2024 Fantasy Picture

 

Fantasy Picture

Fantasy Logo

New Fantasy Logo unless I find a different name I like better.  😉

I Hate Flying

Ugh.  I am so over these stupid airlines and stupid delays!  Last time it meant we got to Orlando late.  Now we're going to miss our connecting flight.  So here's the story...

We got to the airport in plenty of time, had breakfast, made our way, leisurely, to our gate...  We were supposed to start boarding at 535am and leave by 6am.  It's currently 615 and no one is yet on the plane.  The first officer came out and told us that last night when this plane got in the front smoke detector had gone off.  That starts a chain of paperwork, apparently.  Well, currently our plane is considered out of commission until that paperwork is completed.  Michael is switching our connecting flight to the 1115 flight instead of the 9am flight.  The woman at the gate didn't think we'd make our connection, so now we're not going to have to worry about trying to rush to make it.

I guess the good news is that we're not spending 12+ hrs, overnight, in an airport, with no promise of a seat on a flight.  We're also not over 5 hours delayed with our children, waiting for our once-in-a-lifetime vacation, missing our first day at our theme park.  We'll get into Orlando 2.5 hrs later, but, overall, it's the best issue we've had.  I'm so over flying.  I'm having plenty of anxiety every time this happens.  It appears every airline is an issue.  American made me so mad I'll never fly with them again.  I don't care if they are the most affordable.  I was irked with Delta in Atlanta, but they found a big plane and got us on our way, so that meant big points for me.  I appreciated them helping get us all going.  Now we're on United and it's 625am and we already know we're missing a flight.  It just really sucks.  I'm glad we're driving to the Atlantic Coast this summer.  I'm already dreading our flight to Kalispell for our National Park trip in 2023.  Who knows what will go wrong that year???  Ugh.  Flying sucks.  So over these stupid airlines.

Disney Day 1 and 2

Oh my goodness!  So much to say!  Let's see...  Where did I leave off last time?  Oh yeah...  Our flight was delayed...

So in a perfect world, we would have left Atlanta at 10 and arrived in Orlando by noon on Saturday.  Not so much.  🤦🏼‍♀️  We had about a 5 hour Layover.  I can't even remember the exact times we left and landed now.  What I do know is that by the time we made it to Magic Kingdom that night, it was 8pm and we had 2 hours left before the park closed.  We rode a few rides and managed to nearly walk on to Soace Mountain, which was awesome!  We saw the castle at night, which was beautiful!  We stayed until the park closed at 10 and were beat when we got back to our resort.  Not the way we planned for the day to go, but not too bad.

Yesterday was Hollywood Studios.  We rode the sky gondolas over.  So cool!  And so much faster than busses!  Wish they had them going to each park.  But from our resort we can get to 2 parks that way.  Not bad!

At Hollywood Studios we started with the Tower of Terror and Rockin Roller Coaster.  Connor DID NOT like the Tower of Terror.  Avery didn't really either, but she handled it better than Connor.  The spooky stuff was too much for him.  They both enjoyed the Roller Coaster.

After each ride we had some treats, Donuts, ice cream, coffee, and juice.  We're just enjoying our time and not sweating the prices.  We saved for 2 years, not nickel and diming the snacks now that we're here.

Next we went to Galaxy's Edge (Star Wars World) where we spent a lot of our day.  We rode Star Tours, Smugglers Run, and Rise of the Resistance.  Rise of the Resistance was one of my favorite rides I've ever been on!  So cool!  Worth over an hour in line!  Glad we waited and went on it!  We ate lunch at Docking Bay 7, grilled smoked meat and veggies!  So tasty!  The kids had some chicken, Mac and Cheese, and broccoli.  Delish!  There were photographers around and we definitely got some great shots!  Michael built a lightsaber and Connor built a Droid!  They are both SO COOL!

Dinner was kind of a flop.  They were running 30 minutes late on reservations, so we were losing time in the park.  Then we got appetizers (glad we did) and the kids' food brought out first.  While we waited on Michael's and my food time ticked on by.  Finally, Michael and Connor had to leave.  Connor needed to go build his Droid and if we didn't make our appointment they'd charge us and we wouldn't get the Droid.  So I had them box Michael's and my dinner up (another ordeal, not really a place you're supposed to be boxing stuff up from).  In the end, we ate dinner, cold, at our hotel at about 10pm.  🤦🏼‍♀️  Oh well.  Can't get everything right.  Wish the flop hadn't cost us a hundred bucks, but what can you do?  We went ahead and canceled our dinner reservation for Epcot (we decided we weren't super excited about it) and we'll just snack or come back and order in instead.  Having a lot of stuff scheduled out is stressing us a little (we had 3 appointments, plus grocery delivery, on day 2).  So we're taking it easy now.  😊

The kids made it to the pool yesterday, they were really happy about that!  I was too, I thought it would be closed and they really wanted to go.  I think we'll make it back again tonight because our park closes at 8pm (instead of 10pm for MK and 9pm for HS).  A little extra R&R will be good!

Sorry, no photos right now.  The blog is kind of a pain about mass uploading.  I'll try to get some up when we're standing in line today!  😉

It is time! DISNEY DAY!!!

We're stuck at the Atlanta Airport waiting on our plane to be sanitized before we can go to Orlando, so I thought this would be a good time to give a short update!  😉

We woke the kids up at 3am.  They got out of bed surprisingly quick when I told them too, they never do that on school days!!  🤣  We gave them presents, first the MagicBands, then their Ears headbands.  Finally, I gave them the card I made for them.  Avery read it out loud.  As expected, when was excited!  Connor took a moment to process all that was happening, lol.  And since they had gone to sleep only 6 hours before, they were, rightfully, tired.  But Avery ran to get ready while Connor took another few moments to get up and around.  By the time we were leaving at 4am, they were very excited!

The airport was a totally new experience for them, especially getting through TSA.  Michael and I worked hard to try to get our bag down to 50 lbs.  However, it weighed in at 52.  Fortunately, we weren't charged extra!  🙌🏻  Once through TSA we got some breakfast.  The kids were dealing with some excitement/anxienty/anticipation/uncertainty with all we sprung on them.  They weren't sure they wanted to eat anything, but finally came around.  We had a short wait at our terminal and then we boarded.  

The kids enjoyed the plane.  They looked out the windows and watched as we took off.  They did great on the flight as well.  They're great kids, I'm not surprised everything has been running so smoothly with them.  😉😊  It's going to be a great vacation!!!  We tried to land once, but ended up having to take another trip around the airport and try again.  It took 20-25 minutes extra, but it was just layover time, so no big deal.  The landing was smooth and we headed off the plane.  We booked it through the Atlanta Airport towards our next gate.  Fortunately we didn't need to hustle too much, because it's been delayed.  So here we sit.

In the end, it's okay if this flight is delayed, as it's our last one for today.  I just hope it gets off soon so we can begin our trip!  ❤  I'll try to update more later!  Thanks for tuning in for details about our trip!  ❤

***Update***

They just told us we don't have a captain for our flight.  🤦🏼‍♀️  Stay tuned...

Two Days to Disney!!

So I think I'm excited about our trip...  🤣  I have been waking up before 6am for days now.  😳  And the bigger problem is that once I wake up, my mind is going full speed thinking about vacation prep and I can't fall back asleep.  🤦🏼‍♀️  Well, if you do that enough days in a row, you eventually need to get to bed earlier to compensate for the lack of sleep.  Of course, this just tells your body to get up even earlier.  So I was exhausted yesterday after prepping for the book fair for a couple weeks and working on packing and keeping our trip a secret, and Avery's birthday, and such...  As a result I went to bed before 9pm.  Usually I'm more of an 11pm kinda person.  Thinking and feeling that I needed more sleep, I laid down early.  Well, my plan backfired.  Today I woke up before 5am.  At this rate, getting up early Saturday to wake the kids up at 3am should be no problem at all!  🤷🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤪

I don't have to go to work today because the fair didn't get delivered as early as we wanted.  It won't be delivered until Friday and there's nothing more to do until then.  So I'm taking today off after all.  This works, because I can really finish up the majority of our packing with no one else here.  

There's not really much left to pack, but I haven't really started packing the kids' Backpacks with entertainment and snacks, so getting that finished will be good.  Still can't decide if I want to buy myself a new pair of shoes before we go.  I know breaking in new shoes over vacation is a bad idea, but my current pair are so old I wonder if they're a wise choice either...  Decisions, decisions....  

I'll also run laundry today, specifically masks, to make sure the house is about as clean as it can be before we leave.  The dining room table is kind of a hot mess at the moment with Connor's pumpkin project still in the works.  However, he asked for a "Dragon Free Day" yesterday, so we granted it.  It's coming along well, and isn't due until a week after our trip, so even if we don't finish it before we leave, there will be time when we get home.  

Avery's teacher is planning on sending home homework tomorrow, but Connor's isn't.  However, Avery's teacher volunteered a time after our trip for conferences and Connor's teacher said we could Zoom from vacation.  I thought this might happen as they're a little older going on this trip and getting out of school.  The stuff they miss is more important the older they get.  However, when we set the dates (really the year) for this trip 3+ years ago, the intention was to make sure Laney was in Kindergarten so she'd have a decent shot at remembering the trip and the other kids were still young enough to appreciate the Magic.  Of course, the specifics changed when Sis and Adam took their trip a year earlier, but I think it will work out for the best.  Our trip is going to be almost double the time (which Laney may not have been physically able to keep up with), our kids are just now tall enough to ride EVERYTHING if they want to, and we can do what's best for us and our family on this trip without worrying about timing things the way other people want it.  This trip may have been too ambitious to do with a family who had a much different "vacation speed" than we do.  😉

2 more days!  I can't believe it!  I'm sure they're going to fly by!  Today will be all cleaning, packing, and running errands.  Tomorrow will be setting up the book fair, then getting to bed early (Yay!).  Then Saturday we'll be up bright and early!  😳🤪  I can't wait!  ❤

One Week to Disney!!!

I'm so excited!!!  A week from now we'll be on our way to our Once-In-A-Lifetime Disney and Universal vacation!!  It's going to be so much fun!  As it is the only time we'll probably ever make this trip with the kids (or the only time while they're young) we have spared no expense (save the suitcases, lol, I'll get to that).  We have been saving for two years, averaging $300/month + more on Birthdays, Anniversaries, Christmas, Football or Basketball winnings, Tax Returns, and COVID Stimulus.  We have been able to saving $14,000 in that time.  This will give us over $5,000 in spending money.  Obviously, we won't spend that!  🤣  But with all that money saved, we can afford to let Michael build a lightsaber, a once in a lifetime experience, a $200 souvenir, and not worry about having to eat McDonald's or sacrifice other areas of our vacation, so that everyone can have the most magical time.  It's going to be AMAZING!!!  I can't believe we've managed to keep this a secret from the kids for so long!  It helps that we keep talking about the trip being "about 6 months away".  It allows us to talk and them to get excited, but curbs the excitement just a little.  It may take them a day to wrap their minds around what's happening.  Hopefully Connor does well with us springing this on him.  He's not the most flexible little guy.  😛  So, a not-so-quick rundown of what's going on so far:

Packing - 

I'm almost done packing all of our clothes.  I could have finishes yesterday, but I wanted to talk to Michael about a few things and her went to and from New Mexico yesterday.  I could probably have the clothes completely packed in a day or so.  I'll have to pack masks last minute because I plan on bringing about a dozen and we still need plenty for this next week of school.  I still need to pack our backpack, the kids' Backpacks full of fun, our first Aid Kit, and our bathroom bag.  Sounds like a lot, but it's mostly just collecting little things.  I might finish the first Aid Kit and bathroom bag after I finish this blog!  I started making lists months ago and started packing a few things at a time about a month ago.  I feel confident that we'll get everything.  Leaving for 9 days means we'll need a decent amount of stuff.  Michael and I are packing our stuff in our small suitcase, then putting it in our big suitcase, so have a second bag to come home with because of souvenirs!  So far it's only at 42 lbs!  Helps that we're going to have groceries delivered when we get there: shampoo, conditioner, body wash, Sunscreen, contact solution, etc. So we're saving some toiletry weight.

Shopping -

I think I have almost everything we need purchased for our trip.  Michael would like a few more masks, and, like I said, we're going to order some groceries when we get there.  I think we'll also order some breakfast foods to have in our room.  Things to much on or grab and go on our way out in the morning.  Things that are easy to eat on transportation on the way to the parks.  I've joined several different Facebook groups about tips and tricks and having groceries delivered was a no brainer with many people.  I can even place my order early in the day and have our groceries arrive right after we do.  😊  Should work well.  I need to make Michael another shirt, but I got a t-shirt that was too dark, so maybe today I'll drag him to Michael's or Hobby Lobby with me to find him a new one.  The vinyl is ready, so I just need a shirt and to iron it on.  Mama is going to take the kids Snack shopping maybe Thursday or Friday after school.  I think she's going to play it off like, let's just go have fun and get snacks, get some ideas for your trip.  I should make a list so they don't come back with too much.  As I'll have the kids' Backpacks full of entertainment for all of our flights, and ours full of first Aid and travel supplies, there won't be a ton of room for snacks.  Only a few of the tastiest ones, then we'll get more snacks once we've landed in Orlando.  Taking a plane is a lot more restrictive than when we drive and I can pack IT ALL!  🤣  Might still buy myself some new Sneakers.  But if I want to, it needs to be fast, cause I've only got a week to break them in!  😳

*Started this blog yesterday, now only 6 days to Disney*  😁

Telling the kids -

No, we haven't told them yet.  They know this vacation is coming, but it's months away.  We're going to wake them up at 3am on Saturday morning with the news!  To tell them about the trip, we have a gift for them (the box with our magic bands + a headband with ears for each of them) as well as a card with a poem I've written.  I'm trying to figure out how to get my cricut to write the poem and cut out a card for me.  I made thank you cards for the kids' tennis coaches a few months ago, but I used a pre-made card, didn't have to figure out how to make one on my own.  But this is good practice!  Less than a week to get it figured out!  (And it will be a busy one)  Here's the poem I wrote (unless I change it in the next 6 days...)

Good Morning, Kiddos,

Rub your eyes,

Your parents have a big surprise!

Brush your teeth,

And comb your hair,

Hurry, grab something to wear!

You've been patient,

Thanks for waiting,

Our trip you've been anticipating.

Your bags are packed,

The time has come,

Are you ready to have some fun?

We know it's early,

But don't be sour,

We're going to Disney in ONE HOUR!!

I hope they'll be excited!  Neither of them are super great with early mornings, but hopefully when they see why they're up so early they'll be a little more energetic.  😉  We'll see.  😁  Also, of course, we'll video their reactions and them opening everything.  I think it will turn out well!

The next week -

We have 6 days, and although the kids don't know it, there is plenty to get done!  It will be a busy week!  Today we're going to Towanda for the day, since Mama and Daddy have been gone the last week on vacation.  It will be nice to see them and spend some more time with them before we leave on our own trip.  We also have to stop in Andover to pick up some duck eggs from Bernadette and be home by 6 to pick up our groceries from Wal-Mart.  I didn't order much, as I don't want the fridge full of food before we leave for 9 days.  Meals may be creative this week.  😉

Tomorrow Glenn and Linda are coming to visit!  They are going on a vacation as well, a bus trip, to the northwest to see National Parks and sights!  Similar to the trip my folks took a couple years ago.  Their bus is leaving out of Wichita, so they're staying the night before with us.  That's also the day before Avery's birthday!  😱

Tuesday our baby girl turns 9!!  I cannot believe it!!  We'll have birthday pancakes in the morning, of course, then after school we'll open presents and go out to dinner.  I'm not sure what type of dinner she'll be in the mood for, but usually she likes Japanese Hibachi places.  We'll see.  😉  We didn't have big ideas for her birthday this year, and we have a trip planned days later, but I hope it's still a special day for her.  ❤  Glenn and Linda will leave for their trip sometime on this day.

Wednesday should be a fairly normal day of work and school.  I'm hoping that the book fair gets delivered so I can get started getting things ready for it.  The fair will start the following Monday while we're on our trip, so I won't be there to help during the first week of the fair.  Because of this, I'm trying to get the most work done that I can beforehand.  Every day early that the fair arrives is helpful for me to get things done.  I think Mama and Daddy are taking Avery out shopping for her birthday on Wednesday evening as well.  This will mean we have some time with only one kiddo at home to finish packing and going over our lists and such.

Thursday I wouldn't normally be working, but as I'm missing 3 days the following week, I'm moving my hours to this week and the following week.  Thursday I'll hopefully be working on getting the book fair set up all day.  Again, it all depends on when it arrives.  Hopefully it's Wednesday, because Thursday Karla is gone all day for our Redesign Team.  So it will just be me and possibly some parent volunteers.  Should be fun....  😳😳😳  Thursday evening Mama might take the kids Snack shopping for our trip under the guise of "figuring out what snacks might be good to take on the trip when it gets here."  That evening without them will give Michael and I kid-free time to put the final touches on the packing, and clean the house really well.  I've been trying to keep up on the cleaning this last week in an effort to keep this week from being too much of a chore, but we'll see how the next week goes....

Friday is our last day before our trip!  I'll be at work again, getting the book fair set up, Karla will be there on Friday, so any changes that need made she can instruct on.  The kids will be at school like usual, but may come home with extra homework (for the 3 days the following week).  That means Friday evening will be spent completing all of that homework.  After they're done, I'll take everything over to Sis' house and give their work to Dayton to deliver to the teachers on Monday.  Then, if we can talk them into it, off to bed early, because the morning will come quicker than they realize!

It's going to be a whirlwind of a week!  I'm also hoping to get a massage Thursday or Friday, take a long lunch or something and gets some relaxing done before the craziness of vacation arrives.  😉  We've been planning this trip for so long, I hope it goes well and that we haven't set our expectations too high.  I sure am excited!  It's going to be such a fun trip, but I'm also so excited to see the looks on the kids' faces when they experience all that there is.  It should be so much fun!

Giant thank you to Mama for house-sitting, dog-sitting, and picking up my slack in getting D² to and from school while we're gone.  You are such a dependable helper and I so so so appreciate and love you!!  Having you here at the house sets my kind at ease that it won't be empty for over a week.  That seriously relieves some anxiety for me.  And I know the dogs are always in good hands with you.  Harlee and Gabby are pretty easy going.  I hope Samson is well behaved for you as well.  He's a handful, but mostly just high energy (and a little nibbly when his energy is too high).  The kids should be pretty easy too, and you'll have my car, so hopefully you'll be pretty comfortable driving it for the week.

Almost time!  I can't wait!  I might post updates on the trip here on the blog, but I might not.  Just depends on how we're feeling each day.  Have a wonderful week and wish us rest this week, because next week we sure aren't getting any!  🤣

Fantasy Football

 I have my new team name and logo picked out for this year!!

Yippee Ki Yay, Justin Tucker!!

COVID-19 Day 375 - Avery's Spiritual Birthday

One year ago today Avery made her decision to follow the Lord with all her life and asked Jesus into her heart!  We are so proud of her and in her decision.  Tonight we celebrated her Spiritual Birthday by going out to dinner!  Happy Day!  We love you, Baby Girl!

My Habenero Garlic Ramen (omg, yum, so spicy and tasty!)

Michael's Chicken Fried Rice (also very tasty)

The kids both got Chicken Yakisoba, which they usually love.  Unfortunately, at this particular restaurant there was some sort of spice flavor they weren't a huge fan of.  We all ended up sharing all our meals so everyone got enough to eat.

Birthdays call for dessert!!!  Chocolate Lava Cake and Vanilla Ice Cream!

It took them about 2 minutes to devour that dessert!  🤣

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!  We're so proud!

COVID-19 Day 374 - A New Covid Project

I know a lot of people have had COVID "projects".  At the beginning of lockdown we finished up my garden and I was able to focus on the garden and my plants for the next half a year.  My friend, Bernadette, got a couple chickens, a couple more, a few ducks, and before I knew it, she had a whole backyard flock!  Our friends, Brian and Alli, got pregnant and had a baby, so did Nick and Maggie.  Well, we are about to begin a new project.

A month or two ago I started talking to Michael about the idea of getting another dog or puppy.  I follow Beauties & Beasts on FB, a rescue group that takes in as many pets as they can and save them from death row, no matter the breed or physical condition.  I've seen several pets that they've carefully nursed back to health and found homes for.  They also have a bunch of puppies at the moment.  Many are pit mixes, which doesn't bother or worry me.  And they are cute as a button!  So, after seeing my FB full of dogs and puppies, it's no surprise I started thinking about one for us.  

As most people know, our sweet baby boy, Connor, LOVES pets, animals, and dogs in particular.  For Avery's 8th Birthday, she got Lily, her Hedgehog.  Connor hasn't asked for a pet the way Avery did, but he's so loving and attentive to all animals, we knew he'd love a dog of his own.  With his birthday coming up in May, only a few weeks before the end of the school year, and having a couple months off to focus on the new pet, we thought the timing might be good.

Slowly, I worked Michael around to the idea of a new pet.  I finally got permission to start filling out the application for Beauties & Beasts.  I filled it out and heard back quickly from the organization.  Our application looked good, and they called our vet and found out our dogs were up to date on their shots and fixed.  But they didn't have their Parvo vaccinations.  As many of the pets who come through Beauties & Beasts have had or been exposed to Parvo, it's important that our own dogs are protected before a new pet came to live with us.  So this week, I got Harlee and Gabby their Vaccines.  I emailed Beauties & Beasts the paperwork and waited to hear back from them.  We didn't intend to get another animal until closer to Connor's birthday.  They also said that for the home study part of the application, the whole family would need to be present.  Since we hadn't decided to tell the kids about our idea yet, we wanted to put that part off a bit longer until we decided to tell them.

In the meantime, this weekend, Mama sent me a text, asking if we would like Samson for Connor.  We knew Grandma and Grandpa had decided to get rid of him, but had never considered taking him ourselves.  We, or I, at least, had visions of a female Pit mix puppy, a slightly bigger dog than we'd had yet, with a single short coat that wouldn't shed quite as bad as Harlee and Gabby's.  So wrapping my mind around the idea of a tiny, double coated, male dog took me a minute.  Michael took a minute too.  But the more we thought about it, the more we came around to the idea.  Michael and I had already mentally prepared ourselves for a new pet, and here is a puppy who needs a new home.  Like I said, he wasn't what I had in mind, but I think God had perfect timing.  A couple months ago, the answer would have been a resounding no.  But now, we're ready anyway.  So, in less than a day, after doing some research on the breed and what we were getting into, we agreed.

So we took Connor outside, away from the family and (long story short) asked if he would like the puppy.  He said he would.  He was still quiet.  We didn't tell Avery, and Connor hasn't told her yet.  He said he wanted it to be a surprise.  When Michael and I have got Connor alone in the last 18 hours or so, we've been able to talk to him and found he really is genuinely excited.  He's going to be a great pet owner and will dote on that little puppy constantly.  He's very much looking forward to having him.

So, all that to say, we're getting a new puppy.  ❤  Connor is excited!  We're all (well, 3 of us) looking forward to our new addition.  😊

COVID-19 Day 355 - Thinking back over a year of COVID

I can't believe it's been aost a year since this crazy virus really got going here in our area.  It has been a heck of a year.  I've been watching the numbers and it feels like we're finally on the downhill side of this mess.  

I get my second vaccine tomorrow.  I'm the first in my immediate family to be vaccinated against COVID-19.  Nick and Maggie are also vaccinated (both doses) and Grandma and Grandpa Heorman have their first doses now (or at least have them scheduled).  That's all the extended family that have the vaccine at this point.

We have refrained from going out much.  We got take out a lot in the beginning, then began going to places that offered a patio.  Now we eat indoors, so long as people are well spaced and there are dividers between booths.  We haven't been to the Y in a year.  We haven't been to Exploration Place in a year.  We haven't been to church, in person, for a year.  

We did manage to take a family vacation last summer, I think it was good for all of our souls.  We got to enjoy the beauty of Kentucky, visit family in Tennessee, hike in Illinois, and be tourists in St. Louis.  We wore our masks everywhere, even when no one else around us was wearing them.  We used a lot of hand sanitizer, arguably too much.  We stayed away from people and quarantined ourselves for weeks when we weren't sure if we were healthy or not.

It finally feels like we're getting to the other side of 2020.  We're 2 months into 2021, but it still feels like 2020 is lingering.  What I'm looking forward to, though, is a glimpse of normal again.  Our middle and high schoolers are going back to school, Michael and I are considering letting the kids join swimming lessons again, and we're planning multiple vacations this year.  I'm cautiously optimistic as I look towards 2021.  🤞

COVID-19 Day 341

Now here's a twist I didn't see coming...

Our internet has been spotty for the last few days with the cold.  Not a huge deal as we had a long weekend followed by our last snow day that was built into the school calendar.  But the school district just decided that tomorrow will be a remote learning day.  Add to that, the fact that our kids didn't bring their chromebooks home on Thursday because I was planning on going to work today and taking them with me.  Fortunately, last Spring, we bought a chromebook for home, so we have one, but only one.  However, with spotty internet, it's still pretty up in the air whether the kids will be able to get on to their lessons anyway.  Oh yeah, one more thing, Rolling Blackouts!!  That's fun!  Now, please don't misunderstand me.  I understand why they are happening and I support Evergy's unpopular decision.  I would rather have 30-60 minutes of no power than have the grid overpowered and blown and be out of power for many hours.  It will make school a bit more of a challenge though.  However, if 2020 taught us nothing else, it is to be flexible, give grace, and know that we're all in the same boat together and we'll get through this.  Like I said in my post yesterday, I think it will be a light remote learning day, possibly writing or creating something to remember this long weekend that lasted a week.  🤷🏼‍♀️  In the end, if we even have to add a day to the end of May and just scrap tomorrow, that's fine with me too.  Plus, all the days I'm not working this week, I'm adding to book fair week!  It will be nice to know I'm not leaving Karla in the lurch that week!  It will also be weird to work a 5 day week again!  😳  Good thing Spring Break is the week before.  I'll have time to rest up before my crazy week.  😜

That's all I've got.  2021 is still not holding back any punches.  Are we more resilient yet??

Oh wait, one more thing!  Michael got me a new yarn color for single digit days on my blanket!  Look how beautiful it's coming along!!

COVID-19 Day 340 - Baby it's Cold Outside

Good gracious it is COLD outside!  Our weather station is showing -7 degrees outside right now.  It is So. Stinkin. Cold.  I have had over a week of dark purple on my blanket.  It's all just anything under 20 degrees.  I didn't buy a color for under 10 degrees, because I never thought we'd get to that point!  But here we are...  🥶🥶🥶  The kids had Friday off of school for conferences and Monday off for a conference credit day for teachers.  Andover has already canceled school for Tuesday as well.  It was (as of Thursday) going to be remote optional, but yesterday they decided with the wind chill and potentially dangerous roads and parking lots, to just call it all together.  That was out last built in snow day.  From. Here on out, in order to get enough student hours, any snow/cold days will have to be remote learning days.  I know many people are lamenting the loss of the snow day, saying now that online and remote learning are a thing, snow days will no longer exist.  But I don't think that's true.  I think school districts like ours will build the days into their schedule like they always have.  I think some years we won't use them, and other years we will.  However, what makes this situation good, IMO, is that now, when we know the weather is going to be bad, we can just send students home with devices and learn from home instead of having to add school days to the end of the year to cover the hours.  I HIGHLY doubt that the days when remote learning has to occur in the future, that it will be extremely stringent.  As it won't be utilized often, and it requires a lot more work out of everyone, I anticipate it still being a generally light day.  Kids may not end up having the whole days off, but they'll have a lot or most of it off.  Plus, being able to learn remotely will mean that school gets out on time at the end of the year, and that's good by me!  I don't think anymore wants to have to extend the school year.  And even if you did, those days wouldn't have any actual learning happening.  They would just be place holders, counting down the hours.  This way, with remote learning as an option, at least a little learning is capable of happening.  Our kids are little, so I might feel differently when they're older, but for now, I think everything is okay.  And I'd don't think snow days are going anywhere. 

So that's my 2 cents for this morning.  Stay warm and stay home if you can!  I'm going to!  I'll be working on my knitting today and keeping a close eye on our furnace and Lily's temp.  I've very much enjoyed the beautiful dark purple on my blanket, the extra long weekend, and the blanket of snow covering the ground.  If you're going to have frigid temps, at least have snow.  Although, now our internet is down and our furnace is struggling to keep up when the temps plummet so low.  Don't worry, the house is still at 70.  We've had it at 73 the last few days, so we had an extra degree to give last night (good thing), and I'm sure it will catch up more as the day wears on.  It's been fun and all, but I'm ready for things to warm up again anytime now.  😉  Once again, have a good one, stay warm, and stay home!  Love you!  💘

COVID-19 Day 320

Good morning, everyone!  It's a cold one today!  Bundle up when you go out, or better yet, don't go out, if you can help it.  I'm looking forward to adding PURPLE to my blanket today because it's going to be SO COLD!  I'm hoping to add another snow row too, but haven't actually glanced outside to see if we got any.  Maybe throughout the day.  

When I was typing the title for my blog this morning I could hardly believe it's been 320 days since this pandemic began.  What a wild year it's been.  Kansas has started it's Phase 2 vaccine rollout, and I am in that group as a K-12 school staff member.  However, as of last week, there were only 100 vaccines for all of Butler County.  🤦🏼‍♀️  Needless to say, they didn't last long.  I don't know when I'll get my vaccine, but hopefully soon.  I know more and more people who've gotten both COVID and the vaccine.  Some of the people I know who got COVID had mild symptoms and got over it quickly.  Others had lingering effects that have remained months later.  I'm grateful that we've been safe and no one in our circle of 10 has gotten it.  I'm hopeful that we'll all get the vaccine (although I know there isn't one approved for kids yet) soon and begin seeing the light at the end of the tunnel of this insane pandemic.

I'm stoked about the Chiefs heading to another Superbowl this year!!!  Looking forward to finally besting Tom Brady on the big stage.  We need revenge for 2 years ago.  Not sure if the excitement and hype can match how things went last year, but I'm looking forward to trying.  😉

Alright, we'll, I guess that's all I have for now.  I'm going to go get ready for work and start knitting!  ❤  Have an awesome day!  ❤

COVID-19 Day 312

Good morning!  Hope you're having a nice day!  I'm very much enjoying the rest of my 5 day weekend!  I got my new knitting needles in and have moved my work to my new needles.  I have also caught up all the work I was behind and only have my 2 rows for today left to do.  I intend to work on cleaning house today so there's not much to worry about doing this week before the fam comes over for football this weekend.  I am STOKED about Xing Xing for lunch/dinner next Sunday!  It's going to be so so tasty!  I really want to get started on some more painting here at the house.  I think the order of my painting projects will probably be something like the following...

1. A&C's bathroom

2. Our bathroom

3. Our bedroom

4. Basement bathroom

5. Guest room

6. Guest closet

7. Toyroom

8. Toyroom closets

9. Basement hallway and living room

10. Upstairs living room/Kitchen/Over the stairs/Dining room/Hallways - Will probably pay to have someone else do these 

Looks like plenty of projects to keep me busy for a while.  Maybe if the kids actually get dressed today I'll take them to Menard and grab some paint samples.  I'd like to get the painting done first, because eventually I'd like to have the upstairs carpet replaced with hardwood, engineered hardwood, or wood-looking laminate.  I'd also like the basement carpet replaced.  But the floor projects won't be until after we no longer have dogs in the house for a bit.  So they're (hopefully) a little further away.  

I'm dying to get my garden started  a day very strongly considering starting seeds indoors any day now, even though I know that the ones I start indoors never seem to do as well that the ones I start right in the beds.  I can't help it!  After New Years I'm ready for Spring and I still have 2+ horrible months to wait.  Seriously, January and February are the worst.  👎🏻  Starting seeds gives me a little something to look forward to and a little hope in these dark, gloomy, cold months.  Maybe I can start my herbs inside.  They might transfer okay...  We'll see.  Once again, if the kids get dressed today, we may go to Atwoods and start picking up supplies.  I wonder how much the seed starter grow lights cost??  I have Christmas money burning a hole in my pocket and Fantasy Football money on the way.  Hmmm.....  🤔😉😁❤

I started looking into our OKC trip the other day.  Avery and I were looking on TripAdvisor.  We ended up finding a glancing ground that looked fun!  It's a farm style, so much like Applejack Pumpkin Patch in the way of attractions.  But you staying in either a covered wagon (big enough to fit a king bed + bunk bed) or a Teepee (again, king bed + bunk bed, plus a little extra space for a seating area).  It looked kinda fun, but was over $200/night.  Of course  that included admission to all the activities, but still spendy, especially if we're also going to a theme park too.  But who know?  Maybe we'll do it.  Can't take it with you, right?  And these trips are about checking off states and making memories with our family, so maybe it's worth it.  😉  Just have to wait and see what all we want to do down there.

Do you think we'll really get another stimulus check?  This whole thing is blowing my mind that the government keeps giving us all of this money.  We're doing OK right now, so it's surplus for us, but I know others desperately need it and more.  We've never had so much money between our savings and what we have pulled out in cash for our Disney trip and our 401k.  It's kind of surreal that we're not panicked about money.  It's a strange, but good feeling that I certainly wouldn't mind getting used to.  If they gave us another $1400/person, our family would get another $5,600!!  😳😳😳  Crazy crazy crazy!

Alright, well I better get off here and go clean something.  Have a nice day!  ❤

COVID-19 Day 310

Good morning!  It's been a couple weeks since I blogged, here's what's been happening...

The holidays went well!  Everyone stayed healthy!  We didn't get together the way we normally would have in Topeka, but with having a couple weeks off for Christmas break, we were able to enjoy our weekend there without masks.  We were also missing Nick & Maggie, Nathan, and their families, but we made it work and everyone stayed safe and healthy and that's much more important.

School and work started back up and is going well.  Since I only work 3 days/week I don't really need long weekends anymore, but the kids are excited about their 4 day long weekend this weekend.  They got yesterday off and will have Monday off too.  Michael is working both of those days, of course.  I have those days off, plus Thursday, so I'm up to a 5 day weekend now, lol.  But, in order to get my hours in, I'm going to work on Thursday next week, so next weekend will only be 3 days for me.  *shudders*  The horror!

I am making a temperature blanket for 2021!  It was coming along great until my cord on my rounded needles broke off of the needle.  I have new needles coming in from Amazon.  They should be here today.  I have 3 rows to catch up on and 2 more for today.  I may have to bring my knitting to Towanda tomorrow to finish up how much I got behind.

Sis, Mama, and I are planning Superbowl foods, should be super fun!  Hoping the Chiefs are in it again this year.  We all had THE BEST time last year!  We're also talking Pro-Bowl food when I'm inaugurated as Fantasy Football Champ!!  Woohooo!!  We're having Xing Xing for lunch that day and I am STOKED!!

Speaking of Inaugurations, we're getting a new President this week!!!  😱😱😱😱😱  I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo excited!!!!  I'm excited to have Joe work across the aisle and hopefully heal some of the division in our country over the next 4 years.  I'm excited about Kamala and the example she's setting for women, people of color, and immigrants.  Her roll in Executive Branch is a monumental moment.  It's not the highest spot, but I'm thinking we could see her on the ticket again in 4 years in a different roll.  🤞  4 years ago I kept Avery up late on election night because I wanted her to see when the first woman was elected president.  It didn't work out then.  And shortly after that election we, as a family, participated in our first ever political march, The Women's March, here in Wichita.  I was so distraught that our country had elected a leader with such disrespect for women that he would have ever uttered the words, "When you're a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab 'em by the pussy. You can do anything," that I had to go out and say this isn't right.  He isn't right.  I wasn't hoping the election would be overturned.  I just needed to go out there, with my 4 year old daughter, and say you are valuable, you are important, you are worthy of respect.  So I demonstrated that day, for her, that she will never come across a man who feels like he has the right to say or do anything like that to her.  I demonstrated that day to show her that all women are important and that no one can tell her she can't do or achieve something because she's a girl.  And that's what we told her that day.  And we have begrudgingly put up with that leader for the last 4 years, spreading lies and hate and division.  I am so glad to be done with him.  And I hope the Senate impeaches him and that he will never again be able to run for office.  I want him to fade into the background of history as the president who was impeached twice, tried to undermind our election system, who incited riots, and who was never heard from again.  The United States will be a better place without him in the White House.  I have prayed for him more than for any other president in my life, and maybe my prayers were answered, maybe the last 4 years were better than they would have been without so many people praying over Donald Trump.  Only God knows that.  I know I won't be crying, for the women of our national, this Wednesday, tears of sadness for the massive steps backwards we've taken.  I will be crying tears of joy as Kamala Harris, a woman of color and daughter of immigrants, stands beside Joe Biden, and becomes the Vice President of our nation.  Keep an eye on her the next 4 years.  She is a force to be reckoned with!  ❤

Wow, didn't see that soapbox coming...  Just get riled up when I think of the deplorable things our current President has said.  And I struggle to see how the community of faith can back someone like that...  But I'm letting that go for now...

I get to start working in my garden again soon!!  Strawberries should be going in in the next month or so!  My garlic is looking good from what I can see from the window, lol!  I'm very much looking forward to getting out and tending to it all again.  Get excited for lots of posts and pictures about my garden again soon.  :)

Andover BOE has basically all but said we will not go all remote again.  This is, I think, best for the kids, being in school.  But, I fear, this decision wasn't made in the best interests of the kids, but because the BOE cowtows to boisterous parents.  Either way, our numbers have been pretty good because we insist on following the rules and guidelines, unlike many members of the public.  Sunflower actually has the smallest number of positive cases of any elementary school in the district, which is a huge pat on the back to our administration, teachers, staff, and custodians for all the hard work we've done all year.  Hopefully things stay good and healthy and we can finish the year strong.  I already know several people (not locally) who have gotten their COVID-19 vaccine.  I'm hopeful that school staff will be on the list soon.  I'm hopeful that life will be getting back to normal fairly soon.  It has been a weird year to say the least.

We're going to ORLANDO in 9 MONTHS!!!!!  I'm so excited about our trip!!!  We have put $2600 down towards our trip so far and we have $5,600 more saved up so far.  That should be enough to pay for it, but we're going to keep saving until the day we leave for spending money and fun stuff like that!  Since we're not taking that vacation until October, we plan to do a little OKC weekend this summer.  I haven't started looking into fun for that trip yet, but I might start today because I'm in a good mood and trip planning is super fun!!  I'm also hopeful that we can make it to a Royals game again this summer!  Not to mention, Mama, Sis, and I want to do a girls weekend in Vegas for our birthdays this year!!!  Lots of travel plans in the works for 2021!!  Screw you, 2020 and COVID!  You guys suck!  We're taking our lives back!  ❤✈

I have been playing on my new Cricut A LOT lately!  Stay tuned for some of the fun projects I'm working on!  😁

Alright, that's all I've got for now!  Love you!  Have an awesome Saturday!

COVID-19 Day 295 - Happy New Year!

I know, I know...

It's been nearly a month since I've blogged.  I never finished copying and pasting all the stuff I was thankful for in November, much less write anything about December and our holiday season.  Now it's all over.  2020 has come to an end.  What a strange year it was.  I'm looking forward to changes in 2021.  I'm hopeful that we'll get back to a sense of normal.  I'm wishing for more travel and fewer restrictions.  I'm looking forward to seeing people face to face (and actually seeing their faces) and giving hugs.  I know we're definitely not out of the woods yet, but I see light at the end of the tunnel, and I'm hopeful for what 2021 will bring.  So Goodbye and Good Riddance 2020!  We survived and we are moving on.  Happy 2021!

COVID-19 Day 264 - Crappy Mom and Wife Rant

Some days I feel like a really crappy mom.  I had a stressful day at work between regular work stuff, kids not returning books and COVID stuff, the staff thinking it's okay/a good idea to have a staff Christmas gathering and food so everyone can unmask.  I had a headache coming home, which I tried to voice to my children who kept interrupting.  All they wanted to do was tell me about school and their days and their books, but I resented being interupted 4 times in a row, when all I wanted to say was that I had a headache.  I eventually got a word in edgewise and told them about my headache and that I was going to take a bath and rest for a bit when I got home.  I started running my bath and got undressed, was just looking for the perfect facial mask and bath bomb when I heard the outdoor water spigot turn on.  There's no reason it should be on in December.  So I frantically grabbed my robe, cursing past Jen for not threading the belt through the belt loops as it fell to the floor.  I threw it on and was working on wrapping the belt around me so I wouldn't expose myself to the neighbors when I went outside to turn the water off, when I heard Connor screaming.  I rush into the kitchen and quickly ask if he's hurt. (Backstory: He smashed his hand in his closet door yesterday and went outside screaming while Michael was on the roof hanging lights.  Michael called me, but I couldn't hear him in my brand new phone.  So Michael came down to deal with Connor.  When I came upstairs a few minutes later to hear from Michael what had happened, I asked Connor if he knew where I was.  I was downstairs wrapping presents.  He said he did, but he didn't want to see the presents.  So he went outside to Michael, screaming.)  He said he wasn't hurt and I asked what was wrong.  Anyone who knows my kid knows he's not cool under pressure and he himmed and hawed and sputtered a few things about watering the dogs.  My sweet boy was trying to give the dogs water, using the outdoor spigot.  We'll, since the hose wasn't on, it gushed water everywhere and he got wet, thus the screaming.  Then, when he tried to turn it off, it continued to fish, this the frantic screaming.  I rushed outside to the spigot, sure enough, nice and tightly shut off, still gushing water.  Not dripping or trickling, gushing like full blast.  I turned it the other way to make sure I was turning it the correct direction, more intense gushing.  I played with it back and forth, eventually pushing it in and pulling it out away from the house before I finally got it off.  Something is always broken around here.  Connor has run to hide by the time I get back inside because I frantically asked why he was turning on the hose in December.  (Another backstory: We had 3 months of insanely high water bills, higher than our normal watering/summer bills.  Turns out, the hose was on the spigot, and although to was turned to the off position, it was still running.  But since the hose was on, we couldn't see what was happening.)  So I called for Connor and told him, in not a nice voice, that he was fine and the water was fine.  I told him not to use the hose anymore.  I told him the only place to get water for the dogs was the kitchen sink.  And I stormed back to the backroom where my water was still running.  (Want to know why he didn't use the sink in the first place?  It was full of dishes.  Another backstory: Much as I try, I cannot do everything around the house that needs done.  Fortunately, I'm not the only one in this home helping out.  Michael and I came to an agreement quite a while ago that he would unload the dishwasher and I would loaf it and hand wash any dishes that needed hand washed and put them away myself.  So sometimes I'm pretty, and even though I'm perfectly capable of unloading the dishwasher myself, I don't, because we agreed that he would do that job.)  So back to me being a crappy mom, now add crappy wife to the resume.  (More backstory: Michael came home early yesterday because one of his packages, my Christmas presents, had been delivered and he didn't want me to bring in the box.  He's been going into work early and staying late to finish a project and get a bonus to help pay for Christmas and our trip to Disney.  When he got home early, I asked if he would put the Christmas lights up on the house.  Because even though I'd been asking since the beautiful days of October, it hadn't gotten done.  So, if you subtract out the time he came down off the roof to deal with Connor, he was up on the roof for about 3 hours, 415ish to 730ish.  The wind wasn't blowing, but it was plenty chilly, especially when the sun went down.)  All that to say, the dishes didn't get unloaded last night.  Crappy wife, right here.  So Connor tried to use the outside water to water the dogs, because the sink was full.  I finally make it back to the bathroom and Michael gets home, hears the bath running, thinks, "Oh no!  What's wrong?  I'll go check on Jen." And comes into the bathroom.  So before I can get in I get to explain why I'm in such a bad mood.  I verbally diarrhea all over him in an unkind tone and then half-heartedly apologize afterwards, turning the water off so it doesn't overflow because I've completely filled my garden tub in all this time.  (Want to know another reason I'm mad, that I haven't mentioned yet?  Remember when Michael called me becauae Connor was screaming, and I couldn't hear him?  I thought it was bad reception in the basement, turns out, my new phone isn't working already!  Michael tried to fix it last night.  It seems to think I have headphones plugged in all the time, so all calls, notifications, texts, and audio is going through those imaginary headphones.  I noticed yesterday.  It was working when I got it in the mail.  Well done on this one, Google.)  Michael slowly backs away and leaves and I finally get in.  The warm water feels good after being outside with nothing but my robe on and walking through icey water.  I settled on a facial mask and a couple bath bombs and finally got into my bath.  So now I'm sitting here in coral water, ranting on my blog.  Some days I'm a really crappy mom and wife.  I'd go to bed early, but we have all of our advent calendars that start tonight, so now I resent December and our holiday traditions too.  I suck.  I hope tomorrow is better.  I'm over 2020.

COVID-19 Day 263 - November 19 - I'm thankful for our home.

November 19 - I'm thankful for our home. 🏡 Michael and I moved to Wichita after he got out of school. We had a great little 2 bedroom apartment that we loved! But we knew we wanted to stay in Wichita for a while, and we were tired of wasting money on rent. Our lease lasted until the end of May, so we weren't seriously looking until spring. However, we found out Avery was on the way at the end of January and, 7 days later, put an offer in our home. 😊 We moved in at the end of March. We've been in our home for 8.5 years now. In that time we've added a fence to the backyard, planted a tree, repainted a couple rooms inside and the entire outside, repainted both back decks, and added a garden. Some parts of home ownership stink, like when all the random little appliances go out at the same time, the AC quits in August the day before school starts ( Brian and Alli came to our rescue then, right before Avery started Kindergarten), the garage door stops working, or the hot water heater needs replaced. But we love love love our home. It's where we brought our babies home after they were born. It's been a temporary home for many friends and remains available for any who want to visit. It's a safe haven in times of trouble and uncertainty. On cool days I'm reminded just what a huge blessing it is to have a home to keep my family and me protected and warm. When I hear my kiddos in the backyard playing, I'm reminded what a blessing it is to have a yard where my kids can play safely. When our friends and family come over to visit I'm thankful we chose a place near to our tribe, and that we were lucky enough of have others move to our town and be nearby that we could invite them over and in ( TJ Lohrbach, Meredith May, Phil Zee, Nate McGraw, Michael Marietta, Beth Ashby, Rhythem Fitzpatrick). I'm so thankful for our home and the millions of wonderful memories made here. I look forward to many more. ❤️