing cold temperatures Wednesday, the high was 56 degrees today.