Motherhood and miles and cookies

Ayyy...it's been a week. I'm chipping away at my Christmas preparations. On Thursday, which is my day off from work, I had a very well-choreographed plan of attack to get some things off my to-do list. My husband threatened to derail my plans when he announced that I needed to stay home to wait for his deep freeze to be delivered. He's a homebrewer, and he uses the freezer to store his beer. Don't ask--he doesn't freeze it. Anyways, panic ensued. There was no way that was happening. He was not happy, and he ended up rescheduling the delivery to next Saturday.

I'm sure he had no inkling of all the things I had to get done. Here's what he thinks I do on my day off:

www.annetaintor.com

But here's what I did. Of course, I went for a run. Then I went to see Becky for CrossFit. I felt much better and I headed to the mall to power shop. Once I got home, I took my youngest son to get a new phone--it was long overdue--and to get a haircut. We spent a nice couple of hours together, and when we got home he helped me with my Christmas cards. As a reward for helping me, I made his favorite dinner.

Then the rug was pulled out from under me.

I was helping him set up his new phone and the texts started coming in from his friends. I saw some things that I'm sure he didn't want me to see. Actually, I didn't want to see them either. He had a panicky look on his face.

Here we go again. Same song, different station. I felt like someone punched me in the stomach. Just when we thought we were done with all that nonsense--my oldest son has put us through the ringer the past couple of years--here we go again, only this time with #2.

He's my athlete, my honor student. And after what we've been through with #1, I didn't think I'd have to worry about this one.

Apparently, I do.

We grounded him. He accepted his punishment without anger or argument. We talked. I told him how much I hate punishing him. He told me how badly he felt.

I hope he remembers this.

In the meantime, I'm back on the Christmas prep. But first things first. Even though it was bitterly cold, I went for an 8 mile run to the retention pond. Reliable as always, the road helped me reflect and gain perspective. Initially, I was feeling pretty badly about my abilities as a parent. What have I done wrong?

But as I ran and reflected, my perspective shifted. I stopped beating myself up and I started to feel badly for my youngest. Because of what we've had to endure with his brother, maybe my youngest has had to live up to an unrealistic standard. He should be allowed to do stupid things, right? Because that's what teenagers do. I know I did my share. The important thing is that he does whatever he needs to do, stays out of trouble, and gets it out of his system. This blip doesn't mean that he's going down a bad path. He's got good grades and he's active in his sports. He assures me that he's on track.

During my run, I stopped to take a picture and captured the sun in my warrior 1 upstretched arms.

Ready to head home from the pond, I ran directly into the brutal wind. I so wanted to bail on this run, to call my husband or one of my sons to pick me up. But that's not what a warrior does. I finished my run and warmed up when I got home.

I felt empowered for finishing that tough run. And for working through my mama drama. The boys will be ok. So will their mama. Thank you, running.

After that run, I felt so much better and ready to tackle my to-do list.

I baked.
I shopped.
I wrapped.
As always, Christmas is going to come together.

I made lots of cookies Saturday. All my cookies are nut-free because we have nut allergies at our house. Christmas+EpiPen=Emergency Room is a holiday buzz kill. Been there, done that....

You won't miss the nuts in any of these, trust me! I make all the favorites of the men in my house but every year I try a new recipe. Sometimes they end up on the keeper list!

Twix Sugar Cookie Cups
This is a new recipe this year and all I can say is make these.

Peppermint Cookie Bars
A nut-free take on the toffee bars my mom used to make when I was kid. My personal favorite.

Cocoa Snowflakes
My youngest son's favorite. I make a double batch.

Raspberry Strippers
The only "healthy" cookies I make. My husband's favorite.

Molasses sugar cookies
These are my oldest son's favorites.

How's your Christmas prep going? Any glitches you want to share? Are you able to keep up with your workouts? Do you like to bake? What cookies do you make? 

I'm linking up with Holly and Tricia for their Weekly Wrap. Hoping everyone had a good week!