Thank you and goodnight!

I started this blog on Valentine's Day 2012 when I was 10 weeks pregnant with Riley.  There was so much exciting news and everyone was scattered across the country - a blog seemed like a great way to share news, pictures and stories of my growing belly, our growing family and our growing baby.  Over 8 years later, 300+ blog posts, 2 cities, 4 houses, 2 kids, and countless memories later, I have decided that it is time to end the blog (or at least take a break on purpose).  As you can tell, I haven't written a blog post in almost 6 months as life is very busy - in a good way!  That, and I'm not sure if anyone reads this anymore!  Either way, there are a lot of other ways to share stories, pictures and document the boys growing up.

It has been quite an adventure we have had so far, and I am looking forward to everything that we have to look forward to.  This blog served as a baby book of sorts, not having kept hard records or first steps, first teeth, first words but rather posting them here (and going back for reference every once in a while).  I hope that the boys read this one day not only to see fun pictures, but also hopefully to have an insight into what life was like growing them and raising them thus far.  I know that you don't truly understand parenthood until you yourself are a parent, and maybe hearing some stories and thoughts from my perspective will give them a better understanding into who I am and how I learned to be their mom.

We have just finished 1st grade and Preschool B and have started the summer break - or as what can best be described as summer break with coronavirus.  These are interesting times that we are living in and although we have unlimited hours at home, they always seem to be filled.  And when they are not filled, all I want to do is shut down, watch tv and relax.  Each morning I remember that I wanted to write a blog post and each night I forget.  So now, I will shift the blog to other forms of memory making and hope that the boys will remember our times together for themselves moving on.  I can't believe how much has happened since I first started writing and look forward to everything that is to come!

So to anyone left following our story so far, to Riley and Asher who hopefully one day read this and to future me who goes back to remember how little they once were, thank you and goodnight!  XOXO

Happy 4th Birthday Asher

Asher is 4 years old and it's time to party!  Because I was away again this year for Asher's birthday, we delayed/continued the celebration for another 10 days of fun until we were all able to get together.  This evening, Bibi and Zee came over (the Stamms had to back out due to illness) and we had a family party with the specific parameters as per Asher's requests.  I asked him a few times what he wanted for his celebration and he said M&M's and donuts.  He didn't want a theme... he didn't want decorations... he didn't want a cake - just donuts and M&M's.  So that is what we had!

Asher celebrated on his actual birthday, brought donuts to his friends at school and had a party tonight.  So now 10 days of celebrations later, I think it is time to pass along the birthday torch to the other January babies.

Asher - at 4 years old, you are sweet, smart, silly and so many other things.  You try to be like your big brother but you also like to do your own thing.  You don't mind standing up for yourself but are still a snuggle bug.  You help me to get ready in the morning by picking out my jewelry and handing me my make-up.  You insist on doing most things yourself but still like to be carried every once in a while.  You are learning new things every day and I always look to you when I need a smile or a hug.

I can't believe that our baby is already 4 years old and I can't wait to see how he grows into the next year.

Super Hero Halloween

We asked the boys what they wanted to be for Halloween this year and it should come as no shock to anyone who has met us that they wanted to be super hero's!  This is totally acceptable (if not predictable), especially because Chris and I already had existing super hero outfits that we could join in on the group costume with Black Panther and Spiderman!   

The weather has been dry and sunny all week, but of course, it had to be rainy, cold and super windy on Halloween.  But that was not going to stop us from going trick-or-treating!  Chris and the boys went out with the neighbors and left Addie and I behind to hand out toys.  She was a very good helper and only barded at people when there was a group coming to the door all at once.  I stationed myself on the covered front porch in a folding chair and watched the costume parade.

Once the boys were done trick-or-treating (they stayed out for over an hour), Asher wanted to help give out our treats.  He set up his station and let me know when the next group of kids were coming to the door.  I was hoping for nicer weather, but at least it wasn't raining too much and everyone had a great time on this very exciting holiday!

We also weren't going to get too bummed if Halloween was rained out cause we have been practicing for weeks!  Last weekend, Asher and I went to the Halloween parade in Mt. Lebanon and had a great time.  He was all in as soon as he heard that they throw candy at your feet and you get to collect it.  Riley had also already gone trick-or-treating when he went camping with Y-Guides last weekend so we have been celebrating for ever!

And just to make sure that there was always something to do to get ready for Halloween, we had to carve pumpkins, too!  And when I say 'we' carved pumpkins, I actually mean I carved pumpkins!  The boys wanted nothing to do with scooping out the seeds - Asher was grossed out by it and Riley just wanted to start sawing away at the pumpkin.  But we tried out some cool stencils this year and I think they turned out pretty cool!

So now we move onto November, put the costumes away for a few weeks or so and wait for the next opportunity to don our super hero looks!

10 Year Anniversary

How is it even possible that we are celebrating our 10 year anniversary?  10 years is a really long time - it's hard to even wrap my head around the fact that this is a real measure in any other way than remembering everything that has happened since we got married.  Since we said "I do", we have moved 4 times, had 2 kids, bought 2 houses, bought 2 cars, completed 2 Master's degrees, visited over a dozen countries, celebrated lots of milestones and made countless memories!

Our original thought was to take a big celebratory trip - somewhere neither of us had gone and make a big anniversary trip.  Then we bought a house and realized that other things take priority and that at the end of the day, we really just wanted to go somewhere together and have some time to ourselves.  So we took advantage of our friends mountain house and headed up for a weekend celebration!  The only thing that we had plans for was a dinner reservation, but besides that, we were totally flexible.  We slept in (or at least I did), went for a 5 mile hike at the state park, went to Autumnfest to listen to live music and check out the craft fair and just hung out at the house.  It was really relaxing and very refreshing not to have lots of plans that had us running from one event to the next!

The weather ended up being perfect, too!  It was pretty cold in the morning of our hike but that didn't stop us.  We added our layers and hit the trail.  By the end, our backpack was filled with layers and hats and the sun was shining.  The evenings were cool but we had a fire goings in the house while we watched movies, cooked meals, enjoyed a firework show (that Chris took credit for planning) and enjoyed each others company.  Turns out, we don't need to go anywhere big to have a perfect anniversary celebration!

Back to school time

In the one month since we've been in the new house, Chris was in Detroit for 1 week, I was in the Med for 10 days, we have 90% unpacked, bought a lot to pull the new house together and have finished up the summer at camp.  All of this has culminated to the next big day that everyone was counting down to - back to school day!

Asher had his first day back at the JCC last week and it was a seamless transition.  He knows Ms. Jen from summer camp, his classroom is the same and all of his friends are still in his class.  There wasn't a big hype about back to school for him cause he was at JCC camp all summer and feels like it is his second home.

Riley, on the other hand, had a huge change when starting first grade today!  He is at a new school, with new kids, taking the bus and going to school for the full day.  He has been counting down the days until school started and this morning when he woke up, he asked if the bus was here any time he heard a card drive by.  The bus comes right next door and if I could bottle the excitement he had when stepping on the bus for the first time, I would!

He came home announcing that he had a great first day, he loved the bus, our neighbor is in his class and he has a really sweet teacher.  I am hopeful that we can keep this momentum going and each day (or at least many days) go as well as today did!

Our New House!

Well, it's official, we are now in our new home!  To be honest, I would have written this blog a few days ago but A) I didn't have any free time and B) I couldn't find my computer...

But we are in the house four days now and we are loving our new digs!  It is a process that will take a little time to get everything in the right place, figure out what we need, assess how we will best use all of this space and work out the details, but it feels so good to be home.

The boys have been telling everyone about the new house, their big rooms, cool wall colors and awesome backyard.  Not to mention the fact that there is a playground right down the street and we have gone a few times already.  They are having the easy jobs of just moving in and making the best of our house.

Chris and I, on the other hand, have been busy at work!  We each took off the week to paint, unpack the PODS, clean and get everything in the house.  And it just so happened to be the hottest week of the year when all of this was happening, so we definitely deserve the break that we are getting tonight.  We still have some unpacking to do but after painting half of the house and doing lots of heavy lifting, a few boxes can stay unpacked in the garage for another night or two.

The house is already looking like a home and we are looking forward to putting our art on the walls, picking a new color scheme for our room, decorating the boys rooms with their new themes and living here.  The neighbors are really nice and it is exciting to see this as our long term home.  Signing away the next 30 years on a mortgage was a little daunting but we are really thrilled with the house, the amount of space that we have to live in and can't wait to make many memories here!

Kindergarten and Preschool Graduation

It's official, Riley had graduated from Kindergarten!  I honestly have no idea how we got here already and it really feels like it could have been last week that I brought him to the JCC for the first time when he was 10 months old for his first day of school.  Time flies when you're having fun!

The JCC put on their end-of-year graduation ceremony and this year, the Kindergartener's showed off their singing skills both in English and Hebrew.  I shuffled my way to the front, took my spot with camera in hand and as soon as I turned it on to start recording, the camera politely told me that I had forgot to put a card in... thank goodness the other parents were all equally as obsessed with capturing this moment and were willing to share their technology skills where mine had failed!

Asher also graduated from Preschool A and loved taking part in the celebration.  He and his classmates tie-dyed their own shirts and sand a song of their own.  Asher was singing his little heart out and was happy to see us right in the front row taking pictures of him.

After the ceremony came the carnival - a favorite activity every year.  There were snacks, train rides, a bouncy house and fun on the playground.  The weather was perfect and everyone had a great time celebrating the kids.  

Now it's officially summer time and we are ready for another awesome year of camp!

Playing Catch Up

LIFE IS BUSY!!!  As if you couldn't tell from the date of my last blog post (1/10/19), things have be incredibly active in the Herman house!  Getting our house on the market included lots of cleaning, decluttering, many trips to the storage unit, lots of time out of the house, packing, putting things away and general high stress levels.  Living with these two little monsters included lots of books, dirt, fights, acrobatics, giggles and imagination.  Things are always busy!

Every time I think I have a few free minutes, something else pops up that I have to do.  But with the nice weather that we have been having, a lot of the time has been spent outside too.  Asher wants to do everything that Riley does and Riley is (usually) great at letting Asher play along.  These brothers are two peas in a pod.  Riley has a super active imagination and is talking about 23 hours a day.  He is getting really good at baseball and has lost 8 teeth.  Asher loves helping me cook, wants to play with all of Riley's toys, tells the pets hello all the time and lights up a room with his smile when you pick him up from school.

It is so nice that they have each other and I love that every day, they are playing more and more together.  Yes, I still have to separate them and tell them to keep their hands to themselves and make them sit down during dinner, but I am also loving how grown up they feel at times.  I love that we can go out and do lots of fun activities and they are constantly asking questions to learn how things work.  Parenting is a full time job and these guys sure know how to keep us on our toes - every. single. minute!

Asher is 3!

This past weekend we celebrated Asher turning 3 and had a family birthday party a few days delayed.  Bibi and I got back from our UAE & India New Year's Cruise and with enough sleep on the plane rides, were able to bounce right back into action.  With Asher's birthday being on New Year's, I think he will one day enjoy all the hype and celebration - parties all around the world just for him!

This year, things were more tame, however, and we had a super hero themed birthday party at home.  Everyone was encouraged to dress up and there were certainly some creative costumes.  The four of us had more well-known costumes while others came as Super Stretch (Stacey), Penguin (Leo), The Time Traveler (Bibi), Super Zee (guess who) and Dad (Brad) - thank you all for your effort.

A few weeks ago, Bibi asked Asher what he wanted his birthday cake to look like and he said he wanted an M&M/pickle/orange cake - so who am I to deny my son of the cake that he asks for?  I had just flown 14 hours on a plane the night before but you better believe that I whipped up that cake just for him!

At three, Asher is precocious, silly, smart and active.  He wants to do most of the things that Riley does but also shows the differences between them.  We love seeing the smiley, snuggly, quirky and brave side of Asher and can't wait to see what else this year brings out in him!

Bunk Bed Brothers

This afternoon as Chris and I were watching the Buckeye game, the boys were upstairs playing in Riley's room.  It was the longest time they played together without yelling, fighting or crying and it was really fun to hear them laughing and and playing along with each other.

When it was getting close to nap time, Riley came down and told us that he had tucked Asher into the top bunk and he was going to nap up there - so who were we to refuse this request?  Asher was so cute snuggled up on the top bunk in such a big kid bed!

And for bedtime tonight, Chris asked if they wanted to have a slumber party and sleep in the bunk beds together.  This, of course, was met with resounding approval!  So tonight, the boys are having a brothers sleepover party.  I hear them talking and laughing and so far I have only been called in twice, so we will see how this goes.  Keeping my fingers crossed that Asher will fall asleep quickly and Riley will stop talking to him when he stops getting answers!

Halloween 2018

This year, the weather has been beautiful all around Halloween but of course the day finally rolls around and rain threatens all day.  We kept our eye on the clouds, planned our outfits accordingly and made the best of the day.

Riley had a costume parade at Hoover where all the kids wore their costumes and took a stroll around the blacktop.  I wasn't planning on going cause it was in the middle of the work day, but Riley asked really nicely and told me I was going to be the only mom that wasn't going to be there.  With the guilt laid on that thick, I popped over to Hoover to watch the parade, only to have Riley see me, ignore me and pretend that I wasn't even there!  He was happy to have me there, I know, but it was funny to see him try to be too cool!

With Chris in Israel this year, we put snacks on our porch and headed over to Bibi and Zee's house to maximize our trick-or-treating experience.  We know where the lights are all on and the big candy bars are handed out!  After shoveling down some green monster mac and cheese, we donned our outfits and headed out.  It drizzled a little here and there but nothing that we couldn't handle.  At the first house, they were giving out foot long pixie sticks.  Asher asked what it was, I told him sugar, and for the next 10 houses, he asked if they were giving out sugar.  He made his candy selections very methodically and I had to speed him along a little here and there or we would have only made it 5 houses in an hour and a half.

We got back in enough time to help Bibi hand out the last of her candy and go through our stash to pick out the one piece that they could have that night - another challenging concept.  Last year, the Halloween candy made it almost through to the next year, but we will see how long it lasts in the candy bowl this year!

Kindergarten, here we come!

Believe it or not, today was Riley's first day of kindergarten! We have been counting down the months, weeks and days and the time has finally come - I Riley was really excited for the start of something new!  He will be doing morning Kindergarten Enrichment at the JCC in the morning, then he gets to take the van to school and will have afternoon Kindergarten at Hoover Elementary.  

I met Riley at school this afternoon for the first day exchange and with his new backpack, his sporty outfit and a big toothless smile on his face, he said that he was ready to go - no hesitation, no tears, no anxiety - just a kid who was ready to make new friends and go on his next adventure.  As a mother, what else could you hope for your child but excitement for education and new experiences?

And as it was a big day to celebrate, Riley got to pick where we went for dinner.  His choice was pizza and ice cream - he is clearly my child!  With a sticky, chocolate covered mouth, he told us that he is excited for another day of Kindergarten tomorrow and I can only hope that the excitement continues throughout the year.

Goodbye tonsils!

After thinking about it for months/years, we knew that the time to take Riley's tonsils out had come.  Between the two sets of ear tubes and having his adenoid removed, it was always something that we knew would probably happen.  The breaking point was when the dentist told us that his jaw was forming in a different way because his mouth was always open.  With that, we circled back to the ENT who confirmed that the time had come.

Today was the day and I can't tell you what a wonderful job Riley did!  We brought him to the hospital and after a lot of waiting, a lot of playing, a lot of wondering when it would finally be our turn, he hopped on the bed and was ready to ride down the hall.  Zee made him a special Star Wars blanket that was there with us from start to finish and Riley hasn't left it all day.  The procedure itself took just over 30 minutes and then the doctor came to tell us that his tonsils were now in tonsil heaven.

Riley took a long time to wake up from his nap, but when he did, he was in good spirits and was ready for a slushy and Gatorade.  He has been drinking well all evening and even ate some apple sauce, a yogurt and a banana when he got home - off to a good start!  I know better than to think that this is indicative of his recovery and am anticipating the pain levels to go up in the next week or so, but we have a kitchen stocked with cold, soft foods and hopefully we will be able to manage the pain as it comes.

And just as a cute reminder - here is a picture of the first time we went in for ear tubes about 4 1/2 years ago.  Note, Riley has certainly changed but my cool disposable outfit still stays the same!