Merry Christmas!

Like everyone else, I could not have imagined the way that 2020 played out.  Last year at this time, we were in Manhattan.  When we started school back up again, I remember the kids and I finding Wuhan, China on a map when we heard there was some sort of virus outbreak there.  

Never could we have imagined.  

I hate, hate, hate all the suffering that has come about this year.  

I hate the sadness and the anger and the strife.  I hate that lives and livelihoods are lost.  

And, at the same time, I'm grateful for the chance to step back and simply be.  I'm thankful we're healthy.  I'm thankful for employment.  I'm thankful for our extra time as a family and what we've done with it.  I'm grateful for Jim.  I'm grateful for the family that God has given us and the life we have.  I'm thankful for the opportunities that 2020 has provided to learn, stretch and gain direction.  I'm thankful for the pace of homeschooling.  

2020 has made me grateful to be right here, right now.  

I hope to always keep that part of 2020.  

It's a catch-up day here today.  Jim is off...we're picking up...doing laundry...smoking a pork butt...decluttering...blogging...Lego building...vacuuming...and getting life back together in general.  We're not school-ifying today - but Nate asked to do some history lessons.  In the 2020-est of all 2020 developments...I got my hands on some Bills flannel and maybe...after making maybe a hundred pairs of pajamas for other people (only 12 pair for the holidays this year)...I'll finally make a pair for myself.  

We shall see. 

Who wouldn't want to Christmas Jamify with these crazy people?  

As I was busily trying to get myself ready for Christmas Eve Mass (the 2pm time totally threw me for a loop), the boys called me out of the bathroom, telling me that they were ready to go.  THIS was the scene I was greeted with.  I told Jake & Elwood to stand down.  

Eventually, we were able to wrangle them for this gem.  Caroline did a well lectoring during Mass and Sam pitched in with cleaning the pews.  They're doing a great job using their talents to help others and I know they love being more of a part of the community.  I'm grateful for that, too.  

Even if they occasionally pose with their 2021 Muscle Car Calendar.  

And get way, way, way too excited about a war atlas (I love my dorky offspring).  

And are teaching themselves Japanese calligraphy ...

And named their stuff gorilla "Andrew" after the Apostle.  

And have cats that regularly look like this.  

It's insane.  AND I'm So.  Freaking.  Grateful.  

Almost Christmas

 It's December 20th and it pretty much looks like Christmas and homeschool threw up in our house.  I'm okay with it...right now...I'm sure I'll insist everything gets picked up before the insanity of decorating the Christmas tree begins...but for now...I'll blog.  

We have two teenagers in the house!  Sam turned 13 this week.  Simply blows my mind that he has gone from the chunky baby with fuzzy ears and a shock of black hair that was generally displeased with life outside the womb...

To this kind, thoughtful, dancing, history loving, airplane obsessed Boy Scout who camps outside in a bivouac he built and has the biggest heart I know.  Happy Birthday, Sam!  You are amazing.  Keep being YOU.  We love you very much.  

It takes bravery to sleep outdoors like this!

Sam's friends surprised him by attaching balloons to our porch for him to wake up to.  He was so happy.  

But next time he camps, he'll have more light.  

We got the first real snow we've seen in years on Sam's birthday.  I ventured out in the beginning of the storm to get take out for lunch and was overwhelmed at the beauty of where we live. 

 O Frederick, My Frederick.  Isn't it gorgeous?  

Once we got everyone shoveled out, we got a chance to play outside.  It was HayHay's first snowstorm.  She wasn't sure what to think.  Benjamin tried to show her the ropes of sledding, but she was so bundled up that it was too difficult to move - resulting in multiple faceplants.  So we pulled them up and down the street in a sled instead.  The neighborhood kids all built snow tunnels. It was fun to watch.  I appreciate the shoveling workout.  The only part of my body not sore afterwards was my eyelids.  

Before things got going, Nate went outside to catch some snowflakes.  

In typical Nate fashion, it was a dramatic production.  It's looking like there may be more snow and a flash freeze on Christmas.  Since we can't go anywhere anyways...I can't say I mind.  We got the fireplace fixed and have been really enjoying using it.  I'm considering moving the homeschool area out near it.  It's warm & cozy - so far we're getting our work done there...All I want to do is curl up in front of the fire with a cup of tea  hot apple cider spiked with fireball and a good book.  

The cats have been particularly ridiculous lately.  Tseitle doesn't venture out much - she seems to be a snuggler once people are situated in bed.  Tessie has been very interested in the fire.  We've found her curled up in the stuffed chair so many times.  

We snuck PD a little bit of pork.  Five minutes later, this is how we find him laying on the floor in the middle of the kitchen.  

Herkimer hangs out with us during school now, too.  She likes to "help" Caroline with her writing. 

Nate had to do an experiment where he soaked an egg in vinegar and then corn syrup, measuring the mass periodically.  When you don't have grams for your balance scale, Homeschool Rules dictate that stacks of Ritz Crackers are a perfectly acceptable substitute.  As Melanie pointed out, I used it to teach the Transitive Property, too.  Win.  Win.  


Since the Kris Kringle Parade in Frederick was cancelled, the kid's dance studio had their own get together.  We decided to try our hand at whoopie pies.  They weren't difficult to make, it just took us multiple attempts to get the sizing of the cookies correct.  With ingredients like butter, sugar, vanilla, cocoa, flour and marshmallow fluff - we didn't anticipate them tasting terrible - even if they flopped.  But they were marvelous.  They tasted almost like the half moon cookies that we would get at the bakeries in Utica.  I may try to tweak the recipe to see if I can reproduce those for a nice treat for New Year.  We've decided we're still doing our Friend New Year Eve Celebration.  It will be outdoors, with masks and socially distanced...but we'll be together.  And that will be good.  

We only have two ornaments on the Christmas Tree so far.  We could not think of something more 2020 than to put Dr Fauci at the top.  

Caroline made this gorgeous ornament from a Herkimer Diamond.  

I have one more pair of Christmas pajamas to complete.  Hope to get them done today.  The chosen themes were bacon, taco cat, sharks with Christmas sweaters and sushi.  I'll put up the pics when they're finished.  

Thanksgiving

 Okay...maybe more than one blog post a month is all I can handle.  We've got things pretty much under control right now...and lest I tempt the fates - I'm sure things could fall off the rails at any given moment.  That's just the 2020 Way...and it's okay.  It still boggles my mind that we've been social distancing since March.  Nine months.  Crazy.  In some ways I miss pre-pandemic life.  But in a lot of ways, I don't.  

I HATE HATE to see see people suffering.  It's not fair.  

I'm grateful for the opportunities that this little virus has given us to just BE together, though.  

We were able to Adventure for Thanksgiving.  We headed down to Chincoteage, VA.  I had NO idea that the Delmarva was so big!  It reminded us a lot of Oklahoma, actually.  Except for the whole ocean thing, of course.  But the flat cropland, discrepancy between the haves and have-nots and the she sheer beauty of the area that is unique...just brought us back.  It was also nice to run into a nice lady from Moore who commented on Nate's Thunder sweatshirt.  Everywhere we go - we're just a little bit Okie.  And that makes me very, very happy.  

Thanksgiving Family Selfie in the cottage in Greenbackville, VA.  

Don't be messing with Mama when she has Polar Seltzer.  As much as we'll always be a Little Bit Okie...we'll always have a lot of the Woo in us, too.  

Caroline was absolutely in her happy place.  

We went all the way to Virginia to find Bedlam!  

The beach at Chincoteague was great.  At certain points, it was only a hundred feet between the Atlantic & Queen Anne Sound.  The personality differences that 100 feet made in the ocean were amazing.  

Benjamin did a great job staying out of the water.  As usual.  

Finally...a decent picture.  Just stay there and let me get a few more....and a few more...

SO you can get drenched with a wave.  You're welcome!  :)

Alligator jerky is gross.  Jerky shouldn't be bouncy when you chew it.  But we tried it.  

What Sam lacks in a poker face, he makes up for in throwing his opponents off in clothing.  Because THIS is how he plays poker.  

After this, they STILL wanted to get a "silly face" picture.  This wasn't sill enough.  

Family selfie!  As we were hiking, a family wearing Texas garb walked by.  Without even looking at eachother...but making sure they couldn't see us...Nate and I both gave a big HORNS DOWN.  

The sunsets over the Sound were breathtaking.  

Beaches that look like this were only a few hundred yards from brackish marshes.  The changes in ecosystems were amazing.  

We also didn't realize that Wallop's Island is near Chincoteague.  There weren't any launches, but we did get to watch the E2 and C2s training.  They were doing touch-and-go landings all morning.  So cool to watch.   

We decided to drive south as far as we could just to see what we could see.  Cape Charles, VA is an adorable town, very Frederick-like, right at the southern end of the Delmarva.  Not only does it have an excellent brewery, but we clearly were not the only Watsons in town.  

As a result of the off-season and COVID, the candy store was empty.  The employees were making fudge and let Benjamin lick the spatula.  He didn't like it.  Not.  At.  All.  

Remember what I said about those gorgeous sunsets?  

Back to basics on Thanksgiving.  We are grateful.  

An Assateague pony.  They're stout creatures and totally run the island.  

This one was sleeping.  Kept lifting one back leg of the ground.  It was cute.  

To celebrate the new school year...I found Watson Schools (with merch) in Saskatchewan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Oklahoma.  Now they can't complain that they don't have school shirts "like the regular kids".  

Ready to go for the new school year.  One in high school, one in middle school, two in elementary.  It's kinda petrifying.  

Especially when they react like this when asked to write a paragraph about their cat.  

I mean, really.  A doctoral thesis could be composed on the pure regality in this little kitty-monkey here.  She tolerates bipeds well...