We are more than a month past Viktors leaving and I am just now feeling caught up. I wouldn’t say I’m totally healed, but I’m getting there. I don’t know if I will ever be “healed”, but I don’t know that I’m supposed to. So much I could write about this, but I won’t. Instead, I will catch you up on what life has looked life since we resumed our normal family life.
Andrew begged us to take Karate. He has spent 4 years being dragged to everything his brothers participated in, so we thought it would be fun to let him have an activity. Especially since he was so excited about it. As it goes with 3 boys, once the other 2 heard about this new venture, they wanted to take part as well.
After the first class, Andrew decided “maybe another day he would do karate.” Jacob and Zachary were a different story. They loved it more than anything to date they have tried. So much so that they have gone to class every time it’s been offered. We believe Andrew thought Karate was actually gymnastics. He was more interested in learning flips then kicks. And he didn’t like the “itchy” uniforms. He is only 4 after all!
All the boys had eye exams. Jacob and Zachary needed reading glasses. Jacob was very sad, but Zachary was ecstatic. Jacob has only worn his once. Zachary swears he is a better reader now. And he just might be. Since getting his glasses, he has decided to read his first chapter book completely on his own. Every chance he gets he is curled up with glasses, book, and a word search. I think they are adorable in their little glasses.
Andrew, as usual, feels he was left out. He wants his own glasses. We explained that his eyes were fine for now. I’ve mentioned before, he will be in sales one day. He doesn’t quit. We will see how long he asks for glasses before he finally wears us down and we get some type of glasses.
I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I will anyway. I almost never buy clothes for the boys. We usually buy a load of hand-me-downs for Jacob from a friend. These are passed to Zachary then to Andrew. I can’t remember the last time I’ve bought clothes for any of them. I’ve never bought shoes for Andrew. And in August grandma and grandpa bought Jacob and Zachary a new pair of tennis shoes for school. The boys never complain about shoes and clothes, so I never think to really take an inventory or check into how they are holding up. Until last week when the smell of Zachary’s shoes was so pungent, we realized it was time to replace. When I checked Jacob’s, they had holes all in them. When I checked Andrew’s the linings were worn out completely.
So we did a little Zappo’s shoe shopping. Jacob and Zachary took about 1 minute scrolling through the shoes, picked a pair, done. Andrew came into the room, saw the sea of shoes on the computer screen, and that was it. One pair captured his heart. ”Ohhhh, I want those. Those are so awesome. I love those!!”
My reaction? ”Those? Really? Those?”
“Yes, mommy, those are so awesome!”
Not my style at all, but Andrew is just different like that. He wanted them badly enough to use his money to pay for 1/2 of them because they were over the shoe budget. He is convinced he can run faster and jump higher. Maybe he can.
We took a trip to VA over winter break. Steve had to work in VA for a couple of days, so we accompanied him and while he worked, the boys and I took some time to visit with our dearest friends, the Bailey’s, Rooker’s, and Parlee’s. It was a sweet, sweet time of catching up. The highlight for Jacob took place at the Bailey’s when he caught a chicken. 3 chickens escaped the farmer neighbor’s coop, so the boys caught all 3 chickens. It was an experience that went down as one of his all time favorites.
The funniest part of the trip was when I checked my phone and saw that Charlotte was blanketed in snow….and VA was dry! Since we have moved to NC I have told the boys we would likely never see snow in Charlotte. We were certain we would have snow in VA. We returned home to a pocket of snow in the backyard that had not yet melted and Zachary and Andrew had a mini snowball fight. It’s really all they needed.
Macy is getting so big. She is the perfect puppy still. So sweet, fairly obedient, and a little cuddlebug. The boys adore working on training her to do tricks. They have actually done an amazing job. I never work with her on sitting, laying, staying, etc. They’ve done all the work. Now they are teaching her shake and dance. She can stay on her hind legs a good long while. She provides unlimited entertainment and has been a great source of added responsibility for the boys. Steve and I really love her too 
And that’s pretty much it. Baseball starts in a couple of weeks and we will be back on that train again. We cherished a sports break over the winter. Lots of great time together. We slowed way down.
We are starting our countdown to summer break already. 2 1/2 months will fly by!! I’m ready for my boys to be home!!!
