They came. They saw. They snacked.

Hello hello! Before we jump into this WIAW adventure, I just wanted to say a quick THANK YOU to everyone who commented on my last post. I was so touched, and excited, and inspired by your sweet words and well wishes. Thank you for the congratulations and for the blessings, and thank you to those of you who shared your own stories of struggle and of taking that big leap (or of being oh-so-close to it!)

This week/weekend was finals and round-the-clock grading madness in order to get everything submitted on time, so I wasn’t able to respond to every comment (yet!). But I did read them all, of course, and they all meant so much to me. And Jeremy too! Thank you so much, from the both of us. ♥

And now, it’s been a loooong time since our last What We Ate Wednesday!




A late start. My little alarm clock – one mister Waits Rebhal – slept until the inconceivable time of 8:40. Which means I did too! And normally that would have been fine, amazing even, except today was a very special day. See, preschool is out on winter break, which means the moms and I are doing a sort of “childcare round robin”. A different house each day.

And today, Tuesday, was my day.



Sleepiest face.



Perking up a little. Breakfast was a blueberry-flavored coconut yoghurt while practicing his letters.



And a vegan breath bone for our vegan pooch, who will be celebrating his 1-year veganniversary on new year’s day! Just today one of the moms commented, “He’s so happy and spry for such an old guy.” Why yes he is!



I was still waiting for the coffee to kick in. “Moooom, I’m gonna get some oat milk!” This kid has gotten so, well, KID. What happened to my baby?



Oh, my baby stole the camera. Stinker. (and hello, messing morning hair!) (and my boyfriend is giving me upside-down bunny ears. stinker.)

And then, the kiddos begin to arrive.



That’s Ellington with Waits, and Miss Orion in the background.



Backyard –> Bedroom –> Backyard –> Bedroom

That’s pretty much how the whole day went.



Snack attack! Lara Bars.



And then Salem arrived, which brought our Tiny Person count up to 4.



And PIZZA!



A pizza party picnic on the living room floor. The baby is Miriam, Salem’s little sister, who snagged a few vegan seitan sausages before her and her mommy took off for the day.

While the kiddos ate I scarfed down a big bowl of super easy salad:



Just torn red lettuce and lentils with the tahini sauce that done stoled my heart, topped with avocado and kimchi.

YUM.

So easy, so delicious, and so healthy. 5 ingredients, SO MUCH flavor. Which reminds me, if you’re interested, I wrote a post about the science of salads and I think it’s probably one of my favorite posts ever.



More playing! And then of course . . .



Snack attack! Organic unsulfured/unsweetened dried mangoes.



Definitely a fan favorite.

Now keep in mind, this was all still before noon. Noon!

So around noon, Miss Orion’s mom joined back up with us, and we decided to venture out.



The [older] boys on their bikes, the [younger] girls in the wagon.





And not so long a walk from my house, we find . . .



Jeremy! We popped in for a little visit . . .



And Waits insisted that his friends get to sample the cocktail cherries (which are always available for anyone to sample:



Luxardo maraschino cherries and Fabrri Amarena wild cherries.



Not a hard sell.

I also promised them each they could have a ginger beer . . .


. . . which every single one of them declared “too spicy!” and promptly gave back. Whoops. Sorry Jeremy.

So from there Miss Orion and her mama bid us adieu, and we made our way over to Jeremy’s house for a movie and some quiet time (he has a TV – I don’t).

Tired faces.

We watched the old 1970s Disney version of Robin Hood. It’s all foxes and lions, and with only mild gendernormative sexism and almost no overt racism, it’s a pretty great pick from ol’ Walt Disney. (I kid, I kid, but I do have a love-hate relationship with Disney. Basically I love the movies AND ALSO I have sooooo many issues with the way they present the world and the people in it to my child. #progressiveparentingproblems)



And you guessed it, snack attack! The leftover lunch pizza and some snap pea crisps.

After the movie we were back to my house, and Ellington’s mom picked him up around 3:30. Salem and Waits were happy to play out in the yard, some sort of target practice game inspired by the adventures of Mr Robin Hood.



Waits and Salem are kindred spirits, both whip-thin, headstrong, spirited souls.

And they were mostly content to play on their own for the rest of the afternoon, which was nice for me, and even gave me a chance to do some work for Still – cataloguing and cleaning my most recent vintage haul. Frosted mugs and ice buckets and punch bowls, oh my!



Snack attack! Mama Chia.

Salem’s mom picked her up around 5, and Waits and I didn’t even pause to take a breath. We were off! Some last minute Christmas Eve-Eve shopping. This may or may not have been the first Christmas shopping of the season for me . . . oi. I can’t even believe that it’s Christmas already. Where has December gone??! WHERE DID NOVEMBER GO???



While out and about, I picked up a coffee for Jeremy (he can drink coffee after 5! not me, no way Jose). Waits got a soy milk steamer.




A few hours later the shopping was accomplished, but I was sort of a wreck. I’d planned to hit Trader Joe’s on the way home and pick up fixins for Taco Tuesday, but it was late, creeping up on 8, and, well . . .

Vietnamese takeout happened instead.




Ginger broth soup with steamed tofu and broccoli, topped with fresh basil and cilantro. Jeremy likes his with jalapeños and lime juice.



And I like mine with lots of chili oil.


By the time dinner was done it after 9, and time for bed for wee mister Rebhal. A quick bath and a tooth scrub, jammies and a kiss goodnight. Such a good day.

And then, for me, here on the couch. To write this post.



DONE!

Happy Holidays to all of you!

♥ ♥ ♥