Bits and Pieces: November

Aside from the election, which clouded my feelings about many things this month, we had a nice November at our house. It was mostly just the usual routine. And Thanksgiving, of course.

At the beginning of the month, I went away on a girls' weekend to Duluth. We ate, drank and walked by the lake. It was a beautiful November weekend in Duluth, and I love being on Lake Superior. I am so grateful to have found a group of friends to do things like this with. It was a much needed break.

Christopher and I went to the Como Zoo by ourselves a few weeks ago. Josie was with her other Grandma. It was so fun to spend time just one on one with him. We looked at all the animals. He especially loved the Polar Bear, which he was able to see up close through the glass. The giraffe was inside, probably because it was a bit chilly outside. Christopher looked at it for a few minutes and then said, "He looks sad." It was heartbreaking, because the giraffe did seem sad. Kids are so intuitive sometimes.

We had Thanksgiving at my parents' house. Katie, Andrew and Josie were there, too. We had a great time. Thanksgiving was filled with food (all of the usual dishes) and drinks. We went to my aunt's house the day after Thanksgiving to see my grandma and celebrate her 89th birthday. My cousins were in town from Los Angeles, and it was nice to see them, too. Saturday I met my friend Christina for lunch. And Sunday we joined the thousands of other people on I-94 heading north. Yeah, the ride home was long, but it was worth it to have that time at the Cuckoo House.

The kids are both doing well. Christopher is turning into quite a comedian, and he loves to have an audience. He has been struggling with the darkness in the morning - it is quite confusing for him that we have to get dressed in the dark. Clare is doing well in school. They have been playing together a lot, which is great, even if their favorite game is coming downstairs with no pants on and demanding I call them "little bare butts."

I am having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit, which I think might be because of the weather. It is too warm for November! I never thought I would complain about that, but it is disturbing me. I have to say, though, that so far I have remained very zen about the Christmas tree lot next door. They finally moved their party area further away from our house, and it has helped a lot. At least so far.

One thing I am excited about is the new episodes of Gilmore Girls! I've only watched the first one so far, and am watching the rest with friends tonight. It's the little things, right?

Happy December!

Polar bear!

Ready for dinner. Except when it was actually time for dinner he declared everything "yucky" and left the table.

Decorating Meema Jo's tree.

He hung all of his ornaments on the same branch.

Throwing decorative gourds into the woods. An annual tradition.

Happy Clare. She had the best time over the Thanksgiving break.