We had a great Thanksgiving break. Every morning at 10:30, James, Joseph, Kenny, and I played a round of Catan: Explorers and Pirates. By Sunday, we learned the entire expansion and had the entire, expanded board set up. It was really fun, but it took a long time to play that last game: 3 hours! I love that we have a place to leave a big game out without the little kids messing it up.
I finished Christmas shopping for my family, the angel tree, and a service project at the kids' school. I even got something for James's birthday on Black Friday. Over the next 2 weeks, I'll be getting a ton of boxes. It's kind of fun to get things in the mail that aren't bills.
I went to the cabin for 10 minutes yesterday and came back to 2 children covered in markers (washable, thankfully) and who had cut each other's hair. I gave them baths but haven't fixed their haircuts yet. Lewis is going to get shaved nearly bald, but Samantha is going to need something more drastic. Basically, her hair looks like a "Karen" haircut instead of a mullet now, but I need to cut it more in the back so it blends together. Ugh. I was just thinking about how they were doing a little better and not destroying as many things, but they proved me wrong. We also had to take all the ornaments off the tree since they would not stop touching it. (We put it up last Friday and took all the ornaments off less than 24 hours later.) I don't regret decorating for Christmas a little early. The sparkly lights make me happy.
This year has been such a test of my patience. I think it's starting to wear Katie down, too. She broke into tears before school this morning. Recently, she's been hugging me like 12 times before she'll leave. She's one tough girl on the outside, but I think she worries a lot about the pandemic. If the boys do, they don't let on. I'm really looking forward to Christmas break. I think it will be a good distraction from this crap. I've been under so much stress this year that I don't really remember what it feels like to be completely calm.
Reading your blog is amazing. I can't believe all the stuff you can manage to do. I hope it helps calm you a little bit because you are doing amazing things. Tradition building is so fun, and I think 2020 has helped with making them even more special. I hope you guys can stay well and enjoy Christmas and New Years.
ReplyDeleteThanks! It means a lot to me to hear this. I hope you and your family stay healthy and safe.
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