Days 237-238: Getting Jolly

Friday we entered into full-on holly jolly mode around here. Buddy arrived, all masked up for safety:

He also brought us Christmas masks to wear:

Following tradition, the teddy bear tree was the first decoration to go up:

Issa and I had great fun finding new ways to decorate since we have redone every major space in our home this year. We are loving having all of the Christmas toys displayed in our cubes:

Friday afternoon, we went to the fire station to get our tree:

Nana and Shannon went with us, and they chose this beast:

I got to drive that one home, and it was absolutely the most nerve-wracking drive of my life. Thankfully, it was tied on tight and we made it with no incident!

Because everyone needs a little extra holly jolly this year, we decided to take our light game up a level. It was a pretty easy decision because our old garland wouldn't light and the nutcracker's head fell off. Issa and Dad did most of the hanging:

The kids also got some tree climbing in:

But we love the end result:

We plan to leave the bulbs across the top up all year, and we have one more piece coming this week! 

Yesterday, Issa and I spent most of the day creating Christmas gifts. We started with ornaments for my department:

The rest is top secret for now, though.

It was a lovely Thanksgiving break, and now we are all settling back into routines. We will sneak in a little holly jolly every day, though, and we are already looking forward to Christmas break!

 

Day 236: Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a lovely Thanksgiving yesterday. I love spending the morning cooking and setting the table. We were ready and waiting when Brad and I wanted to take a selfie. The kids decided to photo bomb, and I am so thrilled at the result:

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My turkey came out beautifully:

And I was able to use my new-to-me china for the first time:

Issa and I made that centerpiece last week.

Mom and Shannon, our little quarantine team, joined us:

And in family tradition, Issa got her first taste of holiday wine since she is in high school:

We have so very much to be thankful for, and I loved our day celebrating just that. There were board games and Hallmark movies and plenty of time to just be. I can't think of a better way to spend the day.

 

Day 235: Thanksgiving Prep!

We are in full Thanksgiving prep mode around here! We are all (even Brad!) officially off until Monday, and we are so excited. Even my nails are festive:

 I feel like I'm wearing a Morris print on my nails, and I think it may officially be my best life.

Today, we have big plans to cook and make some Christmas gifts and play some games and just be. It is absolutely lovely, and I'm so thankful.

Day 234: Home Office

Yesterday was a day. I went to the office for the last time until January. With Covid cases on the rise in the state and classes ending, we are closing campus. 

At lunch, one of my graduating students stopped by to drop off this cheese board:

Her dad had made it. It's his new hobby:

His logo is fremily: friends that become family. He is giving these boards to people he holds in that category. This is a family I have literally sat in the hospital with, exchanged texts with at all hours, and celebrated with on more occasions than I can count. 

I love my work. It is the highest privilege  to get to know these students and their families. To watch them grow and launch them. I love having students just show up at my door--whether I know them or not--to talk. My job is so much more than the teaching and the administrating, and I will miss those parts until I can go back in January.

I hauled everything I thought I might possibly need to my car at the end of the day. I had to just sit there and cry for a minute. Covid has taken--and given--so much, but yesterday was a day that the loss felt more acute.

Today, I'm grading and administrating. I'm grateful that we could have an unrushed breakfast together at the table. I won't miss the commute for the next two months. Silver linings. But man, I will miss the kids.

 

Days 232-233: Finished!

This weekend we finished our landing! All of the IKEA boxes arrived Saturday, and we set to work on it. Upholstering the couch was a bit of an adventure, but it is so comfortable. Brad and Evan did most of the assembling:

There was only one piece that about caused them to lose it, but the rest went together like a dream:

While they were building Issa and I rehung the photos in the hallway. Please notice the tape measurer wrapped around her hair:

Of course the studs weren't where we needed them, so Brad had to do some engineering, and Issa decided to add our names:

By last night, though, we were finished and have a space that is uniquely ours, right down to the hand holding the remote:

The couch has plenty of room for all of us:

And it's such a warm space when you reach the top of the steps:

We are in love, and we can't wait to spend a lot of quality time here in December!
 

Day 231: New Floors!

Our new floors were installed upstairs yesterday:

We are absolutely in love with them, and we were super impressed by the team that installed them. They were so efficient, and they even let me paint the toe board before they installed it, which was lovely!

The new furniture comes tomorrow! We are so ready to finally enjoy this space!
 

Day 230: Siblings

We are so lucky that Issa and Evan are truly tight. Very rarely do they squabble, and it never lasts long. They do, however, love getting each other going. A few days ago, Evan noticed Issa had drawn a smiley face on his door whiteboard, and he was not amused. So last night after he went to bed, Issa did this:

 He was really not amused, but she was so incredibly proud of himself. The laughter was hysterical and a great way to start the morning.

Day 229: Winter Ready

Issa's new favorite word is ennui, and yesterday morning I woke up with plenty of it. I had a ton of work to do but no meetings until I taught at 5. I needed to run a couple of errands, but that takes a tremendous amount of effort these days. In short, I was in a funk and didn't feel like doing anything. 

Every morning, I start my day with a workout and a meditation. Yesterday, I had a cup of coffee and graded some papers before I did either. After a killer workout, I decided to try a new breathing technique during my meditation, and let me tell you it is the cure for ennui. Fire breath left me energized but completely unable to sit still. So...I winterized the front yard:

 All of our bushes and trees are pruned, and the beds are ready for the first frost this week. It meant I had to work a little later last night, but working in the yard always grounds me, and I went back inside in a much better place. And...I think the front looks pretty good!

Day 228: One Step Closer!

This weekend, we got one step closer to being finished with the room! We put all the face plates back on and hung curtains, but the big project was swapping out the ceiling fan:

The new fan has dimmable lights, which is a game changer for the space:

The new floors are installed Thursday, and the furniture arrives Saturday! We will still have to assemble all of the furniture, but we are definitely getting closer!
 

Days 226-227: Another One in Braces!

Friday was a big day for our boy:

 He is finally starting his braces journey. When we had the seven extra teeth removed, we knew it was a matter of time, but we had to wait for the teeth that were supposed to be there to make the long journey down. Amazingly, his bottom teeth need very little correction, so for right now he only has top braces. Once the top teeth get closer to where they belong, we will add the bottom. In two years, he should be completely finished!

Saturday was bit rough for him, but by Sunday morning the worst of the discomfort had passed and he actually ate. I think he looks so much older with the braces, and he thinks he's tired of me saying that.

Day 225: One Step Closer!

We are one step closer to a finished room:

Yesterday, we hauled all of the furniture out and away. The table was the first piece of furniture Brad and I bought together, but it was in really rough shape, and we had no need for it anymore. The end table was a hand-me-down that had outlived it's life. 

Now we are just waiting for the floor to be installed! We are waiting on one more piece to come in, but we are hoping they will install next week before the furniture arrives next Saturday! We will likely do some more little things this weekend, but the majority of our work is behind us, which is lovely!

 

Day 224: Painted!

In between meetings and emails, Issa and I painted upstairs:

The color is called French silver, and we are in love:

It is a soft blue grey, and the new white trim just makes everything look so clean:

It is even lovely in the dark:

Issa and I are both so tired and sore, but it is totally worth it!
 

Day 223: New Games

 We are a family that loves playing games together. However, most of our favorite games take a while to play--especially when you count all the set up. On weeknights filled with dance and dojo, we don't really have time for games.

However, we have found two new apps that we are having fun with on weeknights! We can play a game in ten minutes with no set-up or clean-up. We have joined the Among Us crew, and it is a really fun game. I am absolutely terrible at video games, but with round that last five minutes even I enjoy it.

We are really loving Houseparty, though! We can play Uno, Pictionary, trivia, or a version of Apples to Apples. The games are shorter than the real versions, but they are just as fun and no set-up or clean-up. It's a fun way to end the day together, and I love that we are playing games rather than watching tv. It really is amazing what technology lets us do.

Day 222: A Major Project

We are in the midst of a major project at our house. Traditionally, we have done a trip or tickets to something for the kids for Christmas--not so much an option this year. We also usually travel for the holidays, but this year we will be home. All of this combined meant we needed a new plan for Christmas. After a family meeting, we decided our family gift this year would be to redo the landing and make it into functional family space. Originally, we thought we would do the project over the break, but then we decided to do it now so we could actually enjoy it and have a break!

We've been planning for a few weeks, including two trips to IKEA to choose and then order furniture. All of that will arrive on November 21, so last weekend we started the actual prep work. The room had been full of spare project parts and building toys on shelves. Those were culled and reassigned, so we have a wide open room:

The board games were also culled, but they will stay on the landing:

We moved the Legos and the cat box to the hall closet and removed the door:

Brad is also very excited that the wallpaper border is gone:

Inks is very excited we removed a cabinet door to make a blanket cubby:

The couch will overlap the cabinet by a couple of inches, so this seemed like a good solution!

Next up will be painting! It has been a fun family project so far, and it's another opportunity for us to make lemonade from lemons and create more enjoyable, cozy space for the family while we are hibernating.
 

Days 220-221: Breathing

Saturday was a day. I spent most of it spontaneously bursting into tears.

The past four years have been exhausting. It has felt like everyday was a high alert. Who was threated next? What policy did we need to work against? What did we need to lobby for? So many people I love have been in very real fear, and I didn't realize how much I was holding that fear, too, until the AP called the presidential election. The flurry of texts over the next few hours were cathartic and humbling. 

The news was announced when Issa was at dance, and I got to tell her when I picked her up. Cue the tears all over again. The look on her face when she realized a woman would be one step away from the Oval for the first time. Every time I see a new glass ceiling shatter I celebrate for all women but especially my daughter. 

When the kids realized that every vote did matter. When states flipped. When they saw, again, that we were part of advocacy efforts that mattered and made a difference, cue the tears all over again. I hope they never forget that feeling and that it continues to spur them towards advocacy and activism.

Hearing articulate speeches from leaders trying to be role models, trying to bring the country together. Were they my first picks--nope. Are they perfect--nope. But I felt hope again. 

And the exhaustion. I slept harder Saturday night than I have in a long time. 

But when I woke up Sunday, there was a new energy. We still have so much work to do as a country, but we can do it. And we have the leadership to make it possible again. Onward...

 

Day 219: The Braces Countdown

We have a tradition in this house that the week before you get your braces you get to binge on all of the things you won't be able to eat when you have your braces--one item each day. Evan gets his braces next Friday, so today starts his week:

He is pretty chill about the whole process, but he is quite thrilled with his basket. He should be sugared up for the next week, but it's worth it.
 

Day 218: Matching Bowls

Our kitten cats are enjoying a new matching food and water dish downstairs:

 These are two of my favorite pieces I've thrown--mostly because they are functional and the same size. When I was at the studio, I glazed by gravy boat, so it will be ready for Thanksgiving, and I threw another set of bowls for the cats that will match our kitchen rather than be festive.

My next goal is mugs. Here we go...

Day 217: Holding Our Breath--For My Kiddos

 Four years ago, I held my kids while they cried--disillusioned that our country could elect Trump, frightened for their friends, frightened for our country. I felt the same. We turned that moment into a lesson on activism and fighting the good fight even when you lose. We've been talking and fighting for four years. We are tired, but we are hopeful.

Today, we hold our breath...

We stayed up until the west coast came in last night, but then we went to bed knowing nothing more would happen last night. This morning, the first thing the kids asked was the status of the electoral college. I'm proud of how interested and invested they are this year. Having big kids has been one of my greatest joys, and here is what I want them to remember about this morning...

Kiddos,

I know we are holding our breath this morning. Here is what we have to remember: we hold our breath every four years, and that is not a bad thing. It means our government is worth investing our energy in and the system (more or less) works. It's not perfect, but it's ours. And we have to stay committed to it.

I've been through enough of these elections to know that we are always invested in the outcome of who will be our president, and we don't always know right away. We do know some things, though...

We know we are witnessing history. No matter what, this election will be one you will tell you kids about. No matter what, this is an inflexion point for our country. However, it is not an inflexion point for us. Our values, our vision, our guides don't change. If the election goes one way, our work becomes harder. We keep standing behind, beside, and when necessary in from of those who need us to lend our voices to theirs--even when our voice shakes. If it goes the other, we still have work to do. We don't sit it out. There will still be wrongs to right and leaders to hold accountable. Democracy doesn't stop when your guy is in the White House.

We also know we are witnessing our democracy work. You are watching votes be counted in nearly real time. We watched states go from pink to light blue on the map last night. Never forget that moment. Every. Vote. Counts. Don't ever waste yours. Whatever it takes. Cast your ballot. 

We also know we did every thing we possibly could. We can rest easy knowing we were good tired going into yesterday. We campaigned. We spoke truth. We did our part. That is all anyone can ask of you, kiddos.

So today, when we catch ourselves holding our breath, we will take another deep one. We will watch the map. We will keep talking. When we know the next answer, we plan the next step. All we have to do is the next right thing, and we will do it together.

 

Day 216: Thankful

On Sunday, the kids and I packed up all of the spooky and got out all of the turkeys. Inks loves snuggling in her bed, so we found a raccoon in the kids' toys bins:

It just felt more fall to us. We dug out the Thanksgiving books:

And scattered more pumpkins and gourds:

And rolled out a more fall runner:

And today I even broke out my turkey socks:

In the midst of all of this crazy, I'm grateful that we are still finding small ways to celebrate gratitude and its season. Onward...