Goodbye November

267th Day of Quarantine.

36F was the high.

Still reading Midnight Sun.

Quesadillas for dinner.

The kids put out lists of "forgotten items" (usually we forgo the letter to santa in a mailbox, and simply send it during nikolausstiefel, but this year, they had a candy cane tree, so we went to grab one and send off the letter.) in their shoes. 

----- 

266th Day of Quarantine.

42F was the high.

I embroidered Janie's name on a stocking for Deb, and while we were out, we delivered gifts to Abby and her sisters, Nick, Willow and Zoey!

I started Midnight Sun today, and am totally loving it.  I know that Twilight is known for being corny and ridiculous and I really don't care.  In fact, I spent my time following along in both books so that I could know what Bella was thinking (since Edward can't read her mind.) = 0

We had enchiladas for dinner.

-------

265th Day of Quarantine.

The high today was a partly sunny 44F.

In my dream last night, we were raising an alligator (to eat) in a barn with 6 doors that I couldn't find the key to lock.  The alligator needed to be kept under the drizzling shower head, and I was annoyed that the kids kept letting it out. = )

We went to our nature spot to sketch a winter solstice observation (we are still running a bit early in the course.)  The big girls were tired and gave me a bit of pushback. The littler ones enjoyed getting out of the house, and seeing some of the fun things in nature this time of year.

We had other errands to run too.  We went by the pharmacy in a failed attempt to pick up William's prescription toothpaste, then to the candy cane tree & Santa letter drop off!

Then we went to pick up some of my mops supplies for tonight, drop off a white elephant gift for our next meeting, and to pick up Avia.  Since Billy was back a day early, we were able to return Sarah's truck that she kindly lent us to sit in the airport parking lot. (So that I wouldn't be without access to a car that fits everyone, since my car is still at the mechanic, but that's another story.)

For dinner we had spaghetti.  It was simple, quick and well received.

Grace received a big package of goodies from her friend Zoey and was very excited.  Poor Juliet was sad, understandably so.  Sometimes it's tough to be a twin.

-------

264th Day of Quarantine.

47F was the expected high today.

The kids set up a pleasant tea time today.  My plate display is displaced because of the Christmas decorations, so we 'made due' with just a fancy plate. = )

Beef and broccoli for dinner, since it's not a dish that Billy likes and he wasn't due home until after dinner time.

Billy came home a day early, and I am so happy to have him here!  I do not sleep well when he's gone.

-----

263

35F was the high today.

Avia and Seven came by.

In science, the big girls were working with the Kinex set that I bought just for the purpose, and so I pulled out the small garage sale set that I picked up last spring for the other 3. Fun was had by all. = )

I packed up my Secret Santa gift: cupcake topper numbers!

Lasagna on the menu for dinner.

-------

262nd day of Quarantine. Kind of, Billy left today, on a small plane bound for Georgia.  The house feels too big and kind of empty without him here, despite the number of children I have running around. ; )

33F is the meager high we saw today.

We got our first snow of the year, which made for a fun recess time for the kids. = )

It wasn't a big snow, but they managed a Texas sized snow man. = )

For dinner I made a crockpot roast & roast sandwiches, since it is not one of Billy's favorites.  Many of us enjoyed the roast, but WGJ all ate their slab of roast on buttered bread instead.

--------

261st day of Quarantine.

41F.

Online church this morning, followed by grocery pick up.

Shots since Billy was heading to Georgia tomorrow. = (

Tree lighting, virtual

Tikka masala for dinner, before Billy leaves. = (

------

later days

Tree Lighting

Our Village had their Tree lighting on Sunday about the same time that Billy's relatives were heading out.  So, I took all five of my little ones to the tree lighting solo.  We missed out last year, and since we were slightly over zealous, we were the second or third ones there.  Next year, I need to park elsewhere though.*

A trio of ukulele players entertained us with Christmas music until it was time to light the tree. = )  My children weren't nearly as impressed as I was, but did enjoy running around with some of their classmates.

Santa arrived by firetruck, ringing sleigh bells as he greeted everyone.

Somehow, we found ourselves at almost the very front of the line, and they were the second group to go see Santa. My children practically buried him, as they descended upon him.

They each received a candy cane from Mrs. Claus, and then took a turn in the cookie line.  We found an out of the way spot to enjoy the cookies.

We regrouped once more in front of the tree.  But we were all cold and ready to go at this point, but my car was stuck.

We took the opportunity to cross the street to the grocer and bought milk.  It was a good call, since we did end up with every bit of snow they predicted.

later days

*When it was time to go, we were blocked in by the firetruck.

Waiting for Christmas

Waiting for Christmas is so tough when you are a kid!  We did our best to bide our time.

I am working hard to let the kids have natural consequences for things (i.e. If you don't get your backpack out of the car, it will still be in there the next morning.) I'm such a micromanager, that it has been hard to not just grab it for them, but I'm working on it. 

On that same note, I'm also a big fan of trading off my chores for rewards.  The three big kids have been packing up their lunch each night, so that they can stay up an extra 5 minutes.*  I don't know how long this will last, but it is amazing.  I help them clean up a bit, and pick out the correct containers, but they have been doing an awesome job.**

Legos have been a big hit with the twins lately, and while Avia was here one afternoon, the big kids wanted to join in building too, before she left.

Juliet and Grace love to dress up!

Why play on your own computer, when you can just watch big sister play?

I assembled Aunt Rocky's Christmas present, and of course William wanted to play in it.  The twins wanted to help, so they put on the cover. = )

The snow had melted just a bit, but then it started to come down again.

Alice was so excited to build her airplane model, and was beyond disappointed when the paint and glue were dried out. = (  We tried soaking them in water to see if that would help, but couldn't recover them.

Billy and I made a special trip to the dollar tree while everyone was in school on Friday, and got Alice some paint, and glue.  As fate would have it, there was one small diy wooden birdhouse model right next to the paint.  So, of course, I bought it for Emily, since she lives for crafts. = )  They were quite excited to get to work.

The snow did eventually stop.

It picked back up after the morning Christmas eve service, and with no schools in session, the plow and salt trucks were scarce. So we didn't go anywhere that evening. = )

Alice was the last one awake on Christmas eve, so she wrote the note to Santa.  We have a chimney for our furnace, but no inside fireplace.  Alice was worried that santa would be scared of the dark in our basement, but I told her that he could probably tap Rudolph and his nose. Because of that, she left Rudolph the longest carrot she could find, and several shorter ones for the other reindeer. = )

Especially on Christmas eve, it is nice to slow down and reflect, instead of go go go, on what an amazing gift this season brought.

later days

*William, not yet 6, does not have any minutes, so this was 100% increase for him.  Emily has 10 minutes because she loads her own dishes into the dishwasher and now 5 more for lunch making. Alice has 10 for dishes, 2 for hanging up her own clothes, and 2 for collecting all the dirty laundry from around the house, plus her 5 for making lunch. = )

And maybe don't mention it to them, but it takes them longer than 5 minutes to make their lunch.  They just do it so cheerfully and willingly!

**Emily is to thank for this actually.  One night she made her own lunch so that I "could go to bed earlier," since I'm usually very tired in the evenings. = )  She something special, our Emily.