Outtakes

We had a lovely Thanksgiving with our New York family.  The food was delicious, but being with family was the best part.  Bode really enjoyed being surrounded by so much love and attention.  I enjoyed seeing my children spend time interacting with their family! And I loved seeing everyone that I haven't seen in a few years.  Hard to believe that time goes so fast. It was a great day with family...a perfect Thanksgiving.

But we are oh-so-tired from the move!  It has been a lot harder than we ever imagined. It has physically and mentally worn us out.  Bode, Gianna and I are all sick with snotty noses and coughs. We spent the rest of the holiday weekend in recovery mode. I tried to catch up on sleep.  During nap times, I would run out and grab a coffee.  I love my children dearly, but I am in need of a break. I need time alone.

Not one for "down time," Bob spent the weekend working on the house. He unpacked a lot of boxes (thank you!) and organized the too-chaotic-to-live-in messes so that they were semi-liveable.  I did manage to unpack the living room.  But there is still a lot to be done.

The one project that is really pressing me is Christmas cards.  I take Christmas cards very seriously.  I want the right photo to send out to all of our friends and family. And this year, I am feeling the need to capture the photo that says, "Whew! We made it!"  This year has been a crazy, hard year.  And I am so very thankful that we are ending it on a high note.  And I want our holiday card to say, "Yes, it is ending on a high note. And we thank you all for your love and good wishes and send it right back to you." A high note!

Today I pulled out the camera and I asked the babies to say "cheese."  But things weren't going my way. As I've witnessed in other photo sessions, getting two babies to look the same way and smile is almost impossible.  And when you throw a dog into the mix, forget it!  I felt like I was running a three-ring circus.  I was pulling my hair out trying to get these monkeys to smile for me.

And then the morning light disappeared. My window had closed. Witnessing my frustration, Bob invited Bode, Gianna and Priscilla outside for some play time.  I stomped around the house, irritated and depressed, thinking that we should just forget about the photo completely this year. I hung up Gianna's dress and Bode's outfit, and put the camera away (after reviewing the snaps I'd taken to verify that yes, these would not do). After I calmed down, I put on my shoes and looked out the window.  And what did I see?  I saw Bob with his camera, trying to snap the right photo of Bode, Gianna and Priscilla outside.  He had Bode, Gianna and Priscilla all sitting closely in front of a Christmas-y looking pine.  This is why I love this man! He is so great. He tries so hard to help me.   I joined them outside, but we didn't take any more photos. Instead, we did what we came out for: we played. We ran around our new yard, climbed a tree, and played tag.  Bode doesn't get the concept of "tag, you're it" yet. Instead of running away from the person that is "it," Bode runs toward him. It is pretty funny.  I even lowered my stance on "no juice!" this weekend and both babies enjoyed a juice box treat after the fun. (They have been sick, and I am all for liquids - any liquids - right now. I think Gianna went to sleep with a bottle of apple juice Thanksgiving eve!). 

So things weren't going my way this morning.  I will keep trying.  Hopefully I'll get that photo! If you don't receive a holiday card from us this year, then you'll know why.
I'm joking!
xo

Supermarket sweep

One good thing about this move to New York is that we will have family nearby (well, 2 1/2 hours away).   Part of the reason I am handling this move to New York so well (?) is because we have resources available to us on the other end. 

We arrive in New York really late. Dawn has offered to pick up some groceries and  put them into the house for us. What a relief! It will be so nice to have milk and some other essentials waiting for us when we get in. Last night, I had written up my grocery list. I asked Bob to look it over.  He read the list, with this look of disbelief on his face.  I asked what was wrong with my grocery list.  He said, "This is only to get us through the first night?"   He nixed the list, implying that I had been a little too detailed and the list a little too long.  "You're acting like Dawn is your personal shopper, and you're going to be holed up in the house for  a month."

Really?  Because I thought asking for 1 dozen organic, free range eggs and 3 gallons of whole organic milk was necessary for us, and helpful to Dawn.  I looked over the grocery list again. I conceded that I didn't need to request a block of medium cheddar, a bag of shredded cheddar and a container of shredded parm.

That's when Bob decided to play a joke on his sister. We made up a grocery list of things we "needed" for the one night, "essentials" to get us through the first couple of days in New York. We guffawed and snorted as we named the wackiest groceries we could think of.  We roared, thinking about Dawn picking up gallon jugs of one item and  6 packs of another item. I won't detail our list, because our "wacky" items are actually "real" items to the general public.  (we are the freaks) I will say that some items we laughed about that didn't make the list were a 1 lb bag of Twizzlers and a giant tub of margarine.*  It was hilarious (to us).

I emailed the (wacky) list to Dawn, and waited for her response. We knew that she would see the list and respond, "C'mon you guys...where's the real list?" 

Instead, she took us seriously. She responded, prompting me (nicely) about the more nutritional aspects of food for Bode and Gianna. Where were the fruits and vegetables? What would Gianna eat, or would this food be sufficient for her? 

I told Bob about Dawn's response, and we laughed some more.  Ha, ha, ha.  I laughed into my pillow all night, thinking up more silly "essential" items. We are obviously loopy and in serious need of some comic relief!!!

In the end, I sent Dawn the "real" list, complete with fruit, items to get us through the first couple of days.  Thank you, Dawn, for playing along with us! Sorry that we are so desperate for humor that we had to play a joke on you!  We love you and thank you for all of your help!


On a more serious note, have you donated to your local area food bank yet?  We are fortunate that we can "joke" about buying groceries. I am emptying my pantry and donating some items. I also plan to buy some more canned goods to round out our donation for our local food bank. Think about it.
Happy Friday.

xo

* for the record, I happen to love Twizzlers.  I prefer butter or olive oil over margarine. It was more the absurdity of Dawn searching the grocery store for these "needed" items, than the actual items themselves.  I realize that everyone has different grocery essentials!