Craig and Jacob were off on Wednesday. They had a quiet day at home. I got out of work at 2pm and rushed home so I could start baking my apple pie and figure out how to make some stuffing for Jacob. I had gotten a head start with making gluten-free croutons the night before, but I was trying to find a recipe that didn't have thyme in it (because he doesn't like it) or sage (which I actually didn't have in my spice cabinet), and it was a little challenging. Anyway, the pie making went surprisingly smoothly. The stuffing ended up fine as well, though I don't think Jacob loved it. I have to think about how to improve it for next time, or maybe he just won't care. But at least I made the effort! I wrapped up last minute packing while Craig picked up Carter from daycare. We headed out and picked up dinner for the kids on the way. Craig and I were headed to a bar in Buffalo after we dropped the kids off with my parents, and we figured we'd be too tempted to resist some wings and other fried stuff there, so we passed on dinner with the kids. Craig's family was getting together to drink to the memory of his Uncle Mike who passed away far too young three years ago. Drop-off went fine and the kids were pretty good for my parents, and we had a great time catching up with Craig's family.
We went to church with my parents on Thanksgiving morning, and I got to see my friend Heather, just one day after her birthday, which was nice. The kids were pretty well behaved, other than Jacob being super eager for church to be over so we could be closer to eating and seeing his cousins (and eating again). Carter went up to the front of church for the children's message, and when the woman doing it asked what everyone was thankful for, eventually Carter offered up "Friends," but then added "Electronics" right after. Ah, yes. Priorities. Have I mentioned he really likes mobile device games right now? Everyone laughed, and so did we, but I'm guessing our parenting awards aren't showing up anytime soon!
We had a lovely lunch with my parents and my Uncle Ron and his girlfriend. Carter is not a huge fan of Thanksgiving but did eat some turkey, peas, and rolls. Everyone liked my apple pie, and we had some nice conversation, and soon it was time to pack up and head off to Craig's family.
Jacob had a blast with his cousins, as usual, and Carter did his best to fit in where he could. We ate a ton as usual, though I really did try hard to limit my appetizer consumption so I didn't feel completely gross by the end. I probably made up for it with wine, but while I was very full, it was manageable...and worth it! The food was just really good and there was so much of it! We finally made it back to Craig's parents' sometime after 10pm. Jacob slept over with his cousins, and the three of us went to bed pretty quickly. We slept pretty late (funny what happens when our early riser isn't around!), and eventually got ourselves moving in time to pick up Jacob, grab some lunch on our way out of town, and head home. I had a long weekend of cleaning and decorating ahead, so I was eager to get there.
The good news is that it was a warm-ish, sunny day. It was a bit breezy, but when we got home I decided right then and there to get out the trimmer and do some trimming I'd been meaning to do for a while. That led to me finally tearing out the dead remains of the coneflowers in our front flower bed, and trying to rake up what was left--along with any leaves--before finally heading back in to tackle the house work. I had to get the kids to clean up their remaining battlefield in the living room, vacuum, move some furniture, vacuum again, and finally move a bit more furniture before the living room was ready for the tree. I put that up Friday night, undecorated, just so that part of our living room made sense again and I felt like something was done! I also had a lot of dishes to do after my last minute flurry of cooking on Wednesday, and all of the fall stuff had to get taken down and put away. In addition, part of the living room cleanup included stripping out a few toys from our shelves that have, at long last, been outgrown (sob!). I took out the batteries and packed them away in the basement. Among them were the favorite baby laptop toys that Carter loved, a bus toy Jacob got for his first birthday, and a few others. It was time. We don't have as much toy storage during Christmas, and we'll probably get plenty to replace them anyway. I feel like there's still more to go, and more to rotate at least, but the toys were one of the few things that I didn't get to this weekend. I did some on Monday, but there's still more to be done!
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| Nice end to the busy day on Friday! |
On Saturday we had to get up relatively early because Craig was working the Knighthawks kiosk at the mall, and we were all going to go. The boys and I walked around and did some browsing while Craig worked. We stopped at the Lego Store so Jacob could make some minifigures he had earned through some deal he had with Craig, and all things considered they were pretty good.
Eventually we got back to Craig, had some lunch, and headed out. We headed back home and I spent the rest of the day putting up decorations. The boys rotated between TV, electronic devices, and their battlefield that had now moved to the basement. I was somehow able to get everything but some window clings put in place, which was pretty impressive.
Sunday we got up and went to church, and then decided that since it was a cold, dreary day, we'd go to the cheap theater and see the Lego Ninjago movie. Our second-run theater closed a while back and we were really bummed that we had lost our access to cheap movies prior to the DVD release. Fortunately, a few months back a new company reopened the theater, this time with those amazing recliner seats. This was my first opportunity to experience them, and yes, they're really comfy. The move was good--just enough adult humor, and plenty to keep the kids laughing, too! We came home, I whipped up some dinner, and spent most of the evening decorating the Christmas tree...and I actually got it done! I can't remember the last time I was done decorating (save for a couple extra details that aren't vital) by the end of Thanksgiving weekend! I was determined to get it done because the chaos that results from having bins hanging out in the living room isn't great, and I know that stretching things over weeknights not only makes everything take so much longer, but it prevents me from getting to other evening projects during the week, like list-making and online shopping.
Speaking of list-making, I am having a heck of a time getting lists together for everyone in my house. I have my shopping list ready to populate, but there's pretty much nothing on it yet. I can't even figure out what to get my kids, let alone tell other people what to get them. Between two sets of grandparents, two uncles, and my extended family exchange, there just isn't enough to go around. Normally I have a long list for the kids, but this year I feel like they truly have too much. Their interests are becoming more narrow, and while there are always a few ideas, sometimes it feels like I have to be really specific to ensure it's something they'll like and not something they already have. I feel like very specific requests can come off as greedy or entitled, but in the end--as much as I'd like to teach them to be happy with every gift they receive--I'd rather ensure it will be loved and used as much as the gifter would like. Part of me would like to opt out of everything, but what fun is that for the kids? You only get so many kid Christmases, and it's tough to say, "Hey, you used to get presents at this party, but you're not going to anymore." We'll just have to figure it out. I don't even have my usual trusty list of random kitchen items or gift cards that I normally have in mind for me this time of year. I think there's just been too much else going on, and material stuff just sort of pales in comparison to some of the heartache that's been happening lately. I keep trying to think of experiences instead for the kids, but I'm not quite sure about that stuff either since their interests are different and our time alone with each of them is limited. We have about four weeks to figure all of this out, but I'm already feeling a little overwhelmed...and clearly I'm also not sticking to my wish to get to bed on time so I don't exhaust myself over the next month. I'm still not 100% after my back-to-back viruses, with a lingering cough and some congestion, so every little bit is necessary to get healthy sooner rather than later...but I'm already failing. Sigh. Maybe one of these years I'll get it together.
Time for bed now, though...tomorrow is another day.
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