Well, we’ve made it to the holiday week. This one has felt like a marathon, not a sprint for me but I am making the most of it. I spent the morning working on this year’s Christmas Crusher workout. It’s one of my favorite longstanding blog traditions so get ready for a good one! I also booked a flight for Finn and I to pop down to see my grandmother for a few days over Christmas. The holidays have been so up in the air this year (and still are) but I am hoping we can bring her a little Christmas cheer. I’ve also been working on a post about what we are navigating as a family and will share that this week.
Here are a few photos from last week and the weekend!
FINN
Finn is having a magical holiday season and that makes me so happy! I took him to see Santa last week and then his nanny took him to the Ballantyne Hotel to see the gingerbread houses. We also decorated a gingerbread house, baked cookies and he went to Winterfest at Carowinds with his dad. What a lucky boy!
Here is said gingerbread house. I can’t remember the last time I decorated one of these…if ever? It wasn’t a tradition for us growing up. Finn had a lot of fun with it and loved doing the jelly bean decorations. I couldn’t really turn the icing piping over to him because it would have been a bit of a disaster (although I fully admit that my piping skills leave something to be desired, haha).
After gingerbread house decorating we baked cookies. Finn chose chocolate chip because they are his favorite.
We like this recipe from Pinch of Yum although I do chill my dough in the fridge or freezer for a bit before baking. My favorite thing about these cookies is how much they rise along with how fluffy and chewy they are. I am not a fan of flat or crispy chocolate chip cookies. Note, I do roll my cookies into balls before baking and then slightly smush down the top of the ball with the back of my cookie scoop.
I took this photo on a chill morning at home. I love the way his imagination works when I give him free time and space. He ended up getting the tunnel, tent and teepee out in his room and was in there playing and reading book on his own for 30-45 minutes. I have a hysterical video of him reading these nursery rhymes. You know what, I’m going to upload it to YouTube as an unlisted video if you want to watch it because it’s just too cute. Here’s the link.
And what is it about the dirty laundry that kids and dogs just can’t get enough of? Growing up we had a boston terrier who loved to sleep in the laundry basket. Sullie used to always lay on my dirty clothes and Finn likes playing in the basket and was calling this his bed last night.
Flashback to Sullie on the laundry pile circa 2016. I still miss that sweet girl every single day.
PUPDATE
This is a great segue into an update on the pups!
Here we all are bundled up on a family walk! Finn enjoys walks this time of year because of all the decorations.
The dogs got groomed last week and once the groomer took Benji out to her truck, Zoey hid under the table hoping we’d forget her turn was next.
All cleaned up! We had to go a little shorter with Benji this time because he had some matting on his butt but he’ll be a fluff ball again in no time! I am always shocked by how skinny his is when we cut this short. I gave him an extra scoop of food last night. (Vet said he is at a perfectly healthy weight but that I can give him extra sometime because he is so lean.)
Finally, the first thing Finn does when he wakes up every morning is go and snuggle with the dogs. I have given up on keeping him out of the dog bed even though it makes his head smell like dog which is not my favorite. I’m just happy they are all best buds. Nothing better.
HOLIDAY PARTY
We had our staff holiday gathering for Charlotte Yoga last week. It was so nice to see everyone all cleaned up and out of sweaty clothes and also to have time to have conversations and not just quick “hi, how are you” exchanges between classes. I really love teaching at Charlotte Yoga. It’s the first studio in Charlotte that I practiced at when I moved here 12-13 years ago and it’s where I fell in love with yoga. The energy of the space and the overall vibe is just so, so good. We have a dynamic and diverse group of teachers and awesome clientele! This evening filled my cup up so much!
I am going to clean up my kitchen after making a batch of roasted cauliflower soup and then I’m meeting Virginia for a walk. I will be back with a few more posts before Christmas. I hope you guys have a good week and if you’re struggling, hang in there. The holidays are always a lot but especially after the last couple of years that we’ve all had. I keep seeing the above graphic on Instagram and it’s a very relatable one.
QUESTIONS
How are you feeling this week?
What is your child’s favorite independent play activity?
Do you build gingerbread houses or decorate cookies?
What a sweet video of Finn!! So glad you’ll get to see your grandma during the holidays ❤️
It is our first Christmas with our first baby who is 5 months old! Her current favorite activity is “petting” the dogs and babbling and sucking her toes ? No decorating this year since she’s too little but I can’t wait for next year! I hope you have a Merry Christmas, Jen. So many emotions about a second pandemic Christmas but there’s always lots to be thankful for and I’ll snuggle my girl extra close.
As another woman who adores a mother who is in treatment for a scary disease, you have all of my internet love and support. It’s not only a marathon, but a rollercoaster. Some months, the lab results look like they’re improving, and some months look terrible. My family has been fighting this fight for a few years. I’m fortunate that I live very close to my parents, and so I spend as much time with them as possible. My dad and I also always remember that caregivers need care too. Finally, we try to remember that my mom is still a grown adult and wants to take care of the things in her life that she is capable of doing; while we are there to help and support in every way she needs, we also need to step back and let her manage her life where she can.
I’m glad your mom has gone to Duke where I imagine she is receiving top-tier medical care. Wishing you and your family all the best and hoping for good news for you all as she continues treatment.
My oldest is just 2 weeks younger than Finn. Her favorite independent play activities are anything with a play kitchen (we don’t have one yet, but anytime we are somewhere with a kitchen, she will play all by herself all day), books (especially books we pick out at the library) and she loves building, so duplo legos, magna tiles, and bristle blocks, etc…