Bits and Pieces: November

I have a new nephew! Otto was born in early November. The kids are very excited about "the baby brother" as they keep calling him, and I am excited to have a baby to snuggle that is not my own.

The other big thing this month was, of course, Thanksgiving. We hosted dinner here and were joined by Ben's parents and aunt and uncle. The food was good, and I finally found a pumpkin pie recipe I am happy with. This is important because pumpkin pie is the best of all pies. (I baked an apple pie with my Grandma's recipe, too. It turns out her recipe is from the Betty Crocker cookbook.) I also mostly successfully replicated my mom's stuffing. It was a hit! I ate way too much, because I am a cliche.

The day after Thanksgiving we drove to Green Bay. We spent the night in a hotel, and then drove the rest of the way to the small town of Oostburg, where my grandma lives. We were there for her  90th birthday party. Most of my extended family was there. Clare enjoyed herself. Christopher was cranky. My grandma seemed very happy. She is so cute, she had gift bags for everyone. She even gave us each a plastic bag and to go box in which to carry home leftover cake. We drove home that night, so everyone was a bit fried. The kids had fun swimming at the hotel, though, and eating any sugary cereal they wanted at the hotel breakfast.

This might be a boring story, but the front desk clerk at the hotel is my hero after she tracked down Christopher's Bumblebee transformer that he left in the breakfast room. When we noticed it missing, I went looking for it, asking at the front desk if anyone had seen it. She said no one had turned it in. Then, when we checked out, there was Bumblebee waiting at the front desk. The clerk explained that she had seen another boy walking down the hall with it, and she asked if it was really his. He reluctantly handed it over, much to Christopher's joy. So thank you to the hotel clerk in Green Bay, Wisconsin. You saved the day.

The kids had a day off school the week before Thanksgiving, and I took them on a behind the scenes tour of the Aquarium. (40 x 40 goal!) Clare and I thought it was interesting. Christopher did not. He created his own fun by holding onto my coat and running around in circles until I was a tightly wrapped package.

We had conferences this month. Both kids are doing well.  I talked to Christopher's teacher about his complete lack of interest in writing or art. (When Clare was his age she could write her name. He can write some lines, no actual letters.) His teacher said not to worry. When he is interested in something, he'll start doing more writing and art. He has started making friends at school, and he really likes it a lot. He loves his teachers, too.

I saw Wilco at the Palace Theater. Thumbs up. I also had my fall friends' weekend away. We went to La Crosse. We had a nice trip, despite mice in the rental house and a trip to the ER. (One friend thought she was having an allergic reaction. She is okay.) I also got to visit my grandma and aunt. It was nice to visit without the kids there to distract me. I enjoyed it.

And now it is time to think about Christmas. We are going to see Santa already this Saturday. The kids are excited. December will be busy, but I tried to plan everything out so I won't be too stressed. Haha, yeah right.

Playing outside during our one snowfall.

Meeting their new cousin, The Baby Brother.

At the Firefighters Museum in Minneapolis.

I didn't frame this well, so the lamp is cutting off part of the date.

Thanksgiving, Wisconsin-style. (Even though we were in Minnesota. And I actually cheered for the Vikings. Hey, anything can happen in 2017.)