Who's Mr. Mustache?

A few weeks ago, I took the boys to the library for a special magic show. It was all very silly, but Austin just loved it.

Oh, how easily it is to amuse a 5 year old.

Mr. Mustache is the magician.

Do the Next Thing

I've had a productive Saturday so far, and that makes me happy.

Saturdays are usually pretty lame around here as Joseph works Friday nights and usually sleeps for much of the day. I would love to schedule a playdate with friends for every Saturday morning, but that isn't usually possible (since most people hang out with their husbands on Saturdays).

Instead of wasting the day away (waiting for Joseph to wake up), today I got busy cleaning, doing laundry, etc, and now

Grieving for my friend

This weekend has been hard. My thoughts have been consumed with prayer for my sweet friend Kim, whose husband, Stacy, died suddenly on Friday in a car accident here in Louisville. They have two young children, one of whom is

Our Thanksgiving Plans 2011

We haven't made it down to TN for Thanksgiving in years. It just doesn't work out with Joseph's UPS schedule. He always has to work the night before Thanksgiving as well as the Friday night after, so we usually stay in Louisville. In years past, we have either met my parents half-way at Cracker Barrel or celebrated with friends.

This year, it seemed that we would be celebrating on our own, so I decided to man up (well, woman up) and cook Thanksgiving dinner myself. I don't love to cook, so I was tempted to just buy a precooked turkey. Instead, I got an 11 pound Butterball which is roasting in the oven as I type. Dealing with a whole turkey is nasty work so I'm cooking it today so I can focus on the side dishes tomorrow.

We aren't having anything fancy, but it will be a lot more food than we are used to eating in a typical meal. Here's a menu:

Turkey
Stove Top (I've never been a fan of cornbread stuffing. Stove Top is a wonderful invention.)
Macaroni and Cheese
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Green beans
Salad/ Vegetable tray with ranch (chopped the vegs up this morning)
Apple pie (frozen- closeout special at Target)

I think I'm going to do a big breakfast in the morning when Joseph gets home from work (around 7:00 a.m.), and we will eat dinner mid-afternoon when Joseph has had a good "night's" sleep.

I'm pretty proud of myself of pulling this all together, especially since it is just going to be the four of us. I guess it is like practice. Right? You know for when Austin and David are grown and they bring their families to my house for Thanksgiving dinner. Crazy to think about. It seems like they will be kids forever, but they will grow up someday....

My homemade group deal

So I am really into group deal sites, especially when I can get a deal on something that I would normally pay full price for, like eating out for instance. However, sometimes I catch myself wanting to buy something that I wouldn't normally buy at all just because it is a "good" deal.

For example, I found myself succumbing to this yesterday when I found a PlumDistrict deal for a company called Kiwi Crate. Basically, this company sends you a box every month with the supplies needed to put together several crafts/games.