The Year that Santa Brought the Tree

I have a confession to make.

We did not decorate for Christmas this year.  We tend to have an all-or-nothing attitude when it comes to holiday decorating, and time just got away from us.  Forget about putting up three trees;  we didn’t even bother with one.  And that garland?  I didn’t even mention it to Tater Daddy.

To tell you the truth, we’ve been so busy this fall and early winter that the only thing I’ve really missed is the tree.  (Notice I used the singular form of the noun, because one tree suits me just fine.)  Tater Tot has missed it, too, and he’s said something about it several times.  Guilt got the better of his Daddy, and several nights ago he happened to stop by Walgreen’s.  The store had their Christmas trees on sale and he got a little artificial one, pre-lit and everything, for about $30.

We keep all of our Christmas decorations in a house on my mother’s farm, so we don’t have any ornaments here at our house.  Tater Daddy bought one box of 24 gold ornaments, and each of the boys had one he’d made at school.  Tater Tot made a Santa Claus face, and Small Fry made a handprint with white paint (or something like it).

Still, every night this week has been busy, busy, busy, and the tree didn’t go up.  We didn’t even tell Tater Tot about it because we didn’t want to disappoint him in the event that we weren’t able to put the little tree up.

Last night, we came home after spending the day with my mother and brother, then eating supper with our cousins.  I put the boys to bed (but not before Tater Tot made one last wish for a tree), and by 10:30, Tater Daddy and I still had about three hours worth of, er…, “jolly old elf” work to do.  When the hubs finally finished putting everything together and got things cleaned up, he headed to bed for what he wished could be a long winter’s nap.

I stayed up a little longer to finish wrapping a few presents, and it just didn’t seem right to have Christmas presents without a tree.

So when Tater Tot wakes up in a few hours, he’s going to find that Santa did, in fact, see that he’d been a good boy this year.  He’ll stumble upon a few things that he asked for and a couple of surprises, too.

He may even notice the scrawny little Christmas tree that wasn’t there when he went to bed the night before.

My Funny Valentine

Yesterday I had the bright idea of making Valentine cookies with Tater Tot.  We’ve never made cookies from scratch together, so I thought it would be a fun activity.  I mean, really, how much trouble can a toddler and a bag of flour get into?

The recipe called for baking powder and since the only can I had in my cabinet expired over a year ago we had to make a run to the grocery store.  I’m sure your favorite grocery has those carts with cars attached to the front, right?  Ours, too.  So far I’ve managed to avoid using those by telling Tater Tot that they were out of gas.  I’m not entirely sure why I’ve resisted letting him “drive” while I shop for things like diet coke and salsa.

Well, yesterday, I gave in to Tater’s request to drive the car.  I suppose it was because he asked so sweetly.  ”Mama?  I need to drive the car.  Pweese?”  The fact that he had his chubby little arms wrapped around my neck certainly worked in his favor, too.  

I have to say that, much like Rain Man, the boy was an excellent driver.  I can’t say the same for me, though.  It took a little while to maneuver that thing.  Luckily I only took out one display of cereal.

We got all of the things we needed, parked the cart, and came home.  My little pastry chef and I made the cookie dough.  While I piddled around with most of the ingredients, Tater Tot undertook the important task of using the “steamroller” to flatten out the flour.  As he said, “I have to wole it.”

Indeed.

After letting the dough chill while both of us Tater Tot napped, we started the task of rolling out the dough and cutting the cookies. 

 What Valentine’s cookies would be complete without a heaping pile of colored sugar sprinkles?

It only took four hours and two pairs of pants to make our cookies!

Followed by one hour of vacuuming the kitchen.

Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all! I hope yours is just as sweet…but not as messy!

Flashback Friday: Feeling Red, White, and Blue

What would we do without Boo Mama? The other day she posted a link to My Tiny Kingdom, so I wandered over and checked it out.  Let me just say, “LOVED it!”

The blogger, Anne, is hosting a weekly carnival called “Flashback Friday.”  The reasons I love the idea are threefold.  First of all, it gives me a chance to look at and then post some of the nearly-3,500 pictures from my iphoto folder that I haven’t looked at in a long time.  Secondly,  it’s another chance to discover some great blogs.  And finally, I love it when someone else thinks of a topic for me.  It makes me want to bake that person a big pan of brownies and say, “Thank you.  Thank you for not making me use my brain today.”

Today’s theme is “Feeling Red, White, and Blue.”  The picture I’m using is one I actually used a few months ago, so if you’ve already seen it, please bear with me.

You’ve no doubt noticed that Tater Tot isn’t looking at the camera while eating his red, white, and blue popsicle.  If you’d like the full story, you can find it right here.

I decided that since I’d already used this picture in a previous post that maybe I’d include one I’ve never used before.  Here goes.

In this picture we’re at a Memphis Redbirds baseball game on July 3rd watching the post-game fireworks.  I’m holding Tater Tot, and his Gammy (my husband’s mother) is on the other side.  He was fascinated by the fireworks display, and the noise didn’t bother him a bit.  It was one of those wonderful nights when the sounds of our 2-year-old’s “ooohs” and “aaahs” reminded us just how much we have to be thankful for.

(My husband took the picture, by the way.  He loves to take pictures of me when it’s 489 degrees outside and humid.  There is no hope for my hair or my makeup in that kind of weather.  My apologies if I’ve frightened anyone.)

 Have a great weekend, everybody!

And We’re Off To a Dull Start!

Happy New Year, y’all!  I hope you had a great New Year’s Eve and you’re doing exciting things today.

As for the Taters?

We are probably the dullest little family on earth when it comes to ringing in the new year.  But dull works for us, so why rock the boat?

Last night, the hubs grilled steaks.  Mine was charred like  a hockey puck well done, just the way I like it.  No pink for me, thank-you-very-much.  Tater Daddy’s was still mooing, I think.  The only person who likes a steak cooked rarer than my husband is his sister, and I’m not sure why anyone bothers to put hers on the grill.

But I digress.

In between playing with Tater Tot and doing laundry here and there, we just piddled around last night.  The hubs watched some TV, and I indulged in my newest addiction, which is playing PathWords on Facebook.  Thanks, BooMama, for mentioning that one.  My interest was piqued, and now  I’m completely hooked on it, which is strange because I’m so terribly bad at it.  At one point I actually tried to submit “E-I-E-I-O” for points and became irate when it was denied.

It’s a sickness, I tell you.  But I love it and will keep playing until I’m forced to go into some sort of rehab for PathWords addicts.  That would probably be kind of fun, because most of my friends are hooked on it, too, so it would be like a reunion of sorts.  I’m HAVE to keep playing.  So if the same post if up on the blog for a day or six, you’ll know it’s because I’m getting my fix.

When the new year actually rolled around, I was already in bed, but I heard the neighbors shooting off their bottle rockets and firecrackers.  So did Tater Tot, and it scared the wits out of him.  That bought him a one-way ticket into Mama’s bed, and I eventually fell asleep with a toddler glued to my side.

It’s around 1:00 right now, and the hubs just emerged from the shower, all nice and clean.  Tater Tot and I are still in our pajamas, and I think we’ll start a New Year’s Day tradition of staying in our pajamas until it’s time to put on fresh ones and go to bed.  Except that would be like the Every Other Day tradition we already have going on here at our house, so I may need to tweak it a little.

Tater Daddy is giddy at all of the bowl games he gets to watch today, and Tater Tot is busy with those trains and trucks that Santa left for him.  I’ve just realized that Napoleon Dynamite is on E!, so I’m pretty darn excited myself.  It’s one of those movies that I can’t help but watch if I come across it.  

I’m off to make a huge pot of Ro-Tel and situate myself on the sofa with a 2-liter of diet coke and my laptop.  You know, because of the PathWords addiction.  If I’m lucky I’ll be able to find Steel Magnolias and The Birdcage somewhere on TV, too.  

And then my New Year’s Day celebration will be complete.

I told you we were dull.

A Merry Christmas Recap

I have to preface this post by telling you that, once again, I have been beaten down by this sinus infection.  It’s the gift that keeps on giving.  I went to the doctor this afternoon, and let me just warn  you.  This girl is all jacked up on decongestants that make me feel loopier than… than… Well, I can’t really think of a good ending for that one.  So let’s just say that I am woozy and wordy and picture happy!

Bless your hearts.  If you stick it out to the end of this one, you are the kindest souls on earth.

Like most everyone else, our Christmas and the days leading up to it were busy and frantic and absolutely wonderful.  We got to see family from as far away as Boston and San Francisco.  We visited with family members who live fairly close but whom we rarely get to see just because our schedules never seem to allow it.  We laughed and talked and had a jolly good time.

Tater Tot and I finally got to meet Ella, the beautiful daughter my friends in Texas adopted from Ethiopia.  

If you think she’s beautiful in pictures, you ought to see her in person.  She is the tiniest little thing, but she is full of spunk and she’s running the show!  Two months ago, Ella was described as a child who did not like new people and who rarely smiled.  When we met her last Monday, there was no sign of that little girl.  She is thriving!  Even with a cold she was happy, and she wasn’t bothered at all by her new admirers.  It’s amazing how being loved unconditionally by her parents completely changed her, and it reminds me that it’s the same with God’s love.  He brought this family together and they are all changed forever.  

If you’ve read the blog for a while, you know I could go on and on about Ella and her family.  But I’ll try to show a little restraint.  Here’s the only picture I could get of Tater Tot and Ella’s first meeting.  

Tater Tot and I left for my mother’s house Tuesday afternoon and spent the night there.  His hair was looking much too shabby for Poopsie’s taste, so she called the girl who cuts her hair and made an appointment for a Christmas Eve haircut.  I don’t know what it is about getting a haircut, but Tater Tot likes it.

He had everyone in the shop convinced that he never misbehaves or acts like the 29-month-old that he is.  Of course, Santa was watching.

After his nap, Poopsie gave Tater Tot her big gift — his very own Thomas the Tank Engine ride-on train!  Chugga-chugga-woo-woo!  

Later that night, after we peeled Tater Tot off of his new train, we went to our cousins’ house for supper.  This is Lynn, wearing red (not the lady in blue — bahahaha!), whose husband is my mother’s first cousin.  Clear as mud?  Great.  (Their dog, Annie, is our Pearl’s mama.  We like to keep things in the family, don’t-you-know.)

Here are Tater Tot and our cousin, Brick.  It’s hard to believe that he’ll graduate from college next December.

I remember playing with someone about Tater Tot’s age when I was in college….

Brick is an avid hunter and outdoorsman, and my father was just crazy about him.  Though only related by marriage, the two of them have a lot of the same qualities.  Since my husband nor my brother hunts, and I am mighty scared of firearms in general, it’s not practical for Daddy’s shotguns and rifles to come to us.  He wanted Brick to have one.  Here he is with his Dad looking over his “new” over-and-under shotgun.  I have no idea what that is, but Brick does, and he seemed touched by the gift.

We finally made it back to Memphis and Tater Tot was asleep within a few minutes of being in bed, while Santa’s elves stayed up and got everything ready.

It was a big year for Thomas the Train at our house.

A couple of trucks made their way into the mix, too.

My mother and brother came to our house, which was the first time we’ve ever had Christmas here.  Tater Tot loved showing off his new toys, and we had a wonderful time.  My mother brought just about everything for lunch, and Jim…well, you can see for yourself.

Later that afternoon, we loaded up and drove to my in-laws’ house.  My husband’s brother has three kids who are so sweet to Tater Tot that it’ll just about make you cry.  Here’s their youngest, Emma, with our little one showing off the scarves that Gammy knitted for them.  Seriously, isn’t Tater Tot’s caterpillar scarf the cutest thing EVER?

We stayed at their house longer than we’ve ever stayed, and it was one of the best Christmases that I can remember.  There’s one more present that Gammy and Pawpaw gave Tater Tot, but my camera’s batteries died. 

As has your patience with this post, I’m sure.

We are truly blessed, but not because of the gifts we opened.  We are blessed to have one another.  We are blessed to know God’s love and grace.

It was a Merry Christmas for us, and I hope it was for your family, as well.

Are Y’all THIS TIRED, Too?

We had a wonderful Christmas, and I have every intention of blogging about it at some point.  But exhaustion has taken over.  (Not to mention about 65 loads of laundry that are waiting to be taken care of.)

I wouldn’t have thought that I’d neglect the blog this much over the last week, but I had NO idea just how tired I could get.  Clueless, y’all.  Completely clueless.

When my husband and I married, our niece, Caroline, was about three.  Even though her family lives in our hometown, they always spent Christmas Eve at my husband’s parents’ house because Caroline’s mom wanted her folks to be there to see Caroline’s Christmas morning reaction.  At that time, we only had one dog, so we’d load her up and spend the night with my husband’s family, too.  We wanted to see the WOW moment, too.  I mean, Caroline was the kind of child who was genuinely appreciative if you said, “I got you this Wal-Mart sack.”  She would oooh and aaahhh over it and tell you she loved it and that it was exactly what she hoped for.  And, yes, we’ve tried our best to spoil her rotten for that reason alone.

After Caroline was finally asleep and down for the count, we would stay up and help my Deanna put out the goods.   It was fun for us and it wasn’t at all tiring.  We simply did as we were told and by the time everything was all set, we were wired!  We couldn’t wait for morning to come, and when she did wake up it was magic!

But were we tired?  Heck, no!  We were up, dressed, and drinking our coffee when that sweet little girl pitter-pattered into the den to find that Santa had left her some presents!  We had energy to spare and couldn’t wait to play with her and her new toys.  We would leave for a few hours and have lunch with my family, followed by a nice nap in front of the fireplace.  Then we’d go back out to my in-laws’ house for Christmas supper with my husband’s family.

Was Deanna tired?  Heck, yes!  She was exhausted.  I never understood why.  Why is she so tired?  I thought.  You buy the toys and then put them out.  What’s the big deal?

Yes.  Yes, I AM the dumbest person on earth.  

I know that the tired that I feel is the best kind of tired that you can feel.  I wouldn’t trade it for anything, so please don’t think that I’m complaining.  It’s just a fact that I never really thought much about before now.  Last year, Tater Tot was only 17-months-old at Christmas, and this Santa thing was E-A-S-Y!  Tater Daddy wasn’t feeling well, so I handled putting the little fellow to bed AND Santa duties by myself after spending the day with my Mom, brother, and (very sick) Dad and then driving home from my extended family’s Christmas Eve party.  I was pretty sure I was the new Wonder Woman, only without the great figure and invisible plane.

This year, I am Droopy Woman.  I can barely stand up, and I frequently bump into furniture and walls.

I had to have a mammogram today, and when the boob technician had me firmly latched to and leaning on the “booby-trap” and told me to “Hold real still,” it was not a problem.  I was practically asleep.

THAT’S tired, folks.

Merry Christmas To Us All

It’s Christmas Eve, and we’re at my mother’s house for a few hours.  My brother pulled into town a couple of hours ago, and Tater Tot has been on cloud nine ever since Jim walked in the door.  I can hear them somewhere in another part of the house laughing and playing, and it makes me smile.

Every Christmas Eve we go to our cousins’ house for a delicious supper.  It’s casual and relaxed, and I’m thankful that we live close enough that we never have to miss it.

The three of us will head back to Memphis tonight, and tomorrow morning our two-year-old will wake to find that Santa has come.  Of course, he doesn’t really understand much of anything about Christmas except to say that, “I wuv Cwismas!”  He loves the lights and the decorations and the music.  The cookies aren’t bad, either.

We’re doing things a little differently this year.  My mother and brother will come in the morning to our house and we’ll have Christmas dinner there.  As my mother said, “Christmas day is going to blow Tater Tot’s mind,” and we still have my husband’s family to celebrate with in the late afternoon and early evening.  At some point we’ll need to convince the little fellow to take a nap so that he’s not a holy terror by five o’clock.  We shall see.

Of course, everything about this Christmas is different.  It’s the first without my father.  But, you know, it’s really been all right so far.  I miss him, that’s for sure.  But, if it makes any sense, I can hear him laughing with us as we watch Tater Tot play.  I feel like he’s with us even though I can’t see him.  And every now and then I have the sensation that I’ve been gently hugged, and I like to believe that it’s him.

I’ve written before that my Daddy was not the kind of man who would enjoy for one second knowing that those he loved missed out on a moment’s joy because of a moment’s grief.  So, while I my heart is still broken, through his memory, somehow my father is helping put the pieces back together.  

Our Christmas will be different.  But it will be merry, and happy, and very much blessed.

I hope yours it, too.

The Ghost of Christmas (Cards) Past

Our Christmas cards went out in today’s mail, which is the latest I’ve ever sent them.  I’ve cut it close before, but never like this.  Most of the delay came from trying to get Tater Tot to sit still in front of the tree and smile at a time when he was relatively clean and dressed nicely.  Didn’t happen.  I begged.  I pleaded.  I even tried bribing.  Evidently the art of bribery doesn’t work until the day after Christmas, when you could not care less about those Christmas cards.

So this year I picked a card that showed four pictures of Tater Tot from the last few months and gave Walgreen’s a big chunk of my money.  As I was looking through all of the pictures I’ve taken since October or so, I couldn’t help but look at the whole photo library.

It doesn’t seem like two years have passed since we sent Christmas Cards out with this picture.

It’s still one of my favorite pictures.  Sleeping babies are beautiful, aren’t they?

I’m going to show a few pictures from Tater Tot’s first Christmases, if you don’t mind indulging a mama who’s taking a short walk down memory lane.

My Dad was holding Tater Tot and put this Santa hat on him.  We have it in a Christmas frame and will put it out every year!

Here he is in his Christmas pajamas.  We spent Christmas Eve with family and drove back home that night.  We took this right before we put him in his crib.

After lunch, we would put Tater Tot in my Dad’s lap and within just a few minutes he would snuggle down into the crook of Daddy’s arm and fall fast asleep.  It never failed that Daddy could get him to sleep when no one else could, and I think it tickled him when I would say, “Daddy, will you try?”  Like any good Papa, he was happy to oblige.

Here he is with my Mama.  As you can see, Tater Tot had just discovered that sucking on someone’s finger was loads of fun.

Here we are at Tater Daddy’s parents’ house.  That’s Pawpaw in the picture with us.

And here’s a happy Tater Tot.

Fast forward one year.  Here’s the picture we used for last year’s card.  We said something clever (cough, cough) about “having a ball this Christmas” on the card.

Santa came, even though we didn’t have a tree or any of our decorations up.

I’m not sure why we didn’t take more pictures last Christmas.  I really meant to.  This is a picture — the last one — of me with my sweet Daddy.

Here’s Tater Tot in the middle of everything, riding one of the toys his cousins gave him.  He has had more fun with that ride-on toy than just about anything, and it’s sad that he’s outgrowing it.  (He really is too big for it, but he loves to ride it anyway!)

You’re all caught up on Tater Tot’s first two Christmases.  I can sense your relief, although I’m pretty certain that the relief stems from the fact that the blog world only missed out on TWO of them.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

“Lights. Lights Would Be Good Here”

Who knows what actress spoke the words I used in the title and what movie the line comes from?  Anyone besides my friend Kristi?  (Because after she reads this, she will immediately either comment or call me.)

I thought we were through decking our halls and such until the other night when I saw my husband heading out the front door with the ladder and a box of lights.  So I thought I’d show you our new and updated front door.

The wreath also has some tiny LED lights on them, but I refuse to turn them on.  The look BLUE.  And as that movie maiden of good taste, Annelle, said, “Not too much.  I don’t want it to look tacky!”

We also added this inside the front door.

I usually have a Christmas cactus in the snowman pail, but time is getting away from me.  So we figured we’d just put colored lights in it.  But not too much, because…..you know the rest.

If I get really brave, Tater Tot and I are going to make homemade sugar cookies later on.  And then maybe we’ll make a wreath made entirely out of Baby Jesuses….

(C’mon!  I KNOW you know the movie those last quotes and references are from.  Right?  Anyone?)

Welcome to Our Home

Welcome to your next stop on BooMama’s Christmas Tour of Homes!  I’m delighted that you’ve come for a visit and hope you’ll say hello in the comments so I’ll be sure to stop at your home!

When trying to find our home during the holidays, my husband always tells people to look for the mailbox that looks like a magnolia tree and a holly tree threw up all over it.  Isn’t he a dear?

Here’s our front door…

And the only one of the dogs that learned the “sit-stay” command…

Someone gave us this Father Christmas when we married 14 years ago. Tater Daddy is a Santa Claus fan, but I can’t help but put this fellow out each year.

Here is our Christmas tree with its little tree friends and some other things we’ve collected over the years.  Our house is kind of small, and there isn’t a lot of room to display things.  Therefore, they all get  put together like a little village or something.

When my husband was just out of college, he said that his first Christmas on his own was pretty lean.  Bless his heart — he made some ornaments for his tree.  He worked for an advertising agency, and this foam board was available to him for free so he made candy canes.  Over the years we’ve kept a couple and always hang them on our tree.  We always laugh a little, but we love them.

My mother’s mother, whom we called Grandmama, displayed her mother’s Nativity scene every year.  I remember being fascinated by it when I was a little girl.  I don’t really know why.  There’s nothing particularly fine or even extraordinarily beautiful about it.  But it was always one of the first things I looked for when the decorations were up.  As I got older, Grandmama let me put it out and that became one of my “jobs” when my brother and I would go to my grandparents’ house to help decorate.  Even when I went off to college, Grandmama saved the Nativity set for me to put out when I got home after taking exams.  I would drop my things off at my parents’ house and drive over to Grandmama and Papa’s house and there it was.  The box. I can’t quite part with it.

Mama Dear is what they called Grandmama’s mama.  I think that’s one of the sweetest names, don’t you?  Anyway, long after college and even up until the last Christmas that Grandmama was with us in 2000, she saved the Nativity set for me to put up.  For the last couple of years, it was one of the few decorations that she used.  I noticed that she’d written on the the box that the set was to be handed down to me.  She even wrote it twice, in case there were any doubt.  That was so Grandmama!  

Now that I’ve rambled on about it like it’s made of gold or something, here it is.

I think I’ll ramble on a little more.  For whatever reason, it was always important to Grandmama that the wise men actually be coming from the east.  What can I say?  She had a thing for “keeping it real.”  So now, wherever we display it in our home, the wise men must be coming from the east.  I always imagine Grandmama giggling when I’m standing around trying to make sure I’m getting it right. 

My word.  I’ve gone on and on about the Nativity scene.  I guess I don’t have to tell you that of all the decorations we have — half of which we don’t even use — it is the one I love the most.  

Let’s see.  Here is our mantel.  More magnolia.  We actually have eight of the reindeer, but they take up a lot of room.  I would have to move the clock, which…um….also belonged to Grandmama.  It is so old, and quite frankly, I am a little afraid of moving it.  I don’t even like to wind it for fear of breaking it.  This year, we’re letting three reindeer do the work of eight. It’s kind of like Santa’s hybrid reindeer team.

Tater Tot has a little tree in his room.  There’s a cowboy theme going on in his bedroom, so when I saw the tree-in-a-boot a couple of years ago I couldn’t really resist.

Well, that’s pretty much it for the house of Tater.

Now, I’d like to share a recipe or two with you.  And I would have made these for the Tour.  However, (1) the horrid sinus infection that appeared a couple of weeks ago came back, and I have been in bed for two days, and (2) the cheese balls don’t last long enough around here for me to arrange them on a plate and take a picture.  What can I say?  The Taters love cheese.

Every Christmas, Grandmama would make a batch of cheese balls, and she made the best EVER.  Mine never turn out quite like hers, but I still crave them around the holidays and always find myself making a batch or two.  

GRANDMAMA MAXINE’S CHEESE BALLS

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cup flour

1 stick margarine

salt

Soften butter and cheese.  Add flour and make into dough.  Roll into balls.  Salt.  Bake at 350-degrees for 15 minutes.

*****************************************************

TENNESSEE HOT CHOCOLATE

3 cups milk

3/4 cup half & half

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/3 – 1/2 cup bourbon

marshmallows (optional)

Combine milk and half & half in a medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until thoroughly heated, but DO NOT BOIL.  Add sugar and cocoa, whisking until blended.  Remove from heat.  Whisk in vanilla and bourbon.  Pour into mugs and top with marshmallows. Yield:  4 1/2 cups

Thank you for stopping by.  I hope to see you again soon.

Merry Christmas!  (And for the small number of you who visit Tater Tales regularly, if this is the only post you see for a couple of days, it’s because I’ve crawled into a bottle of Ny-Quil in hopes of shushing the cough.)

I  was about to leave Boo Mama a comment last night and I read about another Home Tour at Hooked on Houses.  So forget about that laundry and all the errand-running you need to be doing.  Grab a cup of hot chocolate, snuggle up in front of  your computer, and let’s spend the day touring each other’s homes!