November was … November: a month filled with anything Fall and Thanksgiving. Oh, and romance. 9 years ago, on November 17, 2002, David went down on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him.
And here we are. In 9 years we: got married, bought a house, adopted a cat, adopted a dog, adopted another dog, built on to our house, got our scuba certification and dove at the Great Barrier Reef, got our motorcycle license and traveled through New Zealand by motorcycle, went to Fiji, had a son, had another son and ... did a whole lot more, but can't remember.
With my parents living in Europe, Kai & Ryder don’t get to see their Opa & Oma very often. Although twice a year is still very good, considering the distance, it unfortunately doesn’t allow them to have the bond with their grandparents like the one children with grandparents living in closer proximity have. Needless to say, it’s always a big event when Opa & Oma come over. And with them spending Thanksgiving with us, came a whole lot of excitement. We had made a count down calendar on which we colored in the day past right before going to bed. Every day a different color, trying to color in between the lines, not on the wall, oh the excitement.
The kids needed to get their hair cut to look a little more “presentable” – the excursion from hell for all 3 of us. The frozen yogurt afterwards made up for it for the kids.
Mama was exhausted for the rest of the day and needed a bit more than just some frozen yogurt.
For the couple of weeks that Opa & Oma were here, a good time was had by all. Kai LOVED being dropped off and picked up from school by them, Ryder was just happy to have a house full of people and David and I enjoyed the family, the dinners and the conversations.
When Kai first spotted the poster, announcing that Happy Feet Two would be in theaters in November, he proclaimed that it was his “favorite show” and he had to go see it. I must have mumbled something along the lines of “Mama and Papa taking Kai to see Happy Feet Two, while Opa & Oma look after Ryder”, because from that moment on, he would tell me this (in those exact words), every single time he spotted an ad for the movie. I find it beyond fascinating (and canNOT) wrap my brain around the fact that something like this sticks like glue, while simple things like “Thank You” are so hard to remember. So, we took Kai to see the movie, add popcorn during the the showing and ice cream afterwards and it makes for the perfect afternoon.
The weather made for great leaf play again. Though not comparable to the gorgeous colors in the North East, I love the few days that the trees on our street turn yellow and gold.
Once the leaves start falling one of our neighbors always rakes them up in a pile on the front lawn; it is the invitation that says “Com’on over and HAVE FUN Kai!!” And fun we had.
Playing outside: great fun.
Colds: no fun.
Kai caught a cold and felt like crap. Add to that the heart break that he couldn’t go to school and it makes for a pretty miserable toddler. Poor dude. However, not being able to go to school makes for a great incentive to eat and drink everything that Mommy offers, if it makes you better, ya know?
Luckily the cold kept our schedule in mind and Kai was able to attend the Thanksgiving meal at his school. What a fun thing! All kids in the large assembly room, tables decorated, center pieces, head pieces for the kids, awesome! They had made their own place mats – so cute.
And Ryder? Well, Ryder was Ryder.
Cute kid, right? Yes, absolutely cute kid. In between the tantrums. Back in the day the Terrible Twos came “early” with Kai as well, so it was no surprise that we found ourselves in the eye of the storm once again. I just couldn’t remember one thing: how long is this all supposed to take? I need to know, so I can keep telling myself that within a “reasonable” time things will get better. Though he understands very well in two languages, his spoken word is lacking greatly, which without a doubt, fuels the frustration that lies behind the tantrums. But at the end of the day the most important thing for me is just to get through it. All the reasons in the world do not make it any less frustrating. So for now, I just keep telling myself that it will get better. Some time. I hope.
At the beginning of the month the little one young one decided that he had enough of the high chair, which had served both him and Kai. High chair – Bye Bye. The booster seat reappeared out of the closet and got installed on the chair. Yay, less clutter. Oops, bigger mess. I guess that’s how it goes. Ryder wasn’t grooving on the booster seat. At all. We “fought’ for 4 days at which point I took it off and gave it away to Goodwill. Though he hardly appeared above the table, the kid got his own chair and sat at the table with the rest of us. The mess around his chair didn’t get any better, but at least he created it quietly.
So this month was pomegranate month. The fruits that are priced "light years above reasonable" in stores came in abundance in my weekly organic vegetable crate. Oh, I LOVE this service. For the price of approximately 8 pomegranates in the store, I received a crate filled with fruits and vegetables (enough to serve the 4 of us for a week), including about 3 pomegranates each week. DELICIOUS! Though the seeding takes time, it is all worth it, especially when the fruit "sings in his mouth" the same way it does in yours:
All in all, November went by fast. Too fast. I love the Fall, working towards the Holidays. The time spent with family, warm and cozy inside, comfort food and happiness. Life is good.
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