The Sunday 9

I have been confused about what day it is all week - hence the fail on getting this up yesterday. My bad.

1. I don't remember much about the beginning of the week. While the girls were at school on Monday, I took Levi and Ruby to do my Thanksgiving shopping. I generally try to avoid taking kids to Meijer (thank you, Instacart!!), but I really needed certain things that Aldi's doesn't have. So off we went - and I was pleasantly surprised by how well they did! Ruby was seriously an angel. She just sits in the cart and looks around, smiling and giggling with Levi. The only bad part of the trip was that it took me twice as long because everyone and their brother stopped us to say, "Oh they are so cute. Look at her eyes! And his dimples! How old is she? Oh you're going to have a fun Christmas this year, aren't you??"

2. The girls had Wednesday off and Lena begged me alllll morning to make her a treasure hunt. I hate those dumb things. I never have anything good enough to be the treasure, and I am terrible at coming up with clues. The girls had fun anyway.

Justin got home early from work that day and took Levi on an errand. The girls decided to play some elaborate made up game in Lucy's room and Ruby was sleeping. I didn't know what to do with myself! It's that paralyzing moment of "Should I clean? Nap? Watch TV? Read a book?" And pressure to decide quickly before Ruby wakes up or the girls start fighting or Justin and Levi get home!

3. Wednesday night, Lena helped me peel 10 lbs of potatoes, then she and Lucy met up with their cousin Persephone at Justin's parents' house for a girls' night sleepover. Levi was none too happy that he was left out, so we did this:

4. For years, my sisters, mom and I went Black Friday shopping bright and early - and sometimes dark and late. But the past few years we've been able to do all of our shopping online instead of standing in lines, freezing our booties off, and fighting the crowds. This year, however, my sisters and I all wanted stuff at Meijer and/or Menards. Neither of those stores offer online purchasing of Black Friday items, so we had to actually drive to the store like in the olden days! Niki picked me up at 5:30 a.m. Thanksgiving morning, we drove to Meijer, filled up our carts, hilariously tried to pull two carts and a bike through the crowded store, stood in line behind one other person, loaded up our purchases, and made it home before 7:30! I set an alarm on my phone to set out the rolls to rise and another one to start boiling the potatoes, then I went back to sleep! #winning! Friday morning, Libby and I wanted some things from Menards but neither of them were part of the "6 hour doorbuster" deals, so we risked them being sold out and left at 10 a.m. instead of getting there at 6 with the rest of the die-hards. We both found what we wanted, shopped leisurely for a while, stood in line for 15 minutes, then headed home! Best Black Friday experience ever. Apparently I'm not the only one who's doing most of my shopping online these days!

5. We spent Thanksgiving with Justin's family, eating too much delicious food, playing in an intense Wizard tournament (2nd place - aka 1st loser), then stuffing ourselves with pie! I'd say it was a successful holiday.

6. Friday night, the girls went to another sleepover at my parents' house. The big move is next weekend, and the girls wanted to sleep in the old house one last time. (#sob) Levi was actually invited to that one, but he's still been so sick and just can't kick it, so he had to stay home with the old parents. He kept asking me where the girls were going, and I knew he'd be so crushed not to get to go with them, but I really really try not to lie to my kids. I finally said, "They're going to their friends' house." Of course he came back with, "What friend?" I thought for a minute, then replied, "Dan and Joanie's." Bingo! He just said, "Oh, ok." He doesn't know my parents as anything but "Grandpa and Grandma!" Hahaha.

7. Saturday morning, I worked at Sparta Variety again - this time with my sisters for our annual "Saturday After Thanksgiving Sisters Work Day." Sadly, this was our last time. Everything in the store is 50-90% off and the shelves are starting to look really bare. It won't be there much longer!

After we took this pic, Libby said, "Wow you guys have wrinkly foreheads! I can't even make myself have wrinkles." Stinkin' whippersnapper . . .

8! Today was our annual Christmas Tree Farm trip. Earlier in the week, based on the long-term forecast, we were worried it'd be a cold, rainy mess. Last night when we went to bed, we were under a severe weather alert for ice and a couple inches of snow. This morning, we woke up to this:

A "couple inches"?!?! The crazy thing is this all came down in 2 hours!

Church was cancelled, so we all had time to shovel ourselves out of our houses and slip and slide to the tree farm.

The whole gang! (Minus mom and dad who have no interest in tree farms, Ty and Rieley who are in Indiana, and Levi who stayed with Grandpa and Grandma because he's still too sick to be out in the cold.)

The snow sure added to the Christmas atmosphere!

Obligatory picture of Justin on the ground cutting down the tree.

The wagon ride, tree hunt, and chopping down of the tree are fun traditions, but they're also getting more expensive every year. We spent $45 to bring a dead tree in our house. I know I can get a fake tree with the lights already on it for that price after Christmas. I'm reeeeeeallllly considering making the switch next year. Ain't nobody got the money to spend on a real tree year after year!

Also, because the tree was so covered in heavy, wet snow, it's still sopping wet sitting in our garage so it doesn't leak all over our living room floor. You can imagine how well that went over with the kids who were bursting at the seams to decorate it tonight!!

9. Finally, a few more pictures:

You know that moment when your kid is jumping on the couch next to the window with a toy broom in her hand, and you say, "Stop jumping and put that broom down" just as the broom makes contact with the window and shatters it? Yeah, well that happened this week. 🤦 

During their Wednesday night sleepover, Justin's dad taught the girls the card game "King in the Corner." Both of them like the game, and we've played lots of it this weekend, but Lena is obsessed. She's definitely going to be my card player. Lucy will play here and there, but she gets bored (and mad whenever she starts losing). Lena, however, is all about learning how to shuffle and deal and playing over and over and over! #girlaftermyownheart 

Morning snuggles while the girls were gone.

Levi's new favorite bathtime entertainment: Legos. I put a bunch in a tupperware container that floats on the water, and he creates masterpieces until the water gets cold!

Another view showing how heavy the snow was.

Our Advent activities this year are coming as stars hidden throughout the house. The kids will have to "follow the star" like the wise men did. Clever, eh?