November 24, 2014

November 24, 2014

We've been taking turns being sick at our house. It's been pretty miserable. On the bright side, though, my children haven't been sneaking sips of my drink because they don't want my germs.

Meanwhile, Thanksgiving is this week! Which means I am not cooking today or tomorrow, because I need some room in the fridge, so leftovers it is!  I have my timeline for the week all set, and have just a few things to pick up from the grocery store. In this school district, the kids don't have school at ALL on Wednesday. They've always had a half day before, so we can get to celebrating and prepping a few hours earlier!

Another fun  realization is that I am actually looking forward to the holidays. Ten years ago, I absolutely dreaded the winter holidays... dreaded and hated. But NOW, we have our own established traditions, and I am all about LOW KEY HOLIDAYS. My kids know that we don't go overboard with calendars and events and gifts and all that nonsense, so we get to enjoy all the little things a whole heck of a lot more. AND, because I am so low key, and expectations are so low, everything I DO do is received very well.

I do have to admit that I have no game plan for Christmas this year though. Generally, I have an idea of what people will be getting, and most years, I would have already had things wrapped and ready. I have a feeling this year will be a bit last minute. I WANT to skip gifts altogether and do an experience instead. I mean, not totally skip ALL the presents, but just have our traditional stocking stuff, and a small something, then maybe load all the kids up and head off to a mini-vacation. Or maybe give people tickets to events. Basically, I don't want to give people STUFF that ends up in the garbage six months later.

I have been thinking about getting people started collecting things. A month or so ago, I let the girls pick out one of my Ginny Dolls to display on their bedroom shelf. We had a big talk about how to handle them and so on and so forth, and I am debating getting the girls each a doll. BUT, then I have the boys to think about, and what on earth should a boy collect? I don't want it to be something totally trendy. At first I was thinking coins, but they would USE them, not collect them. Rocks are hard to display, plus, we had a rock collection before, and it didn't go over well. Knives are awesome, but, you know, slightly dangerous. I was thinking about the things that I like to collect, but that doesn't mean that my kids will be impressed. (for the record, I collect books, sheet music, strawberries, bells, and insects. Plus, I REALLY like scientific drawings of nature. You know, like a sketch you would find in a field guide. And old maps.)

Anyways, my brain is busy being distracted by life, so I have to cut this short.