Countdown to Christmas

 Last Sunday we had in person church which is always so nice. It was great to be able to talk to a few of my young women in person, I have had such a disconnect with them lately. I really wish we could get back to in person church more often. It's so easy for the young women to drop it all when everything is virtual. I worry about them a lot and sometimes feel like a failure because we only get about half the girls at activities and lessons. But I try to remember that ultimately it's their decision and that more is on their parents than me, and unfortunately a lot of their parents are just not super supportive.

Last Sunday also started the countdown to Christmas- where we get to open an envelope each day for a special thing/activity. Sundays activity was to make cards for people. I feel like in the past the kids don't love this one but they really seemed to enjoy it this time. I had printed our cards that they could color in and they had a lot of fun with this and a lot of fun choosing who to send the cards to. They sent to grandparents, cousins, friends, and primary teachers. The only kid not big into it was Steven and quite honestly, he was that way for pretty much every countdown activity this week. Apparently he's getting too "cool" for such things.

Monday we had a movie night. I bought the kids The Garfield Thanksgiving/Christmas movie and we picked up some candy and popcorn. Tuesday they had a Christmas craft. This year it was coloring door hangers. I think that we've already broken 2 of them so apparently not a high quality craft.

Wednesday the kids got new Christmas headbands/hats and socks. I had bought them last year and thought the kids could have fun wearing them to school or church Christmas parties but thanks to Covid neither of those things happened this year. So instead they wore them to homeschool.

Wednesday night I had a virtual activity with the older yw, they did cardmaking. Only 2 girls showed up. I know it's midterm time but that was such a sad turnout. On the bright side it was really nice to be able to chat with the older girls. Especially one of them that I have had some struggles with in the past. I felt like I got to know her a little better and form a better connections with her.

Thursday we went to the Wayne County Lightfest. We brought along our neighbor, Jacob. This is a tradition the kids always seem to look forward too. We had a little hiccup with Google Map on the way there and somehow ended up a part of a line of cars that was a Scout Troop. Coincidentally enough, Tyler knew the Scout leader and they chatted for a minute before we got to the proper place. The car line for the lights was long but not too terrible. It was mostly fun looking at all the displays but near the end the kids started to get obnoxiously loud and words were exchanged. Then on the way home Steven decided to be an know it all about something he didn't actually know and we had the most ridiculous fight with him ever. Sometimes, tweens.

Quite honestly, Steven had a rough day Thursday in general. I had gotten lazy about checking in on him with Science because I was working closely with him on math, history and language arts. I guess I had hoped this would be the one subject he could do independently. It turns out that for the last month he was picking and choosing what lessons he did. If the lesson seemed challenging or he just felt like Googling random things that day, then he skipped a lesson. I was so frustrated with his choice. The consequence was no screen time until he got caught up. He was not so happy with this.

Onto better things, on Friday we had our annual Graham Cracker House party. This is always my favorite party. It's always such a hit with everyone involved. This year we had my friend Stacey's family and then Jacob's family. Usually we have Stefanie's family but they were worried about covid so they opted not to come. I decided to do prizes this year and that was a good choice. Everyone tried a lot harder when it came to decorating their houses. In the end Jacob's brother Ethan won for most fun house. Jenna won for most beautiful. And Steven won for most unique. 

Saturday for the countdown, the kids did a white elephant gift exchange with Jacob and Ethan. This was not enjoyable for me. They did not do well with passing, stealing, switching. So much drama. They also never could remember which way was left and which way was right when passing which was super annoying. I think my hormones are also a bit out of whack today because I felt unreasonably angry during it all. Hopefully they at least had some fun. Penny ended up with a farting coloring book, Lucy with a Fart Zone sign, Steven with a puking doll, Ben with an annoying hamster that repeats what you say, Ethan with a flying monkey and Jacob with a taco cat shirt. 

Productive

It was a pretty quiet week and it kind of rushed by. I was able to accomplish quite a bit. 

-Presents are all bought and wrapped. 

-The kids all bought white elephant gifts to exchange and we'll have our first annual family white elephant party this coming week. They picked up some real fun stuff so I think it will be pretty fun. 

-Tyler and I became Costco members again- Executive Members none the less. It was a real good deal so we thought why not be fancy. Then we spent way too much on food in bulk which made me regret this membership decision a bit. 

-I loaded up a bunch of stuff from the basement and made a Salvation Army Run. The first time I went I discovered they closed at 2pm. I was there at 2:15. The second time I went I waited an hour in line. Crazy times at Salvation Army thanks to Covid. 

-I made dinner and Christmas cookies for my friend Caroline's family (their daughter had her second surgery). 

-Led a Christmas Family Feud game for a YW's Activity and between a crummy internet connection and a computer that couldn't handle a power point with a zoom meeting...it was a little stressful...but the girls loved it.

-Delivered some Christmas gifts to friends and neighbors. My bowls and soup mugs that I personalized seemed to be appreciated so that felt good. Got some nice thank you texts. Delivered a hand lettered plant pot (with a plant of course), too, to my neighbor Christy and then she came back with blankets, candy and popcorn bags for each of my children and that sure made my plant seem measly. Yes, I know, it's not a competition but if it was.... 

- I booked tickets to Arizona- for a month. We were all going to drive but I was having some anxiety about 32x2 hours with all the children in a car and decided to look up flights. I found a great deal and snatched it up. Tyler will still drive so we can have a car and so we don't have to worry about lugging homeschool supplies on a plane. I am feeling both excited and a little anxious about being away for a month. It's a long time away from our own space but also a long time away from the cold.

And in terms of fun things this week. I had a puzzle night Thursday with my friend Melissa. I always dread having to leave the house and socialize a bit but then once I go, I am so glad I did. I so needed that night out. We can unload and ease each others burdens and we also had lots of good laughs. We extended the fun and got together again Friday- but with our families. The kids get along well and so do us parents. 

And the kids have continued to go to Sharon's house this week to work on crafts. They all finished their ornaments and now have been just walking Sharon's dogs and playing games. She always says she's grateful to us for lending our kids but I just feel so grateful for her getting them out and entertaining them for a couple hours. We have some good people in our lives.

Tennessee

Last week, before we headed out to Tennessee to have Thanksgiving with the Turley's, we put up the kids' Christmas trees and had them decorate them. This year I basically just had them use their Bronner's ornaments so their trees weren't quite so heavy as when I presented them with more ornaments. It was a smart move, the trees are a lot less tipsy than they were last year.

On Wednesday we made the 9 hour trek. We decided against bringing tablets and things and instead we just had a fun playlist on Spotify and the audiobook How To Train Your Dragon. It went surprisingly well. The book was a good one, the music was fun and the only complainer about boredom was Steven- which is not super surprising. 

Once there the kids seemed to become quick friends and we had lots of fun just sitting and chatting with our buddies. It was like no time had passed since we last saw them in person- even though it had been a whopping 4 years!

The Turley's were nice and setup their trailer for us to stay in. It had 2 bunk beds for the kids and a Queen bed for us. It was the perfect set up- we could hang with them  but still have our own space so we didn't feel like we were imposing too much on them.

Thursday was Thanksgiving and it was a perfect Thanksgiving day. I had brought the rolls (which had not turned out well, I can never get Tyler's mom's roll recipe quite right), we brought sparkling cider as well, then Tyler made the turkey and I made mashed potatoes. Patty made this amazing pretzel Jello, green beans, and sweet potatoes. Since all I had to do that day was make the mashed potatoes, it was a real chill day for me. I got to chat with my friend, shop some online deals, work on a puzzle (because Patty loves them too) and then later on enjoy so much good food. Tyler's turkey turned out perfectly again. The kids had fun with their kids and that night we turned on a movie for them in the living room and us grown ups watched a movie in the sun room. It was perfection.

Friday was not my favorite day of the trip. I wasn't in the greatest of moods- it seems that when I am about a week out for my period I get super emotional. Friday was my emotional day. We were going to go for a hike which might have helped but it just didn't happen for various reasons. Too chilly in the morning, boys went to Knife Shop, Patty wanted to show me their tiny homes that they rent out, everyone was tired and cranky...by the time we thought of rallying up the kids for the hike it was too close to sunset to have a decent amount of time for a hike. Being cooped up in the house did not help my emotionalness and then my friend's kids were having a lot of tantrums which furthered my bad mood. Finally I went into the camper, had a good cry, took a short nap and felt immensely better and was probably a much better person to be around for the rest of the evening. But still not my favorite day. I think the kids still enjoyed it though- Leia used chalk to turn the girl's hair pink and green which was like a dream come true.

Saturday was a much better day. Once everyone was up and ready (which took some time since there is 13 of us all together) we went to see Santa at Santa's Clauset. Despite all the Covid precautions this place was pretty great and I would love to go back every year- it's only a 9 hour commute after all. They had him in a tent outside but it was fabulously decorated. The wait wasn't terrible and when it was our turn, the kids got to sit 6 feet away from Santa and have a pretty great discussion with him. He asked questions about their lists, he took notes, he asked them some Christmas trivia and chastised Tyler for his bad cheating. It was way fun. Then they took a picture (green screen so they photoshopped him in next to them) and he gave them each a personalized ornament and candy cane. 

After our fun with Santa we strolled the store and found me an amazing nutcracker puzzle. When we finished shopping we were all hungry so we found a restaurant that surprisingly had a table for all 13 of us. It was in the back and raised up so we felt like we were on a stage for all to see, kind of awkward and at times a bit chaotic but it was still good times. The spinach dip appetizer we got was so delicious, the rest of the food was meh.

Our next stop was a hike in the Smokey Mountains. The drive to get there took us through Gatlinburg and the traffic was crazy. Definitely not a town to hang in during the holidays. But once we got to the Smokey Mountains things clamed down. It was a really beautiful river walk. And it was all fun and games until the kids decided they wanted to walk on rocks to get to a middle part of the river covered in rocks. Of course all of them slipped at least once and got wet feet. Penny was the most upset about it.

We capped off our day leaving the kids with a movie on (all except their baby of course) and us grownups went out for dinner. I got some amazing pork nachos and we had some fun banter with the waiter. Pattie requested water with no ice because the cold makes her have to pee, lol- the waiter than determined that she was high maintenance and we all had some pretty funny jokes from there.

Sunday we were awful Sabbath Day breakers and went to Dollywood. With their membership they got free passes that we were able to use so all we had to pay for was parking- lucky us! We started off in the kiddie section which was a wise choice. We built the kids up from a little scary to super scary rides. However, Penny was definitely scared for the first ride (Shooting Star). But when it was over she was all smiles. And as we hit up all the other kiddie rides she kept shouting about how amazing everything was. Her joy was pretty contagious. 

After the kiddie section we went onto the little scarier rides. We went on the Blazing Fury which had a few little drops which Penny told me afterward that she thought she was going to fall out of. Then Ben and Lucy (not Steven) went on rides that I wouldn't even go on. Way too scary and high, Wild Eagle & Tennessee Tornado. I have grown into a chicken in my old age. But after those terrifying ones I went on the Mystery Mine ride with them. That was so much fun I actually went on it twice.

At this point we were starving so we got some pizza that was actually amazingly good and the kids got cotton candy for dessert. Then dad and Lucy went on the terrifying Drop Line. Lucy was really regretting getting on as they got close to that 230 foot mark and I am told that as Tyler tried to reassure her, Brian was spazzing out saying he was going to die. Sounds like it was loads of fun, lol.

It was time for some more tame rides after that. So I rode on the Treetop Tower with the girls which and then the kids did the Great Tree Swing. 

Then all of us, EVEN Steven did the Dragon Flier Roller Coaster. As it started Penny began to freak out and I'm going to be honest, I'm not the best support. I didn't want to hold her hand because I have to hold on for dear life myself. But we all survived and both Penny and Steven were proud of themselves for going on it but I am not so sure that either one of them loved it. It didn't have huge drops but it moved fast and that can be scary.

I think everyone was getting roller coastered out because we attempted to all go on the Fire Chaser after that but Penny started crying as we entered the line so her and I got out of line. Then I got a call that Lucy was getting scared and to come get her but somehow Patty convinced her to stay on. Steven stayed in line up until the end where I guess he decided to just wait on the other side for everyone else to do it. So in the end just Ben, Lucy and Tyler went on it.

At that point it was getting dark and cold and I was pretty much ready to go. But Brian insisted on going on the Barnstormer which is like a pendulum. That was a nope for most of us but Lucy and Tyler did go on it. I was freezing so Patty sat on me to keep me warm ha ha. 

That was our last ride of the day. After that we just hit up the gift shops for some taffy and cinnamon bread and then headed back to their house. It was honestly such a fun day full of bravery and all kinds of good memories. 

Monday all our fun with friends was over and we had to head back to real life. It rained and slushed most of the way home and the book we picked for the ride home was not a hit (Green Embers) but somehow we survived the 9 hours. We did take a quick stop at the Cherry Republic in Ann Arbor on our way home and that was well worth the effort- even with parking being super frustrating and the walk being super cold- so worth it because their cherry chocolate covered pretzels are my most favorite thing ever right now.

And Tuesday it was back to real life. No surprise we had kind of a rough couple days getting back into the groove of homeschooling. Steven told me he wanted to run away so he didn't have to work. And Penny was pretty whiney. But she still gives a great face when she's concentrating that is pretty adorable.

Wednesday night for Young Women's we had an activity to celebrate the girl's goals from the year. We had half the girls there, always the same crew. It can be disheartening because it seems like nothing I do helps to get the missing ones there. But the ones that came were in good spirits and it was a good time.

Thursday evening I met my friend Stefanie in town in Milford. We got some hot cocoa (which was sooo good) and then we attempted to sip it outside but it was way too cold so we ended up chatting in my car. We had a great conversation about all the things in our lives. It was some much needed girl time.

And today, Friday, we finished homeschool by lunchtime and then I spent the rest of the day attempting to accomplish all the things on my to do list. Lots of Christmas errands and Christmas crafting. And of course, catching up on this blog ;) But one exciting thing that happened today was during our errand running Lucy and I decided to stop at Great Clips and get her hair cut. She hates combing it and getting it done so it was a mutual decision to cut it short again. I am so happy. It looks so much better and no more fighting over her rats nest.