Shhhhh.
Do you hear what I hear?
It’s a giant sigh of relief from everyone in our family. Because…
- School wraps up at the end of the day.
- John arrives home from his final work trip of the year this afternoon.
- Final exams are finished and the university is officially on break! I’ll monitor my e-mail account, but shouldn’t get more than a handful of work e-mails over the next two weeks.
- My brother and sister-in-law arrived safely Wednesday night*.
- Most gifts are wrapped and under the tree.
- A tentative menu has been set for the next TWO WEEKS. We are going to be hosting a lot of people and while I don’t usually meal plan that far in advance, the logistics of entertaining at the holidays have made it a necessity.
- Activities are paused until January – as of late last night (a final Christmas Eve choir rehearsal) there are no more practices for anything in 2024.
*Story 1: The house was a disaster**, the kids were already in PJs, I was a sweaty, dirty mess relieved to be about to jump into the shower when my phone rang. My father, who was supposed to collect my brother at the airport, had gone out to start his car and discovered it wouldn’t turn on. The mad scramble to get ready and out the door was rather insane. Then, of course, we discovered their flight had been delayed on the runway in Toronto and ended up having to wait for 30 minutes. But a Happy Thing came out of that, so I’ll call it a win.
**Story 2: Years ago, some friends gave us their treadmill. It was old – and a fairly basic model – but it worked. We used it and it served a purpose. But it squeaks if you run on it which grates on my nerves, and we weren’t using it enough to justify the amount of room it required. Plus, I wanted extra space in our little toy – and by “toy” at this point it almost exclusively means LEGO – area (where the treadmill was stored) to set up a yoga mat and our hand weights more permanently.
On Thursday – with lots of prep still needed for my brother’s arrival – I got the brilliant idea I could move the treadmill down the hall to our storage room. Out of sight, out of mind. I also knew we would need to dismantle it to get it upstairs – treadmills are SO heavy and unwieldy – and figured I could work away at it slowly over time. It was no easy feat to get it out of the family room, navigating around the couch and bookshelves and through a doorway. I got it to the storage room and *whomp, whomp* there was no way it was going to fit through that doorway. Even with the door off its hinges (yup, even tried that), no dice.
Then I decided I would just dismantle the treadmill in our tiny hallway. Only problem? Some of the Allen bolts were stripped. To make an EXTREMELY long story short (it involves a trip to the hardware store, tools from three neighbours, and at least four visits from my Dad trying to help), our treadmill is back in the family room from whence it came (*sigh*). I also know more about screw extractors and Allen keys and impact wrenches than I ever dreamed possible. I am currently reduced to trying to use a hacksaw to cut the remaining two stripped screws out.
At least the new LEGO nook is starting to look cozy.
HAPPY TIME WITH BELLE
Anyone who has had the pleasure of spending time around female teens know that the mood swings can be a sight to behold. Wednesday included some interesting swings. But the unexpected need to go to the airport gave us a chance to spend time belting out Christmas carols together and chatting about our shared love of Christmas.
Her: “Mom, I love everything about Christmas – even its essence.“
Me: “That’s great!”
Her: “What does essence mean?“
Since the flight was delayed in arriving and since supper had not been much to her liking (IT WAS SPAGHETTI – what kid doesn’t like spaghetti?), we popped into the airport Tim Hortons and split a bagel with cream cheese and a 10-pack of Timbits. I buy something at Tim Horton’s about once each year, but it was amazing what some Spotify and sugar can do for a teen’s mood.
TWINKLE LIGHTS
I’m pretty sure I previously said that I was going to list twinkle lights as a Happy Thing every single week in December. They truly are a Happy Part of every day. Lately, I’ve been sneaking out to the living room early in the morning, making a cup of coffee (bonus points for using peppermint mocha creamer), and sitting under a cozy blanket while looking at the lights. Everything is dark and quiet and I know soon it’s going to be the early-morning chaos of school prep…but the twinkle lights help me transition from Sleep Mode to Mom Mode a bit more gently.
As you likely are aware, Danes take coziness – hygge – very seriously. And their love of candles is unmatched. About 6 kilograms per person each year. But even I was surprised and impressed that my sister-in-law brought their traditional Danish “calendar candle” or kalenderlys across the ocean to continue the Christmas countdown in Canada. Hygge indeed…
THRIFTED SHOES
You may think the ONLY thing our family does is thrift and/or destroy shoes. Really, it is only one person who destroys shoes. Indy. Sometimes I’m confused by the rapidity of his footwear’s decline and then I watch him playing outside for about 35 seconds and I’m reminded why sneakers stand no chance. Or pants. He is up and down and sliding and running and jumping. Constantly. He is rarely not in motion.
- His go-to Asics are on their last desperate breaths for life. He has worn down the treads, broken two laces (which I’ve replaced; that repair is easy), and gotten them wet and muddy too many times to count.
- Our generally compliant child outright refuses to wear Bogs or rubber boots which would be so practical. It’s simply not a hill I feel like dying on…
- His inside shoes from school are starting to fall apart.
So last week…
I found him a pair of waterproof Merrill’s at a local kids consignment store. They were $35, but in like-new shape. They are to replace his Blundstones, though I’ll admit they aren’t quite as practical since they have laces and Blundstones are so nice since they just slide on!
But, alas, he lost ONE Blundstone at camp this summer, and is now in adult sizes and we are not going to spend over $300 on a pair of footwear for a child who will either lose – or destroy them – quickly.
The other shoe find was my favourite. Look at these super cool Nikes. These will become his new indoor shoes. $10. These pics aren’t edited at all – the orange laces are really that vibrant and florescent! Even though I generally dislike orange, these are so fun – I’d wear them in my size!
BIRTHDAY + CHRISTMAS CONCERT
My dad is notoriously difficult to buy for – he doesn’t need anything and doesn’t particularly care about material stuff. Also, if he wants something, he will go buy it for himself!
My parents love attending live music events and spend a good chunk of their winter going to concerts and music recitals (living in a university town, there are a lot of options – many of them free!). There is a fun Christmas event in the university chapel that sells out every year that I knew my Dad particularly enjoys. My birthday gift for him was buying tickets for the three of us to go.
It was so much fun. The choir was amazing. They had a great range of old and new songs with a variety of beats and styles (some songs in Zulu, folk songs, old Latin songs, modern music, carols). The band was amazing. My favourite part was when the choir came down and lined both sides of the chapel and led everyone in the singing of a traditional Christmas carol.
I enjoyed every minute and it was extremely festive.
BONUS HAPPY THINGS
- Christmas baking. Last week I asked the kids to each tell me three things that were non-negotiable food items this season. Belle picked: turkey dinner, cinnamon coffee cake for Christmas breakfast…and Saltine Toffee. The first two are a given, so I got all the ingredients for the final request and crossed that off the to-do list. I also made Peanut Brittle Bars. All the recipes will be linked in Suzanne’s upcoming Cookie Swap.
- Peppermint mocha creamer.
- Magic Bags for my feet.
- Sound machines.
- Sending Belle inside the airport arrivals section. I could see her through the window the whole time and she looked so grown up. She was the official welcoming committee, not me. She was standing in a crowd looking for her aunt and uncle, not me. It gave me warm fuzzies. I know I’ve said it a lot lately, but this independence thing comes with many, many perks!
- Pumpkin soup with croutons and cilantro. It looks like something that would take forever, but it comes together in minutes and it was both delicious and beautiful.
And that’s a wrap for the week. (A fitting pun for this time of year, no?)
Your turn:
- Who’s the hardest person on your To Buy For list?
- Have you attended a Christmas concert this year?
- Tell me about a home improvement task that ended up taking you longer than expected!
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Sara
Our incredible nanny just found a pair of Bogs for B in incredible condition. And they were only $7.99! B has also come home with two pairs of pants with giant holes in the knee in the last week. I’m trying to learn to sew and I’m wondering if I should turn them into shorts since the waist still fits perfectly!
mbmom11
My husband is hard to buy for- he’s a minimalist in terms of clothes, hates waste, and has very particular requirements for things. (Tools, electronics, hobbies). I get lucky sometimes, but a bunch of my presents to him are sitting in a drawer unused. I just bought one more thing for him on impulse, but I’ll probably return it.
I went to my son’s school Christtmas program, which was sweet. I did try to go to his band concert, but due to a mix up about when his group performed, I missed several songs. Sigh. I didn’t tell him though- he thinks I was there the whole time.
Every home improvement project takes longer than expected! Every fix starts out simple, and then it snowballs.
I’m loving our Christmas tree lights this year. I curl up in the evening under a fleecy blanket and just soak in the glow. I might even fall asleep there.