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.