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Give Me a [Thanksgiving] Break
We are sad that our Thanksgiving break ends with today. We had a wonderful time avoiding our normal duties and obligations. Although Carver sort of missed school, he and Avey had a blast playing video games and watching movies, I was glad to avoid the normal work routine, Kira was glad to have another set of hands around and to avoid the back-and-forth of dropping off and picking up to and from school.
I started Monday off on a bit of a rough note with my root canal. The endodontist told me it was my rearmost molar, but I had been feeling the pain right above the tooth in front of it, so I spent a few minutes asking him to convince me. He was very polite about it, and did eventually talk me into it. I’m glad he did, because, after the procedure, the pain is totally gone. He told me that I have a very long molar, and the roots were apparently oddly shaped, making it a difficult job, but he got it done. He warned me that I would probably feel very uncomfortable for a day or so, but I never did feel any discomfort once the feeling came back. I went home in a strangely good mood.
I spent Tuesday grading papers and tests, sorely disappointed in the students’ performance, and their complete disregard for the many practice options and tutorials I made available.
Wednesday, I was back to the dentist for a temporary crown, and then home for some last-minute grocery shopping for our meal the following day. We opted to stay home and do our own meal, which I much preferred.
We figured the kids would be more likely to eat ham than turkey, so we had a big glazed ham along with our rolls, mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon, and pie. I made a chocolate pie because it’s chocolate pie. I also tried out a fresh strawberry pie at Avey’s request. I’d never made one before, but it turned out very well, so that may need to be a new tradition for us. The meal was delicious, and the day was generally low key.
The weather has been sunny, but cold, so the kids mostly spent our vacation indoors. Still, Avey made it a point to be pleasant with her brothers, so everything worked out alright. Carver even seemed to pass on the patience. For example, one of Hakan’s favorite things is to fill the bathroom sink with water and then play with some toys in there. He especially likes to use a Lego minifigure in there, but it’s Carver’s. He asked Carver very nicely if he could borrow the figure, but Carver at first declined to share the toy. I was listening, and suggested that Hakan offer Carver a trade. Carver, overhearing my input, had an idea, and said, “Hakan, how about this? You can play with the Lego, and then when you’re done, you play with my new toy car.”
Hakan agreed to this scenario, and I left it more confused than when I entered. That would be like me going into a restaurant and saying, “May I please have a free sandwich?” to which they reply, “Only if you promise to eat a free sundae afterwards.”
On Friday, the kids were anxious to bust out the Christmas decorations. Kira prevented it from turning into a free-for-all, opening only one tote at a time, and keeping them focused on one decoration area at a time. We started with the tree, and had a great time explaining the kids’ ornaments’ origin stories. I got the outside of the house lighted up reasonably well, and we are trying out colored bulbs in our porch lights (red and green). Those are lots of fun.
I got in a home improvement mood (probably to avoid doing my normal work), and got fixing things here and there around the house. I was quite excited to switch out a power outlet in the kitchen where our highest charging traffic is. I put in a new one that has two USB charging ports in addition to normal outlets. Now we can charge our devices while also using the toaster oven!
Kira spent most of Saturday gone at visiting teaching, which she would probably do twice a week if she could, just to get away from the normal monotony of changing diapers and feeding kids who don’t want food.
Merritt is one of the worst with his eating, lately. For several weeks now, he just refuses to eat most of what we offer. It seems that the other kids went through phases like this, too, but Merritt is especially challenging. He turns his nose up at even his most favorite foods, when he clearly should be hungry. But then, some meals he will mow down almost whatever we put in front of him, keeping us constantly guessing. He keeps growing, so he must be okay, but it’s enough to drive us nuts.
We are really looking forward to our Christmas break. I have just 2 more weeks left of classes, while the kids have 4 left. We hope to see some snow this year, too: Tomorrow’s forecast is 60!