Back to School

The kids and I go back to school tomorrow, by which I mean that our homeschool group starts its Tuesday meetings again tomorrow. 

Usually I am beyond ready to go back, but this year I've thoroughly enjoyed the break, and may have a bit of trouble getting back into our normal routine.

(I always tell Lorelei she has angel hair.)

Also, we FINALLY finished Chet's and my bedside tables. Here is one of them (Chet's):

They were NOT finished by the Monday after the New Year (January 4th) like I had hoped/planned. The weekend had ended, and Chet and I agreed we could work on them throughout the week. But then Monday (January 4th) our washing machine broke, so Chet had to take it apart to determine the problem Monday night. (He thankfully DID determined the problem and ordered the parts; my neighbor was out of town and gave us permission to use her washing machine at our convenience for the week.)

Tuesday was Ford's birthday, so there was no painting to be done that day. By the time Wednesday rolled around, we had lost painting steam. 

The washing machine parts arrived Friday, and Chet fixed it Friday night. (Hallelujah!)

Saturday and Sunday (January 9th and 10th) we finished the dressers. I keep calling them dressers, but they are more like mini-dressers/bedside tables. The actual (large) dresser still needs to be painted. We accept and appreciate all prayers that it will get done before we move this summer.

Happy Monday!

Happy Birthday, Chet!

It's Chet's birthday!

I was actually gone most of the day, to a previously-scheduled tutor planning meeting for our homeschool group. Chet worked from home to stay with the kids, and even though he still had to work, he said it was really nice being home on his birthday.

When I got home from my meeting, Sydney said, "Dad talked on the phone all day." I replied, "Well, he WAS working." This made it sound like he talks on the phone for a living, which is probably sometimes what it feels like to Chet.

We ate steak and grilled zucchini and squash for dinner. Chet cooked, because he's better at it. He would happily cook every night (and I would happily let him), as long as I do the meal planning and grocery shopping. Those tasks he enjoys less, and I don't mind them (much).

Chet always chooses key lime pie for his birthday dessert:

Ruthie asked, "What's in this?!" (She wasn't a fan.) Lorelei said, "Keys and lime."

Everyone in the family except me loves whipped cream, so this ALWAYS happens when there's a can in our refrigerator:

Yikes.

After dinner was cleaned up and the kids were bathed, Chet opened his cards and presents. We gave him a Naval Academy sweatshirt and a meat thermometer. Ruthie was insistent he needed something else, so she took the box his shirt was wrapped in and put two of her stuffed animals in it. When it was time for bed a few minutes later, she asked him, "Is it okay if I take this one back?"

Now Chet is downstairs on the couch, putting his feet up and watching woodworking YouTube videos (a great way to end a birthday). We really, REALLY love him, and hope that he feels as special as we think he is!

Happy birthday, Chet!

Happy 7th birthday, Ford!

Our boy is seven!

It's fun living again in the town where he was born (I felt the same way last year). It makes the memories of his arrival so much more...I don't know. Connected? 

We had a pretty normal day, and a couple of his presents (from us) have yet to arrive, but it was overall a great birthday.

This picture was last night (his last night of being six), right after his shower:

Sydney made pancakes this morning:

Chet was able to come home for lunch and watch him open a couple of presents. He played outside all afternoon with neighborhood friends, his usual and favorite activity (a HUGE bonus of living in the south -- outdoor play all winter).

He elected to have ice cream sundaes instead of cake for his special dessert:

It was a LOT of sugar (for all of them):

Tonight, while we were putting him to bed and he was saying prayers, he said, "And thank you that I turn seven in two hours." (He was born at 9:59 p.m.)

That's Ford in a nutshell for you.

Happy birthday, Ford/Buddy! We love you!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

After dinner and baths last night, we watched the movie "Spies in Disguise" with the kids. It was enjoyable, but I, of course, fell asleep anyway.

The kids went to bed a little later than usual (9:30 p.m.), and Chet and I were in bed by 10 p.m. 

We didn't even attempt to ring in the new year. MIDNIGHT IS SO LATE.

(I was awakened by fireworks at midnight though, so in a way, I DID ring it in, right?!)

Today I started the painting project, specifically painting MY bedside table:

There is no "after" picture yet. The project is still in progress, and I've learned many things about painting furniture today.

I had planned on doing the project all by myself, but when I asked Chet for some sandpaper mid-afternoon, he inserted himself into the project.

Which is a good thing, because it turns out I don't really enjoy painting furniture, and he happens to be really good at it.

Even though Chet is already a painting expert, he learned a thing or two about chalk paint today. We decided to water down the paint a little, and started painting HIS bedside table with the thinner paint. It's working much better.

I need to get a new paintbrush at Lowe's tomorrow, and probably a different sealant than I originally bought, but we will recommence tomorrow. Hopefully mine only needs one more (thinned out) coat of paint plus the sealant, and Chet's probably needs two more coats plus the sealant. I'm optimistic we'll start the week with two finished products.

So far, so good, 2021!

Goodbye, 2020

Happy New Year's Eve!

Today Chet worked in the garage, the kids played outside, and I put away Christmas decorations (which had been removed from the downstairs on December 26th, but sat in piles in our bedroom until today).

Like so:

Because our room looked like the above picture for five days, once I put everything away Ruthie came in and said, "Wow, it's DIFFERENT in here!"

Ahem.

See that dresser and bedside table? I'm going to paint those tomorrow. Well, I'm at least going to paint the bedside table (as well as the matching one on Chet's side of the bed). We're going to remove the drawers and I'm going to paint the dark wood white. Stay tuned to find out if it's a success or a disaster.

Tonight we ate DiGiorno pizza and Caesar salad for dinner (Lorelei had pasta with parmesan cheese, because DiGiorno isn't her favorite -- MORE FOR THE REST OF US). I bought sparkling apple juice for the kids to enjoy:

I also found King Cake-flavored ice cream at the commissary, and believe you me that it's extremely dangerous because I just had two scoops and still want more:

Happy New Year's Eve, friends -- 2020 has been bad, weird...but also good. Bring on 2021!

Sydney and Ford

I took this picture of Sydney and Ford from across the room during one of the hotel stays on our trip.

Ford is famous for his very long-winded stories, and Sydney was listening to him tell her about the dream he had the night before (in great detail).

Sydney sometimes has limited patience, but when this picture was taken she was exercising all the patience she could muster, and that made me prouder than Ford's ability to tell novella-length stories.

Is anyone else tired this Wednesday evening? WHEW. I am.

Happy second-to-last day of 2020!

Bellingrath Gardens

Last night the kids and I met our friends who live in Pensacola at Bellingrath Gardens in Alabama. They still have their beautiful Christmas lights displayed, and visiting Bellingrath had been on my to-do list before we move away from the Gulf Coast.

These pictures don't really do it justice, so you'll have to trust me that is was very beautiful.

I would like to go back in the spring, in the daylight and when their flowers are in bloom.

Happy Tuesday (it IS Tuesday, isn't it?!)!