A glimpse into what it is like to live in our home just this moment:
Um, is it even December? What is happening? We had a handful of days that were 40+ degrees that makes farm chores so much easier, and outdoor-playing kids so much happier. So I will take it, but also - snow for the holiday please and thank you. I saw a funny tweet that said, "This December is not decembering like past decembers have decembered" and I laughed out loud. The goats were total brats one day this week and wandered back to the farm behind our house but then returned later in the evening (sorry, Maurer family! LOL)
Reading The Bookwoman from Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson and I am absolutely loving it. I think Brandon is maybe getting a little annoyed by how often I keep talking about it actually (hah). I guess The Giver of the Stars by Jojo Moyes is very (very, eerily) similar to The Bookwoman and came out after the Richardson book. So, in support of the little guy - I chose to read The Bookwoman instead of Giver of the Stars and basically I'm obsessed.
Leaning into parenting hard this week. Some weeks be like that though; a new lesson at every turn, tough conversations, working out emotions and feelings, doing the hard work of raising kids. Grey was struggling with an attitude on Sunday (after a two day solo sleepover at my parents' house) so I bundled up with him and we headed out to the wood pile around evening to get out that attitude with an ax and some logs (#oldschoolbaby). It definitely depleted some energy of his and then the logs were so damp that it became almost laughable with how little we could chop. So instead, we worked together moving the branches and trunk of one of the pines that blew over last week. They were heavy and tangled up so it was hard - but we worked together it got it all done.
Canceling screens one evening when the kids were just totally crappy and attitude-y. I knew they just needed to get creative and work out their boredom. They ended up playing Marco Polo in the girls' bedrooms with the lights off and having a total blast while I folded clothes and put the two littlest to sleep. At about a half hour to their bedtime I told that they could watch one show before bed and they said, "can we just keep doing this instead?" um, yes. thanks for coming to my TED talk.
Christmas shopping online and sending all our packages to my sister's house addressed as "Studer Kids Christmas." Her delivery people must be shaking their heads at all the packages she's getting. Meanwhile, our delivery people who are used to the madness probably think our kids aren't getting anything this year - LOL. Thank you so much Kitty for taking on this huge job that saves my season from snoopy kids!
Working on our reverse advent donation boxes. They are going great (I get a few more things each Walmart pick up) but Reddy in all his toddler glory keeps pulling things out and leaving them all over the house.
Meeting for our Q4 check in with You In Flood City. We caught up and had great food at Crow's Nest and laughed together about being women, and Netflix series, and kiln rooms (heh).
Experiencing a few minutes of sheer terror when Gemma was missing. In a weird twist of all the wrong things happening at exactly the rightest/wrongest times: Gemma thought she was left alone at the high school gym after a Varsity basketball game she was attending with her basketball teammates. (She walked out to see if we were there and then the doors locked behind her, so when she didn't come back in, it seemed like she was picked up) And then I was late to pick her up. And since it wasn't snowing or raining, Gemma figured - "well, I can just walk home, I guess." And she did. She walked a mile and half home at 8:45p by herself in the dark alone...she is NINE years old. So when I got to the school I was calling everyone trying to figure out who she was with last and if someone had taken her home and forgot to tell us. Her coaches drove back to the school worried sick and helped try to connect the dots and finally I said, "I really don't believe she'd get in a car with anyone, but honestly, I think she probably walked." They headed off toward our house and B was putting Liv in her carseat to start searching when Gem called to him from the yard, "Dad!" B said he felt like he had finally took a breath in that moment of hearing her voice. We had a good long talk about what to do if someone is late to pick you up with her and all the kids. And there went a few years of my life. HON.EST.LY.
Receiving new plant babies! My plant mentor (heh) and dear friend Carli stopped by to drop off some plant babies she has been propagating for me. They are beautiful and I am so excited to add them to our collection of indoor plants. They make us all so happy (Brandon comments on the joy they bring to him often - LOL; enneagram 9 vibes). Thank you Carli!
Getting out just the two of us for a holiday party at my parents house. Miss Hannah came over to babysit and Grey had a sleepover at his cousin Caleb's house (thank you Heather!) It was so nice to be able to talk the whole drive over without anyone interrupting us from the backseat, then chat and laugh with grown ups, then head home to a house full of sleeping kids (well, except Rust per usual). The kids got to make an awesome gingerbread tree with Miss Hannah too!
Stopping by the local firehouse to pick up our cookie platter from my students who are junior firefighters. It was so good to see them and they were so sweet and generous - they even gave us a firehouse tour and a ride on the fire truck! Rust had about three million questions for them (how heavy are your boots? what is the compartment for? when you fill up the air tanks? etc) and the girls were so patient with all his questions. I am so proud of them!
High School theater fangirling at my students' winter show. They put on a comedic play called A Christmas Chaos and I was legit laughing out loud in the audience. They are so talented and fearless and again - proudest teacher. It was so wonderful to catch up with them during intermission (they asked me to come back to the cast area!) and afterwards. My kiddos are interviewing for colleges (one to MIT !!! So proud Tabby!) and making college commitments, and interviewing for scholarships, and working multiple jobs, and winning awards, competitions, and games. So dang proud for ever and ever.
Sporting one basketball game for Brandon, two basketball practices for Grey, one practice for Violet, and an open gym for Gemma. Grey also did weight lifting one night and Gem went to the Varsity girls' basketball game (see above for scare of my life).
Making taco ground beef over baked potatoes, homemade pizza, chicken/veggie/stuffing casserole, Pioneer Woman bowtie skillet lasagna (always a big hit), kielbasa and pierogies, crockpot creamy Italian chicken over egg noodles, and leftover clean out. Rusty and I had a cookie focused week of prek, so we made Spritz cookies, chocolate dipped pretzels, and Gingerbread! We had Sunday lunch at Gigi and Pappy's (spaghetti!) Brandon and I enjoyed more delicious Green Chef meals including roasted chickpea and carrot bowls, Baja cauliflower over rice, and Harissa spiced sweet potato tacos.
Grey is getting so big and handsome. I feel like I can see his teenage self and it breaks my heart. I remember when he got his first haircut!!! (on the blog- Haha!)
ReplyDeleteThe babies asleep holding hands is more than I can even stand. So scrumptious.
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek was so fascinating. I loved it so much! For what it's worth, I actually read both and like the Book Woman much more than Giver of Stars.
And lastly, I am SO sorry for your heart when you thought Gemma was missing. I lost Wyatt for about ten minutes after a baseball game once and I was losing.my.mind.
Thanks for the reminder though. It's always good to have a plan for if things don't go as planned.