You know, for the last year at least, Jonas and I have often remarked on a striking thing for us whenever we are at my parent's house: We can just SIT THERE, and eat a full meal, and never worry about our kids. It's so fantastic. This is just in contrast to the infant years, when you have to be feeding/burping/holding them, or the toddler years, when you still have to be feeding them, then keeping things out of their mouths, plants away from their grasp, making sure outlets are covered, guarding them as they go up and down the stairs, etc. Now? Nothing! We are free and clear the entire time we're there! It's great. :) We LOVE this stage of our kids lives, that's for sure.
So, that above scenario is sort of what we were expecting for Thanksgiving this year. My Mom has an awesome room upstairs, dedicated to all things grandchildren. There are toys and books for every age. My kids love that room. PLUS, they had my cousin's kids to play with--Jack and Leah. Leah is just 3 months older than Layla.
This mental picture did not really work out. Leah and Layla really did get along well, but Finn? Finn had no one to play with. And Finn had a ROUGH day. :( We knew we were eating at 2:00 p.m., which is a no-go for little kids, so we made sure our kids ate a good breakfast and lunch before going over to my parent's house. However, the candy. Oh, my, the candy this year. My kids did NOT do well with being told "no" to all of the candy and cookies sitting around, especially Finn. (I brought some Oreos as substitutes for the kids, and Layla did okay with that, but Finn just couldn't get it into his head why everyone else got to eat all the fun stuff and not him. Ranting and raving.) On top of that, Finn just had a hard day, in general! He seemed totally overwhelmed with the people, the noise, the activity. I get that--that comes from me, sorry buddy. At least three separate times he came up to me and said something like, "Mama, I sleep with you???" and then brought me upstairs to my parent's room where we would cuddle on the bed for a while, then he would play out "Fireman Sam" dramas for me--alone in the room. Poor kid. It was just a rough day for him, especially considering how it normally is there, so because of that it was a rather rough day for myself and Jonas. We took turns being on "kid duty," something we thought we had gotten out of a year ago...
THEN, on top of the rough afternoon, we got home, got the kids to bed, and they BOTH woke up that night, sick. Clearly they had gotten "some" dairy products, or other things they are allergic to, during the day. While none of their allergies will kill them, THIS is exactly why we are normally so strict and careful: They can seem okay for a while if they get some dairy, and then they are up at night, throwing up, screaming, or itching skin, etc. It's just awful. I mean, I'm glad that they don't go into anaphylactic shock or anything like that for sure, but this just confirms once again how careful we have to be with them and their food...unless we want to be up all night. Which was also no fun. For anyone. Thankfully today they seem totally fine, although still cranky--emotional ups and downs are also a classic response to allergy exposure. We're pushing stomach-friendly, healthy foods today and hoping to be back on track very soon.
Here are a few pictures Renee took at Thanksgiving. I was too shot to care about photos/videos this year.
 |
| Deera, the wife of Mursil (a Saudi student who lived with us for a while), and their daughter Alleen. Mursil, Deera, and Alleen stayed with us last night in our guest room. Alleen had heart surgery 1 month ago at the Mayo Clinic, and we are so thankful she is doing great! |
 |
| Jonas, doing the beard thing. |
 |
| Renee made sugar cookies shaped like pumpkin pies. :) They were GOOD. |
 |
| Jonas and I always miss the game of settlers because the kids go to bed so early. Some day! (In fact, we've started putting Finn to bed at 6:30 now. It's so awesome. Layla is still 7:00.) |
 |
| Dad, gathering everyone for prayer before the meal. |
 |
| Jonas and Jon lead the charge to hold hands while praying. |
 |
| Mom and Dad, Aunt Peggy and Uncle Duane. At the reversed kids table. ;) |
 |
| A view of trying to get everyone to take a seat...and the food was FANTASTIC again, as usual. My Brussles sprouts and bacon were a big hit, even though it was touch-and-go cooking at home! |
