Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Sometimes THEY'RE The Ones That Can't Let Go

A few nights ago I wrote about how the hardest part of parenting (for me, at least) is watching my kids grow up and not need me as much anymore (obviously there's some awesome benefits to this as well), but sometimes, sometimes they're the ones that can't let something go. Mostly this comes up when they're home from school on summer break and they just have to do the things we've done for years and years and years (Pizza Parlor Day, Ice Cream Shop Day, etc.) or at holidays when they remember a specific craft or activity we've done that they love.

I have a pile of toilet paper roll ghosts from Halloween the past four years. I'm over tp roll ghosts and Santa faces. Anyways, last week the minis overheard me talking about doing Charlie Brown Thanksgiving for daycare. To tell you the truth, it's one of my favorites and all of the kids love it too. So it doesn't surprise me that my minis remember it so well. Last year they cried because they missed out on it because of that important thing called school.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving celebration is not a good enough excuse to miss school. But they insisted on being present for the celebration. So Sunday lunch found me microwaving popcorn, pouring jelly beans onto their plates, and setting up a kiddie table (one that they're much too big for) in the living room. Just so they could have their Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.








They also had a mini panic attack (see what I did there?) when I informed them I wasn't going to do a Thanksgiving Day Eve meal for daycare. I've been busy and didn't feel like cooking my usual full Thanksgiving meal the day before spending a full day celebrating with family. But their pleas and the look on their faces got the best of me. Yesterday and today I spent in the kitchen cooking and baking (and making food that I'll actually eat!). This resulted in a very full day for me and a day of nonstop fun with friends for them.


Our menu included: cinnamon Butter Braid, caramel rolls, vegan raspberry pies, maple glazed roasted carrots, brussel sprouts salad tossed in a Dijon dressing, mashed potatoes (made vegan style), rolls, and turkey. While the mashed potatoes boiled I was also referee for their flag football game.


 Two kids took the morning to make place cards for everyone. I thought it was adorable.

The set table


This was one of the traditions I was willing (and kinda happy) to let go, but the minis weren't having it. Despite being tired and a long list of things to do, I'm happy I took the time to do both of these things that they couldn't go without. I'm never sure when this might be the last one and quite honestly, as I type this sipping champagne to celebrate the holiday, I'm happy I did these without complaint. To the happy memory bank these two days go.