Turkey Day - version 1 and 2

So this year we are going to have a crazy Thanksgiving! I'm betting this might be my last post before the big day hits and so I'm going to give the run down of our week ahead.

Thursday - We head over to my in-laws for the day. It will just be the four of us and the two of them, so should be a fun, but relatively low-key day. Since Matt and I don't eat the turkey, my mother-in-law has chosen a turkey-free meal - baked fish, oyster stew, salads, and other yummy feast items. I'm sure it will be delicious, but somewhat non-traditional. We will all have fun and eat to our hearts content, no doubt. Then at the end of the day, we will drive out to my parents' house to spend the rest of the weekend.

Friday - We'll wake up to a house full of family. My parents and aunt (from Maine) will already be there. Later in the morning, my brother, his wife, and their two girls (from Atlanta) will arrive, leading to all kinds of crazy cousin fun. And then at some point that day, my uncle and his wife (from California) will arrive. They will only be spending the day with us, but it will be a house full for Friday! This will likely also be the day that we spend going to cut down Christmas trees, decorating the house, and exchanging "First Day" presents. (First Day is a funny family tradition we have of exchanging small gifts that are Christmas related - such as holiday decorations, earrings, wrapping paper, etc.) Again, it will be fun, but definitely crazy!

Saturday - My uncle and his wife will be gone, and my aunt will head home this afternoon as well. But that still leaves the cousin cluster to play and create havoc! This is always a good time for the kids, who don't see each other nearly enough and really enjoy each other despite a significant age range. This night, my mom is planning to do a traditional turkey Thanksgiving dinner for the remaining group. John is happy that he'll still get to eat some turkey and Kara's excited for "tur-eeee."

Sunday - My brother's family will head back to Atlanta and at some point, we will head home to Reston. I'm not sure at what point that day any of us will have the energy to pack or drive home, but it will happen so that we can get our Christmas tree into the house and back into some water that day! ;-)

This year Matt has decided to take Monday off work, and I'm thankful for that. Typically our Thanksgiving weekend isn't quite this crazy, but it is always busy and we come home exhausted. It's always a big challenge to get ready mentally to head into Monday, so I'm happy that this year we can have one more day to ourselves to re-group.

Well, now I'm tired out just thinking about the weekend ahead! I hope everyone reading this has a great and happy Thanksgiving and I'll be sure to post next week about how it all went! Gobble Gobble Gobble!

Thanks again and again

Okay, so I think I forgot to do a thankful post last week. Oops! I was thankful, I promise! So, I'll catch up by doing one today instead.

Today I'm thankful for:
1. Great in-laws (who babysat for us on Friday night then had us over all day yesterday for football watching).
2. My sweet hubby who let me stay in bed until almost 9:00 this morning - ahhhhhhh.
3. My yoga classes
4. The kids who despite being up very late the last two nights and no nap for Kara yesterday have been quite well-behaved so far today.
5. A sunny day.
6. The Thanksgiving holiday ahead and all the family we will be visiting with - all the grandparents, my aunt, my uncle and his wife, my brother, sister-in-law and their daughters. Much fun ahead!
7. Having gotten the grocery shopping done this morning so we can relax a bit this afternoon before getting ready for a crazy week ahead!
8. The gift certificate we bought on Friday night at the preschool's silent auction for a character cake for John's birthday - he's so excited to have a Thomas the Tank Engine birthday cake! And I'm thankful to have it taken care of! Yeah!

Okay, now I'm going to go relax some more with my tea before Kara wakes up from her nap. ;-)

Popcorn

When I was a kid, my mom (who LOVES popcorn) would sometimes make popcorn and let me have that as my lunch or make a big bowl as an afternoon snack. She definitely instilled in me a love for popcorn. It was always a special thing, but it happened way more frequently than other treats in our house. As a result, I do, on occasion eat popcorn for dinner or as a meal, usually when Matt is out of the house and after the kids are in bed. I have yet to serve them popcorn as a meal, but I have made it as a snack. Right now the kids are eating a big bowl of it and are quite content. It is truly a family favorite for us. It's a cold day outside today and we were home after picking John up from school without anything particular to do this afternoon. When they started asking for a snack and it was early enough to make popcorn without ruining their dinner, I thought why not? Yummm. They both jumped at the chance to help turn the crank on the popper (yes, I actually do cook it on the stove, not in the microwave) and are happily now eating their yummy snack. The only sound is the crunching of their bites and an occasional "nummy" from Kara. How great that my kids have taken on my love of this delicious, and not entirely unhealthy snack (it does actually have lots of fiber, which is great for Kara particularly). I love it.

Great Weekend

Despite my pending head cold that I'm failing in the fight against, we've had a pretty good weekend. The kids are wiped out, as are Matt and I. Yesterday we went up to Baltimore for the afternoon/evening. We ate an early lunch and then headed out with the Port Discovery Children's Museum as our destination. Much to our surprise, we had no traffic and it took only an hour to get there. Once we arrived, we used some VIP passes that Matt had been given on a recent work trip to pay for part of our admission. And then, we entered into what I can only describe as an enormous playhouse for the kids. We spent the next 3+ hours wandering in and out of different play areas, climbing, sliding, exploring, touching, creating, and more. John and Matt even took a little class to learn how to make chewing gum! How cool is that? By 4:30 we were all totally exhausted. We stumbled out of the museum and took a walk down to the Inner Harbor pavilion area and found a Pizzeria Uno, after John insisted he wanted pepperoni pizza. We had to wait a few minutes for a table, which was a bit of a challenge with kids who were very tired and very hungry by that point. But we all survived. Then, of course, once Kara chose the dinosaur chicken nuggets to eat for dinner, John immediately switched his tune and ordered the same. No pepperoni pizza. Ah well, Matt and I enjoyed our dinner and all was well. We left Baltimore at about 7:00pm, thinking the kids would crash out on the way home, but everyone stayed awake the whole ride home. It was a great day that we all thoroughly enjoyed. There is so much to do in Baltimore that it gave us great confidence to do adventures like that again.

Today was a much slower day for us all around. The kids slept until after 8:00 and we took the whole day pretty easy. Every day can't be filled with such adventures! ;-)

Tis the Season

So we have had an extremely yucky week here for weather. It's been rainy and dreary all week long and the kids and I are totally victims of cabin fever. I've done my best not to resort to using the television too much, but there's only so much I can do before I must submit to the demands so that I can get some housework done without listening to them whine or fight. We've watched a little bit of Sesame Street, a few Scooby Doo episodes, and a little bit of Playhouse Disney. But, for the second time this week, today John requested "The Polar Express." We own the movie (one of the very few that we actually own), and he absolutely loves it. This is the first year he's actually called it by its true name, previously he referred to it as the "Magic Train." Anyway, his love of all things train definitely includes this movie. And I'm okay with that, because it totally is a fabulous movie. Who doesn't love Tom Hanks in all his many roles? Anyway, after a long week (including 2 swim lessons, Little Bits for Kara, babysitting, working at the preschool 2 days, and other errands/housework), I have succumbed to the tv. I feel a bit guilty, but it is Friday and we're all pretty tired. I would rather have them happily watching a great movie together than hear them fighting and bickering and having to play referee. I don't have the energy left to do that today. So, our exhaustion and the rain overcomes my guilt. Maybe next week it will stop raining and we can get back outside. For now, Merry Christmas everyone (at least to all those who truly believe)!

Thanks again

Today I'm thankful for:
1. Pigtails (see previous post)
2. Fingerpaint fun (after school, rainy day activity today)
3. An awesome preschool teacher (I worked in the class today and had a lot of fun, even on a rainy day)
4. That Kara did okay at a friend's house today while I was at class
5. John's progress in swimming and with getting his face wet in the bathtub
6. Being able to watch the last leaves fall from the trees and knowing how much we were able to enjoy the fall season this year
7. A warm house and cozy bed
8. The time to watch the Va Tech Hokies play a football game tonight
9. My sweet kids and hubby
10. And even for a rainy day to help make me slow down and appreciate the fun we can have indoors too.

I don't know if I'll make these "thankful" posts a regular thing, as I know several other bloggers do, but I do enjoy taking the time to think about the many things I am thankful for, especially during this time of year.

Pigtails

Oh my goodness!! Pigtails are about the cutest thing on the planet! After talking with our playgroup moms last week about putting their girls' hair into pigtails, I finally today had the opportunity to give it a try on Kara. I'd been waiting until her mood was just right and today was it. I gave the kids a pre-dinner bath, so while her hair was wet and she was in a good mood, I gave it a try. It was surprisingly easy and she looks absolutely adorable! As many of you know she's got some kooky curly hair to start with, so her pigtails just turned into a string of curls on either side of her head. We're so used to seeing her with her hair down, it looks a little funny to us, but I just can't get over how cute it is. And it keeps her hair out of her face. She's had them in for almost an hour and a half now and hasn't even tried to pull them out yet! I see me trying this again VERY soon. Like maybe tomorrow. :-)

Pics will come soon

By the way, in case you were wondering, my recent posts have not included pictures. And I will begin posting with pictures again soon, I promise. Right now we're still in the process of switching everything over to the laptop and I'm doing most of my posts from the laptop, but the pictures are still on the old pc. So, I apologize for all the text without any good photos to go with it, but that will change soon, I hope! Thanks for your patience!

Playing Games

While I type this, the kids and Matt are playing a whole variety of board games. John is mostly directing the situation, with Kara following along with his directions and Matt is alternating participation with a little football watching. It's a very cute scene on a quiet weekend for us. John came down with a seemingly random fever yesterday and Matt isn't feeling well either. Only Kara and I are healthy (so far). We had a nice early dinner and the kids have had a lot of fun pulling games out of our big game cabinet and playing each one before putting it away and selecting a new one. John's definitely in charge - picking out games that will be easy for Kara to play, doing the set up, and helping her take turns and play the game. Kara has actually won several times and they've both been having a lot of fun. It's very special family time.

Before the kids were born, Matt and I spent many nights together playing games of our own, card games and board games. It was a lot of fun and we really enjoyed it. So now the kids are starting to reach the age where we can do it all together. I look forward to many evenings ahead when we can play games together as a family. Very special stuff.

Friday Morning

So this morning we're all up nice and early. Yea...or not. We've been enjoying some relatively slow and relaxed mornings this week as the weather has been dreary and wet and we've been light on morning plans. This morning we're heading out in a bit to get John a haircut before our family portraits tomorrow and then to the grocery store to pick up some milk (we're bone dry - major problem around here).

While we're waiting the kids are fighting about what game to play and whether or not Kara will be able to be included. She's to the age now where she's not quite old enough to play most of our games, but she REALLY wants to be allowed to play. And being Mommy's "teammate" isn't quite cutting it anymore. She got the Goodnight Moon game for her birthday from her great-aunt and that's helped a lot. But it's not always what John's willing to play. So, the battles and frustrations have already started for today.

Thank goodness the weather has improved so we will definitely get outside for some playtime today. It's going to be 72 degrees here today! We have windows and doors open already and we're wearing short sleeved shirts. Is it really November?

Yes, it is November because I'm already starting the deliberations and search for Christmas presents. It's definitely the year that Kara will get a play kitchen, but finding the right one - that's tricky. There's size, space, features, cost, accessories, and more to consider! I never realized how hard it would be to make this decision! And I haven't really thought too much yet about what John's going to want. Oy vay!!

TGIF....Have a great Friday and great weekend!!

Thankful for...

This morning I'm thinking about a few things I'm thankful for...
1. COFFEE!! :-)
2. John and Kara
3. rainy fall days
4. slow mornings in our pjs
5. good friends, new and old
6. my 2 year old who can blow her own nose! wow!

Just thought I'd share a few random thoughts this morning. Life is pretty good.

Yummy

First let me say that I realized in the midst of the election results process last night that I hadn't posted anything to the blog in almost a week! Yikes! I'd gotten myself onto a regular schedule with it and then with Halloween and the election, I'd clearly gotten way off course. So, for that, I do apologize.

So now I want to write about how funny Kara was tonight during dinner. Matt was delayed at work, so it was just me and the kids and I had made a falafel casserole with cucumbers and pita bread on the side. It was mainly something I thought Matt and I would enjoy and I figured if the kids at least tried it I'd be happy. John was skeptical, but not nearly as objectional as usual. He did try it, but didn't eat much. Kara scooped it right up and declared it "Yummy" or more realistically it was "Nummy." She ate and ate and ate it up. MUCH to my surprise! And given the nice high fiber count in that meal, I was thrilled that she enjoyed it so much. Yeah! Mommy did something right in the meal category. Now if I can just do that again tomorrow. Or at least some day in the not too distant future....