Snow Day

I really needed BOTH of my kids to go to school today. AND more importantly they both really wanted to go to school. (It has been almost three weeks since Whitaker had class). But looks like the weather and traffic gods thought differently. 

Winter Hike

A couple of days after Christmas Heather and I took the kids sans Whitaker (he had thrown up that day) on a hike. It was a beautiful day and we thought it was time that everyone get some fresh air. Heather said she had done the hike before and I assumed it was going to be a casual walk in the woods and we would be gone for an hour or so. I was a little surprised by the number of "water obstacles" that we had to hike over to get to our destination down to the water and that we were gone for 3 hours or so. That is also moving at a kids pace but still it was much more technical then I thought. Regardless the kids all did great and Luke and Will actually left us half way through to hike with their friends. 

Mae looks like a boy in these photos because somehow she left the house without a coat so she ended up wearing an extra shirt that was in Heather's car. 

Resolutions 2015

I have thought about this resolutions thing for a little bit this year and how I wanted to tackle it or even try to tackle it all. I love the start of the new year and the bright horizon of a fresh start. However, I think that I might be a little bit ambitious in trying to accomplish/improve upon 10 things. Or maybe I am not dedicated enough or lazy! So instead of doing 10 points, I am going to simplify and focus on two things that I really want to accomplish in 2015. If the other things that I have in my head happen, it will be just icing on the cake. Without further ado, the two things that I must get done this year are:

1. Learn something new. - I feel that I spent my first 20 some odd years learning something new almost everyday, whether it be through education or life experience or just good old milestones of infancy, toddlerhood, childhood, etc. I wouldn't say that I have halted learning altogether, I just don't think that I have really sought it out, especially in the last 5 years. I have learned a lot about raising kids and myself but I haven't learned a new skill per se. I have decided to pick one thing to learn. More on what I have decided in the next few weeks. Don't get too excited it isn't fire breathing or lion taming!

2. Find a consistent volunteer opportunity/give back. - Since moving to Virginia (over a year and half ago), I have yet to volunteer in any capacity to those in need. I am the room parent for both Mae and Whitaker's classes and even though some consider that volunteering I feel that is my job and responsibility. So it is time I step up my game and find something that I find fulfilling and offer hopefully some help to others. I have no idea where to start but I will also report back when I get the right opportunity.

Well there you have it those are my 2015 resolutions.

PS - I will update how I did with my 2014 resolutions in a later post this week. 

Happy New Year (and 2014 recap)

2014 was a rocky year for the Cummings Family. Things started off well although it seemed like school was always canceled because of all the snow and cold weather. The middle part of it was pretty darn awful. Why? The flooding of our old rental house, the three months of dealing with it and our old landlords. It all left me completely rattled. I had many, many sleepless nights (something I never do) and I was truly shaken about people's intent and human nature. We moved in August which was our 4th place of residency - yes 4 - in one year and two weeks. Immediately following the move, Pearson was gone for pretty much the whole month for work. September was a transition month with the start of school for Mae and Whitaker (his first time) and we were all just trying to get into the new routine. By mid-October things were on the up and up and I couldn't have asked for a better last two months to close out the year. 

AND one of the best things that happened this year was moving into our current house and meeting all our wonderful new neighbors who I now consider friends. Even better, we got to celebrate New Years with some of them. Three other couples came over around 5:30 and everyone brought food and drinks and we had a great time! The kids ran around and played while the adults got to talk and drink and hang out. The party lasted till about 10:30 when Mae actually asked to go to bed. I couldn't have asked for a better night hanging out with my three favorite people and some of my new favorite people. Cheers to a great start to 2015! 

All the kids!! I wish I had gotten a photo with the adults. 

All the swags, thanks to my dear neighbor Kathleen. As you can see she thought she was outfitting Times Square! The kids LOVED them all and I was thankful that she brought them. As for the noise makers…well you can imagine what that was like. 

Picking out their accessories. 

We had the fire pit going for dessert, which was smores. 

And there were finger lights! 

The hats came out the next day. 

Not so happy of the momrazzi. 

Mae found it really fun to put a hat on Whitaker.