Pre Christmas

Seconds after turkey leftover were frozen from Thanksgiving dinner , we started preparing for Christmas. 

Tree bought at our usual market- done

Carols on the radio - done

Kids with Santa hats - done

Elf on a shelf- done

Little boots waiting for Mos Nicolas - done

And here comes the difference. Catalina has been asking more and more questions about who is Santa. Is he real? Are we Santa? Are we Amos Nicolas? Are we the tooth fairy? We took it as a joke, trying to deflect her questions. When she started getting upset they we are lying to her we decided to come clean. It felt a bit like losing the magic. She’s not a baby anymore and it breaks my heart. 

As to the other baby in the house..,Amelia could not care less who is Santa, as long as there are presents. She’s had a really tough year being out of daycare. She is getting scared of being around kids ( at the playground, if a kid approaches her she cries and comes running to me), but she keeps telling us she needs 4 more Ami at home to play with her. She loves toys and for a while she cried daily she wants a toy. With Christmas shopping actively happening, every package delivered was another question: is this a toy for me? We’re hiding the presents in my walk in closet. She keeps peaking inside. We move them, she finds them again. She’s relentless in her search and so amazingly funny!

 

Among our usual Christmas traditions, our Peddlers village trip was a fast, unplanned visit on late Sunday evening. We knew it will be crowded, so we went there at the end of November. The lights were equally beautiful, we bought toys at our favorite shop ( rushing to spend as little time inside as possible), we took some pictures. It did not have the magic we are used to, but it also did not have the drama: kids being cold and tired of all the pictures mom and dad want to take, mom being hungry and the wait line at the restaurant too long, dad wanting to shop just a little bit longer. 

Cookie party was moved on line, through zoom. We shared some with the neighbors, but once again, the motivation came from Catalina. What a wonderful gift are these girls during these terrible times🥰.

Nothing beats waiting Christmas with kids like these :)

 

Jumping through the holidays

Nothing gets you feeling like you are living from holiday to holiday like a pandemic. With no fun trips to look forward to, we are awaiting for other dividers in our daily life. Thanksgiving came with the big anticipation of 5 days off from work. What a blessing after such an intense fall! 

We could not do our usual trip to Nebraska, so Catalina was intent of having a real Thanksgiving dinner at home. We bought a turkey, she had lots of pumpkins for the pie, and I tried to recreate Petronela’s potatoes au gratin. In the end, the hardest effort and most of the credit goes to Catalina. From coming up with the idea, to keeping motivation up and executing most of it ( she made 3 pies at only 10 yo!). Thanksgiving was cozy, yummy and lonely.

Halloween 2020

 Holidays are coming, virus or not. Trick or treating was considered a high risk activity, so up to the last second I was uncertain we should go. But the weather was nice, the girls awesomely cute, so I made everyone promise that if we go, check it out, and if it doesn’t look safe we come right back home. We went and it was amazing! People were giving out candy from a distance, it was not crowded and we only went around people with masks, and even then I made sure there are more than 6 feet away. We had lots of fun, got lots of candy, and came back home.

We had a nice pumpkin, Catalina made nice decorations. Maybe this is one of Covid lessons: enjoy all holidays to the fullest. 

Thanksgiving next. We have so much, but I also lost so much this year. I am thankful for what I have, but I wouldn’t be true if I did not admit the whole year revolves for me around that terrible day in January. A worldwide pandemic seems little for me, compared to my personal loss. I move on though, smile and plan a feast. And talk about Christmas. All for my girls 🥰

The seasons of COVID

 We’re going through the worst pandemic of my life. When we first heard of Covid in Jan 2020 I thought it’s another virus that happens to other countries, other people. When it became obvious the whole world will be affected, sometime in March, I thought it will be 2 horrible months of isolation. It’s pretty clear now it won’t be over soon. 

We’ve had amazing vacations planned and canceled. We spent the summer at home, working and talking walks. So many visits to natural preserves. We headed to the beach a couple of times, just to be constantly worried that along with the salty ocean breeze I’m inhaling the virus. For Labor Day weekend we went camping. The only outing farther than 2 hours away from home, the only time we did not sleep home. It was wonderful and relaxing and very short. We came back, Catalina started virtual schooling. Amelia continued staying home with me and watching too much YouTube videos. We’re fine, but not really. This is taking a serious toll on our mental balance.

To look at the good things. Catalina became an amazing baker. From pandispan, cookies of all sorts, pies of all sorts, to chicken pot pie! Amelia is showing her funny side all the time. Today , after being especially difficult Marius tells her” stop being so...sucita ( twisted up in Romanian). She looks at him and tells him: I can’t stop. That’s how I am.

Maybe I’ll write again soon. Let’s hope we stay healthy. That’s all we can hope for now. Maybe my sweet grandma is watching over us and we just need to be strong like she was. 2020 did turn out to be as bad as that terrible January 18 announced it to be.