Monday
We continued watching Marvel movies in the morning. Maggie slept in. I exercised. I think I have figured out what happened with my back. So. As soon as my back went out I bought a book about fixing your back using preventative measures (i.e. no meds or surgeries). One of the things they espouse is the importance of walking, biking, everything with your core braced.
As I started walking with my core braced, I immediately realized it felt weird and was tiring. I have been slouching my shoulders forward (and where does that put all my upper body weight? right on the low back). I think it went out so bad because I work out so much with bad form. Rather than evenly distributing my weight across my entire core, my slouch made my low back carry everything. This is good. I can fix this. Right now I'm aiming to do (every day) a proper warm up, a series of back exercises, a walk, and thorough stretching. Once this no longer makes my mid to upper back muscles sore, I'll start adding back other exercises (making sure I'm doing everything with my core braced). Wish me luck!
I had a grocery order to pick up so Ruby and I got ready and told Maggie we were leaving. And! the car wouldn't start again. I immediately knew why. Back in the early fall (or sometime, I don't remember) I got rear ended. It wasn't bad at all. The trunk still mostly closed, minor damage. The lady gave me her information, but when I started trying to get her insurance to pay for the damage, they couldn't find her. I didn't get any further information about her so I thought, eh forget it.
But! that minor damage is the reason I couldn't get the hitch (that's why my frame is just barely bent). And because the trunk won't engage all the way, there is a little light back there that is always on. Which is why the battery keeps dying. We had to get someone to come out and jump us and then we went to Firestone.
It took forever. The girls weren't horrible. Ruby was loud and all over the place but it could have been worse. Maggie was fine. The car people said they would charge me $100 to investigate the problem of the light. No, thanks. So now I guess I go back to my insurance and try to fix my car using uninsured driver insurance. Wish me luck!
After spending at least five days at Firestone (approximately), we went to get groceries. On the way, Ruby asked if we were getting ice cream. No. She was insistent she needed ice cream. I kept telling her we would get some another time. Then when the lady brought our groceries out, Ruby yelled, "Ma'am, ma'am, we need ice cream!"
We came home and unpacked everything and I decided, since I was going out that night, to attempt a nap. It was. . . a failure. In the fourth or fifth Game of Thrones book, the church tortures the former queen, Cersei, by having the nuns come wake her up every 15 minutes 24 hours a day, every day. It was something like that. Mom, Maggie won't turn on Home Alone. Mom, I'm tired too. Mom! Mom!
After that, I got ready and got the girls ready to go to Grandpa's house for the evening. Right as we were expecting him, our neighbors knocked to ask us to go the park with them. Bummer. Then we just stayed outside and played. The weather has been gorgeous.
I went out with Laurie, Jeff, Thomas, Thrusha, Chris Moore and a friend of his, Brandon. We had a great time. The girls hung out at Grandpa's house but, of course, Ruby couldn't go to sleep there. Grandpa brought them back here and she went right out.
Tuesday
Even through Ruby went to bed like two hours later than normal, she was up just a few minutes later than normal. Typical. We hung out in the morning and just puttered. I took the girls to Grandpa's house mid-morning so they could open presents over there with Jill and Ella.
I came home and passed out. Thank goodness I woke up in the general vicinity of when I was supposed to pick them up. We came home and baked cookies for Santa Claus, made spinach casserole for Christmas Eve dinner, and did laundry.
After all the cooking, we started getting ready. We all took a shower and once Maggie and I got out, we kept hearing Ruby call for us. I thought she was asking for a towel so I asked Maggie to go help her. When I came back in the room, Maggie was trying not to laugh and Ruby was still upset. Maggie said, she says she still needs to clean her elbows. And sure enough Ruby was howling from the shower about cleaning her elbows. That kid.
We got ready and got over to Laurie's. My first job was to keep Thomas company outside while he watched the turkey cook. Then I went to Laurie's room. She was way behind so I kept her company. She did Ella's hair and then got herself ready.
Aunt Sherry and Uncle Lee were there for the first time in four years!!! The whole evening was so perfect. Everyone had fun and the food was amazing and the kids were cute.
After that we came home. Ruby had a hard time falling asleep. Two late nights is hard for her. Maggie went straight down. She knows the deal. I had to put together the stupid easel. Ugh.
Wednesday
Maggie woke me up a million times. First, I was telling her, not until the sun comes up. And then not until Ruby wakes up. Maggie was relentless. Finally we heard Ruby make one noise and she burst in there. Turns out Ruby was not awake but she got up.
Maggie tore in. Ruby just sat and looked at some of the things from her stocking. She doesn't really get the tearing into presents thing. Maggie and I had to keep calling her over to even open hers. But eventually everything was opened and they played and ate candy and cookies and I drank my coffee.
Laurie texted us a few minutes to nine and said they just woke up and to give them 30 minutes. So we drove over and watched her girls have Christmas and then most of the adults did stockings. It was fun. Me and Jeff have (mostly me) been messing with Laurie about being petite, which she hates because she is NOT petite. Like all things, if it didn't bug her so much, it wouldn't be fun. When Jeff and I were told to do Laurie's stocking, we were coordinating and I had the brilliant idea to get her petite-sized pants. We were so excited for the burn of it. And man it was perfect. I found a really nice (and very new looking) pants at Goodwill. They were size 2 petite. Perfect. Laurie pulled them out and started to say how much she liked them and then she saw the P. It was perfect.
We watched the kids play and talked and drank and ate delicious food and just chilled. No one got out of pajamas. It was blissful. My kids went to their Dad's around 1 or so. Then Laurie and Jeff and the girls and Thomas and Thrusha went to Sally and Bruce's house. Alan and Emily went home. I went home and took a glorious nap.
My kids came home at 7. Ruby needed to go straight to bed, but she insisted she needed to eat. I made her a bowl of oatmeal and finally got her to bed. Maggie and I stayed up and read. Then Maggie switched to TV. I made her go to bed at 10:30 pm because I didn't want her to sleep too late.
Thursday
Ruby messed up her clock somehow so the light isn't coming on. I keep meaning to fix it, except she knocks at the exactly right time every morning. How????
We came out and she's played and watched TV and whatever. I drank coffee in my special new coffee cup. Mischief managed.
Jeff and I had made plans to take the big girls to the new (AND LAST) Star Wars. But when Maggie woke up, she insisted she didn't want to go. She said they are too scary for her and that's that. Fine! At first I thought I'd take Ruby but that would have been bad. So instead Maggie and Ruby stayed with Grandpa and Jeff and I took Ella. Ha!
It was SOOOOOOO good. I loved it so much. I literally laughed, cried, and clapped. Just one clap but I felt it. A spectacular ending to the best six movies (the first three suck and nothing can change that).
After that, I checked in on the dogs and then went and got the girls. Then we went to Laurie's house. It was fun. All the kids mostly got along. Ruby and Jilli, surrounded by 9000000 new toys, managed to fight about a couple of toys.
We finally left in time to feed the dogs and mostly put Ruby to bed in time. Oh Maggie and Ella begged for a sleepover. That never goes badly.
Anyway, we came home. I put Ruby to bed and fed the dogs. I went to bed kind of early. I guess I've been getting used to naps and I didn't get one.
