The McGraths: 2nd Week of November

Friday, November 20, 2020

2nd Week of November

I can't believe another week has gone by. This month is just moving so quickly. We had a good week though. Here are a few highlights.

As I probably mentioned earlier, Nyles is enjoying school SOOO much more this year. It's a night and day difference. He's actually excited to go to school, he's enjoying Spanish, and he actually said he told me he this week he likes doing homework! Last year it was like pulling teeth to get him to do his homework, so it's refreshing to hear the opposite now. We're thankful for his progress and the confirmation to our decision to have him switch schools to do dual immersion this year. It's definitely been a blessing for all of us and I can see the hand of the Lord in our lives getting to this point.

We also had a tender mercy this week. On Thursday, I woke up w/ Hudson and Steve was already down in the kitchen getting the boys breakfast. As I entered the hallway I could smell something strange. I mentioned it to Steve and he said he noticed it coming from the boys' room but wasn't sure what it was. I changed Hudson's diaper then Steve came up and looked again in their room. We found that the fish tank had been leaking water and burned the electric surge protector below the tank. The surge protector plug in spots were all burned and 2 of the wires were melted and no longer usable. We ended up needing to buy a new air pump and heater for the tank, but we're so thankful it didn't start a fire during the night. We're grateful for the protection we received.

On Monday, the boys got to meet Santa at Cabela's. Per Covid style, Santa was behind a plexiglass screen and had a plexiglass mask on. We also had to make an appointment to see him in order to reduce the number of people there vs just showing up and waiting in line. We walked right up for our time, and got to see Santa, which was time. It was a little different that prior years, but it worked. The boys were still excited to see him and tell him what they wanted for Christmas this year.

Helping the boys write an official letter to Santa w/ their wish list.

Carter ready to mail his letter.

Putting it in the mailbox.

We got the free kids kit from Home Depot this month. Carter and I put it together then he colored it.

It's a battleship which the boys loved.

Cute Hudson trying the Bumbo again.

Silly Piper laying on my blanket.

So after trying the little steamer, I decided I needed a bigger one in order to get the job done quicker and easier since we have a lot of tile/grout in the kitchen plus the bathrooms. The little one couldn't hold very much water, so I had to refill it after just a few minutes, which wasted time and it took FOREVER! So after a little research, we decided to get this all purpose steamer. It can do both inside and outside projects like grout, tile, granite, grills, appliances, cars, etc. I love that you don't have to use chemicals to clean, just water!

Our McCulloch MC1385 Deluxe Steam Cleaner.

The top grout is done, the bottom isn't. The difference is looks great but is also much cleaner!

We picked up where I left off w/ the grout. This time I had some helpers which was great!

We also helped Carter make a dragon book, which he was really excited about.

We drew dragons in his book then he colored them.

This section is all done! Sometimes you don't realize how dirty things are until you start cleaning them.

So much better!

Then Steve took it upstairs and did the shower. The steam was able to get the dirt out no problem!

While he was doing that, I did one more adjustment to the pantry. I couldn't resist and got a couple more containers, this time for the flour and sugar. They fit great and again, amazingly they take up less room than before. I can now fit all of the containers on one row. They fit perfectly!

Cute Hudson. Nyles had this outfit, then Carter, and now Hudson wears it.

He's growing!

Steve put Hudson on the couches next to Nyles and Carter. He said he enjoyed it!

Carter colored his picture for our primary program. We're having each class of kids make a poster about something from the Book of Mormon this year instead of our regular one in church.