Happy 12th Birthday, Jonas!!!…

I can’t believe my first baby is now 12 years old!!! You are still that brilliant, witty, boundary-pushing, book-loving, creative guy.

I’ve seen a lot of growth in you this year…getting yourself ready for school in the morning without a lot of pushback, staying on top of all of your homework/quizzes/tests/projects, looking out for the little ones in the neighborhood, showing more compassion and empathy for others, wanting to just sit and talk about things, taking care of your mommy (making me breakfast, giving me a lot of hugs, etc.), and having a grateful heart. I’m so proud of you, buddy. Happy 12th Birthday!!!

Halloween…

We had one of the best Halloweens we’ve ever had this year. I’m not sure why…maybe it was because the weather was perfect (just chilly enough to be festive), because the kids are getting older which made things a little bit easier, or because we were all so thankful just to be able to get out and have some normal kind of neighborhood community fun. It also went a lot quicker/took a lot less energy because most everyone laid their candy out on a table in the driveway for the kids to pick and choose from. Tom was an old man, I was a hippie, Jonas was a light up stickman, Xander was Pikachu, and Roman was Harry Potter.

Pumpkin Carving…

We got to carve pumpkins with our neighbors after we got home from the pumpkin farm late Sunday afternoon…which was a great way to end the day. Mrs. Amanda is a pro (and my hero for always being so laid back, even amidst a lot of chaos) and helped the boys put the finishing touches on their designs and carving.

Shuckle’s Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch…

The boys and I drove out to Greenbriar, TN this afternoon to try Shuckle’s Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch. We spent three hours there, and the boys STILL weren’t ready to go home.

It started out a little rough, honestly, because Xander was in a negative head space about everything (“these go karts don’t work”…”this is boring”…”that slide is dumb”…”this is so easy to climb”), and I was seriously doubting my choice of packing up lunches, driving an hour, and paying the price of admission, all for a whining/complaining fest that we could have had at home.

BUT, once he saw the corn maze, he took off and was having a blast with his brothers, sprinting through the stalks from one side to the other and playing hide and seek. And that was the beginning of a very fun day.

The rest of the afternoon was filled with: racing through a rope maze, trying to lasso a (pretend) calf, playing on the seesaws (love that old fashioned fun), climbing on the spider web, decorating cookies (with choose your own cookie, icing color, and toppings), playing pumpkin skeeball and basketball, racing ducks (with water pumps and half PVC pipe slides), conquering a right turn only maze, and jumping on a gigantic “corn popper” pillow. We used lots of hand sanitizer, wore our masks, played a lot, and left tired and happy.

Sleepovers…

The boys were SO excited to have sleepovers this weekend.

Roman got to have his first sleepover at his best friend Owen’s house. They had a blast celebrating Owen’s birthday and playing Throw, Throw Burrito.

Owen’s older brother, Ethan, is Jonas’ best friend. So, we did a kid swap and had Ethan sleepover at our house. He and Jonas enjoyed going to a costume party with pizza, s’mores, and games at our church, riding bikes around our neighborhood, and playing basketball at the school playground.

Xander got to sleepover at one of his best friend’s houses too. He had fun playing in David’s backyard with him (they have a boy paradise with a trampoline, a treehouse, a ropes course, a tetherball, etc.) and staying up really late playing Monopoly.

(We didn’t get a great picture of Xander and David together, so I’ll try to take one tomorrow and post it soon.)

Belting Up…

All three of the boys belted up in TaeKwonDo tonight!!! Jonas is a 4th level yellow belt, Xander is a 1st level yellow belt, and Roman is a 3rd level green belt.

(They would all be on the same belt, if they had all started at the same time…but Roman started first, then Jonas, and then Xander. Either way, they are all rocking it out in their own way…I’m so proud of their hard work and perseverance.)

Raddish: Frightful Fiesta…

Our October cooking kit from Raddish was a “Frightful Fiesta”. The boys didn’t have school on Monday, so we made it a cooking day. Yay!

Each kit comes with laminated recipe cards (for an entree, a side, and a dessert), a shopping list, a cooking tool, table talk cards, and a game. This month included the following:

Recipes: Mummy Enchiladas, Creepy Corn Dip, and Haunted Tres Leche Cake
Cooking Tool: Silicone Liquid Measuring Cup
Game: Pinata

They made their pinatas first thing in the morning…

Then, Jonas and I worked on his Haunted Tres Leche Cake. We mixed and baked it early on because it needed to sit in the refrigerator for three hours before adding the whipped cream ghosts with chocolate chip eyes. Jonas was so creative and named each ghost. HaHa!

Next, Xander and I put together his Mummy Enchiladas. His favorite part was decorating them with string cheese wrappings and black olive eyes. He really enjoyed chopping the vegetables as well!

Finally, Roman and I made his Creepy Corn Dip. He loved cutting up the corn tortillas to make his own tortilla chips AND tasting the end result…it was sooooo good!

We are loving these Raddish cooking kits and can’t wait for November’s kit!!!

Fall Break: Opryland Sound Waves…

We were so grateful and excited to get to spend one night at the Opryland Hotel and two days at Soundwaves (an indoor/outdoor water park) over Fall Break. We all really needed a break…and some fun.

Our favorite things to do were the: surf rider, lazy river, rapids river, lily pads, single/double/family tube slides, body slides, and mat racers. (Pretty much all of it…haha!).

We played all day on Friday and enjoyed a relaxing, quiet, and delicious dinner at the Coney Fork River Valley Grille on Friday night. (There was no loud music playing and they seated us in the very back of the restaurant next to the indoor fish pond, which was so soothing after a long day of waterpark fun.) Afterwards, we saw a spooky, Halloween themed light show in the conservatory called “The Phantom of the Atrium”. (I was so excited about sharing that with Tom and the boys because I remember seeing one of those there when I was a little girl.)

On Saturday, we played until we were all starving, shared a pizza and a chicken quesadilla for lunch poolside, and then played some more until we were all ready to go home and rest and relax from our fun-filled staycation.

(I didn’t take a ton of pictures because we were running around/in the water most of the time.)

Xander: Quarantined…

Xander had to quarantine for two weeks due to being exposed to a child in his class who tested positive for COVID-19.

I really loved having him home with me…he’s such a homebody anyway and just loves being home and cozy and hanging out. He’s super on top of things when it comes to school and really just champed out…he stayed on task and got his work done well and early. We enjoyed his long breaks in the middle of the day and took advantage of them to play countless rounds of Carcassone and cup pong and even make strawberry ghosts.

We’re so grateful that he stayed healthy and will able to return to school on Monday…I’m sure going to miss having my little buddy at home with me, though.

First Day Again…

Xander and Roman had their first day of in-person schooling (for the first time since March 4, 2020) today!!!

Xander, who is a total homebody, was not at all excited about it. Bless his heart. Starting back to school after a break is always tough for him. But factoring in how long they’ve been out of the building this time around makes it that much more of a jump for him. Thus, the eye roll…

Roman was on the opposite end of the spectrum. He has BEEN ready to go back to school since the day they shut down in March. Bless his heart. He was so excited he was literally wanting to jump out of the car in the car rider line and run to school. Here he is smiling behind his mask…

This whole thing is so charactering. Our boys have totally different personalities and totally different learning styles/preferences. Xander would rather be at home, so remote learning is his jam and he has to drag himself to campus. Roman would rather be at school, so there’s much weeping and gnashing of teeth from him with remote learning and he can’t get to campus quickly enough. We are ALL being stretched beyond our comfort zones for longer periods of time than we would ever want to be during this time. The upside is that, hopefully, in the end…we’ll all be a lot more flexible and a lot more grateful in the here and now.

Belt Testing…

Xander started TaeKwonDo towards the end of July. He tested for and earned his second level white belt tonight!!! He is not a fan of being “on stage” or of having his picture taken…so, he did his fair share of shrugging, crossing his arms, and rolling his eyes at me. But, the good thing is that when Mr. and Mrs. Mast asked him to, he got out there and showed what he knew (and even seemed to be enjoying himself along the way). Go, Xander!!!

Jonas tested as well and earned his third level yellow belt! I’m so proud of my boys for being brave and for pushing past the discomfort of being new at something to continually learning and starting to become really great at something. Go, Jonas!!!

Most Active Award…

Roman wins the Most Active Award during remote learning! Whether he’s bouncing up and down on his yoga ball or kicking the TheraBand on his chair while he’s in a Zoom OR riding his bike in the cul-de-sac when he’s on a break, Roman is always moving. His favorite time of the remote learning day is lunch/recess, where he’s outside either playing street hockey or riding his bike with his closest neighborhood friends.

Most Creative Seating Award…

Xander wins the Most Creative Seating Award for remote learning. He changes up his seating the most of the three boys throughout the day, but he’s always engaged/on task, getting his work done, and doing what he’s supposed to be doing (and he loves to snack it up and stay well hydrated while he’s doing it). Congratulations, Xander!!!

Flexible Seating…

The boys enjoy taking advantage of flexible seating during their remote schooling day here at home. We use it ALL up in here. They have yoga balls or chairs with chair bands or a wiggle seat for sitting at their desk, a comfy floor lounger with a blanket, a floor pillow, and a lap desk.

Today, Roman flipped out about not having enough room at his desk, so he sprawled his materials and himself out on TOP of the kitchen table (this picture was taken when he was actually pseudo-sitting back on the bench). Xander has been known to do his work under the piano or even in his teepee. Jonas has even sat in the van in the garage…ha! I try to keep the boys downstairs, so I can monitor them to make sure they’re staying on schedule with their Zooms and classwork and not chatting with friends, reading on Epic, or playing on their Dashboard when they’re not supposed to be. But sometimes they’re in a Zoom break out room and need to discuss something with their teachers and/or classmates, so they run upstairs really quick to do that in the bonus room.

It’s a little crazy over here, and we’re all so very ready for “Freedom Friday” (the boys will log in for a morning meeting and then will take the rest of the school day, finishing their classwork, at their own pace…AND we’re going to make it a pajama day). We’re all going to need some serious rest, fun, and outside play time this weekend.

A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That…

Oh man, I tell you what. This remote learning thing is tough. For me, it’s like having triplets that are on different eating and sleeping schedules…constant mental/emotional/physical triage. Seriously. It might be hard to believe unless you were here with me.

Jonas and Xander have pretty much taken right to remote learning. BUT Roman. BUT Roman. Roman is having a tough time adjusting…he has multiple meltdowns a day to the tune of screaming, yelling, and crying in frustration. I know he’s one little guy, but his presence is HUGE, especially when he’s spinning out of control. And it just throws everything off of its kilter, not to mention how emotionally exhausting it is. Bless him. Help us.

In spite of all of that, we’re still trying. AND we have our very own emotional support dog, so that helps a lot. Here’s what today looked like…

Getting Down to Work…

I promise I won’t post pictures every day of the boys remote learning…this is just all so new and exciting/slightly terrifying…haha!

Xander pretty much hates having his picture taken, so I have to tread lightly and pick and choose my picture taking battles with him (or sneak them when he’s not looking). I did take a few of Jonas and Roman, hard at work, today, though.