I began my day getting up at the crack of dawn with Jackson (my bad sleeper) after having gone to bed well after midnight because Stu was working on the new house and I can't fall asleep if I know he's not "safe." (Lord help me when I have teenagers.) We watched Madagascar and then I made a 3-course breakfast for the kiddos because we were out of cereal (I'm nothing if not resourceful :)). Then I set to work packing and going through ads to make sure there were no killer Black Friday deals that I couldn't pass up.
Well, turns out Fred Meyer was not only open on Thanksgiving, but staging an awesome sale to boot! I had been stressed about Kaden not having a bed yet and found that FM had amazing deals of full beds, so I called Stu to let him know to meet me there with the truck and then (after a delay to "fix" Lila, who decided to tackle the stairs head-first immediately before our departure) took them to play at Marcia and Deven's (and Mimi's) so we could get the bed set up. As it happened, there were also good deals on comforters and sheets as well as the bed, so we scored a set for Kaden's new bed (a size we didn't already have sheets for) and for our own (because EVERYONE needs more than one set of flannel sheets for winter). The sales guy was hilarious and we ended the trip on a great note. Then, when we got to the house, I was determined to "do it myself."
I have to digress a bit here to explain something about myself. I believe (and I know I am wrong to believe so, just go with it) that there are "boy" things and "girl" things. Even though I am the breadwinner of my family and my husband is a stay-at-home Dad, I do, in most cases, subscribe to gender roles. (I know, I know... I never hear the end of it sometimes and my friend David actually forces me to do things he knows I've labelled "boy things" because, as a believer in gender equality, it irks him to no end.)
This is not to say that I think women are in any way "weaker" than men, but we are (again, typically) biologically different and to try to force equality in every facet of life, for the sake of just being "equal", with no regard for biology or chemistry of the brain, is, to me, stupid. I will debate this till the cows come home, but there's probably no swaying me.
Having said all that, I do think a woman should have the ABILITY to do "boy things" herself if necessary... my husband could die in a car accident tomorrow and if I've never used a clicky thingy (ratchet), then where would I be when I need to put together a new furniture item?
So, digression aside, I wanted to put the bed frame together myself. So here is what I started with:
While he laughed at me throughout, and, determined to "help," Stu put something on wrong without actually reading the directions (a boy, after all), but I basically did it all by myself. I didn't get the right tools from the garage, but he did make me follow him out there (in the cold... where I whined about how necessary this actually was) to see where they live, but I'm confident that I could have if I'd had to... I located a screwdriver from the same tool box two days prior.
So, I set to work using the wrench and clicky thingy (ratchet, again) to get all the pieces aligned and sturdy. Here is the final product, I think it definitely won't completely fall apart any time soon.
After our bed building hiatus, I finished the "scene" in Jackson's room (below), which I am pretty stoked about. I know he will absolutely love having "panes" in his very own room. :)
We eventually rushed home to where my awesome cousin, Flower, and her friend Alex, were watching my napping kids, changed from sweats and a wet bun into a frilly shirt and 6-minute straightened hair and two more swipes of blush, while my husband impatiently noted that my "minute" was up... a look which I was thrice complimented on, btw. :)
As is always the case when it comes to food-eating-gatherings, I am blessed to be from a family of amazing cooks. My uncle made a horseradish and cranberry glaze for the turkey that was freaking awesome and will have to meet some of my pork in the not-so-distant future. Mimi and Marcia made tons of yummy fixin's and of course the turkey, and then WAY too much holy-crap-yum dessert. It was all awesome, as was the company. However, in the future, I would prefer a more relaxed, non-moving holiday. :)
Tomorrow is our last day in this house and to prepare for the "big move" (so if anyone finds themselves lacking quality activities to engage in on Saturday, come on over! :)), so I have a TON to get ready tomorrow.
Also, if you can avoid it, never move with small children. Not only can we not really have them at the new house because there are ample choking hazards from all the drilling and changing we've done that has yet to be thoroughly cleaned up, but as we have packed their toys and "stuff," they sure are getting moody. I think they know something is up and they are just feeling extra clingy and stressed as a result.
We took Jasper over today to visit his new house and he seems pretty stoked. He can see through the windows in the back yard now because they are low and it was hilarious watching him run from window to window watching us inside. He sniffed the ENTIRE house, too, so apparently we are good to go now. It's Jasper approved. :)
I purposefully decided against doing the "Month of Thanks" thing on FB this year for two reasons. First, I did it last year and there were some days I had a hard time coming up with things to be thankful for, and that seems counter-intuitive, and second, I knew how busy we would be. As you can see from the shorter posts, some days even keep up on the blog project has been hard enough. I am incredibly glad, so far, that I have decided to do it, though.
All that said, I do want to take a minute and say that this year, and on this day, I am thankful first and foremost for my absolutely amazing family, from my immediate to my extended family. They help us out so much from childcare to driving my kids all over the place, to just being able to take them at a moment's notice if we need to run an errand. My family loves me unconditionally and I am forever grateful for the quality, loving people I am blessed to call my family. I am thankful for Stu... he drives me fucking crazy a lot of the time, but he makes me happier than anyone else ever has, and he is hands-down my best friend in the world. I am thankful for my job, without which I would never be buying my first house (which, of course, I am also incredibly thankful for), and I never would have met the amazing people I work with and have grown to care deeply for. I am thankful for my own, and my family's, health and am so thankful we have never had a serious illness or broken bone (fingers crossed!) thus far with the kids. Above all else, I am so incredibly grateful for the three amazing people who call me "Mom." I have never been so happy, silly, or full of love as I have been since I became a mother, and even more so as I have added to my brood. They are my reason for literally everything I do, and I only hope I am helping them become good, happy people that will one day change the lives of those around them, because they have certainly changed mine for the better with their very existence. I love you to the MOON, Kaden, Jackson, and Lila!
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