And now back to your regularly scheduled programming

Tomorrow is back to normal, such that it is. It was a little of a crazy week, mostly really, really good. Max was sick Monday, seemed better Tuesday, and then had a fever Wednesday and Thursday, better Friday and is mostly better but is still just a little off. Ava has been up nearly every night, very often. She has a cough pretty bad but is getting better and will hopefully be 100% soon. Nolan threw up Wednesday morning a couple times, but then was fine after that. It's been strange! Dave was already scheduled to be home Wednesday with the kids, so he did that while I went to work. Otherwise we've just been hanging out at home.

Thanksgiving was very nice, at my mom and dad's new house. It was the first time we were all there, my mom and dad, my sister and husband and three kids, and Dave and me and the four kids. That's a lot of people in anyone's house! But it worked out well. The kids got along great and mostly stayed in the basement, and the adults hung out in the kitchen and living room. We all brought something so the food was covered and it was a holiday to be thankful for for sure.

Friday was just a really nice day at our house. I slept until 9:30 (which is really quite late for me, but considering I'd been up for hours at a time the past two nights with Ava, it wasn't so bad), then we all hung out in pjs while we put up all the Christmas decorations. Max went down for a nap and I played games and did puzzles with the big kids. Then we got dressed and went bowling and out to dinner and home to watch a movie. It was just really perfect despite the regularness of it all!

Saturday Abby and I took lots and lots of toys to St. Vinny's, which was nice and cleansing. Then I saw Paranormal Activity with a good friend of mine, which was nice and disturbing. Luckily we did the movie first and then dinner so we weren't freaked out all night.

Today was back to my mom and dad's for a Christmas parade. It was very nice, but got cold. By the end walking back Max and my nephew Cole were screaming because they were so cold. That was a bummer, but once we got back they were ok pretty quick.

And now it's now. It's bedtime and back to a regular week and it's almost December. The good news is all the time off at the end of the month that will be so nice. The bad news is January is hard. And February. And, well, March and April too. Not much vacation, cold, dark, did I mention cold?

But I am thankful... my kids, Dave, my family and my in-law family, my friends that I see and talk to often and those friends that I don't see or talk to so often but still hold a great place in my life and heart, and thankful that I get to be at home, enjoying Max and Ava lots and Abby and Nolan around school, that I don't have to juggle work with sick kids and try to push them to go back to school or daycare just because I have a meeting. Thankful for this day!