January 2019 - Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I slept in until about 9 and then came downstairs to sip my coffee by the fire and read my book. I got the "Becoming Michelle Obama" book for Christmas and have been loving it so far. Adam joined me soon after and then the girls finally woke up at 11:30. We had lunch and then the girls had Kaylee and Mackenzie over to hang out in their dance studio. Adam and I snuck out to Target for groceries and took our time walking around a bit, too. I spent an entire $25 gift card on the dollar spot. The evening was relaxing. We had dinner, Adam and Lilli watched their show A Series of Unfortunate Events, Alexa and I played Yatzee and Sequence in the den, I worked on my Christmas puzzle and we snacked on popcorn. I am so sad to see the winter break come to an end. Our family time is so precious to me and I load up on it as much as possible during break. We tried to get the girls to bed at a decent time, but I think it was after 10 before they fell asleep. Lilli came into our room crying not long after we kissed her goodnight. She said it's hard going to sleep because she's alone with her thoughts and often times her mind starts thinking of Chip. I brushed her hair and rubbed her face and told her to think of Christmas and all the days of winter break which were happy memories. She ended up in Alexa's bed. Thank you Lord for giving them the gift of each other. Adam and I watched the movie Night School and I fell asleep in the middle, per usual. I woke once to the bed shaking from Adam's laughter. He said there were a few funny parts.

It wasn't easy waking the girls up so early for school today. It actually felt kinda mean of me..but, it had to be done. Just rip the bandaid off, right? They actually handled it quite well - only few grumbles right away, but no complaining. They just know what they need to do. Whether they admit it or not, they were excited and ready to go back - to see their friends, to have some structure back in their lives and to get back to the dance studio. Alexa and Mackenzie had duet practice after school. They are looking so good and in sync this year. I love their dance. It's so fitting for them, very sassy! After the girls were done, Adam and I took them to The Bourbon Butcher for a special dinner. I got my Christmas bonus and it deserved a celebration dinner. The girls got a few tokens with their kids meals to play in the arcade and they enjoyed looking at all the old vintage pop bottles on the wall. My stomach still hurt and I was developing a headache, but tried to stay in the moment and enjoy our special night. It totally felt like Monday all day today! Lilli did homework when we got home, Alexa showered and I took a bath. Lilli and Adam watched another episode of A Series of Unfortunate Events. I am content with the coziness of our home even after the Christmas decorations have been taken down.

Adam had an early meeting so I took Lilli to the Sharp's to ride the bus to school with Ellie. The temps are warming up to around 40's this week. The January thaw has hit. I did a work out after work in the new dance space in our basement and it felt awesome to get moving again. Adam made me eggs and toast for dinner and he watched a show while I worked on my puzzle. Quiet evenings are my favorite. The girls came home from dance and did their nightly routines of showering and homework.

Lilli's elementary school is celebrating 30 years this year, so they had a fun assembly, took a big group picture and everyone got new t-shirts designed by one of the 5th graders. We took our friend Mike out for a happy hour for his birthday. We went to the Fireside which is attached to The Pond, which is where Jack plays hockey. So Jack was able to go to practice and we were able to celebrate Mike with a drink and some apps. The girls all came to our house and had pizza and danced in their new studio space. We went to the Budde's for awhile afterwards and the girls rented the movie Crazy Rich Asians.

Alexa had to assist and had hip hop practice Saturday morning. When she got home we left for Albert Lea to celebrate Christmas with Adam's family. Linda had apps for us when we got there and the girls played with Sophia. They made gingerbread houses and other crafts Linda had set up. We made crab rangoons and had a delicious dinner of ribs, sausage, fajitas, rice and beans. We exchanged gifts and had to head back home. We moved the girls' mattress into our room again - it's kind of become tradition at least once on the weekend - and watched the beginning of Crazy Rich Asians.

We had a nice relaxing Sunday morning. The girls did their homework - both seemed to have quite a bit this weekend - and Adam and I ran some errands. We finished Crazy Rich Asians when we got home and then I tackled laundry that I've been neglecting for far too long and Adam made dinner. The girls hung out in Alexa's room and Adam and I tried to watch the Golden Globes, but it got boring after about 10 mins, so I started my new puzzle and Adam convinced the girls to come down and watch a show with him. I just LOVE quiet evenings at home - popcorn included! My desperate need to not want to do anything but be home with my little family just proves how often this doesn't happen. I'm soaking in these quiet moments with them as much as I can because I know that soon our lives will get busy again.

The girls both had busy dance nights, so I did my work out - started a new one, Liift4, enjoyed a quiet dinner with Adam and then snuggled on the living room floor by the fireplace to watch the premier of The Bachelor. The girls eventually trickled in, Alexa first, and then Lilli. Alexa ended up assisting for Taylor tonight at dance. Lilli's been using her sound machine on her diffuser to mask the sounds of the wind at night. Colder weather must be blowing in.

I got the girls to dance and dinner made without a hitch, but gradually started feeling my throat get sorer and sorer. I had a nice long conversation with Adam regarding race/ethnicity and then did my work out, but I was feeling pretty crappy afterwards. I snuck in a bath before the girls got home and did a little of my puzzle. I didn't sleep well at all. Very bad sore throat, headache and congestion in the back of my nose and throat. Adam is still coughing, too. Ugh!! Tis the season!

I couldn't get out of bed in the morning and knew I needed to sleep some more to fight off my sore throat. I got Alexa off to school and then back to bed. I rested and went into work around noon. No duet for Alexa today, Kris wants to try to get them together on Sunday instead. The girls and I had faith formation. Lilli got her own bible as a gift from the church. We made bookmarks in class. Adam had cheeseburgers ready for us when we got home.

I noticed Lilli was babying her throat last night and woke up feeling flushed with a headache and stuffy nose. We let her stay home from school to make sure she was good to go to school for her career day field trip. Unfortunately, Adam and I both had to work so we let her stay home alone with her phone and checked on her often. She did really well and got some good rest. Adam had his work Christmas party so he got home late and Alexa had a fun night at dance. Lilli and I relaxed. I worked out and she took a bubble bath.

Lilli woke up stuffy but felt better and wanted to go to school. She has been SO excited for career day and it's finally here. Adam represented the Minneapolis Park Board and had lots of park board goodies to give out to all the kids (t-shirts, pop sockets, sunglasses, balls) They'll have so much fun. Adam is always a hit with kids. Alexa's class really enjoyed having him there when she was in 5th grade. They had an awesome time. Lilli was so happy and proud and said all the kids just loved her dad and said how cool he was, which had her feeling over the moon. Lilli had a sleepover at our house with some of her friends from dance, Ellie, Natalie and Sophia. Sophia had to leave for a church event, but came for a bit to hang out and have dinner. We ordered pizza. They danced and played games and made music videos. They giggled a ton. Alexa had a lock in at a church in Chaska for her youth group. We dropped her off at St. Michael's at 7 and they left at 7:30. She was able to go to mass, swim, ice-skate, play games, eat snacks and have a blast with her friends on her very first all-nighter. Jolene brought her home at 6:30am. She slept for 2 hours and I had to get her up for dance.

I had to wake Alexa up for dance. She was so sleepy but wanted to assist and go to hip hop. She came home at 11, had a quick bite to eat and then she went back to bed. We let her sleep until 3:30 when we woke her up for church. Lilli's friends stayed and had pancakes in the morning and then were picked up by 10:30. We just lounged around and rested up...still battling colds/coughs. After church we grabbed McDonald's for dinner and then home to watch a few shows together. We are starting the spin off of the Goldbergs called Schooled and AGT Champions.

The girls had leadership at Synergy on Sunday morning. While they were there we met up with the Sharp's to discuss our event. We got further along in our planning, which feels good. When we got home Adam and Alexa ran to get groceries and Lilli and I took Javiera for a walk. I walked her and Lilli rode her Flicker. It was a beautiful day. The girls showered in the afternoon, Alexa danced awhile in the studio and then we all made dinner and watched a few shows before we called it an early night. I was in bed at 8:15. :)

Today Javie is 5 years old! Happy birthday, tiny princess!! We gave her her gift yesterday since we were all together - more toys. She's obsessed with her toys and very possessive. She gets very upset if we try to take them from her. Lilli had her ortho check up at 8am. Adam took her and said everything looks great. She'll get her bottom brackets put on at her next visit on March 4th. Both girls' evenings were full of dance. Javie got to ride along during carpool, cuz it's her birthday. She followed us around most of the night as she needed to remind us it was her special day and she needed all the attention on her. I did my work out, Adam worked late and then went to Mike's to pick up his ice-skate sharpener, and I watched a little of the Bachelor and read my book. Javie slept with Alexa in her bed the entire night. This is worth noting because this is the girls' dream and ultimate goal. She usually starts in bed with them but always crawls into bed with Adam and I eventually (usually after about 5 mins), but she stayed with Alexa the entire night. She was snuggled up by her feet when I went to wake her up for school.

Alexa nailed a presentation she had worked hard on for geography, receiving a 43/40. Her subject was the Dominican Republic. She got to share information that she learned as well as pictures and things she got to experience first hand when we traveled there. Lilli also took the NWEA test for reading today and scored a 203. Anything above a 200 is perfect for her grade level. So proud of both girls had how hard they are working in school. Lilli is also up to 18 books in her 30 book challenge for the year. Adam has been working long hours this week so far. They have the NCAA Basketball March Madness press conference being held at one of his parks, so he's been working tirelessly on getting that all set up and ready for Wednesday. I met with Jolene briefly to work on some church stuff for this week. We finished our rosary board.

Adam had to leave super early for work - the press conference is today. I took Lilli to the Sharp's in the morning so she could ride the bus to school with Ellie. I'm always so proud of how well she gets up and going on these early days for her. She has her morning routine down, which makes it super easy for me to get her ready and out the door. Alexa and Mackenzie had studio time to practice duet while Lilli had hip hop. They got fitted for lyrical and jazz shoes afterwards. The girls and I had Faith Formation. Our class went really well. We spent a lot of time working on prayers and then looking up verses in their new bibles. Adam had just gotten home when we did, so while Alexa went up to shower and Lilli started homework, he and I ran out to Subway to grab some sandwiches for dinner.

Adam started his new season of bags tonight. The girls were at dance all night, which left me to an evening on my own. I did a quick run to Target, did my workout and worked on a new puzzle. Adam and I apparently missed a HS registration meeting for Alexa - darn it. We'll have to watch it online, now. How is it that Alexa is already registering for high school classes? Insane!

We actually got some snow late afternoon on Friday. They said only about an inch, but we ended up getting a little more than that. Despite the snow and slippery roads we still wanted to get out and hang out with some friends. It's been awhile. We drove out to New Trier with the Beissel's and had dinner at Dan's Bar. I had the fish tacos and Adam had the all you can eat fish fry. Both were really good. We made a quick stop at Family Fresh for some cheesecake and went over to the Beissel's for dessert !!

Alexa had to assist right away Saturday morning and then had her regular hip hop class. Jazz Production and Musical Theater wants some extra practice time Saturday, as well, since costumes had come in. So, Lilli and Alexa had jazz production from 11-1 and then Lilli stayed for musical theater from 1-2:30. While the kids were dancing, Stacey and Bryson came over and we discussed our event. Carter brought Alexa home at 1 and right away showed us her black and blue/swollen ring finger. It looked really bad, but after she explained what happened - she fell forward out of a back tuck, I just thought it was jammed. We had her ice it and then brought her back to the studio for duet practice. She had her fingers taped and went through her dance no problem. The guys had a poker night planned at Jeff's house, so us ladies planned to get together at Stacey's to visit. Tammy and Michelle both looked at Alexa's finger and said we should take her in right away to get it checked. We said we'd look at it in the morning and if it wasn't better we'd take her in.

Alexa's finger wasn't any better Sunday morning. She slept good, but it was still really blue and swollen. So, Adam took her to urgent care. She had an x-ray done and it showed that both her ring and middle fingers had avulsion fractures. Poor thing. She has both fingers wrapped in a splint and they were optimistic that they'd heal fine within the next 4-6 weeks. While they were at the doctor, Lilli and I started discussing her science fair project. We talked through the whole thing and made some notes and wrote a list of supplies she'll need. Adam and Alexa got groceries on their way home. We watched a couple shows in the afternoon, had homemade pizza for dinner, and then I took the girls to Eastview HS to watch their friend Sarah's winter dance show. No school for the girls tomorrow so they slept together in Alexa's bed and stayed up late watching youtube videos together.

" I have decided to stick with Love - Hate is too great of a burdon to bear" - Martin Luther King Jr. Happy MLK Day. No school for the girls and no work for Adam, but I was up and out the door to work by 8. Adam took Lilli to pick up supplies for her science fair project and did her experiment on Alexa. Alexa had an extra lyrical practice at 3 to prepare for the events this weekend, which led right into her regular Monday night dance classes. I did a workout when I got home while Adam fed Lilli dinner and got her to dance, then he took me for a quick dinner at Chipotle. We ran a few other errands and then went back home to watch The Bachelor. The girls got home from dance and snuggled in with us after their showers. Snow is coming.

We woke up to a dusting of snow and temps below 0 windchill. For us Minnesotans it's just starting to feel like winter.

Alexa had a follow up appointment with an orthopedic specialist on her fingers. We dropped Lilli off at dance and Adam and I both took her. She did very well. They pretty much said everything they did at urgent care. They took her splint off and said they'd rather have her use buddy tape. She'll need to wear it 24 hours for 4 weeks when we go back for follow up x-rays. We brought her home, fed her dinner and got her back to dance.

Alexa took her doctor's note about her broken fingers to school for gym and her strength and flexibility class. They told her to bring it to the nurse to keep on file. I emailed her strength teacher just to give him the heads up. Then, at lunch he found Alexa and showed him the email, which stated that I gave him permission to give her a little crap for being a fragile child. She thought it was from the nurse and gave him a look like, why on earth would the nurse tell you to give me crap? He said, no - this is from your mom. haha. They had a really good laugh. Alexa had duet after school and worked on the modifications needed for INnovate coming up. She also met with her hip hop teacher and made modifications needed for that dance, as well. Lilli had her math NWEA testing today and scored a 207. 4 points higher than in the fall. We're so proud of her progress. Adam made us pork chop enchiladas for dinner, we worked on some homework with the girls and then snuggled in our bed for an episode of The Goldberg's.

The girls had dance and Adam had bags, so it was my night to myself. I usually have grand plans to get a bunch of crap done during this time, but it just didn't happen. I did my work out and took a bath and that's about it. I did run to the studio to pick up costumes and shoes for the weekend, too. The girls both got their lyrical costumes and Alexa got her hip hop. They're super cute. I got things somewhat organized for all their dance events this weekend. Time to pull out the dream duffels and garment bags.

Jolene picked Alexa up early and took the middle school girls to the bakery for a donut before school - a perfect way to celebrate the end of the 2nd quarter in school. After work I did my work out, made dinner quick and then Alexa and I were out the door to go babysit for my friend Bridget. Alexa babysits her boys on occasion, but this time they were going to leave the baby behind, which is where I came in. :) I was happy to snuggle baby Diem while Alexa played games with Turner and Maddox. It wasn't long before it was bedtime for them and then Alexa and I just hung out on their couch. Alexa had developed a terrible cold during the day and was actually quite miserable. Poor thing! We were home and in bed by 10:30. While we were gone, Lilli had Katelyn and Ellie over to practice their lyrical dance.

We were up bright and early Saturday to get the girls ready for the Farmington Community Expo. They both performed their lyrical dances and Alexa also performed hip hop. With their new studio and the way it's set up, we don't get to watch their dances as much as before, so seeing them today was a huge surprise and they both did phenomenal. We are so excited for the fun choreography and the way they all have seemed to step it up this year. Very very proud. As soon as they were done performing we had to get Alexa back to the studio for her regular hip hop class. The Sharp's and Beissel's stopped over to take part in Lilli's science fair experiment. We h ad a quick lunch and then I took the girls to the Beissel's so Michelle and I could practice duet hair on Alexa and Mackanzie. We think we have a plan! After that Adam and I ran to Hyvee for some Vicks for Alexa and I picked up a few things at the clothing store. We had the girls stay home and rest while we went to Carbone's for a fundraiser for hockey and a boy in 9th grade who has kidney cancer. It was great to be there to support the family as well as have a fun couple hours with friends. Adam and I bailed a little early and went to The Mug to celebrate our old neighbor and good friend Jamie's birthday. She wasn't expecting us, so it was fun to surprise her and catch up with her and Dave..and Andy and Carissa, our other old neighbors!

The girls wanted to watch Schooled when we got home with ice-cream!

We got to sleep in a little bit longer Sunday, but then had to quickly get ready for another fun dance event. The girls performed in the For The Love of Dance fundraiser for the Farmington senior class and Dancers Against Cancer. It was an all day event, but so much fun to see other dance studios from around the area and of course see our girls perform again. They did such an amazing job. We had dinner when we got home, Lilli worked on homework and Adam and I helped Alexa register for her High School classes. Insane! I can't even believe it! Afterwards we made popcorn and watched AGT Champions. We put the kids to bed at 9 and by 9:30 I was in their rooms letting them know they could sleep in because school had been cancelled due to weather.

Monday was a Flexible Learning Day for the girls. Farmington shut down due to large amounts of snow expected (we only got about 5") and cold temps. They were both up early looking at their iPads to see what assignments they'd have to work on all day. Adam worked from home and was able to get the sidewalks and driveway plowed. The girls finished up their homework in the morning and then went to the Sharp's to hang out in the afternoon. Dance was also cancelled for this evening. Us ladies had plans to take Stacey out for her birthday to Bourbon Butcher, which we did - but, due to schools being cancelled again tomorrow and Wednesday, the girls also ended up having a big ol sleepover at the Budde's and the guys came with us to Bourbon Butcher. It was a fun Monday night out - a special way to start the week.

Today's temps are at -7 with windchills at -30. It's cooold! But, the sun is shining which makes it feel so much better than it actually is. The girls didn't wake up until 10:30 at the Budde's and Jolene brought them home at noon to work on Flex Day homework. Yep - Farmington schools announced early afternoon on Monday that they'd also be closed Tuesday and Wednesday due to windchills nearing -50. These are record breaking lows. Brr! With that, dance and church have also been cancelled for this week. I'm so glad that the kiddos are home safely and snuggled in warm. I did my workout when I got home and contacted a travel agent about our MEA trip. She was so good and knowledgable and gave me lots of good ideas. I made dinner for the girls and I and not much later Adam came home from work. We made popcorn and watched AGT Champions. By the time we went to bed temps were -25 with windchills at -50. The polar vortex is here.

Adam stayed home from work today to be with the girls. Alexa was up first to start her homework and Lilli was up about an hour later to work on hers. Lilli's flex work took her from noon up until 4pm yesterday. So unnecessary, it makes me mad. Poor thing was exhausted. She has less today, but is also working on her science fair project. Alexa and Mackenzie had a duet practice with Kris and it's a good thing they did since they haven't had dance all week. They were a little rusty. The Budde's stopped over to take part in Lilli's science experiment and stayed for a drink. I love impromptu friend visits during the week. We had a roast in the crockpot, so we had dinner ready as soon as they left. I helped Alexa with some homework, we popped some popcorn and watched The Goldbergs & Schooled.

Today marks the 4th day in a row of no school due to subzero temperatures. Farmington actually allowed this day to be an actual snow day and not a flex day where the kids do online schooling. Hooray! We had some very happy kids when this news came out. The temp when I woke up this morning at 7am was -30, real temp. Brrrrr.. The girls had Isabelle and Ellie come over for the afternoon. They spent their time getting all stretched out and warmed up for dance tonight. They have a modified companie schedule so they can prepare for INnovate this weekend - 4:30-8:15. Adam had bags tonight, so I was home alone to get my work out done and