That Promised Update

Okay...deep breath. Here's my promised update. It's a bit later than I intended. Oops. This will be loaded, so my apologies in advance. Unless you care to know what's been up. In this case, enjoy.

Gabe, Tenley & Ethan in the OBX - August 2020

So, I last posted in January. Ethan had just turned 9. Shortly after, we decided to adopt a second kitten because 1 cat and 2 dogs isn't enough, apparently. Next, we will be living on a farm. We adopted our "Molly girl," and she gets along really well with Max and our pups. She's on the shy side, but she's so sweet, and she's the same breed as Max, so they look very similar.

Molly

In February Tenley had her first and hopefully last episode of chopping her own hair. The boys were at school, and I was in the office getting some things done. She *was* having quiet time, but got too quiet. She walked into the office super nonchalant with a huge chunk of her bangs chopped closely to her scalp RIGHT IN THE FRONT OF HER HEAD. She also snipped some off from one of the sides. Only a month or so ago did it finally start to look like good bangs. Oh, Tenley.

Ethan had two indoor soccer tournaments, and little did we know they would be his last soccer games for months. COVID-19, of course, came in strong in March. Quarantine began, and we were actually grateful to not only have lots of family time, but to have Jarrod working from home as well. We went on hikes and little local adventures, enjoying the time outdoors, and our nights were filled with lots of Uno Flip, our new favorite card game. Gabe also turned 7 in March. His first grade friends sang "Happy Birthday" to him on Zoom, and it was really cute. Lots of friends and family mailed him cards, which made my heart happy to see him so happy and feeling so loved.

Gabe's 7th Birthday on Zoom

Jarrod refinished our dining room table in April. What else is there to do when you're stuck at home, right? We have had it for years, and the table and chairs were both in really rough shape. He didn't want to buy a new set, so I suggested refinishing it. It looks amazing! I have yet to fix up the chairs, though. Tenley turned FOUR at the end of April. She, too, received lots of cards, drive-by visits, and gift drop-offs from friends and family on our porch. It was such a special highlight of our quarantine time.

Tenley's 4th Birthday

In May we did a complete overhaul of our landscaping out front which was neglected for years. It was our biggest project this year, I think, and it was so refreshing to have it looking nice! I had a great Mother's Day, and was spoiled with breakfast from one of my favorite "healthy" restaurants locally and more flowers for our garden. Jarrod and I celebrated 12 years of marriage, and it was finally warm enough to start venturing over to Nana & Pop-Pop's (Jarrod's parents) house to swim in their pond, fish, and ride four wheelers. After so much time cooped up, we welcomed it.

Father's Day

School finished up in June. Jarrod left for a period of time because of riots and protests in Philly. This triggered some anxiety as the state of our country just seemed to be getting worse and worse, and now he was a direct part of aiding in the mayhem. My oldest niece had a baby this month, which made me a great aunt for the first time! June had its ups and downs.

Pool parties and visits with a couple of close friends, and our nightly walks and hangouts with our neighbors were big parts of our summer. In July, we made the decision to keep our kids home for the school year. We purchased curriculum, and I threw myself fully into homeschooling and teaching the boys. Our school's plan wasn't yet finalized, but them staying home felt like the right thing for us personally to do. We are close to 40 days in (We started at the very end of July.), and while it certainly has its challenges, it is still the decision that was right for us.

In August we went to the Outer Banks. Our vacation was originally schedule for June, but due to the pandemic, Jarrod was unable to travel (military travel ban), and we had to cancel. We were pretty sure our vacation was just not meant to be for 2020, but then we found a reasonably-priced house at the last minute, and we spent a week away in our favorite place! It was so fun and relaxing and necessary.

Now...we are just doing school every day and trucking right along. Jarrod has been away a LOT this year, and that's been hard...especially with homeschooling. I obviously adore my children, but dang - being with them 24/7 alone is exhausting. Thankfully, we have really great friends and family nearby who have helped when they can with what they can. I'm talking random coffee and donut deliveries, friends coming over and sitting with one kid while I help another with school, and grandparents taking kids for sleepovers. Sweet relief. Also, Tenley is in preschool a few days a week, Ethan has begun fall soccer (modified, of course), and Gabe has Cub Scouts, so we are sort of in a "normal" swing...without it being fully normal.

I am currently binging Schitt's Creek, dodging political junk on social media (and DAILY debating deleting it all from my phone for a little while), trying to cook more (ha - cooking real meals has taken a back seat), and enjoying a new bible study by Lauren Chandler I started 2 weeks ago.

More fun on vacation

That's me in a nutshell. I will try (try) to post more so that I don't have to write a novel updating you on what's happening...but now you know -- homeschooling and often solo-parenting = busy and tired Laura. And that is honestly part of why I decided to try to blog more. I needed a little bit of a outlet for me again. So, whether it's just my mom and mother-in-law reading (hi!) or anyone and everyone else...thanks for following along. ;) My next post will be shorter.

Ciao.