Turkey Week Hangover

Random thoughts after a holiday week....

The Thanksgiving break was a good reprieve from work for me, and Amy & I got to spend quality time with the boys, all four of us. Of course we didn't take enough time to relax, spending the boys' naptime and bedtime painting, putting up blinds, fixing up the house etc. Alas the move-in continues and probably will for a while, but we are really starting to put our imprint on the house making it our home. Rome wasn't built in a day, right?

One of my favorite things about the holidays is how they break up the normal routine. And while routine is good and saves us as parents, it can also be a trap in that we don't break away from the same things often enough. Last week gave us a chance to do some of things out of the ordinary, regardless of how small they were -- all four of us going to the park on a random morning, playing with the boys and the dog outside in the middle of the day, etc. Taking a break from the day-in, day-out routine is a good thing sometimes.

On the sports front my beloved Wildcats came up short against their nemesis Tennessee on Saturday. It was one of those games where I thought Kentucky outplayed the Vols and had the game in hand with the ball inside the 10-yard line in the waning minutes. Yet an ill-timed penalty and the lack of ability to finish off a team once again doomed Kentucky. Winning is the only thing that changes that mentality -- the ability to know you are going to come out on top in these close games. Coach Rich Brooks made a lot of strides with this team this year, and hopefully he will build on that next year so they can win these games, especially against the Big Orange. Still I'm hopeful for a bowl bid to either Nashville or Memphis so I can see the Cats play for the first time in a couple years.

Folks in our neighborhood started decorating for Christmas this weekend. We have everything from nice, quaint lights & wreaths to Santa, reindeer, & snowmen elbowing each other for position on lawns -- the Clark Griswold-style lawns. Although our preference is more on the subtle decorating side sometimes walking through the neighborhood to see the "busier" houses is fun. The boys love reindeer after all -- Gus & Owen neigh in unison like horse swhen they see them. Amy & I may dive into some Christmas decorations this weekend -- we'll see.

Finally we are excited about visitors coming through the Tar Heel state in the coming weeks. GJ is coming this weekend to spend some time here with us and the boys -- hopefully this visit will be easier than the last time she & Pappy were here when we were moving. (We won't put you to work quite that hard this time Mom, I promise.) ;-) The boys will be anxious to show off their "dactors" and "tucks" -- they are both on a major tractor and truck kick right now as little boys are known to do. After that visit the Poseys and both sets of grandparents will be coming to town around Christmas. We'll have all the boxes out of the way by then.

Aunt Mel only has six more weeks to go before she & Roman get an addition to their household. Could be a holiday surprise....

It's getting to be Vince Guaraldi time -- cheers!