Week 43 of 52 in 2020

Jackson: The boys have always had a love of a good set of pajamas.  And, why not celebrate the holidays.  Jackson's set glows in the dark. Hopefully, it won't distract him from sleeping.

There has been a lot of practice for lacrosse since it resumed in July.  One of the benefits of picking up from lacrosse practice is catching some beautiful sunsets. Both boys know that I'm very interested in sunsets and oblige me when it's happening.  Friday night was off the charts AMAZING.

It was another Saturday and another lacrosse tournament. This time it was in Cecil County.  Jackson was asked to play in goal for the gray team so he got 4 games on a very busy Saturday.  His green team won 2 and lost 1. It was great to see the team come together. The last game was a tough loss but True Annapolis team put some beautiful offense on display.  It was another beautiful sunset and a warning on colder weather coming in. Cecil County gets colder than Baltimore County fast.

Connor:  Bob's delivered his mattress on Friday and after waiting for it to inflate, which we were not told about, we were able to put on his Jackie Robinson sheets and get his bed ready. Connor moved right in for his next period and his clarinet lesson.

Jackson and Connor:  On this Wednesday, Brooks came to our side and hung out with the boys.  There was lots of bike riding, especially at the new bike course on Stanmore Court.  Lots of fun!

Week 42 of 52 in 2020

Jackson: Another week, another book or 2 that he is reading and unable to put down. When Jackson is reading, he is ALL in.  You can call his name, try to speak to him but without shouting, he doesn't stop.  He's keeping the BCPL staff busy.

Connor: Connor had a busy week. He started the week off with his MPO appointment.  They relayed that it was time to do molds at his next visit for both top and bottom.   Initially, it was going to be that his bottom braces would come off first and the top would follow but not for a couple of months.  Connor picked green and white to represent Celtic.

The boys had off on Friday and we scheduled the delivery of Connor's new bedroom furniture and desk from Pottery Barn Kids.  They also delivered Jackson's desk, which was supposed to come at a later time. It was a hectic morning while I tried to monitor everything and make Jackson's room presentable all while walking up the steps way to many times in my walking boot. SO MUCH WALKING!  It was finally time for him to move out of the desk area in the newly finished back basement. Next up was to finalize decorations for the room, pick out a mattress and get him happy about moving down there.

Jackson had an all day lacrosse tournament on Saturday in Parkton.  After playing 2 games (missed the first for another Celtic victory), we had a late lunch and started taking errands off our list.  First up was Menchey Music store to pick up Connor's clarinet.  He was over pictures so this is the best we got. His first lesson is next Friday and he's very excited to start.

After we left Menchey's, we headed up to Hunt Valley and Connor picked out his mattress. His room is coming together. 

Week 41 of 52 in 2020

Jackson:  He's really embraced virtual school with lacrosse and having fun with friends at recess to get his socialization in.  He often struggles with being by himself upstairs working and on this day despite looking so grown up, he just wants to be close by.

Jackson and Connor:  Yet another day and another group of boys that I'm walking across Stevenson Lane.

The boys have been checking in on their buddy, Chase, on their walk home from their soccer practice.  His team starts a little later than the boys.  We are often rushing back since I'm often preheating the oven for nachos and it's getting dark so they don't get as much time to hang out.  They were looking forward to their matchup with InterMilan and it finally happened on Saturday. After the game, Chase invited the boys over and they were able to hang out for most of the afternoon. So thankful that the parents in our area have agreed to participate and respect all the safety precautions that TRC has requested so they can have a safe soccer season.

Week 40 of 52 in 2020

Connor:  The boys had off on Monday so I scheduled eye exams for them as it was time for their annual exam.  I opted to let the boys get more sleep so they didn't have enough time for breakfast.  We should have had them get something for the car.  They were both grumpy and not understanding of the need to wait.  This boy was all smiles that he was given a couple more years before needing glasses. He was told last year that it probably would be this year.  Oh, and after all the whining about being hungry, they were ok to wait in the Dunkin Donuts drive thru line.  Donuts make EVERYTHING better.

Jackson and Connor:  I try to walk the boys up to join their friends for recess as not all the motorists on Stevenson Lane respect/see the crosswalk and I go up to get them to make sure that they are back in time for Period 3.  Jackson has writing and Connor has reading.  It's not a lot of time but we want to make sure that they can get home and get a drink of water and go to the bathroom, if needed.

So, I start with 2 and often end up with more.  Everett ALWAYS escorts the boys and I back to the house. He has to go past his own house to get to ours. I guess it's his tradition. Benny has been spending some time at his grandparent's house after lunch who live 2 houses up.  Their friendship has grown so much.

With one of the biggest Norway Maples in your backyard, fall means lots of raking and bagging up of leaves.  The boys spent a good bit of time after soccer taking care of some.