Weekend Recap

Freedom for Thanksgiving is mine! This weekend feels wonderful and relaxing, because I know I don't have to go to work on Monday. Sure, my kids take their STAAR retest the very day we get back from break, but I'll worry about that later. Now is time to enjoy time off from school!

Friday:
Chance worked late, so I picked up Cara from school and fought the HEB crowd (prepare to notice a theme for the weekend) to get a few ingredients for dinner. I made chicken and dumplings in the Dutch oven, and when Chance got home, we ate dinner, built a fire and got out the Christmas decorations! We didn't do everything, but I wanted to see how Cara would do with the tree before I decorated it too much. She didn't (and doesn't still) seem to be terribly interested in it...yet.

We decorated Cara a little (she didn't like it too much) and let her play. It was too late to start Elf, as is our yearly tradition, but it was fun to start to get in the Christmas spirit. Usually, I'm a purist who waits until after Thanksgiving, but with it being so late this year, I really wanted to enjoy the decorations for as long as possible.

Saturday:
It was COLD!! Chance had to work 9-12, and Cara and I went to the Saturday doctor's clinic and found out she had ANOTHER ear infection. No surprise to me, but I'm glad we got her checked out. With tubes on Monday, we couldn't afford for her to be sick through her surgery. I just knew we wouldn't hold out without another ear infection in the 4 weeks between when we planned her surgery and when we actually had it done. Just further confirmation that it needs to happen.

I went to HEB to get Cara's Rx and a few other things, and left with so much anxiety! There were so many people there--I even saw a few friends repeatedly in the aisles. Luckily, I got a red cup (HOT Butterbeer, a la Harry Potter, amazing!) to keep me company and take the edge off. :)

We bummed around the house, took naps, built a fire and stayed in all day. Cara decided she wanted to play with her bath toys in the empty tub.

That night we watched the Baylor game, but it got to be too sad and stressful for me. I finished Christmas decorating when I couldn't bear (see what I did there--BEAR??!!) to watch anymore.

We only really decorated the living room, and didn't put a ton of ornaments on the tree this year. I want to invest in more decorations from Hobby Lobby after the season because I don't feel like my house BECOMES a Christmas wonderland like I'd love it to be, but I do have all the important/sentimental things. My nutcracker collection, special wedding and baby ornaments, some of the special ornaments Cindy got for us each year (one day I'll have a separate tree just for those), a few knick knacks and the Christmas dishes.

Sunday:
Again, it was COLD! We bundled up and went to church to see 3 sweet friends dedicate their babies.

Cara was pretty sleepy after church, but before we went home, I had to run by a different HEB (that's 3 times in 3 days, if you're keeping score at home) to get one ingredient mine didn't have. While she napped, I baked a pie and made rolls for our annual Sunday School Thanksgiving Party that night. We went to the Crumpton's and had a delicious spread of Thanksgiving food and let all the kids play while we ate and talked. I love that we do this each year with all our friends, and Ashley does such a good job decorating the house and making it lovely. And I only managed to get one bad picture, of Chance and Cara sitting on the floor after he read her a story. It was a great party and time spent with friends. We count our SS class as some of our best friends and biggest blessings in our lives. We love each other, raise our kids together and support each other. So thankful.

Monday brings Cara's ear tubes and recovery. Stay tuned for that long post!