We Had Some Snow

Starting last Saturday night/Sunday evening we got a little bit of snow--like 14 inches of snow. The kids were in heaven. Evan attempted sledding:

 And Issa discovered cartwheeling in boots is tricky:

 We cleared the driveway:

 And enjoyed Christmas lights in the snow:

 And measured before we built snowmen and had an epic family snowball fight:

 And Evan ate his weight in snow after making a snow angel:

 It was lovely to play in the snow as a family, and we enjoyed plenty of family time inside, too.

Somehow I blinked and I have a teenager who bakes brownies all by herself:

 And we made teacher gifts:

 We actually made these drawings on candles. You color on tissue paper, and then melt them into the candles. Each teacher is getting a unique candle just for them!

And the best Aunt Shannon sent Grinch jammies for my favorite Grinches:

We watching Christmas movies and wrapped gifts and snuggled under blankets. It was lovely.

The kids finally went back to school today on a three-hour delay, but I could get very used to this whole idea of  some snow days before Christmas.

Miniature Fun

Saturday, we had the Minis over for a Christmas party/crafting extravaganza. They wanted to make custom t-shirts for each teacher with their favorite sayings. They worked together to decide on the quote and the design, and they came out so well:

They did a very fun gift exchange, and then they participated in the studio's Suess hair challenge:

I have never heard so much giggling, and I'm so grateful Issa gets to hang out with such a sweet, thoughtful group of girls!

This Dog

Buddy is our very special snowflake. After dinner last night, Issa pushed back her chair and this happened:

He just stepped right up into her lap for a snuggle. You can see how terribly upset she was by this. He may be the dumbest dog I've ever met, but he also may be the sweetest.

Because My Family Hates Me

This is on my tree:

For those of you who don't watch Dr. Who, it is a weeping angel. I hate weeping angels. They are creepy. The whole premise is that they are not nice and they move closer to you when you are not watching. You blink they move. I don't like them.

So...the other three decided we needed one on the tree. And not only does it hang on the tree, but it freaking moves when you are not watching. As in, they take turns finding and moving the thing. Which means I can be minding my own business doing the dishes and look up to see it right in front of me on the tree. I don't like.

The Best Cancelled Plans

I love all the holiday hoopla, but I am also a hard-core introvert, which can make December a bit of a mine field for me. Sunday morning, I woke up feeling a bit tapped out, and we had big plans to go watch the local parade. Issa is usually in it, but she had asked to skip a year so she could actually see her band friends in it. Done and done.

It was a gloomy day, and we really wanted to decorate the tree and bake cookies. Issa had homework to finish. I had mountains of laundry. Something had to give. Then the radar blipped, and the band cancelled. And just like that, our afternoon opened up!

We made the BEST gluten-free chai sugar cookies. I may never make any other kind of cookie again. The boys did a wonderful job engineering the boxes that we took to our neighbors:

 And our tree is finished:

I love hanging all of our memories every year.

The quiet afternoon was just the respite we needed, and now we are ready for another busy week!

We Have a Tree!

The Friday after Thanksgiving, we went to find the perfect trees. We opted to go back to the fire department this year, and we were not disappointed! Issa might have fallen in love with this one:

 And Nana found her perfect tree:

 The rookies tied our two tree to the hood, and it's a good thing Brad suspected the struggle and drove very slowly home:

 One tight turn and those babies would have tumbled right off!

Nana is in love with her big fat tree:

 And the children decided to become trees:

We will decorate ours on Friday, but we seemed to have found a very perfect tree!

Christmas Stories

There are so many things I love about this time of year, and this year is feeling a little extra special. Issa has long out-grown the little kid Christmas with Santa and his magic, but Evan is still holding tight, which means I am. I know we are on borrowed time, and Brad is half-certain he's playing along for my benefit, but I will take it. I love watching his excitement as he wakes up to see what the elf has done, and I love hearing the excitement in his voice as he talks about Christmas magic.

We are in that lovely middle that goes too fast--somewhere between little boy and tween. Last night, as I did dishes, Evan sifted through the Christmas book box to find some favorites. He sat at the kitchen table and read out loud to me about the adventures of Tacky and Pete. He didn't need help with the words, and there was a fluency and vibrancy in his reading that we struggled for years ago. It was truly lovely to listen to him read, and he's promised to do it again tonight.

I love these pages of the storybook, and I think I will try to turn them just a bit slower this season.

A Very Thankful Thanksgiving

We had a lovely Thanksgiving break! For the second year, I got to prepare my Thanksgiving feast on Thanksgiving! This year, we also were lucky enough to have Nana, Aunt Shannon, and Uncle Jeff join us. Issa helped me set the table with all of Grandma Judy's pottery, and we learned how to fold napkins like leaves:

 We also prepared the Better Homes and Garden 1903 Thanksgiving meal. It was so fun, and I will never a do a turkey a different way again. Brad did a masterful job carving:

 And we all found our places thanks to Issa's monogrammed maple leaf origami:

 We spent the rest of the week playing board games, decorating the house, and eating leftovers! Yesterday, we ended the weekend with an afternoon at the ballet:

We have so very much to be thankful for, and these quieter days where we can just enjoy each other is right at the top of the list!

What a Roller Coaster

We have had a bit of a week. Last Monday, Issa started in with what we thought was a little bit of an allergic reaction to something--just a few red dots on her chest. She had a new sweatshirt that I let her wear before I washed it, and we chalked it up to that. By Thursday, though, it was bad. It had spread to her arms and legs; at least 85% of her body was covered. Brad took her to urgent care, and they diagnosed it as moscollum contagioso, which while it sounds like a Harry Potter spell is actually a really ugly virus that can take a year to clear. We were a little freaked out. Thankfully, Issa still felt fine, so fine we spent Sunday playing in the leaves!

Evan loves nothing more than a good jump into a pile of leaves:

Sweet siblings:

Leaf fight:

And these smiles:

We had a dermotology appointment yesterday, and we were relieved to find out Issa actually has break-through chicken pox. She is part of the 1% that still got them even after the vaccine. But y'all. This is not the chicken pox we had. They aren't big and scabby; she doesn't have a fever, and now she has no pain. She is just a little itchy. We'll take it.

Through all of this, we have been surrounded by love. So many of my friends in medicine asked their colleagues for opinions and texted me thoughts. We have had more offers for help and phone calls to check on us than I could imagine. Our village rallied, and I'm so very grateful.

HAMILTON!!!

Saturday night, I put a major check on the bucket list: we went to see HAMILTON!!! It's actually the reason Brad and I got season tickets last year, and he graciously gave Issa his ticket since she is a bigger fan:

 And then the couple sitting next to Mom switched with us so we could all sit together:

It was perfect. Issa and I have the entire soundtrack memorized, and the show did not disappoint for one moment. I have never seen such tight choreography, and the entire production was flawless.

The best part was sharing it with these two, though. Mom actually got teary when we managed to switch our seats, and Issa just kept reaching over to grab my hand throughout the show. The wonder on her face and the thrill in her eyes will be a prized memory forever. Truly a night for the storybooks.

Like Father Life Daughter

If I had my way, I would never move furniture. I'm a creature of habit. Brad, however, moved furniture on a whim. Apparently Issa inherited the bug. I got out of the shower Sunday to find this:

 And this:

 Apparently she wanted to redo her room and create zones. She has her snuggly zone:

 Her work zone:

 And her craft zone:

She also loves that her closet and dresser make a little dressing room.

Thank goodness for a husband that has a good sense of spatial relationships because I never would have figured this out. We have one happy kiddo, though, and I'll take it.

Happy Halloween!

We had a very fun Halloween! This year, the kids decided we should go at the Pantheon.

I was Aphrodite:

 All that gold is every bit as hard to get off as you might imagine.

Evan was, of course, Ares:

 Issa made a very convincing and slightly scary Hades:

 And Brad was a very regal Hephaestus:

 We were quite the crew at the Street Party Halloween:

 Like always, we got all of the kids and adults together for pizza and fruit prior to Trick-or-Treating. This always turns into adults losing our minds trying to get over-excited kids to eat pizza. At least we are all doing it collectively instead of in our own kitchens.

All of the dads took off with the kids, and the moms passed out candy. It really is one of my favorite nights of the year. I gave out 400 toys and 350 pieces of candy in an hour and a half. All of the kids were kind and gracious. My favorite moment was when a little Spiderman walked up. I called him Spiderman, and his preschool sister responded, "He is accidentally my brother, Joe."

When the candy had been collected, we returned home to our annual tradition:

The great candy swap, first hot cocoa of the season, second grade math homework evening. Issa still does the worksheet Ms. Howell gave her in second grade, and every year we make sure we still have the original.

It was a very fun night, and now we are ready to trade witches for turkeys and get ready for Thanksgiving!We had a very fun Halloween!