Holiday Guests

*deep breath*

Tony and Lucy arrive tomorrow. They'll be staying 16 days at a VRBO in Castro Valley and joining us for Thanksgiving and Alexandra's birthday. BIL is taking them on the weekends but during the week, I'll be the designated host and chauffeur yet again. With two kids. In a car that only fits two carseats.

I'm preparing myself by setting the lowest of low expectations, so that there is no disappointment. No, I'm expecting to have my home management skills insulted, my homeschooling plans criticized, and my mothering in general attacked and compared to SIL. And the food issues, well, I'm thinking someone will decide to "help" cook Thanksgiving meal and add butter to everything so that there won't be anything for me to eat. Terrible, I know, but if I start there, I can only be pleasantly surprised by the visit, right?

Louis is leaving his job and I cannot wait. I'm nervous about the loss of regular, safe income and the health insurance stipend, but I know overall it will be a positive thing for the whole family. We need to make some serious changes.

I'm feeling really overwhelmed by all the plans going on right now and I can't seem to focus on any one thing. I think what I'm most looking forward to at the moment is the time when Louis is home for the holidays and we get to spend time together as a family. Maybe we'll get to have an actual conversation without accommodating everyone else in our lives first.

Alright, I'm feeling hormonal and selfish tonight. I'll finish cleaning the house for our guests and find something sweet to eat and call it a night.