A Holiday Miracle

It's indeed a miracle that during this season of wishes and magic and all that other stuff, I actually got a couple of hours to myself to scrap. I used those magical hours, when I really truly should have been sleeping, to complete this page, which I started several months ago. Pathetic, isn't it?

True to my scrapping style, I did a Valentine's day page in November. And you'll note by the date that yes, I am almost 5 years and two children behind in my scrapbooking, but let's not talk about that and ruin the miraculous mood.

This a design team LO for Dragonfly Designs whose very generous and understanding owner never complains about the timeliness of my submissions. She provided the Daisy D's paper and monogram, both of which I love. By the way look for great things happening soon from Dragonfly Designs; Jacquie has been hard at work. I can go through the rest of the supply list, but do you really care? I will say that I love my Anna Griffin clear stamps that I used for the bottom part. Stamping for Dummies, indeed. No offense, dummies.

I'd like to think that my photography skills have improved since I took these photos. The bottom one, in particular, was kind of a messy hodgepodge, so I made a vellum overlay for the important part and tucked the rest behind the photo mat. Of course, now that I'm looking at the page again, I see things I could add and change but really, what are the odds of that?

Tune in 6 months from now for my next great creation.

What I Learned At Thanksgiving

• It really is all about the turkey, mashed potatoes and apple pie. Unless you're a kid, in which case it's all about playing with your cousins. And that's how it should be.
  
• Three pies are better than 1.
  
• More really is merrier!
• Even the craziest of crazy relatives can be incredibly lucid and well-behaved, long after they've been written off!
• Despite what Tannaz says, red Kuri squash is kind of gross and nowhere near as good as butternut.
• It doesn't matter who you are, high cholesterol is the universal equalizer.
  
• The secret to my first-ever good batch of mashed potatoes is to totally waterlog the taters when they cook. Who knew? I'm no longer mashed-potato challenged. Hooray.
• My mom cooks awesome turkey, breast down, with saffron. It's SO good.
  
• I need more cute serving pieces, not to mention a new dining room table and chairs. And a nice new house to go along with it all.
• The best thing about hosting Thanksgiving is a weekend's worth of leftovers.
  
• Pulling off a Thanksgiving gathering is no problem at all, as long as my mom cooks the turkey.

For a different take on our family's Thanksgiving for those of you who just can't get enough, read Tannaz's version here.

So Thankful

We interrupt this blog to bring you some uncharacteristic sappiness.

Those who know me and love me anyway know that I spend a good deal of most days complaining about the sheer physical and mental exhaustion of my kids, who I swear sometimes gang up on me. I keep waiting for an easy day, but I'm starting to think one's not coming for at least another decade. All this pining and whining do not mean that for one second I forget how blessed I am to have the 3 that I do. The girly girl, the all-boy boy (who is thankful for his mommy and daddy) and the sweet babe who missed the memo that babies are supposed to sleep. They bring us so much joy and love and laughter every day. As I look around me, I'm reminded also that I'm so lucky to be married to someone who is supportive and reliable and loving and an adult, who puts his family's needs and wants before his own, no matter how loudly the football games call him every Sunday.

Most of all, we've been blessed with the gift of good health, and with wonderful doctors who stepped in and fixed it when that gift was temporarily compromised.

Yes, we are a lucky, lucky family with so much to be grateful for. Happy Thanksgiving one and all. I hope your tables are overloaded with food, and that you spend the day among loved ones.

You may now return to your previously scheduled sarcasm.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

I don't know who decided that it was a good idea to start playing Christmas music and put up holiday lights before Halloween. I get it, we're supposed to be spending money and running up debt as quickly as possible because that, after all, is the American way, not to mention the spirit of the Holiday Season.

To all that I say a hearty "Bah Humbug." As far as I'm concerned, they can start putting up the twinkly lights in March and truck snow in from the Himalayas. It still won't feel like the holidays until the Starbucks menu changes and the little red cups of happiness arrive. For me, the season was officially inaugurated with my first Caramel Apple Cider of the year. Mmmmm...even without the whipped cream. Next time, I may go for a Gingerbread Latte. Even if tastes a little strange, it still makes you feel quite festive. I'll probably wait until December for an eggnog latte. Of course, if I'm feeling autumnal I might just have a Maple Machiatto. Or maybe I'll ignore the blaring Jingle Bells and stick to the old standby. Decisions, decisions...

I may be broke, and in a hurry, and definitely stressed from the holiday hoopla, but at least I'll have a lovely beverage and snazzy red cup to drink it from. And isn't that the real reason for the season?

For Kyle

I know I said I wouldn't be around much, but this is too important not to pass along.

All of us who are parents have the chance this mom wishes she had: to save her baby from a deadly car accident and still have him in her arms. Get your kids in a car seat with a 5-point harness, make sure they're buckled in safely, and make sure it's tethered to your car.

Bear With Me

It seems the blogging mojo has temporarily left me. This is not surprising since all my other kinds of mojo (scrapping, cleaning, being a fun mom, giving a shit, the one my husband likes) are also pretty much gone. I have plenty to write and rant about but no time and when I do have time, sleep wins. Besides, I am now third in the priority line to use my own computer, since the little people are getting quite proficient. I'll be back soon and hopefully more regularly and I know you just can't wait.

It's A Miracle!

He slept through the night.
Twice.
In a row.

He is so my favorite right now.

It's All About the Chemicals

I could use this space to rant about how I'm so mad that I'm sick that they should invent new swear words to describe my anger. The ones we have just don't cut it. I could complain that my annoying cough just went away and I was actually enjoying sleeping in my bed and not on the couch when the fever, chills and aches started. I could even go on and on about the horrible timing of this because not only is my husband in the middle of a really busy time at work, including two late nights in a row, but also because the one person in the world who would come over, take care of me and my kids and send me straight to bed while she fixed me hot tea and soup is in Freaking China. China! I could do all of those things.

But rather than spew all that venom into the world, which frankly is pretty full up, this being election season and all, I'll be the bright ray of sunshine that you all know me for being. The sunlight and joy in every day. That's right, I won't complain (this time). Instead, I'll sing the praises of the one person who makes it possible for me to get out of bed and go through my exhausting day without having a complete mental breakdown (yet). Mr. Advil Inventor, you will never know how much I love you.

The Halloween Recap

I'm thinking the day after Halloween should be declared a national day of rest. There seems to be so much leading up to the day, then trick or treating, and that candy induced sugar rush to slowly come down from (and I don't mean just the kids!). Add to that the fact that it's now November and the start of The Holiday Season (dreaded words to many). We could all use a day to relax before we launch into the next two months' activity.

Our Halloween was a good one. Julia made it to school and back with her costume intact. Thanks to a smart mommy at her school party who insisted that all 25 kids put garbage bags on over their clothes before they start painting with black and purple paint. First year teachers don't lack enthusiasm but there are certain things they don't think through. We made more candy corn cookies for her class, and while the process was almost the end of me, they seemed to go over well. After Jack O' Lantern quesadillas, complete with barf and boogers, for dinner, we headed out for trick or treating. First we stopped to see some cousins visiting from the East coast. Lots of fun, that.

Because our neighborhood has its own surprisingly large population of spooks,weirdos, and freaks year-round (this is a whole other post), apparently Halloween isn't a big night here and trick-or-treating is, frankly, lame. We went instead to the neighborhood we want to move to and had a blast. There were tons of kids out, and Ethan and Julia were so much less timid than last year. The adults were really friendly, sweet Bunch fell asleep in the stroller and we had fun fantasizing about which house we'd like to move into. Even the older kids we saw were really cute and nice to our little ones. The only thing that would have made it better would've been to be strolling with a lovely Caramel Apple Cider from Starbucks. Lesson learned for next year.

This night confirmed that this is definitely the neighborhood for us and we're going to start looking in earnest. It will remain to be seen if we can actually buy a house here and still do things like turn on the lights and eat (and no, we're not talking a mansion or anything close) but we intend to find out.

There was a low point in the evening. A few houses handed out spooky labels with a message to vote against a certain issue in the upcoming local election. It was completely inappropriate and thoroughly pissed me off. There's no reason to get kids involved in political issues. Sick, sick move and I hope it backfires. Who's the idiot who thought this would be a good idea?

Happy Halloween everyone. Now put your feet up for the rest of the day because tomorrow you'll start stressing about You Know What.