Thanksgiving 2022

We enjoyed a very short visit with John, Courtenay, et al Sunday evening to Monday morning. They stopped here before driving another 8 hours to the Mitchell's home. I made it to Charlie's good list by giving him a Halo costume and a Baby Yoda spinning watch. He talked to me more than a few times, even gave me the exasperated look when I teased him. The little girls made a game of hotel, giving all the bedrooms a number. I was kicked out of their room at bedtime, they took care of the going to sleep business. I stumbled on a delicious recipe for Pork Vindaloo using French Mustard (instead of the hard way of toasting and crushing mustard seeds). We ate that meal twice in a week! Thank you for coming to visit Lance family. 

Amelia had a haircut at 12:30 on Monday. Then we ran a few errands to get sushi ingredients for her speech presentation and Costco pies. We got home to find lots of tiny humans running around! Evelyn carted Nadia around on her hip as often as possible. Pasha attached himself to Phillip, occasionally opting for Everett. All the kids loved entertaining Ksenia, the spunkiest sweetheart ever!  

Tuesday we had a family-style session with Nina early in the morning. Evelyn and Josie stayed home with Yulia and Jeremy. I felt having a parent then family meeting would be beneficial to get us all on one page. Justin and I met with Nina first to update our family progress, trouble spots, and get clarification on some issues we recently encountered. Nina met with the older three alone just to hear how they are feeling without the pressure of parents in the room. Justin and I came in for the last few minutes to hear the feedback. Basically, we are all feeling overwhelmed with our current family dynamics. I am focusing on empathy, learning to put oneself into the other person's shoes before flipping out. 

I needed a couple ingredients for dinner so we went to Fred Meyer for a spot of shopping. We came home with squishmallows instead of food.  For a fun activity we went swimming at the rec center after Jeremy was done working at 3. Yulia and I did a spot of shopping at Walmart. I spoiled the kids with a lightsaber, tea set, and squishmallow. I've never seen a baby light up like Nadia does when she is near a stuffy. The kids made it a mission to bring Nadia stuffy after stuffy just to see her smile. Everett taught her to flop over on top of his Pancakes squishmallow. I got some coordinating outfits for the kids to wear for family photos. It was a fun trip. Pasha threw up in the top bunk in Amelia's room from coughing so hard. I don't miss those days. On a whole my kids can now catch their sick before making a mess. 

Wednesday we went on a walk around Wilson Ponds. The water was frozen which entertained the kids as they smashed all the ice they could reach. Yulia's under belly was cold, we wrapped Josie's hat around her belly for warmth! Yulia does not look pregnant from the back, it was quite funny to call her name and watch her watermelon belly turn to face us! She is a good sport. Lots of new sticks and leaves were added to the water. Ksenia made us all laugh with her duck impersonations. The girls spent an afternoon shopping at the mall. The boys went shooting. Personally, shooting sounded way more fun than the hectic, crazy fervor as folks searched for the perfect item. Nadia was teething, she was very sad most of the day. Jeremy was quite impressed with spoon sushi...he declared it delicious. After dinner the adults had a conversation about a job offer Jeremy got from the City of Morgan in Utah. Justin threw in his two bits about the hiring processes, importance of business attire/presentation, and working one's way up. Jeremy taught the boys how to play "Hand Clap" on the glockenspiel and drums. They jammed together several evenings and during lunch breaks off and on all week. 

Our Thanksgiving was relaxed and low key. Well, mostly relaxed...I was on my feet in the kitchen for 8-9 hours making food. My legs were aching by the time dinner was finally ready. Josie and Jeremy were both quite sick most of the day. Josie was running a fever and started coughing. Jeremy had tummy troubles. Nadia was teething and cranky. The TV was on playing Clone Wars most of the day. The kids helped assemble horse duvers for lunch, nothing too fancy just delish appetizers. I did not make my goal of getting the turkey into the oven by 2 pm, dinner was served at the late hour of 7 pm. That last hour was torture smelling it all come together with our tummies rumbling. Thank goodness I picked up a couple fun crafts to work on while dinner was in the last stages of preparation. Everyone looked very grateful with turkey headbands on. Our menu was: turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberry salad, green bean casserole, and rolls. Several family members called throughout the day, the best was chatting with Joe and Kat for a while. 

Friday morning and afternoon I had some photo sessions lined up. Jeremy and Yulia got their family photos completed before and after my afternoon session. My camera had a strange focusing setting I could not get straightened out, it was annoying to be in a session and miss focusing on the targeted subject. Afterward I had to reset my camera to factory settings. Grrrrrrr. Ksenia is the cutest doll baby, she literally looks like a doll. I got to curl lots of hair before the photos...thanks for letting me fix your hair Yulia! Evelyn was determined to make Christmas magically appear. She had half the walls stripped before I made it out of bed! Because of Evelyn we worked together to drag all the Christmas stuff inside and creating magic. I love to completely redecorate the front and living rooms, makes it feel like a new room. The kids each helped decorate a part of the house and help set up the kid tree. We dressed the house for Christmas in two days! That is a record. Thanks to Evelyn for making it happen. I was worried it would not happen due to feeling completely overwhelmed. I also stayed up late to score some Black Friday deals and get most of the online Christmas shopping done. 

Saturday we headed downtown to explore and get out of the house. Amelia braved driving there, including finding a parking spot in a parking garage! That is no small task. We walked around to Freak Alley. The best was browsing the fun Pop Art store. We all found fun gift tchotchkes. Josie clutched her strange pup in a cup thing. Took a few moments to agree on a lunch spot, only because the Pho place was closed. We ate at Boise Fry Company a majority win. Poor Nadia chucked her lunch after trying a new flavor, she might have texture issues! We swaggered down the main drag over to the Jump! building to climb on the rope pyramid. I showed Ksenia how to hang upside down, she was very interested to learn a new trick. Pasha looked like a Spiderman and made a comment about that, he replied, "Spiderman!" I responded "yes!" Pasha: Spiderman! Me: sees a dude walking down the sidewalk in full Spiderman get up. Talk about serendipitous.  We headed home after playing a while longer. Amelia went to Cassidy's home for a movie and PJ party. The adults went to see the new Wakanda movie, it was fine considering the weak plot and lesbians. LOL. I was there for the company and popcorn. 

We loved snuggling the babies during church on Sunday. I was thrilled to find a Christmas song for the Primary kids to learn. A couple weeks ago the music director asked the Primary to sing When Joseph Went to Bethlehem, I wanted to learn Mary's Lullaby...found a song that combined both. Jeremy and Yulia packed up for their long trip home after church. My kids were ready to have their spaces back, especially Amelia. She slept in our room on the nugget couch with a foam pad cushion. Her hips were aching! Plus she caught a nasty cold and just wanted to be in her own bed. We banded together after naps and recuperating for a bit to get the house cleaned before piano madness that comes Monday. I now have 17 students on Monday, it is a busy day but for me better to dedicate one long day than several spurts here and there.