January always seems like a slow, "bleh" kind of a month-- all thanks to the three months that come before it. After three whirlwind months full of holidays, parties, friends and family, and culminating with Christmas itself, all 31 days of January seem to drag by. Throw in the depressing snowy weather and gray skies most places have, and you have what I like to call the "January doldrums."
Luckily here in North Carolina, we're beating those January doldrums by taking swimming lessons. First Health (the gym I work at) has a very nice indoor pool and offers swim lessons on Monday and Wednesday afternoons-- a perfect way for my two fish to have some fun and get some exercise. Lucy is an incredible swimmer and is already in level 5 (the highest level) with a bunch of kids who are way older than she is, but she manages to keep up despite the age gap.
Zach is still in the learning phases, but has done amazingly well this session! You can see him here in his Thomas the Train swimsuit. He came home after his first lesson and although he'd seemed to have fun, said he didn't want to go back anymore. When I pressed him on why-- if he was scared or didn't like his teacher-- he finally revealed that he was embarrassed of his Thomas suit and told me the kids would make fun of him because Thomas is for "babies and 3 years olds." Ha! Poor little guy. I told him we'd look for a cooler swimming suit at Wal-Mart, but because it's January it was very slim pickings. All they had on the clearance rack was a size 7/8 Star Wars Angry Birds suit that barely stays on, but at least Thomas was honorably retired-- and Zach won't be beat up after class.
Here he is swimming to his teacher. He loves to dunk his face, jump in, back float, and is really getting good at swimming with his face and tummy in the water. Yeaaaa! One less child to worry about... As for Leah, I tried to sit and watch with her for the first lesson, but she was dive bombing for that water every time she got a chance. She even unintentionally got the life guard to come sit next to us because I think he was just as paranoid as I was that we'd end up with a baby in the water. Luckily I've been able to stick her in the Kids Center since then, and now I get to just sit and enjoy all 45 minutes of swim lessons in peace.
Living so far away from the "big city," one of our monthly excursions has become driving up to Raleigh to shop at Costco, Trader Joe's, and Target. Even though it's a long day and a long drive there and back (75 minutes each way), we all look forward to getting out of town and doing some power shopping.
Zach and Lucy's incentive to be good in the car is to eat lunch at Costco. They love the cheese pizza and smoothies. They really are good shoppers to take places, and help me with Leah so I can focus on remembering everything we've run out of! If I forget something, I'm toast for at least another month until our next trip up.
Jon and I discovered a new restaurant nearby (right across from Trader Joe's) called Burgerfi. It's like a Smash Burger, but has the most incredible veggie burger EVER!! I know that sounds weird, but we tried it on a whim, and it's fantastic (I took my mom once, and she didn't think so though). They're famous for their garlic parmesan fries too, which are HUGE, so while the kids eat Costco food, we patiently wait until we're all done with everything and then grab a Veggiefi before we head home. This month when we went there was actually a Tornado Watch in effect, so we risked life and limb for this little sandwich--it's that good.
Speaking of the weather here recently, it's been a crazy roller coaster! The first week back to school after Christmas, the temperatures dropped super low-- down into the single digits, prompting the schools to delay start school by 2 hours so it could warm up for the bus riders. I think the low that morning was 9 degrees. Fast forward a few days, and the temperatures swung into summer territory-- 60's and 70's!! And that's how you get tornadoes, people, in case you didn't know. We've had TONS of rain and wind as the temperatures level back out to normal.
Anytime it's sunny and warm we take advantage by heading outside to soak up the fresh air and vitamin D. Leah is definitely an outside baby-- and begs to be let loose in the yard. Zach and Lucy play with the neighbor kids (there are 4 around their age) and they have a ball riding bikes and scooters and playing ninjas and spies on our driveway.
Jon's been sticking to his New Year's resolution to spend some more one-on-one time with each of the kiddos by taking them on dates. Zach was up first with a "Man's Date" to Dunkin Donuts for donuts and hot chocolate. I guess they talked about buying four-wheelers the whole time, because Zach came home obsessed and has talked of nothing else since then.
Lucy was a few nights later with a date to Cold Stone for ice cream. She likes to get dressed up all fancy and very eagerly awaits her turn to be taken out on the town. I guess that means Leah is next!
And finally, I couldn't resist-- here is Zach living in a box. Let me explain: Zach tells this joke Lucy taught him to everyone. And although it's very silly (Cub Scout humor), it still cracks me up every time. I need to videotape him saying it because it's really the intonation and how he says it that's funny, but here goes:
Zach (sticks out hand to shake yours): Do you live in a house?
Person: Yes.
Zach: Oh. I live in a box. Do you use the toilet?
Person: Yes.
Zach: Oh. I use a can. Do you use toilet paper?
Person: Yes.
Zach: Oh. I use this hand!
Bwahahaha! He has a very infectious giggle and loves this joke. Now doesn't that just chase away the rest of those January doldrums??
