Seriously, my last post was about Halloween, and now I'm already writing about Thanksgiving. I just can't wrap my head around the idea that this year is winding down and we're getting busier and busier by the day. I am so grateful for calendars that fit on your phone so I don't double (or triple!) book myself and so much has happened since I last wrote, that I don't even know where to begin...
Alright, so about ten days ago, Jeff and I went out to California. As you all may or may not know, Jeff likes to write - screenplays, specifically. He's been working on one for the past five years or so and finally made a push this past summer to finish it. He started entering it into several different contests, and found out that he advanced in the LA All Sports Film Festival competition. So, off we flew to Los Angeles. And again, I am so grateful for my parents who put their lives on hold to come up to our house and stay with the little man. Fortunately, it sounds as though he was better behaved this trip, and I got to FaceTime with him every day. He did get a little upset with me one day, however and refused to talk to me. He did, however, slobber all over my mom's phone to give me kisses. And he had such a good time with his Nana and Papa. The morning after we got home, I woke up to hear Jack calling for his them, so I know he missed them too.
Let me just start off by saying that I do not like Los Angeles. It's dirty, people are pushy and rude, everyone is some kind of aspiring film person, and there's a sense of entitlement everywhere. Like, "I live in Los Angeles, so obviously, I'm better than you." Blech. And don't even get me started on the traffic. Still, the people we met at the film festival were pretty nice, and Jeff took home second place - which was pretty amazing in my book. It really doesn't mean much from an industry perspective, but I've been telling Jeff that it gives him some "street cred" to make a push to try and sell the thing. Also, as a bonus, guess who I ran into while walking down Hollywood Boulevard? Guess who was jealous of his mama?
Anyways, we flew home last Tuesday and were greeted by the frigid air. Winter is a-coming, folks. It actually snowed before we left for Los Angeles. I woke Jack up one morning and the ground was covered. I pointed to the white stuff on the ground and told him it was snow. Now, every morning he walks to the window and looks outside to see if it snowed. He keeps saying, "snow, mama, snow!" and I have to tell him that there's no snow on the ground yet. He responds, "all done snow." Its completely adorable. But, because it DID snow, I had to run out to Target and fight people for snow pants and boots. Fortunately, Grandma Terry sent Jack a winter coat for his birthday, so I didn't have to worry about that.
And speaking of birthdays... I can't believe the little man will be two years old in ten days. We've got the party planned (Mickey-themed, duh) and the invitations are all sent. And, the birthday gifts have started to arrive. I probably should wait to have Jack open them, but I just can't. Plus, he may be unpredictable on the actual day of his birthday party so I'd rather just have him open presents as they come in. Grandma Terry sent him an adorable jacket, and Unkie and Auntie Kate sent Jack his very own backpack. My Uncle Steve and Aunt Judy sent Jack a cool wooden train that he loved playing with last night...
Anyways, I'm just glad that all the presents so far have not had Mickey on them. I think I have a love/hate relationship with that mouse. On the one hand, Jack adores him. Whenever we leave the house or go to bed, he has to say good-bye to all of his Mickey Mouse Clubhouse friends. I'm not joking. We walk up the stairs or drive down the street saying, "Bye, Mickey! Bye, Minnie! Bye, Daisy! Bye, Donald! Bye, Pete!" and then we repeat. But the kid loves that mouse so much that it drives me crazy sometimes. We went to the store last night, just to pick up a few things, and I made the mistake of walking down the toy aisle. Which, of course, had an entire section devoted to Mickey Mouse toys. Would you like to know what it's like to carry a screaming and kicking toddler out of the store?
And my favorite part of the week - when we touched down in Minneapolis on Tuesday, I turned on my phone to find out that my sister had been induced. So, we went home to wait. And wait. And wait some more. Finally, I went to bed when it sounded like there wasn't going to be any news. And sure enough, Sebastian Dean came into this world at 5:13 a.m. on Wednesday and weighing in at 7lbs 14oz. I just love him to pieces.
Fortunately, Wim is being somewhat patient with his little brother, however does get upset when he cries. My sister took the baby over to my parents' yesterday for Grammy Camp, and it sounds like Jack was doing alright with the little guy as well. Meaning, he'd just point to Sebastian and say, "baby" and nothing else. At least he didn't try to pile drive him or anything, so there's that.
Other than that, we have a pretty laid back weekend. Jack had "pajama day" at school on Friday. I'm not sure the kid even knows what he's wearing most days. I think he's just happy he's dressed. After we got home from school though, he was pretty tuckered out and just needed to kick back and relax with his main men (Blue and Mickey, of course)...
On Saturday, I went to spin class in the morning and then came home to do some cleaning around the house. Jeff and Jack had a boy's morning, which I guess involved going to the office. After nap time, we went up to the Maple Grove Community Center for playtime. It was madness. We wanted to go to Chik-fil-A for dinner, but we drove past the restaurant and the line for drive-thru was like a mile long so we passed and ordered pizza instead.
On Sunday, Jack and I went to church in the morning and came home for nap time. When we (yes, I napped) got up, we went to my annual Friends-giving dinner. We've been doing this since college and it's always so much fun. Jack was the only boy there, and of course, the life of the party. He does not like Thanksgiving dinner, however, and prefers his food to be in the shapes of animals or fun colors.
And now it's back to coordinating calendars, planning meals, making lists, and generally going crazy. We've got family pictures on Saturday and we're actually going to celebrate Thanksgiving this Sunday with my family. And then, it's time to get ready for the big birthday party. I'm hoping I'll have enough time to get the house clean, food ready, and the Christmas decorations up before the day. So, if anyone has an extra set of hands...
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