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.

Halloween 2011

Sorry about all the sideways pictures. I don't have the patience to figure out what's wrong with them right now. Just cock your head a little to look at them :)

Watch out for that dragon and that turtle!



Getting ready with a little help from Daddy.





David the Dragon

 

David's second costume- a TN doggie

Super John and Leonardo

 

Some of our Sunday School girls



It took some convincing to get Austin to take this thing off. Hobbit Dragon anyone?

All Rugged Out



Austin was getting tired of rug shopping.

We recently bought some rugs for our apartment in order to soften the noise for our downstairs neighbor. I guess the boys' little feet make quite a bit of noise in these older apartments. We didn't want to spend a fortune on rugs, but we wanted to get something nice. After trying Target, JC Penney, Sears, K-Mart, TJ Maxx, Big Lots and World Market, we finally found some we liked (at the right price) at Wal-Mart (go figure).

The picture above was taken during the few brief minutes I was able to get Austin to sit still in the rug aisle. He looks less than pleased, I know. For the most part, though, the boys had a blast running wild among the polyester while I was rifling through the shag. Yes, our living room is a deep red shag, and I love it. We also got a cool rag rug from World Market for our kitchen.

I'll spare you pictures of our new rugs at this point. I'm sure you will see them in the background of other pictures before long.

We are decorating for Christmas this weekend! Yay!

A third of the way done with Kindergarten

Making a ghost tootsie pop with Mrs. Rachel and Eli at their Fall Party.

 So, Austin has already finished 2 six week grading periods. That means he is a third of the way finished with this year. Wow!

Here's a link to a video I took of Austin's class. He is the one to the left of the teacher. She has to tell him to pay attention. He does look a little zoned out, doesn't he. Ha!

Austin is suppose to get his second report card this week. Last six weeks, he had all satisfactory marks except for in writing. I think his handwriting has greatly improved since then, so we'll see what his report card says this time.

The glamour and newness of school has begun to wear off. Austin is starting to complain that he doesn't want to go to school anymore. I'm thinking this is normal. I mean who doesn't remember complaining about school at some point as a kid? Anyway, he's got some breaks coming up, so I'm sure he will enjoy the time off from school. He gets Wed-Fri off next week for Thanksgiving and then two weeks at Christmas.

Now, what are we going to do with Austin during all that time off?