Twas the week after Christmas
To commemorate/ celebrate a week of no school after Christmas, I wanted to do a recap of the week. Not because anything exciting happened, because it didn't; rather because the KIDS DIDN'T HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL. That meant no early mornings, no complaining about school, no homework, no complaining about school, no tests, no complaining about school- you get the idea.
I was so giddy about our easy going week at home after Christmas that I penned a poem (of sorts).
Twas the week after Christmas and all through the house,
All the creatures were stirring, though hopefully neither mice nor a mouse
For after the excitement and exuberance of Christmas had passed
The children were not at school but rather at home having a blast
No algebra, history, English, or German homework too
Oh no, these children really had not a thing they had to do
So their days consisted of playing all day and going to bed really late
Instead of going to school all day and then early bedtime which they hate
They knew that all too soon their merriment would end
For this glorious freedom to continue they could not pretend
And so Sunday night they went, downcast, early to bed
Of their vacation from school it could not be said
That they didn't enjoy each moment at home
Or suffer from over homework and tests syndrome
Their vacation was over and that was a fact
They had not the inclination or energy to overreact
They accepted their fate of going to school
But like it they didn't and thought it uncool
That vacation was over, oh life can be cruel
When vacation is over and it's time to go back to school
Incredible, isn't it??
The week before Christmas (or rather the week of since it fell on a Thursday) was nice too but there was so much work/ last minute stuff for the adults and anticipation for the kids that it was hard to pinpoint a particular feeling about the week. It was good but there was so much going on.
But the week after Christmas (or the five days Monday- Friday) that the kids didn't have school and we didn't have a major holiday to celebrate (by major I mean one that requires a lot of work on my part :)) was quite delightful. The kids had their new things from Christmas which made them happy and they didn't have school which made them doubly happy. We did nothing major during the week and I documented some of the week's fairly mundane activities just for posterity.
Monday- Katy & Scott and girls were still here for half of the day. After they left, I cleaned up the kitchen from lunch and then relaxed. It had been the first time I'd done that in about a week. I started to read a book I'd received for Christmas and then felt sleepy so I decided to lie down for a minute... and fell asleep. The girls played AG dolls all day together. Jacob was with Malcolm all day playing on Malcolm's Xbox. When Donnie came home from work we ate dinner and then Donnie took a little nap. Monday morning had been hard on him as he'd gotten up early to go to work. The girls were awake until around 1:45 AM(!) Monday into Tuesday. They were having a sleepover in Abby's room. I was awake at that time, too (that nap came back to haunt me) and I could hear them.
Tuesday- I took Jacob to Prodigy Gym in late morning so he could work out with his trainer. Casey went with us. The girls played together most of the day- they played American Girl Dolls. Jacob was with Malcolm and Casey most of the day. I felt guilty that I'd done virtually no cooking since Christmas Eve/ Christmas (Monday's dinner was a hodge podge of left overs. I didn't cook) so I made a pan of lasagna. When Alyssa came downstairs and smelled the sauce for the the lasagna simmering on the stove, she asked, "What am I going to eat?" and I remembered why it's been a year since I last made lasagna :(. Fortunately, we still had leftovers for my picky eater and she was spared the awful fate of eating homemade lasagna.
Wednesday- The girls played most of the morning together and then Grandma (Donnie's mom) came over to take the girls out shopping. They had scant little money (Alyssa had spent all of hers at the AG store that we went to on Sunday) and Alyssa didn't want to go at first. I gave them some money to spend, figuring that since we weren't doing any activities that week that would cost money (like going to a movie, skating, etc,) the money I gave them would be something akin to activity money. Bev also bought them things when the money I gave them ran out. She took them to Sam's Club which we never go to since we aren't members. Alyssa got some Star Wars novelty items. Both girls got purses at TJ Maxx. Abby had quite a few Starbucks gifts cards as does Bev so they finished their outing at Starbucks. Abby gave Alyssa one of her Starbucks gift cards to use. Malcolm and Jacob played PlayStation at our house. After dinner, Jacob went to the mall with some of his friends and Donnie, Alyssa, Abby and I watched Jurassic World.
Thursday was New Year's Eve. Donnie worked in the morning but was home by early afternoon. We decided to eat a late lunch/ early dinner at Outback since we had gift cards to use there. Donnie and Jacob said the steaks they ordered were good. I felt like my food was sodium saturated; I'm sure I consumed a week's worth of sodium in one sitting. Alyssa loved the bread they have there and refused to order a kid's meal. She said she only wanted mashed potatoes and that she'd be happy with mashed potatoes and bread. I was worried that the mashed potatoes would be "jazzed up" with herbs and whatnot and Alyssa wouldn't like them. Despite the waitress saying they weren't jazzed up, they were, and Alyssa took one bite of mashed potatoes and refused to eat more. So her New Year's Eve meal consisted of bread. We went home after that and the teens prepared for their plans for the evening (obviously they weren't ringing in the new year with us). Jacob went to Whitney's house where "his group" was all hanging out. Abby went to Arianna's for a sleepover with three other dance friends. Alyssa, Donnie and I watched the Minion's movie (we'd never seen it and oh my word- I have a low tolerance for dumb movies and almost couldn't watch it). Alyssa then wanted to "see the singers" on TV so we went from watching a bad movie to listening/ watching bad singers and "entertainers" ring in the New Year. Good times!
Friday- I honestly don't remember what we did that day and I didn't take any notes (the latter is the only way I knew what we had done prior in the week) so I can't account for it too well. We all slept in. Donnie was home all day. I picked Abby up at some point from Arianna's. I started to take down Christmas decorations. That's all I have for the day... Nothing spectacular... It was still a good day because of NO SCHOOL!
So that's Monday through Friday of last week.
Update of this week (the kids' first week back from break)- Jacob took a nap Monday after school from 5:30- 8:30 because he was so tired... Yes, this week has been rough... and sleep deprivation is not fun!! And school is the worst of all :(.
Here a few pictures from last week:
...playing with your sister kind of week (for the girls anyway!)
... and putting them away for the year.
I also took the time to enjoy looking at my favorite ornaments on our trees before it was time to put them away.
Not sure how two lbs. of meat and two lbs. of cheese can be unappealing but it is for Alyssa! I liked the lasagna!!
The girls and grandma when they came home from shopping...
Bev bought us some Skinny Pop popcorn while she was shopping with the girls
It was perfect to put in the popcorn bowl she got us for Christmas and eat while we watched a movie.
I was so giddy about our easy going week at home after Christmas that I penned a poem (of sorts).
Twas the week after Christmas and all through the house,
All the creatures were stirring, though hopefully neither mice nor a mouse
For after the excitement and exuberance of Christmas had passed
The children were not at school but rather at home having a blast
No algebra, history, English, or German homework too
Oh no, these children really had not a thing they had to do
So their days consisted of playing all day and going to bed really late
Instead of going to school all day and then early bedtime which they hate
They knew that all too soon their merriment would end
For this glorious freedom to continue they could not pretend
And so Sunday night they went, downcast, early to bed
Of their vacation from school it could not be said
That they didn't enjoy each moment at home
Or suffer from over homework and tests syndrome
Their vacation was over and that was a fact
They had not the inclination or energy to overreact
They accepted their fate of going to school
But like it they didn't and thought it uncool
That vacation was over, oh life can be cruel
When vacation is over and it's time to go back to school
Incredible, isn't it??
The week before Christmas (or rather the week of since it fell on a Thursday) was nice too but there was so much work/ last minute stuff for the adults and anticipation for the kids that it was hard to pinpoint a particular feeling about the week. It was good but there was so much going on.
But the week after Christmas (or the five days Monday- Friday) that the kids didn't have school and we didn't have a major holiday to celebrate (by major I mean one that requires a lot of work on my part :)) was quite delightful. The kids had their new things from Christmas which made them happy and they didn't have school which made them doubly happy. We did nothing major during the week and I documented some of the week's fairly mundane activities just for posterity.
Monday- Katy & Scott and girls were still here for half of the day. After they left, I cleaned up the kitchen from lunch and then relaxed. It had been the first time I'd done that in about a week. I started to read a book I'd received for Christmas and then felt sleepy so I decided to lie down for a minute... and fell asleep. The girls played AG dolls all day together. Jacob was with Malcolm all day playing on Malcolm's Xbox. When Donnie came home from work we ate dinner and then Donnie took a little nap. Monday morning had been hard on him as he'd gotten up early to go to work. The girls were awake until around 1:45 AM(!) Monday into Tuesday. They were having a sleepover in Abby's room. I was awake at that time, too (that nap came back to haunt me) and I could hear them.
Tuesday- I took Jacob to Prodigy Gym in late morning so he could work out with his trainer. Casey went with us. The girls played together most of the day- they played American Girl Dolls. Jacob was with Malcolm and Casey most of the day. I felt guilty that I'd done virtually no cooking since Christmas Eve/ Christmas (Monday's dinner was a hodge podge of left overs. I didn't cook) so I made a pan of lasagna. When Alyssa came downstairs and smelled the sauce for the the lasagna simmering on the stove, she asked, "What am I going to eat?" and I remembered why it's been a year since I last made lasagna :(. Fortunately, we still had leftovers for my picky eater and she was spared the awful fate of eating homemade lasagna.
Wednesday- The girls played most of the morning together and then Grandma (Donnie's mom) came over to take the girls out shopping. They had scant little money (Alyssa had spent all of hers at the AG store that we went to on Sunday) and Alyssa didn't want to go at first. I gave them some money to spend, figuring that since we weren't doing any activities that week that would cost money (like going to a movie, skating, etc,) the money I gave them would be something akin to activity money. Bev also bought them things when the money I gave them ran out. She took them to Sam's Club which we never go to since we aren't members. Alyssa got some Star Wars novelty items. Both girls got purses at TJ Maxx. Abby had quite a few Starbucks gifts cards as does Bev so they finished their outing at Starbucks. Abby gave Alyssa one of her Starbucks gift cards to use. Malcolm and Jacob played PlayStation at our house. After dinner, Jacob went to the mall with some of his friends and Donnie, Alyssa, Abby and I watched Jurassic World.
Thursday was New Year's Eve. Donnie worked in the morning but was home by early afternoon. We decided to eat a late lunch/ early dinner at Outback since we had gift cards to use there. Donnie and Jacob said the steaks they ordered were good. I felt like my food was sodium saturated; I'm sure I consumed a week's worth of sodium in one sitting. Alyssa loved the bread they have there and refused to order a kid's meal. She said she only wanted mashed potatoes and that she'd be happy with mashed potatoes and bread. I was worried that the mashed potatoes would be "jazzed up" with herbs and whatnot and Alyssa wouldn't like them. Despite the waitress saying they weren't jazzed up, they were, and Alyssa took one bite of mashed potatoes and refused to eat more. So her New Year's Eve meal consisted of bread. We went home after that and the teens prepared for their plans for the evening (obviously they weren't ringing in the new year with us). Jacob went to Whitney's house where "his group" was all hanging out. Abby went to Arianna's for a sleepover with three other dance friends. Alyssa, Donnie and I watched the Minion's movie (we'd never seen it and oh my word- I have a low tolerance for dumb movies and almost couldn't watch it). Alyssa then wanted to "see the singers" on TV so we went from watching a bad movie to listening/ watching bad singers and "entertainers" ring in the New Year. Good times!
Friday- I honestly don't remember what we did that day and I didn't take any notes (the latter is the only way I knew what we had done prior in the week) so I can't account for it too well. We all slept in. Donnie was home all day. I picked Abby up at some point from Arianna's. I started to take down Christmas decorations. That's all I have for the day... Nothing spectacular... It was still a good day because of NO SCHOOL!
So that's Monday through Friday of last week.
Update of this week (the kids' first week back from break)- Jacob took a nap Monday after school from 5:30- 8:30 because he was so tired... Yes, this week has been rough... and sleep deprivation is not fun!! And school is the worst of all :(.
Here a few pictures from last week:
Jacob and Ceci & Sophie before Katy's family headed back to Canada on Monday
It was a pajama all day wearing...
big smiling...
...playing with your sister kind of week (for the girls anyway!)
Meanwhile, I took care of washing all of the Christmas linens...
... and putting them away for the year.
We snacked on after Christmas clearance candy throughout the week. The only thing better about eating candy is eating candy that was purchased at 50% off or greater savings!
I also took the time to enjoy looking at my favorite ornaments on our trees before it was time to put them away.
Not sure how two lbs. of meat and two lbs. of cheese can be unappealing but it is for Alyssa! I liked the lasagna!!
The girls and grandma when they came home from shopping...
Bev bought us some Skinny Pop popcorn while she was shopping with the girls
It was perfect to put in the popcorn bowl she got us for Christmas and eat while we watched a movie.
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