Back to Normal

Since our extended Christmas break due to the weather here in TN, it took us a few days to get back in to a routine after school started back off.  Up to January 21st, the kids only attended school 4 times, which meant that the parents had to get creative and figure out what to do with them while still going to work. Luckily for us, Derrick works several days a week from home and was able to supervise Amelia while Elliot went to preschool and I went to work.

Playing school with the cat

Self-imposed number writing

On other days, I took her to work with me, which by the way, my daughter absolutely loves. She chose a desk and moved right in. All my co-workers are now displaying her art work on their desk. 

When both kids stayed home, Derrick took the day off and went with them to an indoor trampoline place for a couple of hours. He is definitely the cool parent. I only made up by bringing them Chick-Fil-A for lunch. By the time, the snow had melted and the temperatures were back to a more acceptable level, everyone was ready to go back to school and a regular routine. Last week, we started swim lessons, and the kids love it. My water babies have a private swim instructor once a week at the Y and are making great progress. 

I even took some time and went with my girlfriends to the movie theater to watch "The greatest Showman". This movie was awesome and I highly recommend it. I loved it so much, I bought the soundtrack. Now, Amelia and I are constantly listening to it. 

Did I mentioned that Derrick and I love hanging out with our two kids...the last half hour before bedtime, we usually spent together sitting on the couch and watching a show. 

So this little boy of mine brought me to tears at 6am one morning for being so selfless. Even though it was his sister's turn to empty the dishwasher, he volunteered and for a job well done, he was rewarded with a quarter. After we gave him the money to put in his piggy bank, he declared that he rather will take it to preschool to put in the missionary jar. His preschool collects change for a teacher who is on a missionary trip in Thailand and my son selflessly gave his hard-earned money to this cause without being prompted. This gesture made me think twice about how easy it is to be a bit more selfless and caring about others and filled me with pride. If a 4 year old can do it, surely we adults can too. 

Proud boy

One afternoon last week, we had a play date with our friends and my kids were so excited. I guess we don't have that many people coming over and they always love when friends come to play. 

On Thursday night, Amelia's school hosted their monthly Family Night and this month theme was art show. From every student at the school a picture was exhibited for all to look at. 

But there was also plenty of hands-on things for the children to do. Bongo drums:

And a private lesson:

An Instrument Zoo with some unusual instruments made from materials used every day in the household:

And an art studio, where the children were able to paint a picture for a collage wall and use their imagination with clay:

We finished the week off with Pajama Day for Elliot:

So far, we have been able to stay healthy and escape this flu epidemic that is haunting the country. At least until Sunday, when my body just shut down and I wasn't able to do anything except lay in bed and rest and sleep.

Luckily, I was feeling much better on Monday and I'm back to my normal self. Just in time for a busy week ahead at the office before I go on another business trip to Europe this weekend. 

Winter Weather

The weather here in middle Tennessee has been all over the place since Christmas. First, we endured two weeks of frigid (partly sub-zero) temperatures with only 2 days barely making it above freezing. And then the weather turned and we had a couple of wet days in the low 60's/ 18C. Within 24 hours our temperature dropped 40F/ 21C and it had snowed an inch. Because of where we are located at, depending if the cold front from up North or the warm front from the South is stronger, we get such a range of weather and it is really hard to predict too far in advance. Last year, our winter was very uneventful and quite warm but this season has been extremely cold and it started very early. Don't get me wrong, we love it though. The kids are excited about a snow day and since we know it won't last too long, we are enjoying every minute of it. 

When it is too cold to go outside for a few days, you get creative and entertain the children with all kinds of things: new magnet board/ dry erase board for the win:

Working out with Daddy is a favorite for Elliot:

My type A personality was scared to let them paint some peg dolls but I'm glad I did. Both kids did great and look at their beautiful masterpieces. I only added the details and eyes and I outlined Bell for my daughter but they did the rest. 

And I finally started painting again too:

Once the temperature rose above freezing, we even went to the park last Sunday. I ran 3 miles while Derrick and the kids fed some peanuts to the squirrels.  

But on Friday, schools and preschools were all closed as well as a lot of companies (mine included) due to the icy rain in the early morning hours, which later turned in to snow. Ice, ice, baby, ice!

This is the third time in the past 10 days that the children had an unexpected day off from school due to the weather but we are taking it in stride. First it was too cold and now the streets are too slippery for the school buses. By 3pm it started snowing and in less than 45 minutes, we were outside enjoying the snow.

After warming up inside, we ventured out again once the layer of snow was a bit thicker.

 The snow is too powdery to build a snowman. So, we made a snowoman:

It snowed some more over night and this morning, we measured a solid 2 inches/ 5 cm of snow.

Snowball fight:

Unfortunately, sledding was not a huge success as the snow was not solid enough but the street was icy so we had a good run there. 

 The only one who really isn't a fan of the snow is our cat, Indy. After all, she is a Florida cat.

Now, we sit by the fire and drink hot coca...perfect snow day!

My Goals for 2018

The new year has just begun and everyone is talking about their New Year's resolutions and goals for 2018. For the past couple of weeks, I have been thinking of what I want my goals to be this year and honestly, I'm having a hard time with coming up with goals that matter to me. I have a couple of goals, the usual ones, and I also settled on my word for 2018 but that's it so far. Maybe reviewing my goals from this past year will enlighten me to add another goal here and there, and if not, I'm totally ok with having only a couple of goals this year. 

Since 2017 was nothing like I had planned, i.e: starting a job for once and traveling for business on a regular basis, I only focused on my goals for the first few months of the year. And then, life got too busy and I couldn't keep track of all the changes and adjustments that were happening. In total I had 7 goals, which you can read about here:

1. My word for 2017 was TRUST in Him and that I did. It wasn't always easy though and I still need to focus on that but not only did I talk to him on a more regular basis, I also asked him to provide for us. And that HE did...all in a few short weeks. From a house to a job to childcare, HE was always there for us. My trust in the Lord grew much stronger this year and because of that, I was able to let go of the total control I like to have over my/ our life and listen to HIM. I also discovered that what I want can differ a lot from what HE will provide. But that is ok because it usually works out better than what I wanted in the first place. Just give it time and trust HIM. 
2. My goal was to read 26 books and I easily succeeded that goal by reading 30 books and listening to 7 audio books. While renovating the house, I discovered that I really like to listen to autobiographies (read by the author). I 'm working on a book review post to tell you about my favorites read in 2017. 
3. I started the year out strong by participating in a bible study group and I really enjoyed that. But once I had started the new job, I was not able to go anymore to bible study and soon enough I did not put much effort nor time in to keep up with my personal bible study/ bible reading goals. I feel a bit disappointed in myself about that but I also grant myself some grace as this year was not what I thought it would be. 
4. Since we moved again, we naturally decluttered the house, even though I did not read the "Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up". At this point, we moved so often and I sorted out so much stuff that I feel like I'm a pro at decluttering. But there is always more stuff...
5. Focusing on spending more time with my husband was an important goal for me this past year and while we hardly ever went on a date this year, we did enjoy spending lots of quality time together as a family. We also spent more time talking to each other about things that we think or personally care about (not just organizational stuff or family related issues), which is great. The kids are getting more independent and less needy; thus, spending a few extra minutes sitting on the dinner table together or having a glass of wine on the couch before bed time is now a realistic option and a game changer.
6. + 7. I did not complete any scrap booking or new crafting projects as there was just no time for it. I did paint almost 3,000 sq ft (twice) of wall space as well as put together furniture and scrubbed lots of cabinets, so that should count for something in terms of being crafty 😆

And without further ado, here are my personal goals for 2018:

1. I was thinking about a word for 2018 for a couple of days until I stepped on the treadmill, started talking to God and the next moment I knew what my word should be: SAVOR. The last year has been very hectic and with all the changes that happened, I feel like life passed by and I never stopped to smell the flowers. Thus, this year, I want to focus on savoring the time I spend with the people I love the most, watch my kids explore, learn and be there for them. I also want to enjoy what HE graciously provided for us and not just take things, such as our house, the jobs and most importantly our health, for granted.
2. I could have added this goal to my word  for 2018 but since it is near and dear to my heart and I really want to put an extra focus on it, I will list it separately: Spend more time with my friends. I'm a people person and having friends is important to me. So this year, as I learn to savor life, I also want to grow those friendships and savor them. Ladies, a simple girls' night out, an evening spend crafting with friends, or discussing a good book is what I long for and I'm ready to put more effort and allocate more time in to those activities. 
3. Which just made me realize that I do have another goal this year: open up our house more frequently to invite people in. I grew up that way but my hubby is sometimes a bit resistant, so this one is a work in progress. I love hosting people and inviting them in is a great way to get to know new people and become friends. 
4. This year, my goal is to read 30 books. I constantly keep adding new titles to my must-read-list and I'm eager to read some of them. There are so many great books and so little time...
5. Run 350 miles. Running is a stress reliever for me and I truly enjoy it. While 350 miles sound a  lot to some people and not that much to others, I think I can accomplish that distance without stressing myself out about it. 
6. Grow in my job and keep enjoying what I do (for a living).

These are the goals and I even added a couple while writing this post. I do these posts not for others to read but I enjoy reflecting about what I personally have accomplished this year. And while you never know what will happen during the next 365 days and plans easily change, I do like to prepare myself to be more present for things that matter to me and these goals are a way to remind me of what I want to focus on. 

Goodbye 2017, Hello 2018!

Much of North America is under an arctic cold outbreak with record lows for the past few days and will be for the next few days as well. And Tennessee is included. Our warmest day was on Saturday when the high reached 36F/ 2C. But despite the cold weather, we enjoyed the last few days of 2017 and had a relaxing start to 2018.

Because December was very hectic and there was not much downtime, I was looking forward to having a couple of days off after Christmas. While I worked on Wednesday, I was able to take Thursday and Friday off and spent time with the kids. Since it was freezing outside, we decided to go to the movie theater on Thursday morning to watch "Ferdinand". At 11am, we were the only 3 people in the entire theater but that didn't bother us. We had popcorn, gummibears, blankets and were ready to enjoy the movie. It was such a cute movie and the kids did very well.

On Saturday, the warmest day of the week, we took the kids to the park for a 1.5 mile walk to let them run wild for a bit. After being inside for most of the time, they definitely needed to stretch their legs.

And since then, we are staying warm indoors, sitting by the fire and drinking hot cocoa (Gluehwein for the adults), playing games, reading and watching all the Bowl games while snacking on delicious foods. I also finished all of my past due post from Europe (they are under the October tab if anyone is interested in reading them), which makes me feel quite accomplished.

For New Year's Eve, we did not had any plans of venturing out. We only wanted to be together and do a kids' friendly celebration. So at 6pm, we went outside for a few minutes because with temperatures in the low teens (-14C) no one wanted to be outside longer than necessary. We had purchased a few sparklers and a little fountain firework.

We were actually pleasantly surprised what $3.75 can buy you. This little fountain lasted much longer than expected and the kids really enjoyed it.

Last family picture of 2017:

And then we quickly went inside for a dinner spread of finger foods. There was something for everyone, including kids' champagne and adult version too.

A couple more pictures before bed and that concluded our New Year's Eve celebration. The way we did was perfect for us. No big party, no staying up late or getting all dressed up but being with the people we love the most. 

Derrick and I watched the ball drop in New York and then called it an early night and crawled in to our bed (thanks to the hour time difference form the East Coast, we were able to say Happy New Year twice). Today, we woke up to the lowest temps I have ever endured. It felt like -3F/ -20C at 7:30am and it warmed up to barely 19F/ -6C. Tomorrow morning when Elliot and I have to leave the house at 7:15am, it might be even colder. This arctic blast for sure is no joke. But I do not mind it too much as long as we don't have to be outside a lot since it also forces to slow down and relax and not think too far ahead. Just what we needed after a full year. So the first day of 2018 was mostly spent watching the parade and football and relaxing. 

Happy New Year! And cheers to great 2018!