Sunday, December 31
We started New Year's Eve with a big cup of coffee and a warm fire, of course.
Yum...
Then, Ellis and I ran to pick up a few necessities (milk, bread, dog food) at the grocery store, a few new house plants from Home Depot, and dropped off a box of donation items at Goodwill. RA and RF hung out at home working on a few small projects.
Helping daddy haul some wood to keep that warm fire going...
After lunch and a nap, RA worked on some finishing touches on our bed that he is building.
Yes, we quickly moved the little foot from near the saw blade as soon as realized he had walked this close to us.
Fingers crossed that we will have it finished and put up SOON. In anticipation of changing out a few pieces of furniture in my bedroom that don't coordinate with the look of the bed RA is building, I worked on cleaning out my hope chest, the first piece of furniture RA gave me (and for those of you that know us well, you know RA LOVES to buy furniture). It has been packed tight from the years, but it was really fun to go through and look at all of the things we've kept. One thing I noticed that we had quite a few of were cards - old college IDs, old driver's licenses, used gift cards, and hotel room keys from traveling. Guess who loves cards? Ellis! So, he decided that all of the cards were now his. He has wandered all over the house with his new cards to add to his collection.
Part of his collection. This kid is crazy.
We all ate leftovers for dinner and the boys headed off to bed after watching a little bit of Despicable Me with RA.
RA and I stayed up working (lesson plans and curriculum for me and a brief and order for RA - exciting New Year's Eve, I know) and watched a few episodes of Longmire (really good Netflix show). We started watching the ABC New Year's Eve special, but quickly realized that we didn't recognize any of the musical talents or presenters, so we changed it back to Longmire. I made it until 11:30, but fell asleep before midnight. Oh well. Happy New Year!
Monday, January 1
The boys slept until 8:15.
Did you hear me?
My boys. SLEPT. UNTIL. 8:15.
That never, ever, ever happens.
Since they slept, I slept. It was a GREAT way to end my last official day of Christmas Break.
It was absolutely freezing in Covington on New Year's Day, so the boys stayed inside all day. The wind chill was in the low 20s. It was brutal. To be fair, staying inside all day with two active boys was also brutal.
Nana and Babu arrived mid-morning to spend two days (I go back to work tomorrow, but the boys are still out of school until Wednesday).
A little study time on the iPad. RF loves a YouTube channel about sharks and other ocean life by Jonathan Bird. He watches it (or DinoTrux) anytime he gets a little iPad time.
We had a traditional lunch of collards, black eyed peas, and cornbread for lunch.
Collards...
Black-eyed peas. I LOVE black-eyed peas...
Cornbread...YUMMY.
Unfortunately, the day got away from us and by the time I realized the boys had not taken a nap it was 3:30 (too late to go down for a nap), so I braced myself for a challenging evening with two overtired little boys.
Dinner was leftovers as we started watching the GA vs. OK game.
Come on, GA Bulldogs! Interestingly enough, the framed postcards above our TV are of locations all over Athens - Sanford Stadium, the law school, UGA chapel, etc.
And what a game it was! Go DAWGS!
I finished up a few work things while sweating through the Rose Bowl and then headed to bed ahead of a teacher work day on Tuesday.
Definitely not happy to have to set these darn alarms...
Tuesday, January 2
Can we say FREEZING?
14 degrees? SERIOUSLY? I grew up at the beach...on the coast. Even though we do live further north now, this is not normal for southern states. On my way to work in 14 degree weather. This is every bit the definition of the word unacceptable.
RA informed me that we had a minor (possibly major???) plumbing issue and after Mr. Joe took a look at it and noted that I needed to call the city's water department, I was nervous that 2018 was not off to the best start. Luckily, the city workers came right out and (hopefully --- fingers crossed) fixed the problem. RA and I had time to grab a quick lunch together and stop by the house to check on the plumbing issue before I headed back to work to finish up preparing for second semester - students come back to school tomorrow!
I finished up at work and headed home about 3:30 and learned that Ellis likes oranges (didn't know that - he drinks orange juice, but apparently also likes whole oranges) and that he thinks he is big enough to climb trees.
Chowing down...
"I think I can go higher, mama!"
We had a low-key evening at home with RA building us a roaring fire (supposed to be in the teens again tonight. UGH). The boys headed to bed early as the didn't take a nap today - they were too busy playing and enjoying their time with Nana and Babu.
We had a great Christmas Break. I love, love, love being at home with the boys (even when they drive me to have to inhale a chocolate-sprinkle doughnut while hiding in the laundry room).
The Hawk family is looking forward to a quiet and calm beginning to 2018 and wish you and yours a Happy New Year!
