Certifiable Ways To Save Your Sanity In December
First of all, if you wish to be sane, don't do as I did!
In other words, don't get married on December 9, have baby number one on December 22 and baby number 3 on January 2!!!
Those three events on a pile would be a lot without cookie bakes and gift exchanges and Christmas caroling and family gatherings and family letters (oh, wait, that didn't happen this year!) and lot's of extra food and Christmas programs and pork and sauerkraut! With them, it's exciting at best...stressful at worst!!!
I don't think we're extravagant with our giving, but we have chosen to celebrate birthdays and Christmas with a few gifts. So...right about now I am trying to organize and buy birthday gifts for two and Christmas gifts for many!!! It can get a little confusing, as in "wait a minute...did I get this for Parker's Christmas or am I saving it for his birthday?" It can also get a little expensive, although a few of the gifts this year did come from thrift stores and consignment shops (shhh!!!)
Why is it, then, that my beloved planner (best known as The Time Keeper) is strangely empty? By looking at it, you would think that I had the most boring existence ever!!! There isn't a single thing written down on my "to-do" list for this week, and therefore I don't have the pleasure of scratching anything off, even though I did manage a few things:
(You did know that the ultimate way to save your sanity- or restore some of that which was lost- is to go on an impromptu excursion, right?)
If you want the short version, here is is: all involved had a very nice time and we're glad we took the time off to do a family outing.
If you want the longer version, keep reading:
We started out our day at The Pennsylvania Sate Museum. When I was looking online yesterday for possible things to do today, I came across the fact that an event called The True Meaning of Christmas: A Community Celebration was going on at the museum and that admission to the entire museum was FREE for the day! We didn't end up participating much in the program, but getting into the museum free was very worthwhile.
The favorite place of all was the Curiosity Connection, a spot designed for children ages 5 and under, although Elasa is almost 7 and she said it was her favorite, too!
Within the favorite spot was a second favorite spot... behind the wheel of a shiny red pickup truck that sang and made truck noises at the push of a button!!! Parker loved it so much he thought it should be for his exclusive pleasure alone. No matter what else we tried to entice him with, he never forgot that truck for long!
Aside from the truck, there were tunnels to climb through, a kitchen, little mushroom seats & books in a story-time section, a place for farmers to plant carrots and pluck cabbages, building blocks and lincoln logs, a wooden school bus and, over it all, a giant hovering chick!
Leaving the Curiosity Connection and heading out into the more "adult displays" may have been a few steps down for the children, but at least there were escalators to ride, interesting and very life-like "stuffed animal" scenes, Native American displays (which Elasa remembered and looked forward to since she was here a year ago on a field trip I planned for the Co-op students) and many other things (from owls to covered wagons and archeological digs to giant spiders)- all relating to Pennsylvania! It is one of those museums where you could return every couple of years and still always see something new, especially as your children grew and their interests matured beyond the peripheral!!!
Of course, we had to take a picture of the statute of the man who started it all...William Penn. (Don't you just love his red accoutrements?!!)
As we were ending our tour, we stopped in the area where the event of the day was going on, and the children had fun with the crafts table for a bit...
We had packed our lunch, so once we were finished in the museum, we ate in our van. The scenery of a rather mundane Harrisburg street in the bleak midwinter wasn't the greatest, but Elasa and Gavin were just thrilled to be eating out of lunch boxes!!!
Take special note of how much fun a toddler will have eating a whoopie pie in his carseat. Correction: how much fun he will have licking the icing off the cookie and discarding the rest!!!
Our next stop was a toy train exhibit at Fort Hunter, a very nice historical park along the Susquehanna River. I never heard of this very interesting spot before, but turned up the train exhibit in a search yesterday, and now I have a new place in mind for future field trips and picnics!!!
The toy train exhibit itself was pretty small, and would not have been worth the trip to Harrisburg alone, but since we were in the general area already, we enjoyed it as a supplement to our day. After all, who isn't fascinated with Thomas the Tank Engine (and friends) and other miniature pleasure? For all the larger the exhibit was, they packed a lot of action and quite a few running trains into the scene. Oh, yes...and it was FREE!!!
By the time we left the train exhibit, a certain nearly-two-year-old was in meltdown mode, so in order to give Parker the chance to get a bit of a nap, Wesley dropped me off at a thrift store and drove the children around while I shopped. It was the perfect arrangement!!!!
Later, we all went into a child's consignment shop together and I was pleased to find some pants for Gavin (it was getting hard to find a pair of jeans without holes in his dresser!) and a nice "dressy" coat for Elasa.
Supper at Denny's came last, but not least! The children enjoyed their personal menu options, with Gavin and Parker getting pizza and Elasa ordering chicken strips. They all wanted corn for their side, as this particular delicacy is a mutual favorite right now!!!
(If you're noticing a few changes on Parker's face between now and the whoopie-pie-pictures, you would be right! He took a bad tumble as we were walking back to the van after the train exhibit and now we have our very own Rudolph...and one with more than just a glowing nose!)
I'll just have to say, though, that the most tasty food on the table was mine: a prime- rib- steak- philly- cheese- sandwich with crinkle fries...a particular (albeit greasy) weakness of mine!
Our van fairly rocked on it's way back down interstate 81 with three children who were suffering from too much excitement and too little sleep! I told Wesley that now he knows what it's like to drive the circus train!
In other words, don't get married on December 9, have baby number one on December 22 and baby number 3 on January 2!!!
Those three events on a pile would be a lot without cookie bakes and gift exchanges and Christmas caroling and family gatherings and family letters (oh, wait, that didn't happen this year!) and lot's of extra food and Christmas programs and pork and sauerkraut! With them, it's exciting at best...stressful at worst!!!
I don't think we're extravagant with our giving, but we have chosen to celebrate birthdays and Christmas with a few gifts. So...right about now I am trying to organize and buy birthday gifts for two and Christmas gifts for many!!! It can get a little confusing, as in "wait a minute...did I get this for Parker's Christmas or am I saving it for his birthday?" It can also get a little expensive, although a few of the gifts this year did come from thrift stores and consignment shops (shhh!!!)
Why is it, then, that my beloved planner (best known as The Time Keeper) is strangely empty? By looking at it, you would think that I had the most boring existence ever!!! There isn't a single thing written down on my "to-do" list for this week, and therefore I don't have the pleasure of scratching anything off, even though I did manage a few things:
- sew dress for Elasa
- bake bread for Christmas caroling
- teach five days of school
- finish Christmas/birthday shopping for children (with Wesley's help, of course!)
- clean house so we can host snack after Christmas caroling
- go caroling (and enjoy it very much!)
- host snack for 5 adults and 9 children after caroling
- plan party for Elasa's birthday
- make large pot of soup that will serve family two suppers and one lunch
- make large pizza casserole that will serve family two suppers and still have leftovers
- throw pumpkins that were going to mush on front porch into trash
(You did know that the ultimate way to save your sanity- or restore some of that which was lost- is to go on an impromptu excursion, right?)
If you want the short version, here is is: all involved had a very nice time and we're glad we took the time off to do a family outing.
If you want the longer version, keep reading:
We started out our day at The Pennsylvania Sate Museum. When I was looking online yesterday for possible things to do today, I came across the fact that an event called The True Meaning of Christmas: A Community Celebration was going on at the museum and that admission to the entire museum was FREE for the day! We didn't end up participating much in the program, but getting into the museum free was very worthwhile.
The favorite place of all was the Curiosity Connection, a spot designed for children ages 5 and under, although Elasa is almost 7 and she said it was her favorite, too!
Within the favorite spot was a second favorite spot... behind the wheel of a shiny red pickup truck that sang and made truck noises at the push of a button!!! Parker loved it so much he thought it should be for his exclusive pleasure alone. No matter what else we tried to entice him with, he never forgot that truck for long!
Aside from the truck, there were tunnels to climb through, a kitchen, little mushroom seats & books in a story-time section, a place for farmers to plant carrots and pluck cabbages, building blocks and lincoln logs, a wooden school bus and, over it all, a giant hovering chick!
Leaving the Curiosity Connection and heading out into the more "adult displays" may have been a few steps down for the children, but at least there were escalators to ride, interesting and very life-like "stuffed animal" scenes, Native American displays (which Elasa remembered and looked forward to since she was here a year ago on a field trip I planned for the Co-op students) and many other things (from owls to covered wagons and archeological digs to giant spiders)- all relating to Pennsylvania! It is one of those museums where you could return every couple of years and still always see something new, especially as your children grew and their interests matured beyond the peripheral!!!
Of course, we had to take a picture of the statute of the man who started it all...William Penn. (Don't you just love his red accoutrements?!!)
As we were ending our tour, we stopped in the area where the event of the day was going on, and the children had fun with the crafts table for a bit...
We had packed our lunch, so once we were finished in the museum, we ate in our van. The scenery of a rather mundane Harrisburg street in the bleak midwinter wasn't the greatest, but Elasa and Gavin were just thrilled to be eating out of lunch boxes!!!
Take special note of how much fun a toddler will have eating a whoopie pie in his carseat. Correction: how much fun he will have licking the icing off the cookie and discarding the rest!!!
Our next stop was a toy train exhibit at Fort Hunter, a very nice historical park along the Susquehanna River. I never heard of this very interesting spot before, but turned up the train exhibit in a search yesterday, and now I have a new place in mind for future field trips and picnics!!!
The toy train exhibit itself was pretty small, and would not have been worth the trip to Harrisburg alone, but since we were in the general area already, we enjoyed it as a supplement to our day. After all, who isn't fascinated with Thomas the Tank Engine (and friends) and other miniature pleasure? For all the larger the exhibit was, they packed a lot of action and quite a few running trains into the scene. Oh, yes...and it was FREE!!!
By the time we left the train exhibit, a certain nearly-two-year-old was in meltdown mode, so in order to give Parker the chance to get a bit of a nap, Wesley dropped me off at a thrift store and drove the children around while I shopped. It was the perfect arrangement!!!!
Later, we all went into a child's consignment shop together and I was pleased to find some pants for Gavin (it was getting hard to find a pair of jeans without holes in his dresser!) and a nice "dressy" coat for Elasa.
Supper at Denny's came last, but not least! The children enjoyed their personal menu options, with Gavin and Parker getting pizza and Elasa ordering chicken strips. They all wanted corn for their side, as this particular delicacy is a mutual favorite right now!!!
(If you're noticing a few changes on Parker's face between now and the whoopie-pie-pictures, you would be right! He took a bad tumble as we were walking back to the van after the train exhibit and now we have our very own Rudolph...and one with more than just a glowing nose!)
I'll just have to say, though, that the most tasty food on the table was mine: a prime- rib- steak- philly- cheese- sandwich with crinkle fries...a particular (albeit greasy) weakness of mine!
Our van fairly rocked on it's way back down interstate 81 with three children who were suffering from too much excitement and too little sleep! I told Wesley that now he knows what it's like to drive the circus train!
At least there was a perfect solution in the form of baths and beds at the end of the rail.
And for me?
Well, since you've just finished reading this post you now know what my favorite way to de-stress is...writing (when I have the time, of course!!!)
Maybe since I actually got a second post written this week, I should scurry over to my planner and put it on my "to-do" list...
Just for the sheer pleasure of crossing it off!!!
After all, my sanity was lost a long time ago. And I have no future plans of getting it back anytime soon.
Interesting! Our anniversary is Dec 11. Our first son's birthday is also Jan 2. I know the feeling of trying to fairly celebrate everything at once!
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