A Full Weekend

We had another full weekend! We started Friday with a wrestling meet:

Evan got a pin in 40 seconds, and his team won:

I'm getting better at watching wrestling, but there were still moments where I just had to look away.

Issa had rehearsals all weekend, but we did manage to go see Tina at DPAC Saturday night:

The woman who played Tina was phenomenal, and it was a great show. The first act was really had to watch, but so was her life. It made for a really powerful ending.

Sunday, I rested:

It's cold again here, and crocheting in front of the fire place was exactly what I needed.
 

A Parallel Universe

 I started a whole new morning routine this morning. I exaggerate, but I will now be leaving the house at 7:10 on weekday mornings to take Evan to optional wrestling practice. He popped right out of bed. I love that he is loving wrestling, and I'm so proud that he is taking advantage of these optional opportunities. 

It also means I have already cleaned out all of the inboxes, been to the grocery, and cleaned the kitchen. I think my new bedtime will also be 9:30.

Back in Bed

I am officially moved back into our bedroom! Brad is out of the masking window, and I deep cleaned our bedroom and bathroom yesterday. It feels so good to be back together and back in my cozy bed, which is made even cozier by this quilt:

Brad's dad gave it to us years ago, a quilt made by his family in 1936:

We had it in a cedar chest, but I was reading that the best thing you can do with old quilts is use them. They actually last longer that way. We keep a comforter over it to protect it, but I love the weight of it in the winter, and I love seeing the patterns whenever I change the sheets. It's just a little extra doze of cozy.
 

And a Happy New Year

Our week between Christmas and New Year's was even more quiet than planned because Brad finally caught Covid. That leaves Evan as the last man standing in the house. Thankfully, Brad's case was mild and we have a system. He sequestered himself in the master bedroom/bathroom and we delivered everything via tray left outside the door. The rest of us stayed healthy--just snuggled up in the house so we wouldn't risk exposing anyone.

We spent the week undecorating, watching movies, and just being. Issa and I did a little crafting; Evan did a lot of video gaming. This is the only picture I took on New Year's:

I love Christmas, but I also love enjoying how big the house feels once it's put back to rights. Brad was able to come out of isolation on New Year's Eve, and he joined us just for a little bit to enjoy a series of courses of appetizers and then watch the ball drop. 

Today is the first day he doesn't have to mask, and I'm deep cleaning the master suite. I'm so excited to move back in and be back in my bed instead of the couch, and he's so excited to be all the way out and about. 2023 is already on an upswing!
 

A Very Merry Christmas

I have not opened my computer since December 23. It has been blissful! I will spend this week recapping the end of 2022!

We had a truly lovely and very laid back Christmas. We did the annual sugar cookie baking at Nana's house. Issa got promoted to rolling this year:

And her friend Allison joined us! 

Evan won the award for most camera aware:

They were another round of very special cookies, but we did manage to make one tray that was normal enough to take to the neighbors!

The theme of this Christmas was Chopped, and Aunt Shannon had sweatshirts made to commemorate the occasion:

It's hard to see the fine print, but it says, "We're having a wonderful time!" in honor of Grandma Judy.

Christmas Eve we all donned Christmas jammies for Christmas at Nana's:

My children are so weird:

We had the now traditional mashed potato bar and played round one of Chopped--dessert. The kids were the judges, and it was Brad and I versus Mom and Shannon. We had to make a trifle including white cake, lifesavers, marshmallow fluff, and Hawaiian Punch mix. Mom and Shannon won that round. Brad and I went in too hard with the punch mix, resulting in a sweet disaster. Actually, neither trifle was great, and we spent way too much time just trying to get the sweet out of our mouths.

Santa came Christmas morning:

We had a quiet morning just the four of us with my first successful gluten-free overnight cinnamon rolls. Nana and Shannon joined for lunch, and then we had a fun afternoon of board and card games. We laughed way too hard at Family Cards Against Humanity, which may be a new family favorite.

Late afternoon, we did Chopped round two--appetizer. This round was bruschetta using baguettes, whipped honey, apple, and prosciutto.  They were tough judges:

Brad and I won this round, though!

It was just a lovely, stress-free, easy holiday--my very favorite kind.

 

Holly Jolly

We are enjoying a lot of holly jolly around here this week! One of our Christmas gifts arrived a little early:

We finally replaced our 20 year-old, handleless oven. We are loving our new one:

We are still learning it. It's slow to heat, but once it does it's amazingly consistent. We are also playing with the air fryer setting!

We have also committed to family games every night. Buddy the Elf also has us building a lego North Pole, which has been fun:

I made this cute little guard tower:

Allison came over last night for gingerbread pancakes and Christmas movie night:

We are completely ready for Christmas, so I am loving these slow days filled with family time!
 

A Success!

This weekend we celebrated the first annual neighborhood cookie walk! Over 30 houses placed treats at the end of their driveways:

And over 100 neighbors walked the neighborhood collecting treats:

 The HOA Board (including Brad) passed out coffee and cocoa at the parks, and everyone had a fabulous time! It was a low stress, high fun event, and we are already plotting what neighborhood fun might be next!

Maybe I am a Potter

 Yesterday I went to pick up some pottery I had made. Two of the pieces didn't fire well, which was a real bummer since they were meant to be Christmas gifts! 

However, I had several that did, and I actually get teary when I saw a note on one of my pieces. Someone has seen it and wants to buy four! I'm still in shock.

Pottery is a hobby, but I never felt like a potter until yesterday. 

Here is the other take away. Support artists, which I am almost ready to call myself. Creating is hard, and when someone sees a piece and loves it, well, there is no better feeling. Offering to purchase, well, there really aren't words.

He Just Goes

 We had our student teacher celebration last night, which meant I was on campus late. Just as I was packing up, Mom called. As soon as I heard her voice I knew something was wrong. Someone had backed into her car at the gas station. There was damage, and she was shook. I heard her trying to talk to the other driver, and it wasn't going well.

I called Brad, told him what happened and where she was, and before I could ask I heard, "I'm on my way." 

He went and stayed with her while the officer took the report. He checked the car to be sure it was just body damage--it was. He followed her home. 

I will be forever grateful that his first instinct is always to show up. Whenever anyone calls, he just goes. He's fiercely protective, and I'm so glad he's mine.

The Weekend We Needed

 This weekend was a bit of a blur.

Evan spent the weekend being a sloth. He is not used to full days of schools followed by full practices and meets. It's a lot of people-ing, and he finally got tired. He had a forfeit at his meet Friday, came home, and just crashed. He is ready for this week, but we are so glad he had a chance to rest a bit.

Issa had her Kaleidoscope Christmas party Friday and rehearsals Saturday.  She babysat Sunday afternoon, but we managed to squeeze in baking cookies for the neighbors, which was important to her.

Brad and I managed a data afternoon yesterday to finish the Christmas shopping, order a new stove, and actually have dinner just the two of us. Our new stove arrives on December 20, and we are so excited. Our old one has been inconsistent, and the oven handle fell off last week. We have replaced the handle once, but it was just time to call it in. It was 21 years old; I would say that was a good long run.

This is my last day on campus (although I will work the rest of the week from home), and the kids just have this week left of school. I think we are going to make it!

Who I Want to Be

This is the mom of adult kids I want to be:

I went to mom's to wait for a repair man yesterday. I let myself in, grabbed her favorite blanket, and raided the pantry where I found my favorite snack. It made me very happy, and I sent her that picture.

I want that for my kids. Even when they are grown and have homes of their own, I want them to be able to walk into ours, know it is still home, and know they will always find what they need. 

 

He Did It!

Evan had his first away wrestling meet last night, and he also got his first pin:

He fought hard through the first two period and got it in the third. He was also the first from his team to score.

We are so stupid proud of him. It's hard to start a new sport in eighth grade, but he is working hard, and it's paying off! 

I emailed his coach last night to say thank you and also ask for a resource to try to understand the rules. Everything I was reading was just confusing, and I really want to learn to be a better wrestling mom. He graciously sent me a video, and now I will actually know what I'm watching tomorrow! Here's to the rest of the season!

 

The Tree is Trimmed

We, and by we I mean Issa and I, finished decorating the tree last night:

We put the lights on last week, and we finished the popcorn and cranberries Sunday. We have been a bit nervous because Jet really has enjoyed pulling lights off the tree, but we decided to add the ornaments last night:

Issa worked very hard to get any of her little kid ornaments on the front of the tree:

We also left anything breakable off this year, which meant some of them got to be displayed in the armoire:

I held my breath when I walked downstairs this morning, but not a single ornament had been knocked off. The cats seem to have lost interest not that there is more on it, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that holds!
 

What A Weekend

We had a really crazy weekend, and I did a really horrible job of taking pictures! 

Friday afternoon started with Evan's first wrestling meet! He had a scrimmage Wednesday, but he got a forfeit. Friday, we actually go to wrestle twice:

We are so proud of him for starting a new sport, and he's starting in his weight class! He lost both of his match ups, but he wrestled really hard and was happy with how he did. He has some things he wants to work on this week, which is great. I'm still learning how to be a wrestling mom; I don't love watching him get pinned, so I'm going to need him to do more pinning this week.

Issa and left before the meet was over to get ready for her dress rehearsal:

Rehearsal went really well, and I love watching her do her thing!

Saturday, we went to the Magic of Lights. It's a drive through Christmas light display, and we had a blast. We loved the toy zone:

And we were really impressed by the 12 Days of Christmas. I did take pictures of all 12 days, but these were my favorites:

Sunday Issa danced in the Christmas parade, but I forgot to take a single picture! Her friend stood with us and took some, so I just need to snag those!

It was a really busy weekend, but it was also a lot of fun! I guess that pretty much describes December.

 

A New Outlook

After months of waiting, we finally got our new kitchen door installed this week:

Our old sliding door was literally falling apart. Brad had a mallet handy to tap the frame back on the glass, and the sliding function had become lift and pray. We are thrilled with our new door, especially since we ditched all the little squares and have just clear glass:

 The kitchen feels so much bigger, and we love being able to see the yard even more! Now we just need to stop panicking because we think we left the door open.

The Beginning of Holly Jolly

Following tradition, we headed to the Fire Department Friday to be there right when they opened the tree lot! They had some more unusual trees this year, and Brad really wanted one:

I think Issa's face sums up how that went. We did use Evan as a measuring stick to be sure we got the perfect sized tree:

And we did!

Nana also found a huge tree:

We got Nana's up:

And then ours:

After a pizza dinner, we got out the Christmas dishes:

And Saturday Issa and I got the rest of the decorations out, with some help from Inks:

As always the teddy bear tree was first, and it moved downstairs this year:

I love this time of the year, and I love unpacking all of the memories with each decoration!