Well, that was the fastest 2 weeks ever. When I mentioned it to A, he responded that
all breaks seem to go quickly. They
definitely do, but for some reason, this one flew by faster. I even had to talk through each day with A
because I couldn’t remember last weekend…
My holiday break started on 12/21. Everyone had the day off except for W. I think I mentioned that W’s class room mom
had sent out a few emails indicating that if they didn’t find one more volunteer for
the class party, it would be cancelled.
I hated the thought of W’s class being the only one without a holiday
party so I said I’d help. I wasn’t given
clear instructions on what the heck I was supposed to be doing, but I
eventually figured out that I should bring some type of holiday themed game and
I needed to pick up the class craft from the office. Stupidly, I created a game with cups that
resembled snowmen and snowballs (drier balls).
The idea was to knock over the snowmen cups by throwing the
“snowballs”. The game itself was adorable,
but I failed to realize that I’d be stacking cups 793,068,603 times over the
course of the party. All in all, I had
fun meeting W’s classmates and observing W.
A couple of the kids told me that W was very quiet and didn’t talk
much. This I knew. But I pointed out that being quiet can be a
good thing because it means you’re a great listener. The kids seemed to take this into
consideration and I do hope W will talk more as he becomes more
comfortable. With that said, W has been
asking to return to school every day this week so he doesn’t seem to be
affected. We finished the day by heading
over to my mom’s house where we checked out all the cute projects W brought
home from school, wrapped presents, and ordered a pizza.
Saturday, 12/22 - we headed to the local amusement
park. This is the first time the park
has been open in the winter and we have season’s passes so thought we’d check
it out. We invited A’s brother and his 4
kids. The boys had so much fun with all of their cousins! They went on more rides
than ever before. It was chilly, but the
lines were super short and there were a few inside places to warm up. I had more fun than I did during any of our
summer outings.
Sunday, 12/23 – church, Starbucks, Bears game. Our best friends invited us over for cookie
decorating. We all had a great time,
though I think S dumped an entire bottle of sugar sprinkles on his cookie. The boys loved playing with all the kids that
were over and W took his cookie decorating seriously.
Monday, Christmas Eve – we decided to keep it casual and
invited my mom over for deli sandwiches and homemade mac and cheese. My mom asked if she could give the boys their
Christmas presents and A and I were fine with it. I like to stretch out Christmas (and
presents) as much as possible. The boys
opened their gifts and we spent the rest of the afternoon playing with new toys
(or more like putting new toys together) and playing board games. S secretly ate all the cookies that we decorated (the same cookies designated for Santa) so I wasn't sure if Santa would bring him any gifts.
Tuesday, Christmas – the boys were super excited to run downstairs to see if Santa had visited. After church and Starbucks, we headed
to A’s parents’ house. Dinner was
delicious and the boys received so many fun toys and games. They were in gift heaven. A and I received an instant pot, which I was
really excited about. We spent a long
time playing Rummy Royal (which I know as Tripoli) and it reminded me so much
of Christmases past. When I was a teen,
we spend many, many holidays with my extended holiday playing card games and various board games - I so miss those days. I loved every minute and it made me want to
plan more family get togethers (maybe I need to make that my New Year's
resolution). Once again, the boys had so
much fun playing with their cousins.
Wednesday, Day after Christmas – for the past 3 or 4 years,
we’ve invited my mom and brother over and made a big breakfast. The boys open their gifts from A and I and
Santa on this day. I’m not sure how much
longer I’ll be able to prolong the gift opening, but this has become one of my
favorite traditions. It was definitely
bittersweet this year without my brother, but I’m thankful we could still get
together with my mom and Susana came over too.
It’s the one time a year I make an egg casserole and we stay in our
pajamas all day. I definitely enjoy
giving gifts more than receiving, but my mom and A really spoiled me this
year. My mom gifted us an air
fryer. Along with that, she gave me a
wireless makeup mirror (I enjoy putting on makeup everyday so this was perfect
for me and I’m obsessed), a Barefoot Dreams cardigan (softest clothing ever),
and two gorgeous rose gold stacking rings.
My mom has a tendency to splurge on gifts I love, but would never buy
for myself. A got me a couple new books
to read, boot socks, the softest joggers (never want to wear anything else), a
pretty planner to help me stay organized (needed this), and a couple Chicago
Bears tops so I can cheer on my team in style.
I absolutely love everything! Our
weather was so mild, we even got to take a long walk while the boys rode the
bicycle and car they received from Santa.
Thursday, 12/27 - A took the boys to a bouncy house place so they could burn off some energy. This was also the day I did a massive cleaning, boxed up several items to donate, and organized the boys' closets - because it's pointless to clean when they are home. We played a bunch of games – Memory,
Exploding Kittens (another gift from A), Trivial Pursuit.
Friday, 12/28 – I had bid on and won tickets to the Shedd
Aquarium at an auction some time ago and we decided to finally use them before
they expired in February. The aquarium
was crowded and the boys were just… not fun.
Complaining, whining, etc. I thought
maybe they were just hungry and after lunch they’d be fine. NO.
They didn’t want to see the fish, they were tired of walking, more
complaining, more whining. I wish A and
I would have gone alone. I really wanted
to see the dolphin show, but only tickets for the 5:30 show were available and
there was no way the boys were going to make it. In all honesty, it was really
disappointing. And I won’t go into
detail about the ride home, which involved crying, arguing, talking back,
etc. A and I were just done. I think it was just an off day and I’m still
sad that it happened to coincide with a trip to the aquarium. We won’t be returning any time soon.
Saturday, 12/29 – I got a haircut and we went to my mom’s
house for pizza. We introduced my mom to
Exploding Kittens – haha!
Sunday, 12/30 – church, Starbucks, football. Said goodbye to the Christmas tree. :(
Monday, NYE – A and I tried to go on a lunch date and it was
a bit of a fail. No restaurants were
open for lunch. I guess they were all
preparing for dinner and/or NYE parties?
I don’t know? We eventually found
a restaurant, but had to wait 30 minutes and even then, we just ordered
sandwiches. Blah. I like sandwiches, but was hoping for
something a bit nicer since we were out sans children. I spent the rest of the day cleaning out my
closet and getting rid of a massive amount of clothes (I still had a bunch of
maternity items sitting in my closet!).
This is also the day that we tried out the new instant pot. We made creamy tortellini, spinach, and
sausage soup and it was amazing!! I’ve
been pinning new recipes ever since!
Tuesday, New Year’s Day – we had a very low key day. A and I made chicken wings and fries in the
new air fryer and they were awesome!!
We’ll definitely make these again.
We played more board games, watched tv, and lounged around.
What else….
A finished a whopping 36 books this year and I finished
12. I think it’s the most either of us
has ever read in a year.
As mentioned, I spent lots of time watching videos and
pinning recipes for our new instant pot and air fryer and I’m really excited to
use these throughout the year.
I started posting Christmas cards on our cabinets and the
boys loved looking at them every day and continually told me how much they
loved them – they also served as a great reminder that we have so many friends
and family members to be thankful for.
A and I plan to add another furry friend to our house this
year – we both miss having a dog so much.
While the cats have been fun, they are no substitute for a dog. I’ve been checking out local rescue
groups.
We signed W up for chess club. He expressed interest and I think any
opportunities to expand his social skills (and his mind) are beneficial. We will see how it goes.
A got a new vest!! A
PORTABLE VEST and I’m more excited than anyone! J I really REALLY pushed for this at A’s last
clinic visit and we weren’t sure if insurance would cover it, but they covered
most of it and I’m so excited – did I already say that??
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