grind

After four days off, we were back to the grind today. Humph!

Mr. Hawthorne had the entire week off. It was nice having the handy husband around to paint bedrooms and fix electrical outlets. We now have light in the dining room again and Miss Petite's sleeping space is cotton candy pink!! I organized bedrooms removing trash and clutter. When I get in the groove of purging, I love it but it is tough motivating myself to do the job because in cleaning, I end up creating huge piles elsewhere. I'm happy to announce I managed to remove bags of donations and junk out of all three kid rooms though. The week had been very productive. So having everyone go back to school and work this morning was tough. I really wanted to just roll over pretending we were still on holiday. No such luck. Life has a way of marching on.

Good news though, the Thanksgiving holiday was simple and sweet. We spent it with my parents down on the farm. The turkey meal was delish and the mood was low-key, just the way I like it. Mr. Hawthorne and I debated hitting up some Black Friday sales due to start Thursday evening but then thought better and avoided the chaos all together. Which in the end turned out to be a good call.

By Friday morning, the two day monsoon of torrential rainfall had finally stopped. Out went the boys heading up the job of de-tangling lights and decorating the front yard. Currently, a very large, blow-up Santa stands guard, candy canes light the pathway, and multi colored lights adorn the rooftop. Very festive!

The inside of my house, on the other hand, (quoting my neighbor...Hi Patti) "looks like Santa Claus threw up all over it". The statement itself made me laugh, but the visual is even funnier. Well, if it was to really happen, Santa coming down the chimney and throwing sugar cookies up all over the living room that is, wouldn't be so funny I guess. But, my house currently resembles a ghoulish scene none the less.

With only two days left of November, I found myself at the kids' school doing my monthly job. I'm in charge of updating the large, bulletin board calendar in the school courtyard. Before I headed out to freeze my back-side off painting lines and stapling die-cut numbers, the secretary informed me of my kindergartner's recent actions. I might have mentioned before she has earned her fair share of yellow cards for being a chatty Kathy. Obeying the class rules of order and quiet is not her strong suit but she is getting the hang of it three months in. Her newest act of defiance, however, has been getting off the bus, going to the office and waiting until the bell rings. After which, she fills herself out a tardy slip and heads to her classroom. Three cheers for the responsibility of my five year old. Big thumbs down for her stinkerness!! You see, she should never be late to class because she rides the bus!! And, I'm pretty sure the bus is never late to school. The kindergartners have a special place they line up and they are walked to class by older students every morning. Every Morning! Miss Petite has been skipping this routine completely, making her way to the office to "hang out" and fill out tardy slips. I have no idea why this is so fantastic to her. El Fuego kept me on my toes (and still does) at this age, but this girl is giving me a run for my money.

I wrapped up the rest of the day by defrosting at home, Cyber Monday shopping, wrangling kids into doing their homework and making dinner. The sun's disappearance around 4 pm makes for short days. But, at least I feel less guilt for being in my jammies by 4:25 when it's dark and cold outside.