Thursday, January 9, 2020

New Year, Who Dis?


(12/16) I worked from home today and got to drop off a whole car load of toys, collected by my work peeps, at the YWCA's Somerset Village. They were SO excited to receive our gifts, and I hope we made the holidays a little brighter for some of their residents!


(12/17) Meeting Tuesday was filled with meetings, starting with one at school, and followed by several at work. Today's highlights included a catered birthday lunch at work and a cookie exchange.  I brought home three of everything for the boys, plus a good chunk of the boozy fudge that I'm sending to Dad's work. J made an adorable ornament and card in school. His teacher is so creative!


(12/18) I had the day off and worked in the boys' classrooms. D had a sub this afternoon, and my boy that does not do change + big, exciting holiday + break coming up = not a great day. We had counseling this afternoon and worked through some of that. We made sensory glitter bottles for both him and his teacher as a gift this evening, which was a relaxing project to do in lieu of playing on screens.  The boys also made regular fudge for themselves tonight. So.much.sugar!!


(12/19) Work and school for us all today. Dad's parents came to town bearing blintzes and Opa cookies.  YUM! Their trip was slow-going and snowy, so they only stopped by long enough to get mobbed by the doggos and drop off food. We'll see them Saturday for dinner.


(12/20) I had a dentist appointment this morning (Merry Christmas to me ~ this is appointment 2 of 3), and worked from home afterward. The boys survived their last day at school, and were stripped to their underwear within 20 minutes of arriving home. Vacation done right!


(12/21) Sarah and I went to Zumba this morning, and I went out shopping afterward. Dad got up early to get the turkey in the oven. We had Oma, Opa, and Nanan over for dinner and presents this evening. Dinner was fabulous and we had a lovely time chatting. We do not get to see Oma & Opa very often, so that was particularly special.



(12/22) I enjoyed my Sunday morning by the Christmas tree, reading my book. I still had a few last minute items to go get, so I told the boys they could play screens while I was out. I *think* I'm finally done? We had our annual gingerbread cookie making party at Sarah's this afternoon. The kids made a smaller army of "gingies" this year, and we all had a great time, and ate a ton!


(12/23) It was pajama day at work today. It was so cozy working in my Rudolph PJs. The boys stayed home and of the two sheets of cookies we made yesterday, only four cookies remained, and they were mostly de-candied.


(12/24) We celebrated with Dad this morning. With him being on graves, it's just too hard to figure out sleep when we travel, so he decided to stay home today and come for dinner tomorrow. Opa brought us blintzes when he visited, and Dad warmed those up, and we had a delicious breakfast. The boys made quick work of all their presents, and we were packed up and on the road shortly after. We managed to drive right on the ferry and hit the grands' before lunch. Uncle Jake and family arrived this afternoon and we had dinner together. The boys ate beans & chips, beans & chips, and more beans & chips. I'm glad I'm not sleeping in the same room!


(12/25) Merry Christmas!  We woke to find that Santa had visited. The kiddos opened all their gifts and we sat down to a delicious breakfast of blueberry French toast. Yum!  Dad managed to get a ferry over in time to join us for dinner tonight. He stayed through dessert, and then he and C headed on home.



(12/26) The twins and I caught a ferry home after breakfast. I dropped them off at home, and left all the boys unattended with their stockings (and all the candy inside). I hear they were decimated in my absence, LOL. I drove up to take Nanan to lunch, and we opted to go to a movie.  We saw the new Star Wars, and loved it!



(12/27) Sarah and I went for a coffee walk this morning, and then I had a final dentist appointment. Boy am I glad to be done with that. And at least this time the anesthetic took and it was quick & easy.  Dad and I went to the Tips game tonight and got to watch the Dachshund races from the nosebleeds. So cute! The Tips lost, but overall it was a pretty good game.


(12/28) The kids and I headed back over to the grands' for the 19th? or 20th? annual kids' dinner. It all started with my siblings' friends invading the parentals' house every Saturday for dinner, and now the grands invite them and their families all back to have dinner together. This was the first year that there had to be a kids' kids table for the next generation. Grandma went all out and made roasted veggie lasagna, loads of meatballs, ziti, and of course her famous mousse! We lit off a few fireworks out onto the bay, and eventually made our way back home with all our goodies. We missed the first ferry, and I had a restless trio on my hands, but we got out and ran laps around the ferry once we finally boarded.


(12/29) Sarah and I hit the gym this morning. I love that we can walk there and back, and that there's coffee on the way! Today was a much-needed lazy day other than that.


(12/30) I spent the day up at Nanan's, and helped get her set to have a new fridge delivered. Good times, good times. Dad made a fancy dinner for us this evening, and we had a relaxing night at home.


(12/31) Sarah and I went for coffee this morning, and then I snuck in one last workout at the gym for the year. The boys and I went to Kathy & Raul's for a night of board games and all the screens they could possibly want! We watched the fireworks over the lake at midnight (so cool!), and everyone had a blast. The twins and I didn't even get to bed til past 1:30am, and C stayed overnight (and I know he didn't got to sleep any time soon).


(1/1) Happy New Year! Sarah and I opted for a long walk instead of fighting for space at the gym with all the other resolutionists. We came home and I read my book and promptly fell asleep. Nanan joined us for dinner this evening, and brought the kiddos more presents. She found a hand-controlled drone, which drove Cass absolutely bonkers. Once we disconnected C, he could not keep his eyes open, so we sent him up to bed early. Too much gaming tuckered him right out.


(1/2) I headed back to work today. It was good to see everyone and hear of their holidays. The kiddos have a few more days of break remaining, and spent the day playing on screens. It sounds like they had fun!


(1/3) Today was a work day for me. C headed over to Jor's to celebrate his (13th--GAH!) birthday, and to see Star Wars with a mob of boys. I took Dad to the airport this evening. He flew down to PDX to check out a car for S, and then drove it back up. Luckily he caught a flight right out of Paine Field, so my part in his shenanigans was minimal.


(1/4) I woke up late-ish today and didn't get out the door for Zumba, and instead spent the morning reading my book. I walked to the gym this afternoon, and then headed back that way once Sarah was free to join me for a coffee walk. Dad and J pulled the crystals out this afternoon. The purple one turned out really well!


(1/5) Lazy Sunday morning for us all today. I went up to Nanan's to help do some heavy lifting this afternoon and made it back home in time for dinner with the fam.


(1/6) I worked from home today, and the kiddos headed back to school. Dad and J did step 3 on polishing his rocks tonight ~ they're looking really pretty! As I was watching the news tonight, J came over to tell me all about how not tired he was, and how he's been getting so much extra sleep, and how I could move back their bedtime. Not even ten minutes later and he was *out*. Suuure, kiddo.


(1/7) Work and school for us all today. I get home pretty late on Tuesdays normally, and tonight there were multiple accidents on my route, putting me there even later. It was pizza Tuesday though, and dinner was easily warmed up!


(1/8) I had the day off, and the kiddos had school. I worked in both boys' classrooms this morning. D's having a rough time transitioning back to school, and today was more of the same. We had a quiet evening in after school.

Ornaments by D
(1/9) It snowed a tiny bit this morning, and more is expected next week. Today was a work day for me and Dad has his LAST shift on graves tonight. HUZZAH!!! Hopefully the transition isn't too difficult, but we're definitely looking forward to seeing him more!