Spring Time + Visiting Popo

It's SPRING.

After our ridiculous snow storm last week - I shit you not it snowed for an ENTIRE DAY last Thursday.

We didn't wake up to the four expected inches, but the ground was WHITE Wednesday morning and it snowed off and on all day.

Then Thursday came around and it was just stupid.

BUT.

Now that that's over, we can focus on spring! 

The kids were not feeling well and stayed home from school Thursday AND Friday (well, Mila went Thursday) but they were both feeling much, much better by the weekend. We went to my mom's house to spend time with her and also start some of my seeds for the garden. I could easily do it at my house, but this is a fun activity to do with mom. She enjoys gardening more than I do! 

Ava started some corn, beans and squash

Mom moved back last Feb, so we didn't have a ton of time to get her garden ready. Steve is going to help me this weekend and double this little one and get some stakes into the ground for her. 

It's been raining now for a few days - with small breaks of sun here and there. Today is incredibly foggy, but it's ok. As long as it doesn't freaking snow anymore.

Saturday is MAY!

Time just flies, doesn't it. 

Oh no, here we go. We've been lucky so far.

Wearing masks and being psycho about handwashing has been good for more than just COVID precautions.

Neither of our girls has had even a slight cold this cold season. 

Usually they are the kids with constant runny noses because of school and daycare.

I remember when they were babies, other moms and I would joke and call it "daycare nose" because what the actual fuck. How can a nose run that constantly but yes it's not sickness or allergies? 

Anyway. 

Ava started with a cough earlier this week.

Nothing crazy. 

It hasn't gotten worse. 

No other symptoms.

So when it was time to fill out the school survey, I answered honestly and said she had one of the symptoms listed. A cough.

I got a message saying to keep her home and follow the "Return to School" protocol. Which means doctor visit and COVID test to get cleared.

So of course, that's what we did.

(I'm SO grateful for having a flexible job).

I got an appt for 11am and off we went.

Ava and Mr. Hedgehog waiting to get checked out.

Poor Bubba fell asleep right before dinner.

Since she "had symptoms" the COVID test was more invasive than mine was. They did the brain-touching kind, but Ava did great. I knew she would.

I ran around all day I felt like. 

After her appointment, I stopped at Steve's work to get more washer fluid.

Then after that, I stopped by my friend's work, which happens to be our Allergist's office and signed paperwork for Ava to start allergy shots. 

She's just always suffering or has these flare ups that we can't figure out. I didn't want to start shots because she's just so small. And 4 shots is a lot.

But, her new pediatrician did convince me that her daily allergy issues is much much worse. 

So, ok. That's all the kick in the ass I needed. 

After THAT we came home and I had a 1pm call.

I took that call and then it was almost time to pick up Mila from school.

As soon as GF got in the car she said "I have a scratchy throat - it just started"

OK THEN.

As the evening went on, her runny nose got progressively worse.

I made the decision to just keep her home and go through this process again with her. 

Sigh. I guess I have to be happy that this is legit the first time they've been under the weather since A YEAR AGO.

That's very unusual for my sickness-prone children. 

And, I'd rather deal with all this now, before they go back to school full time in 1.5 weeks.

Back In School

Over the course of the last few weeks, CDC guidelines have changed and they are now saying that kids can be 3 feet apart and be ok regarding the transmission of the Coronavirus. They are also now saying that it's a low risk of catching this virus on surfaces. Everyone went nuts in the beginning to literally disinfect every single thing and were literally drinking bleach...and it's not transmissible on surfaces. Or, the chance is low. 

Whatever. 

Because of these new guidelines, many districts around our area were starting their reopening plans to get students back in the building 5 days a week.

There are so many factors. 

They sent out surveys to both students and parents asking what the preference is.

We obviously chose back in school full time. 

My kids have dealt with this entire thing in stride. But it's time. They need to be back in school with their peers and go through their curriculum in a more traditional fashion because neither Steve nor I are teachers. 

Kids will have to wear masks (they are actually pretty good about this!) and they have to be 3 feet distanced apart. There will be designated areas outside for mask breaks and they will likely spend a lot of their time outside anyway. I'm grateful we're heading into summer so kids can be outside more. 

Ironically, the date that I'm writing this (April 21) it's actually fucking snowing.

ANYWAY. 

There was a school board meeting last week indicating that things would change soon and that there'd be a survey going out.

Then the results of the survey were last night.

I was so on top of making sure I was around to watch it and then totally forgot. Fuck!

So I joined the Zoom meeting 27 minutes late. I had to stick around for a while before I gathered enough information to realize that they are opening schools back up full time for Primary and Elementary students!

HALLELUJAH!

Working Out - 44 Weeks Into My Fitness Journey

This post will not be a typical workout post. 

That's because starting at week 41 and 4 days, I will not be working out. 

I won't be for at least 3 weeks due to a surgical procedure I got done on April 5. 

Nothing major, just a little outpatient surgery.

During this time I will need to focus on recovery, making sure that I'm eating nutritious meals, and making sure my body has what it needs to heal. 

I worked out as normal until 2 days before my surgery. Just to give my body time to relax before being put through any trauma. 

I should be able to start light legs about 3 weeks after - depending on how I'm feeling. I'm not supposed to sweat or raise my heart rate for 3 weeks. 

That will be tough! I hope I can at least walk around to keep my body moving. 

At the time of this writing, I only have 5 more days of "rest" before I can start up again. 

I plan to start back up my lower body and not just jump in full force. I plan to start with bodyweight.

I will also not go back to everyday workouts. I will make sure to have a rest day in between for a while and not do consecutive days unless my body can handle it. I don't want to do too much too fast.

I have actually (I think) maintained my weight even though I've been eating like shit basically and am so sedentary and it's so different from how I was before.

I definitely feel sluggish and bloated. The bloat from surgery is NO JOKE! 

3 days after surgery I was 5lbs heavier than when I went in. LOL.

I'm definitely not concerned because I know it's bloat and extra fluid. And I know I'll likely put on a couple pounds over the course of a few weeks if I can't work out like I want to. 

That being said, we are now about 10 weeks out from our vacation. 

I plan on using these 10 weeks to get my body back to at least where it was pre-surgery. I'm going to take this very seriously and make sure I'm feeling the best I can before we go. 

Most people train and get ready for a competition. I'm getting ready for vacation. I think I can do it.

I hope my muscles don't just shrink away. I worked so hard to get where I am. 

Birthday Weekend!

We got to celebrate Mila all weekend. 

I think it's fair to say she had a wonderful weekend, spent with family and she felt all the love.

Her birthday was Friday, so she has school.

I had blown up some balloons for her to come down to and added some streamers in a couple of doorways.

She had been begging for Barbie's Dreamhouse for a while now.

I was hoping she'd get over it.

It's a ton of plastic and it costs $179. And it's likely she'll play with it for a month and then it'll sit there.

Like all the other dollhouses she's gotten.

Just crazy if you ask me.

Honestly? I didn't want to get it for her.

But Steve convinced me that even if it was just for her reaction and even if she only played with it for a month, in reality, in the grand scheme of things...$179 ($194 with tax AHEM) it'd be worth it.

I'm super grateful that we are in a place in our lives where we can do this.

So we did. And we had to put it together the night before.

pure happiness

Living her best life. Wegmans sub, tablet and her Dreamhouse

We also decided that it was time we enjoyed dinner out at a restaurant! We were going to just hit up a local spot, but then Mila said she wanted to go to Target. We don't have a Target in our town (BOOOO) so we decided to make the 25 minute drive to another closeby town to have dinner and hit up Target.

Unfortunately, Mila didn't find what she was looking for. Apparently, the Barbie doll she wants is an Amazon exclusive (and twice the price. JESUS). Ava ended up buying herself a Barbie set up, so she was a happy camper. 

We actually checked in to dinner, put our names on the list and then went to Target. We could see where we were in line with their online checker so we thought we'd be ok.

Well, we went from 7th in line to "your table is ready" like immediately. 

So we ran to checkout, Steve went to grab the truck (because of course it was raining) and we got back to the restaurant within like 6 minutes.

Ugh I wish this pic wasn't blurry! 

she loves her daddy

Me and Ava looking a little rough. LOL. #reallife.

Other than the girls being a little tired (we didn't actually eat until 7:30) we had a lovely time. It's been over a year since we've been out to eat as a family. We agreed to do this more often as things open up and once we're fully vaccinated. 

We got home well past the girls normal bedtime, so they had a sleepover in Mila's room and promptly fell asleep.

On Sunday we made rounds with the grandparents. We stopped at Steve's parents first for a little bit and then headed to my mom's for a super early dinner. 

They were very excited about the Funfetti cake my mom got.

Happy 9th Birthday, Baby! (She put the candles in herself lol).

Aunt Jennifer got her the Barbie Jeep, of course and my mom got her a set of books (Never Girls series) and a desk for her room. We did a mini makeover and rearranged her room so her new desk could fit.

We had such a nice weekend celebrating our girl. 

We love you!!!

9

Dear Mila,

How are you nine years old already?! I can remember the day you born like it was yesterday. 

You made me a mom.

You were an awesome baby who was happy all the time.

I am blown away by your kind heart and your ability to make friends. You seem to be able to assimilate into different situations rather well. Maybe some initial hesitation, but then you're good! 

I'm so proud of you. 

Over the course of the last few months you've found a love for reading.

Your nose is always in a book and the ones you love so far are: Junie B. Jones, The Never Girls, Matilda.

Your sister looks at you like you hung the moon.

I can't believe I have a "tween" or "almost tween"

We have been giving you more responsibilities and it's clear we didn't start with chores early enough because you don't love doing them. I have to remind you to not answer me with a huge attitude when I ask you to do something around the house ;)

Proof that you're getting older is the attitude! As sweet as you are, you can also have quite the 'tude these days. 

I'm trying to teach you that the more responsible and trustworthy you are, the more freedom you'll get. 

It's been a tough year with the pandemic and all. This is your second birthday without a party and without any friends. I promise though, we will make it up this summer and have your friends over to swim.

You've handled it like a champ, not being in school all day and not seeing your friends. 

You've always been an amazing big sister and you continue to be. You and Ava are best friends and do everything together. Of course, there are days your baby sister annoys you, but more often than not you are playing together. 

9 seems different to me. Older. Much older than 8. 

9 means you're closer to 10. And THAT is just unbelievable.

I love you beyond words and I'm so grateful to be your mom.

This morning, before school, opening a few gifts.

Officially 9 years old! 

Now, just a photo dump of my precious girl. 

Love you, kiddo. 

COVID VACCINE

Welp folks, I finally got my first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine!

I was eligible a while back with having asthma, but due to my surgical procedure, I opted to wait so I wouldn't get a positive test and ergo not be able to have my surgery. 

I then had one booked for the end of May - it was the only available slot and the location was about 45 minutes from my house. The second dose would be early June. 

Now that the eligibility requirements have changed many more Vaccine Clinics are opening up. 

So, I went online and snagged a closer appt - both in proximity and in time.

Ready to go!

The entire process was super efficient and super easy. After getting the shot, I had to wait in the lot for 15 minutes to ensure no allergic reaction. 

My arm is SORE. Very sore - sore enough to wake me up in the middle of the night. 

I'm anxious to get my second dose on May 11. 

#doyourpart