Saturday, December 29, 2018

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 12/21 - 12/27)

Friday (12/21) Last day of school before winter break!!  We were all really tired but got up and moving pretty quick since everyone was excited about the day.  Adrian dropped AJ off at school and then headed to work in his festive Elf shirt.  I got the other boys ready and dropped off then went to run the last of my errands before hosting family for the next few days.  I finished up and came home to get a few things done before heading into school to volunteer for Daniel's holiday party.  I had so much fun serving snacks to all of the kids and talking to them while they ate.  When their party was over, I headed home to grab a quick lunch before heading back into the school to volunteer for Zak's holiday party.  I again served snacks and read stories to the students while they ate.  It was a fun day hanging out with both classes!!  When school was done for the day, we headed home to start our winter break!
 
 
The boys started to play video games when we got home and I started cleaning up around the house to get ready for my parents who were arriving around dinner time.  Adrian got home from work and got Zak ready for wrestling practice.  They headed out there while I continued to get the house in order and get dinner ready.  When they came home, we decided to eat dinner since my parents plane was a little delayed.  They got in soon after we finished eating so they ate and visited with the boys for a bit before we put the boys down for the night.  When they were asleep we finally pulled up some of our gifts and got started on our wrapping.  We were up later than we intended, but we made a nice dent in our wrapping so hopefully we won't have a super late Christmas Eve.

Saturday (12/22) We all slept in a little after a late night last night.  We got up and got ready pretty quickly because Carl, Sarah and the kids were coming over for lunch.  We got a few things done around the house and then hung out with family once they got here.  We enjoyed a delicious lunch of salads and sandwiches and fresh made crumb cake (Daniel and my mom made it this morning).  Carl and his family hung out until about 3pm then headed out to another Christmas party while we stayed here.  We watched the OSU basketball game and the NFL games while getting a few things done around the house.

My parents cooked dinner for us which was awesome!  They brought kielbasa and homemade pierogies from Florida and it was all delicious.  We all ate way too much and were a happy full.  Then we loaded up the car and headed out on our annual Christmas light scavenger hunt.  Our elf left the list for us this morning and also put himself into a jar so he could join us on the hunt.  My mom also joined us and we had a fun time driving around looking at all of the lights in our neighborhood and some surrounding neighborhoods.  We found 26 of the 27 items on the list and had a hard time find a "horse."  We eventually (maybe) found it in a nativity scene at a local church.
 
After almost three hours of driving around looking for lights, we came home happy and exhausted.  The boys grabbed a quick snack and watched a short show before we got them down to bed.  Adrian and I opened our bottle of wine for the night, cleaned up the few things left in the kitchen and wrapped a few more presents.  We also enjoyed watching the end of the Chargers/Ravens game.  It was a fantastic family day and a great kick off to our winter break!!

Sunday (12/23) We all slept in a little this morning and then got ready to head to church as a family.  We enjoyed a beautiful service with lots of great music including a candlelight version of Silent Night.  When we came home, we spent the day hanging out together, watching football and cooking.  We also made a gingerbread house and gingerbread train that our elf left for us this morning.  They were frustrating, as usual, but the boys seemed to have fun.  Each year it does get easier because they can do more and they are less focused on trying to eat the candy and icing.  It's one of my least favorite traditions but the boys ask to make them every year so we do.
 
 
After we finished with the gingerbread decorations, watched the Cowboys win and the Jets lose, we got our dinner together.  I made a big turkey dinner with all the sides.  While the food was cooking, AJ gave my parents a private trombone concert in the living room.  After dinner, we cleaned up and then prepped all of the desserts for tomorrow night.  After the boys went to bed, we worked on our wrapping and just about finished everything up.  We only have a few gifts to each other to wrap tomorrow night, yay!
Monday (12/24) Merry Christmas Eve!  We all had a rough night of sleep last night and were slow moving this morning.  But we had to get up and moving to prep dinner for tonight.  We had coffee and breakfast and then got to work on the Feast of the Seven Fishes.  We spent most of the day cooking and trying to relax because we're all really worn out from the past few days and late nights.  My mom wasn't feeling well today, seems to have the stomach bug.  Carl, Sarah, Isabelle and Vinnie came over to celebrate with us and Carl and Isabelle also weren't feeling well.  It was bad timing but we made the best of the day.

I cooked the Feast of the Seven Fishes and everything came out great!!  We ate them slowly thru the day and everyone ate a little bit of everything.  When dinner was over, Carl and his family headed home and my parents headed over there to spend the next few nights with them.  I'm hoping they all get a good night of sleep and feel better in the morning.  We cleaned up a little and then headed outside with the reindeer food that our elf dropped off today for the boys.  We sprinkled the food on the lawn and then came back in and watched "Santa Clause is Coming to Town." It was super cute and we all enjoyed it!  After we got the boys to bed, we finished our wrapping, set up the gifts and headed to bed.  We were super tired after the past few days and know we will probably be up early tomorrow.
Tuesday (12/25) Merry Christmas!!  After the boys had us up at 2:30 in the morning, we got them back to bed and then got up at the reasonable hour of 7:30.  They were super excited to see all of the gifts under the tree this morning!!  They tore thru them and were super excited about all of their gifts.  Some of the favorites were the Slingshot Beyblade stadium, Zak's new hoodie, a new camera for Daniel & Let's Go Pikachu for AJ!  Adrian and I also got a bunch of fun new games, clothes and kitchen accessories.

After we opened gifts, had breakfast and played for a little, we had to get ready to head up to Carl's house for dinner.  We opened more presents there from Carl & his family and my parents.  Vinnie was super cute opening his gifts, he was more excited with each gift!  The boys loved Isabelle's gift of a ninja course in her basement, they spent a good chunk of their time down there with her.  The day passed quickly with lots of family time and good food.  I was exhausted after a few late nights so we left a little early and headed to my friend's neighborhood to see around 100 houses with their Christmas lights synced to music.  It was a fun way to end an awesome day!!
Wednesday (12/26) We all slept in today and felt much better after a lot of sleep.  Since we didn't have our traditional Christmas Day of staying home and playing with all of our new games and toys, we bumped that to today.  We played a bunch of our new games including Apples to Apples, Five Nights at Freddy's, Monopoly, Thanos Rising and Teen Titans deck building game.  We also played Azul and Machi Koro yesterday before we headed out.  I'm happy we got a bunch of new games for Christmas, we're excited for more game nights in our future.
Other than playing games, we just hung out and relaxed.  We cleaned up most of our gifts and figured out what needs to be returned.  The boys also played with their new Beyblades and the stadiums.  Daniel also recorded a bunch of new videos for his YouTube channel.  We let the boys stay up a little later and when they finally went to bed Adrian and I opened a bottle of wine and watched a little TV before heading to bed too.  We both have to go back to work in the morning but are so thankful we had 5 days off together!!

Thursday (12/27) It was back to work for me and Adrian today, at least for a few days.  He got up and headed into work for the full day while I headed to Harcum to teach two Silver Sneakers classes.  I had smaller than usual classes but those that were there worked it out and had fun.  We all commented how hard the workouts felt, probably because most of us didn't exercise for like a week!  When I was finished with my classes I came home and met my parents at the house to hang out with the boys.  We played Apples to Apples, Five Nights at Freddy's and Pete the Cat.  It was a fun afternoon hanging out at home!

Later in the afternoon we headed downtown to meet up with Carl, Sarah and the kids.  We met at the main library to check out the train display and play in the children's section for a bit.  None of us had been there since they redid it and it looks great!  We had a fun time hanging out and playing for a bit before heading out to the next stop.  I took the boys to see the nativity and everyone else headed to Schmidt's.  We met them there to enjoy the buffet for dinner.  It was my first time and it did not disappoint.  We all ate too much and then grabbed creme puffs to go.
 
My parents headed home with Carl and Sarah and the five of us headed down to the Scioto Mile to see the lights down there.  We walked up to the Commons and really enjoyed seeing how pretty downtown looked all decorated for Christmas.  We probably would have walked around more but it started raining pretty hard so we made a run for our cars.  We headed home and enjoyed our creme puffs before getting the boys down to bed for the night.  Adrian and I watched a few comedies while drinking our bottle of wine before heading to bed for the night as well.

Friday, December 21, 2018

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 12/14 - 12/20)

Friday (12/14) Adrian ended up working until 2am yesterday so I got up and got AJ dropped off at school on time.  Then I came home and rushed around to get Daniel, Zak and myself ready for school.  I was subbing all day and in Zak's class again.  We barely made it on time and thankfully his class had library so I dropped them off and got settled for my day.  Unfortunately Zak had a horrible day with me, his behavior was a nightmare!  I had to have other teachers help and even they had little success.  We came home and I was annoyed and embarrassed, it was not one of my better days as a sub or as a mom.

Thankfully Adrian was able to leave work and get home soon after we got home.  I took Daniel and we went to Target to get a gift for his friend's birthday and look for stuff for his cousins for Christmas.  We picked up Marco's pizza for dinner so I didn't have to rush to cook.  Adrian took Zak to wrestling practice to further give us some space.  When they got home, we settled in to string some popcorn (our elf brought the supplies) and watch "A Christmas Story."  The boys loved doing both things!!  It was their first time seeing the movie and they liked it, especially AJ.  When the movie was over, we got them down to bed, did a few things and then I was so tired I headed to bed too.  It's been a long week and I need some good rest!
Saturday (12/15) Ugh, I was up most of the night with the dreaded stomach bug.  I hate that it always hits the worst in the middle of the night!!  I sent an email in the early morning hours to cancel my Zumba class and my volunteering at the church.  I'm super bummed to miss everything we had planned today - Zumba, wrapping party and Wildlights with the family - but I need to rest and recover.  I spent most of the day in bed sleeping and watching TV.  I was able to watch the entire Jets game, which I enjoyed even though they lost.  Adrian hung out with the boys all day, they mostly just played board games and video games all day.  Daniel had his friends' birthday party this afternoon and he had a blast at his house.  I did manage to come downstairs for a few hours to eat some toast and watch the Christmas Light Fight with the boys.  When they went to bed, Adrian and I also watched Survivor from the past week since we haven't had time.  We unfortunately had to skip our bottle of wine tonight since I'm not feeling up to it.  I headed back to bed after watching those two shows, hoping to wake up feeling better tomorrow!

Sunday (12/16) We all slept in this morning and after a great night of sleep, everyone seemed to be feeling OK.  We decided to have a relaxing morning at home and miss church, just in case anyone's stomach acted up or if we were still contagious.  We spent the day bouncing between relaxing and getting a few things done around the house so we're ready for the upcoming holidays.  We were surprised with an early gift from Santa today that was delivered by our elf.  He gave us tickets to see "Charlie Brown Christmas Live" at the theater downtown and a gift card for Red Robin for dinner.

We headed out to the show in the late afternoon and got settled in our seats a little before show time.  We all loved the show, it was really cute!  It stuck mostly to the TV special with a few added extras for the live version.  We found out that our friends were also there so we decided to meet them for dinner and we all went to Red Robin after the show.  We had fun chatting and eating the delicious food, and I was thankful to be hungry and be able to keep down my dinner!  After dinner we headed home and watched another episode of the Christmas Light Fight show before getting the boys down to bed.  After they were in bed, Adrian and I did a few things around the house, opened our bottle of wine and watched a few comedies before heading to bed too.  It was a great family night!
Monday (12/17) We thought we would be back to normal today but I spent half the night up with a sick AJ and sick Adrian.  Then when Zak got up, he said his stomach hurt too so everyone just called in sick and stayed home for the day.  The guys all spent the day relaxing and watching TV while I worked on trying to get all of the stuff I had planned for the weekend done.  We did have a funny surprise when we woke up to see our elf had toilet papered our tree!!  It was a fairly productive day for me, despite being slowed down a little by taking care of the sick ones.  The day passed quickly and before long it was time to start our night routine.  We watched another Christmas Light Fight and saw Clifton Mills from OH win!  Now the boys want to go there so we are planning a trip for after Christmas.  After we got the boys to bed, Adrian and I watched a comedy and then he headed to bed.  I stayed up watching TV and filling out Christmas cards for a little while before heading up myself.  Crossing my fingers that everyone is healthy in the morning!
Tuesday (12/18) After a great night of sleep the alarm felt early this morning.  But thankfully everyone was feeling good so we all got up and moving to head where we were supposed to be.  Adrian took AJ to school and then headed into work.  I got Daniel and Zak ready and dropped them off at school before heading to Harcum to teach my three classes.  We had three really good classes and I got a bunch of errands run in between and after classes.  Then I came home to pick up the boys from school and come home to get ready for the evening.  Thankfully only AJ had homework, and he only had Math so we got thru that quickly before dinner.  After dinner, AJ, Zak and I headed to Zak's Cub Scout pack meeting.  It was cross over for the older boys and a few joined AJ's troop so he was there to welcome them in.  We enjoyed the ceremony and then had a quick visit with Santa at the party.  When we got home, we watched some of the Christmas Light Fight and then I got the boys down to bed.  Then I came down, cleaned up and relaxed with some Housewives.  Adrian came home from work not feeling well so he went to bed after work.
 
Wednesday (12/19) Adrian still wasn't feeling well so he stayed in bed this morning.  I got AJ up and ready for school and then dropped him off.  Then I came home and got Daniel and Zak ready for school and dropped them off too.  After everyone was at school, I headed out to run a bunch of errands to get ready for the holidays & catch up on a few things I needed to do.  I was out for about 4 hours and got everything done!!  I only need to get some fresh seafood and bread closer to Monday and then I'm ready for the next two weeks.  When I got home I was hungry and tired so I relaxed for a bit before starting to put all of the groceries away.  Before I knew it, it was time to pick up the boys from school.  We had a rare night with nothing on the schedule so we relaxed a lot and they played some video games.  We got thru all of their homework and I made pasta for dinner.  We watched more of the Christmas Light Fight before I got them down for the night.  Just as I got them down, Adrian finally came down feeling better so we watched the first half of the Survivor finale and then I went to bed.  I'm so thankful I was able to get everything done today!!

Thursday (12/20) Once again, we were finally all healthy and able to go where we were supposed to go.  We all got up on time and Adrian took AJ to school while I got everyone else ready and dropped off.  Then I headed to Harcum to teach my three classes.  We had fun in each class, even though they were smaller than usual, and I got some nice gifts from some of my students.  I was also able to run and get my hair cut between classes and run a few errands after class before I needed to pick everyone up from school.  When we got home, we quickly finished all of our homework so we could get ready for our busy night.
We had leftovers for dinner in an effort to clean out the fridge to make room for all of the food this weekend.  Adrian got home from work very late but just in time to pick up AJ and head out to their basketball all star celebration.  They had fun watching the video from the season and competing in some fun events.  AJ won the crazy lay up contest with his creative lay up!!  He was so proud of himself!  While they were there, I taught my last Zumba class of the year at the church while Daniel and Zak hung out in childcare.  Once again the class was small but fun!  When we were all done, we headed home and did a few things around the house before getting the boys down to bed.  Then Adrian and I finally got back to our Advent calendar and watched the end of the Survivor finale while we drank our wine and then headed to bed.

Sunday, December 16, 2018

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 12/7 - 12/13)

Friday (12/7) We made it to the end of another week, just barely!  The past week has been busy and tough but we all survived.  Today we got up on time and Adrian and AJ left for school and work while the rest of us got ready.  We headed into school and were surprised to find out that I was subbing for Zak's teacher all day.  We had a pretty good day together, and got to end the day enjoying a puppet show together.  After school we came home and had a little downtime before getting ready for our night activities.
I made us baked ziti for dinner and then Zak and I headed out together for the night.  He had wrestling practice and I ran a few errands while he was there.  He did really well and will be wrestling in his first tournament this weekend.  After practice, he and I headed across the street to his pack's committee meeting.  He did a great job playing quietly while I participated in the meeting.  While we were out, Adrian took AJ and Daniel to church for AJ's basketball game.  He played well and had fun!  When we all finally got home, the boys watched a show and then headed to bed.  Adrian and I finished a few things around the house, opened our bottle of wine and watched two comedies before heading to bed too.  We were both exhausted!!
Saturday (12/8) We were all up and moving early, the boys decided not to sleep in and Adrian and I both had early commitments.  He headed to the church to help set up the meal packing event at the church while I got ready for Zumba class.  We had an awesome time in Zumba and then most of us headed into the meal packing event, although they were just about done when we got there.  AJ and Daniel were able to help out to pack a few meals and the rest of us helped with clean up.  After the event, I headed home with the boys while Adrian stayed at the church for Crossover basketball evaluations.  I dropped Zak back off later for his evaluations.  Adrian helped with both the boys and the girls evaluations and said that Zak did a great job.

After all of that, we met at Daniel and Zak's school for their Holiday Happenings event.  The boys had fun playing games, seeing friends and visiting with characters while Adrian and I enjoyed lunch from the food truck that was there.  It was a fun family event and a nice way to get our annual Santa picture.  After we finished at the event, we headed home to catch our breath and rest for a while before heading out one more time tonight to see "The Polar Express" in the movie theater.  It was so fun!  I didn't remember most of the movie since I've only seen it once so it was like a new movie to me.  The boys enjoyed it too!!  When the movie was over, we came home, got the boys to bed and opened our bottle of wine for the night.  We enjoyed the wine while watching a few comedies before heading to bed.
Sunday (12/9) The day started a little earlier than we would have liked for a weekend.  Adrian and Zak got up early and headed out to Zak's first wrestling tournament.  The other boys woke me up around 7:30 because they needed help with different things.  We had a relaxing morning at home and then headed to second service at church.  After church we came home and worked on our to do list to get ready for another busy week.  Adrian and Zak came home and we found out that Zak opted not to wrestle.  He was scared when he saw what it looked like and said he needs more practice.  So they watched a few people wrestle and then headed home.

We spent most of the afternoon watching football and working around the house.  I am excited that the Jets finally won another game!  I took a break this afternoon to go to my friend's house for a craft party.  I made a "Home" sign and also won another small sign as a door prize.  It was a fun afternoon and break in a busy time of the year.  When I got home, we had dinner together and then got ready for a family movie night.  We watched "The Christmas Chronicles" while enjoying the popcorn treat that our elf brought for us.  It was a super cute movie and we all really enjoyed it!  When the movie was over, we got the boys down to bed and then came down to watch the end of the Cowboys game.  It was super exciting and we were both so glad that they won!!  When the game was over, we finished up a few things, watched a comedy and headed to bed to rest up for the week.
Monday (12/10) Back to the grind today after the busy weekend.  We got up and moving on time this morning and Adrian and AJ headed out to school and work.  Thankfully Zak slept in a little today, he really needed the rest.  I got them up and out to school and then came home and had about two hours to myself to get some stuff done around the house.  It's always amazing how much I can get done when I'm focused and by myself.  Then I got cleaned up and headed out to meet my friend for a wine tasting at Cooper's Hawk and then lunch Bon Vie at Easton.  We had a great time drinking, eating, chatting and laughing.  It was really nice to take some time to just relax today!

When we got home, it was time to get the boys home from school.  They had some free time then we started to get ready for the evening events.  We finished homework and AJ had leftover tacos for dinner.  Daniel, Zak and I headed out to my small group and enjoyed pizza for dinner with them.  The adults had a great conversation upstairs while the kids did a craft downstairs.  While we were there, Adrian took AJ to Scouts.  When we all got home, we started working our way thru all of the Christmas shows we have on our DVR with "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" which seems pretty silly to me and Adrian but the boys like it.  We watched half of that and then the boys went to bed, Adrian and I had our bottle of wine and watched a few comedies and headed to bed too.
Tuesday (12/11) Today started way too early when Zak came in to wake me up at 3:30am.  I dozed a little here and there until it was time to get up but it's going to be a long day!  Adrian and AJ got up and ready and out to work and school.  I got the other kids ready and dropped them off at school.  Then I headed to Harcum to teach my 3 classes for the day.  I ran a few errands between classes and headed into Zak's class when I was done to volunteer and review sight words with the kids.  I was planning on taking the day off from volunteering, but Zak really wanted me to come in so I did.
When school was over we came home and relaxed for a bit.  Then I got everyone thru homework and dinner before heading out with Zak to wrestling.  He had a great practice and learned a lot.  I ran to Aldi while he was practicing to get another thing crossed off my giant to do list.  I picked him up after practice and we headed home for the night.  The boys played for a bit and then we got them ready for bed.  They watched the end of "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" and then headed to bed.  Adrian and I opened our next bottle of wine, watched a few comedies and headed to bed too.  Hoping for longer sleep tonight!!

Wednesday (12/12) Thankfully we all got a great night of sleep last night!!  Adrian and AJ got up and headed out to school and work together.  I had to practically drag Zak out of bed, he was really tired after being up so long yesterday.  I got the three of us up and ready and out to school on time.  I was subbing all day, but it was two half day assignments.  I started the day in 3rd grade and had an easy morning with two trips to the library.  Then I was the music teacher the rest of the afternoon and had a lot of fun with that!  When school was over, I rushed out with the boys, picked up AJ and we headed over to our dentist appointment.  They got all four of us done and only Zak has a cavity that we need to come back for, yay!

When we were done at the dentist, we came home and started our night routine.  We had dinner, finished homework and the boys played while I tried to catch up on some dishes and laundry.  Daniel wasn't feeling well and we decided that he and I should stay home tomorrow.  So I figured out subs for my classes, rearranged a few things and set him up with water and a blanket to rest. I'm hoping whatever he has is short lived and he keeps it to himself!  We watched Charlie Brown Christmas as a family and then I got the boys down for the night.  I came down and had my bottle of wine for advent and watched some mindless reality TV.  Adrian was working late but thankfully was able to come home around 7 for the night.  He worked until almost midnight, but thankfully he was home so he enjoyed some wine and then headed to bed as soon as he was done.

Thursday (12/13) We all had another good night of sleep and I had a lighter morning since Daniel and I are staying home.  I got AJ up and ready so Adrian could get a little extra sleep.  Then he got up and ready and took AJ to school before heading to work for the day.  I dropped Zak off and then came home to hang out with Daniel for the day.  He rested and watched TV all day while I got a bunch of stuff done around the house.  The day passed quickly and uneventfully and before I knew it, it was time to walk up to pick up Zak and then drive over to pick up AJ after Model UN.

Adrian got stuck working late again so I had to cancel my Zumba class tonight too to stay home with Daniel.  He thankfully got home in time for me to take AJ to his last Crossover basketball game tonight.  He played really well and had a few great defensive plays.  He won the focus award for his great sportsmanship and cheering for his teammates throughout the season.  He wants to keep playing basketball so we'll see what we can find for him.  When we got home from basketball, we watched the Charlie Brown Christmas shorts and then the boys went to bed.  Adrian was still working so we watched the Chargers/Chiefs game while he worked and I cleaned up the house.  I headed up to bed well before he did since I have another busy day tomorrow!

Monday, December 10, 2018

Keeping up with...Family (Weekly Wrap 11/30 - 12/6)

Friday (11/30) We are wrapping up another week with a super busy Friday on tap.  We all got up and moving on time and Adrian drove AJ to school and then headed to work.  I got the other boys up and ready and then we headed into school together.  I was subbing in Zak's class today and he was super excited to spend the day with me.  I was also able to drop them off at library and sneak down to Daniel's class to read them a quick book to wrap up right to read week.  They were all excited to hear a new to them Pete the Cat book.  Unfortunately, it was a rough day in Zak's class.  But we survived and put it behind us!
After school, I was exhausted and we still had to get ready for a busy night.  I pulled some leftovers together for everyone for dinner then headed out to the church to work as the facility rep for the night. I brought AJ and Daniel with me since AJ had basketball and Zak had wrestling.  Adrian took Zak to wrestling then came over to coach AJ's basketball game.  It was a super busy night for all of us!!  When we all finally got home, we got the boys to bed, had some wine and headed to bed ourselves.  Hoping for a relaxing weekend after a rough Friday!!

Saturday (12/1) The day started a little earlier than I wanted it to when Zak came in around 6am to wake me up to find out where Dad was.  Adrian had already left for his early morning small group so I had to get up with Zak.  I hung out with him and had some coffee before getting ready to head to the church to teach Zumba.  I had a great class with 5 of my friends from the Y joining me for class to visit.  We had fun dancing together and then some of us went out to brunch together too.  Such a great way to start my weekend!!
While I was out with my friends, Adrian took the boys to Home Depot to do their wood craft for this week.  They had fun making their own sled with a reindeer pulling it.  They were excited to come home and add them to our decorations.  They also picked up a few things we needed, including khaki pants for AJ to wear in his band concert later this week.  When they got home, we got a few things done around the house while the boys played video games.  Then we had a quick, light dinner and got ready for a busy night.
Zak's finished sled
Daniel's finished sled
AJ's finished sled
We headed out for our magical night of Christmas fun.  We started by stopping to mail the boys' letters to Santa at the local Santa mail box.  They should get a return letter in the next week or so.  Then we headed to the movie theater to see "Elf" on the big screen.  We all enjoyed it as always, laughing so hard at some points we were crying.  The boys enjoyed eating popcorn and the ring pops that their elf, Doctor Donkey, brought for them this morning.  When we got home, we did their normal bedtime routine and then Adrian and I watched the Big 10 championship while starting on our wine advent calendar.  I'm glad OSU won the game, even if I didn't make it to the end!    
Sunday (12/2) We all slept in a little and enjoyed our morning at home before heading to second service at church.  We got a surprise when AJ bit into a cookie and lost a tooth!  The boys enjoyed their time in children's church while Adrian and I went to our service.  After service we came home and got to work around the house.  The boys finished up their homework for the weekend and Adrian and I worked on our to do lists.  He took AJ out to get shoes for his band concert this week and while they were out shopping, AJ confessed he knew we were Santa.  They had a good conversation about it and then AJ and I did later too.  The day passed quickly and soon it was time for our evening activities.  Adrian took Daniel and Zak to their last martial arts class until January while I took AJ to his One8ty Christmas party.  We had fun playing games, doing a white elephant exchange and eating some yummy food.  When we got home we did their normal night time routine, watched the Jets lose and finished our second bottle for our advent calendar.  It was a productive and relaxing Sunday.
Monday (12/3) Back to the grind today after the weekend.  Adrian drove AJ to school while I got the other boys ready and we all headed out together.  I was subbing all day in the school so we went in together for the day.  Daniel and Zak headed to their classes and I had a great day with a group of second graders.  When school was over, we headed home together to get ready for our busy night.  But when we got home, we were all really tired and a little stressed so we decided to skip small group tonight so Daniel, Zak and I could stay home for the night.  We still got quickly thru dinner and then had pasta for dinner.  When Adrian got home, he took AJ to Scouts for the night while the rest of us stayed home and relaxed.  When everyone was home for the night, we did the boys' nighttime routine and got them down to bed.  Daniel hit a big milestone before bed and read for 1,000 minutes so far this month for his challenge from his teacher.  After we got them to bed, Adrian and I had our 3rd bottle of wine for advent, watched a few comedies and headed to bed for the night.
Tuesday (12/4) We got up and moving today although we were all very tired.  Adrian took AJ to school and then headed to work.  I got the other kids up and ready for school and we had some excitement while we were getting ready.  There was an accident up the road knocking out our water pressure for just over an hour.  Daniel wasn't able to take a shower & we all had to make some adjustments to get ready without water.  I dropped the boys off and then the school called because they were also without water and were considering closing.  Thankfully our local water utilities handled the situation quickly and the school was able to stay opened.

While the boys were at school, I taught my 3 Silver Sneakers classes and ran a bunch of errands.  The day passed quickly but thankfully I got almost everything done.  I picked up Daniel and Zak on my way home and we came home to meet up with AJ.  I was super excited to hear that no one had any homework tonight!  They played for a while and I got a few things done around the house and then made tacos for dinner.  Zak and I ate and then headed out for a busy night.  He had wrestling and Scouts back to back tonight.  He did great in both places and worked really hard, especially in wrestling!  In Scouts we enjoyed making our own trail mix and learning about healthy food choices.  When we got home, it was time for the boys' night time routine.  We got them down to bed, opened our next bottle of wine and finished up cleaning up the kitchen.  We watched a few comedies and then headed to bed.  I can't believe it's only Tuesday!
Wednesday (12/5) We all got up and moving on time this morning after a great night of sleep.  Adrian took AJ to school and then headed to work.  I got everyone else ready and we headed into school together.  I subbed in a 1st grade class today and had a great day with them!  After school, we headed home to meet up with AJ.  We got thru homework and dinner quickly because AJ and I needed to head back to his school for his first band concert.  I stayed with him during warm ups and then Adrian brought the other boys over for the concert.  There were almost 200 6th graders in the band and they sounded great!  We were really impressed, especially considering most of them have only been playing for 10-15 weeks.  AJ had a great time and said he was only a little nervous but he was more excited!  After the concert we came home and enjoyed pretzel bites that our elf brought and got the boys down to bed.  Adrian and I had our bottle of wine for the night and then headed to bed too.
 
Thursday (12/6) We got up and moving on time for our busy day.  Adrian took AJ to school and I got everyone else ready.  I dropped Daniel and Zak off at school and headed to Harcum to teach my 3 Silver Sneakers classes.  I ran a few errands between the classes and then headed home and had about an hour to relax before I had to pick everyone up from school.  I picked up Daniel and Zak and then we headed over to Central to pick up AJ who had his Model UN meeting after school.  He is super excited that his school got Turkey as one of their countries and he is on that team for the competition in March.

After we all got home, we got thru homework and dinner and then I headed out to teach my Zumba class at the church.  I was tired but we had a great class together!  Adrian was working late but thankfully his boss had him leave and come home so that he could work late here at home rather than being stuck in the office.  When I got home, I cleaned up a bit and got the boys down to bed.  Adrian and I opened our bottle of wine while he worked and I finished up a few things around the house.  Since I was so tired, I had a small snack and then headed to bed too.  Thankfully Adrian didn't end up working too late and he was already home when he was done.  We may not be that lucky next week.