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Currently viewing the tag: "family"
I think we have a new tradition that we would like to keep the next few years.
We didn’t sleep in and woke up the kids at 7:30 so everyone could get ready for the 9 am Mass. Before we left I stuck the turkey in the oven and the pilaf in the slow cooker, I figured we were going to be away for an hour and a half tops (this is probably a big no-no but I do it occasionally). Most of the parishioners must be traveling, or still in bed, or cooking for the big feast as the church wasn’t even half full. We saw a few of our favorite families and KofC had donuts for after the Mass.
After we got home, Yena and Aisa helped with the veggies, the boys and Dad helped with preparing the dining room and Nino was being all-around busybody as usual. We had turkey with gravy, the pilaf, green bean casserole, stuffing and cranberry sauce. Nothing out of the ordinary, though one big difference this year was that I hardly measured anything. That must have taken 50% of the stress off for me. Instinct-cooking, I call it, same technique my grandparents and my parents use all the time 
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After lunch Dad the kids wanted to watch Fearless. UGH, what a choice for a Thanksgiving movie, I had wanted to watch Miracle on 34th but they vetoed that, but hubby was happy so it’s all good. We were all cuddled together on the bed except for Paco who was doing catch-up work on his laptop beside us. Until I started complaining because I’d had to cover Nino’s eyes several times, irking him no end, so Aisa relented and let us watch a bit of Miracle. Nino must have found that boring, as he asked to be brought downstairs so he could play. Excellent time to go on our planned car-hunting trip! Nino insisted on bringing his pillow on the ride so he could sleep, and we went to a couple of car dealer parking lots to look around for a van and a car for Aisa. Right now we’re liking the Odyssey, though there was a Toyota SUV that caught my eye also. We got home and Nino was still zonked so they napped a bit while I worked on the pies (pumpkin and apple) and the brussel sprouts. By dinnertime I was feeling sick, so I had a few bites and went to bed. Eventually they all made it upstairs, with Yena begging for a game of Apples to Apples. We hadn’t had time to do our Thanksgiving “activity”, so for the next hour we recorded ourselves reciting all the things we were thankful for. We must have made it through 78 or so rounds, with me and Dad giving up around 25 so we could just listen to the kids though I interjected here and there when something would come to mind. They came up with some great “thankful for” thoughts! We could have kept going but by this time it was around 10:30 and we were all tired. The kids will be hanging up their lists on their bedroom walls so when they’re feeling ungrateful (which happens from time to time in this house!) they can look at the list and see just how many blessings they have!! Apples to Apples finally happened, and hah! I won 
Yena was scared there for a minute when it looked like Aisa was going to win. We had promised them that the winner would get to pick the family gift, and Aisa had said she would get giant mixing bowls and color-coded cutting boards if she won. We still haven’t decided what the family gift would be, but the kids are (again) begging for an XBox (what’s this, 3rd year in a row?). We’ll see…
It was the most relaxed Thanksgiving ever. Right now I’m waiting for the bread to rise (to be served with pumpkin butter, as the pumpkin pie is ALL GONE). Cream cheese brownies are in the oven for Aisa to take to work tomorrow, as a thank you from us to her co-workers who took such good care of us when we dined there a couple of months ago. I’m making smashed potatoes as soon as I press “publish” on this post. The washer and dryer are humming.
And once again, no Black Friday shopping for us. I drove past Best Buy on Wednesday night and couldn’t believe the TENTS that were already set up, with people in them! So weird. I did manage to score, with Dad’s blessing, a 60D with 18-135mm at Amazon for about $300 less than the original price — my kind of Black Friday shopping, from the warmth and comfort of home. And the only person trampling me was the toddler, who does NOT like being called HIJO for any reason at all. Life is good
Nino Report to follow, Ninongs and Ninangs.
It’s a tradition in the family that when there’s a sick child, they get to eat whatever they want to eat, even if it’s something we don’t usually purchase/make (with the exception of really unhealthy stuff like candy and Spam). So this weekend when Yena was sick I asked her what she wanted Dad and Mig to buy on their home from the cycling trip. She wanted
“That soup, Mom.”
“What soup?”
“You know, the ‘cream of’?”
“Cream of what?”
“Uhm…. cream of tartar?”
Cleaning the basement today. Looks like the only way to get things accomplished around this house with a toddler in tow is to BE WHERE HE IS and clean that area. So while Nino was checking out the boxes of old unsorted toys, I took to getting rid of the old Franklin planner pages we had used through the years…. I’m still not that detached that I just junked them all… I’m actually going through each page to see if there’s “something important”… I did find two pages where I took notes of Aisa’s names for everything (when she was 6 — maybe I’ll post it sometime).
Nino, in the meantime, found a teeny-tiny rocking chair from the Playmobil line, gently put it on the floor right side up, and proceeded to try sitting on it. Thankfully he didn’t squash it. LOL, he has no concept of how big he is compared to the toy.
– cute, but kind of pointless
– Verdi is our “Composer of the Month” for September, and this is a perfect rabbit trail book — the illustrations are just beautiful. I have a newfound appreciation of Aida. The drama of a love triangle may not be entirely suitable for the younger set though — my kids read it, but didn’t really like it.
– studying more Shakespeare this year. 13-yo has read/listened to Macbeth. We’ll be watching the movie soon. This is a gentler intro or re-intro to the Bard, for the younger ones.
– another cute book, about Chinese culture and imagination… not much substance though, or maybe I just missed it
– get this book! if just for the artwork. Lovely!! One word of caution: there is a page where Michelangelo is dissecting a cadaver. It’s not particularly gory or indecent, but probably not for sensitive or very young children. This one’s a read aloud aimed at older kids.
– an okay book, for kids who either don’t know what a library is or have no appreciation of it yet
– I’m not usually a fan of books that remind me of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (link to the book here
– classic book to teach your kids about good stewardship of the earth — if you like/love this book, perhaps you’ll like/love the next one as well. It’s also ecology, but more fantasy-style. I love the realism of the Kapok tree book, but something about the Florentine art in the other just captures and holds my affection.
– This book, of course, would be more suitably read in February, but we are on a Clyde Robert Bulla kick these days. I love that this book goes into the different legends/origins of Valentine’s Day, and doesn’t neglect the Catholic POV. Not really a fictional book per se, but entertaining and colorful enough to hold a little one’s attention.
– I *love* this book! Sooo sweet, but not saccharine sweet. Very very respectful and honest about sibling relationships and the rivalry that sometimes may come with it, balanced with a gentle (but non-preachy) emphasis on generosity and sharing. A great gift for a new big sister. Also a great reminder for parents to be sensitive to the needs of an older child when a new sibling joins the family.
– Very nicely done retelling of Russian folklore on the seasons of the year. I like books that present basic facts in a creative manner, and asks questions of the reader, or prompts them to ask questions, and come up with their own answers. The pastel drawings would be great for an art lesson or two!
– a pity the artwork isn’t available on Amazon. It’s a rather quaint book, with a myriad of characters all taken from well-known and common nursery rhymes and Mother Goose stories. Perfect lead in to many rabbit trails…. or use as the perfect ending to tie up and finish a collection of classic read alouds. Reminds me of Jolly Postman books
– great bio of Anna May Wong, written for kids. She was heretofore unkonwn to me. Every now and then it’s good to see new authors and illustrators tackling previously unknown subjects. Great springboard for discussing the film genre, stereotypes, racism, etc.
Well, it’s official. The Summer Cold has invaded our family. Three of us are down. Tonight we allowed our 12-year-old to skip the family Rosary so he can sleep early — we were praying quite late because Dad and I got home around 9:30 from our dinner date (celebrating 18 years and 7 months of wedded bliss, yeah, baby!!). Well, the 6-yo who got it first pleaded that she couldn’t lead her decade because she’s got a severe case of the sniffles. Her Hail Mary’s sounded like this:
[sniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiif] Hail Mary, full of grace [sniffffffffffffffff], the Lord is with thee.
9-yo volunteered to take over and we were grateful… problem is, he’s got the sleepies, and his Hail Mary’s sounded like this:
Hail Ma[yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwnnn]ry, full of grace, the Loooo[yawwwwwwwwnnnnnn]rd is with thee….
it was one slow Rosary, I tell you. I wonder if the Saints who were hovering near were stifling yawns as well. Wait, there isn’t sleepiness in Heaven, is there?
You know you’re too dependent on Google when your hubby asks you if your family has a copy of Raiders of the Lost Ark, and you almost Google to find out.
So Yena’s reading from Naomi and Ruth and she asks me to read a difficult name: Elimelech. Half an hour later she’s still reading from the book, aloud, but now I hear,
“While living in Moab, La La Man died.”
It seems La La Man is easier to say than Elimelech.
We’re doing our family journaling, and Dad’s looking really tired and is sitting there with his eyes closed while we shout out our contributions and Paco writes. I whisper a joke to Aisa about her Dad, and Yena tattles, “Dad, Mom says you’re practicing your meditating skills amidst the noise.”
