Our Last Week in February

 On Sunday, we went to the Bible Club skating party.  Although Champ fell a lot, he had a great time.  He skated a lot with Angelique.  It didn't take Princess long to figure out she hated roller skating. She quickly switched back to gym shoes.

Tuesday was basketball practice for Champ while Princess was entertained by Jayson Munoz.  She thinks he is hilarious.  

On Wednesday morning, I got the rare chance to see Champ in his Star Student desk.

Dad took Champ to get his haircut at the airport on Thursday.  Thank goodness he brought a Barbie coloring book for Princess.

The kids were well behaved tonight as they waited for me to do a Zumba class.

Star Student

Wednesday was a makeup play date at McDonalds with Vanessa and her girls.  Champ was thrilled to get Lego cups.  The kids let me exercise next.  Princess jogged a couple laps with me.

I love when Princess plays Heads Up with us, especially since she can't read.

Thursday I went to the dentist.  The kids joined me at the gym again.  Severe thunderstorms kept kids awake.

Friday night I joined Kelly at a new Zumba class.  Champ went to game night at church.

Saturday morning I ran 6.5 miles.  Champ won another game.  We feasted on Papa Murphy's pizzas for dinner...a treat for Champ, star student of the month.  They got to assemble the pizzas.

Dance party

U Indy basketball game with my parents and Kellams.  Kids loved jump rope half time show. 

We slept in this morning and cleaned before church.

We got groceries, dropped off recycling, and went to the Bible Club skating party. Princess hated skating.

More of February

Making connections to the Olympics...exploring nesting dolls as we see on TV

Cheering on our team...USA.  Although when I asked Princess who she was rooting for in the Olympics she said the Colts.

Papaw entertaining Princess.

Couldn't find the cooked ground hamburger anywhere after I got it out of fridge.  When I opened dishwasher, I realized Champ stuck it in there when I asked him to load it.

Getting ready for week

Enjoying the first nice day in forever.  

Winter Olympics

Just like a fish needs water, Champ needs sports.  We began watching the Winter Olympics on Thursday evening.  The kids were blown away that night by snowboarding.  We watched some on the iPad at breakfast Friday too.

Friday evening brought great sadness for us as we said goodbye to a beloved friend, Lori Anderson, before she moved to Iowa.  It was great to see old friends again though at a going away party.

Saturday morning I ran for about 70 minutes.  My friend, Christi, ran part of it with me.  We hadn't run together since before my surgery.

Champ played well in his basketball game.  He worked hard.  He made one basket.  At one point the referee (who I recognized as a former student), told Champ he was playing great defense.  Champ was thrilled when I later told him about the compliment.  I told him I knew the referee had played varsity basketball at our high school.

I went grocery shopping by myself.  It is such much less stressful to do it by myself.  I tried to pick up a wider variety of green vegetables.  I also try to shop clearance sales.  We watched the Olympics in the evening.

Today we went to church after we ate banana pancakes.  The kids liked playing with friends at the playground afterwards.  We ate lunch quickly at home.  It was my first time to try to give the kids kale.  I slipped it in their wraps.  No one complained.

We went to see the new Lego movie.  Both kids said they liked it, although Princess got scared in some parts.  Champ has talked nonstop this afternoon about the movie.

We came home to change clothes before going sledding.  I got an inflatable sled on clearance yesterday.  The kids were so excited to be using it.  Thank goodness because it took me forever to inflate.  Princess hid her boots, so I knew the trip would be short if she was in her shoes.  When we get to the hill, Champ asked me to tie his shoe.  I look down and realize the kid selected gym shoes to wear for sledding.  That is what you get for assuming....

My cleaning crew helped with chores.  I am paying them to help me.  Then they were horsing around.

For dinner, I made sweet potato fries, kale chips, apples, and tilapia.  The kids ate it all.  

Now we are watching the Olympics again, like we have done throughout the weekend.

Another Snow Day

A snow day once in awhile is exciting.  Since snow days are getting to be part of our routine, they are losing some of their splendor.  Now that I've also seen when we have to make up the snow days, the snow days are definitely on my nerves.

The snowfall cut my run short yesterday.  I wanted to make it home before the snow got really bad.  I shoveled the driveway 3 times last night.  I got the school closure call let last night.  I stayed up to watch The Biggest Loser finale.

Princess didn't get the memo to sleep in.  I helped comfort her when she cried in the night.  She was wide awake and in my bed by 7 this morning.  We ate homemade whole grain waffles for breakfast.   They had both flax seed and wheat germ in them.  I had made them over the weekend and frozen them.  We also drank a homemade smoothie.  It contained blackberries, raspberries, banana, spinach, and milk.

I shoveled the driveway before I helped Champ clean up some of his room.  I made sweet potato fries.  I tried to change the light bulbs in the family room.  I got the brilliant idea to stand on the coffee table while I worked.  The paneling in the old coffee table fell through, and I fell down.  I was very thankful for minor injuries and lots of platelets that protected me from worse injuries.  I was also thankful that Champ had good ideas on what to do to help me.  He got me some ice.  He kept asking if I was okay.  Plus, he said we needed to call Papaw to let him know.  He knew where to get the phone and how to call him.  It was also a teaching opportunity at lunch when I told Champ he needed to add into his prayer that we were thankful mom was okay,

After lunch, we decided to watch movies.  The movies helped me fall asleep.  I slept through 2 movies.  I'm Thankful that Champ lets me sleep and helps Princess when necessary.

For dinner, I prepared Italian turkey sausage and made apple crisp.  I also made crustless spinach quiches for breakfast tomorrow.  We also got ready for tomorrow by packing lunches, getting out outfits, etc.  

Champ and I read books aloud before bed.  Time to rest before we take on tomorrow.

A Day at the Beach?

Although another winter storm is on the horizon, Princess and I spent a glorious day at the beach.  Actually, she was in the bathtub.  I love how she is really starting to get into imaginative play.  The beach was her idea.  I put on her sunscreen (aka soap) and let her swim in the ocean.  She saw surfers, sailboats, sand castles, and more.  When it started to rain, we decided to go back to our hotel room.  That was one of my favorite bath times.

Yesterday I was explaining to the kids that one of our beloved friends, Lori, was moving back to her home state of Iowa.  I love that Champ immediately asked me if they spoke English in Iowa.  He asks great questions.

I love that the day care teacher was able to put Princess's hair in a pony tail today.  She looked so pretty.

Super Bowl Weekend

What do you call the audience members at an elementary talent show?  Family and us!  Thursday evening at 6 Champ tells me he wants to go to the talent show at 7.  He was thrilled that we went, except for having his view obstructed by a subpar seating arrangement.  Princess sat through most of it like she was watching the best talent in America.  

We began our day Friday by enjoying the banana pancakes that I had made the day before.  We checked out new movies in the evening.  Then we watched one.

Saturday was extremely busy.  We began with Champ's basketball game.  He made a few baskets, got some rebounds, and was very aggressive.  His team won 52-24.

The kids joined me at the gym for my Zumba class.  iPads and iPhones make good babysitters when in a pinch.

Champ was a ball boy at U Indy in the afternoon.  He was joined by Caleb Worgess.  Apparently when the coach asked Champ what his name is, Champ replied that the coach should know his name because he has done this before.

We dropped Caleb off at home before heading to O'Charley's for dinner thanks to a gift card.  A trip to Meijer followed dinner.  The kids are learning great things at the store.  Champ picked out some clementines, but he decided to pick a different one when he saw some with bad spots.  I was up late last night making Rice Krispie treats for today's Super Bowl party and whole grain waffles.  The waffles were mostly a beat the clock activity with milk and eggs.

This morning I was a parent volunteer in Champ's Sunday school class.  He loves having me there.  We played at the indoor playground next, but all kids seemed out of control.

I've started a program at home to teach the kids to work and earn money.  I've given both kids small jobs throughout the week.  On the weekend, we now clean the whole house.  I will pay them on the weekend for completing the tasks.  Similar to me, they will have to work several days before getting paid.  I've also started to show Champ how to figure out a tithe.  He knows that one dime out of a dollar should be given to God.  I love a clean house, helpful kids, and life lessons.  At one point, I overheard Champ telling Princess that he couldn't have done something without her help.  It delighted me to hear him encourage his sister.

Tonight we went to Carey's house for the Super Bowl.  It is always good to laugh with her.  Princess seems to be in love with her husband, Jayson.  Princess was terrified of their dog, but Jayson grabbed her out of my arms, got her a juice box, and played basketball with her.  Champ seemed to have a good time playing in their house.  Too bad the Broncos couldn't pull out a victory.