It’s been a rough week. I think I need to make an official hard pass to birthday parties (and all public places) the weekend before Thanksgiving. Every year that we go to one the boys end up sick for the holiday. Especially when they’re in public places with tons of kids. No specific person to blame, just too many germs. We might need to make that rule for all of December too. There’s too much at stake! At any rate, I think we all made the most of it. Fortunately nobody was stomach sick!! But Shepard especially was sick enough that he and I had to miss a few days of activities.
On Sunday, Greg was helping my parents paint their ceiling. The boys and I took Annie to a walk to the new playground the city just built. I’m a little bit annoyed that dog park work didn’t actually start their construction work until Monday. So Thursday-Sunday we COULD have been going to the dog park, but I was just assuming it was closed because that’s what the sign said on Wednesday! Oh well. I got a lot of walks in!
Monday was a normal day. Everyone still relatively healthy, except for Greg and Caden having basic colds. I spent the day fun shopping. Which means going to stores that I don’t necessarily need to go to, but they’re still really fun for me. Kind of a self care type of day. My favorite stop was Trader Joe’s. I got so many tasty holiday treats!
Shepard was up in the middle of Monday night moaning and crying and holding his head. Migraines strike again. He was feeling better in the morning, but still a little out of it. I let him stay home and after the medicine kicked in he seemed to feel a lot better. I took him back to school around 10:00 because he didn’t want to miss art or his class pumpkin feast.
On Tuesday night we went over to the in-law’s house. All the siblings and significant others had arrived. We had a fun night playing games together!
Wednesday was baking day. Also the day Shepard woke up with a fever and crying because his throat hurt so bad. He ran downstairs and went on the couch and as the early morning hours went on he was gasping for air and said he couldn’t breathe. I was ready to take him to the hospital! But he eventually fell back to sleep and seemed to be better after that. Ibuprofen has wondrous effects on sick children. He stayed home from school and was in pretty good spirits for most of the day.
Meanwhile, Greg was trying to work and I was trying to bake. I had no problems with the caramel apple cheesecake, which was the slightly more intensive of desserts. But the butterscotch pumpkin pie! First of all, I didn’t have any pumpkin. Even though I’ve been to at least ten stores that sold pumpkin the last week. I just kept thinking I had a couple cans in the basement. Nope! So I had to run out into the insanity just to buy pumpkin. I made the filling and it only filled up this much of the crust! So I had to make another batch.
There were plans in place for the entire family to go to EAA after the early release of school. But we didn’t think Shepard would be up for it – getting rest for Thanksgiving was a lot more important. So Greg picked Caden up and they joined everyone in Oshkosh for the rest of the day. Shepard and I decided to make some dog treats with the leftover pumpkin to bring to the dog park.
The dog park was open after 4! First time there in a week, Annie had so much fun. And crazily, there was a cat at the park. At first he just walked right into the open area and all the dogs went insane. He just stood his ground. Then he went back through the fence and just sat on the other side for twenty minutes while all the dogs were barking at him. He finally climbed up this tree! I didn’t know cats could really climb that well. I wish I could have seen how he got down again!
Back at home, Shepard hit the wall again. He refused to go to bed, but fell asleep on the floor. He slept there for a few hours before I worked up the energy to carry him upstairs.
I finished my pie in the meantime. I also made crescent rolls, which I never took a picture of. And an appetizer. Basically I spent the entire day in the kitchen. I was ready to pass out by the end of the night. I think I went to bed at 8, right after Greg and Caden came home.
Thanksgiving morning! Everyone was up early (except Greg), as always, and wanting to play video games. I said they had to make a list of ten things they were thankful for before they could play.
I snuck over to the dog park with Annie. It was such a beautiful morning! We had a great time walking around. I couldn’t believe nobody else was there!
We went over to Noe’s mid-morning. We took some family pictures and then did various activities together.
Setting out the appetizers.
I made this cranberry jalapeno cream cheese dip. It went over pretty well!
Thanksgiving Mad Libs.
Coding things, on the tv.
It was a really great Thanksgiving! It was clear that Shepard definitely wasn’t feeling himself, but he wasn’t crabby or anything either. Everyone just relaxed and enjoyed the day. It’s not very often we’re all there at the same time. I had a really nice time. And the food was delicious!
I left around 4:30 to take Annie to the dog park again. Then I made jalapeno popper dip and these cookies for Friday’s party.
Unfortunately, Shepard’s cough was worse and he still had a fever, so he and I did not make it to any of the Friday festivities. There was another big family party. The boys were supposed to sleepover at Grandma’s. And Greg and I were going to his co-worker’s wedding. Instead I spent a good portion of the day looking up Black Friday deals! Shepard and I went to the dog park in the late morning, had lunch, and then took VERY long naps. We both felt much better afterward! We made pizza for dinner and then walked down to the Christmas parade. I feel like the parade gets shorter every year! But it’s fun to be in such a festive atmosphere. Shepard was so excited to see Santa!
Overall, it turned out to be a pretty nice day together. I’m disappointed I missed out on the wedding – mostly because it would have been a unique date night (the whole thing took place in a fancy steak house). Shepard was pretty upset about missing everything. But I’m sure Caden had a blast being the only kid getting full attention from everyone! The week definitely didn’t turn out as planned, but it wasn’t awful either. I’m just seriously thankful nobody was throwing up!!
Anyway, the rest of the day is filled with more festivities. Greg and Shepard are going to go pick up Caden and say goodbye to everyone. I’m going on a Wine Walk around town with my friends. I’ve never done it before, but it should be fun! It’s awesome the weather is pretty mild too. I also need to pack up a bunch of orders and get to the post office this morning. And we’ll spend the rest of the weekend decorating for Christmas!
I hope your Thanksgiving week went well!
