Holiday Piano Recital

Sunday morning, all the kids could talk about was going back to the lake to skate again. All the kids (and adults) could do was move very slowly because we were so tired from the exercise and fresh air the day before. There was a lot of moaning and groaning and working up to doing anything. Nonetheless right after lunch, we headed back to the lake, knowing that there was a definite chance of it going sideways quickly because the humans were wiped. But firm in our belief of the power and benefit of fresh air on attitudes!

We got a small dusting of snow mid-morning, so the lake was less glass and more white. It was perfect for making patterns with the hockey sticks we brought - or spraying people with hockey stops. Fact about snow on lake - it is much harder to spot protruding branches or holes in the ice. Mike had quite the dramatic wipeout! The attitudes were a bit edgier than the day before, but we still enjoyed skating around for about an hour. Then we needed to pack it up because we had big afternoon plans.

Miss Fiona was going to be playing Away In a Manger in her second [virtual] piano recital. We had enough time when we got home to decorate our gingerbread cookies and then she called in Q's assistance and disappeared to get ready. There were lots of giggles from the bedroom. Dec, to his chagrin, was banned. We were reminded yet again both how big the girls are getting and How We Need More Bedrooms!

Fiona emerged fully decked out in her holiday gear and looked fantastic. She even asked me to put her hair up and decided the high ponytail I did is her new signature look. She was both super excited and very nervous. Thankfully this time, she did not have to go first, which helped a lot. It also wasn't her first recital ever, so she knew more of what to expect. Her sweet friend E also takes lessons from the same teacher, so we got to watch E and her brother play. And Quinn knew several others from hockey [Q is debating whether she wants to take lessons or not. It's in the mix with softball and gymnastics. Q may have her mama's tendency to over-commit]. 

Fiona played her song very well and was super proud (no tears!!). I was told very firmly to not video her playing during the recital, but she let me record this encore after the fact to share with you. Enjoy!

Lace 'Em Up

As I mentioned before, Week 3 was not our best week. Both Mike and I had crazy weeks at work and all three kids were over distance learning (they at least spread it out so only one kid was losing their crap at a time ... ). They were stressed. We were stressed. No one was the best version of themselves. So I'll spare you much more recap than that. Key takeaways from the week:

- Mike flooded the rink. It took two days to fill it up. Our flat-looking yard is not flat. There is a very deep corner where I was worried we had a pool instead of a rink. Quinn and Declan were so excited and really great helpers. The rink looks awesome. Everyone should have a dad as cool as Mike!

- Quinn made a batch of rolo pretzel Christmas cookies all on her own - including oven work. I simply yelled up instructions and she took it from there. Mike did supervise the oven work, for the record. 

- By mid-afternoon on Friday, when I was desperately trying to meet a work deadline and dealing with constant interruptions, it is possible that my temper was a teeny tiny bit short. Allegedly. So Mike packed up the gang to go explore for an hour or so and left me with a quiet house to finish up my work day.

The bonus of their Friday exploration was that when they went down to O'Dowd Lake to wander around, Mike thought the bay was frozen enough to maybe skate on. So Saturday after lunch, we grabbed warm clothes (learned our lesson from the week before), skates, helmets, and Mike's auger. The ice was perfect glass. It's been cold, but there has been any snow so you can see right through it to the lake bottom! Those ice conditions are pretty rare, so it was really exciting to get out, let the kids experience it, and take advantage of it. Fun fact: lake skating is the best. Mike and I can't remember the last time we were lake skating, but we immediately remembered how much we love it!

Glass ice does make it tricky to guess how thick the ice is. So once Mike drilled a few holes to verify quality and thickness, it was deemed safe to skate. Hooray! While we waited near the shoreline for him to drill, the kids and I spotted several turtles swimming under the ice. It was so cool to watch them - and yet have six inches of ice between us. Fiona even spotted a huge snapper! Its shell was bigger than a foot diameter - and it was amazing to watch. 

The turtles paled in comparison to skates though. Quinn almost crawled out of her skin in excitement and could.not.wait to get her skates on. It had been over three weeks and she desperately needed to skate! All five of us laced up and we spent two hours skating up and down the bay. There were skating drills (Coach Mike is always coaching), games of tag, superman dives, races, and so much happiness. It was exactly what everyone needed! 

After we were done skating, we went over to Thole Lake where the ice was definitely not thick enough to walk on. But it was fun to stand on the shore and break the ice skim with giant rocks. By the time we got home, everyone had rosy cheeks and big smiles. We made hot cocoa and enjoyed a very quiet bedtime!

Ice Ice Baby

After a day inside, we wanted to get out and explore on Sunday. I put Mike in charge of the plan and he decided we were going to check out Cedar Lake Farm regional park in New Prague. After lunch, we grabbed our stuff and headed out. In hindsight, we should not have been distracted by the beautiful sunshine and instead should have looked at the temperature. Warmer coats would have been a good idea!

However, despite getting cold faster than we expected (that wind was brutal), it was a great place to explore. Our favorite discovery is that the lake was frozen over enough at the shoreline that we could slide around on the ice a little bit. Wow have we missed skating! You have never seen five people so happy to slide on ice in their boots. The kids could not stop smiling and would have been content to stay at the lakeshore the entire time. 

However, their parents felt differently and wanted to explore the trails in the woods. As we followed the trail, Teacher Mike came out in full force. We stopped for a lesson on barb wire and why you never ever ever [Quinn!] climb wire that looks like it. Then we stopped again so he could point out deer rub on a tree trunk. He asked if anyone knew what it was and all three kids answered immediately that it was deer rub. I honestly don't think I've ever seen Mike look so proud. No one can say that Teacher Mike is skimping on the life skill basics (How To Spot a Deer. Why to Avoid Barb Wire.). 

We climbed a big tree, accidently wandered through a bunch of prickers, discovered mom's secret talent of de-prickering people, and checked out more ice along the shore. However the wind was getting to all of us and we were cold! We hustled back to the car as fast as ten legs could hustle and turned up the heat.

When we got home, everyone was very excited to discover that I had added hot chocolate and marshmallows to the week's grocery delivery. Mike even added some peppermint liquor to the adult cups and it was quite delicious! It warmed us up nicely!

Then after cocoa, it was time. We finally let them watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Fiona loved it and belly laughed multiple times. Dec smiled a few times, but it might have been a little over his head. Quinn watched the entire movie straight-faced. I caught her cracking a smile once - but she knew I caught her. So she was careful to not smile again. 

They all claimed that they enjoyed it and said they would watch it again. But sheesh - tough crowd! Maybe it just couldn't compete with the discovery of ice and the thought of lacing our skates back up!

North Pole Friend

Last last Saturday (the first Saturday in December ...), we awoke to find a visitor from the North Pole had arrived. No, not Santa ... our elf Tyler was back and, as usual, had brought letters, matching Christmas pjs, and breakfast. Because it is 2020, Tyler was also wearing a mask. We appreciate his thoughtfulness and attention to CDC recommendations. 

Tyler always brings powered sugar donuts, which normally are the best thing ever. But this year, he also left marshmallow snowflakes on each of their plates. Apparently marshmallow beats donut. But donut beats strawberry. Unless you're Dec. 

They happily read their letters from Tyler and Q and D immediately asked to put on their new pjs. Fiona has yet to wear hers. She has informed me that she is too old for matching stuff. Si-igh. I won't push it. Hopefully if I play it cool, she'll wear her pjs on Christmas Eve. And if she doesn't, that will be fine too. 

Several weeks ago, I ordered a four house gingerbread village kit because 1) the prospect of going to Trader Joe's during December is overwhelming in non-pandemic times and 2) I knew that we would get to do very few of our "normal" holiday events, so at least they would each get to decorate a house of their own. The houses were way tinier than I had expected, so I was a bit worried this plan would be a bust. 

With a North Pole audience, they begged to build their houses that day. We had no other plans ... so why not!?! [2020 theme!] I put the houses together with Quinn's help [next year, I'll let them build their own too] and was pleased that they were maybe a little bigger than we had thought. We had to let the icing set for a couple hours, which is always the part I forget to plan for. Thankfully this year I assembled in the morning, so after lunch we were ready to roll. 

And you know what, they were actually a great size for individual decorating. No one got bored halfway through, there was plenty of icing and candy [pro tip: always buy extra candy. or raid your Halloween leftovers!], and we didn't get frustrated with the houses or each other. YAY! I let them each pick a house and I took the leftover one. Then we sat down together at the table and had at it.

Honestly, they all did their own - by themselves - and I love how they turned out! You can see each of their personalities in how they executed their decorations and they are all very proud. I can't believe how unique the houses are and how thoughtful the kids were while decorating. Fiona made a skating rink in the yard behind her house and used Mike and Ike's to make people. She also created a cobblestone driveway. Brilliant! Declan made a snowman and a Christmas tree out of fondant, which are so cute. Quinn had such a detailed plan. She made a rainbow front walkway with Mike and Ike's, piped the best bow on her gum drop wreath, and put a present in the front yard. 

It was such a fun way to kick off the holiday month and welcome our North Pole friend. 

At Home: Week 2

Well, week three of distance learning was a freaking hot mess. So right now, you can hear about week two. Which was still not pretty .. but I have good stories.

We have officially ceded a corner of our bedroom to third grade. The upside is that Quinn keeps her desk spotless. It is picked up and organized at the end of every single day. However, several drawings are now taped up on the wall in her corner, she has a collection of hair and beauty accessories ... and we don't think she's ever going to leave. 

Also, in another glaring example (there are so many) of how far the bar has been lowered in 2020, our third grader is drinking her water from a stemless champagne flute. On her freaking virtual class meetings. Her teacher is awesome - and is probably only judging us a little.

Declan had a rough week at school. Three straight hours every morning of Google Meets is a lot for the buddy. He's hanging in there, but between long virtual class meetings and piles of worksheet for independent work time, he's pretty much over it. After doing a really good job one day getting his stuff done, we pulled out a favorite Lego set, took it all apart, and he spent the afternoon rebuilding it. God Bless Legos!

We also pulled out Mike's old hot wheels and hot wheel city, which provide several afternoons of cooperative play (sometimes including Mike) and only resulted in a few yelps from stepping on cars. Dec's favorite were the "crack up cars" that can spin to show dents. Quinn's favorite were the color changing cars - and several times I found hot wheels in my freezer. Even Fiona enjoyed them!

Fiona has been working very hard at music class while in distance learning. Fourth grade music curriculum is the recorder - so she is learning to play recorder in the basement. She's actually getting much better and we are proud of how hard she is working. We do pray that there is no music class during important work meetings.

Being stuck home all the time and school on screens means that there is often a lot of energy at the end of the day. I had the great idea that we could play family Twister to get some of it out. You guys, I remember Twister being less painful when I was a teenager. Oh my goodness! Mike, Quinn, and I often found ourselves quite tangled up! The good thing was that it got both energy and giggles out. So much so that Quinn wanted to play it again the next night!. Our poor backs ...

Thursday night, we went outside for a family soccer game, to be followed by a neighborhood walk. The game was going well. Mike and Dec were playing Fiona and me, while Q played goalie. We were close to the end of the game, so Mike started teasing Quinn and pretending to interfere with her. Dec has not yet learned the finer points of teasing, so when he tried to do the same, he was all up in Quinn's face. She was not having it and gave him one warning. He thought he was still joking like Dad was. Quinn did not. So she pulled back and punched him right in the eye. 

Luckily she was wearing thick gloves - or he might have had a black eye. While admittedly a bit of a gray area on whether he deserved that punch or not, Q and I had a talk about how we don't punch. Dec and I had a talk about fine tuning the teasing. Then we joined Fiona and Mike to finish up the walk, because even though the acts were not their finest, we are giving grace for moments of frustrations. And getting out in the fresh air was probably the better long term answer anyway. Plus, cold air is good for swollen eyes!

Changing Seasons

Since it was just us for the long Thanksgiving weekend, by Saturday, we were over it and needed out and away. We decided to do the forest hike that we ran out of time for on Thanksgiving day. It was a great plan ... until we got there and saw around 50 cars in the parking lot. Mike kept right on going while the kids said, "whoa. we aren't going there."

Plan B found us right back at O'Dowd Lake (where we went on Thanksgiving), but this time, we took the other path. There was a fair amount of off-roading - because why follow a paved trail when you can blaze your own? [Family motto] We diverged from the trailblazing to wander down to the lake shore. There was a skim of ice forming on the top, so Mike skipped a rock across it. The sound of rocks on the ice skim is so unique and it was the first time the kids had ever heard it. Minds were blown. Then many, many rocks were gathered so everyone could take a turn skipping across the ice. 

Then we wandered over to the fishing pier, where I showed them the view of the island that we had seen from the other trail. Quinn noticed that there was a "path" of rocks that led out to the island and asked Mike if they could make the trek out there. So off we went to the point to assess the situation. It was probably 60 feet out to the island across a variety of wobbly, slippery, and odd-sized rocks. So obviously we did it. 

Fiona and I were going to hang back while Mike, Q, and D went. But it looked like too much fun, so off we went. I was the first one to slip off a rock and get my feet wet - but by the end, I was not the only one with wet feet! Five out of five Vannestes were some degree of wet. We don't regret it at all, and we kept telling the kids that the worst case scenario was just a few wet feet. It was so fun to pick our way out there and explore the island. While there, Quinn jumped off a cliff and Dec fell off the same one. Mike helped Fiona down it, and I backtracked to find a less terrifying option. There was so much giggling!

Then it was time to pick our way back across the rocks. Only this time, two men were on the fishing pier so we had an audience. For a while, they pretended not to watch us, but by the time Fiona and I made it across, they were not even pretending. I'm sure we were quite a sight (you guys, thanks goodness for Mike Vanneste. He was key to any level of success in this adventure!). We swung by the fishing pier to grab some big rocks and then did one more round of rock throwing on the ice skim. It was the perfect outing and we were all so happy about the fresh air.

Sunday (which was still November), Mike Vanneste himself brought in all the Christmas decorations and set up the tree. I had fully set the expectation that we would put up the tree the following weekend - but I was surprisingly overruled! [Mike has a pretty strict rule around "No Christmas Until December] I thought we would just put the tree up and then chip away at the rest in the next few days. Quinn had other ideas. She mentioned approximately 20 times that there were still turkeys up. So I took those down. Then she wished loudly and often that the garland and stockings were up. Sigh! Sometimes it's easier to give in, especially since she's such a good helper

I also ordered a few new Christmas pillows for the living room and mentioned to Quinn that they were ready to be picked up at Target. She wanted me to go get them right away, but I told her I was busy helping everyone shower. She said "Daddy can get them." and I told her that Daddy might not want to run to Target that night. 

Next thing I knew, I was in the bathroom helping Bugs with hair when Quinn knocked. "Mommy, can I go to Target with Daddy?" She was in her pjs already, but it was a drive up order so I said sure. Later that night, Mike asked me why I needed the pillows right away. I told him that I didn't. "But Quinn said you wanted me to pick them up tonight. And she was coming with me." Yeah, I did not say that. Clearly, she totally played both of us! 

Sneaky middle child. But the pillows really do look great! We simplified the decorations this year and I'm really loving it. So is Quinn, in case you were worried.

Spina Bifida Update

Late February, we received a letter in the mail that Fiona's spina bifida doctor was retiring at the end of May. He included a recommendation list of other doctors. Fiona was understandably stressed about the thought of switching doctors, but we assured her that we would meet with several of the docs on the list to be sure she would be comfortable. Then a pandemic happened and we couldn't meet with anyone. So instead ... we pointed to a name on the paper, googled it to be sure she (a female doctor! yay!) looked nice, and went with it [this is basically the same way we picked our pediatrician, who is wonderful!]. 

In May, we started running into issues with our prescriptions, so Dr. O and I spent some quality time on the phone together to get things untangled. She was delightful and I told Fiona that I felt really good about things, even though we still hadn't met her. Dr. O and I got to chat again in August as we tried to get all the medical orders figured out for Fiona to start school. For the second time, she couldn't have been more wonderful.

We got everything set for an October appointment to do all the annual tests and finally meet Dr. O in person. We scheduled it for a distance learning day (so Fiona wouldn't have to miss a day of in-person school), which also meant only one of us could go with the other wrangled the other two. Fiona asked Mike to go with her. Then a week before her appointment, Dr. O called me and said that she had to go into quarantine because of a covid exposure. We moved everything to right before Thanksgiving.

By the time the appointment happened, we were full distance learning - but the plan remained the same. Fiona jumped onto her class meets first thing in the morning and then mid-morning, she and Mike headed over to Children's. The appointments were pretty spread out during the day and the hospital cafeterias were closed, so Mike packed a lot of things to do and a lunch - figuring they may spend a fair amount of time hanging out in his car. 

Instead, the hospital moved some things around and got them through all her testing almost 90 minutes ahead of schedule. Mike and Fiona figured they would chance it and went up to see if Dr. O could get them in early. She could! It was great news except for the fact that they powered through lunch and Fiona was hangry by the end. [Fun fact: she really likes Dr. O. It did not hurt that once she found out Fiona hadn't eaten, she brought snacks to the exam room.]

I got to Zoom meeting into the appointment with Dr. O and the occupational therapist. Fiona is doing really well and we all are very pleased with the new doctor. We have some clear vision on the next steps to keep her doing well. Overall, it was a positive change in her care team. Score one point for random doctor selection!

One more spina bifida note: My cousin Olivia is a teacher at the high school in GR. She has a student with spina bifida and talked to her about Fiona. This student asked Liv to send a message to F from her. F wrote back and then Liv's student S sent her contact information. I connected Fiona and S on Messenger and they have the sweetest chat conversation going. They have also video chatted a few times. It is great for Fiona to have someone to talk to about spina bifida related things and I think she is really enjoying that it is a "big girl." S lives close to my parents, so someday when it is safer to meet, we plan to get the two of them together in person. They are both so excited for that day!

A Different Thanksgiving

The night before Thanksgiving, I dreamed about burning the turkey (typical ... I live in fear of the Christmas Vacation turkey scene) and hugging people (not typical). Based on my dreams, I'm pretty sure I was not entirely okay with the fact that we wouldn't get to see our family for the holiday. Also, I just really miss hugging ... well ... everyone. We know that the choice to do the holiday with just the five of us was the right and smart one for 2020, but man, I will be ready to celebrate together next year!

We slept in a bit and still had the turkey in the oven by 8:30 and on the table by 12:30. Quinn was super excited to make Thanksgiving dinner with me. Until she realized that Thanksgiving dinner is pretty boring to make until the last hour or so when it gets exciting. Once the turkey was in the oven, the gang settled in to watch the parade and I took advantage of the downtime to run a solo Turkey Trot 5k. By the time I got back, the gang was remembering that while they look forward to the parade every year, they also find it terribly long and pretty boring (so many commercials). 

After a long debate (mostly around the thought of washing the dishes), Mike and I decided to use the fancy dishes and do the holiday right. A week removed from the 90 minutes of dish washing, I think it was the right call [the biggest drawbacks of no company for Thanksgiving ... no hugs and no help with the dishes!]. Based on Mike's belt unbuckling and moaning about being too full, I think the dinner was a success. And somehow, we had the perfect amount of leftovers. Mid-afternoon, Mike had digested enough that we broke out the "traditional" peanut butter pie. 

After pie, we grabbed our hiking shoes and outside gear to go for a hike, Since we were pushing closer to sundown than Mike liked, we ditched our plan for a forest trail and went down to O'Dowd lake to walk one of the paved golf cart trails by the lake. It was super hilly and the kids had a great time sprinting down the hills and using the momentum to start the trip up the next one. It was so nice to get out for some fresh air and to burn off a lot of energy. Our favorite moment was when Mike was trying to break a big tree branch and instead launched his glove 20 feet into the air. Fiona honestly laid down on the path because she was laughing so hard. 

When we got home from hiking, I told them I was not cooking dinner. Quinn jokingly asked if they could have cereal for dinner and I said "yes." So they did - and thought it was the greatest thing ever. I had leftover turkey sandwiches and thought the same. Even though Mike was still groaning about how full he was, he also had cereal.

Then we ended the night in pjs, on the basement sectional, with bowls of cheesy popcorn, to kick off the Christmas season with Home Alone. [Mike ate the full bag of popcorn, minus what the kids ate, and was painfully full. Again.] While we didn't see them in person, we connected virtually with all the grandparents and aunties throughout the day to tell them we loved them and let them know we were thinking of them. It was different than our normal Thanksgiving, but we still had a pretty fun time. 

Back at Home: Surviving Round 2

Well, we've survived week one of being home from school (so sad) and back to home from work for me (not so sad). I won't say it was pretty, but it was an improvement over week one last time. And definitely an improvement over the first day of spring school at home. No one buried their face in the chair this time!! 

Monday and Tuesday were official full school days. We set up three individual work stations as all three kids have Google Meets most of the morning. Dec is using the pull-out desk in their room, Fiona has her work desk in the basement (next to Mike, who is working at the bar), and Quinn camped out at the kitchen table for the week. 

We ordered another desk [which should get here tomorrow!] that will get set up in our bedroom, and that's where Q will go. Then I'm still hanging out at the camping table in our guest room. You can't say we aren't using every available corner in this house. 

Mike and I logged a lot of steps Monday morning, checking on everyone - but they all did great. Then Tuesday, Bugs did half a day of school and she and Mike headed up to spina bifida clinic. Dec had class all morning, but Q finished all her assignments by 9am. I handed her a bunch of art supplies and the hot glue gun. Then after lunch when I needed to go to a meeting and Dec was done with class, I handed the 8 and 6 year old the glue gun and told them to be careful. Who am I!?!?! 2020 has clearly lead to big steps in independence and trust [not desperation ... obviously ...]. Thankfully, it was a two day week for school. We'll see how it goes this coming week when they all need to put in five days of effort! 

Both Mike and I had to work on Wednesday, but the kids got to hang out and have fun. Mike had to run into the theater, so I was solo wrangling. I bribed them with nachos for lunch if they were well-behaved (they were angels). Then I had the very best visitors in the afternoon. The girls came twirling in, wearing fancy dresses they had found in the closet and looking like supermodels. Then they told me Declan was coming too. I fully expected him to be decked out in something fancy (they usually convince him to do that) ... so when he came somersaulting in as Superman, I laughed really hard. Well played, Dec!

It was very clear on Wednesday evening that everyone needed OUT. I sent Mike to find the stash of flashlights, made the kids put warm gear on, and we went for a flashlight neighborhood walk. We admired Christmas lights, sang some carols, raced up and down the big hill, burned off a lot of energy, and enjoyed the crisp fresh air. 

Like Round 1, we have experienced some bumps and frustration in Round 2 of being home all.the.time. But we know a little more about what works and how to manage the energy and emotion of togetherness. Right now, when all else fails, we are working on learning the lyrics for The Twelve Days of Christmas. #goals

All or Nothing

Wednesday night found me lying on the floor and Mike sprawled on the couch. The last 48 hours were threatening to overwhelm us. We were processing the transition back to distance learning, the suspension of sports (for the kids and Mike), and the full-scale business pivot of the theater since all indoor dining and entertainment is also suspended. It was a lot.

After tonight (Mike is at his last hockey game before sports suspend at 11:59pm), our calendar is suddenly wide open. In contrast, Tuesday was a full-on sprint from morning until bedtime. I had an early meeting that I took from home so I could walk the kids to the bus stop for their last day of in-person school this [calendar] year. Then both Mike and I headed into our offices. I had a full day of meetings, left the office in a flurry at 2:58 to try to make it home for both my 3:00 meeting (clearly I was late) and the school bus (nick of time).

My meeting ended at 4pm, when we told the bookends to find something to do because we had Q's school conference (online). We talked to her teacher until 4:29, then traded for Fiona and her 4:30 conference. Mike was in and out of F's conference because he was helping Dec. D's conference started at 4:50 and he joined it in full hockey gear. Mike and D hung in for most of the conference before they headed out for hockey practice. I finished the conference, hurried to make eggs for F, Q, and me, and then took Fiona to piano lessons. Before I walked out the door, I cracked the rest of the eggs into a pan and left Q to scramble them up for the boys.

[Mike said they were perfect and that Q had D's plate fully ready for him when he walked in the door - including a bagel with cream cheese on it. Fiona was scandalized. "You are leaving Quinn to cook? By herself?" Yep. That's where we are in 2020, Bugs]

The kids haven't had school the last three days as their amazing teachers plan the transition to distance. It's been back to Lord of the Flies because Mike and I have been bat crap crazy at work. Other than a Barbie/Hot Wheel hurricane, they've been really good and pretty cooperative. They are pretty used to us needing to work by this point ... you know, nine months into a pandemic. 

We have big plans to use the extra free time this weekend to set up five independent work stations so we can hit the ground running on Monday. [Remember how we want a new house because this house is too small for basic living. Watch us pull a rabbit out of our hat on this one. Rumor has it there will be a school desk in our bedroom. Sigh.]

With everyone home and the wide open schedule, we'll be back to our March/April tricks to get these kids out of the house for fresh air and energy burning. Quite the difference from the Tuesday sprint!

Three Things

On Monday, we got the news we knew was coming ... Hybrid school was transitioning to distance school after Thanksgiving due to exponential growth of covid cases in Minnesota. Today, we got an update. After Tuesday, the kids are out of school until at least January. [please let them go back after the holidays. We are literally begging the universe] We feel both more and less prepared for Homeschool: The Sequel than we did in March. At least we know what we are in for. Unfortunately, we also know what we are in for. 

So, instead of focusing on that - because we know there will be blog posts about yet another adventure in homeschooling - I'll tell you three fun things about each of the kids right now.

Fiona

1) Fiona has grown over an inch since her birthday (which was less than two months ago). She is shooting up at quite the rate. She's also such a skinny minnie that I cannot keep pants on this child. They are either two short (see growth spurt) or too big in the waist (see skinny). We are currently defaulting to too short - because pants falling down isn't ideal. I'm also quite proficient at sewing tabs into the waist bands to tighten things up. I think there is another growth spurt happening (or this one is still going) because she ate more than me at dinner tonight! She polished off three ribs and two helpings of potatoes.

2) It is so hard to be a Type B perfectionist! Fiona has a holiday piano recital in a month. We are working on her song and she's doing a really good job. But she still gets so frustrated when she doesn't immediately play it perfectly. We are discussing (a lot) about how someone can have a talent for something [Fiona really is a talented musician], but talent only goes so far. You have to put in the time and the practice. To demonstrate embracing our mistakes, I've been sitting down to play the piano a bit too. And boy am I rusty!

3) With covid restrictions in place, Fiona is getting ample opportunities to practice her independence. I feel like a taxi driver most of the time - and F is uninterested in being a taxi intern. So she's getting short bursts of solo time and is both proud and relieved to not spend half her life at the rink - or driving back and forth between home and the rink.

Quinn

1) Last Monday, Q was on her morning meeting and her teacher asked her to share the highlight of the weekend. She said "decorating for Thanksgiving with my mom." Quinn has really loved adding personal decorating touches lately. She rearranged the furniture in the basement, organized the dresser in the kids' room, and got up mid-book last night to straighten the pile of library books on the coffee table [that sounds random but I totally understand needing to straighten something right now].

2) Quinn is all in on hockey this season. She has both practice and a game on Saturday and cannot wait. She also gets to start dryland training this year, which apparently is the greatest thing ever. D can hardly wait for dryland and is so glad that Q can fill him in on it! I told her that I ordered myself a Shakopee Hockey quarter zip and got a full-on Q smile as a reward. She would love hockey anyway, but that fact that one of her coaches is Coach Dad ... that's just the cherry on top! [Q got called out in practice today to demonstrate backwards skating to the group. Mike told her afterwards that it's because she has the best form! She was incredibly proud.]

3) All Q wants for Christmas is a wheeled hockey bag. They are crazy expensive, so I've told her that if she really wants one, that will be the only present she gets from Mike and me. She's standing firm on her desire for the bag. If the fact that this child is perfectly okay with only having a hockey bag under the tree doesn't tell you she's all in, text me and I'll share her practice schedule. It's intense.

Declan

1) I made an official proclamation this weekend. Mike is allowed to let the kids watch his favorite Christmas movie .. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I think we are finally at the point where D understands the difference between funny in a movie and appropriate in real life. And since they aren't in school, risk is low. Mike jokingly told me that Dec is probably not ready for his other favorite Christmas movie - Die Hard. 

I would agree with that, since Dec nearly had a stroke when we watched Race to Witch Mountain. ["I don't think Mom would want us to watch this. There's a lot of violence." Buddy, I picked it. "I think Dad would say 'no.'" Buddy, I'm right here. "You guys, there's more violence."] We've started calling him the Moral Compass. Which means he probably couldn't handle John McClane quite yet. 

2) Dec is obsessed with Dog Man books. Seriously obsessed. However, like Fiona, he is a voracious reader and can read that entire $10 book in a single day. Sigh. Luckily he'll happily read it over and over. Last night, Q pulled out a joke book. Dec took it over and reads all the jokes out loud. However, he does not pause in-between jokes. So there are some audio skills required to separate the punch line from the next joke.

3) Dec is also super excited about hockey and having Coach Dad at practice. He played goalie yesterday and was so disappointed that he didn't get to play it again today. I keep telling both hockey players that I do not want to have goalies. They don't seem to care. Although both are fast skaters - so I'm banking on their need for speed. With school going remote, I'm so glad Dec has hockey to help direct his energy in a positive direction. Or at least a direction less destructive to my furniture. 

Six Month Hole

In early-ish October (before it snowed multiple times), we squeezed in our annual family pictures. Just like last year, we combined with the Ps ... because somehow six children behave better than three. It defies logic, but we go with what works. We managed to fit it in between four children/two coaches hockey schedules ... and Mike hit the shower 25 minutes before we needed to hit the road. Luckily his hair dries in a hot second. Everyone had pre-approved their outfits and Dec and I had agreed finally upon a pair of "real" pants - which was legitimately the hardest part of the entire process. It was a beautiful day, everyone had big smiles, and we were able to keep our distance from each other (well, except the children. So much love!). 

It was very exciting a week or so later when the pictures arrived in Mike's Google Drive. Other than the kids looking so old, we love the pictures. It was also incredibly bittersweet to look through them. Because it is the first time ... ever ... that we've had a family picture that doesn't include our sweet Yogi. It's been just over six months since we said good-bye and we definitely have a puppy-sized hole in our hearts. We were sad all over again (sadder? Is it weird that we still find ourselves looking for him?) - and decided to leave last year's big family picture up. We aren't quite ready to showcase a photo without him!

The kids are firmly on the puppy train and Fiona was sure she had found the loophole. She decided they were going to ask Santa for a puppy. If all of them used their single Santa request, there would certainly be a puppy under the tree. What a disappointment when we told her that Santa verified all pets with parents!! Foiled again! 

The kids and I were watching a Hannah Montana episode last weekend and Miley's horse almost died. It resulted in a complete breakdown of three people missing their puppy ... and a Quinn watching the waterworks. Clearly our buddy is gone, but not forgotten! Someday, we'll be ready for a new puppy and we will love him (her? probably him) as hard as we loved our Yogi. Someday. But for now, we're getting used to slightly less fur* in the family pictures.

*There is still a lot of hair. Vanneste women are not lacking in the hair quantity department. And pictures happened on a super windy day. At one point Mike said, "whose hair is in my mouth?!?!" It was really anyone's guess ...

We WITCH You a WONDERful HALOween

As with everything in 2020, Halloween looked a little different this year. But guess what - it was still really great! Declan declared it his favorite Halloween ever and Fiona suggested we just celebrate like this every year. She was big fan of not covering blocks and blocks of houses for trick-or-treating! Further proof that sometimes the simplest things at home are the best [that said, Universe, we would really really really like to be able to see our family for Christmas. Pretty please.]

Without the pressure of being costume-ready by Baker Boo, I was way behind the game on costume selection and procurement. So when my Aunt Marti sent me an email that said she was sending costumes, it was such an unexpected blessing. She told me what she had picked for the kids, but I didn't tell them. All I said was that if they preferred a different costume once they saw the surprise, we could do that. **Spoiler alert: they were all delighted and I was off the hook. Literally everyone was happy. Major Halloween win!

Fiona's costume was a combination of Hermione and Harry Potter, complete with her own copy of the first book. Mike and I [mostly me] have been trying to convince her to start the series. Our hope is that this will spark enough interest to encourage her to tackle what she feels to be VERY LARGE books. Quinn's costume was Wonder Woman. She.was.thrilled. There was even a shield! D's costume was Master Chief from the video game Halo. We do not know anything about Halo in this house (my friend Adam had to tell me the character name) - but there was a cool costume, a weapon, AND a voice changer. This is spot on for a six-year-old boy!

Our celebration started on Friday night, when we finally got around the carving pumpkins. Since it was an at work and at school day - and I forget every dang year how long and messy pumpkin carving is - the kids were up late and we ended up having dinner downstairs at the bar. It was the start of the "different but great" theme for the weekend. It was such a pleasant change and the five of us spent the whole evening laughing together. 

All three kids helped a lot with the pumpkin gut removal (Quinn and Dec loved it. Fiona hates everything about it. But she was a trooper). They were great pumpkins and I ended up making about six cups of roasted pumpkin seeds. We tried a new system and added a "sweet and salty" variation to half of them. Huge success!

The Halloween-on-Saturday situation was amazing. I asked Quinn how we possibly ever are ready for a Halloween not on a weekend. Beside roasting seeds for what felt like half the day, Quinn and I spent the morning stuffing treat bags for our treasure chest. She pulled out most of the Milky Ways for me - and made a strong case to be a favorite child! A couple hockey practices and a few errands were also squeezed in. We had an early-ish dinner of our annual bats and cobwebs pasta and then costumed up for the evening!

We met our bubble neighbor families and the kids did piñatas in each of their yards. This was the highlight of Dec's night - beating things with a shovel. We'll pretend that's not alarming! Then we came back to our yard where Mike and I had put together a scavenger hunt of seven clues that the kids had to follow to find a treasure chest of treat bags. The six of them worked together really well to solve the clues and had a great time. Mike had grabbed mini bottles from the liquor store, so I also put together an adult treasure hunt. 

The rest of the night found us just enjoying each other's company, with the kids running around the yards and the adults standing in the driveway with beverages. It was a lovely day, but once the sun went down, it got chilly. Holy smokes was I cold by the time we came in! But it was exactly what we all needed. We put a big bowl of candy out on our front step for the kids that were trick-or-treating and there were only four pieces of candy left at the end of the night. To Mike's relief, the bowl was easily refilled with what the kids had got from the piñatas and scavenger hunt. Definitely a more manageable amount of candy than we have gotten the last couple years. Maybe this time, it won't last us until Easter!

We were all tired the next day (Halloween + Blue Moon + Daylight Savings will do that to a person), but so happy. Celebrating together with friends felt so good. And being able to do it outside and safely was such a gift.

Winter Prep

Mike and I hustled our buns when we got back from Fall Break and got all our leaves raked, the lawn moved, and mulched, and the trampoline put away. Our neighbor's field (where we dump the - at Mike's estimate - ten trailer loads of leaves) wasn't harvested yet, so we were stuck with an enormous leaf pile in our backyard. Then ... it snowed seven inches. 

On top of a not-ready-for-winter yard, Mike was stressing about his ground stakes. You see, Mike used our cabin fever and shared fear of a socially distant winter to his advantage and convinced me to approve the construction of a backyard ice rink. There was so much research before purchase, but all the supplies have been here for a few weeks. However, the ground stakes and boards are supposed to go in before the ground freezes ... because, you know, it is no fun to sink 40 stakes in frozen ground!

I'm pleased to report that despite Mike's initial fear, the snow has not stayed, the temps are back to normal, and the ground is not frozen. So the stakes and boards are in and the kids are beyond excited!! Mike picked up a used hockey net off Craigslist, which is hanging out in the rink and currently being used as a soccer net. 

And the leaf pile? Well, it's now two huge leaf piles under two tarps. With the need to rake the front yard again because of the crazy high winds on Halloween that deposited what seemed like half the neighborhood leaves back in our yard. Once we get rid of all those leaves, we just need to wait for the ground to freeze, so Mike can put in the liner and flood the rink. It will probably be another month or more before conditions are right - but there is great anticipation for that day. And plans for an inaugural puck drop!

All Dec Wants For Christmas ...

... are his two front teeth, which fell out within less than a day of each other last week. Also, after we sang the song to him, he would like the record to reflect that he is fine without his two front teeth and he would rather have Legos for Christmas thank you very much. That is what we call "clear priorities."

Do you remember the drama of the last lost tooth? Both that it was swallowed and that Mike and Dec were unable to execute their master plan of tooth extraction via remote control car? Well, fear not, dear readers. Remote control tooth extraction happened not once, but twice! However, we're not sure that tooth #2 was quite as ready and it hurt a bit more. So Dec is not sure they need to use this plan for future teeth ... however, there is a plan to shoot it out via nerf bullet. So, basically, stay tuned because it is never boring here.

Last Thursday night, we had nothing better to do, so Mike tied floss to Dec's tooth and to his big monster truck remote control car. It took a couple tries to get the right angle, but then POP - out that tooth came. Everyone was shocked that it worked! So Friday afternoon, they did the same set up and out came tooth two. And a lot of blood. But the dude was super proud that he earned four quarters from the tooth fairy in two days. That's a whole dollar!

He looks like such a big kid with his gappy smile. It's also really funny to hear him work on sounding out words or try to say "Fiona." He tells me that there are more loose teeth in there, so we'll see how toothless he is by Christmas. Maybe he will change his tune and ask for some teeth. But probably not. Legos are more fun.

First Snow

Well, we woke up in GR to the first snowfall of the year! By mid-morning when we headed toward Duluth, there was already an accumulation of over four inches. It was so pretty! My favorite was when Mike's sister texted me a snowy picture (as she always does because she knows I love the snow) and I responded with "I know. We're here." It was weird to basically sneak into (and out of) GR - but I guess that's Fall Break: Covid Style. Go somewhere. See no one. 

The drive east was very snowy with fairly low visibility, which meant it plodded along at a slower speed than we would have liked. But we finally (and safely) made it to the hunting shack, where Gpa V had just pulled in to meet us, 4-wheelers in tow. Mike, the kids, and I walked over to Mike's old neighbors' house to say "hello" and to borrow one of Jim's wheelers (so we had three). Then we popped into the hunting shack, started a fire, and had our picnic lunch while the kids checked things out. Official consensus: they loved it. Quinn loved sitting by the fire and the coziness of the shack. Fiona loved the adventures in the woods. Dec didn't stop smiling the entire time we were there. He's made for shack life!

Once we finished lunch, we got our hodgepodge of gear on to take the wheelers out. We had not expected that much snow, nor for it to be so early in the season. So we didn't have the girls' big gloves, Fiona's snowpants were so short that they stopped mid-shin (and she couldn't zip them), and I didn't bring any winter coats ... so we went with double sweatshirt layers. It was a hot mess, but we made it work! [When we got home, I put in a major winter gear order at Amazon. Clearly everyone grew!]

The first trip out on the wheelers, poor Fiona's hands got so cold and she didn't have much fun. We drove past a few of the deer stands so Mike and Gpa could check them out and then went back to the shack to warm up. We got a better system for F's hands for wheeler trek #2 and it worked much better. We were out for over an hour and had the very best time. We drove through some really wooded trails, where the pine branches were covered in snow and hung over the trails in the most beautiful way. We kept having to move them or duck under them and everyone was laughing and giggling ... and shrieking when snow went down our necks. 

Dec was having the very best time and did not want it to end. So while Q and I went back to the shack to warm up and pack up, Mike and Gpa took F and D out for one last spin. By the time we were changed and loaded back into the car, it was dinner time ... way later than we intended to leave! But it was just too much fun to get of the woods any earlier. We made a pit stop in Duluth on our way through for dinner to go and hit the road toward home. 

We got home around 8:30, unloaded, and tucked the kids into bed. After two great days of outside fun and a lot of fresh air, everyone slept great. While not our normal fall break plan, we really enjoyed the change of scenery, grandparent time, and playing in the snow. Plus Mike is so happy that the kids finally got to experience the hunting shack!