Nana sent another package for the kiddos, and they were thrilled to open it up. They were a little miffed that so much of the package was for the baby :), but they recovered quickly and were excited for the new crayons and other toys she sent. Packages are always so exciting!
Lover and I have both had a craving for homemade Chicken Broccoli Alfredo, so we added that to the list. It was incredibly filling and so satisfying! Lover made loads of extra sauce so that we could dip our breadsticks, Olive Garden style. 🙂 I was about to burst by the time we finished, but it was worth it! The bigs both had school this week for the first time in eons – we are totally out of the routine but we still managed to get them there on time and they enjoyed being with their classmates and teachers again. Two weeks until the next in person class, and hopefully after Feburary break we can move back to once a week! That would be so nice!
Javi took it upon himself to rename our Netflix profiles and give us all avatars. We used to be kodankohouse, but now we are “grownups”, and the kiddos profile is now XKDCV, one initial for each Kodanko kiddo. 🙂 Lover and I picked up a vintage toy set that I’ll eventually try to flip, but for now, we let the kids explore it. It has a bajillion pieces, but it kept them quite entertained which was fun. It’s definitely one of those “takes forever to set up” toys. But they still really enjoyed it. Reminded me of my grandparents’ farm set, which was a whole bunch of animals, trees and fences in a washed out sherbet bucket. I would sit at their kitchen counter and listen/talk to them, and line up the animals.
I’ve been doing more cleaning and organizing this week (hello nesting!) and one of the things I tackled was our school/crafting supplies on the wall in the dining room. I sorted and sharpened pencils while a friend and I talked and by the end of her visit, everything was nice and organized. Of course that only lasted 2.5 seconds, but it was nice while it lasted!
Our realtor gave us a gingerbread house kit and I had saved it for this week, knowing we’d need some extra distractions as we wait for baby. The kids really enjoyed building it, and then after lunch we let them eat it, which they REALLY enjoyed!
Declan has been very into helping Cassandra get ready in the mornings. Today he was Super Dragon Man as he helped Cassandra brush her teeth and comb her hair. So cute and so funny! I picked up a pillow cover at Goodwill last week – I liked that it has Joshua 1:9 on the back, and the front is those sequin things that the kids love to play with. But then when we put it on the loveseat and it landed next to the Family pillow our renters left this summer, it was so funny! That sums us up so well, the “fearless family”!
Thursday was an emotional day – just the stress of winter, end of pregnancy and COVID making activities difficult. Lover convinced me that we needed to steal away to the mountains, and it was SO the right call! We drove up to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park – so beautiful. After we got on our way and past Boulder, Declan puked all over the back of the car, and we nearly turned around and headed home. I’m so glad we didn’t though, as it was super worth it to stay the course and drive through the mountains for a long time. Estes Park is only about 1.5 hrs from our house, so we were never very far away (in case baby decided to come) but it felt like we had gotten a break and cleansed and refreshed! The snow capped mountains were breathtaking and everything felt normal and happy for a while – so thankful! My mom reminded me to stay focused on the things I can be grateful for in life, and the next few days have been easier. Praying for time to pass quickly while we wait for baby!