McCullough Land: February 2017

Not to be confused with Coronation Day. #frozen

I tend to hoard my vacation days but taking Monday off was a no-brainer. Ellen was already out of school and it's hard to pass up the opportunity to have a 3-day weekend. I was still not feeling great so for me it was also a day of potential rest.

The girls played nicely together which is always a bonus.

We spent a lot of time outside. The girls rode bikes, we took the dogs for a leisurely stroll and then the three of us walked down to the neighborhood playground. We had the place to ourselves. Lilly conveniently faked a toe injury on the way back so I would have to carry her home. We don't live near the playground. Well played, Lilly. Well played.

Lilly doesn't always nap on the weekends but after skipping both Saturday and Sunday, I made sure she took one Monday afternoon (she needed it). Ellen and I watched Love It or List It while Lilly slept.

Due to the holiday, I wasn't expecting Lilly's new shoes to arrive until Tuesday at the earliest (I ordered them last week). Well... surprise! It was love at first sight. She had been wearing a cute pair of New Balance given to us by our neighbors but they had laces and we were constantly having to tie them for her. Ms. Parker and Mrs. Ainsworth probably hated us for sending her to school in them every day. Now everyone is happy :)

I ended up making a chicken and rice casserole for dinner. It's not often I have time to cook a real meal on a weeknight (the kids are starving by the time we get home so I try to feed them as fast as possible). Of course Lilly ate something else entirely but the rest of us enjoyed it.

It seemed like a good movie night so I asked Phillip to stop by Redbox on his way home from work. (It's our new thing. I picked up Hacksaw Ridge yesterday afternoon for us to watch last night). He got The BFG for the kids and the new Jack Reacher movie for us to watch. It was just okay. I thought The BFG was just okay as well but the kids liked it. Ellen had recently read the book so that was kind of neat. The best part was snuggling on the couch together with way more stuffed animals than was necessary.

President's Day/Recuperation Day/Coronation Day was a success. We all needed a break from our regularly scheduled programming. (Hopefully Phillip can join us next time.)

We're going to Disney World! Again! We planned on going with Phillip's family this summer but for various reasons it's not going to work out (bad timing). We decided to go anyway. We are staying at a different resort and doing the quick service meal plan as opposed to the table service plan, but other than that, it will be a very similar trip to the one we took last May. I would love to try to go to Legoland while we are in the area, but not sure of that is going to work out or not.

Phillip went on an elders/deacons/ministers leadership retreat the first weekend in February. While he was in Shelbyville bonding with a great group of men, we played inside (the girls had the best time together - it made me so happy), rode bikes, ate at Chick-fil-A and went to Target. I also got a lot done around the house.

Lucas turned 7 earlier this month and we were honored to attend his Pokemon-themed birthday party. Jennifer did a great job with the decorations and games. The girls had a lot of fun.

I have been watching a lot of HGTV lately. House Hunters used to be one of my favorite shows but over time I got burnt out (too much of a good thing). I went several years without watching anything on HGTV but then Phillip and Ellen started watching Flip or Flop a few months ago and that pulled me back in. In addition to House Hunters, Love It or List It, Property Brothers and Fixer Upper are a few of our other favorites.

Lilly likes going to the grocery store and the reasons why will not surprise you...
Me: Is it just about the cookie?
Lilly: No. It's also about the little cart.

Effort is my word for 2017. I never thought I was the type to have a word of the year but in the midst of making a lot of changes/improvements, or trying to, it hit me that I really don't make much of an effort at life anymore (generally speaking). I rarely take time to look my best, I'm overweight, church keeps us busy but I have very few real connections there, I am not advancing in my "career." (I don't really have a career but if I did, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be much farther along than when I started.) Things bother me, like how much screen time the girls are allowed (by us!), but I don't do anything about it. Besides worry. Wow. This is going in a whole different direction than I intended but maybe that is a good thing. In summary, it isn't going to be easy for me or else I would already be doing it, but I really want to make an effort to make an effort. #realtalk

Lilly has been playing Splatoon quite a bit lately (Ellen still plays but not as much as she used to). I love listening to her running commentary (Lilly is so much fun). Both girls still like Animal Jam but Ellen plays a lot more than Lilly. Super Smash Brothers is one they enjoy playing together. I like it when they bond over toys/games.

Phillip took Ellen to the HES Talent Show last month and to the Daddy Daughter Dance a couple of weeks ago. #fatheroftheyear

Although it looks like a bee stung him in the face, this is just what happens to Phillip's eyes when his sinuses are acting up or when he smokes a ton of marijuana. Just kidding. We don't do drugs.

Children's Bible Hour has been replaced with Kids Corner and I couldn't be more pleased (we usually ended up teaching several months a year and I was kind of over it). Children age 3 to around 4th grade gather on the first few pews at the beginning of Sunday night services. Aubrey sings a few songs and there is usually a short skit/teachable moment. He asks questions and they go over memory verses as well. Some of the teenage girls give the kids a prize/treat before sending them back to sit with their parents. I like that we are in church together on Sunday nights and I like the interaction they have with Aubrey. It's a win-win.

We found out earlier this week that Ellen's school will be undergoing maintenance that will prohibit them from operating their normal summer program. The summer program we depend on. (Insert me screaming bloody murder here.) She can attend Summer SACC at another school but none of the participating locations are convenient (not every school offers Summer SACC). Thanks for the advance notice but THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. (Summer shouldn't be this complicated.) We will most likely send Ellen wherever Evie (her BFF) goes but we are looking into our options.

First Lilly was sick (last week) and then me (this week). Mostly cold-like symptoms but she had a terrible cough and I didn't. I feel better today but it was a rough week. I was not well on Valentine's Day, physically or otherwise (I was not my best self), but Phillip forgave me and surprised me last night with a ring (Twist of Fate from Pandora) and a sweet treat. I knew he was picking up Bishop's for dinner but he also brought home a box of a dozen assorted doughnuts (chocolate covered with sprinkles for the win!). Besides the hot chicken, these are not purchases usually made by one Phillip Russell McCullough! We ended up getting a couple of movies from Redbox. We watched Kubo and the Two Strings as a family and after the girls went to bed, Phillip and I started Arrival (I saw it the theater a few months ago but it was his first time). Phillip fell asleep less than 30 minutes into the movie so we stopped it and went to bed at 9:32 p.m. on a Friday night. #oldpeopleproblems

I had a lot of Valentine's goodies for the girls, cute polka dot pails included, but ended up unceremoniously giving them a few non-Valentines-y gifts and calling it a day (Ellen got a Pusheen book and stuffed animal (which she loved) and Lilly got The Fisher Cat Family (Calico Critters) she has been wanting. Bah humbug, I know. (It really was a bad week!) I'll save the rest for Easter.

Today was a good day. (It's nice knowing I don't have to work on Monday.) The Sweetheart Dinner planned for tonight was cancelled (sad face) so we went to see the Lego Batman movie with Kendra and Laurie instead. [Best line of the movie: I'm a loser at home, I'm a loser at work.] We ate dinner at Westshore Pizza.

Is this turning out to be the best weekend ever?

Our movie theater is under construction but they did have this display...

I got Lilly a bath bomb from Lush. I was saving it for Valentine's Day but after a week of her not feeling well, the Saturday before February 14th seemed like the perfect time to try it out. She was finally feeling a little better and a warm bath filled with pink water and tiny hearts (from the bath bomb) was just what she needed. (I added more water after this was taken.)

I started reading Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts a few nights ago (I got it for Christmas a couple of years ago but never read it). I am only four or five chapters in but I like it. However, it is not an easy read for me. I find myself having to re-read quite a bit. But I have also listened to her on a few podcasts and felt the same way about the way she talks. Say what? I gave up on one altogether. So it's more of a reflection on how I read, and apparently listen, and not a flaw in her writing style. I am looking forward to reading more.

We had a little car trouble about a week and a half ago. Phillip's car died at the intersection in front of Ellen's school. Thankfully he was able to coast into the car/bus line. Not an ideal spot to break down but someone helped him push the car as far out of the way as possible. I turned around as soon as I got the call (I was more than halfway to the office). Phillip was going to work from home that day since Lilly wasn't feeling well so she and I ended up spending the morning together while he waited for the tow truck. About an hour later Lilly and I picked Phillip up from Tony's shop. I went on to work after dropping them back off at the house. (I did a lot of driving that day.) Tony was 99.9% sure there was a problem with the transmission and said it would take several days for him to fix, so I figured I better work while I could. Long story short-er, the Murano was still under factory warranty (yay!) so we got it fixed for free. The only catch was we had to have it towed to the Nissan dealership in Cool Springs. They approved the work and five days later we got the car back. The end. It was not easy having only one car but we made it work.

The Lambs of the Light planned on passing out flowers to the residents of a local assisted living but unfortunately the flu stopped us from going room to room (we didn't find out until we were already there). We left about 30 flowers at Willow Springs for one of the staff members to deliver and took the remaining carnations to church the next day. These little cuties (plus a few more) handed out flowers to the older ladies in our congregation after worship. It was the sweetest thing.