Thanksgiving Part Deux

It's a tradition in my family to celebrate Thanksgiving on Saturday at my sister Lorre's house. This year we decided to spend the night at my mom's afterwards. Especially because my little sister Morgan and her husband Brian were also staying there, along with their chihuahua Carlos. We arrived on Saturday around 10 am. Travis went down for a nap and the rest of us walked over to SECCA (a contemporary art museum behind my mom's house) to go geocaching, not to look at art. We were 3 for 3 on our finds for the day. I think they all enjoyed learning a new pasttime. Then back to the house for lunch for everyone. Once both boys were down for nap, Adrian and I snuck out to Whole Foods to buy our potluck dinner contribution, bread.


At dinner, we tried to take group photos since everyone was there. It's not often this happens with such a large group. The estimated head count for dinner was 40 plus.

Sister, brother, half-sisters, half-sisters' half-sisters

Top row: Lesley, Eanne, Lorre, Cam, Chris, me, Alden
Bottom row: Morgan, Lauren, Elizabeth, Kate

Grandchildren

Top row: Madeline, Kathryn, Meredith, Travis, Ellen, Cortland, Alec, MacGregor, Jimmy
Bottom row: Isabel, Mary, Colleen, Jacob, Nicholas

All of the above plus parents and spouses

A whole lot of people!

It's Official

Travis has decided that he is now ready to walk. He started with just the convenient steps between things (i.e. table and chair). He is now up to walking about 90% of the time. If he falls down he finishes his route by crawling.



I have some amazing video footage but it errored out and I'm not tech-savvy enough to figure it out. Maybe my resident support person will step in.

We Are Thankful

Look at the bountiful harvest, full tummies, and happy children. I don't know if we could be more thankful. :)

It's a Girl!

Isn't she just the cutest little girl monster you ever saw?
And the dress isn't sewn across the neck so it could be like a pocket. Is it strange that you could hide things down her dress?
Please give feedback on the coordinating bow. It was Adrian's idea.

Not a Happy Place

We (the boys and me) stopped by Whole Foods on the way home to pick up our pre-ordered Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, my time is that valuable. There was no holiday love at that store. Oh my goodness. Complete insanity. The one in Raleigh is teeny-tiny with a teeny-tiny parking lot with teeny-tiny parking spaces. It seems there is a big running race this weekend and people were doing early check-in at the running store next to Whole Foods, too. We parked a reasonable distance from the entrance to the store. Apparently the rule of yielding to pedestrians was tossed aside today, especially the one applying to pedestrians carrying a child and holding hands with another child. My adorable son stopped to smell all the flowers right by the door. Who am I to stop him, I thought it was awesome that he could be oblivious to the craziness and stop to smell the flowers. Once you're inside and you have to locate the check-in for pre-orders and put your life is at risk. People pushing their teeny-tiny shopping carts will ram right into you and your loved ones. We survived the collection of our order (the lady was giving away free truffles while you wait) and got in a check-out line. That went fairly smooth (thanks friendly cashier girl!). Back out to the evil parking lot. We jumped the shopping cart off the curb (a convenient slope couldn't be found) and again not being yielded to got back to our car. People actually waited with turn signals flickering while I loaded the trunk. Now what did they think was going to happen to my shopping cart? I never ever just leave my cart, and as you can probably assume, a cart return is only located by the store entrance. Ugh. Hike ourselves to the cart return and back to the car. Finally we are buckled in and squeeze out of our teeny-tiny parking space while yielding to pedestrians. I am thankful for my pre-cooked Thanksgiving dinner. And thankful for my parents teaching me all the proper and polite ways to behave in the parking lot. I am hopeful that all the crazy shoppers I encountered today will slow down and enjoy this Thanksgiving holiday. Really, people, just take it easy out there!

New Creatures

Based on the feedback from my attempt at photography, I did a half-hearted effort today to close that out. You will just have to be surprised when the postman comes to your house. Instead I focused on a different project today. I picked up fleece remnants, fur, and felt at Jo-Anne's. One of Nicholas's books was the inspiration and he gave significant input on the project.

Your Vote Counts

Today was a beautiful day and the boys were being agreeable (and tomorrow is the last day of Snapfish's big photocard sale). I took over 100 pictures and narrowed it down. I am looking for your opinions. I can't decide which one is the best?


1. Clapping Leaves

2. Inspecting Leaves

3. Seriously, mom?

4. Looking off

5. Travis thru the net

6. Nicholas thru the net

7. Goal perspective

8. Boys thru the net

9. Nicholas in goal

10. Side by side in goal

Holiday Spirit

The last couple of days the car radio has been on the holiday music station. I've been feeling the spirit and enjoying the standard tunes, "Chestnuts Roasting", "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". Then came the carols. I remembered some of my favorite memories. I loved going to Christmas Eve services when the choir sang carols. The church was beautiful with candles, garland, and wreaths. All the families together, older kids home from college, etc. The pageantry of the service and the carols cannot be replicated by any other holiday. I am totally unable to carry a tune at all but I couldn't help singing along to my favorite carols. And I sang along with "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" right there in my car, all by myself yesterday. I didn't care if people saw me because I was thinking about Christmases past. That comfort combined with my Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Twist made me feel so warm inside.

1.5 - 0, I Lost

Travis had to take a half-bath when he got up this morning. His wake up poop, as I call it, exceeded the capacity of his Huggies. Rather than filling the trash with a million wipes, I've found it easier to just wash a kid off with a wash cloth, soap, and water in the tub. This is not a full bath, merely a good clean-up to keep you smelling fresh.
Then at lunch to compensate for only the half-bath he decided the rest of his soup would be good shampoo. He even went through the effort of grounding in some carrot chunks. And thus you have a full bath after lunch.
We all slept in until 8:15 am, a treasured miracle. And we had out-of-town guests bringing breakfast, I skipped my shower and only washed and prepped my face and combed my hair. I think I smeared some deo on too.
So there you have it, the bath score of the day...1.5 - 0. Such is the life of a mother!

Site is Open on Sundays

The weather is beautiful today. Normally workers are not out on Sundays, but mine was motivated. The construction site/race track is covered in leaves and pine needles. Nicholas did some light digging and surveyed the site. Travis crawled around and pulled up on trees. We all enjoyed the sun, gentle breezes and the foliage.

My Nurse

Yesterday I woke up with a stomach bug and wanted to lie in bed for a while. Being the lucky mom that I am, I had a nurse at my side to take care of me. He got a deck of cards for us to look at. Then showed me magic tricks with a quarter. I also got to hear his version of a couple of his favorite books, Transformers: Optimus Prime Versus Megatron and Batman Versus Joker. I was touched by his efforts and his sacrifice of toys and TV to make sure I was happy.
I finally mustered the strength to go downstairs and await our guests. My stepmother and her husband came to visit for the weekend. We stayed at the house the whole day hanging out, playing, and reading. A lot of bonding time for the boys with them. At the end of the day we ventured out to Panera for dinner. Light fare, no overbearing waitstaff, and a change of scenery.
Today I woke up feeling much better. Debbie and Bill brought breakfast from Panera. We saw the gingerbread bagels on the menu board the night before and couldn't resist trying them. They just left for the airport. It was short visit for them but we filled it with plenty of quality time together.

Child Development

The boys are growing up so fast. Some days I really have to pause and take in their changes. Nicholas is going through the "moody 3s". It's similar to the "terrible 2s". He is trying to understand what he can control, how far to push back, etc. Sometimes this results in very emotional meltdowns about what seems the smallest thing. For example, accidentally ripping a sticker when peeling it off the sheet. The other day at the park he got so mad because I sat in the dug out instead of the bleachers to watch him play invisible baseball. "The dugout is for the players!!" Tears poured and he ran for the fence in centerfield. And then it will be like the flip of a light switch. He will revert to being the kind and sweet little guy that tries to help out and be a big boy. He takes his own dishes to the kitchen, throws away his trash, and gets to the potty in time. I can't wait for him to get a grasp on his emotions and accept what he cannot change.
During rainy days at school the teachers have the kids practice yoga. The poses end up with kid-friendly names like the volcano (arms moving up as you exhale), the flamingo (balancing on one leg). And I think this one is the standard dog-something pose.


Within the past few months Nicholas's drawings resemble people more and more. A blob with lines for arms and legs. Big googly eyes, circle nose, and a smile. I'm proud to see the progression.


Travis is also making strides. Well, not real strides. He takes a step or two on a very rare occasion. At 13 months he hasn't found the reason to walk when crawling is just as good. His younger brother mentality is showing at school, so the teachers say. Travis is not afraid to take a toy and use another kid's shirt collar to pull himself up. Every car ride his main goal is to remove his right sock and shoe. You will hear a lot of grunting and whining if they do not come off easily, but he is determined for those five toes to be exposed. Also, he is doing a lot of babbling with intonations. I really don't know what any of it is, unless food is involved. If you ask him if something is good, you get a very excited "mmmm". His "all done" is very clear. I think an outsider would be able to understand it. Plus he is still a great eater. Anything put in front of him just about. Ginger snaps were not a hit, but Oreos...who can resist those. And here is proof for why I don't think Oreos should be eaten in public. All over your face and hands, stuck in your teeth and hair.


During my Mental Health Day - Type 2 when I was sorting his clothes, I found some of Nicholas's old overalls. He was so excited to see Travis wearing his old Osh Kosh train engineer overalls. He let him borrow his hat to match.

Still Standing

I survived yet another round of layoffs from the big company. This was the first time I recall it being publicly announced in advance through major news sources. We already know another round, potentially bigger, is planned for the first quarter next year. I was feeling pretty unsure as I went in this morning. Only one person in my team was impacted. I will miss working with the Dwight Schrute doppelganger. I know quite a few others in other teams who suddenly had to go as well. (Shout out to Devon's mom! I know she'll make the most of her time at home with her baby.) It's unsettling when you can feel the sharks circling closer and closer each time and you never know who will be pulled under next.
We really need this economy to turn around, seriously. And I hope the right people are in place to make it happen.

Mental Health Day - Type 2

Today was not a day for sleeping in and vegging on the couch. No sir. Today was a day for getting that list of chores done. You know the kind you need an empty house for several hours to complete. Vacuum every room, mop the hardwood and slate floors, dust some furniture. Did you know there is a top to my dresser? I hadn't seen it in ages. Clean the mirrors (gasp!). Sort Travis's clothes - outgrown into a bin, potential hand-me-downs out of a bin. Organize arts and crafts in an order a 3 year old might manage. The occasional load of laundry. (My presence during the day must have irritated a certain someone.) As a nightcap to the day, taking a twin size comforter outside to shake off cat poop and then cramming said comforter into my non-commercial size washing machine. Isn't having kids and cats just great?

P.S. I found a great tea to make it all disappear. Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Vanilla Red. It's delicious. And that I triple-couponed it at the grocery store makes it dirt cheap.

Stuff We Did

Let's see...yesterday we went to a nearby park that we hadn't been to before. That's always fun. Nicholas checked out every slide on the playground. Then we played invisible baseball on the baseball field. Adrian found a small cemetery that seemed to contain only short-lived females in the late 1800s - kind of creepy.
I took Nicholas to see "Kung Fu Panda" at Raleighwood. It's one of those theaters with tables and waitstaff. He indulged in a hot fudge sundae, I had bowl of popcorn, and we shared a Sierra Mist. The seats were like big cushy office chairs. Nicholas stretched out across my lap with his feet in another chair and watched the whole movie! He really liked it and wants to learn kung fu.

Not Completely Crazy

So I determined the other morning that I haven't lost my mind, yet.
Monday night I put my cell phone on the nightstand because Adrian was staying out late and I had to be prepared. This is unusual for me. I'm infamous for leaving my cell phone in my purse and on vibrate - I forget to change the setting after I leave work.
Then Tuesday morning as I was getting ready to back out of the driveway I checked my purse. I thought to myself, "*&#@, I left my phone upstairs. Oh well, I hope nothing happens today." I hate leaving the boys in the car with the engine running so I can run back inside. And I was probably running late as usual.
I continued to back out of the driveway. As I turned to check behind me I felt a bulge in pants pocket. Low and behold, it was my cell phone. Apparently at some point getting dressed that morning I must have thought to go ahead and put it in my pocket so I wouldn't forget it.

It's Here Already?

It's as if the second November starts, the holiday season kicks in.
The reindeer heads are mounted on the columns at the mall. Santa's Wonderland is being set up.
Yesterday I got a holiday cup from Starbucks.
The Walmart Kids' Holiday Guide came in the mail. I let Nicholas go wild with a pen and circle what he wants for Christmas. I remember when I was young and dog eared and circled the pages of catalog after catalog. Even if I didn't get any of the stuff, it was still a treat to get excited looking at it. For Nicholas, I think it was the same. We went through the pages together afterward. I was so warm inside sitting with him and seeing how happy and excited he was about the toys. No surprises. Everything on Star Wars, Transformers, and Batman pages was circled. As well as other items throughout the catalog. If it's a form of aircraft, automobile, dinosaur, he circled it. The Easy Bake oven deal was circled and he commented that he wants the blue one, not the pink one shown in the picture.
It's time to get prepared. I have a child who is fully engaged and fully aware, more so than last year. The holidays are going to be so much fun with family time, decorating, and baking. I almost even want it to snow.

Like Christmas

Today we hope to get the gift we want, but if not, we're getting the gift someone else picked for us. Either way we want it to work as planned and make our lives better. After all, there isn't really an exchange policy. We just have to wait 4 more years to get a new one. Unless something unforeseen happens and it gets replaced earlier. Oh, then we might really have something to worry about. I think I'll just live in the moment and hope I get the gift I picked.

Just some pics from today

Travis is sporting the first turtleneck of the season.


Nicholas is modeling his new hat and gloves (Iron Man, of course).


Fall football in the backyard. I love watching them play.


This must be an instinct for this generation. The remote control to a car is a pretend phone. Travis had a lengthy conversation with someone and did lots of crawling around - his version of pacing.