songs and swaps

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 To kick things off, a win for Lil Momma who conquered her nerves and sang her solo and duet verses so well at her musical theater school’s holiday concert! There was a lot of drama leading up to it: She got herself sent home from school on Friday, we discovered the white sweater we had bought would make her melt because of how hot it was onstage and had to do a desperation shopping trip the morning of the concert, her coming clean about both being nervous and incredibly, vividly sad that her Nana wouldn’t see her sing ❤ but, we rallied! Her replacement outfit looked adorable and we drew blue hearts on our wrists (in honor of her Nana’s blue eyes) before we left. She was just fearless up there and did such a great job with her song – both a confidence booster and an emotional win for this bumpy holiday season we’re having.  

I also came home to a surprise from Kathrin (formerly blogging at coellefornia.us, which I used to read!!) for the #SecretSANtaSwap2023 ! LM first appreciated the trees on the outside of the box and then we opened the present to find such a beautiful mug in some of my favorite colors, a deep purple peacock ornament, some vanilla flavoring for my coffee, and German chocolate! LM has already tried to commandeer the mug (but I have set some boundaries, haha!) and Luke can’t wait to try the chocolate with me as he both appreciates snacks from all over and just started learning German. It made my day and I’m super grateful to Kathrin for her kindness and to San for organizing the whole thing. I’m so glad I took a chance on putting my name in this year.




We are experiencing wild weather today as part of a wind and rainstorm that’s up and down the east coast. Oof, I’m glad it’s not snow, but the branches outside my window are getting awfully close…. LM’s at school with a generator going and I’m watching our power flicker more and more with each video call I’m on. Here’s to a calmer week ahead and navigating the last couple weeks of this wild year!

Comments

  1. Birchwood PieDecember 18, 2023 at 1:27 PM

    Congrats to LM! That's a lovely Santa package. We've got the snow coming down but nothing too wild from the storm...yet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lindsay42December 21, 2023 at 12:10 PM

      Thanks! And, I'm a little jealous of the snow (not incredibly jealous, but white Christmas jealous)!

      Delete
  2. NicoleDecember 18, 2023 at 5:25 PM

    Great job LM! That's fantastic. What a great secret Santa gift as well, looks yummy.

    ReplyDelete
  3. ElisabethDecember 18, 2023 at 5:37 PM

    Yay for LM. That's huge - to face her fears, and to honour her grief which must be so palpable. I'm proud of both of you.

    And yes to wild storms. It is blowing LIKE CRAZY outside my window right now and I can't get to sleep because wind freaks me out. There are all sorts of weird noises and I'm just waiting for branches to crash through windows. Gah! I am glad it's not snow...I think...but I'm also a bit scared to look outside in the morning. Thankfully, it's supposed to calm down by midnight so hopefully I'll be able to fall asleep soon. Right now, the wind is making me all jittery!

    The Secret SANta swap is such a fun holiday tradition. This was my third (or fourth?!) year doing it and I have LOVED it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lindsay42December 21, 2023 at 12:11 PM

      I hope the noises were just noises and it all stayed calm (and power-ed) for you! The wind was so loud, oof...

      Delete
  4. Life of a Doctor's WifeDecember 18, 2023 at 6:52 PM

    Awww, so glad your kiddo did so well. And I love the blue hearts to honor her grandmother. What a sweet way to keep her in your hearts during the performance.

    ReplyDelete
  5. NGSDecember 19, 2023 at 6:10 AM

    Yay! Way to overcome her nervousness.

    I'm so happy San is organizing the Secret SANta Swap. It's such a nice little thing for our corner of the internet!

    ReplyDelete
  6. JennyDecember 19, 2023 at 6:19 AM

    Hooray! Congratulations to LM. That's even better than if she were confident the whole time. She faced something really difficult and conquered it. You must be so proud of her. AND, I can only imagine how nervous you were, sitting in the audience and waiting for her solo. I know, because I've been there. I'm always horribly nervous for any solos my kids play, even if they seem confident about it.
    What a nice package! This is my third year doing San's exchange, and I love it. I'm also a little jealous of that mug! I love mugs and that looks like a nice one.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lindsay42December 21, 2023 at 12:37 PM

      SO, so proud of my girl!! And, you'll have competition for the mug since she's already tried to steal it!

      Delete
  7. AnneDecember 26, 2023 at 4:04 PM

    Go, LM!!! That's awesome. She did the thing - and did an amazing job. I love how you honored her Nana with something tangible. <3

    ReplyDelete
  8. SanJanuary 5, 2024 at 4:33 PM

    Oh, what a wonderful Secret SANta surprise :) I love it :)

    ReplyDelete

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