As many of you know, my mother hosts a family feast on the Friday after Thanksgiving. The idea is that none of us have to choose between our families; spend Thanksgiving Day however, and with whomever, you wish, then come enjoy a good meal on Friday. When our kids were younger, we had either all of them for Thanksgiving weekend, or none of them. When they were all home, we had traditional family time Thursday, then some or all (it changed year to year who wanted to come) would go to my mom's on Friday, and the weekend was spent putting up Santamas decor, doing chores & homework, and just chillin'.
When the kids were with their bios on the other side, Ace usually worked while I did a little prep & baking for Friday's Feast, and hung out by myself with the dogs. There were a few years that we went to the beach for the weekend, too. Since the older two have been "adulting" (lol), and we've had Princess full time, Ace works on Thursday while Princess & I prep, bake, and hang out in our jammies (as we did this year). We also wrapped gifts for the older two Littles, so T&D can take them home instead of me having to ship them.
Every year, mom invites all her kids, their spouses, their kids, and some friends. The most she's hosted is 12 people... in her old condo... which was 1100sq ft or so. Two years ago, she moved into a progressive retirement condo. This one is roughly half the size of her old one. And, this year, there were 15 people -- mom, Nancy, E&S, D&J, J and her younger son D, three of my own family (Squeeks is in Cali with her bf's family), and T&D and their girls. Ace was supposed to join us but got sick last minute. GamerBoy *did* join us because all of my biological siblings are here and it's been many years since we've all been together (T&D's wedding, to be exact). Mom was super-excited; I was a little concerned... for two reasons. (1) Ace & GB are both not only migraine-prone (stress, scents, and muscle pain are the three main things that can set them off; scent is Ace's big one), but they are also both mildly claustrophic.
So, two weeks ago, I asked mom if there was a conference room or something where we were all going to eat. She said, "Well, we could reserve space at the restaurant downstairs, but then it would be catered..." Um, no. We do our own food, thankyouverymuch! Then, last week, she called me and reminded me that there's the open space right next to her apartment we could spread out to, and her neighbor directly across the hall gave her use of that apartment, too -- ovens, fridge/freezer, dining, and sleeping areas if needed. YAY, we won't be squished!
Monday, Ace & I did our usual grocery shopping and other weekly errands (the only guaranteed "date day" we have), which included picking up the rest of what we needed for Friday's Feast. Wednesday, after I got home from work, we did a bit of Santamas shopping together. Then, Thursday morning, Ace went to work, I slept in 'til 740a, and Princess slept 'til 10a. I spent the morning enjoying the quiet, the dogs, my mocha, and the fire in the stove... then decided to ask (via FB Messenger) if everyone would please not wear anything scented (perfume, soap, cologne, lotion, etc). If Ace or GB go migraine, all four of us will have to leave, food or no food. I was pleasantly surprised that no one said no... and apparently, E&S are both sensitive to that stuff, too.
Friday, we all tried to sleep in, but as usual, Ace & I were up by 7a. We let Princess sleep 'til 9a, and her brother got here at 1130a. The dogs were supposed to go to daycare while Ace & the kids loaded up the 4-Runner, but Ace went full migraine Thursday night. So, the three of us headed out a little after noon. The afternoon was loud, full of food, laughter, and love, and we got sent home with a good amount of leftovers. Lots of pics were taken, and have been posted. I DVR'd the Civil War and stayed off social media so we watched when we got home. HOLY CRAP; awesome game!
GB spent the night and went home yesterday morning. I had a couple clients, plus took care of some Small Business Saturday clients (buying gifts & stocking stuffers), then later, Ace & I had dinner and left Princess home with the dogs while we went to the Pucifer concert. Next up: Muse then Motley Crue!
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