The Holidays are Here

Let it be said that this is the earliest I have ever let the holidays into my house.

I used to scoff at those people who have their Christmas decorations up before the turkey has even been carved. I mean, poor Thanksgiving barely stands a chance sandwiched in between the onslaught of Halloween and Christmas.

But this year I finally wised up and decided to take advantage of my week-long break from school to get somethings done. We started decorating before we enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast with our families, took advantage of the balmy weather to get the outdoor decor up before the cold snap, and finished up today when we went to get a tree.

We keep it simple and classy.

Last year we did the whole Christmas tree farm thing. But this year we decided to skip the trip, as fun as it was, in order to get it all done before I head back to school tomorrow. So while picking out a tree at the local Lowes doesn't have quite the sentimentality of the scenic tree farm, the outcome is essentially the same. We can always do the tree farm experience next year. And honestly, Violet wasn't really into it anyway, so nothing wasted.

Another confession - we waited until Violet fell asleep for her nap to get the tree up and decorated. I know, worst parents ever? But trust me, it was easier this way. And even after she woke up and saw the glamor and glory, she still didn't seem as wowed as I would have expected. So again, nothing wasted.

It has been a wonderful week. I have really relaxed and enjoyed my family and time off. I got a ton of stuff done (doctors appointments, Violet's hair cut, Christmas cards addressed, some shopping done). Violet has been a gem the whole week, no tantrums or time-outs. I finally cracked open my school bag today for a couple hours this afternoon (nothing crazy or anything) so I'm slightly prepared to go back to work tomorrow.

I have much to be thankful for. A husband who loves me and supports me. My family nearby. Wonderful neighbors. A good church. My home to call my own. (When I asked Violet was she was thankful for this Thanksgiving, she said "Violet baby". And I'm thankful for my Violet baby.)

Check Up

Violet had two important doctor's visits this week. We headed to a children's orthopedist to get that pesky collarbone checked out. After another round of x-rays, it turns out that Violet will be just fine (no surprise here). Even though to my inexpert eyes her bones do not look nearly healed enough for the level of exuberant activity she has been exhibiting for the last couple weeks, the doctor didn't seem worried in the slightest. I think we are finally ready to put the entire Fall Heard Round the Mexican Restaurant incident behind us now. Thankfully.

For the other appointment, Violet got her eyes checked. If you remember, she failed the pediatrician's eye screening when she was 18 months old, earning us a one-way ticket to the optometrist. The diagnosis at the time - she'll need glasses. Eventually.

So it was with a bit of trepidation that I took her back this week for another check. Now, don't get me wrong. I wear contacts. Matt wears glasses. Many of our family members have corrected vision. So I'm not surprised if glasses are in the cards for Violet. Eventually. I just really really don't want her to need them now. Because I don't know how on earth I'll convince her to keep them on her face.

Fortunately, the appointment went well. She will still be nearsighted and need glasses, but the doctor thinks we're at least a year away from that. Hey, I'll take another year. And speaking of the doctor, this woman is amazing. Every time I go to this place, I get so annoyed. Their appointments run chronically behind. The staff is meh. It takes forever to see anyone and then half the time I feel like I'm getting hustled to buy a particular brand of lenses or whatever. I'd quit the place in a second except for two important factors. I'm too lazy to find somewhere new (and they're so conveniently located), and Violet's pediatric optometrist is a wonder. How she can get the exam done and information she needs from a wiggling two-year-old is beyond me.

For this exam, she had Violet look at a series of cards with little graphic black and white images on them. After asking Violet what they all were, she held them at different distances and quizzed her on what she saw. My girl passed with flying colors, except for one card. The picture on it was of an old-school telephone. You know, the kind with a receiver and cord and buttons to push. Yeah, Violet had no clue what it was, and didn't seem convinced when I told her it was a phone. "You can't watch videos on it..." was her puzzled reply. Because that's what phones are for, duh. Anyway, it was nice to get both these appointments taken care of with such pleasing results. We are blessed.

 

Cut! That's a Wrap!

Not quite sure about what's happening here...

We've experienced another first! These "first" milestones are few and far between now that I've got such a big girl, but first haircut definitely qualifies.

Maybe I'm unsentimental or have a tin heart beating away in there, but it wasn't that big of a deal. No tears were shed, by either Violet or myself. We did get a little certificate with a lock of hair as a souvenir, so that's cool (or creepy, I don't know). But Violet did awesome for such a new experience, so cross it off the list.

I opted to take her to one of those kiddie haircut places for this first time. I figured there would be plenty of things to distract her if for some reason she decided to freak out on me. Overall it wasn't quite what I expected. When we walked in there was just one stylist working, the place was rather dark and glum despite the blaring cartoons on the tvs at each station. Our stylist was an older woman with hands a bit too shaky for me to have complete confidence. But since all I wanted was a quick trim (and Violet didn't hold her head still enough to get a straight cut anyway) I guess it doesn't matter. Now that she has the first experience under her belt, I can always take her back later for a more official cut and style.

Afterwards Violet was rather pleased with herself and wanted everyone to see her new 'do. And she was super excited to find a gigantic Christmas tree nearby. And yes, this is how my pretty princess insisted on going out to run our day full of errands. At least I was able to explain to her that princesses don't put their hands down their pants and tell everyone in Walmart about their "booty". We'll see if it works.

The princess has arrived.

I got a haircut! And a lollipop!

Shrimp and Grits, Ya'll

I know what you're thinking. Three posts in a row, Kristine? What's going on? Well, that's what happens when this girl is on vacay - time to breath, time to think, time to get the creative juices going!

Time off from work also means I get brave enough to tool around in the kitchen. Usually when it's my turn to host the neighbors, I stick with one of my tried and true recipes that I'm super comfortable with. But today I worked up the nerve to try something new. Two somethings new, in fact.

Believe it or not, I have never cooked shrimp. Or grits. And certainly not the two together. In fact, I barely eat grits. I'm not a Southern girl, it's just not how I was raised. That would be Italian and Swedish, if you don't know. But my pal Emily raved about a super easy recipe that seemed simple enough for even this kitchen klutz. And I'm pleased to report that it was easy. And delicious. And passed the test of my very Southern neighbor. So there you have it. Shrimp and grits, ya'll. Enjoy!

Yum, right?

Lemon-Garlic Shrimp and Grits

1 cup quick cook grits
Salt (I used kosher) and Pepper
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/4 lbs medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 large cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
Juice of 1/2 lemon, plus wedges for serving
2 Tablespoons roughly chopped parsley

1. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat, covered. Uncover and slowly whisk in the grits, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Reduce heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the parmesan and 1 tablespoon butter. Remove from the heat and season with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm.

2. Meanwhile, season the shrimp with salt and pepper. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, garlic and cayenne, if using, and cook, tossing until the shrimp are pink, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and add 2 tablespoons water, the lemon juice and parsley; stir to coat the shrimp with the sauce and season with salt and pepper.

3. Divide the grits among shallow bowls and top with the shrimp and sauce. Serve with lemon wedges.

Look at the Camera

We finally had our family photos taken, rescheduled post collarbone break. The good news is, we got a few decent shots to put on the Christmas card this year. The bad news is... the magic of looking at the camera and saying "cheese!" seems to have worn off for Violet. She was just not into it this year. Her smile was so forced it became a grimace and her eyes could not find the camera for all the lollipops in the world. So most of our pictures feature two happy smiling parents and one kiddo cutting her eyes off to the side. Still, it's nice to have the moments preserved. And it's really nice to have the Christmas card done!

Do you still send Christmas cards? Is it going out of style? Last year I received fewer cards than the year before, and I'm hoping it's not a trend. (The US Post Office is also hoping it's not a trend, I'd imagine!) I, for one, think it's a lovely tradition and can't wait to see who shows up in the mail this holiday season.

Lazy Weekend

Yesterday was the first day of my Thanksgiving Break. Sure I already have a to-do list planned out of everything I want to accomplish this week (multiple doctor's appointments, a play-date, the obvious turkey and pie fest, addressing Christmas cards, procrastinating about the schoolwork I brought home). But I just couldn't get started on it yesterday. I needed a day, one day, to just lay on the couch and be lazy. So I finished reading this page turner. At times grisly, at times hard to keep up with (SO many characters), it remained fascinating to the last page. In fact, it is one of those books that made me want to learn more once the story was over. It's a true account of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and simultaneously the story of one of America's first serial killers. Even if serial killing is not your thing (and I sincerely hope it's not), this historical account of life during that time period and the extraordinary effort it took to create the World's Fair will keep you turning the pages.

While I was busy soaking in some history, Matt and Violet were busy putting together an early Christmas present. Violet proved herself quite the handyman!

Holding it steady.

Line it up there...

Yup, it's level!

Three subtleties you might not have picked up from these pictures, but a) my house is messy! b) Matt is growing his traditional winter beard. c) Violet is out of her sling! (It's been three weeks since the accident, so we've set her left arm free and will wait for Wednesday's ortho appointment to see how everything has healed.

Getting Things Done

So we got to cross some items off our to-do list this weekend.

First up, buying a new washing machine. Sadly, ours pretty much gave out on us last weekend, just hours before Violet decided to throw up all over herself and Matt. So we bit the bullet and had it replaced. Merry Christmas to us, right? It will be delivered tomorrow, hallelujah. I got desperate the day for some clean clothes for Violet, so I did coax one more load out of our old machine, but the spin cycle doesn't work, so before I could put the clothes in the dryer I had to play old-school washer woman and wring a bucketful of water from everything. Ah, modern machinery, how you have improved our lives! (Things still on the to-do list - fixing the broken windowpane in our bedroom (thanks golfers) and replacing our toaster oven - things are falling apart around here left and right!)

And this happened:

If you diagnosed a sinus infection/ear infection, you'd be right.

Yes, I'm under the weather. For the past week I've felt a growing pressure in my ears, but my busy life and Matt traveling this past week kept me from seeing the doctor. (I did have my school nurse take a look in my ears.) Finally Saturday night I couldn't stand it anymore. As soon as Violet was down for the night, I hightailed it to urgent care and got myself a little pharmacy. Yesterday was pretty rough, waking up feeling like there was a freight train trying to push itself out of my face. But I'm hoping it's uphill from here.

Finally, we got our family pictures taken! We were scheduled to have them done two weeks ago, but Violet decided to break her collarbone instead. So I'm glad we were able to reschedule. The weather cooperated, my meds kicked in just in time, and we will hopefully come away with a few good shots.

Sneak peek.

All in all, not a terrible weekend. I didn't feel awesome, but we got a lot of good stuff done, and Violet was her happy self. Plus, after Matt being gone for three days last week, it was nice just to hang out as our little family.

Now one more week of school and it's Thanksgiving break! I can do it!