This past Friday, Cincinnati was bracing for a snow storm! Jimmy went to get Santi a pair of snow boots & the last carton of eggs & gallon of milk they had on the shelf. Ok I'm exaggerating, but you know how you act at the thought of a flurry, Cinci.
He came home with Disney Cars boots & I don't know if Santi has let them out of his sight yet. It's Tuesday. He went down to nap snuggling with his left car boot & woke up with it on his left foot, saying "uh oh. Car? Where'd it go?" Pointing at his right foot. This was his way of saying he only had one boot, which is not good for his OCDness. He was 2 booted within minutes.
Next was Happy Hour in our neighborhood. During the summer we do a lot of impromptu HHs. They usually consist of parents, kids, bikes, coolers & some refreshingly cold brew, all gathered together at someone's end of the street.
Our winter version looks similar, but we traded the bikes in for sleds & Summer Shandy's for Irish Coffees.
This is one of the reasons I love our neighborhood so much! ...wait, not because there's always someone to drink with-but because there are always awesome people to be around & kids to play together!
...and I guess only some of the kids traded their bikes in for sleds. Santi still needed both.
He had a blast biking & sledding, but his true love is "help". Whether it's cleaning, or cooking or shoveling the snow-Santi loves helping with chores.
We don't mind so much either :)
After about an hour, Santi said-"Mama, cold" & did corrajitos...or however you spell that word in Spanish. So, inside by the fire we went.
Our fire is directly below the tv, so I sat against the wall & Santi was laying back on my knees, looking up, watching tv from below. This was one of the sweetest moments of the day. Santi Snuggles are rare.
Once Dada came in, we migrated to the couch & all 4 of us snuggled, watching a Muppet's Christmas.
While we were sitting there. I got a text from my Daddy reminding me of a wonderful memory from my own childhood-shoveling much, much more snow than we did tonight. Probably a foot.
What both nights have in common is just being together, talking, playing, laughing. No screens. No interruptions. Nothing but family...and in this case, Irish Coffee :)
One my favorite days ever & best memories with my boys.
The fun continued throughout the weekend. Saturday we kept a Gingerbread House tradition going with the Stillers.
This year, Santi very deliberately decorated the front of his house & then also very deliberately-removed each piece of candy & ate it.
I learned that my OCD can not handle this kind of disruption. I'll have my own house next year! Check out Charlotte & Santi's skills...
Then there was present wrapping. I absolutely adore our tree. I've dreamt about a huge Christmas Tree since I was a little girl.
From my mom's memory tree to my dad's first real red & silver tree as a kid & my Grandparent's green ceramic multi-color lighted tree...they're all so perfect & hold such special memories for me.
...and wrapped presents under the tree make them even prettier!
On Sunday, I tried to pretend I'm crafty. I tried to pretend the 100s of hours I've spent on Pinterest weren't in vain. So, I attempted a semi-homemade gift for people who work on my team. FYI-team, if you're reading this, surprise! This is your gift.
Well...as best I could with broken candy canes, half eaten gum drops & a gnawed on gingerbread man.
Last but not least, after this amazing holiday themed, fun filled weekend-I managed to piss off my husband. How? You ask. I put sweet potatoes in the brownies. Lesson learned? Yep. Don't bake.
What kind of holiday trouble...I mean fun did you get into?
