Durham Day with Dad

Zac took the kids to Durham today. They had a blast as always.

Leaping & Elizabeths

Simon and Ellie spent a good part of the day seeing how far they could leap off the deck steps. It seemed like a suitable activity for February 29th.

Simon also had a play date with Elizabeth (aka Shushie) today.  When I picked him up, they'd build a weird fort in the backyard (which was strewn with popcorn) and had picked a gazillion flowers. They had a blast.

While Simon was on his playdate, Alice and I ran errands downtown. We went to the library to restock on books, checked out the history museum, and tried to make history by voting (early) for Elizabeth Warren.

Breakfast time!

Simon didn't come to the table when called, but the cat did!

Simon's garden tour

Simon spends a lot of time playing out here.

Scenes from our snow day

It's been over a year since we had snow, and we knew it would melt fast, so right after breakfast we went out to play. The snow was not very deep, and it turned out to be too wet for good sledding. It was ok for making snowmen though. Most of it was indeed melted by the afternoon, but it was a lot of fun while it lasted!

While Zac built snowmen with the kids, I took a walk down the greenway. It was gorgeous.

Snow!

Thursday afternoon we finally got some snow--the first of this winter. 

  

Because last winter's only snow was in December, we went all of 2019 without a single snowflake. Thanks global warming!

Sick kids

Alice probably has the flu. She's been really sick since Saturday. She'll be ok for a while every morning, except no appetite, lots of coughing, snot, etc. Then by the afternoon she sleeps.

Simon got it a little bit as well, but his seemed less severe. He ate pretty well all week and didn't nap much.

Luckily they were off Monday and Tuesday anyway, for the president's day holiday and a teacher workday. Then Thursday was early release for snow, and Friday school was cancelled. So all things considered, their timing was really good. They stayed home all week but only missed a day and a half of school!

Presidents' Day Bike Ride

On Monday, we were off school for President's day and the kids had a dentist appointment in the morning. There's a greenway near the dentist, so I took the bikes and we went for a ride afterwards. Alice had had a fever Saturday and Sunday, but seemed fine Monday morning and said she wanted to do the bike ride. She faded pretty fast on the bike ride though, and I felt really bad for her. To her credit, she persevered, even although she must have felt awful. She took a nap when we got home.

The ride was just about 4 miles total, and we took a snack break half-way through. This little video is from the last leg, as we head back to the parking lot. It's so fun to ride bikes through the woods!

Side note: This is my first bike ride since my second surgery. It's been 3 months, and this is the first time that riding a bike didn't sound like torture to me. Glad I'm finally able to do it!

Simon & Elizabeth

On Saturday afternoon, Simon had a play date with Elizabeth. Alice was supposed to have one with Parker at the same time, but Alice was feeling so sick she actually just went up to her room and took a nap. So I had to cancel her play date.  But Simon and Elizabeth did a great job playing together the whole time.

Head bump, lip bit

I got a call from Simon's school on Thursday saying that Simon had slipped on some water outside the bathroom, bumped his head pretty hard and bit his lip. It seemed like he would be fine, but then they called again a bit later and said Simon wouldn't eat lunch and said he didn't feel well.

I left work early to come and pick him up. At home, he only ate some jello, then slept for over two hours. When he woke up he complained about a headache. I was then worried he might have a bad concussion or something, so I took him to the doctor to get checked out. Plus, I was worried about his lip which was bit pretty bad on the inside and outside.  Turns out he's fine, thank goodness. I never have a clue about when things are serious or not. And he felt fine the next morning and went to school like normal.

Double date: Grand Asia Market & Bird Park with Anna

This weekend, Alice had a play date with Anna at the Roller Rink on Saturday morning. Jess was watching a friend of Anna's that day too, and luckily the three girls got along well. Then we all went to the nearby Vietnamese restaurant for lunch, and then to Grand Asia market across the street. The girls bought fans.

While on that play date, Jess mentioned taking Anna to the bird park the next day and asked if we wanted to come too. Of course!  So on Sunday afternoon we all drove out to Scotland Neck together and fed the birds.

  

Rain Storm

On Thursday, the kids school was let out early because a strong storm front was coming through with heavy rain and wind. That's right--they'll cancel for just about anything these days.  Zac was able to pick the kids up, and they went out and enjoyed the aftermath of the storm. School was even cancelled the next day because some schools were without power.

Pullen Park

I took the kids to Pullen Park for a short visit this morning.  I hadn't been there with them in a long while.  They played a bit on the playground, we rode the train and carousel, and they played in the "fort" (area with magnolia trees) as well as this liriope bed between the pond and the creek.

That afternoon, Alice had a playdate at Izzy's and brought back some soaps they had made, and shared one with Simon (at Izzy's request).

Love letters to the cat

I found this little post-it-note booklet full of notes Simon had written about the cat.

"You are smart"

 

"You have fluffy gills" (He calls the cats ribs her "gills")

"You have sharp gills"

"You love [having your] tummy scratched"

"You love to doze"

"You close your eyes when you doze"

"You have 14 stripes on your poof" (tail)

"You have money, which most cats don't"

Here's the cat's money pouch he made her.