Category: Uncategorized

The Twelfth Day of Christmas


We started the Twelve Days of Christmas early this year. We started on Christmas Eve simply because we went to Mass at 4pm, so we had celebrated the birth of Christ. It seemed fitting to open the first present after dinner.

The boys were very excited. Since we have four boys at home, we determined that they’ll each open one present, starting with the youngest. So each boy will have three turns. They agreed whole heartedly.
I will write a separate entry on what the gifts were in a few days as I’ve been asked what gifts to I get and how do I determine what I get. I’ll address the latter issue.
The gifts are usually determined for me–out of necessity. Some are determined out of cost–what is financially feasible. Of course, I try to get a few fun items–something the boys really want.
This year the items assembled easily, all except the last one. I am stumped by the 12th Day. What to get? The box remains empty. It beckons me. I have about 24 hours to figure something out. Tradition says that the last gift is the biggest gift. The box itself IS the biggest box. Yes, I actually have a box for each day. They are clearly decorated and labelled what each day the “true love brings”. Side note: The boxes fit into each other for easy storage. Very convenient!
So I am still perplexed about what the 12th day should bring. Yes, I could get 12 drummers drumming. Or a drum set. One of my boys really would love that as he plays percussion and drums in the high school band. I can’t fit that in the box. I could put a picture of the drum set in the box. Are drums on sale somewhere? The smallest catch is that I wouldn’t survive a drum set in the house. Or in the garage. Ummm.
This is where the 12 Days make me really think. I do get silly sometimes. I also get creative. That’s the fun part of this. I put myself in the giving. These aren’t just things. These gifts are gathered with a lot of love and thought.
Well, I gotta get thinking about this… Merry Christmas Day 9 (although we celebrated Day 10).
Photo credit: jenny makes stuff

Feeling Neglected?

Dear Blog,
It’s been over a month since I’ve written a post. I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t think about you. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. I think of you every night, specifically when I can’t sleep. All sorts of notes to myself are written in my mind to write about this or that. Unfortunately, come morning, I’m tired, and the duties of wife and mother call, let alone the doctor on the land line and the therapist on the cell. By the time I have a few minutes to write, I forget all the thoughts from the night before.

Life also has been BUSY. I know everyone has a busy life. It’s who we are. Please know that I am not neglecting you on purpose. Sometimes I’ll even think that I need to write a really good entry, so I’ll do it later when I’ll be undisturbed. Again, unfortunately, that time never comes.

So hold on, Dear Blog, and I’ll resume writing in a bit… maybe tonight. (No irony there!)

Yea, we’ll see!
Sheryl

Mom and Sons: We Made It!

Yep, I made it through my first full time work week in years. The boys all took turns cooking dinner. Most of the time they had the dinner table set when I walked in the door. Laundry has been done; well, the clothes are cleaned and waiting on our couch to be folded. They did a great job overall. I love my kids!!! I’m very proud of them.

Home schooling has taken a beating somewhat. Only when my mom has been here has everything been done–on time. Tomorrow will be a “make-up day”, but somehow I’ll make it fun since it will be Saturday. Maybe it’ll be a movie night if we get everything done. Will have to think about it.
I also did thoroughly enjoy going to happy hour with my oldest son. I have not seen him in a social setting in a very long time. I can’t tell in words how much fun it is to talk and socialize with my adult son. We can agree, disagree, debate, laugh, etc. while enjoying a margarita and nachos. I LOVE MY KID, and I do love that he is out of the house.
You moms with little ones– life with your precious babies does go fast, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy them when they move out too! No one ever told me that.
SIGH.

The Countdown Begins: Second Task: Dinners


We have slowly tackled dinners. Over the last several days, I have doubled the recipe for whatever meat dish we made for dinner. We ate half, and froze half. So now we have enough meat dishes for a week.


The only problem here is that I will be working (I hope) longer than one week. The next step to tackling dinner was asking all the boys to learn to cook one complete meal.

Cameron stepped up and volunteered to cook dinners on Tuesday. I asked him what he wanted to make. He looked in the fridge, and he came back with a menu: hot dogs, apples, carrots, and muffins. That’s not bad for a nine year old. The menu was definitely kid-friendly. Now to see Cam in action.

I walked Cam through each step. We started with muffins. Since all the boys are gluten-free, we made muffins with rice flour, potato flour, and tapioca flour. Within 30 minutes, we had homemade muffins, complete with cinnamon. I made sure Cam knew how to check if the muffins were done with the toothpick. If it comes out of the muffin “clean”, the muffins are done.

The hot dogs came next. He started to boil water while the muffins were in the oven. He opened the package of hot dogs, and the “juice” spilled. Well, he saved the hot dogs from flying out, but he did have to clean the “juice”. While the hot dogs cooked, Cam cut the carrots and apples.

Dinner that night was colorful and easy. Cam was extremely proud of his meal!
photo credit:Alesist