Grateful

I just had 6 glorious days off of work.

Don't get me wrong - I absolutely LOVE my job. It doesn't always feel like work.

I never get the Sunday Scaries.

But having 6 solid days off was good for my soul.

I enjoyed every second.

On the first day, Steve and I headed out toward Buffalo. 

They had just gotten like 80 inches of snow within 3 days.

There's a country store out there I have been meaning to check out for like 15 years.

Yeah, I know.

My old boss from my very first job owns this country store and ran it while working at the agency full time.

It's grown over the years and it's just freaking amazing inside.

The wall of cookie cutters. Please excuse Steve's creepy expression.

What a cool music player! This is a replica and they are pricey! My new boss (the owner of the company I work at now) saw my stories on IG and commented that one of his prize possessions happens to be one of these from 1890 from his grandparents! How amazing is that?!

I didn't end up taking more pictures, unfortunately. It was just SO cute in there! The upstairs was ALL Christmas with so many cool things to look at.

We bought a few things - a meatloaf sauce starter, pancake mix, stocking stuffers for the kids and some old-fashioned candy! 

Steve and I needed a nice day out together. 

We got home in time to do some chores around the house and got the girls off the bus. We went to my mom's for dinner and the girls slept there until Thanksgiving! 

Steve and I didn't have the girls Wednesday since they slept at my mom's house.

Steve had therapy and I had another kind of appointment.

Several meanings behind this anchor and compass

Picasso's "Lump" (his wiener dog!)

I went to the same lady that did the tattoo on my other arm - the girls' names.

I really like her, she's got this new tool that is WAY quieter than normal and I legit felt barely any pain.

Easy peasy.

I love it.

Thursday was Thanksgiving! 

My plan was to get to my mom's house relatively early to help her cook.

We got to her house around 11.

I got straight to work.

Baking show on TV and donned my apron.

We're working on it. 💜

It was a lovely day.

Steve took the girls to his parents for a bit in the middle of the day while we were busy cooking and came back for dinner. 

I'm all about doing what's right for ME from here on out. I will not do ANYTHING for ANYONE if it makes me uncomfortable. 

With all the uncertainty in my life right now, I can still say I'm SO grateful.

I'm healthy. My kids are happy and healthy. 

Steve is suffering another flare-up with his back but is generally healthy.

My mom is happy and healthy and helps me so much. I get to see her and my sister weekly.

So I'm grateful.

I'm grateful that I have an amazing job that I love.

I'm grateful for my house that I've spent the last 8 years growing into and loving. 

I'm grateful that I'm in a place where I can consider second chances.

Friday was spent doing absolutely nothing. 

Well, I did some Black Friday shopping from my bed. 

And watched Christmas movies. 

Because. Duh.

The girls just hung out and did their thing all day. 

Since it's a school break, we allowed tablets. 

I didn't care, as long as they didn't try to see what I was getting on Black Friday.

I scored some deals, but nothing outrageous. I didn't get a TV for $50 or anything. 

Friday night gave me some serious PTSD.

Steve came home from work, walking straighter than he has in weeks. 

But, he must have done something, sat weird or something because right after he got home, he was unable to stand up from the position he was in. He was again, on his belly, on our bed, with his legs down, standing kind of. 

He couldn't get up, roll over, or anything. 

It was terrifying.

I went over there and he had to use me to lean on and then I had to stand up with his weight on my back.

I asked him if he needed to go to the ER to get some meds. Something. Anything.

He refused.

He did finally get into an ok position around 1am. 

He called in sick to work the next day because he barely slept and was in obvious pain.

This happens every single year, at this exact same time.

And these flare-ups generally last about 8-12 weeks. 

It's beyond frustrating.

I am frustrated for him, I know he hates it.

And I'm frustrated because I have to take care of the entire family alone. 

He does try to help - but what kind of monster am I to make him do things if he's in pain? 

Anyway. 

He rested Saturday.

We were supposed to go to my mom's to make cookies, but the girls wanted to stay home and spend time with their dad.

We again did very little Saturday, which was fine by me.

More house cleaning. Organizing. Shopping.

We wanted to do movie night with the girls, so we opted for Slumberland on Netflix.

I realized I had never seen Jason Mamoa act. Like, ever. 

It was a cute movie! 

A sad premise, but cute and heartwarming in the end. 

Sunday was a pretty typical Sunday.

We wanted to go get our real Christmas tree, but it was a rainy, disgusting day. Nooooo thank you. We'll go next week. 

Instead, we got our life put back together a bit, put laundry away, clean the house, etc. Made sure we'd be ready to start another week. 

We all have basically 4 full weeks of work and school before we break for Christmas. 

What a magical time of year!