Today was the first full day of school (remote learning)!
Here are my three boys hard at work…
Author: Jodi
All About Me…
Xander is working on his “All About Me” project this weekend for school and wanted me to take a picture of him and Petra. Love. Here are two of the sweetest spirits you will ever know…
First Day of School…
The boys had their first (half) day of school today!!! Jonas is starting middle school this year (6th grade), and Xander (5th grade) and Roman (3rd grade) are continuing on in elementary school. Jonas still wants to be an Engineer when he grows up, and Xander still wants to be a Dolphin Trainer. Roman is leaning more towards wanting to be a Professional YouTuber.
Xander and Roman kept getting disconnected from Zoom, so we put in a request with IT for a computer swap for both of them and a hot spot (because we have three on the WiFi at the same time), which we’re hoping for on Monday or soon after. We’re SO grateful for the principals, teachers, staff, and IT department working overtime to get and keep everything up and running in this unprecedented, challenging time. Xander was chatting on Zoom with his friends, which he was schooled on pretty quickly…little stinker…he knows better! Roman, our resident extrovert, had a really hard time waiting to talk and be called on. He made it about an hour and a half (even with breaks) before he started melting down. I just kept trying to remind him that this is new for EVERYBODY (students, teachers, and parents).
At-Home Learning Space…
We chose the in-person/remote learning option for school this semester. So, I really wanted to set up an at-home learning space that was clean, organized, fun, and comfortable for the boys. I’m still working on it, but they’re already enjoying it!!!
Boating…
We’re so grateful to be a part of the Nashville Boat Club. It has brought so much fun into our lives (especially this year with COVID-19). We took a wakeboard boat out on Percy Priest Lake this afternoon. Tom wake surfed, the boys and I tubed, Jonas wakeboarded, and Xander and Roman kneeboarded.
Air Conditioning Out Week…
Our AC was out this week…ugh!!! It’s been on the blink for a while now (it’s 10 years old), but several weeks of 90s just pushed it over the edge, I guess. The boys and I spent one rough night at home without AC (Roman woke up several times, sleepwalking/freaking out, and ended up in our bed…and I felt like I didn’t sleep at all). So, we spent what started out as one night and ended up as three nights in a hotel. The pool, breakfast, and the fitness room were all closed…but it was SO nice to have AC. We had to try to get out during the day, though, so we didn’t go stir crazy in the room. And we went home in the late afternoon/early evening to spend time with Tom and have dinner. Altogether, it was pretty stressful to me…just a lot out of control (along with everything else that’s out of control right now) and a lot of gear packing and hauling amidst the boys fighting in close quarters…so, I was in a pretty special place this week, mentally and emotionally. BUT thankfully we are all settled back in now and are very grateful to be home.
Here are some pictures of play time/screen time in the room (Jonas and I playing Dragonwood…such a cool game, Xander and Roman playing stuffed animals…that got a little crazy, and all of the boys cozed up with their stuffed animals, doing some tablet time).
Percy Priest Lake…
We went out on the boat this afternoon. The boys and I rode on the tube, Tom and the boys played King of the Hill on the Lily Pad (a HUGE styrofoam mat that floats on top of the water), and we all swam in the lake. Roman was not into having his picture taken today, but I got some good ones of Jonas and Xander…
Splash Pad…
Jonas and Xander poo-pooed the idea of checking out the new splash pad in Brentwood this morning. So, when Tom got home from work this afternoon, I took Roman and his good friend, Jay, to check it out. They had an absolute blast and ran around, with big smiles on their faces, the entire time. There are four water slides (one straight, one single loop, and two double loop), a huge bucket that fills up with water and drops on everyone below, and a ton of other fun water features. It’s the perfect thing to do when it’s sunny, no chance of rain, and a high in the 90’s. We are blessed to have such an enjoyable place to explore so near our community.
A Resting Place for the Fish…
Our little backyard fish pond was so full of algae that you could hardly see the fish anymore. So, Tom spent the afternoon, cleaning it out, which is quite the task. After Tom caught all of the fish and put them into the bucket to wait while he cleaned, we were amazed at how many more we had than we started with. Roman and I really wanted to inventory the fish, so he took pictures and I wrote down the descriptions and names of each fish. We noticed very soon after that they looked really stressed out and thought it might have been from them being moved and handled or maybe because the new water was colder than the old water. Then, as they started floating on their sides, Tom realized that he needed to add de-chlorinator to the water (it was a different process when we set up the pond because the water had been sitting there for so long before we added fish). Long story short, we lost about half of the fish…including our three big beautiful koi (Oreo…black and white dappled / Rusty…black with a reddish/burnt orange tail / Cookie Dough…black with a white tail), two goldfish (Fanta…white with an orange tail / Bolt…all orange…he was Xander’s), and the Three Goldies (golden colored baby goldfish). It was so heartbreaking…especially for Xander, as he lost his fish…his favorite fish. He cried all night and the next morning. We decided to bury them in the garden. So, Tom dug a hole in between the yarrow and the Black-Eyed Susan’s and laid them all together in the ground. Xander called them each by name and bent over in half with grief. He has the most precious heart for creatures and always has. I told him that maybe he could make a cross to mark their grave and put their names on it. So, he did. A little while later, I was cutting zinnias for a little vase in my bathroom. Xander said, “Are those for the fish, Mom?” with his big, teary, blue eyes. I said, “Sure, buddy. Do you want a flower for each fish?” He said, “Yeah” and started crying again. He picked out an orange zinnia in honor of Bolt. It was a sad day.
But we are so thankful for the fish who survived…two goldfish (Tropical…white with an orange head…he’s Roman’s / Pervi…not short for “pervert” but short for “pervi” which is Latin for “see through” or something like that, according to Jonas…white…he’s Jonas’), one koi (Ruston…black with a twinge of burnt orange), and three baby koi (The Kellys…black and golden).
We’re looking forward to adding more fish to the pond soon…
Bathtub Fun…
The boys had TaeKwonDo camp this week!
Mr. and Mrs. Mast have been doing such a great job of keeping the dojo clean and sanitized, spacing the kids out and putting them in small groups, and making sure the kids sanitize their hands on the way in and out, etc. Their indomitable spirits have been such a blessing and a safe haven in this trying, unsettling time.
The boys came home exhausted but excited and fought less/were more peaceable than they’ve been in a good long while. I’m so grateful that they got to have that fun, healthy outlet with friends. Monday was Nerf Gun Wars, Tuesday was a Scavenger Hunt, Wednesday was Water Day, and Thursday was Kickball.
By the time Friday rolled around, they needed a veg day at home. So, they did a lot of resting, snacking, hanging out with neighbors, and reading. I set up a little sensory station on the kitchen table for them to visit in between, complete with kinetic sand, play doh, water bowls with pipettes, and orbeez (water beads).
Xander and Roman started playing with the water beads, and it morphed into them dumping the orbeez into the bathtub, putting on their swim trunks, and playing peacefully together for about an hour. It reminded me of when they were little. ❤️
Creek Stomping…
I took the boys creek stomping down the Little Harpeth River today. The river was refreshing and cool, the lighting was beautiful, and the boys caught five little fish and a crawdad. The pictures are pretty, but MAN was it a rough time.
Roman’s meltdowns are tough things to navigate. When I’m in a good spot, I can just talk calmly to him, remove him from the situation so he can calm down, try to change up his sensory input in some way, etc. and even try to teach him to do those things for himself. But I just didn’t have it in me yesterday, and it stacked up on me from the morning to the afternoon. It would take pages to explain. Suffice it to say that I lost my temper, ended up cutting our little creek stomping adventure short, and dropped him off at his Daddy’s work with his lunch and instructions for zero screen time. And then Jonas, Xander, and I proceeded to enjoy the picnic I packed for us by ourselves in the shade of a big tree at a nearby park. It took me a while to want to even talk at all…a shower, a nap, and some space helped.
By the time Roman came home with Daddy, he and I both were able to ask for and give forgiveness. And I guess that’s the most important thing. Being a kid is hard. Being an adult is hard. But it’s good to know that we can love each other through it.
Petra…
Petra in black and white…
Photo credit: Roman Seyfried
July 4th Neighborhood Parade…
Every 4th of July, Tom leads our neighborhood in a small parade, with the fire truck blaring patriotic music and the HOA passing out popsicles for the kids at the end. It’s a short but sweet tradition, and Petra always sports her red, white, and blue.
Jackson Falls…
The boys and I drove out to Jackson Falls this morning, which is just off of the Natchez Trace.
The beginning of the trip was GREAT…the boys were reading on their tablets and I was jamming out to some new Ruston Kelly tunes and enjoying the open road. Then, we hit probably a 10 mile stretch of curvy country roads. About 5 miles in, Jonas started asking to roll the window down and looking pale, and Roman out of nowhere said, “Mom, I don’t feel so good” and then vomited in the back seat. Luckily, there was a place for us to pull over. So, I let them kind of get their bearings while I cleaned up. I made the executive decision to move Roman to Jonas’ seat and Jonas to the passenger seat, put on a movie that Roman could focus on, gave both of them a salty snack to eat, put the air on full blast, rolled down all the windows, and forged ahead through the last 5 mile section of wind-y-ness. It was definitely one of those trapped feelings, probably for all of us. I am the QUEEN of motion sickness, so I totally understand the hell. The only reason I wasn’t feeling that sick was because I was driving.
After making a wrong turn and heading down the Natchez Trace the wrong way, we finally made it. The walk down to the waterfall was not that challenging…it was paved with some stairs and a railing. I’m not sure if it’s always like this, but the waterfall was just barely trickling into a pool that was a few inches deep. So, we ended up climbing up a bit to the “natural waterslide”, and the boys spent the rest of the time there. At that point, I was wishing Tom was with me because they all flipped into daredevil mode, and I’m more anxious/nervous about all of that than Tom is. He would’ve been right in there with them. I was just standing there saying, “Don’t run!”, “Wait your turn!”, “Don’t stand up and try to walk down!”, “Sit down!”, etc. Xander was giving me the big (what I’m assuming is the beginnings of) preteen, “Moooooooom!” which he had to be pulled to the side a few times for…the attitude. He was pretty much just sprinting up the slick rocks and sliding back down, which scared me half to death. And Roman had to sit out a few times as well for being a sassy pants to other kids and to me. Meanwhile, Xander and Roman were alternately begging to go home, saying, “This is boring!”. I mean, seriously. Really?!? I was SO done. Jonas wanted to stay longer to make the good times outweigh the bad (i.e. more time having fun on the natural waterslide than riding in the backseat of a minivan on curvy country roads). But, alas, we had to go with the majority, as I could sense major meltdowns coming on. Help us all.
The natural waterslide was really so cool, though…I’m thankful they got to experience that.
Backyard Pool…
This little pool has been the best addition to our backyard this summer. The boys have really enjoyed playing in it…especially one on one with a good friend. Here’s Roman and his buddy, Jay. He’s a great boy who lives two doors down and who Roman has known since preschool. They have so much fun together!
Happy Birthday, Xander!!!…
Xander turned 10 today!!! It is so unbelievable to me how quickly they’re all growing up. It was tough this time around for him to figure out how he wanted to celebrate his birthday, but he finally decided on probably our favorite format for birthday parties. He invited his best friend (and next door neighbor), Jeremy, to climb on the outdoor ropes course at Soar with him and Tom, to eat dinner at Cracker Barrel (one of his favorite restaurants), and to have a sleepover (which he’s been asking/wanting to do since school let out for COVID back in March). The bummer was that it started thundering after about 10 minutes of climbing on the ropes course, so they had to forego that plan. (You can see how Xander felt about that in this picture…)
So, they switched gears and ended up playing miniature golf there (and getting vouchers to do the ropes course another day) and doing some geocaching.
Then, Jonas and Roman and I met them at Cracker Barrel for dinner.
The boys ask all the time if we can adopt Jeremy…they just love him. We came home for birthday cake and presents, and the boys cozed up to watch a movie before bed. The next morning we had pancakes, and the boys just hung out and played until lunch time. All in all, it was good (if crazy) times and a happy birthday for Xander.
Petra…
We love our Petra girl…
Photo credit: Tom Seyfried
Wakeboard Boat…
We took the wakeboard boat out today on Percy Priest Lake. Jonas and Xander enjoyed long rides on the Big Mabel. They had a blast and always wanted to go faster (which Tom put a nix on) and do donuts. Jonas wakeboarded…it’s so amazing and exciting to watch him!!! He got up the first time, after not having wakeboarded since last summer. (Xander and I both tried but were unable to stay up for very long…next time hopefully.) Tom wake surfed like a boss (while I drove the boat…whee!). (Roman wanted to stay at his friend’s house…Jay just got a new puppy…instead of going out on the lake today…so he had a fun afternoon too.)
Roman: First Communion…
Roman had his First Communion tonight in a beautiful, socially distant ceremony at church.
Jonas: Yellow Belt…
Jonas tested for and earned his yellow belt tonight in TaeKwonDo!!! The in-studio audience was limited to only the students who were testing and the instructors, Mr. and Mrs. Mast. But we still got to watch him on Zoom, and Mrs. Mast took pictures for me. Hopefully, we can be there in person to watch him next time. Congratulations, Jonas!!!
