Sweets, Suits, & Sleet

Henry picked up a bug his first week back at school.  So, when week two began, he gave himself a three day weekend to help him recover.  His nose was a shade of red that nobody would want to sit next to anyway.  He was gifted a jar of Vaseline and a steam humidifier.  Henry rested a lot on the couch and played video games as well.  When he was playing his racing game, I walked by it, at my own pace, which, with bum knees, is a little slower than others.  He did not appreciate that and when I reminded him that pedestrians have the right of way, he did not appreciate that either.  It's just a game! wasn't taken as it should have.  

The kids report cards came in and they all had done quite well.  Another trip to Krispy Kreme was had and they all got the maximum of 6 donuts each.  Two out of three savored their donuts and spread the sweetness over several days.  Henry proceeded to eat four of his own that first day.  He continues to have a bottomless stomach.  Josiah was quick to share a donut, which was appreciated.  

The boys have Winter Ball coming up next weekend.  We scoured the closets for past suits.  None of them fit Josiah anymore, so we spent one afternoon shopping for a black suit.  He picked out a green tie to go with it as homage to Mr Green.  Henry, fortunately, found a suit that fit him in the Hand-Me-Down Shop.  We did pick up a bowtie for him because he is escorting one of the senior's for the dance.  

Currently we are in the midst of an ice storm.  We woke up Sunday morning to a light snow cover.  That was unexpected, but very pretty.  Then the sleet started and gave everything a layer of ice.  The boys went outside to explore.  They were outside a lot all day long.  Josiah learned, when using plastic bags as a waterproof layer, they go in-between the socks instead of outside the shoe.  Plastic bags on the outside of crocs didn't keep their seal for long. 

The menfolk threw the football many times over the course of the day.  

Caroline has picked up Henry's cold, so she hasn't been feeling the best, but she still made it out.  Her favorite thing was taking off the ice from leaves and grass in one piece.  

Benson ran in the backyard and tried to eat the snow.  It was more snow cone texture than shaved ice, but he made it work. 

Despite the freezing rain all evening long, we still have power and nothing looks like it's going to fall over anytime soon.  School is cancelled for Monday, so the kids are happy to have another day to sleep in and putz around.

Caroline is not always keen on taking pictures, but a photo with Benson is usually always accepted.

Josiah is 17!

The start of the spring semester was met with not a lot of joy or excitement.  Caroline's sleep scores on her FitBit dropped.  She came home that first day of school ready for a nap.  It's rough getting back into it.  We like to look forward to the next scheduled holiday.  Only nine more school days until MLK day.  My class celebrated a birthday that first day back, so we had a soft start.  Once those cupcakes are served, we eat and try to get out to the playground before the sugar rush hits.

Josiah had a birthday today.  The big 17.  Before celebrating today, he celebrated with a few classmates downtown on Saturday.  They did an escape room together.  We were sitting in the lobby towards the end of their hour and we kept hearing this banging sound - sort of like someone was trying a code and it wasn't working.  A lot.  We were a little concerned they were not going to escape, but when they walked out, they said they made it.  Later, in the car, I asked Josiah if they requested any clues.  Yes.  How many did you need?  I didn't count.  That would be a lot.  But they got out and it was the hardest room there.  Afterwards, they got ice cream and walked around a record store.  He originally ordered birthday cake ice cream and the lady had to tell him they were out.  What?!!  He was a little disappointed.  But the peppermint ice cream was good. He said he had a very good time, which is what you always hope to hear. 

Josiah was up bright and early this morning.  He was ready to find all his gifts sans siblings.  I did wake the other two up.  One stayed in bed.  The other came down, but was not an active participant in the festivities.  We had hidden Josiah's gifts and gave him clues, which he solved quickly for the most part.  His toughest clue was Numbers 21:33: "Then they turned and went up by the way to Bashan.  And Og the king of Bashan came out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei."  But we capitalized both letters of Og.  It was the OG spot - under our square table.  

While Josiah and I were waiting for his pizza dinner at Papa John's, I decided to look up what was the percent increase in his weight.  Starting at 2 lbs 15.9 oz to (around) his current weight, he has had a 4576.41% increase.  That's insane!  Then he had stuffed crust pizza and cake, so there goes the percent.  All the food for his birthday meals involved cheese in some form.  He wanted Froot Loops as his cereal, but he didn't eat them.  He ate a cheesy omelet.  He eats omelets every morning, but he added bacon to his birthday one.  For lunch, he requested Grandma's homemade mac and cheese.  For the first time, I successfully doubled her recipe.  I felt like I avenged myself from the bland mac and cheese I cooked for Thanksgiving.  

For the better part of four hours today, the menfolk worked on setting up the new basketball hoop.  It was the group Christmas gift for the kids, but it didn't come until after Christmas (because it wasn't ordered until after January...).  Towards the start of the process, Henry tested the hoop on all of us.  He slid it up and down like you would a hula hoop.  I held my breath when he came to me, but fortunately, I made it.  Throughout the process they touched on all the emotions.  Anger.  Frustration.  Boredom.  Frustration.  Happiness.  Anger.  Hope.  Frustration.  Annoyance.  And double back again.  But when the goal was lifted up and put in place, all was forgotten.  mostly.  I tried to get some pictures, especially because the backboard will never be that clean and clear again.  We were all a little shocked by how tall 10 feet was.  Technically our driveway is inclined, so that probably makes it slightly taller.  

Josiah received many nice gifts for his birthday, but the best gift of all was the news that he was cast as Mr. Green in the Clue play at school.  He is so incredibly excited to get the script and get everything started.  The drama teacher had a tough time picking the actors because there is no ensemble cast with this play.  It is a far more technical play with the lights and sounds, so they need a ton of help in those areas. 

It is hard to believe we are already in the 3rd quarter of school.  The fall semester always seems to fly by.   

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

For our first day of vacation, Todd and I had eye appointments.  After the exams, we went to look for new glasses.  That was when I learned that the price of the frames did not include the lens inside.  I had no idea.  I don't know how I missed that with the last pair, but I did.  So, that was Merry Christmas to us!  The remainder of that day was spent freaking out the kids with our giant pupils.  

On Christmas Eve, we finally got to decorating the tree.  I got to unwrap and enjoy all the ornaments, while the kids had the harder job of hanging them on the tree.  Benson was right there in the mix, sniffing each and every ornament.  There was one ornament - a salt dough one the boys made back in 2013 - right at Benson's nose level.  I caught him sniffing it several times and even sneaking licks.  I have been shocked at how well those ornaments have held up.  

Caroline was our star-hanger-upper.  They're on their own with that, too, no more climbing on Todd's shoulders.  

Todd, Josiah, and I went to the church at our school for their Christmas Eve Service.  It was very nice - mostly singing Christmas carols interspersed with reading of the Christmas story from Scripture.  We saw what looked to be half the school there, too.  There was a pretty sunset when we left.

We had a forum regarding the time one could expect Christmas to begin.  6:45 a.m. was the agreed upon time they could come downstairs and look at their stockings.  Really, the time constraint is for Josiah because, while the rest of us are excited, it is never at his level.  He was quite proud of himself for sleeping in until 4:30 a.m.  He says his usual Christmas wake-up time is 3:00 a.m.  Todd was already up making our traditional sausage balls.  

Josiah was happy to unwrap his Willy Wonka Lego set.  When he originally asked for it, I asked him if he had space in his room to display it.  He assured me he did.  Today, I asked if he had found a spot for the completed Lego kit.  I'm working on it, was the response.  

Henry has turned into mid-Century Modern Man.  He has been all about decorating his room and future apartment.  His absolute favorite thing is lamps.  He talks about them frequently.  For Christmas, he got a floor lamp and a smaller globe-shaped lamp.  Lightbulbs are also a topic of conversation for him and he went with Todd to get colorful light bulbs the day after Christmas.  He loves controlling them from his phone.  He also got a thin bookcase.  It was one of those "objects appear bigger in Amazon pictures."  He likes it, but the height of the shelves was slightly unexpected.  Shorties.  

Caroline gave only one idea for Christmas, so she had the most to be surprised about.  She got a Fit Bit and she often quizzes us on what her heartbeat is at that moment.  She tends to run high.  At the end of the day, we compare all our stats.  Her sleep scores are something to be admired.  She can rack up the hours.  She has loved her new sweater from Grandad and Nana and has worn it frequently.  

To ring in the new year, Caroline wanted to try out a different hair style.  She had picked out the butterfly cut months ago, but she pulled the trigger the last day of 2025.  There was a slight delay in finding a salon, but that was on me.  The before and after.  

For Christmas, Benson switched to a new food.  He was a Costco food man in Texas, but the distance from our current house has made us look elsewhere.  Now he's a Sam's food man.  We switched from chicken to beef as well because the picture of the steak on the bag looked really good.  Benson has been a big fan, which is nice.  He had an abundance of gas at the start, which was not pleasant for any of us, especially as we trimmed the tree, but he's worked through that.  

We were supposed to head up to Virginia the day after Christmas, but I woke up that morning with a crazy sore throat and feeling rough in the head.  It did not seem wise to hop in the car especially if it turned into more.  I spent that day sleeping and watching movies.  It has mostly worked it's way out of my system this week, with a lingering annoying dry cough.  

I always like getting things organized and clean before the start of the new year.  Benson was included in that list.  We took advantage of the mild weather and gave him his semi-annual bath.  That led to cleaning all his bedding as well.  By the end of the day, he was clean, but exhausted, and he fell asleep as soon as his bed was put back together.  

On New Year's Eve, we enjoyed some black-eyed peas and shared our resolutions.  4 out of 5 of us would like to eat healthier.  I loved that one because then, when I make dinner, they can't complain about not liking it, because 'we need to eat healthier'. 

Benson has taken advantage of our vacation and has asked to go out nearly every hour.  To try to tire him out one day, we had running races.  Henry and Caroline held him at the starting line.  Once I said, 3, 2, 1, Go! Benson showed them who was boss.  

Before Christmas, we enjoyed the mild weather and played badminton in the backyard.  After Christmas, we tried out their new frisbees.  We have played a lot of Clue this break as well.  (Josiah is still awaiting the cast list.)  We've played a lot of Mafia as well.  That's a game the kids used to play at CC.  

We have finished out our time at home with sweets and treats.  Caroline made us a pumpkin roll. 

The kids and I went to see Zootopia 2 because the first Zootopia is probably my favorite animated movie.  Flash, Flash, 100 yard dash.  

Josiah helped us repair our driveway.  We estimated 4 buckets of asphalt.  We thought it was an overestimate, which was good because it was supposed to be a little higher than the driveway.  Our pothole was a bit larger than we realized.  Now instead of our cars going BAHDUMP! they go bahdump.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to keep the dining room table clean.  It is literally never clean, so it requires the help of all of us.  I'm already getting a little pushback, it's not their resolution, but I'll be a persistent one.  

I have to go back to work tomorrow for a professional development day.  I told the kids I hope I'm not noisy in the morning and disrupt their last day of vacation.