home again... (giving thanks)

For Thanksgiving this year, we ruthlessly voted down Grandpa K's desire for a traditional meal and went to Chuck-A-Rama for turkey day. I don't think I would want to do this every year, especially since I love to cook so much, but it. was. awesome! No, it didn't taste like a home cooked meal, but a home cooked meal of Thanksgiving magnitude requires so many days of prep and effort that by the time we sit down to eat, I find myself resenting the turkey. And the food was actually really pretty good! I hadn't set foot in there more than once or twice in the last 20 years and I'm sure the kids and I will be back the next time I feel like I need to unwisely overeat (so many choices! I had everything except turkey...too bad the name is so unfortunate.) After we all washed down our traditional Thanksgiving Tigers Blood Slurpees (yeah, they have those too) we landed at my place, where we spent most of the time making fun of either Jeff or Mak for something. *sigh* good times...

My boys were with their dad for a trip up to Montana to spend Thanksgiving with the grandma there. I missed them like crazy. J was good about checking in for them and having them call (because a 6 and 4 year old are always dying to call mom, right?) I kept Sis home with me and we had a pleasant (if incredibly quiet) time. We missed our 'Bubba's.' Sis would periodically knock on all the closed doors in the house and call for them. We watched a lot of Wiggles until I couldn't stand it anymore and introduced her to Winnie the Pooh. We broke out the Christmas boxes and unpacked all of the play Nativities and she spent hours (yes, hours) rearranging the characters. We did almost no shopping and I didn't leave the house once on Black Friday. Unfortunately, we both got sick. For two nights in a row, I mopped up vomit and kept her upright and with me so she could breathe a little through her congested nose. I rubbed her hair and her back to help her settle. When I came down with the same thing, I camped out on the floor in front of the fire to keep Sis company and get rid of the chills. In between occasionally trying to ride me like a horsey and carefully balancing toys on my face, she would rub my hair and my back and sing/chatter at me in a high sweet voice she usually reserves for her baby cousin. I am pretty melt-able when it comes to my kids anyway, but I admit this about did me in. Girls are so different. My boys are sweet, but their interest would have stopped at the horsey ride :-)



I was ecstatic to get the boys home. This is the longest Bubba has ever been away from me and I am certain that I took it much harder than he did. I sleep best when they are all under my wing and one of my nightly treats is to make a few rounds and do some 'mother gloating' after they are all asleep :-) Sis, whose newborn nickname was mousie because of the squeaks she made now sleeps like one as well. She gathers all her toys and blankets to one big pile in the corner of the crib and sleeps under it. When I straighten her out, I know that she will rub the soles of her feet against the mattress because she always has since she was tiny. I also know she will gather her blanket up next to her face with one hand and tangle the other in her hair because she has always done that too. If she wakes up a little, I always get a little, crooked sleep-drunk smile.



When Bubba is contained, he will sleep with a fist curled up under his chin. But most often I find him draped all over his brother (who sleeps like a log) or halfway off the bed. When I tuck in Junior, he half wakes up and tries to act like he is wide awake but is actually very confused. He gets this from his dad. It always cracks me up to see what kinds of wierd things get passed on along with eye color, etc.

So, everyone is home and it feels so good to have us all sleeping under the same roof again. Call me helicopter mom, but I ache when my kids are gone, and they have to be away from me so much more than I would have ever expected. The first morning home, Junior crawled into my side of the bed before anyone else woke up to get hugs and tell me that he missed me.

Me too, buddy. Welcome back!