3rd week of December

[lilyelayne]

[lilyelayne]

Sorry I haven’t been checking in as much. Holidays are busy & I’ve been trying to put my phone away when I am home to better connect with the kids to try to balance out all the running & doing. I miss y’all, though.

G’s school’s holiday concert is tonight, so we’ll probably go out to eat after that.

J’s 18mo visit is this week. Anxious to see what his pedi has to say since he’s not walking. In the last week or so he’s come up with 4 words, though, so that’s a nice little improvement. I just hope he keeps them. He tends to use one word for a few days & then not ever again. At least he signs!

[kartish]

Been away as well. Things have been crazy here, with normal holiday busyness. But there's also DH's recovery, which is not going as smoothly as we'd hoped. And my sister is set for surgery next week to have her gallbladder removal, so I've been helping her meal prep for following the surgery.

We think we found a replacement childcare facility, their last day is today at the current school. We'll start the new one in the new year.

My grandpa is in poor health, so my dad arranged a sort of last Christmas together last minute, so my brother and I are flying out there Christmas day, to spend a few days with that side of the family. My grandma also is recovering from shoulder surgery.

And I'm dealing with the start of year end and an audit at work, so stepping away at the busiest time of year is not awesome, but I'm super grateful to my bosses for giving me the leave.

[dreemkin]

lilyelayne I applaud that! Good job. About J, I hope that the doctor has some good advice on the next steps, at his appointment! GL!

kartish I'm sorry to hear about your grandfather! I hope you enjoy a nice holiday together. Wow you are so busy! Remember to breathe!

Hang in there everyone. We are in the Christmas countdown like crazy here too.

Tonight Gatsby had his yearly appointment (which just happens to be bad timing). He did great though. He has had a nearly fatal vaccination reaction in the past, so getting what he needs is a little nerve racking and it was his rabies year. He did great though and seems to be in good health overall!

I still have to wrap the girls gifts. It's hard when they are always around. After we get them to bed, I'm physically and mentally beat. Oh well it'll need to get done eventually. I am also going over holiday meal planning as I am hosting my side on Christmas eve eve. I have to get the girls dresses/tights/shoes figured out. I still have to clean and get ready to have guests.

My sister is pregnant guise!! She had a good u/s with one strong heartbeat. I'm so happy for them and excited to have another nephew/niece.

[kartish]

That's awesome for your sister dreemkin! I hope she has a healthy and smooth pregnancy.

[dreemkin]

Today I went to A's Christmas party! I usually have H go since I drop off and pick up every day. This is the first one of 4 that I've gone to and it was really fun! She had a blast and was so proud to bring me. Treats and teachers gifts done! Then since H was WFH I was able to go to the gym! I'm glad for that!

Now I have to make up N's treat bags. N got a letter home that she was recommended by her teacher and through classroom observations for the enrichment program! I am so proud! It was like she received her Hogwarts letter ... jk that would have been way cooler.

[dreemkin]

My big girl is 7 😭😭😭 when did this happen?! I am making her birthday cupcakes (she requested the Reeses peanut butter cup stuffed cupcakes drool) and we are going to dinner tonight with auntie and gma/gpa!

They both had pj day at school and then they (and H) are mine for two weeks and 1 day! I am so happy! Let the holidays begin!

[lilyelayne]

kartish thinking of you. I hope this Christmas with your family is lovely.

dreemkin happy birthday, N!! And congrats to her on the enrichment program!

How are you doing aggiebug?

[lilyelayne]

J’s 18mo appointment went mostly as expected. He got an early intervention referral because of his lack of talking. The pedi said we could wait til he 2 to see if he catches up or go ahead for an evaluation because sometimes therapy helps even this young. I took the referral because he’s getting more and more frustrated about communicating. The pedi says since he walks so well holding a finger that his not walking is a personality choice not a medical problem, and we might look forward to similar “can but won’t” personality choices when it comes to things like potty learning 😂

My Arkansas cousins are coming in to do Christmas this weekend. My grandmother entrusted me with the cooking, and I’m so grateful for that because I would rather her spend her limited energy on the great-grands instead of cooking. DH & I made seafood gumbo yesterday, and I’ve got a ham going for Sunday’s “Christmas” lunch.

My SIL texted yesterday & asked if we could keep her boys tonight because she & BIL have a Christmas party they want to go to. So I’m bringing them along to my grandmother’s tonight, and if SIL & BIL are half as hungover as I expect, I’ll bring my nephews to my mom’s tomorrow morning.

[aggiebug]

Hey oh. December has just been nuts. I feel like things are actually calming down now but my parents are here so still busy!

I lost my voice Wednesday and still don't have it back yet so that has been interesting. This is a first as a parent of young kids (I have had it several times before but I guess not in the last 3 yrs). I have come to realize how much awareness of the entire situation I have compared to others. It's totally a mom thing, I'm not unique but even with my parents here and my H home I am struggling to communicate what the kids need or are doing and need correcting etc. It's more amusing than anything but after 4 days it's getting old 😆.

[kartish]

aggiebug I hope you get your voice back soon. I lost my voice last week and it was driving me crazy.

We celebrated Christmas with my family yesterday, then went straight to DH's family party for his grandma's side of the family. It was super fun at my mom's, we did a fun gift exchange game.
We also hosted the kids craft at the family party, helping kids decorate clear ornaments by filling with glitter or pompoms and stickers and whatnot. It turned out really cute and all the kids had a blast.
A dumped a whole thing if purple glitter on both himself and me, so that was fun. I still have some in my hair I think.

[aggiebug]

kartish aww sounds like a lovely weekend 😊. Lol at A dumping glitter on himself and you 😄. You will have that on you for forever!

And yes no voice is annoying! Could be worse the cold that caused it has been quite mild otherwise so I am not really complaining but I will appreciate my voice returning.

[dreemkin]

We had my side over yesterday for Christmas since my sister and family have to leave on Christmas morning. I don't feel great from eating poorly yestersay but made it to the gym this morning anyway. Trying to take it easy today! We are all going to church at 3pm and then over to my cousin's house for my mom's side of the family. That's going to be crazy with drunk cousin's husband's and crazy loud kids running around. Yay *sarcasm*

Merry Christmas everyone!! Hope you are having fun!