The Day After Thanksgiving

Ahhh, traditions . . .

Waking up at 4am to head out to buy those "Holiday bargains" . . .

Wondering WHY I was up at 4am to get those bargains . . .

Continuing to ponder that same question as I stood in long lines to buy those bargains . . .

Realizing just before 7am that Fred Meyer was giving away FREE coffee and donut holes . . .



PRICELESS!




But, my favorite tradition . . . finding our Christmas TREE !

This year was even more fun because Nick was so excited about getting a tree. He RAN all the way down the path leading the way. Even though the sun was out, it was still a bit chilly with a few icy patches on the ground. We found the perfect tree in no time at all. John did the sawing, while I held onto the tree. Nick supervised. Then, Nick and John carted the tree back up to the entrance for a good "shake" before heading home.

Thanksgiving

What a beautiful COLD day for Thanksgiving!















John's sister, Janet, and her family hosted a family feast at their house. The photo of Mt. Hood was taken from their backyard. John's mom and dad teamed up to help carve the delicious BBQ'd turkey.






















I was a little unsure of how Nick was going to do at dinner. We had 12 people for dinner (7 adults and 5 kids) ... so, Nick got to sit at the "kid's table" for the first time. Nick was easily distracted, but overall did a pretty good job. His cousins took good care of him. Except for Nick's disdain of mashed potatoes, he even managed to eat everything else, with a LOT of encouragement and getting up/down by Mom :-)

After dinner, we all enjoyed the pumpkin pies the John's parents made. Nick was very excited about the pumpkin pies for some reason. He kept asking for them after dinner, making sure to add "with whipped cream" ... of course! The funny part was that this was Nick's 1st pumpkin pie.

So, how did he like it?

Nick decided he liked the crust . . . he LOVED the whipped cream . . . but, he didn't like the actual "pumpkin" part of the pie. Hmmm, is this MY kid ???

But, no matter what, he guarded that piece of pie whenever anyone came near, including his cousins!

Hair Cut

Last night, I realized how much Nicholas needed his haircut . . . but, didn't I just get his hair cut??? This is a new scenario for me. It seemed like forever before his hair really started to grow. Apparently, the last haircut finally did the trick. I told Nicholas that we needed to go get his hair cut tomorrow. His reply was "No thank you Momma."

Well, . . . at least he was polite about it! (LOL)

However, that didn't change the scenario. I told him we were running errands and just walked him right into the Barbers. Luckily, it was quiet. I even got the same girl to cut his hair (she's really patient -- she has 4 kids of her own). Nicholas did much better this time. A few tears and I had to hold his head a couple times, but all-in-all he did well. PLUS, he remembered where the lollipop jar was and ran straight for it as soon as he was done.

The sad part for me was looking at him and realizing how much older he looked. I felt like I had cut off ALL his toddler hair . . . and now, I had a little boy . . . but he looks SO good!







BEFORE
















AFTER

Bunny Boy

The boy has finally learned to JUMP!

I'm not sure if it is a result of doing "frog jumps" in his soccer class, but the truth is . . . I have a jumping, hopping, bouncing toddler around the house.

It starts when he wakes up. He holds onto the crib rail and jumps up & down to see how much AIR he can get. Then, he hops to the top of the stairs, walks down the stairs, and then hops to the kitchen.

He has also discovered that his little indoor vinyl slide gives his "bounce" that extra lift (just like his crib). So, he's taken to hopping down it.

The other day, he proudly proclaimed that he was a RABBIT . . . grabbed his ears and off he went to jump.

Don't believe me? . . . . . . . meet Bunny Boy!

Pumpkin Beer Tasting

Once again, I find that I'm slipping on the updates. I just wasn't sure what to write about. Then, a few friends reminded me that I was supposed to send them the results of our pumpkin beer TASTING the other week. It was good for an amusing Friday night dinner. So, here are our results:

Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale (Anheuser Busch) 5.5% alc

Description: An all-malt seasonal brew, which draws its deep copper color from two-row, caramel and carapils barley malts.

Sheri says, "Tastes like slightly flavored Budweiser to me."

John says, "This was the smoothest. I like lighter ales." #1 Choice

Buffalo Bill's Pumpkin Ale (Buffalo Bill's Brewery, Hayward, CA) 4.9% alc

Description: An amber style ale brewed with fresh roasted pumpkins, malted barley. Cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg are added.

Sheri says, "This one has the best aroma--serious spiced pumpkin smell--but too bitter for me. Pale ale fans might prefer this one."

John says, "The aroma is OK, but it definitely isn't my pick."

Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale (Imported by Blue Moon, Canada) 5.6% alc

Description: An amber-colored, pumpkin flavored ale that combines the flavor of vine-ripened pumpkin and spices.

Sheri says, "This one is maltier, smoother, tastes almost like pumpkin pie, including the crust." #1 Choice

John says, "This one isn't bad, but a bit too heavy."

Sock it to Me!

While the rains have disappeared for a few days, the fog has found a way to block my beautiful morning sunshine. I noticed that the trees were really socked in the fog, as I started drinking my coffee. But, as I slowly sipped my coffee and drank in the peacefulness of the morning, I couldn't help feeling that something was amiss . . .





















What could it it be ???

It wasn't just the trees that were getting "socked" in this morning.

(Nick has a habit of pulling his socks off at the table--we're trying very hard to break him of it. Usually, he wads his socks up next to him, or he scrunches them into a pile on the corner of the table.)




Today,
he went with the FORMAL placement!

SPLAT! Facts

Halloween is over. It's kind of sad when all the "mischievous fun" is over ... hmmm, or is it? Let's review this year's Halloween fun facts:

FACT . . . Tues, 8:12PM . . . pumpkin carving commenced.


FACT . . . Wed, 6:24PM . . . the pumpkins were lit . . .

. . . . . . . Wed, 9:13PM . . . I blew out the candles.

FACT . . . Fri, 10:39AM . . . John confirmed he was taking

the pumpkins away on Saturday.

FACT . . . Sat, 7:51PM . . . I noticed that John forgot about

the pumpkins.

FACT . . . Sun, 12:14PM . . . TOO LATE!

The facts remain that whenever a holiday comes around that involves "ghosts & goblins" . . . or John . . . sometimes it's good

to make sure it's REALLY over! (LOL)

Halloween Revealed

'Twas the night before Halloween
and there on the floor,
Lay the orange guts of pumpkin
and a few things more.














The pumpkins were all carved with the utmost of care.
The candles were lit -- I smelled "vanilla" in the air (?)












Halloween came and there was a rush to get ready.
We'd forgotten to plan dinner, not even spaghetti.


















Then Bob & Wendy said, "Let's get out on the streets,"
Or they'll have given out all of the trick-or-treats.


















Trembling a bit as he rang the first bell.
Bob asked for a treat and said "Thank you" as well.














Halloween goers had started slowly this year.
But, once they started coming we started to fear.














It seemed like forever to just get eleven,
By 8:30 pm, we counted 347 !

Just getting caught up

For your reading pleasure, there are several updates tonight. I got just a tad behind. But stay tuned! Tomorrow, I'll show you how the REAL Halloween turned out . . . happy reading!

Halloween Party

Guess who ???

I thought this would be a safe costume . . . Nicholas LOVES "Bob the Builder" and hates dress up/changing clothes. So, he wore his overalls (with a shirt I made) and I got him a NEW "Bob the Builder" tool belt & hard hat.


He just wasn't sure about all the trick-or-treat stuff . . . even his friend, Whitney, couldn't quite get him into the spirit.

Time Out?

It was supposed to be a "2-minute" time

out in the corner to think about the rules.

I'm not sure WHAT he was thinking about, but I doubt

it had anything to do with the rule he broke.

Spooky Dinner

This time of year is so much fun. I love Halloween. One of my favorite parts is the "Spooky Dinner" that John's sister, Janet, started a few years ago. Technically, you can call it "Kid's Night" because the dinner is designed to be fun for them. Though, to be honest, as the kids get older . . . the gross-out factor seems to be on the rise -- all in fun, of course. Unfortunately, when a
2-year-old hears you refer to his dinner as "worms" or "eyeballs" . . . not a whole lot gets eaten. (LOL)

Here are some of the items that were on this year's menu:




Bloody Eyeballs
(buffalo mozzarella, mini chocolate chip)







Worms & Puss
(slivered hot dogs, green mac & cheese)





Skeleton Bones
(bread sticks -- this was my new edition)





Vampire Fangs
(pea pods, slivered almonds, tomato)




Although I said the dinner was technically for the kids, even the kitten (Shadow) found something that she liked.