Despite the fact that February is a short month, it sure packs a big punch! We had some COLD temps and I have really struggled more with the winter blues than I did last year. But, February was packed so full of good, good things. As I browsed back through my pictures I am amazed at how much we fit into this month!
February Weather
We had it all this month! Snow, rain, drab mud season, a 65 degree day….and what feels like everything in between! I’ve made it a personal goal to go for a walk every non work day, no matter the weather. I have missed a couple days where I’ve been gone all day long, but mostly I’ve hit this goal and it has helped me so much! Just 10 minutes of outside time is so good for the mental health!
Galentines Painting Night
I was invited to a super fun Galentine’s Painting Night! Honestly, I was pretty terrible at it, but had so much fun learning and making my best effort! The first picture is what it is supposed to look like, and the third picture is what mine looks like haha. Our host, Abby, does so great at planning fun things for people to do together- I’m so grateful! Here is Abby holding two babies at once- and neither of them are hers haha.
Fun at School
We had some fun at school- the preschool did a transportation unit and had some big rigs come visit school! The snowplow and dump truck drivers even let the kids in and fully operate the mechanisms of the vehicle- lift the truck bed, put the plow down, etc. It was so much fun and the kids loved it!
Teachers arrive at school at 7:30, and classrooms are open for students at 7:45. Of course, teacher kids are in the classroom by 7:30. I have four kids, my teachers aid has four kids, and then my co-teacher has one kid, so I usually have 10 or more kids in my classroom as soon as I arrive. Sometimes this can be a cause of stress, but I have to remind myself that this is a huge blessing and I really am happy for my room to be a hangout room. On this particular morning, Ezra was reading a book to the three little buddies- sweetest thing!
We started our egg incubator in our classroom! They take three weeks until they hatch, so we are eagerly anticipating that day!
One of our students dropped her headband into this post in the gym. We tried to lift the post but it was too heavy, so then we had to get a broom and try to fish it out. We were just laughing so hard about it because where on the job description is this? You may be required to come up with creative ways to retrieve a headband from very difficult to reach spaces haha.
Nails, Basketball, and a Puzzle Competition
One February weekend was BUSY! I went and got my nails done for my friend Laura’s birthday, then jetted off to a basketball game, then left for a puzzle competition. We unexpectedly got 4th place in the first round and advanced to the second round, so we ended up puzzling hardcore for 3 hours that afternoon! After the puzzle competition, I raced back to the basketball court to watch Ezra play, and then finally home for the day.
Miscellaneous Thoughts
I have been trying to run pretty consistently to train for my half marathon, but my February weekends were so full, I really struggled to find time for my long runs. I check my run stats and I only ran twice a week for this entire month. Apparently, I’m not the only one falling off the running wagon because the gym was pretty much empty at 6am on Monday morning.
I finally took a ton of books back to the library and it feels so good to have some shelves cleaned. Don’t worry…I still have tons of books to read. Just much less.
I’ll spare you the image of the back of his ear, but Ori had a run-in with my dresser and it split the back of his ear open in two spots. There was blood….there was bruising….we were pretty sure he needed stitches, but once we all calmed down a little bit and reevaluated, we decided to skip the stitches and let it heal up on its own. Thankfully, this was the right call because it has healed up beautifully and he didn’t have any issues bumping it or with infection after the initial incident!
A Weekend in Bed
I had one weekend that my body said “nope”, and thankfully, other than basketball games, I didn’t miss much at all. I went to an all day staff in-service meeting and as soon as I got home, I got in bed. I stayed in bed pretty much all of Saturday and by Sunday morning I felt pretty much back to normal again. I’m thankful for rest, and that Theo did a lot of the weekend parenting so I could just chill. I finished a couple of books and we worked on a puzzle that weekend!
Tera went to a 3 day youth retreat at our church that weekend. We dropped her off on Friday and picked her up on Sunday evening! She had SO MUCH FUN. No phones or devices were allowed, so not a single photo have I seen from the weekend. I’m sure someone took pictures, but this was a huge step of “letting go” for Theo and I! We typically don’t allow sleepovers and even on school trips usually one of us is chaperoning or I know the chaperones really well. This was a “let go and trust” situation and I’m so thankful that she got to do it and that we are also learning and growing as parents 😉
Baby Shower, Restaurant Service, Skating Field Trip, Daddy/Daughter Dance, College Basketball Game, Basketball Tournament Season…all in one weekend!
I posted about a super busy weekend earlier in February, but this past weekend was even more full! We started Friday morning with a Skate Field Trip to the skating rink! Fun was had…mostly. Despite how fun this picture looks, Ori mostly just clung to me the entire time, which is not typical for him. He wasn’t a fan of skating lol.
Saturday started with Tera heading to her grandparents house so that she could serve at a local restaurant with them. This restaurant offers free or deeply discounted meals to members of the community, so they rely fully on volunteers to serve. My parents serve once a month with their church, and Tera asked if she could serve with them. She LOVED it, and from what I hear, she did a great job.
Meanwhile, we headed off to Kiah’s tournament game! Unfortunately, after an undefeated season, they were knocked out, and it was a brutal loss. There were lots of tears shed after that game. After the game I picked Tera up and headed to a baby shower for our dear Corinne! She asked for lots of practical stuff on her registry, but I ignored her requests and just went wild on baby girl clothes. Listen…an auntie has got to auntie. And it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to buy baby girl clothes!
After the shower we headed to Ezra’s tournament game and were so thrilled for a WIN! They move on to the next game, but unfortunately, we will be out of town for the championship game.
Theo and Tera left the game early to head to the Daddy/Daughter Dance and had a blast partying the night away!
Sunday was Theo’s first day serving at church for both services, which is such a blessing that we are able to do that after years and years of him not even being able to attend church. After church we got some lunch and then headed off to a Wright State Basketball game! A member of our school community is the head coach and he offered tickets to anyone who wanted some! It was SO fun, especially to be there with a bunch of school friends!
Also. Both our cars were broken down and at the mechanic over the weekend. Which is WILD, that we managed to still do all of that. Two friends let us borrow cars over the weekend, and as you can see- I am so grateful!
And that- is a wrap on February! We are headed to our annual Hines Family Reunion this weekend and then March will be here! February was so full of blessings, but I am so ready for Spring to be here! We LOVE basketball season, but I am glad that is over and we have no spring sports on the docket so that will be a nice break, especially as my half marathon training ramps up.
How was your February? Sad to see it go, or ready for March?