CVSD: Day 38

Issac is officially FIVE. Celebrating during a pandemic was not my favorite, but it was a good day for our little guy nonetheless.

From donuts for breakfast to video chats with my family and also the kids Nana. And even a surprise visit from Grandpa and Abuela, who popped by to sing and bring a present. There were virtual wishes online and some friends even drove by to sing Happy Birthday, while other friends dropped homemade cards in our mailbox.

I had initially thought we would ask our friends to do a Birthday Parade drive by for Isaac, but then we were told to Shelter in Place. While I know a lot of people still do the parades, I didn't feel right asking a bunch of people to drive by. That being said, we did love seeing our friends that drove by anyway unasked.

Also, Isaac gets super embarrassed with too much attention, so while one mini van was nice, I think a slew of them would have been too much for him. As for me, I went inside and cried after they left. It was so good to see friends, but it was hard too because we didn't get to visit and I miss them so much.

Per tradition, Isaac and I made a homemade cake — a Minecraft sword this year. There were presents to open — including Isaac’s first climbing harness. This gave Daniel a reason to rig up a temporary zipline in the back yard. Then he repurposed the rope so he could teach the boys how to rappel down the rock face in our yard. Jack was a bigger fan of this than Isaac but both had fun. 

Finally we celebrated with ramen noodles (Isaac’s request) and pizza. Followed by cake and a movie. It was a good day, even if we are missing our family and friends.


*Isaac had also requested a Nerf war and soccer game and he really wanted a Play Station with Minecraft (those are crazy expensive and hard to come by right now). We will make up the Nerf war and soccer game later.

Thirty-Seven

Daniel and I both turned 37 this year. Thirty-seven feels a little anticlimactic. Just a little closer to 40, which is hard to fathom... my brain still feels college-aged but almost two decades of experience as an adult reminds me that I am well past those college years.

We didn't do a whole lot for Daniel's birthday – it was on a Wednesday and he was in the middle of long days and deadlines at work. But one of the perks of homeschool is being able to take the kids to pick up donuts and drop by Daniel's work to surprise him in the middle of the day.

For my birthday, Daniel and I were in need of a night out, so I texted our babysitter and cheekily said that we were due for our "quarterly date." Thankfully she was available on my birthday. Shortly after we made plans to have a sitter come, a college friend invited us to a chili supper at her house. So we decided to drop by as part of our evening away from the kids.

Our date started with being a little too early for the friend party, so we drove up Raccoon Mountain and took in the views of the Tennessee Valley from that side of Chattanooga. The leaves were slightly past their peak, but it was still beautiful.

We arrived at our friend's house in time for chili and visiting. Our friend found a cupcake and "?" candle and had everyone sing to me, which was nice. I honestly can't remember the last time I was sung to by a group for my birthday (my parents and siblings typically call and sing to me on the phone). After my cupcake, we enjoyed a little time around the campfire before continuing our date.

For our third stop, I asked if we could drive up Lookout Mountain to Sunset Rock for a different view of the city. It was a pretty drive up mountain #2, but the Sunset Rock parking lot closed at sunset and we didn't want to get a ticket, so we settled for driving down Ochs Hwy for a beautiful view of downtown Chattanooga. It was dark and the lights of the city were twinkling and the moon was full and stunning over the city.

We drove downtown to get hot chocolate and dessert #2 at The Hot Chocolatier. Thankfully it wasn't too busy and we were able to sip our decadent drinks in one of the booths in the back. When we left the Hot Chocolatier, I requested we make one final stop before heading home to our boys.

So we drove up Signal Mountain (duh), but stopped at one of the parking areas on the Brow to look at downtown Chattanooga and the Valley from yet a third perspective. Three mountains, three views of Chattanooga for my birthday. We live in a special place and feel incredibly blessed to call this area home.

Birthday Date: ATVs to Edwards Point

When Daniel and I were first dating, Daniel purchased his first motorcycle – a Ninja 250. It was a bike that was small enough that I could handle (I actually got my motorcycle license shortly after we were married), but big enough that we could ride on it together.

When I was pregnant with Jack, Daniel decided to sell his motorcycle. He didn't really have time to ride and I think the knowledge that we would soon be parents shifted his priorities. He likes to tell me that we made a deal before he sold the old one that if he ever wanted to, he could buy a new bike.

Fast forward five-ish years and he had an itch. Earlier this summer I took a road trip to visit my sister in Florida and Daniel took the opportunity to rent his dream bike from an outfitter in the Smoky Mountains – a dual sport motorcycle that he could use to explore the jeep trails and singletrack on and around our mountain. I thought he was having a mid-life crisis and just needed a ride to get it out of his system.

I came home from Florida and he was ready to buy a bike and he even knew which one...

He found it on Craigslist from someone in Knoxville and suddenly we were motorcycle owners again. Our little boys are both gaga over their daddy's new bike.

Daniel has been wanting to take me with him but free time is hard to come by, and dates are even harder to make happen. This weekend I celebrated my 36th birthday and Daniel's mom and sister came to town to watch Jack play soccer. They were sweet to offer to hang out with our boys (win win for everyone) so that Daniel and I could go out.

We felt like we were in college again, getting on Daniel's bike to ride to grab lunch at one of our favorite local restaurants. After eating, we picked up our four-wheeler and headed out to the trails that lead to Edward's Point.

We had tried to mountain bike to this view about a year ago, but missed a turn and didn't make it before the sun set. Daniel has since been back on his own (on his new dual sport), but I hadn't had a chance to go. So we hit the trails. And it was a ton of fun!

We spent two hours exploring, stopping at Edward's Point for a break and to enjoy the beautiful view. We love our little mountain and the access we have to such great vistas of the Tennessee Valley and the Tennessee River below. 

It has been years since I have driven an ATV and it felt good to discover that I still know how to handle myself on a trail. Maybe one of these days I'll give Daniel's bike a try!

Thank goodness for birthdays, lunch dates, and opportunities to spend time together doing activities we love! In other news, Daniel may or may not have laid his bike down after skidding on a thin layer of dust and leaves that covered slick clay...

On my actual birthday night (Friday), we went out with our boys to our favorite local Mexican place. Jack wanted to know if I was going to get whipped cream smeared on my face. I told him, "only if he told our waitress that it was my birthday." So he did. It's been a good weekend, a great way to welcome my 36th year on this planet.

What 36 Looks Like For Me

We celebrated my #36 at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Jack wanted them smear whip cream on my face. 🎉🎂#birthdaydinner #mohaus2016

A video posted by Cheree Moore (@mo_haus) on Nov 4, 2016 at 3:31pm PDT

My brother texted me this morning and asked how I felt. Is thirty-six supposed to feel different? "Have I achieved old lady status?" I taunted back.

At 36, here are some things that are true for me right now.

There's a good chance this will all be different five years from now.

1) I don't feel old. I don't feel young either. My back aches when I get up in the mornings, and some weeks I feel like a new ache or pain has come to haunt me (hello back pain after camping for two nights!).

2) I have good friends that span the years ahead of and behind me. I look to the ones slightly ahead for cues on what is coming, and hopefully I encourage those behind. Really, we are all just cheering each other on... hanging on through the difficult times and celebrating the good.

3) I think the biggest thing that has changed since my 20s (besides becoming a mother) is my need for community. What that looks like continues to surprise me.

At some point I had a preconceived notion that I would find my little tribe where we worshiped, or among the other moms at preschool drop-off, or even with people in my neighborhood. And while I have developed good relationships in all of these places, I really found my people at the YMCA. 

It was not a place that I set out to find friends, but it has been the place where my strongest friendships have formed – sweating together in boot camps, and then sharing our struggles and victories on the playground afterward. Who knew that would be a thing in my life?

4) With each passing year, life continues to simultaneously speed up and slow down. 

5) The hard things have become harder, and the good things have become sweeter. 

6) Some aspects of life I feel like I have figured out, while other aspects I thought I had figured out turned out to be completely wrong, and still other things I find myself completely clueless about. I'll know everything by 40, right? 

7) I still think cooking with olive oil and garlic makes any dish better...

8) and Daniel still jokes that if you like a dish I make, you better savor it because it is unlikely that you will see it on the menu again..

9) Coffee still makes my mornings go round – though instead of needing it to get my brain flowing to crank out work at a desk, it is my kids who know that it takes one cup before I will be functional.

10) In terms of personal goals, I was able to check off "complete a triathlon" from my bucket list before I turned 36, but in reality, I have relaxed on trying to actually complete my whole bucket list agenda.

11) The things that make me happiest continue to be experiences I have outdoors with the people I love the most. The photos in this post are my highlight reel for the past year.

I can't wait to see what the coming year has to offer!

Lists From Previous Years: 
27 Random Things (2007) // 25 Things (2009) // 100 Things I would Like to Do In My Lifetime (2010) // Things I am Looking Forward To (2011) // 32 Things (2012) // Thursday Things (2013) // 12 Things (2014) // Thirty-Five (2015)