The Kitchen Table is Warm and Dry

I am totally off my rocker.  It's the weather.  I have been cold and wet since Christmas.  When I got home today, there was a big box of sweats on the front porch...hoodies and sweatpants and thick cozy t-shirts, all ordered online from Hanes.  I opened the box, and every single person in my family stripped down right there in the living room and cozied up into the sweet embrace of fleece. 

I don't know if you know this about me, but I like to get things done.  It calms me down.  This weather is seriously damaging my calm.   I have been driving myself nuts with all the stuff that isn't getting done OMG IT'S NOT GETTING DONE but I recently decided to just embrace this season of wet and cold.

During January, I have instituted a dinner-at-the-table policy.  Well, re-instituted.  It's one of those things that got away from us for awhile, but its return has been a pleasant by-product of being inside and together for so much time lately.  On Monday I made homemade pizza and chicken pesto; as I pulled the pizza pie from the oven and drained the pasta, I called out for Tommy to set the table.

Me:  Tommy!
Erik (sensing impending food, from the living room):  Hey!  What about me!
Me:  Oh, ok.  Erik, can you come set the table?
Erik:  Oh.  Tommy!

Yeah, that's what I thought!  Erik is also the first one to excuse himself from the table too, but he's been a good sport.  It's harder on him because sit-down-for-dinner time lands squarely on top of his I-just-walked-in-the-door-from-work-and-I-need-to-go-to-My-Cave time.  I appreciate his efforts, and so do the boys.  Tommy lights candles and sets out the placements; Scotty puts down plates and forks.  Erik and I, stupidly, get up in the middle of dinner for milk or juice.  There are some kinks to work out of our system, but we're on our way!

 
Other kinks?  I fell asleep when I laid down with Scotty at 8:30pm.  D'oh.  Which means I've been up since 2am.  Today should be awesome.  (embrace embrace embrace)