A birthday with a chance of a snow day

Yesterday Scott celebrated his 34th birthday!  Let's pause for a second to let that soak in.

How is it possible that we met when he was 17?  He has known me half his life.  That's a crazy thought.

He was stuck in traffic with the snow storm for over an hour, but we made it up to him with pizza and beer from Belly Busters,

A homemade butterfinger ice cream pie (recipe courtesy of Pinterest), a game of Candy Land, and a night off from bedtime duty...I think he had a pretty darn good birthday!

I think the real icing on the cake...err I mean pie though, was getting phones starting around 8pm from our school districts cancelling school for today.  We knew it was coming even on Monday when the media started hyping up this snow storm.  That's seriously all it takes.  The forecast prediction, the winter weather watch/advisory, and the media talking it up for days.  Heck, it doesn't even need to accumulate to much before they make the call in a situation like that.  But, we're not complaining!

I taught Sean the "ice cubes in the toilet" trick Thursday night.  6 cubes in the toilet flushed down before bed and it was exciting to tell him the news this morning that he didn't have to go to school!  Unfortunately, today was his 100th day of school celebration so he was worried about his shirt he made, but I'm sure it will be going on tomorrow instead.

This morning was nice.  Lazy morning in bed while the kids watched cartoons with us in bed.  Blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast.  We rebuild the train in the living room with Jurassic World set up next to it.  Interesting concept...

Scott went out to snow blow the driveway and the kids starting bugging about going out to play in the snow.  So, we got all bundled up and headed out.

It was awesome outside! Fresh snow, but not super cold.  The kids were excited to make snow angels and help shovel.

See that "Road Ends" sign?  If you cross over that barrier and go through a little journey through the woods, you find this amazing sledding hill that goes out towards Hines Drive.  We made a last minute decision to take the boys today and it was so beautiful!  The hill was awesome!  And I definitely got my steps in today.

Lunch at Ikea while bar stool shopping filled our afternoon.  It was a disappointing trip to Ikea.  No bar stools that met our fancy.  We ventured over to Target and found a style we liked, so we ordered it online in the right color.  Productive!

It feels strange to be back to work tomorrow for one day, but I'll take it.  This weekend we have a lot on our plate, but it should be all fun!  Dinner out tomorrow night and swim class for Sean with my parents for Scott's birthday, the Lego Brick Bash in Ann Arbor Saturday morning, Monster Jam Saturday night for the boys, and bowling/pizza on Sunday afternoon for Scott's birthday with his family.  Not sure when we'll fit in grocery shopping, laundry, or tutoring, but hey...sometimes busy weekends are well worth not being productive!

Happy birthday, Scott!  We love you!

A weekend full of love

Valentine's Day seemed to sneak up on us this year.  I had ideas pinned on Pinterest, but hadn't gotten around to getting any of them started until last minute.  The week of the boys' parties in their classes we were scrambling to get their cards signed and assembled, treats bought for their parties, and something red found in their drawers to wear.  It didn't help that Evan had picture day that week, Scott had basketball playoffs and practices every day last week, and we started a kitchen/living room project cutting out part of a wall.  I guess we like to keep our lives busy!

I've had this idea for a while to cut out a part of the wall that impeded our ability to see into the living room from the kitchen.  Not only would it let in more natural light from the living room bay windows, but it would also provide some fun seating in the living room while we entertain.  Or heck, while the boys are eating breakfast.  I finally called around, got some quotes, and in a few days we pulled the trigger on the project.  Not sure what was behind the wall, there was a nerve-wracking day or two.  But, we made it around all the obstacles and I'm pretty excited with how it's turned out!

We have to paint the wood on the inside of the cut-out, paint touch ups on the kitchen wall, get the counter top installed from Home Depot, and buy some bar stools and we're in business!  I love it already!  It's exceeded my expectations and it's only been a week!  Although, I'll be happy to have a dust and dirt-free home when this project is done.

With the kitchen demo going on, the boys finished their Valentine's just in the nick of time.  Sean went with Lego Star Wars that had Darth Vader and a glow stick as the light saber.  He surprised me and wrote out all 21 of his classmates' names and his own name in one night.  Young 5's is working wonders for him!  All he needed was the list in front of him and he did it all on his own.

He came home all smiles with his bag he made at school full of tattoos, suckers, glow sticks, and erasers.

Evan was grateful to take anything Sean was willing to pass on.  My little sugar-junkie.

Evan's party was the following day.  He chose a Baymax card that says, "Have a lollipop" like in the movie.  Of course, him picking a card with suckers was a must.  It took him 3 nights, but he wrote his name on all 24 cards!

I was blessed to have Friday off as a part of my mid-winter break, so I was able to take him to his party and volunteer in his room.  It was so cute watching him pass out his cards to his friends and enjoy his pizza party!  We made a day out of running errands after his party in preparation for up north and he was a trooper at Home Depot while I ordered the counter top.  I rewarded him with a trip to the library!

For my own Valentine, I worked on making homemade beer coasters and bought him an assorted six-pack of beer to take up north.  My gift?  A trip to Frankenmuth on the way home from the cottage on Monday afternoon for dinner at Frankenmuth Brewery and a stroller through the River Place stores.  Heaven!

Speaking of up north, we headed up for our annual mid-winter break weekend ski trip.  We started the tradition last year when Sean was old enough to hit the slopes with me and it was even more special this year now that we could all go out.  It helped having Scott's parents there to hang out with Evan in the chalet after his lesson.  An hour for a 3 year old is impressive.  Two hours for a five year old is remarkable.

We hit the road Saturday afternoon after Scott's 5/6th grade girls won their basketball championship!  The lake was gorgeous upon arrival.  Partly sunny skies and plenty of snow.

We ate pizza, salad, fruit, and veggies for dinner and then drove over to the indoor pool for some swimming.  I can't get over how much the boys are both progressing in their swim classes at Aqua Tots.  Sean preferred to keep his swim arms off the majority of the time and showed Nana and Pops his front and back strokes.  We're so proud of him!

We got back to the cottage in time for baths, cheese balls, and a bedtime show by the fire.  It was such a quiet, relaxing evening.  After the boys were in bed, the adults sat around with drinks and played euchre.  Pops and I are the champions again!

The next morning we were up early and on the go to Snow Snake.  We woke up to a beautiful sunrise with a pink sky for Valentine's Day!

The boys had an hour private lesson at 10am.  Minus a small scare with a deer running in front of Pops' Suburban on the ride there, it was a really smooth day.  The boys did great skiing and we stayed warm!  Evan made it about 40 minutes and wanted to go in.  We realized later that evening he had the start of an ear infection and the helmet he was wearing was hurting his ear.  Poor guy!  He did awesome going down the hill despite the pain.

Sean did the best we've seen all season.  By the end of the afternoon, he was going down the hill with me and Scott next to him.  No backpack needed!  He figured out how to turn to make himself stop, which was truly impressive to me.

Scott and I were able to escape a bit to go up the chairlift and go on some of the more difficult hills.  Considering it was Scott's second time skiing in years, he did great!  Black diamonds?  No problem.

After lunch inside, we all headed over to the tubing section of the park.  The lines were a little long, but the kids had a blast.  I spent the last half hour by the fire outside giving my back a rest.  I guess I'm getting old.

A snooze in the car on the way home, a pasta and meatball dinner, cheese balls and a movie capped off another great evening!

Monday, we woke up to snow falling and knew that we had to try out the sledding hill by their cottage.  We had the entire place to ourselves and it was perfect!  A huge hill set back in the quiet woods and we were all enjoying the peace and quiet...until we went down the hill!  Keeping the language PG while we went down this hill was no easy task, but everyone had a blast!

The only downside to a hill that large?  Walking up it.  I've never seen Sean so motivated!  He beat us up that hill many times to be the first one to get to go down again.  I'd say it was a successful sledding trip!

The best part of going sledding?  The hot chocolate when you get back to the cottage!

And just like it was time to go back home.  I had to work today and the rest of this week.  The boys and Scott are lucky to be home all week.  I'm jealous of all the extra time they'll have together and the lazy days around the house.  But, I can't complain.  We had an awesome long weekend and enjoyed our winter outdoor activities.

Hope everyone had a weekend full of love like we did!

Superbowl Sunday

I might be crazy, but after three and a half years of using a cleaning company to clean out house, I severed the ties and took back on the job myself.  Because ya know, teaching full-time, being a mom to two boys, tutoring, and selling Rodan + Fields weren't enough on my plate.  But seriously, I'm actually finding it therapeutic in some strange way to clean and I can't blame anyone but myself if the house is dirty.  Andplusalso, it puts about $180 back in our pockets every month.  Hello, Disney 2017.

In other news, basketball season is coming to a close.  Thank you, God.  One more playoff game tomorrow evening and then the final playoff round on Saturday morning and we, yes it involves all of us even though I don't actually coach, are done!  Can't wait for that coaching money to be coming our way and it will be nice to have Scott around for dinner during the week.

The boys are prepping for their Valentine's Day festivities in their classes.  Evan gets an actual party with pizza, cupcakes, and a million other unhealthy things on Friday.  Sean will just get to exchange cards and do some Valentine's activities at school on Thursday.  While the Valentines aren't quite finished yet, we spent some time last night getting the boys to write their names/personalize the cards.

Pictures to follow with their finished products.  Thanks to Pinterest they were both able to find something they loved at a minimal cost.

For my Valentine, we don't exchange much.  Scott isn't a huge fan of commercialized holidays to declare his feelings.  And yet, he's not a fan of declaring his feelings in non-commercialized ways too.  :)  At any rate, I'm finally getting around to making some beer coasters for him.  I've had this project set aside for a while, but never got around to making it.  Since he just brewed a batch of beer with my dad I figured it would be a good time to surprise him with some homemade coasters.

I still need to spray the lacquer on them.  To be honest, I didn't really think that part through.  The can recommends spraying outside since they stink, but they need to dry in a temperature above 50.  Hmmm...any ideas?  Let them dry in the basement after spraying in the garage?

For Valentine's Day weekend, we'll be heading up north for our annual up north ski trip.  We made an extra trip up north this winter with Scott's sister and her family earlier in January over MLK weekend, but we're heading up again.  Of course, our luck would have it that the coldest day this winter is predicted for Saturday.  At least we'll only be on the road driving up then and swimming indoors at the club house.  Skiing and tubing will wait until Sunday and Monday when the temps look much better.  It sure beats last year when we had windchill advisories.  If we could ski then, we can ski this weekend.

This past weekend for the Superbowl we had some friends over and their families for the first time in a long time!  The house was sparking clean by yours truly, groceries were bought (and of course I overbought), and we put on a whole Mexican themed spread of yummies.  A taco bar, sausage cheese dip, guacamole, chips and salsa, seven layer dip, and crock pot mac and cheese for the kids.  Cupcakes and no-bake cookies for dessert.  Delicious!

Our friends came over around 3pm and the kids took off running through the house like banshees.  It was so fun watching them interact.  The older they get, the more they really play together.

At one point we were desperate for them to sit still and watch a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episode to give the mamas a chance to talk and sit down.  The energy level is the one thing that hasn't changed much with them getting older!

But, really I just can't get over how much they've all grown up and how different our lives are.  Someone says they're not interested in having more babies, but look at that smile!

I joked with everyone that Superbowl parties used to be about watching the game and drinking beer together.  Now, it's an afternoon gathering (after nap, of course) that's over before the game even starts.  Considering we're all spread out between Rochester Hills, Clawson, and Plymouth, I appreciate the fact that we haven't drifted apart at all because of the distance between us.  We'd be missing out on watching our kids become friends.

As time continues to fly by, I somehow find myself sitting here thinking, how is it only Tuesday?!  This week needs to hurry up!  No work on Friday or Monday has me longing for our extra long weekend.  I'll actually get to take Sean to school on Friday and go to Evan's lunch party at his school.  For one day, I'll get to feel like a stay-at-home mom.  This girl is excited! :)