Thanksgiving & Happy Feet

We went to Adam's brother and sister-in-law's house for Thanksgiving. Actually, Adam's whole clan lives in the Raleigh-Durham area (or is planning to) except for us. I guess we're the black sheep of the family :) .

Anyway, the day we left, I had a pretty busy agenda -- sending out invitations to Xavier's birthday party, getting the oil changed in the van, stopping at the local candy shop ... yeah, if you know us, you know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I had Xavier tagging along with me as my little helper. Aside from a productive trip to the Honda dealership where I got the oil changed and Xavier decided our next car would be a gold Honda Accord, Xavier was not in the best of moods as we prepared for our journey. Finally I said, "Xav, what's wrong?"

"I don't like Piper!" he snapped. Piper is his cousin, Adam's niece. "She chases me around, she spits on me, and she calls me names!"

"Piper?" I asked. "Xavier, what are you talking about? Piper can't even walk yet, let alone chase you around. She can't even talk, so how can she call you a name?" Piper just celebrated her first birthday. "Piper is a baby, Xav."

"Piper is a baby?" Xav asked, a puzzled look crossing his face, followed by a smile. I never did figure out who he thought Piper was.

Anyway, we had a good time at Adam's clan gathering. The company was charming (Riley -- a cousin who is about Xavier's age -- was so thrilled to have Xavier and Miranda there that he talked about them even if they weren't there; Piper is adorable; and their parents were wonderful hosts), the food (courtesy of Adam's sister and mother) was terrific. Xavier getting a fever for Thanksgiving? Not so much fun. Having him wake up with gas AND coughing on Friday night? The fever was fun by comparison, but at least there was no ER visit. All and all, a good visit tempered with a little bit of Stress Relief.


Yesterday we saw Happy Feet. For months, we have been watching the trailers with great anticipation. What's not to like about computer-animated dancing penguins? Well, we had a head's up that it might not be all wine and roses when Adam's siblings vetoed the idea of going on Thanksgiving ("It's rated PG -- too scary for Riley.") PG? The second clue was reading the Mom's Review on movies.yahoo.com and hearing that there were some scary parts. But Gwen insisted that she was still up to watching it, so Xav did as well, of course.

You know how, when you are watching previews for a comedy, folks who have seen the movie tell you that the funniest parts were in the preview? Well, having seen Happy Feet, let me tell you -- ALL the funny parts are in the previews. Happy Feet, while good, is not a happy movie (although it has a happy-ish ending.) It was intense for Gwen, and WAY too intense for Xavier. The only thing that kept it from being a complete disaster for Xavier was that he fell asleep about half an hour into it. (This was especially ironic given that the ticket seller asked Adam how old the kids were, and Adam told her proudly that they were five and four -- a white lie that cost us $6.50 because three year olds -- which Xavier technically is for another week -- get in for free.) Anyway, it is a pretty good movie if you want to expose your kids to environmental and discrimination issues, but it is not the carefree songfest that it appears to be in the trailers.


So, Xavier is having an asthma day today. To make matters worse, we had the carpets cleaned today (never in a million years would I have scheduled the two together. Then again, if I was doing the scheduling, I would never schedule an asthma day, and I probably would have postponed carpet-cleaning until after the holidays.) In any event, when I went to pick Gwen up at 4:00, I was still wearing the same workout clothes I went to bed in last night (if Xav has an attack in the night, better to be dressed; if he doesn't, then I can sleep for a few more minutes before going to the gym.) I hadn't had anything to eat all day except a cup of raisin bran for breakfast. It had been a rough day work-wise, even if I was working from home. I figured that there was no way I was taking the kids to karate tonight, and I told Adam so.

So when I picked Gwen up, she melted into a pool of tears because she was not going to karate. "Gwen," I cajoled her. "Come on ... Xav has asthma today, the carpets were cleaned, and --" Hold on -- what am I saying? The air quality in the karate school has GOT to be better than in my carpet-cleaner house, and I should NEVER deny my child the opportunity for a good workout. So I loaded the kids, the computer (no way was Xav doing karate), and the karate basket into the van, and off we went. Gwen got another stripe on her belt today, and Xavier's cough cleared significantly. All and all, a good time was had by all.

Still, there was no way I was going to karate tonight.