Giving thanks and Decking the Halls

Well, last week we were joined by my older brother for Thanksgiving. The girls were so excited. In fact Addy would not take a nap for fear of Robin arriving and her missing something. All turned out ok, she got a nap and was ready to play after her five minute "pretend I'm shy" episode. I made pies, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, dressing/stuffing (yes, Jeanine, I used your church lady recipe and got rave reviews!), and rolls. Scott fried the most amazing turkey I've ever had...ugghhh, it was so good! We rolled away from the table and I of course had to clean up everything immediately (what is wrong with me???). The best part was having a clean kitchen and the smell of freshly brewed Cafe Verona waiting for me in the coffee pot....ahh, my sweet reward :). The guys disappeared for a while once Scott discovered Gander Mountain (aka gun store) was open. I jokingly laughed at the thought of Scott in the middle of an East Texas gun department on Thanksgiving, but then realized the Dallas Cowboys game was on, so it wasn't too busy afterall.

Mary Ella also had a Thanksgiving Feast at her school. I love going to her school and seeing her face when she sees me. Even if she's expecting me, she gets this looked of surprised excitement that I am there.

After Thanksgiving, we started pulling out all our Christmas stuff. The biggest task was deciding what we were doing on the outside. Evidently it is tradition in our cul-de-sac to line the yard with white lights (check), colored lights in bushes for girls (check), garland (uncheck-I can't get the darn hooks to stay up), wreaths on the windows (check), and the moving deer that Mary Ella emphatically requested (check). I'm not sure how many trips we made to Lowes, but their profit margins surely increased. This was the end result:

I took a picture of the Japanese Maple tree. When we moved in our lawn guy said people payed a lot of money for those trees and I didn't know why...until now. It turns the most brilliant shade of red I've ever seen.

We went to see Santa at Misteltoe and Magic. The girls had a blast. Addy and Molly were less than thrilled about sitting in Santa's lap. Mary Ella learned to ice skate (balance on the ice skates and walk), Addy enjoyed walking in the booties, and Molly hung out on my side. They ate cookies, cupcakes, ....sugar galore.

I've lost the war with winter cooties. With three children, I've come to realize one will always have a snotty nose or some nasty cough. It doesn't seem like too long ago I would freak out when people would show up in public with kiddos with snotty noses. I think the little bugs and I have learned to peacefully coexist.