The Good and the Bad January 2022

 January is Isaac's birthday month.  We have a 17 year old.  As referenced in my last post, he is all about hockey right now.  I ordered him some pucks he was wanting for his birthday.  He'd bought some at Dunham's recently, but they don't work well on rinks.  There is hockey rink fairly close to our house.  He also just finished the Soprano's so I'd also ordered him a book he was wanting. 

Funny story...it got SUPER cold in BG the week before his birthday.  One of our pipes under the sink was leaking.  We had a plumber who unfortunately is no longer with us.  At school, Matt was asking some of the maintenance staff if they knew of anyone.  They gave him the name and number of a retired gentleman that they thought might look at the job for us.  He was available and came early the next morning.  By noon, the problem was fixed.  However, he didn't want us to turn on the water for 24 hours.  This is always challenging with four people in the house.  The next morning when Matt got up to look at everything (pretty early), a big fat mouse was running in the house and squeezed under the closet door.  We saw it two more times that weekend and knew we needed to set some traps.  Friends offered us their cats, but I found some cheap traps at Walmart.  Matt used to have to catch mice at the high school - he's sort of a professional in this area.  We set the traps with peanut butter Monday night knowing we'd most likely have one in the morning.  Matt had planned to lay a dead mouse on Isaac's desk (birthday morning) and say Happy Birthday!  From - Tony Soprano.  In conclusion, our water pipe is fixed, and we have NOT caught any mice yet.  We're thinking they may have just come in the house to escape the cold, and it was CRAZY cold that week.

 

He has first block dual credit which means he doesn't leave for school early.  We wanted him to feel special on his birthday when he woke up so we made him his favorite treat - Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls.  

 

  

 

We invited everyone to eat at Kyoto, his favorite restaurant, that evening.  I ordered him a cookie cake, his favorite.  Matt and I hit the jackpot with kids!  Isaac is such a loving person and growing up into such a cool adult.  He works hard at the car wash, school, and has a bright future ahead of him.  It's fun being his mom!

A couple of handsome fellas heading the BGHS Winter Formal.

Isaac's birthday night was bittersweet.  Matt's grand-daddy Doug wasn't doing well.  His Aunt Diane had come in town to see him, and we felt like we probably needed to go over and be with him as well.  After we celebrated Isaac at Kyoto, we spent some time at Doug's.  

Sadly, he passed the next morning at 88 (a month shy from his birthday).  Our kids have been fortunate growing up and being able to have relationships with the GREAT grandparents.  I don't know what I would've done without Doug and Lucy's help on Fridays when the kids were small.  It was a consistent pocket of time that I could take for myself to regroup, shop, exercise, and gather my bearings as a young mom of three small children.  Granny and Grandad would play with them, spoil them, give them endless amounts of junk food (good stuff too), and be an influence in their lives that I couldn't be.  Our kids have the best memories from Willow Way.  We've been super lucky having all these wonderful people shape the lives of our kids during those crucial development times and have supported them endlessly through the years.  We miss them all dearly (Granny, Mamaw D., Memaw H., Karen Lou, and Grandad).  Please continue to pray for my Poppy (mom's dad) and Mamaw Pogue (dad's mom).  They are our kids two surviving great grandparents.

In other news, I received a very special award this week at Skyctc.  I was nominated for an Award of Excellence as a supporting staff member and won!!!  I could hardly believe it.  A group of us will have the opportunity to travel to New York in the spring to attend the American Association of Community Colleges Annual Convention.  How cool!!!  Tomorrow will officially be one year with the college.  It's been such a treat being an employee there.  We have an incredible group of talented faculty and staff that I am truly honored and humbled to be a part of it.  

A COVID Christmas Repeat

 As luck would have it, Matt contracted COVID last Christmas (2020), and this year I had the blessing of getting it.  Bonus gifts you don't even want.  It actually wasn't at Christmas for me but the week school started back.  

Before we go there, let's travel back a few weeks and cover some ground.

Isaac is ALL things hockey these days.  Matt surprised him with some tickets to see his favorite team the Las Vegas Golden Nights who played the Nashville Predators the week of Thanksgiving break.  I scored a great deal on tickets.  They've now made it to three Preds games since, and Isaac has become a hockey gear collector.  There is always something arriving in the mail. We've got apparel, pucks, sticks and a knee hockey set now.

The end of November brought birthday celebrations for Matt and Nana.  It was Nana's 70th so we surprised her with a big group at El Mazatlan which was nice since Karson was in town.  She was tickled and very surprised!!!

Our girl came home for Thanksgiving Break.  We did the usual thing...early lunch with my family which always includes a round of Family Feud, late lunch at the Warehouse (with extended Deaton's), and then a late afternoon/evening dinner with Matt's family.  By the end of the day, we are using rolling on fumes and our stomachs about to burst.  It was nice having time off and getting to be with family.  

A friendly game of Family Feud with Isaac as host Steve Harvey.

Isaac wanted to host a Friendsgiving at our house the same weekend which added to the organized chaos that is NOVEMBER.  I told him for simplicity that we would provide roasted chicken (I ain't never cooked a turkey), paper goods and drinks.  The rest of his friends took care of everything else.  It was a feast - lots of yummy sides and desserts.  

 

I did leave the house for a pocket of time.  I'm not the helicopter-type.  I told the girls to protect my house, and besides lots of trash and some mess, it was fine when we returned.  It also gave me a good excuse to do a nice deep clean before decorating for Christmas.

Karson took her car back to campus with her (not sure if I've mentioned that she hasn't had it in Louisville).  It's always hard seeing her leave, but we knew we'd get her at least a month in December.

The Pogue family Christmas happened in Louisville the weekend after Thanksgiving.  It's become tradition to get together before all the busyness of the holiday and hang out with our extended family at Okolona Church.  Plus, we got to see Karson which is always a bonus coming to Louisville.

Buffalo plaid was the fashion move!

We got a new tree this year.  When we were first married and owned our first home, we did real trees for a few years before purchasing an artificial one.  I'm 90% sure it's the one we've had for the last 20 years.  It was a pre-lit, but the lights went out years ago.  I'd cut all of those off and replaced them with fun, colorful bulbs.  After moving to the house on Roseberry, the tree felt tiny.  Each year, we'd put it up on a box to give it some height, but this year, we took the plunge and purchased a new one.  Home Depot had an excellent Black Friday deal, and our new tree is perfect.  It was a little larger, very easy to set up and has lots of lighting options.  I wish we'd gotten it in when Karson was here, but she wasn't too disappointed.

One of the things I really love about my new job at Skyctc is the holiday break.  We get a paid two-week off holiday break.  It's incredible and much needed.  The break, however, came earlier this year.  Bowling Green was hit by an EF-3 tornado, with 120 MPH winds on December 11.  Oddly, I was at a work party the night before.  I left around 10 pm because it was getting nasty outside, and there had been alerts.  When I got home that night, I ended up on the couch because Matt was all cozy in the bed snoring.  I turned up my white noise and fell asleep around 1PM and woke up to multiple text messages at 6AM from out of town family.  I knew something was wrong.  I got on Twitter and saw the madness.  Matt stumbled in the living room, waking up and both of us figuring out what was going on.  SWMS, his school, had become a Red Cross shelter.  He immediately got dressed and headed out.  Lots of donations were being requested, and because South had the biggest storage area and power, it was needed.  The whole weekend was a blur.  While we didn't receive any damage, quite a few in our city weren't as lucky.  The area I had been in the night before (for the party) was almost destroyed.  My friends house was miraculously untouched, but those around her were in bad shape.

Our community really came together in a great time of need.  There's a lot that is still being done, but due to the severity, Skyctc actually closed a little sooner in the week because of it.

Isaac really wanted to decorate gingerbread houses.  I scored a village at Bed, Bath and Beyond and everyone got to decorate.  These put together kits are a joke.  There is never enough icing or materials, but we still have fun with it.

 

 

Isaac is becoming a world-class traveler with trips to Boston planned in March and an overseas trip to Germany this summer for eleven days.  The trip coordinator/chaperones got the group together at Bowling Green Country Club over the holidays for some "cheer and getting to know each other better."

Isaac came home with lots of wins including a box of chocolates, a giant decorative candy cane and even won a free dinner.  He's such a joyful soul!

Christmas came and went like it normally does.  We celebrated multiple places with family.  When the kids were little, it was overwhelming getting everywhere.  With them grown, it's more special, especially with COVID and everything we've lost with it.  It was nice getting to see everyone and connect.

I didn't get many pictures.  The kids get annoyed with it, and at this point, I simply want to "be present" and not too focused on being behind a camera.

Chef Tammy, our Culinary Arts instructor made the best bourbon balls and shared her treats with my grandfather and Uncle Mike.  She's a true joy, not only to be around, but she's a genuinely happy person who cares about others.

Our older kids got cash and clothes primarily.  Miles scored a great bottle of cologne from my sister.  He's a fragrance person like my parents and I and has been wearing some of the cheaper stuff from Bath and Body as well as AXE.  I told him, you need to go to a department store and smell legitimate cologne and pick out something you like.  I told Shannon about his choice, and she surprised him with it at Christmas.  He loves it and held the bottle proudly most of the day.  

Christmas with the Bradford family!

For Christmas, we surprised him with a golf fitting from Profectus Golf in Nashville.  We've been promising him new irons and wedges, but since he's been growing so much, it's been difficult to find the right time.  We took him to Gaylord Springs after the holiday for his fitting.  The guy who worked with him was super cool and seemed impressed with his swing and abilities for a 15 year old.  He'd asked Miles what a "good round" for him was.  Miles, in his humility, said an 80.  Once he started hitting, the golf pro said, I'm not sure I believe a good round for you is an 80, as I've seen lots of golfers come through here.  It was super sweet.  He told him lots of people can't hit "sick" clubs but he could.  He started pulling out all the nice, fancy irons, and Miles was in heaven.  The pro even wanted him to try out his irons which he said he never lets people do.  

We've got all his stuff ordered from Adam's dad.  Have I mentioned that Karson is dating a fella' who's family has a golf course and dad is golf pro?!?  Score!!!  Because the irons are brand new from Mizuno, they won't be in until mid-February.  The pro thought he hit his drivers really well and didn't want to change those up.  Whew!  Golf clubs cost a small fortune, but we're excited for him!

Some of Karson's friends from the 'Ville' came and stayed with us over the break.  It was such a treat getting to know them better.  They had a great time hanging out and running around both Bowling Green and Nashville.

New Year's came, and we did the traditional karaoke and family time at the Mags house.

My sweet family!  Shannon and I have been working on our head placement in photos.  We've both have a tendency to look up =).

Karson had picked up a cough and congestion the day her friends left our house.  She'd been struggling off and on with those sort of symptoms since fall break.  I was sort of thinking it could be mold from her dorm.  She was thinking she'd been running around with her friends and hadn't gotten much sleep.  After New Year's Eve, I started feeling bad.  I had a runny nose, terrible headache, but I simply figured I'd picked up either (a) what she had or (b) Kentucky bizarre weather allergies.

I was off work last Monday when I got a text from a family member that said they'd tested positive for COVID.  I then found out some others in my circle were testing.  With me returning to work the next day, knowing others I was around were positive, feeling the way I did and Omicron's infectivity, I decided to go get a rapid test.  Within 10 minutes, it said I was positive.  Great!!!  Karson got one later that afternoon when she off work (she works remotely), and her results were negative.  However, we were thinking she may have already missed the window.  Who really knows though??  We both isolated which was miserable.  None of the boys seemed to be effected which was nice; however, they had finals that week and were determined not to miss school.

Fortunately, I am able to do my job from home.  While I wasn't 100% functional, I could still function besides some aches and tiredness.  I've been entertained by the CDC TikToks that are circulating because all of these rules are so confusing.  Fortunately, I only missed two in-person work days because the SNOW came.

I was ready for winter weather this year.  I'd purchased some snow bibs on Amazon back in the fall, got Miles a new coat on fall break and some snow boots at Dunhams's just recently.  These upgrades should last them a while.

These goofballs do this every single year!  

Football game in the Summit!

The day I came out of quarantine was the day of the South Warren High School formal.  We weren't sure if it would happen or not with the weather.  I'm glad they moved forward with it.  I'd been to Dillards with Isaac pre-Covid and found him some nice dress clothes.  I was bummed that Dillards didn't have their New Years Day sale but still scored some great deals on these clothes.

 

 

 

Saturday was hard for me for a number of reasons.  The first one was coming out of Covid.  The second one was Karson was driving back to Louisville around lunchtime.  The virus prevented us from being together the last week she was home which made me sad.  The third was trying to get figure out if the dance was happening and Isaac volunteered to be the chauffeur that night.  My momma anxiety was high.  Two kids out driving on snow/ice roads (even though most of it was melted) - it was just stressful for me.  I checked my Life 360 religiously.

I wish we could've convinced Miles to go to the school dance, but he wasn't interested.  He enjoyed being at the WKU game and hanging out with a buddy (and 7'5" Jamarion Sharp).

Matt and I got to see the game up close and person with courtside seats.

I saw a tweet which hit pretty hard…”I’d like to cancel my subscription to 2022. I’ve experienced the free ‘7 day trial’ and I’m not interested. Thanks.” Let’s all pray for strength!!! Come on 2022!!!