Wednesday: not much

The day was rather uneventful.  The most exciting thing was that while in the karate class I was looking where I was punching and got to so off my technique to everyone.  Ok, that is rather exciting.  But I feel like it shouldn't be.  It was a side punch and it feels completely normal to look where you're punching and it was surprising to learn that doesn't happen naturally for everyone.  (There are definite times I don't look where I'm punching when I should be.)

Isaac wrote some of this spelling words with Legos.  He said he wasn't going to be creative with the words like last time, but he still was a little bit.

I started out the semester surprisingly on top of school work and I feel like I'm quickly falling behind.  The important things are getting done, even in advance, but the things that I can put off a bit are getting pushed back more and more.

Tuesday: new word

I think that y'all'll should be a word meaning you all will.  I was writing an email and wrote you'll, but then I realized I actually wanted it to clearly apply to two people.  An English word with two apostrophes would be cool.

Update: it is spoken!  Dusty just confirmed he's heard it.

Monday: quiet

I feel like being quiet.

It'd be nicer if it was snowing.  The snow facilitates the quiet.

Sunday: RIP

The green alarm clock died.  We put new batteries in it and within about 5 seconds the numbers would disappear.  It's been a good clock to us, going on many vacations and being incredibly helpful.

Since the boys are now sleeping in the same room we moved Joshua's clock into Isaac's room.  I don't like it quite as much, but I do like that it doesn't use batteries.

Saturday: outside

The plan was to rent some cross country skis and give it a try.  We got there right when they opened.  However, you apparently have to get in line before they opened.  When we got there they were at number 91 and we would have been 16.  It was our first time trying it out, and I didn't feel like waiting more than 15 minutes.  The plan pivoted right away and we went down the sledding hill a few times instead.

It was a good choice.  When we left, 30-45 minutes later, they were on number 3.  They were making decent time since each group was more than one person, but it was still going to be a long wait.  Since the boys aren't actually at school we can try some school day instead.

When we got home the boys entertained themselves, but in a slightly different way than normal.  Joshua was working on a Lego set.  (Ok, that's not all that different.)  Isaac was devouring a Minecraft book.  It's a tutorial Minecraft book with lots of pictures, but there are still plenty of words to read.  He usually doesn't sit down with a book (sadly), so I was a bit surprised.

Thursday: today

Today was better than yesterday.  The days haven't been bad, but they've been annoying.  I feel ready for a break, but I'm not sure what I need a break from.  I also feel rather bad complaining since there are a lot of things going well and they can be easy to overlook when a few bad things happen.

The only thing the boys want to do is play Minecraft and we're giving in more and more.  It does mean that they're pro-active in getting their chores done though, so there is also some time management skills being learned.  Yeah.  That's what we're teaching. 100% legit.  (Also note that they only got the normal amount of screen time today.  We still say no a lot.)

Horizon tried to learn to read today.

Isaac wrote some of his spelling words in the snow.  He's been surprisingly willing to go outside now that there's snow, and is rather happy to work on the end of the driveway as one of his chores.

Tuesday: half fail, half win

We failed half the day.  Ben's (work) car had a dead battery.  Ben had a not fun appointment.  The babysitter was late.  (Although she did notify me and she must have scrambled to only be here 10 minutes late.)  I made it on time to class, but it took a few minutes to get everything set up.  Not really a problem, but a bit flustering. I had a student meeting and he showed up about 30 seconds before I was going to leave.

On the other hand, it was a snow day.  The boys made a barricade while I was teaching, but thankfully Carly made them take it down.  One of the chores was to shovel the end of the driveway if the plow came through, and it did.  The end of the driveway was just being finished as I came home.  Ben had a good appointment this evening.

I also figured out how to take a video of my phone screen.  (It's super easy.)  Photos is always making these nice collections of photos, but there's no way to save them anymore.  It's not quite as nice as just being able to save it, but not too bad.

Monday: quilt pictures

I was taking quilt pictures this morning.  Immediately after I put it down Tornado came and sat on it.  I took a few pictures while asking him to get off.  Then Horizon came and flopped down upside-down on it.  I asked both of them to get off to no avail.

 I gave them some treats to get off it, but Horizon was unimpressed and just as I was ready to take another picture he went back on the quilt.  I locked him in the bathroom, just in time for Tornado to finish his treat and come back on the quilt.  Joshua finally helped and chased Tornado downstairs.

Sunday2: Valentine's Day

As always, we didn't do much for Valentine's day.

The cats loved each other and snuggled. 

We needed more pillowcases and I found these two weeks ago.  It is nice because we needed them and I could use them for Valentine's Day.

I spent some time changing the Lego bonsai tree into a spiderweb crystal tree for a challenge.  It's not great, but it isn't too shabby either.  Especially for the amount of time I put into it.

Joshua did a Valentine's bingo at school and really wanted to do one with the family too.  We almost copied his Bingo card for all of us, but I remembered just in time that would mean we all got a bingo at the same time. :)  We found an acceptable substitute.

Sunday1: decisions

Well, we made a decision about the last trimester for the boys' schooling.  We've decided to keep them home for another semester.

It was a bit of a hard decision again, but it wasn't hard for the same reason as it was in the fall.  In the fall it felt like we were choosing between two bad options.  Now it feels like we're choosing between two good options.

The main reason(s) we're staying home is because it seems like it would be a hard transition to go back to school at this point.  It's one thing to have that transition in the fall when everyone's in the same boat, but I think right now it would be harder.  Furthermore, the boys have been doing a good job being self-motivated and getting their work done and they want to stay home.  It's also been nice sleeping in and not having to go to after school pickup.  There are still slight concerns about health issues if many students go back to school and the new variants coming through, but those played less of a role in our decision this time than in the past.

Isaac's teacher also gave us some feedback, pretty much saying that either option would be fine.  It was reassuring.

Saturday

 Ben let the boys play on the drums a bit today.  They enjoyed it. :)

Chores

I've been having the boys (especially Isaac) shovel the end of the driveway as one (or two) of their chores.  The snow hasn't been too heavy, so I haven't felt bad about asking them to do it.  In fact, I really feel like I'm winning as a parent. :D

email

 I received this email a few days back.  It was from a student who is remote learning and I was checking in to make sure everything was working ok.  It probably made me happier than it should have.

"Hi, I think this class is going very well. It is definitely the best class I’ve had as a remote learner in terms of how it’s structured. I really appreciate you reaching out because most professors do not. I also wanted to say that I enjoy how the class is engaging for the student rather than the student just listening to a lecture. I’ve never enjoyed going to class before until now. For some reason this is the only class I’ve ever had that I’m excited about and that’s the honest truth (And I’m not just saying that either). I can’t wait to see what else we learn because I’m going to be using excel a lot in my future job. Thank you for everything so far. "

Flurry

 Yes, it's been two years since Flurry died, but we took these videos right before she was put down.  It's been on my to-do list to post them for a while, and I'm finally getting around to it.  (And possibly ignoring other stuff I should be doing.)

Wednesday: well child

Isaac had his well-child visit today.  It went well, as expected.  He's in the 13% for weight and 54% for height, which puts him in the 2% for weight/height ratio.  I guess running around the house tackling his brother has paid off.

Tuesday: tired

 I got home from work and was tired.  It's been a long few days.  It's been snowing a lot though, so that's been pretty.

Sunday: outside

So I've seen those fun frozen water globes around and thought it would be a fun thing to make.  Yeah.  Not sure who wrote the instructions.  "1. Fill up a water balloon with water."  Ok, I don't know about you but that involves a hose and getting everything wet.  I'm not going to do that in the winter.  We made one really small one in a normal balloon, but again, meh.

Then I remembered I had some silicon tops.  So instead of colored ice balls, Joshua helped me make colored ice cylinders.  They've been waiting outside for a week for us to get snow so they'd stay upright.  And now Joshua has something fun to see during school.  I guess he can see the birds too!  They don't like that feeder as much though.

Tuesday: explosion

My email exploded today.  I dealt with a bunch in the morning, and then while I was teaching a bunch more came in.  I dealt with the important ones when I got home (and sent some additional ones).  A hour later there were a bunch more.  It's been a while since it's been this bad.  I'm hoping it's mostly 'beginning of the semester' details.  There seem to be more details to deal with this semester than normal, and I'm not really sure why.

Isaac and Joshua went to the sledding hill with the babysitter today.  Isaac's been before and was really looking forward to it, while Joshua was nervous.  I think Joshua overheard me talking to Carly a bit because apparently they got to the hill and Joshua went down the big one right away by himself.  It's as though he wanted to show me that he was completely capable.  (Although after that it sounded like he usually went down with someone.)  They enjoyed it, but walking up the hill was a lot of work.

Monday: snow

This morning I was finishing up the driveway and heard a rumbling noise.  I was hoping it was the snow plow, because the timing would be good.  It was!  It turned the opposite way from our house first, but came back around.  Yes!

I shoveled until the spot where I estimated the snow from the plow would be thrown, because there's no reason to shovel it twice.  I waited about thirty seconds.  The plow came back around, almost exactly to where I estimated.  Score!  Both in location and in timing!  I was oddly ecstatic.

Joshua made this Lego creation today, entitled, "A memory of yesterday."  He makes cool things, but this is one of my favorites.  Ben is the person on the hill, with a sled in front of him to push down.  The tree is the obstacle that the boys apparently couldn't avoid yesterday.  There's also a green sled, since the boys were using two different ones.

Sunday: walking on water

 We walked on the lake today.  It's been several years since we've done this and it always feels weird.  It also felt windy, so we didn't stay on it for too long.  The boys enjoyed sledding for a bit afterwards.

Friday: recycling

It's a good thing our house is on the "second" side of the street for garbage and recycling pickup.  The recycling only comes every other week, and I've lost count of how many times I've heard it on the street and rushed the recycling container out, hoping that I heard it on the other side and not going past our house.

Wednesday: life

 Joshua made a den for a bear to hibernate in.  He did a really nice job on it with minimal instructions.

We getting more birds now, although the squirrel hasn't really come back yet.  The birds really like Isaac's bird feeder, even though it has the cheaper bird food.  Maybe they like the stability?

Isaac: 96 -108 months

 I'm behind on Isaac's pictures too.

96 months:

97 months: missed

98 months: 

99 months: ...it looks like he grew three inches!  This was also the start of quarantine and pajamas 24/7.

100 months: The hair gets messier in quarantine, apparently.

101 months:

102 months: 

103 months: 

104 months:

105 months:

106 months: 

107 months: 

108 months: 

Tuesday: school? or no school?

Well, I had school today.  Day 1 went pretty well.  The worst part was that I forgot my water, so 2/3 of the way through the first class I was thirsty.  There's always a few oddball things that need dealing with, but overall it went well.

The boys would have had a snow day, had it been a normal year.  I was a bit surprised as there wasn't much snow on the ground, but I'm (very obviously) not privy to the decision-making criteria.  However, the boys did have an easy day!  Joshua had about half of his work.  Isaac had less than half of his work and it was more optional.  I feel like the state might be getting cheated out of a school day, because the students still had to join a meeting so they'd be counted as present.  But at the same time, there are some snow days built into the calendar so I'm not that concerned.

The boys apparently played outside for at least two hours with the babysitter this afternoon and had a great time sledding.