December Quickly

December is kicking my butt. Every year I am reminded of how wild, crazy, and overwhelming this season is, and yet, I can’t think of any way to make it different. I feel like I always live December in check list mode rather than enjoyment mode. 

In my current out-of-control December lifestyle, I wake up everyday at 4:00 am and can’t go back to sleep until 6:00, if at all. My CPAP is always removed, and I have no memory of taking it off. 

Speaking of sleep, every time I try and blog, I immediately start falling asleep. Right now I’m fighting to keep my eyes open. I have several unfinished posts that are about three sentences long. 

(I tell you no lie - I just took a legit 40 minute nap at 8:00 pm right here).

In an effort to try and document some of December before I fall asleep again, here are some things that have happened thus far:

Christmas in Color (drive thru Christmas lights) followed by Leatherby’s where I had the most delightful raspberry sorbet

Nicky has been repeatedly pranked this month 

(This one was the worst! They threw cookies ingredients all over the car, and we had to scrub flour out of every nook and cranny. Also, how could they do this to the butter? Don't these kids know how expensive butter is right now? I am simply agog!)

Not pictured: a photo from the night his friends soaked several pairs of women's underwear in water and then put them all over the Jeep so they froze (a Walmart bag of saturated undies is still laying on the floor of my garage probably growing mildew)

Dance performances for community and school

Moana Jr with our Unified Theatre program (a combination of special and general ed students)

Choir concert for Zoe and Eva

4th grade theatre for Eva 

Christmas parties (with more to come)

A visit to the Giving Machines downtown (on a Sunday at 9 am - highly recommended for my fellow crowd haters)

A night out with friends (much needed)

And the best Christmas gift ever (from my friend Krystle)

Not pictured: multiple birthday parties, Scotty’s and my work parties, game night, basketball halftime, primary program, and a sinus infection. 

This post took me over a week to write! But I got a few naps in. 

Proof I Live with Kids: A Photo Essay

Giant stuffed animals occupying the furniture:

Tape everywhere:

Snowflakes and paper chains hanging from the ceiling (and subsequently falling on the floor):

Legos everywhere:

Please note the Moroni made from a monkey holding a spyglass

The above photos show approximately 2% of the Legos in our household

(and I say "Legos" instead of "LEGO" for plural, and I will not change)

Winter clothing spilling all over the floor:

Holiday-themed pillow cases:

A mini hat on my bedside lamp:

A Music Man banner hung on my bedroom wall (courtesy of Nicky):

There is also a giant poster of Nicky hanging on the opposite wall

LED lights, posters, and artwork hung on every wall:

And Squishmallows. So many Squishmallows. 

Artwork and school papers covering the fridge:

Squishies all over the place - always covered in hair and dirt:

I throw so many of these away, and they just keep showing up 

Kitchen table is never clean:

Random things taped to the walls:

Shoes everywhere:

 Not pictured: bobby pins and hair ties all over the floor, globs of eyelash glue on the vanity table, socks - SO MANY SOCKS!! ALWAYS SOCKS!!!, 18 different advent calendars and countdowns, head-shaped dents in the walls, boogers on the side of the couch, charging cords draped on every surface (until you need a charger, then they are nowhere to be found), earrings, chapstick, misplaced money, inside-out pants with underwear attached, hair brushes, bandaids, zit patches, water bottles, candy wrappers stuffed in the couch cushions, clothes and towels on the bathroom floor, backpacks, and blankets.

The Thanksgiving Breakdown

The title of this post makes me laugh because it can mean multiple things - one being “here is a breakdown of how we spent our Thanksgiving” and another being “we all had a breakdown over Thanksgiving.” Both are true for this year. 

TUESDAY

I went to work for a few hours but didn’t stay long because my kids got out of school early. I really wanted to do something as a family because it’s been a while since we spent time together, so we went to see The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Nicky and I both slept through a lot of it. We were both wiped out from the musical. That night I went with my friend to see one of the other high school’s musicals. 

BeReal has my back for this post

WEDNESDAY

I woke up to a text from Nicky from late Tuesday night telling me he and his almost-girlfriend were returning to “just friends.” For a million reasons, this was devastating. Hence a breakdown.

I took Daisy to a doctor appointment and then we ran some errands. I had a gift card for Smith’s so we went on a grocery shopping spree, then we had Cafe Rio for lunch.

We put the tree up in the living room and left it undecorated for the day. 

Daisy hates my trolls

That night I made jello (which I had to make a late night run to the store for) and cut up bread loaves to dry out for stuffing. Some of the kids and I played Quixx. Scotty went and hung out with his bros (they usually hang out Thursday nights, but they changed days for the holiday). Nicky and Daisy ended up staying up late together playing golf on a putting green. It did my heart good (even though they were really loud and annoying) because they haven’t spent much quality time together lately. 

THURSDAY - THANKSGIVING

I went to work from about 5:30-10:00. I love going into work early. I got so much stuff done. It was amazing! When I got home I finished my Thanksgiving assignments (stuffing, pretzel jello, cranberry sauce, and butternut squash). We went to Scotty’s mom’s this year. 

Side note: when you have four sets of parents, it can be hard to figure out holidays. We used to go to multiple Thanksgivings, and then we realized we were always rushing from one place to the next, and we never felt present where we were, so we decided to stop doing that and just go to one Thanksgiving a year. A rotation doesn’t really work because our families don’t hold to a regular Thanksgiving schedule - only Scotty’s dad who hosts every-other year. My mom and Scotty’s mom play it by ear every year, and I don’t even remember the last time my dad did something for Thanksgiving. So we try to just not go to the same place two years in a row. Last year we went to Scotty’s dad’s, so this year we went to Scotty’s mom’s. 

Our Thanksgiving was at 1:00. We hung out there for few hours and then we went to my mom’s to visit. We tried to watch The Wizard of Oz to prep our kids to see Wicked on Friday, but none of them would pay attention. So I held my baby niece and sang all the songs to her while silently begrudging my own children.

I “yellow brick road” -ed her to sleep

Scotty’s mom wanted Eva and Zoe to sleep over that night and help her with her Christmas decorations the next morning, so we left my mom’s and went back to Scotty’s mom’s to drop them off. We ate a few leftovers and packed up three grocery bags’ worth of food to take home. 

We played a round of Five Crowns with Nicky and Daisy (Scotty killed us, as he does with all games), and then Scotty and I retired to bed where I stayed wide awake until about 1:00. I had two recurring dreams - one where I go back to my old job at Winder Dairy and the other where I live in my grandma’s house.

FRIDAY

I was wide awake at 4:00, so I went to work early again. Scotty went and donated plasma, which he does every Wednesday and Friday. Then he and Nicky went for a four mile walk. He had the day off work. 

I worked until about 10:30. Then I came home, ate a plate of leftovers, and took a nap. 

I started decorating the Christmas tree. I kept it simple this year and only did about half the decorations. 

In the afternoon we went to see Wicked. Positive reviews from all of us, although I needed it to be 30 minutes shorter (I tap out at two hours). 

I got tickets for the captioned show, and I was so glad I did! I snuck in some fruit and seven layer dip. 

I also had obligatory chocolate, but anyone can sneak chocolate into a movie. 

We started a new puzzle - Dowdle Folk Art released a puzzle of our city, so I got a copy and couldn’t wait to build it. 

SATURDAY

I was wide awake early again (I’ve been in a horrible pattern of waking up at 4:00 and staying awake). I left the house at 6:30 and hit Chick-Fil-A for breakfast before picking up an order at Sam’s Club (scheduled for 7:00 am because, yes, I’m crazy). I decided to impulsively walk around Walmart on the way home, but while I was in the Christmas aisle, I remembered my kids were supposed to do baptisms for the dead and needed to leave at 8:00. I had Zoe’s recommend in my wallet, so I left Walmart and raced home to send them off. 

We have a tradition of everyone picking an ornament each year, so since it was just Eva home, I went back to Walmart with her in tow and let her pick an ornament. She also shopped for our family name drawing (she drew Daisy’s name) and I patiently let her wander the store. We went back and forth and back and forth, and I just let it be an opportunity to get some steps in even though I had to take a lot of deep breaths and talk myself into being patient. 

I ended up at Chick-Fil-A a second time because it was Eva’s dream to buy a plain piece of chicken for breakfast. She ate her piece of chicken and talked about it for the rest of the day. Apparently it was wonderful. 

Right before we left the house, a transformer up the street blew, and the power went out. It was out for about three hours, so after we got home, Eva was pretty bored. I ended up putting her to work wrapping Christmas presents. When the power came back on, we celebrated by watching TV and using the internet. I always make a Chatbook for each kid for Christmas with some photos of their year, and I print them during the Black Friday sale, so I got those finished up. Other Black Friday purchases: Cafe Rio gift cards, shoes, and Flutter Habit lashes. 

I took a long nap, and Scotty finished our puzzle while I was asleep. Shame on him. 

Daisy begged for a haircut all weekend, so I snuck in a quick trim on her.

In the afternoon, Scotty took the little ones swimming, and while they were gone, Daisy’s boyfriend of nine months broke up with her via text message. If you’re keeping track, that’s two break-ups over Thanksgiving break. Scotty and I were supposed to go play poker that night, but I ended up staying home with Daisy. We went to dinner first (with Daisy), and then I dropped Scotty off at poker night and came home. I rage cleaned the bathroom while Daisy laid on the couch. I stayed up too late.

SUNDAY

We woke everyone up early and went to the Conference Center to watch the Music & the Spoken Word broadcast. 

I’ve been wanting to go all year since we have a later sacrament meeting, and now that we’re running out of time, we finally did it. They happened to have the bell choir there, and that’s always a fun treat! 

After Music & the Spoken Word, we went to church. It was Fast and Testimony meeting and the one-year anniversary of when a man got up in front of everyone during a baby blessing (with lots of visitors with small children) and told all of the kids that Santa wasn’t real. That guy got up yesterday, and you could tell certain personalities in the congregation were ready to rush the pulpit, if needed. But he behaved. Phew.

After church we came home and ate soup. We lounged about for a bit. Then we headed to Scotty’s brother’s house for dinner. We were there for a couple of hours, then we came home and watched a movie. I stayed up late grieving with Daisy and helping her get ready to face school in the morning. 

Between the musical ending and two breakups, our lives will not be the same this week. 

And there you have it - the Thanksgiving breakdown and the Thanksgiving breakdown.

Currently (December 2024 Edition)

Reading: nothing. 

Wearing: black pants, a black shirt, and a blue blazer. Sometimes I wear pants to church. 

Eating: not Thanksgiving leftovers. After three days, I’m moving on. I have a crock pot of chicken cabbage soup on the counter. 

Suffering from: post-Thanksgiving bloat, but I have no regrets.

Thanksgiving at Scotty’s mom’s house

Annoyed by: noise. In the past year I’ve become overly sensitive to noise. Any sound that I’m not in control of makes me feel like a crazy person.

Buying: Christmas gifts. Tis the season. 

Excited about: a book I put together for Nicky for Christmas with all of his photos from The Music Man. 

Needing: a break from my kids after having them home for Thanksgiving break. 

Watching:

Dreading: the “busy-ness” of the next few weeks. I wrote out a calendar and meal plan for December, and oh boy. It’s gonna be a lot.

Enjoying: having the Christmas tree up.

Looking forward to: vacation in January.

Missing: the ham, egg, and cheese bagel that McDonald’s used to serve. I got them all the time in high school. 

Worried about: my kids. Always. Does this one need a diagnosis? How can I help this one make friends? What am I going to do about junior high? How do we navigate the love lives of teenagers? 

I just want to move to a compound and isolate them all from society. 

Procrastinating: everything to do with college and Nicky. And everything to do with mission and Nicky. Basically everything to do with Nicky and adulthood. 

Singing: the theme song from the show Bad Sisters. It’s a weird song, and it gets stuck in my head, and I don’t even really know what it says. (Not a show I’d let my grandma watch, by the way).

Listening to: Nicky singing Christmas songs with a speech impediment. 

Craving: EVERYTHING. It’s Fast Sunday. 

Drinking: Dr. Pepper Zero and Diet Dr. Pepper 

Grateful for: good friends. 

Got Words?

I’m thankful for words.

As a reader and a writer and a talker, I really like words, and I always appreciate having the right words. In fact, I think I would rather enjoy reading a dictionary someday and highlighting my best finds. Oh, how I adore a good synonym! And my heart soars when an accurate adjective comes to mind. Descriptions are important to me, and I view everyone as someone I might have to write a character sketch about someday, so I’m always rehearsing the language I might use to portray a person. 

I keep a note on my phone of new words I learn that I like. I get excited when there’s a word for something that I’ve always wanted to describe but didn’t know there was a term for. Here are some words (but also phrases and terms) from my list:

Postprandial

refers to after lunch or dinner. So one might go for a postprandial walk, take a postprandial nap, or get postprandial diarrhea. 

Mirepoix 

is a mixture of diced vegetables, typically celery, carrots, and onion, sautéed in oil, as one might prepare for a soup or a chicken pot pie. I also just realized I don’t know how to pronounce this word, but six years of French leads me to guess “meer-pwah.” I’ll google later to see if that’s correct, but it’s not like I’m gonna go around actually saying this word. 

Mykokymia

is a term for involuntary twitching of the eyelid. I go through bouts of eyelid spasms a few times a year. The first time I remember it happening was while I was playing Donkey Kong on the Super Nintendo when I was a kid. It typically happens several times a day for about three weeks, and then my eyes will be fine for a while. I don’t remember where I came across this word, but I was excited when I found it!

Frisson 

is an emotional reaction where you get goosebumps or chills or even get teary eyed as a response to music and other art forms (here’s a blog post I wrote about frisson earlier this year). 

Fundamental attribution error

is our tendency to blame people’s personalities for their behavior rather than considering external factors. For example, I might assume that the guy in traffic who runs the red light is an impatient a-hole, when really, he had lunch at Cafe Rio and is about to poop his pants. 

 

Baader Meinhoff phenomenon

is also known as frequency illusion. This is when we become aware of something for the first time and suddenly it seems like it’s everywhere. It might be a word you’ve never heard of or an actor you’ve never seen before, and then they’re all over the place. 

Mariko Aoki phenomenon

is when you have the urge to poop when you go to certain stores. This would never happen to me, but let’s say (hypothetically) that my stores were Sam’s Club and Hobby Lobby.

Portmanteau 

is a word that is made from combining two words - like brunch or bromance.

Semantic satiation

is a sudden feeling that a word you are using has no meaning. Have you ever said a word and then felt completely unsure if that was the right word, and then you question what that words means? And the sound of the letters together seems iffy, and you aren’t even sure it’s actually a word at all? Then a few seconds later the word seems correct again, and all is well?

———

As you can see, I have a bit of a thing for cognitive biases. 

What amuses me the most is the amount of these words I’ve learned from TV. 

So Long, Harold

For the past six months, Nicky has lived and breathed Harold Hill. The first three months were preparation for auditions for The Music Man, and the last three months have been rehearsals and performances. 

It has been quite the experience, and let me tell you, this kid worked his tuchus off. 

He never felt worthy of the role and always thought that someone else would have been better suited for it or deserved it more. I have Mom Bias, but I know without a doubt this was Nicky’s gig. It was always meant to be Nicky - he was 100% made for it. Likewise, Addie was the perfect Marian. They were ideal for the roles, and their chemistry was unmatched.

Addie and Nicky

Monday night was the final show, and as I sat in the auditorium, I thought, “Who will we be tomorrow?” Our lives have revolved around The Music Man for so long that I'm not sure what happens now. It's affected all of us - Nicky first and foremost, but Daisy was also in the musical, and the rest of us have been in the supporting wings. 

Daisy in the middle

We've heard Nicky's shower performances for months, and the songs have played continuously on our Echoes and in the car. Nicky has watched the Robert Preston movie almost every Sunday since the musical was announced in May.

The first time I got to see Nicky on stage as Harold was in a dress rehearsal the week before the show opened. I helped with hair and makeup prior to curtain call, and then I snuck in to the auditorium. I was immediately taken in by the opening song, "Rock Island." 

Nicky in "Rock Island" 

the moment you find out that he's Harold Hill

The kids cast for the scene nailed it, and I smiled through the entire number. I was blown away by Daisy's friend Leo, whom I almost couldn't recognize because his stage presence has grown so much since he played Chuck in Footloose earlier this year.

Leo with his stache

(he had more lines in this musical than Nicky 

had collectively in the three musicals prior)

A few minutes into the show, Nicky sang "Ya Got Trouble," and my reaction was, "Oh my gosh! My son is Hugh Jackman." Again with the Mom Bias, but he was amazing. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. That became my favorite of Nicky's solos (though I loved every single one) because that song showed the audience what he was going to give them for the whole show. It was like he was saying, "This is what you're here for!" with a promise of high energy and entertainment. 

Here are some photos from some of his other songs:

"76 Trombones"

"The Sadder but Wiser Girl"

Nicky with his friend Clayson 

These two are always a hit together on stage

"Marian the Librarian"

(this is most of the casts' favorite scene)

"Til There was You"

One thing that has been so fun about having Nicky do theatre for the past four years is getting to know all the different kids involved and to see them grow in confidence and performance. I am always just as excited to see all of them do the shows as I am to see my own kids. I've gotten to know their individual talents and strengths and the various personalities that combine to make a really good production. 

It hasn't quite hit us yet that it's over. There are some emotions looming, and there have been some sad things transpiring in the past 24 hours, but Thanksgiving is keeping our minds busy. Fortunately Nicky is involved in a production of Moana here soon with Unified Theatre, which is a combination of general and special ed students. That gives him something to look forward to. 

I'm so proud of Nicky for what he has accomplished in these past several months. He gave Harold Hill his heart and soul, and he was absolutely stellar on stage. One thing I didn't anticipate until I saw it happen was how aerobic the role of Harold Hill would be. Nicky was on stage singing and dancing for almost the entire first act. 

By the time "Marian the Librarian" started (which is about an eight minute song), he was always drenched in sweat and completely exhausted, but the scene was so important to him that he always gave it his all and kept that energy flowing. 

A little sweaty

(he ended up ditching his suit coat for this scene after 

a few test runs because he was always too hot)

I am still stunned that Nicky ended up with the lead role. Two years ago he specifically stated that he would never want to be a lead in a musical because it would be too much work. Six months ago he couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. He has taught me so much about change and growth this year, and I am in awe of him. I hope he knows now that he was worthy to be Harold all along.