Turkey Break

This was us.  Tuesday night, at the start of our five day holiday, just after swim class.  And you can tell how utterly exhausted and beat up we are.  It was not a smooth fall.  From colds to sinus infections to pneumonia, it's taken a toll on all of us.  But, we made it past the most difficult part of the school year!  The longest stretch without a day off.  And we mustered up enough energy to take a family selfie to celebrate the next five days with no alarm clocks, no lunches to pack, no papers to grade, and just time to be together.

Our break was exactly what we needed.  I'm back to work this week finally feeling somewhat back to normal.  No coughing fits, no wheezing, no nasal congestion.  I think the time home with my family was better than what the doctor ordered.

We decorated for Christmas, all four trees.

We painted pottery at Creatopia with my sister-in-law, mother-in-law, and nieces.  The boys picked Christmas mugs that were no easy task.  But, they did the trees and I did the rest.  Boys...

It's like I knew I would end up painting two Christmas mugs.  No need to pick a piece for me.  My hands were full.

We made pumpkin pie.

We went to see Moana at the theater.  And oh.my.gosh. was it amazing!  Totally under-promoted in the previews.  I figured even though the previews didn't look that exciting, Disney doesn't disappoint.  And Disney nailed it!  I mean, the music, the water, the characters.  We are so in love with Moana and Maui!  And the music is on repeat in our house.  We might actually pay to go see it again in the theaters.  It was that good.  Dare I say better than Frozen?

We went to the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum and bought geodes and dinosaur fossils in the gift shop for the boys.  We're suckers, but it made for some cool experiences at home.

We built homemade gingerbread houses with our niece, Adelaide, during a play-date.  And for the first year, I could sit back and watch them go to town.  Without stepping in.

But, most importantly, we hung out at home, in our pajamas and played, got organized, and did those projects we've been putting off since the start of the school year.

We have approximately 17 more wake-ups, a 5th birthday party, an 8th birthday party, the Zoo Lights, a Cookie Exchange, the Hines Drive Lightfest, Evan's Pre-K Christmas concert, Sean's parent-teacher conference, Sean's skating night for school, and swim classes standing in the way of our next break.  But, we're going to enjoy the next three and a half weeks and enjoy the holiday season, as it always goes by too quick.  Life is always chaotic this time of year, but it's moments like these that ground me and remind me to say "no" every so often so that we can just be together, home.  Because sometimes the best memories are made right here, together.

Many thanks!

I'm not sure where this sudden burst of energy is coming from to sit down and edit pictures and blog tonight, but I'll roll with it.  Today we celebrated Thanksgiving with both sides of the family, while still making time to do a few traditions of our own.

I feel most thankful for the family that we were able to share today with, including my 92 year old grandma!  But, of course, I'm thankful for my own family.  For my husband, who I know I don't show how much I appreciate.  Because it's such a blessing watching him love our boys and because he puts his heart and soul into this family in his own way.  For my boys, who both challenge me and fulfill me daily.  I hope they know how much I truly love them.

We got into the Thanksgiving spirit within the past week since the boys both celebrated it at their schools.  Evan had a Pilgrim Party in his class where they were able to eat all the traditional Thanksgiving foods for lunch.  We brought in juice.  Lame...I know.  But, we found out about it the day before.

Sean didn't have a party like Evan's, but he certainly did enough arts, crafts, and educational worksheets about it at school.  It was fun seeing all those things come home in his folder.  The best one?  The letter he wrote to Evan.  He was so excited to give it to Evan after he got off the bus on Monday.  It totally melted my heart.

We're proud of what he's bringing home and I know he's excited to share it with us.

This Thanksgiving morning we started our day with our traditional breakfast: cinnamon rolls, bacon, and orange juice.  Not the healthiest breakfast, but it's a special occasion and one that's all about the food!  Evan wasn't a fan of getting his picture taken, but I snuck one in anyway to capture his mood.

The boys wanted to put up the ornaments on the tree that we got up yesterday, so I agreed to letting them help this year.  They actually put up about 80% of the ornaments all on their own.  Of course I had to put up the ones at the top and I'm happy to say we only lost one ornament in the decorating.  It was nice to sit back and watch them get excited about certain ornaments and remember where some of them came from.

We're getting in the holiday spirit over here...

I put together my food items to bring to my mom's house later and the boys watched the parade with Scott on the couch.  I had a little bit of time to look over those Black Friday sales papers before having to get ready to head over to Scott's sister's house in Plymouth for a visit and to watch part of the Lion's game.

After Scott's sister's house (which I'm bummed I didn't take any pictures at), we drove to Troy for dinner at my mom and dad's house.  My aunt and uncle from Plainwell came in to town and my grandma and other two uncles came too!  It was nice to have everyone together.  I just wish my brother and sister-in-law could be in town too.  Portland is so far away!

This year the boys didn't eat much.  I shouldn't even say "this year", as they never eat very much on Thanksgiving.  They both had some turkey and some crescent rolls.  Sean had some mac and cheese with it and Evan actually ate sweet potato casserole with marshmallows on top (we told him they were s'mores and he actually believed it).  Neither of them tried either pie for dessert.  I can't complain, as they both filled up on fresh veggies and hummus as appetizers.

The boys showed Uncle John and Gigi how to play Pie Face after dinner.  It was a hit, as always!  They got washed up and in their jammies before we hit the road to head home.  Tomorrow we are laying low in the morning.  We'll get some laundry done, put away the Christmas and Fall decoration tubs, Scott will start prep for putting up outdoor lights, and the boys can just play.  "Chippie the Elf" is ready for his debut tomorrow morning, complete with advent calendars and a Tsum Tsum advent calendar for the boys.  In the afternoon we're going to see Moana at the theaters.  And if we're up for it, Santa arrives in downtown Plymouth tomorrow evening with Christmas music and the fire truck leading him in to the park.

Happy Thanksgiving!  It was a beautiful day with family!  I can't help but feel blessed tonight.  My tummy and heart are full tonight!

November news

This week we'll be halfway through November and less than two weeks from Thanksgiving!  Halloween feels like forever ago already.  And the fall leaves and colors have been spectacular this year!  I can't complain.

Except for the fact that we have all been battling a nasty cough for weeks!  It started with Evan in the beginning of October.  We were told it was allergies.  So, he took an over the counter allergy medication and nothing changed.  Then Scott and I both came down with it (including chills, a low-grade fever, etc.).  Scott went to Urgent Care and got a steroid for his cough and I saw my doctor and got Augmentin (they called it a Sinus Infection).  I ended up having to stop taking my meds because they were making me throw up.  I let my cough slide for another two weeks, which resulted in pneumonia with steroids, a Z-pack, and a shot at Urgent Care.  Needless to say we'll be happy when our house no longer sounds like a symphony of coughs!

In other happy news, we've been enjoying our weekends in November!  My parents bought us a family membership to the Hands On Museum in Ann Arbor.  We used to have a membership when the boys were younger, but haven't renewed it in two years.  Wow - what a difference two years made!  The boys are the perfect ages for this museum!  Everything kept them entertained for several hours!

We loved the new additions like the rock climbing wall and the revamped water table area!  After playing for a couple hours, we took the boys to the Arbor Brewing Company for lunch.  We were smack-dab in the middle of all the U of M fans for a Michigan home game.  But, we made do and the boys actually colored the whole time.

That same weekend I took the boys to meet Santa at English Gardens with my parents.  Sunday is football pretty much all afternoon through bedtime in my house, so I'm always looking for things to do to escape it.  Santa it was!

I'm still thinking we'll visit Santa at the Henry Ford or Somerset since I wasn't thrilled with our Santa picture, but at least if time seems to disappear, we visited him.

This weekend my brother was in town from Portland!  He came in to do some recruiting at U of M for his company and managed to escape and spend some time with all of us.  He stayed at our house Thursday night and Friday we all went to dinner at Compari's.  They had live carolers downtown Friday night too!  It was a nice evening.

Saturday we went to Legoland Discovery Center again, taking my dad and brother too.  We initially bought tickets for Sean and one of us to go as a birthday present, but we were able to get 50% tickets and added on four more of us so we could all go.  I know we enjoyed it the first time we went, but it's just not worth it going more than one time.  The boys still had fun, but the adults were bored out of their minds.  And it was crowded!

My mom stayed behind and cooked up a mock Thanksgiving dinner that was absolutely delicious.  The best part?  We got the leftovers for this week.  I'm sad to see my brother leave and I hope that him and Ana come home for Christmas!  I know the boys loved having him home!

During the work week we shifted from soccer back to swimming at Aqua Tots.  I was worried the boys slipped in the skills since we stopped back in May, but they're actually...better?  It's amazing watching them swim!  I love going on Tuesday nights and having Scott cook dinner back at home.  It's like a night off for me.

Sean has been doing great in Kindergarten!  We just signed up for his first parent-teacher conference of the year in early December (they're on trimesters).  He had his first "homework" assignment this past week:  to decorate a turkey feather.  It was really fun, as all of us had to help find things to put on the feather that represented Sean.

And he aced his first sight word spelling quiz!  The teacher in me is just as proud as the mama in me!  Go Sean!  Those flashcards are really paying off.

Evan's doing great too!  His parent-teacher conference is the end of November after Thanksgiving and we'll start that dialogue regarding his Kindergarten readiness for the fall.  I'm still torn between whether we'll do Young 5's with him or let him go to Kindergarten.  He misses the cut-off day by one day.  Tough decision, as it was with Sean!  He'll be singing in his Pre-K Christmas concert in early December too.  I need to cherish these memories!  They are growing up so fast suddenly!

As we wrap up our weekend, the boys are watching The Little Mermaid and eating popcorn after playing outside with Jameson.  We love our new neighbors!  Lunches are packed, laundry is done and put away, and the boys even cleaned out their rooms today and made a bag for donation.  We are ready for this week, as I'm sure it will be a long one!  We are so ready for our first break from school!  It's been a long and busy fall...