Spring/Winter Break.

Because no break is complete without a visit to see our favorite people in Alabama, we definitely fit in a trip!

Since winter decided to make another appearance during this SPRING break, visiting Alabama was a good call based on the immediate availability of the hot tub. 

Also, eating doughnuts/chocolate milk while watching SpongeBob will always be the best way to wake up on any break from school. (Or any way....let's be honest)

It was actually 42 degrees outside, so they are crazy. 

Aunt Manda & took them to McWane center for their first visit and, based on the 5 hours that we spent there, it was a success! 

Aunt Manda is such a trooper; we loved spending our weekend with her. 

You know this kid was in heaven because there was sea life to touch/molest/obsess over. 

Max in his ELEMENT when there is a costume and a scenario of any kind. On that day he was a fireman, mailman, mechanic, farmer, chef and, of course, ghostbuster. 

We were so lucky to be in Alabama on a day that  Noah had a game! I did a horrible job getting any actual pics of the Big Cousin because it was POURING rain. The boys thought it was such an adventure & I am sure the fun level was increased by the fact that Aunt Manda is in charge of the concession stand. 

One AMAZING new twist in Anderson's life is that he has discovered a game on his ipad. I realize that he is about 7 years behind other kids in his age with regards to this, but I will take it! For the first time in his life, he is slightly sedentary for small increments of time. Granted, he woke up at 5:30 one morning to try & get the next shark, but I was ok with it because he played the game and let me sleep! 

Eye visit #77* was a success!

* I have no idea how many visits it has actually been, but it seems like it is somewhere around 77. Dr. Cogen always refers to Anderson as his "star patient" and he reassures us that all is going incredibly well. On this visit, he had a few visiting people with him & they heard all about Anderson's eye journey and got to see all of the inner workings of his eye. 

I will never get over how big he is in that chair!

Brandon is in the middle of a big case at work and was unable to go with us but, thanks to Steve Jobs, he was still able to be present with us in the room. 

Also, Dr. Cogen said his beard had a "Breaking Bad effect" which I thought was pretty awesome. 

Big Cousin Noah! 

How is this the only pic that I managed to get of the 3 of them?

We arrived home to SNOW! We frantically threw on our snow stuff, grabbed our sleds and were off! 

By the time it was done, we had about 3 inches. This was crazy because apparently it did not actually snow anywhere else in Knoxville that day. 

So much snow. 

Usually we spend quite a bit of our breaks outside but since it was FREEZING, we resorted to indoor activities. 

One afternoon we spent almost 4 hours at Jump Jam and they STILL did not want to leave. It was hilarious and crazy and amazing all at once. 

And, we ran into GG while running errands! 

Because I love combining my personal and professional lives into one blur, I brought Anderson along when I took some students to tour a news station. The boys want to be broadcasters and I cannot wait until they are famous so I can get this picture autographed. 

Anderson had such a fun time. It was so precious and definitely the highlight of my week. 

I know for sure that the highlight was NOT going downtown AGAIN to get his glasses fixed. 

Max went to school on St. Patrick's Day because his class had a party. He was so excited to bring his little bags of lucky charms and green drinks. 

He didn't stay long because we picked him up during nap time. I asked Anderson what he wanted to do on his last day of Spring Break & he wanted to surprise Max at school, so we did. 

Then we immediately went to Chuck E. Cheese with Noni/Bop where we met Adeline & Denise. I brought green treats & festivities to celebrate the day because we love a holiday. 

Max had such a fun time running around and was so excited to win tickets. Meanwhile, Anderson was only happy when he hit the jackpot on games. 

Mostly, there was just a lot of this-wrestling, fighting, being brothers. 

Work & the Village.

THE WORK

Nicole came to visit me one day at AE and it was possibly the greatest day of my career. She is going to change kids' lives as a Literacy coach in Bristol & she visited to collaborate with some of our English folks. But, what really happened is that all of our kids were OBSESSED with the fact that we are twins. They kept staring at us & trying to take our picture. I mean, we do not even look that much alike so I was so confused, but it was pretty hilarious. Still today at least one kid asks me when she is coming back, which is so adorable. 

The best thing happened is that 2 of the most important aspects of my life merged together for one day and it was pretty amazing. The next day one of our Assistant Principals said that I was "glowing" the entire day and clearly "bloom when we are together." I mean, yes. 

Also, within 10 minutes of being there, this was what Nicole said*:

"This place is amazing; no wonder you love it. You can never leave this school."

*After about 4 hours of being there, she asked when I ever actually go to my office...the answer is really never. My job requires a constant ability to just deal with whatever comes up while trying to do the actual work simultaneously. (Simultaneously=evenings) 

I am so grateful that she was able to spend an entire day at a place that I truly love. 

I mean, these kids. I love them. 

I basically made them speak in front of a bunch of adults with zero notice & they did an amazing job. 

Also, I occasionally volunteer my hair for braiding practice, which I just do not think happens in other places. 

In some kind of twist, we hosted BOTH the District AND REGION basketball games. When I say that we had over 20 games in about 8 days, I am not kidding. So many games, so much popcorn for dinner, so much logistics planning for the boys, so much exhaustion. Also, so much perspective that when I go back to just working from 7:45-4:45, I will be FULL TIME vacationing. 

An Ice Cream Celebration for our Honor Roll kids led me to make a super early morning stop at Sam's one morning. Seriously, my mom has the business card so I can go at 7am! 

Totally counting this as meeting a former president. 

 I spent a day at Jefferson County High School with my former GASL folks, people from the TDOE and our former Superintendent*!


*You might recognize him as the person who gave me my AP job at Powell AND AE. Also, I love him and miss and it was so amazing to see him that day!

THE VILLAGE

Our village is the ONLY reason that my kids are alive and happy, that my puppies are alive and happy and that Brandon & I both have jobs that require such long hours. 

One day I dropped Max off at GG's at 6:50 and she not only kept him all day, but also picked up Anderson from school, put them both to bed & stayed there until I got home at 10:30. Oh, and she brought dinner. I know. 

Meanwhile, Max gets to be the kid at his school with a balloon man for a grandpa and it just does not get more real than that. 

Also during our assigned car door opener week, my parents went in my place, which proves I am officially not an adult.  Oh, and it was like 17 degrees that morning. 

4 random sick days for kids, but NOT for all of the employees meant 2 days where Noni/GG came to the rescue with this kid. I did take 2 sick days so we could play/hang out/go to Jump Jam/etc, but I think he probably enjoyed the other 2 days more. I mean, I just cannot compete with a trip with Noni to Duck's Donuts. 

Perhaps this high quality picture that Max took of me truly captures life? So.Much.Laundry. Also, I blame myself because I really cannot handle an overflowing laundry basket so I am often doing this at 10pm. But, on the plus side, how much fun is it to check laundry off the list before bed??

Noni took Max to meet Anderson for lunch one day and everyone demonstrated their amazing table manners. 

GG brought Valentine's Day gifts for everyone!

I know every post is about basketball games, but that is because they were actually synonymous with OUR ENTIRE LIVES, so just work with me here. One of my favorite nights was when Mom came with me to work the concession stand. I was right in my prediction that she would immediately start organizing and rearranging all of the things in the concession stand.

Such a rough time when he is with them. 

Love this. I do actually feel like I have run at a mini-marathon every day-there are so, so many details in every day and, while I love details, I am so tired. 

But....those FitBit steps are a nice validation. 

"Moms who work are happier."

"Children benefit too."

"I am happiest when I have a plan."

ALL.OF.THAT. 

But....still really tired. 

February.

Every year February does it's best to wear us down and every year he almost wins. 

HOW CAN SO MUCH BASKETBALL BE CRAMMED INTO SUCH A SHORT MONTH???

When both parents work crazy hours, the logistics of lives are always, always a real thing, but the fun game of craziness really steps it up a special notch in February. This year was especially challenging because AE hosted BOTH the district and region tournaments ( 30 games within a 2 week period) and Anderson had his own plethora of games due to All Stars. I am not exaggerating when I say that there was not ONE day in February where both Brandon & I were home before 10pm. #ALLOFTHEEXHAUSTION

But, like always, we made it through and even had some fun along the way. 

Chloe always keeps it real for us. 

True story: I had no idea she was outside one day and left her there for about 3 hours INCLUDING during a torrential rainstorm. She is never outside longer than 2 minutes because she hates it and the girl is not afraid to ALWAYS share her thoughts, so she has never been left outside. If you have ever met her you know this truth about her "opinion sharing." But, on this day she somehow kept it together & I had no idea she was out there when we left the house. It is safe to say that when I realized it she got an entire box of treats. But, that did not stop her from side eyeing me all night. It was actually pretty hilarious. 

I realize that most dogs are fine outside, but Chloe is not a dog...just to clarify. 

Nicole shared her marker making kit with us & it actually is really, really cool. 

Max's enthusiasm for things keeps me going. 

Also, do not be deceived because the majority of the time that we are home he is crying/whining/hitting Anderson/etc. My kids literally cannot coexist. 

Lots & lots of swimming at the Y. 

**School was closed for 2 days due to illness, so we fit in a lot of these activities during a time we were not even supposed to be together! One day we had a parent night and one day we had a bball game, so I was literally not even going to see the boys and, instead, we swam, ate lots of junk, did 9 million activities around our house and remembered why there is a nice balance of weekdays/weekends. 

Birthday party at Cool Sports with his girl, Marley. 

Anderson & I went to the AE game one* night and Brandon updated me with these super cute pics. 

*or a million nights. 

Valentine's Day was pretty festive, as holidays usually are when I can incorporate clearance finds. Max picked out Minion Valentines because he is obsessed with suckers and I added them to the puzzles I bought last year on 90% clearance in the Target $ Spot. 

Anderson, in a shocking twist, picked out sports themed ones and we added them to Fun Dip. 

Valentine's Day goodies: Ghostbuster car for Max, Sponge Bob beat up bag thing/Marshmallow shooter for Anderson. 

Every now & then, BOTH of the kids sit at the same time and it is pretty amazing. 

Also, I apparently was stuffing Max's popcorn bags for his school Valentine's party at the same time. Because...I will never actually sit down. 

These random ice cream cones from the Dollar Store were probably the hit of the month. 

Or...maybe it was our FREE dinner at Blaze Pizza. I mean, I just love coupons. And pizza. 

And high quality selfies with my kids. 

Every Wed night, Anderson goes to church class for an hour (THANK YOU, CLARE!) and Max & I sort of roam around Kroger. We don't have time to go home before it starts and Brandon is never off work in time to get him, so we pick up things for lunches, presents for Reese, snacks and random Valentine's clearance items to be used in Easter baskets. 

On Reese's birthday, we actually got to hang out with her at The Muse! 

I mean, this baby is not even a baby anymore. 

For her birthday, Reese wanted to sleep on the couch bed with Max. And coincidentally, for my sanity, all I wanted was to NOT have to take Max with us to Anderson's basketball games in Chattanooga. 

We also made a trip to the zoo with our girls and Levi. 

Reese. I mean, she is the best. 

Max is somehow simultaneously an army man and a ghostbuster. 

Anderson is obsessed with this little goal at Noni's house and plays it all.of.the.time. 

I came home from work one night to find this.....

He wears this Ghostbuster's costume to school everyday. Seriously. I do wash it every night once he is asleep, so it is just a matter of time before it completely disintegrates. But, in the meantime, how great is his absolute belief in himself as a Ghostbuster??

Lego Batman movie with Lily!

And, even more hang out time!

I cannot stop with the pics of these 2.

We hit up the park for about 2 hours one Sunday because apparently winter is not a thing this year. My kids did not actually want to play on the playground; instead they wanted to explore, find a million rocks to bring home, get covered in grass...

and jump in every puddle that they could find.