November and December

November and December are my favorite months of the year. The fall colors that change into winter. The special holidays. The sights and smells. The cooking and baking. The decorating and the gifting. The family traditions and special expectations. 

The only thing that is not my favorite part of this time if year is the pace at which it goes. November first dawns and suddenly it's New Year's Eve. And if we're lucky, we find pockets of time to come up for air in between.

With all the extra activities we had during this season, school continued at a good pace and we didn't fall behind. Which is wonderfully amazing because this Mom puts the brakes on school come the beginning of May.

Thanksgiving was just our family this year, which was different but special nonetheless. We busied ourselves making a turkey dinner with all the fixings, and this meant all hands on deck to stir and peel and chop.

We had a friendly family bake off: Micah and Annalyse making a pumpkin pie; Grady and Grady Lee making an apple pie; and Jaxton and me making a peanut butter pie. There was no majority consensus, so we called all pies equal and everyone a winner. This, if I'm honest, upset my husband terribly because "it's ridiculous to give everyone a participation trophy and not have a winner." So there you have it.

Since it was just our family I bought a small 10-pound turkey, and when all was said and done there were enough left-overs for one more dinner later that week. Perfect!

Annalyse discovered she loves stuffing. Grady Lee remembered his love affair with cranberry dressing. Jaxton declared  that Jell-o is the best part of Thanksgiving. And Micah didn't say much because he was consuming multiple servings of mashed potatoes. 

The highlight of the day? Pie. For dinner. 

This hot mess collided with a boulder and a couple of weeks later a baseball hit him in the same place. It was the owie that kept getting worse instead of better.

He came out of his room one afternoon and was so proud to show me the maze he made with his cars. I call that quiet time productivity.

We joined a group of friends for an afternoon Uptown - listening to the symphony, enjoying lunch out, and exploring some of the buildings and all their Christmas decor.

Fact: Homeschoolers are weird. (But aren't all kids?)

Fact: Homeschoolers are not unsocialized. Professionals, homeless, adults, and kids - we engaged with them all.

One day at breakfast I declared a hiatus from school and a break from all things holiday-related. We packed lunches and spent a day at Discovery Place, still learning a thing or two, but putting the busyness of the week out of our minds for a few hours. 

Grady spent two weeks in Chile during November and another two weeks in December. He worked his tail off, so I'm told, but I assure you he had some weekend adventures to explore and enjoy some of what Santiago and the shore had to offer. (Ask him about his surfing adventures sometime - ay-yi-yi...!)

Christmas trees and lights, gingerbread houses, baking and decorating - the "special" in the midst of the "normal" - school, friends, and sports. 

Oh! And by luck of drawing straws, Daddy and Jaxton were paired to pull the turkey wishbone. Jaxton won, made his wish, and then sadly said, "But I know my wish will never come true because I wihsed for a dog and I've always wished for a dog and I still don't have a dog and mom said we won't get a dog." 

And just like that the moment of joy for winning was overcome by a moment of sadness for the wish that may never come true. That's what I call a solid family memory that will be funny in about 10 years.