The Saturday 7

1. I got most of my Christmas shopping done this week. Wednesday was my favorite Kohl's sale of the year ($10 off $25 + 30% off + free shipping!). I made 12 orders this year, and each averaged between 11 and 13 dollars. That's my kind of deal shopping! One perk of Covid is that many stores are doing pre-Black Friday sales in an effort to dissuade people from shopping in-store on the day after Thanksgiving. So I've also been getting deals from Amazon, Target, Ulta, etc. After all the spending this week, though, I'm feeling the need to hide my credit cards. Lol. 

Now that all three kids are at school two days a week, I can sort, organize and wrap the presents as they come in! 

I've been wanting a pair of booties for a while, but didn't want to spend a lot. $12.99 at Aldi? Score!

2. Monday was our last day of nice weather. 75 degrees in November? Unheard of! My kids took advantage of it, though, and apparently word spread to the neighbor kids:

3. I went to conferences for the girls this week. They're both excelling academically, and were declared respectful, diligent, and kind. Whew! Lucy's teacher remarked about how quiet she is in class. She rarely has anything to say, and only participates when called on. Lena's teacher said Lena loves to participate in class, but is never too talkative when she shouldn't be. You'll remember Levi's teacher said he talks a bit too much. Haha. It's so interesting to me how they can be so different. Each one got a little more social/outgoing. Another reason to stop at 3. Levi already pushes me too far outside of my comfort zone in public! Lol.

4. Speaking of rambunctious Levi . . . he had his first dentist appointment on Thursday. I know, I know, we're disgusting people for never taking him in before. But Thursday validated my decision to wait as long as I did. Haha. His appointment was at 3, so I picked him up from school early and drove straight there. He talked my ear off the whole way in the car, so I could tell he was already a little amped up. We got to the office five minutes early and were asked to wait outside to keep our dirty germs to ourselves. We waited, and waited, and waited. Levi ran circles around the parking lot, smushed his face against the glass to see if it was his turn, shouted "hi" at random passers-by, and begged me for something to eat. After twenty minutes wherein he got himself sufficiently riled up, we were called back. The first thing they asked of us was to apply hand sanitizer - at which point Levi took off running because he didn't want to. Of course, I had just poured a glob into my hands, so they were slippery when I managed to grab him, and he slid away again. I just love chasing after him in public. Finally, we made it back to the room where the hygienist had to fill out paperwork and ask me a passel of questions. Meanwhile, Levi climbed on and off the chair, spun in circles, and attempted to lick the kick guard on the chair. 

He chattered non-stop to the hygienist, telling her that he drinks lots of juice and only a tiny bit of water and never milk (🤦little rat), he asked her how old she was, told her that he doesn't like brushing his teeth, and told her about his day at school. He did pretty well during the actual cleaning. He batted her hand away when she did the water sprayer/sucker thing. Lol. He took off his sunglasses, then complained the light was too bright, and asked repeatedly to take off the bib. 

We waited forever for the dentist to come in, during which Levi attempted to touch all the used tools, push buttons on the chair, and run into the hall. The dentist looked at his mouth for ten seconds, told me "No cavities" and left. Then came the fluoride treatment. The hygienist showed Levi the little paintbrush she would use to paint the fluoride on, but almost as soon as she started, he batted her hand away again and started gagging and crying. He jumped off the chair, wiping his teeth off on his shirt, ran to me, and buried his face in my lap. Not real sure how effective the fluoride treatment is going to be. Lol. 

I hate that I'm that mom constantly saying, "Levi, stop. Don't touch that. Come back here right now. Levi! Levi! Levi!" This social/outgoing boy thing is still new to me. The girls have always been nervous, quiet, people pleasers. They wouldn't dream of batting the hygienist's hand away or running into the hall. Levi keeps me humble.

5. In other teeth news, Lena finally lost her other top/middle tooth. She was in the kitchen eating chicken nuggets and baking a cake when all of a sudden she came running into the living room in alarm, saying, "My tooth just came out! It was in my chicken nugget. I didn't realize what it was, so I just threw it away, but then I noticed my mouth felt weird!" Hahahaha. At least she didn't swallow it!

Isn't it perfect timing? I can't wait for my uncles to see her this Christmas. "All I want for Christmas are my two front teeth."

6. More history recording: Covid is getting out of control again. The number of cases are worse than they were in the spring when our stay-at-home order went into effect. The hospitals are near capacity and begging people to wear masks/socially distance. Predictions for the future are very dire, and I truly believe it's only a matter of time until we go back into lockdown. I fully anticipate the governor declaring another stay-at-home order sometime this week through Thanksgiving. I wouldn't be surprised if she closes schools through the end of the year. So I spent a little extra on groceries this week in preparation. I stocked up on Dr Pepper, macaroni and ramen, flour and sugar, yeast, and of course toilet paper. I didn't clear the shelves, but I'm sure they'll start emptying soon. Today, I took the kids to the library to stock up. One of our area libraries has already announced it will close in-person on Monday, and I have no doubt the other one is close behind. Then I ran to Once Upon a Child to use up a credit on some stuff for Christmas. I don't know if they'll be open much between now and then. I've started browsing Pinterest for things to do with my kids if they're home all day every day. At least last time, it was spring and we could spend time outside. This time around, it's going to be cold and miserable. Hopefully I'm wrong, and I prepped for nothing, but y'all know my motto aligns with the Boy Scouts': always prepared! 

7. Pics

His thankful turkey. He was thankful for mommy, the leaf-sucker truck, pizza, and dinosaur chicken.

Making good use of all the boxes we've been getting.

Lena has been begging for a gymnastics bar for over a year. I happened to scroll past this on Marketplace, and immediately messaged the seller. Do you see the asking price? F-R-E-E!! It needs a little work/reinforcement before she can really use it the way she wants to, but she's so excited. 

Sunrises like this make me miss my parents' old house - where we had unobstructed views over fields. The apartments behind my house aren't quite as conducive to photography.