Thanksgiving Weekend

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a wonderful time with our friends. I ate too much, but it was all so good! The nice thing was that the girls are old enough to not have to take afternoon naps right after lunch, so we ate a little after 1:00, and stayed until almost 5:00, but they did jsut fine! Next year we'll be back to toting a pack-n-play over.

One of our friends, Tim, is an excellent photographer, so I asked him to take a family Christmas picture of us before we ate. He took one on our camera and several on his, but I ened up not loving any of them. It's not his skill as a photographer. I finally figured it out--I look like a big, pregnant woman with a basketball prominently displayed under my shirt, which in this case was purple, so it looked like a giant blueberry. When I mentioned this to Nathan, as we were looking at the pictures on the computer, he pointed out that in fact, I AM a big, pregnant woman. But that is not how I want to be remembered by all my friends over the next year, so this year's Christmas card picture will not include a pregnant me. I got the kids all dressed up for church this morning in Christmas-y colors, and I took some pictures of them by the fireplace. Much cuter! No blueberry basketballs insight.

It was good that I asked Tim to take the pictures before we ate because afterward Grace blew out her diaper for the first time in many months, and I actually had to go home and get new clothes for her! Then she built on her success by peeing out her diaper at home while she took a late nap! I'm not sure what came over her, but obviously all the good food did something to her, LOL.

As soon as we got home on Thursday, the boys started asking about putting up the Christmas decorations. I don't know about you, but it was hard to even contemplate bring more stuff into the family room when the whole main floor looked like a tornado has swept through it, and there was already tons of toys, books, paper, etc. all around. The thought did not put me in a very festive mood. So I washed a bunch of dishes, and Caleb, bless his little heart, took over the cleaning up and moving of all the Little People, play food and kitchen, and other kid stuff out of the family room and into the play room. That night I stayed up late trying to organize and make some headway against all the clutter we have accumulated, so that we would have room for the Christmas stuff.

I really got inspired Friday and Saturday, as far as decluttering goes. I tackled the study and the kitchen. I threw away many garbage bags of stuff, and I packed up a few boxes of things I am not quite ready to give away or throw away, but that we don't need out right now. It all looks so nice now! Throwing stuff away is such a good feeling. And it DID help me feel more like decorating for Christmas, which we did Friday evening. We didn't do a ton of stuff, other than the tree and the fireplace area, since we are planning to go back to Ohio for Christmas. This year I got to just sit on the couch and hand out ornaments to the right people. Nathan and Luke helped Anna hang up her ornaments, and Grace just orbited. It was nice not to have to be up and around, helping everywhere!

Bob had a busy weekend as well. He was up in the middle of the night Thursday night, and he bought us an mp3 player from Circuit City online at 2:00 AM! We've decided that might be a staying fad, so perhaps we should jump on, LOL. He went out Friday to pick it up--a much more civilized way to shop than waiting in the cold darkness at ungodly hours of the morning! Now we just need to figure it out. We're planning on bringing it to Ohio, where we will ask questions of my computer-savy brother.

Then on Saturday Bob and the boys spent a good deal of time painting the deck. This time they were focusing on the rails. It looks so nice! After that, he took them all, plus Anna, swimming at our local rec center. They bought a one-month family membership, so they're planning on going a few more times before we leave for Christmas. The pool there is really nice, with lots of kid features, including a water slide, so they had a total ball.

So the house is as decorated as it is going to get, I've made a solid beach head against clutter, and the deck is looking great. The thing that really worked in my favor was having 2 days in a row that we didn't have school or anything else to do. I really need to get upstairs and work in closets, especially in Grace's room, but I'm not sure when that will happen. And we need another nice weekend of weather so Bob can put on another coat of stain. All in all, it was a very productive weekend!

Thanksgiving Eve

Well, it is now after 5:00, and I never heard anything from the doctor. I am tentatively hopeful that means I passed the 3 hour test. Or maybe everyone in the OB department at NNMC just left early for Thanksgiving, and I'll be called Monday, LOL. Anyhow, I have moved on to worrying about other things . . .

Such as where my 10x15 jelly roll pan could possibly be?! I spent a good deal of time searching for it last night, with no success. I do not think it is in the house, so that would mean that I must have left it at the church where we have our homeschool co-op, since I know I brought it there several weeks ago for the medieval feast with apple pie squares in it. But I was so sure it made it home! The platter and spatula I also brought there made it home, and I thought those items were in the (washed) pan. Alas. I shall have to search the church on Tuesday when we have co-op again, and I had to use a different pan for the apple pie squares for tomorrow. I certainly expended a lot of mental energy on where it could be though! When I am already stressed (like about the gtt), then other minor things that cause problems, especially because of my incompetance, really get to me . . .

Which leaves me really crabby. Is it just my sensitivity, or have the kids all turned on their loudest, most rowdy selves just for today?! The girls are whiny (at least Grace has an excuse--she's teething. Anna is just pitching in to help her not feel alone, LOL), and the boys are all. over. each. other. I sent them outside to run earlier today, but they didn't stay out as long as I would have liked (several hours, LOL). I have banished them to the basement several times as well. I'm just feeling very edgy and non-noise-tolerant (is that a word?).

But somehow things are still getting accomplished. Last night Bob and I wrestled the 25 pound turkey and managed to get it brining in our cooler (in several layers of garbage bags). I made a flourless chocolate cake last night too, and I did 4 loads of laundry. We did school this morning. And this afternoon I have made the apple pie squares, cran-apple-pear sauce, and started the turkey roasting. So good that Bob has been around to help with that crazy bird! After dinner (stir-fry), I'll make a second flourless chocolate cake. That just leaves the sweet potato casserole and sweet potato biscuits for tomorrow.

In case it seems like our menu is a bit unbalanced (meat, 2 sweet potato dishes, cranberry sauce, and dessert!), let me reassure you that we are eating Thanksgiving dinner over at the L's house with 2 other familes! We will also be having a ham, mashed potatoes, dressing, gravy, rolls, green bean casserole, another green vegetable, a fruit salad, a corn casserole, waldorf salad, a cranberry apple casserole, and pumpkin pie and pecan pie to round it all out. We will be getting quite a feast! I know I have so much to be thankful for--I just need to relax a bit and focus on all those things, instead of what is not going right!