Our busiest week in December was last week and, believe it or not, it had very little to do with the holidays. The kids both had dentist appointments and Gracie had an eye doctor appointment. I scheduled those appointments months ago and inadvertently managed to get them in the same week. Way to go, Steve. (Paul insists that I mention that that phrase comes from MST3K’s Manos, The Hands of Fate. This link will take you directly to the entire episode. You probably won’t thank me for it and Torgo will haunt your dreams, but it’s one of my favorite episodes.)
Pile on preschool, piano lessons and gymnastics and by Thursday we were already worn out.
But why stop there? So Friday we went with some of our friends to the Appalachian History Museum up past Knoxville. That was a 2-hour ride each way and lots of running and playing in between. It was a beautiful place with lots of neat buildings and objects.
Now, in addition to many beautiful, old buildings, this place has a big gravel parking lot, a lovely gift shop, and beautiful free-range peacocks. Each of those things are fine on their own. They’re even fine together. But when you sell slingshots in the gift shop, it all goes wrong. Then it’s just a parking lot full of ammo and targets. They really shouldn’t test the ethics of young children like that. Luckily, no peacocks were harmed in the making of this field trip, but it was a close call.
Mom’s church was having a parents’ night out that night. It’s an excellent fundraiser for the youth mission trip and we would normally have taken advantage of the opportunity. However, I didn’t want to drop my exhausted children off with some poor volunteers because, an hour in, my kids would start making Charles Manson look like Mother Teresa. Mom offered to let them spend the night at her house instead. Hooray!
Paul and I went out to The Acropolis and it was delicious. Note: After a long day, it’s not a good idea to down a pomegranate martini on an empty stomach…it’s a great idea.
After eating dinner and finishing up some Christmas shopping, we went home and did what every couple does when they are finally free of the kids, first on the couch and then in the bedroom. Do I have to spell it out for you? Okay, we fell asleep.
Saturday evening we went to the Tivoli to see The Nutcracker and that was its own little adventure.
Overall, it was a fun week, but we were exhausted. I was glad to have a peaceful snow day to recharge with the kids.
I’m referring to this as “the video about Chattanooga that no one in Chattanooga has seen.” Apparently, it has been airing for the last two summers. Since it is trying to convince people to visit and we’re already here, I didn’t know about this commercial until it won a national ADDY award; that’s the advertising industry’s equivalent of an Oscar. (Though I imagine the red carpet shots aren’t quite as glamorous.) After reading all the stories on the award, I still didn’t see the video until Sumit posted it on Google+. 
Home
