Ten on Tuesday

1.   So we had an amazing Thanksgiving, as you can see.  Amazing.  We drove 18 hours, with my Mom to Warren, CT where Betsy has a country house.  The drive was not bad at all (on the way up) and I have 2 favorite new apps.  The Red Box app and The Starbucks app were lifesavers.  We took my mom's car (since you know my wonky van wouldn't make it that far) and she has one of those fancy DVD players with headphones for all of the kids. I also took my cigarette plug in DVD so I could watch movies (Moonrise Kingdom was my favorite) that I wanted to watch (12 Dogs of Christmas was not really my speed). (Do you know how many movies there are about dogs who save Christmas?  Tons! Why are we leaving it up to dogs to save Christmas?)  We were fresh on that first drive and we did lots of activities.  Emory knitted, Mimi hand quilted, I made friendship bracelets, Packy did activity books, and Jay read. We lost Jay's shoe at a Starbucks in Virginia and didn't realize it until we were almost in Pennsylvania.  He wanted to know if we were going back to get it.  At this point we were at a restaurant and all of the bags were on top of the car, so we told him to limp in case anyone questioned his missing shoe.
2.  Betsy's house is exactly what you want away from the city.  It's in the woods with tons of trees, across the street from a beautiful park, and most importantly, no television.  She does have one TV that is hooked up to a VHS player.  That's right, VHS.  The kids watched Home Alone 1 and 2, and that was all of the screen time they had for the week.  (Full disclosure: Jay does have an iTouch and the other kids did play on my phone.) The kids had so much fun playing outside (we had perfect weather) and the men did lots of "work" in the yard.  (Is playing with a chainsaw really work?)

3.  We hiked Kent Falls and Mount Tom.  Both were beautiful and gave us amazing views of how beautiful Connecticut is.  When I am in New York, time seems to fly.  The days are gone in a second.  In Warren, time stands still. Literally moves at a snail's pace. I would think it was time for lunch and it would be 10am.  I would think it was 9:30 at night and it would be 5.  What a nice change of pace for these city folks to come and relax where time stands still.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Matthew 11:28

Kent Falls.  Jason didn't get the memo that it was crazy picture time.  Packy is falling into the falls.

View from the tower on the top of Mount Tom.

4.  Let me interrupt my trip recap to tell you a story about New York City and the people who live there.  Jason and I watch SNL (DVR'd, of course) and we watched this short about the "sloppy swish" before the break, which has a catchy song and dance.  We thought it was very strange but funny, like most SNL humor.  We kept singing and doing the dance. I showed Betsy the video so she would know what we were talking about and she exclaims, "I know that guy!" The actor?  "NO, the guy he is imitating.  Josie and I saw him all summer on the Upper West Side.  Except he doesn't wear pants."  Of course she does.  Betsy and Josie know Mokiki.  Only in New York.

             

5.  Need some Tweedle love?  Here they are and this pretty much sums it up.

This is Packy trying to explain something to Josie. True frustration on his face.

6.  We went to eat ice cream after our hike up Mount Tom.  Regular ice cream? Nope.  Fancy ice cream.  As in the men behind Manolo Blahnik decided they wanted to open a dairy farm and then decided to make ice cream, fancy.  It's called Arethusa and while we did not get to tour the farm, Betsy assured me that it is beautiful with beautiful cows.  (I started to figure out that Connecticut is where fabulous NYC people go to feel country.  Fancy country.)  The ice cream was most delicious.
7.  We did alot of other stuff but my favorite thing we did was sitting around the fire.  We spent hours around this fire.  Lee made each kid a chair out of a stump and then monogrammed them. (Lolly got the Laverne and Shirley "L".)  Amazing!  (I didn't allow Betsy to put any pictures of the chairs on Instagram so she wouldn't spoil my post.)  Spending time with the Norwood family is my favorite thing to do in any city.  I am so blessed to have my sister and her people.  Thank you Norwoods!

8.  The ride home was not as smooth as the ride up.  We added an additional person, my Dad, so that put all of the kids in the back, together and tight.  We had more snacks and more movies in order to keep the peace. We were a little stir crazy by that last day.  Just a little.  

9.  When I got home, I realized how behind I was, and still am.  Everyone (not really) has already decorated for Christmas.  I felt the pressure start to seize my chest.  Breathe in.  Breathe out. Since Thanksgiving was so early this year, I am totally giving myself a pass.  I am shooting for December 1st.  I am not behind.  

10.  Don't forget to comment on my last post in order to win a copy of The Odd Life of Timothy Green.  It really is a great family movie and if you have ever struggled with infertility or have experienced some aspect of adoption, please don't miss this movie.  It's a tear jerker and a heart warmer all wrapped up in one.  (I'm going to be honest and tell you that I was really nervous about doing a giveaway.  I had some fear that since people don't really comment on my blog, that I might struggle to get 5 comments.  How embarrassing to tell the person that set me up with this that I couldn't get enough responses.  So, thank you to all of you who have commented and if you haven't, please do so here!)