Room swap and good weekend

You know those weekends that leave you tired but oddly refreshed?  Yeah.

Friday night we had the missionaries over.  They always, no matter who, where, what, or how you are, ask whether there's anything they can do to help you.  We've always said no after a polite pause where we pretended to ponder the question.  However, Man's shoulder prevents him from doing some things around the house like lifting entertainment centers and it's nice to have strapping young lads willing to lend a hand.

My beautiful, wee girl-children don't need as much sleep as their old mom and they go to bed early besides.  We moved into this house a year and a half ago in the spring and unwittingly put them into the coldest room.  Couple that with two windows that seem to catch every vibration of the 0630 Reveille and you end up with a 0632 Reveille for one tired mom in the form of two giggling, shivering, bickering lumps fighting over who gets to lay directly on top of me and who gets to wiggle into the warm spot at the small of my back.  Even if I kick them out of bed so I can doze until my 7:30 alarm, they can't reach the cereal and their rumbling stomachs soon get the better of their good natures and my rest.  I've considered leaving some sort of small food offering on the table overnight, as a Breakfast option to be followed by Second Breakfast after I wake up, to buy me some time.  The fear of pests has prevented any action in this direction.

At any rate, warmth and less noise has meant a weekend of little girls leaving us alone until 0800.  Bliss, I tell you.  Even if we only have a few more months to enjoy this arrangement, it's worth it and I don't have to grit my teeth and remind myself why it would be unethical to dose them with Nyquil every eve during tooth care time. 

It's also a smaller room which suits the mass of their possessions and persons. 

Tag has also needed less space.  I considered putting him into the room in which his sisters now live, but that seemed to be a little tight.  He has shelves and a desk and a powerful need for a room that's calming and safe.  First thing he did when he moved into the little girls' old room was take the butterflies off the wall.  It's a cozier fit and he no longer shares a room when the pantry and some miscellaneous storage.  The one closet is easier to close, which is important to him since it "freaks me out, mom."  The room he was in before has closets that have to be beaten shut.

So now we're all happier with the current arrangement.  I'm glad for the extra rest we've been getting.

Yesterday we went to a ward Christmas Party where the food was a little ugh but the company was great.  Someone actually cooked bacon and then kept it warm in a crockpot...  it was spooned on to plates.  I reiterate: ugh.  Tag asked Santa for a motorcycle, Freida asked for a birthday, and Pebbles asked for a flashlight.   Princess was too old for such foolishness and uttered a tween harrumph at the thought of visiting with the patient, old elf, but happily made reindeer candy canes and sugar cookies. 

We set out to visit my sister in law and had a blast!  Clam chowder for lunch and then we decorated cookies.  Her husband "went out and got a deer" because our state is so thick with the critters that you can drive 10 mins down the road and bow hunt, field dress, and return with your trophy in a mere two hours.  The cookies were exceptionally delicious and it was the first time I've ever seen a fresh kill that close before.  Once again, it was some excellent company but the food was also excellent. 

We stopped at the temple on the way home and enjoyed the breath taking glory of the Christmas lights.  The colors were rich and magnificent but had the inexplicable understatement of LED lights. Every tree and bush around the parking lot was embraced with Christmas celebration.  It was so crowded that evening that the stake center parking lot next door was filling up fast and parking lot attendants worked chilly shifts making sure that patrons of the temple had closer access than light voyeurs.  Tag almost got creamed by a bus once and I found the voice of a crazed grisly bear ripped out of my chest in warning.  It worked and he jumped back in time but we were both shaken. 

A quick stop at Chipotle brought us home in time for a bite and a timely bed time. 

All in all, a great weekend.