Skipping Town

Kicking Christmas into high gear. Friday was the girls' last day of school. Greta went out after school with two friends to get a manicure. And then--once home, we're home to stay. Lucia wanted to HANG OUT WITH A FRIEND this weekend and I said no. This is Christmas family time. Everyone stays home. The kids are mine until after Christmas.  Friday night I made broccoli cheddar soup and we watched Unaccompanied Minors, a Christmas movie the kids really like and that we watch every year. Saturday was my shopping day--I finished it all by heading out very very early in the morning so I could beat the crowds at Target, Ulta, Trader Joe's, TJ Maxx, and more. I finished putting our Christmas cards together--they won't arrive until after Christmas, but they'll arrive this week at some point. We all spent a lot of time working on our homemade gifts. In the evening, we had TikTok pasta (pasta with tomatoes and feta) and watched a Hallmark movie called The Snow Must Go On, whe...

Trying to shift to holiday status even though the kids still have school and I still have work. The girls and I watched a Hallmark movie Wednesday evening and Frozen on Thursday evening. We always watch both Frozen movies during the Christmas season--they just seem like part of the holiday for us. I was flooded with memories of watching Frozen with the kids when they were so so so little, in Maplewood, how magical the songs were, how obsessed they were with Anna and Elsa, their little Anna and Elsa nightgowns that they wore constantly. Take me back. But also, keep me right here. The kids are so funny and so much fun. I can't wait for Andrew to get home from CA and for our holiday break to begin so we can be together 24/7 without pesky school and work. Christmas family time! 

I'm having a hard time remembering these days I've skipped. Thursday was mostly us just getting through work and school, biding time until winter break. On Friday we went to Phipps with Mom and Dad to see the winter lights--always a highlight of the season. We went out to dinner afterward at the Murray Avenue Grill.  We tried to go to Connellsville on Saturday for a visit and some Gabe's shopping with Mom and Dad, but the forecast was ominously snowy, and some alarming signs on the highway (ROAD WILL BE CLOSED / ONLY TIRES WITH CHAINS WILL PASS or something like that) made us turn around after about twenty minutes. Instead, Andrew and I went out to do some shopping and then started cleaning out the basement in preparation for cleaning out the kitchen. Saturday night we watched Christmas Chronicles 2.  On Sunday, Lucia went to a birthday party while Andrew, Greta, and I went to a Penguins game, with "Club Casamigos" tickets courtesy of our retaining wall guy. We we...

Sunday, December 7 Today, in the middle of the afternoon, we all got dressed in holiday-tastic outfits and headed to the Carnegie Museum of Art for a family photo shoot. The museum offers these photo shoots every years, but this was the first year I've had the wherewithal to snag a slot. The photographer took us all over the museum and posed us in a variety of spots--the Christmas trees, the Sol DeWitt wall, the Grand Staircase, the Hall of Sculptures--and in a variety of single, pair, and family arrangements. I can't wait to see the photos.  Sunday evening we all gathered in front of the fire to watch The Christmas Chronicles, always a favorite.  Monday, December 8 Monday I worked from home. Lucia stayed home from school with a cold/cough. She was feeling well enough by the end of the day to go to Target with me after work to pick up a few groceries and gifts she needed for a friend's birthday. Monday evening, Lucia shocked me by asking me to read her "place essay...

Each day is full to the brim. Thursday I took Farrah to the vet for her annual checkup, a well-timed appointment since she's been having some diarrhea this week. The vet confirmed that it is likely due to the anxiety brought about by our being gone for a week. Poor baby. One college tuition payment later, we left with some probiotics, some prescription dogfood, a year's worth of Heartgard and Next guard, and a fresh round of vaccines. Friday, after work and school, we went to the Market Square market again for some additional browsing. The kids each bought themselves something (they can't resist, even though Christmas is coming), and I picked up a few gifts. Back at home, we ordered Pizza Hut (the kids' choice) and watched a Hallmark movie in front of the fire. Saturday Andrew and I took part in celebrating the life of Jeremy's dad at a funeral service and luncheon. We were glad we could be there and see everyone. Saturday night was the Anniversary Dinner Dance at t...

It snowed so much Monday night that the kids had a snow day on Tuesday. Andrew and I both worked from home. The kids slept in and Lucia went for a run with some of her teammates in Schenley. Greta worked on some travel journaling. Piano lessons were cancelled, so in the evening I made chili, and then we put on a fire and watched a Hallmark movie with the inane title "It's Time for Us to Come Home for Christmas." The characters all had interchangeable one-syllable names--Bess, Cass, Ted. It was wholly enjoyable.  The house is getting Christmassy. I've put up most of our decorations, concentrating everything in the rooms that are not the family room. We put the lights on the tree. I'll decorate it tomorrow. 

Officially speeding toward Christmas. After school and work and XC today we went out and got our Christmas tree and weaths for the windows. Usually we get two trees--one for the family room and one for the library--but this morning I got confirmation from our kitchen contractor that we should get only one tree for the library, which means our renovation looks likely to begin this month (a renovation that encompasses the kitchen as well as the entire family room space). So, we got the biggest Christmas tree we could find. It's over 9 feet tall (Andrew had to trim a few inches since the ceiling in the library is 9 feet) and gorgeously wide. I still may decide to squeeze a second tree somewhere in the house--maybe at the top of the stairs?--but for now, we have one beautiful tree. We'll decorate tomorrow. Snow is imminent. My favorite holiday and season are finally here. I wish we could have no school or work for this entire month.