Friday, November 25, 2011

Thanksgiving 2011

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving! Shane did the turkeys this year..he had tried out the brine from an Alton Brown recipe last year after Thanksgiving and we loved it! It was just as delicious this go around too :) My mom, dad, sis and Elijah came over. Shane's Dad and step-Mom did too! Everyone seemed to have a good time, we ate, played Wii, Mike and Nancy took the kids on a long walk (or two) after dinner. We relaxed, Shane got to watch the Cowboys' game (they even won!) and lay in his recliner after a long day cooking.

After everyone went home we zipped up to visit Shane's brother and his wife, family. They do a huge Tgiving feast for 30+ people. She's braver than I am! LOL! We visited with them for a short bit and came back home, passed out in our turkey coma!

Today was busy, we kept with our tradition of decorating the house inside and out for Christmas. Shane does a great job with the outside lights :) I worked for about 6 hours inside decorating everything including the kids' bedrooms, bathrooms, playroom. We still have to put up the "Mamaw Tree" in the playroom but I was just too pooped out to mess around with assembling the tree. I figure it will be nice to do that Saturday or Sunday. The kids played outside and helped Shane a bit with lights, helped me greatly inside too. They are enjoying their days off, for sure.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving with those you love :) I can get all mushy I guess, tell you all I'm grateful for. Shane, the kids, my parents, my sister and Elijah, Shane's family, my sister in law..Julie, my friends new and old who love me through thick and thin...who overlook my faults and always compliment my accomplishments. I am thankful for Bo and Lena even though they drive me bonkers most of the time. I'm thankful for my health and the fact I take it more seriously now. I'm thankful that my husband still looks at me the way he does and that he puts up with all my craziness with a smile the majority of the time. I am thankful for our home, even though we pay more than I wish we did..at least we can and we still do. Every corner of this house is "us" because we made it..picked out everything in it and watched it put together board by board. I'll admit, I am thankful for WoW and the friends it has given me. I know..some of you are shaking  your head but it's true.

I am thankful every day I wake up..I'm still here and that in itself is a blessing.

Without further delay..pics from T-giving and most of the new decorations :)

Love to all...


















Tuesday, November 15, 2011

On the mend :) Finally!

Well after a rough road of sickies it appears as though we have turned a corner! Savannah went back to school Monday. Cassandra got knocked down with a 24 hour tummy bug with a high fever. She's better tonight!  Alyssa is good, sinus infection seems to be all gone. Griffin had a flare up but his isn't bad, he's on antibiotics and going strong. I went to the doctor and got stronger meds and steroids because I've been sick so long. We're all doing better and I keep telling myself that as sick as we were has got to buy us some good healthy karma for closer to Christmas, LOL!

We are gearing up for Cassandra's bday this weekend. Her friend party was to be a sleep over on Friday night but given all she's been through, we are moving it to the weeked after T-giving weekend. She seems fine with that :) We are still having her family party on Saturday! I have to make my T-giving shopping list and get caught up on a LOT of PTO stuff. I'm behind :(

Other than that, Shane has stayed healthy (big sigh of relief) and he has to leave for a work conference tomorrow. He comes back Friday.
The weather has been good...could be colder but at least it's not hotter ;) Gotta look at the bright side, right?

XO

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Hello November!

Happy Fall!!!
I hope everyone had a great Halloween! I know we did! We had Savannah's 10th bday party on Oct. 29th (her actual bday) and it was Halloween themed :) The kids had a great time doing crafts and painting pumpkins! My In-laws had a big Halloween party at their house complete with pumpkin carving, hay wagon rides and a little haunted house!

We had a nice weekend and great Halloween parties at school on Monday. Trick or Treating went great, my in-laws and my mom went with us while Shane handed out candy. Since Halloween is Bo's birthday, I took him with us to trick or treat. He was such a good puppy! He was nice to every kid and dog he saw.

Shane's birthday was Nov. 2nd. He had a nice at home party with family over. He got some great gifts, had a cookout and his traditional spice cake with cream cheese frosting, lol! AT least he's consistant ;)

Other than the birthday rush (Cassandra is 12 on Nov. 20th) we are gearing up for the holidays. We are cooking Thanksgiving at our house again this year. My mom, dad, sis and Elijah are coming over and so are my in laws! We are pretty excited to have such a full house this year ;) Shane is going to brine the turkeys since his test run of that went so well last year. I can't wait, I can already taste the candied yams...

We (the kids and I) have been sick for about three weeks now. I finally got to the doctor yesterday and we got some antibiotics. I guess I shouldn't wait so long next time but there isn't much incentive to go in early when all you hear is "it's allergies" or "it's viral" but all that turned into sinus infections, upper respitory infections and ear infections. :( Not a fun way to spend the last few weeks! Now I know we are on the mend and I hope and pray that being sick now may exempt us for later, LMAO!

I am anxious for Christmas shopping and decorating. I want to have my mom, sister, sister in law, mother in law over to do some crafts and baking before the holidays. I'm really blessed that we all are close and get along so well. It gives some special memories when I can look back at the things we were able to do together. I wish my grandma could be here for all this, I think she'd love it.

Well perhaps I will close with a plethora of pictures for you all....

 alyssa's face paint from Fall Carnival at school! Thank you Aunt Julie for getting it for her!
 Savannahs Bday party crafts!

 Mom, Diane, Nancy and Papa at Savannah's bday
 Finished craft!
 Friends from school!
 me and daddy
 mom and julie
 papa and alyssa
 PRESENTS
 her spider "mancake"
 halloween 2011
 trick or treating with grandma and papa
 my birthday Bo, 1 year old
 Mike and Nancy's halloween party 2011, Mom, Dad and Julie
 Dad, me and Julie
 Alyssa the cheetah
 scoopin pumpkin guts
 mom and nancy, the zombie bride
 daddy and his Lyssie with her pumpkin
 Me and my baby
 Happy 37th bday Shane
 The family (Julie was home sick, Alyssa refused picture and I'm holding the camera, LOL)
 me and my birthday boy
my big mook sleeping on the couch! <3