Week 3 - 2021

 Week 3 - 2021

Monday was Martin Luther King Day which Jeremy, Blake and I had off. Kylie went to school and the three of us relaxed at home. We went out for a late lunch and tried a new Mexican restaurant. It ended up being a little too spicy for me but Jeremy really liked it. It was nice to have a nice slow day. 

Blake did ok with his online schooling Tuesday through Friday. Tuesday and Wednesday are full days so they are always more difficult. We made it through the week so I call that a win! The best news of the week was Blake's school announcing they will be returning to in-person learning on February 8th! I am so excited for Blake. He has been obviously struggling with remote learning but more importantly he really misses his friends and being around other kids. He has been in-person for less than 2 months this year and outside of school he doesn't interact with any kids other than Kylie. 

The kids started a tradition a few months back where they would sleep in Blake's bunk beds on non-school nights. So Friday and Saturday night they sleep in Blake's room. At first it was pretty rough. They would never go to sleep and we would have to go in there so many times. Now they usually go right to sleep and it's been fun. I went in on Friday to turn off the light and had to capture the sweet moment. 

Jeremy had the idea to take Blake camping this weekend. The forecast had snow coming in Flagstaff Saturday night and Sunday morning. They reserved a spot at the KOA in Flagstaff. I ran all around Phoenix Saturday morning looking for snow boots for Blake. We bought a pair for New York but I sold them to a used clothing store because we had no plans of being in snow the rest of the year. Thankfully I was able to find a nice expensive pair but thankful I found some! They packed up and headed north. They went to Five Guys for dinner and had yummy burgers. They went to their camp site and set up the tent and went for a hike. Next, they made a fire and made smores and relaxed by the fire. Kylie and I didn't do much at all which was so nice. She let me lay in bed most of the day and watch shows and just relax together. We ordered lots of doordash, played games, and practiced our numbers. 

The next morning Jeremy and Blake got up and headed to a café for breakfast. They woke up to a winter wonderland and a tent with ice on it. Blake ordered a giant cinnamon roll and was so excited to facetime me and show me. I was very jealous. The two of them had such a fun morning in the snow. They built a snowman and went sledding. Blake had an absolute blast. I was so nervous about the idea of camping in the snow but it sounds like it was hit! He learned that the KOA in Flagstaff has so many fun activities in the summer. He REALLY wants to go back in the summer so we are going to have to add that to our list for this summer. Kylie and I spent the morning cleaning the house while she played with toys in her room. The afternoon was spent watching football games. I don't know what I'm going to do on the weekends without football. I have really enjoyed watching football this year. We don't typically go anywhere on the weekends, due to COVID, so it gives me something consistent to look forward to. 

Blake Sledding #1

Blake Sledding #2

Week 2 - 2021

Week 2 - 2021

This week was pretty rough. 

Blake continued with remote learning this week. It did not go very well. Blake really struggled with listening and staying in class. He constantly was in my office. Tuesday was hands down the hardest day of remote learning so far. Jeremy was at a board meeting so I was home with Blake alone most of the day. I had a full day of meetings and Blake had an attitude. He would not do his assignments or stay in class most of the day. He did have Art class in the afternoon which gave me a good 45 minute break with no interruptions. It was amazing! :) I logged into a meeting during Art class and Blake asked me for a Sharpie. I was hesitant and asked if he really needed it and he said yes. Since I was running a meeting I really had no choice but to give it to him so I did. He completed his art project and I forgot to collect the marker after my meeting. Math was his last class of the day and again, I had a meeting so I couldn't answer one of his questions. I believe he was upset with me and he ended up going back to his room and drawing all over his white laptop with the sharpie marker. He traced almost every key on the laptop. After my meeting I asked him to come to the kitchen table and we worked on some of his assignment together. I went to his room to grab something and saw his laptop and almost had a heart attack. At this moment I had been fighting with him all day and had hardly gotten any work done. I didn't have a single meeting where he didn't interrupt and fight with me. I was drained and exhausted. It pretty much broke me. I could tell it had been sitting for a little while and I tried a few things that normally work for me to get sharpie out and it wasn't coming off at all. Jeremy was in a board meeting so I couldn't get any help or ideas from him. I goggled like crazy and tried every idea. One thing that worked some was using a dry erase marker and tracing over the sharpie. It did take some off but mostly made it look all smudged everywhere. At this point I stepped away from the situation and went back to working. I had tried everything I could and was going to drive myself crazy being so upset. Jeremy called after his board meeting and picked up a few things I wanted to try. Rubbing alcohol and water did help a little but still did not look good. Jeremy and I had a long conversation with Blake and ended up deciding to take away all electronics, with the exception of what he needed only for school, for the remainder of the week. Blake was very upset at first but understood the rules and why. 

The rest of the week was hard but better. Blake was bored most of the day so he was in my room a lot. It was interesting because we talked more than we ever have. He played with Chloe, played in the backyard, and did some arts and crafts. Friday was pretty good! Friday is a little lighter for him so usually he does well on Friday. He did his morning work with Grandma Krass through facetime and then had music and literacy in the afternoon. He was really attentive and did his assigned work during class. I'm glad we were able to end the week on a better note. Side note: Blake and I found some Norwex cleaner that really helped clean his laptop. Blake and I cleaned each key with a q-tip. 

Blake Reading Video

Blake Reading Video #2

On Friday at lunch time, Blake lost his 2nd tooth. I sat down to eat lunch and he came over and showed me his mouth which was bleeding. He had been wiggling his tooth which made it bleed. I pulled it out but it was barely hanging on. Blake was super excited! Friday night we watched a movie and had ice cream and popcorn. 

We took the kids to a park in anthem to ride bikes, play on the playground, and ride the train. We have not taught Blake to ride his bike with no training wheels so we decided to give it a try. He struggled with balance in the beginning but towards the end he was able to do it with no assistance. I was SO proud of him. He was so determined and he was able to do it. He didn't want to stop practicing but eventually we had to tell him it was time to go. The first time he rode all by himself the train was going by right next to him and this family was cheering him on. They saw us when he was first trying so it was fun that they were able to see his progress. Blake was so excited to hear them as well. 

Blake - Riding Bike Video

Blake - Riding Bike Video #2

I spent the afternoon/night watching football. During halftime we promised Blake we would go for a walk and he could practice riding his bike again. 

Blake - Riding Bike at Home Video

Week 1 - 2021

Week 1 - 2021

My goal is to post every week in 2021. I wish I did that in 2020 but it didn't happen. My hope is to be able to post timely so I can truly document what happened during the week, including the good and bad moments. 

On Saturday morning we got up early and were at Costco right when they opened. I saw a desk online that I really wanted and we know they go fast so I was so excited when we found it! Jeremy and I set up the desk and rearranged all my work equipment. We moved our bedroom around a bit to allow me to put the desk by the window and the fireplace. I have loved having the extra space and having the fireplace on all day! I'm always cold so it's nice to have a fireplace to warm up with. 

We took the kids to the Enchanted Island park. We are growing to like this place because it's so close and both kids are at the age that they like all the rides and can run from ride to ride on their own. They both LOVE the dragon rollercoaster and rode it over 10 times. It was pretty empty so there was no waiting in lines. Kylie really wants to have her birthday party this year at the Enchanted Island park so we will have to see what life is like in 5 months. 

Blake started back at school this week. We are still required to do remote learning which has continued to be a struggle. Art is still his favorite class. He continues to amaze me with his math skills. He does not like to do his independent work. Some classes are recorded and he is supposed to listen to the video and perform the associated work. This does not happen most days until we fight about it and end up doing it together. Grandma does save the day often and they perform the assignments together through facetime. It's fun to watch their relationship. As soon as he sees a specific humanities assignment he says he needs Grandma Krass. 

We have been wanting to have our house painted since we purchased it about a year and a half ago. Jeremy obtained a few quotes a month or so ago and we picked one but we needed to pick colors. We did some test colors over the weekend and made final decisions. The kids used the leftover paint to paint their fort made out of my desk box. They literally spent 4 + hours painting outside. It was pretty amazing!

The rest of the weekend was spent watching football and getting stuff done around the house. Jeremy and the kids did some yard work in the front. They took out some bricks and mulch and replaced it with rocks. I love it! We still have a few more projects for the front that we would like to do this year. I also started working on our taxes. It always takes awhile so I got all of our rental property information together. This was the first year that we had two rental properties rented for the entire year. 

December 2020 - Part 3

December 2020 - Part 3

A few days after we arrived in NY the kids were sent an elf from the north pole. This was the first year they had an elf. They were both SO excited to find the elf every morning. Kylie would wake up really early because she was so excited. I wasn't able to take pictures of the elf everyday but I did get a picture of a few of them. 

One morning we all went out and made Snowman's. Jeremy and Kylie were a team and Grandma, Blake and I were another team. There was so much snow that it was tricky to make a snowman but we figured it out. We only had one official snowman kit so we got creative on our second snowman and I was lucky to have Blake on my team because he used his Minecraft skills to finish the snowman. The kids also made snow angels. We made the snowman right in time because the next day it started raining and most of the snow melted within the next few days. 

Another morning we took family pictures. The kids were not a fan so it was a little stressful and we weren't able to get as many as I would have liked but we were able to get some good ones. 

Grandma and Grandpa's puppy "Chip" turned 1 while we were in NY so we had a paw patrol party to celebrate. The kids thought it was fun and we had cake. Kylie loved it and made a mess as usual. :) 

Kylie and Blake wore matching jogging suits with Grandpa! We had to take a picture. 

On Christmas eve we watched Polar Express, opened a present (pajamas), and read The Night Before Christmas. The kids went to bed pretty easily as they were excited for Santa to come! 

The kids woke up around 7am on Christmas morning which was really nice because Kylie had been waking up between 4am and 5am almost every morning. I let them open their stocks while we waiting for everyone to come down stairs. We usually open stockings at the end so it was fun to mix it up this year. The kids started with the presents from Santa. Kylie received a high chair and wagon for her bitty baby, money, stuffed mickey mouse, and a paw patrol tower. Blake received a drone, digital camera, money, telescope, nerf gun, and watch. Jeremy and I got them a few other gifts. We had to keep it light to make sure we had enough space to bring back home. We gave Kylie a few Barbie toys, Peppa pig toys, mickey mouse clubhouse camper van and magnets. We gave Blake some Roblox toys and robux. switch games, magnets, and a space book. Jeremy and I didn't exchange too many gifts this year. Jeremy is really hard to buy for because he usually buys what he wants so I feel like I'm buying things he really doesn't really want or need. We decided that we would each get a few things that we wanted within November and December. Jeremy picked a nice drone, Traeger grill, and new monitors. I picked a robot vacuum and mop. Jeremy surprised me with a TV for our bedroom and an apple watch. I'm loving the TV to watch football on. We only had one TV that I could watch the games on and that was in the living room. It was always hard to get to watch the game with minimal distractions being in the living room.

We took a break from presents to have Christmas breakfast. It was very yummy!

After a few hours we opened presents from Grandma and Grandpa Krass. They also opened their presents from us. Grandma and Grandpa nailed the kids presents this year! Blake received a huge Mario cart hot wheels track and a marble run set. Kylie received a Peppa pig family house and a beauty station kit. I tried telling them they couldn't open them because we weren't sure we would have space to bring them home and as you would imagine that didn't go well. They absolutely loved their presents! We were also surprised with our own "snowman" made out of presents. They looked like decorations but turned out to be made out of some of our Christmas presents. They were so cute and such a fun idea! We were definitely spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa!

On our last full day in NY the kids mostly played with toys and I packed up the suitcases. Grandma, Kylie, and I snuck away to do a little shopping and then I treated the girls to pedicures. It was Kylie's first time getting a pedicure at a nail salon and she did really well. She ended up getting a manicure and pedicure. It was fun to end the trip with a little treat. 

Our flight home went pretty smoothly. We left NY at 6am which was really early but our flight was probably on 1/2 full or less. Our next flight out of Chicago was completely full. The kids did really well which was really nice. Jeremy and Kylie sat together and Blake and I sat together. We both took naps and watched TV. 

On New Years Eve, Jeremy and Blake went to a Firework shop and picked out some fireworks to do in the backyard. The kids loved it! They were helping Jeremy light them and were really into it this year. Kylie was a little scared of the loud fireworks but by the end she was doing better. We did have one incident where Kylie touched her sparker stick after it went out and burned her hand. We quickly took care of it and she was good to go. She handled it really well. The kids tried so hard to stay up till midnight but didn't make it. Kylie was first to fall asleep around 10pm on the coach and Blake fell asleep around 11pm. Jeremy and I stayed up and had crumble cookies and non-alcoholic bubbly.