Friday Update

Happy Friday!  This is the third Friday in a row that I've been off from school... I'm not complaining!  We're on snow day #7, having only gone one day to school this week.  The snow is still hanging on some, but the roads are fine.  The boys and I went to the Y this morning to burn some energy, then we headed to the Aquarium.  I wish I had every Friday off with my little men; all these snow days have spoiled all three of us!  Here's a look back at our snowy week!

• The boys have really enjoyed playing in the snow this week.  It was finally a "good" snow, meaning we could build snowballs, sled, and make snowmen.  It wore them out, but the cold didn't seem to hinder them at all.  I eventually got cold enough each time we went out that I made everyone come back in, but they're still complaining that there isn't enough snow to really play in today.
• Clark's gotten a bit attached to his mommy since I've had so much time off the last two weeks.  I've gotten attached too, so it's going to be a rude awakening next week when I return back to my normal work schedule.  Luckily, spring break is at the end of March, so it won't be too long before we're reunited for lazy days off!
• I'm really hoping we won't have to make up all this missed time from school, but I'm sure we won't get that lucky. 
• I was able to pull out the camera yesterday in all the snow, and I got some really sweet pictures of the boys and their friend, Colt.  It felt good taking some pictures and doing a little editing, so I'm really looking forward to my spring mini sessions next week!  I know spring-ish weather is supposed to move in next week and keep us wet, but I think it's supposed to move out by the weekend - at least I hope it is!
• Tomorrow Andy and I head out to Nashville for the NeedtoBreathe concert!  The show is at the Ryman, and I've always heard rave reviews about anything there.  I can't wait!  I love Nashville, but we're never up there for any extended amount of time.  When we go, it's always for a specific purpose, then we head home.  Since the concert isn't until Sunday night, I'm hoping we can explore some.  I love the show Nashville, so I'm hoping we can see some landmarks from it.  I'm also hoping we can sleep in on Sunday.  I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I slept past 8am. 
• Once again, we went to the Y a ton this week.  Like I said before, the weather has put a damper on things we're able to do, so sometimes the Y seems like a mini vacation.  I did a spin class on Wednesday (which almost killed me!), and I knew my bottom would be feeling it for awhile afterwards.  Well, I'm still wincing a bit every time I sit down.  It didn't help that I fell flat on my rear yesterday in the snow.  I'm also really sore from using some weights this week.  I know I'll get used to it eventually, but I'm feeling way beyond my years with all this soreness.
• We leave for our summer vacation four months from today!  It's really odd to think that it isn't too far off, considering we were just dumped 8 inches of snow.  I can't wait though, I'm really excited about Jekyll.  Also, Clarks turns 3 five months from today... that makes me really sad! 
• I finally got Cooper signed up for soccer!  He can't wait!  He ended up being in an older age group than I had originally thought, so he's going to have six games instead of four.  I'm really hoping this isn't a lot more involved then we're wanting right now, but I think he'll love it.  He's so wild that he needs something to concentrate his energy on, so I think it'll be good for him.  Clark's begging me to play (he's too young right now), so I'm sure he'll fuss at every practice and game since he can't play.
• I'm SO ready for spring weather.  I'm glad we got one good snow for the boys to play in, but I hope it's done for the year now!  I really can't wait for the time change next week... that makes life so much better!

Alright, I hope everyone has a great weekend!  I'm sure I'll have plenty to say next week about our concert, not that anyone cares though!

Snow Day #6

The snow that Chattanooga's favorite weatherman, Paul Barys, had been promising all week hit yesterday afternoon around 4pm.  After an hour we were already around half an inch, and it didn't let up any throughout the rest of the night.  After we finished up dinner, we bundled up the boys and took them outside to play.  It wasn't too cold outside, but after around 30 minutes my toes were starting to hurt.  They were able to throw some snowballs, sled some, and explore the neighborhood in that time, and Cooper even got to jump on the trampoline, snow and all.  Here are some photos from our biggest snow of 2015.  These were all taken last night, but we're about to head back out for round two!

 

 

 

 

Snow Day #5

We're on snow day #5, all of them happening within the last two school weeks.  We went to school one day last week, and we've been one day this week.  My students have been working on the same essay for two weeks now... it's a bit ridiculous!  If the snow comes today that they're calling for, I highly doubt we'll go tomorrow, too.  I'm figuring we'll probably go on Friday, but they're still calling for some lingering ice then, so we might be on a delay then.  Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love all this extra time with the boys, but I'm sick of this weather.  Like I mentioned before, I could never live up North where snow hangs around all winter... that would be terrible to me!  We're supposed to head out to Nashville on Saturday for our NeedtoBreathe concert, so as long as the weather has cleared by then, I really don't care... I love having the days off with the boys.

I told Andy yesterday that I think I'm hating all this "snow" because we're SO close to spring!  The time changes next week, it's a few days away from March, and our spring break is just a few weeks away.  It'd be different if it were December or January, but I was already over winter at this point, so all this snow is just miserable as I'm highly anticipating spring's arrival.  When it has snowed, the boys haven't even wanted to play in it.  We played a little Saturday, but yesterday they had no desire to go out in it.  I don't blame them!

We're all going a bit stir crazy as we feel contained to the house due to all the "threats" to the roadways, so desperate times call for desperate measures.  Here are a few funny things that have come to pass over the course of our snow days.

• Cooper has become OBSESSED with Maroon 5's song "Animals."  That's all he wants to listen to.  I like it too, so I don't argue when he requests it.  Clark likes it, but during the part where Adam Levine howls like a wolf, Clark acts like he's terrified.  He has to talk himself up the whole time before it comes on.  It's hilarious!  He always says, "That wolf is going to scare me.  It's so scary!" He also fake cries during that part.  Now, if it really scared him, I'd spare the poor child, but he likes being scared, so it's really just funny.
• Clark has become with chocolate egg candy- like the kind you get for Easter.  I have no idea what even made him think of those, but we came in from the Y on Monday night and he started going crazy, asking where his chocolate eggs were.  Of course, we didn't have any, so he demanded that we go to the store and find some.  I found some at the grocery store yesterday, and I'm at the point where I'm going to have hide them from him because he's eating so many.  I've never seen a child that likes junk food as much as he does.  
• The Y has saved our sanity on most snow days.  Thankfully the snow we've had has either came in early and melted, or came in late enough where we could get out in the mornings.  It gives us all a chance to burn some energy.
• Andy and I have taken this time to catch up on some Dexter.  We've finally finished the seventh season, so now we just have 12 more episodes to go.  I've heard so many different reactions to the series finally that I'm almost dreading finishing it.  Most people I've talked to hated the finale, so I'm really hoping it doesn't ruin the whole series for me!  After we finish it, I think we're going to move on to Breaking Bad.

I'll leave you with a few pictures from our snow day Saturday.  As our friends in Michigan said, it wasn't really snow, but a lot of ice.  We played for about 30 minutes, then we were over it!

 

It's Fun to Stay at the YMCA...

A few weeks ago we joined the Chattanooga area YMCA (there are several we can go to in the area), and so far we're loving it!  I had been exercising constantly, and loosing weight, for the last year without the help of a gym, so I didn't think we really needed a gym membership.  We went back and forth with our decision to join, but I was so happy when we finally bit the bullet.  Here are a few reasons why I love the Y, in no particular order.

1.  The boys love going-  The childcare area is a big playground, so they are playing and running the whole time they're there.  With all the winter weather we've been having lately, it's really nice to get them out of the house and in a warm area where they can play.  The play area over looks the pool, so when I'm swimming I can see them a lot of the time.  That's reassuring for me!
2.  It's keeping me out of the cold and dark-  I was running in our neighborhood, around 8:30 each night, in the pitch dark.  Plus, it was freezing when I ran.  I couldn't get in a full cardio workout because of the weather, and out of fear of being hit by a car.  At the Y I usually do one of the cardio machines for 40 minutes or so, not having to worry about the cold or getting hit!  I always have my music playing, I always read a book on my phone, plus I have the TV going on the machine.  I have to keep myself occupied if I want to spend 40 minutes doing cardio.
3.  Weight machines- I never did any kind of weights here at home, so I've slowly started easing my way into them at the Y.  I was really against weights because I was afraid I'd bulk up, and gain weight, but I'm keeping the weight and reps low, hoping just to tone things.  The Y has a weight section off to the side of the cardio, away from where all the "beef heads" (including my husband) work out, so I don't feel intimidated around the men there.
4.  Group workout classes- I'm slowly going to ease myself into these too.  I've always felt intimidated in group workout classes, but I've found that nobody pays attention to you at the gym.  The last two days I've tried to make it a cycle/spin class, but last night we got there too late (who knew that downtown Chattanooga turned into Atlanta at rush time?), and today the boys begged me to go swimming, so I missed that one due to the pool schedule.  I have no desire to do aerobics or zumba classes, so I think I'm just going to rotate spin and water aerobics classes, and maybe slowly ease my way into some yoga classes.  I'll be honest though, yoga really intimidates me.
5.  The pools-  The Y downtown has a teaching pool and a lap pool.  Most of the time we go to the big teaching pool to swim laps and play with the boys.  I've ventured to the lap pool a few times, but the swimmers in there are SERIOUS.  I've noticed lots of private school graduates in there who really know what they're doing.  It's neat to watch them swim all the different strokes, but it's also intimidating when I'm struggling with the free style.
6.  The location- We go to the Y downtown, close to the Aquarium/Lookouts stadium, and I love it.  I love downtown, so the drive and area are an encouragement for me to go.  Lots of evenings when we come out the sun is just starting to go down, and the lights of all the buildings are on, and it really is beautiful.  The cardio area has a huge glass wall that looks out over the city, so I definitely don't get board with that view.  I can't wait for the time change and warmer weather because I know we'll take advantage of both and take the boys downtown to explore before or after workouts.
7.  The locker room- The locker room is huge, and has pretty much anything you could need to get ready for the day.  Now, I don't like walking around and seeing a bunch of naked women, so I try to keep my head down and keep to myself.  It is nice the few times I've showered there though I've been able to get completely ready for whatever our plans are afterwards.  I've bought some travel size hair stuff and cheap makeup, so I just keep them in my gym bag just in case I need to get ready to do something.  There's also a couple of family locker rooms for when I take the boys swimming, so it's nice to be able to get them changed and ready without cramming into a bathroom.

If you're looking into joining a gym, especially if you have children, I highly recommend the Y!  I loved it when Andy and I were members 8 years ago, and I really love it now that I have babies of my own!

Friday Update

Happy snow day!  Yes, we're on our third snow day of the week!  Monday was a holiday, Tuesday and Wednesday we had snow days, we had a two hour delay yesterday, and another snow day today.  We haven't had any snow, but I'm not complaining!  Here's a look back at our crazy week of cold weather.

• The only day we had any snow this week was Wednesday, and that didn't last.  We had some on the ground, but the wind started in so hard that it quickly disappeared.  It has been bitterly cold this week though, so we haven't been able to do much with all of our time off.  We're going a bit stir crazy.  They're calling for more snow/ice this evening, so we'll see what happens.  I'd prefer snow over ice, but I guess it's not up to me!
• Cooper has kept extremely chapped lips/face pretty much since Christmas.  I'm treating them every day, but he licks them so obsessively that I can't get them healed.  If anyone has any suggestions on a really good way to treat them, I'm all ears!
• Cooper and Clark usually take turns being the bad eaters of the family, and right now we're on Clark's turn.  He's 2.5 years old, and still wants baby food/soft foods for almost every meal.  I'm at a loss of what to do - it's so frustrating!  Now, if it's sweets or junk food, he'll eat any solid he can get his hands on, but if it's real food, forget it.  I'm so tired of buying baby food.  I keep saying I'll just stop and he'll have to eat other stuff, but he refuses or throws up whatever we make him eat.
• We finally booked a hotel in Nashville for the NeedtoBreathe concert we're going to next week!  I'm really hoping some warmer weather will move in, and that it won't be frigid in Nashville while we're there.  I just looked at the forecast though for next weekend, and of course, they're calling for snow.  I don't make much of forecasts this far out though... hopefully that will change!
• I've tried to use this week to catch up on some TV, but I haven't succeeded much.  The boys have had more TV/technology time this week than I prefer due to the cold weather, so I haven't been as successful as I've wanted to be in that quest.  I keep telling myself I'll stay up late to watch stuff, but I just want to crawl in bed at night.
• We've been going to the Y faithfully this week.  All the time off has helped, but we've going for the boys just as much as us.  It gets them out of the house and lets them run around and play - exactly what they've needed this week!  I'm definitely feeling it this week though, I've been sore every day!
• I've set up a spring photo shoot for the beginning of March, complete with baby chicks!  I'm really excited about it, and I think the pictures will turn out great!

Alright, I've ran out of things to say.  I hope everyone has a good weekend - stay safe in the winter weather!

Kentucky Game Recap

Yesterday, against our better judgement, Andy and I headed up to Knoxville to watch the Kentucky-Tennessee basketball game.  I say it was against our better judgement because Knoxville was hit by a huge ice storm on Monday, and all we had heard was that the roads were in terrible condition.  We also knew that Kentucky had been hit by a ton of snow, so we just knew that the game would be rescheduled.  Well, it wasn't, so we braved the nasty weather to cheer on the Wildcats.  This Kentucky team is one of the best they've had in years, and they're undefeated, so we didn't want to miss the chance to watch them play.

I'm a born and raised Kentucky fan and Andy was converted in middle school, so I bought tickets for him for Christmas.  We really wanted to go watch a game at Rupp Arena in Lexington this year, but there was no way we could afford them with this team.

We left four hours before tip off in case we ran into trouble on the roads, but all the main roads were fine, so we got up there really early.  We ate and then headed to the arena to watch them warm up.  Our seats were terrible, but UT was kind enough to let us come down to the floor during warm ups.  The guys were so close, and they were unbelievably huge.  Most of them were pushing 7 feet tall, so it was crazy to see them up close.  Andy even yelled at one of them, and much to our shock, he looked at Andy and nodded his head to acknowledge him!

When the game first started, there were a lot of empty seats, so we thought we'd be able to move closer around half time.  Well, it was an ESPN game, and it quickly filled up after tip off.  There were some Kentucky fans around us, but mostly Tennessee fans.  For 30 minutes of the 40 minute game, it was really close... too close for me.  Kentucky finally pulled ahead by a good bit with 10 minutes left and we were able to relax some.  Both games Kentucky games we had been to at UT since we had been dating Kentucky had lost, so we were happy to break the curse our 3rd time around.

We were able to get back to our car quickly and got home safely by 11:20, so traveling went much better than I had expected.  I had gotten a call during the game that we would be on a two hour delay for school, so that was nice, but it was even nicer when school got cancelled today!  I've been able to rest up some from our fun last night!

Go Cats!