Thanksgiving Recap and Holiday Decorating Tips

Hello all three of AJ's fans. We have been knee deep in holiday decorating, eating, and sweatpants wearing over here. Let me tell you a little about Thanksgiving- I have a way with turkey. My mere presence in the same room with a turkey makes it come out perfectly done, but after I'm done working my actual magic on it, superbical beautification are words that, although made up, fit better.

Dinner was served and all talking ceased. Conversations ground to a halt as we all ate and then began to grunt from the wordless fascination we had with our plates. We all ate more than usual. No sooner would your plate be full than you had to hurry up and eat something to make more room for that stuff you really liked before one of the others got more and there wasn't any left. I also used paper plates this year and Mom says that might have had something to do with the intense eating. We had to gobble it up before our plates gave way.

Anyhow- the food was damn good. I usually don't use profanity here on this family blog, so forgive me. It was so good I have no pictures of the night. After eating, we all sat around talking about how full we were until the kids asked for pie. Then we all had slices of pie and sat around again and continued talking about how full we were. After that, we packed up left overs.....oh, no we didn't cuz THERE WEREN'T HARDLY ANY LEFT since we all ate like it was our last hours on the earth.

The Thanksgiving Menu 2010

Turkey

Crockpot Stuffing w/sausage and mushroom

Mashed Potatoes

Gravy

Sweet potatoes with sweet crunchy nuts on top that my mom makes

Green Salad

Creamed onions

Cranberry sauce (Not the can shaped stuff, either.)

Pecan pie, frosted cookies, pumpkin pie, french silk pie,

carrot cake (we didn't actually eat this one)

AJ and I spent Friday picking up toys and organizing his toy corner in Mike's office so we would have room for the Christmas tree. AJ has only been around a few short years and only this year has he shown any interest in Christmas. He really likes lights. So I put lights all over. Mike is not really a fan of any decorations. But he is older than AJ and can get over it. AJ is little and he gets preferential treatment here at our house. So now the tree is up, the place is somewhat clean, and all is now documented here on the interloop for me to refer to next year.

So to the Liz who will read this in a year: remember that the lights on one fourth of the tree are out and you have to use that one string of white lights that Dad had to go buy special for you that you forgot to pay him for, and you need to put the hooks in ONE place instead of all over.

Givin' Thanks 2010

Roastin'

Peelin'

Organizin'

Sleepin'

Chillin'

Happy Sugar Loaded Tummy Ache Day!

Halloween is here again. That special holiday when kids are crazy and parents drink to get through it. Just kidding (not really)! We went Halloweening with the Coles over to Long Grove where all the rich people live. Her brother and sis in law fall into that category, so we tagged along again this year to collect hot toddies and full sized Snickers.

I had a few slices of pizza, apple cider labeled "+21" from a coffee pot plugged into the longest extension cord I have ever seen at the end of the longest driveway I have ever seen, and a cup of hot chocolate into which I mixed a healthy shot of peppermint schnapps and some lite whipped cream product from a can. I did not, however, eat candy. It's a slippery slope-candy.

You will see in this video that AJ is wearing his Alpine cap and his red jacket. You will not see his Elmo costume. You do the math...

Someone was giving away those light tubes you can wear around your neck. AJ loved this and those light sticks were better than any full sized Butterfinger or can of Play-do he received. Too bad they don't last that long.

The Light At the End

The Before

Januaryish 2009

183.5 lbs

Size 18 jeans that were cutting me in half. Sitting like this made me reflux like mad.

Almost the After

October 2010

150.0 lbs

Size 12 P (and I need a belt) and I haven't had reflux in MONTHS!

Family Good Times

We had a Birthday Party for my Aunt Dorothy over the weekend. I know that birthday and party are common nouns and should not be capitalized, but this was a big birthday, worthy of being proper nouns for a little while. We had fun. Here are some of us having the fun I just mentioned.

We sang.

The Birthday Aunt.

Me and cousim Jill. Yes, she is my cousim.

Us.

Emi, Aunt Nancy and The Jodster.

Scrambled

I like this word. Scrambled. It fits many situations. You feel like scrambled eggs in the morning with a nice piece of toast and coffee. A ride on the Scrambler at Santa's Village was always fun until I threw up. Scrambling up your routine is fun when you're taking a relaxing vacation in a beautiful place.

Sometimes feeling scrambled sucks. Take, for instance, when your dear friends suffer an excruciating blow and they feel scrambled. I know a couple (2 couples, actually) of cool people who recently were dealt a crap hand. I sit now feeling scrambled myself. How do I support them when they don't really know what it is they need? I feel scrambled when I worry about hovering over D at work and asking (too often) if she's ok. I want to reach out to C but she is so far away in CA and wants us all to share "the normal stuff" of life with her. Scrambled.

I was scooting around FaceSpaceLand and saw that N and D are wondering what the heck is going on. I am too. If you know N and D, you know N can pretty much nail an emotion on the head.

Scrambled.

Pumpkins and a Hayride and a lost and then found Phone

We went to Woodstock to get pumpkins. This time they were out in the field. We rode on a cow train and Mom lost her phone, but then found it again so all was well.

We found some good pumpkins and had a great time. AJ slept for 30 minutes in the car and is yelling about getting up out of his crib right now as we speak. So much for a nap. So much for family time as well, as Mike threw his back out and made an appointment in the city to get it "unhitched". He'll be back in hours and hours. I hope he comes back more comfortable and a little straighter.




I decided to roast veggies. I have Brussels sprouts and beets going now. My house smells like farts and dirt.