7QT: Post Christmas Fatigue Edition

--1--

Sunday, Christmas Eve, was Piglet's fifth birthday.  It was also a day of a lot of church, and we always struggle to know how to balance the needs of the Christmas Eve preparations against the needs of my son to celebrate his birthday in style.  We ended up somewhere in the middle, which was fine for this year.  We went to church in the morning (which was extra long due to the extra service in the a.m.), then came home and let Piglet open his birthday presents.  Boo had a hard time understanding why none of it was for him, and there were some tears and some hard feelings.  I never know how to navigate that territory as Boo's understanding of these things is still limited.  Birdie could care less, frankly, as long as she is allowed to walk around uninhibited.  We went out to dinner for Piglet's birthday, as we could not agree on a fasting-friendly birthday meal (Piglet wanted salmon, my husband was adamant about it not being a fish day...le sigh).  There is a neighborhood place we like that has vegan and non-vegan food options, so it worked out fine.  Piglet picked out vegan cupcakes from Whole Foods for dessert, and I think he had a good time.  Then it was off to church again for the evening Christmas eve service of Compline.

 

--2--

We celebrated Christmas on Monday, Russian Orthodox style, as is our custom now.  The day was fine, which is about all I'll say.  When one has three high needs children five and under, there are bound to be tears, fighting, general chaos, and lack of warm fuzzy feelings. I miss the Christmases of my growing up years (and in truth, the Christmases of my adult years at my parents' house), but probably it felt the same way to my parents when we were little too.  

--3--

The boys got some new Thomas trains to add to their growing collection, and Boo has been playing with trains almost non-stop this week.  We also did an earnest three-days of no-pants for Boo's potty training, and it went pretty well, all considered.  I think we are still in the stage where we are training, rather than him, but at least he will go #1 in the potty if we put him on in regular intervals.  Still working on #2.  I am very tired today, so I think we might take a little break--I just don't have the mental or emotional energy for a lot of battles today.  (Which is probably just as well, as I just discovered that we must have missed a lactaid pill in the last 24 hours as Boo has diarrhea again).

 --4--

The other big hit gift this year was dress up clothes from Melissa and Doug.  Piglet got a police costume for his birthday, and both boys received medical costumes and super hero capes for Christmas.  They've been playing with those quite a bit as well.  It is fun to see their imagination at work, even if Piglet can be pretty bossy about it.

--5--

Wednesday was my husband's namesday, which we celebrated with a nice meal and chocolate cheesecake for dessert (it is the 12 days of Christmas, so good desserts every day!!).  The box of Christmas gifts from my parents came that day as well, so we had another round of present-opening on Wednesday evening.  

--6--

Yesterday was hard.  I made the mistake of going to MOPS in the morning, and realized once I was there that it was a bad idea for me to be around people. I left early to go home and curl up on my couch with a book and some quiet while my babysitter did battle with my two younger children.  Piglet's godfather came down to have dinner with us and spend the evening, and by then, it was a welcome distraction.  Piglet was thrilled to see his godfather, and we were happy to catch up with him and spend some time.  

--7--

Tonight we are going to see The Black Watch at the Kimmel Center.  It is supposed to be an evening of traditional Celtic, Scottish, and English music, with bagpipes and the whole nine yards.  We are actually going out to dinner before hand (what a rarity!) and will meet up with some friends at the concert. 

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