Thankful ...

... for this little turkey.

 Happy Thanksgiving!

Aaaaand...BREAK!

I'm on Thanksgiving break.  Hallelujah!  We had a two-day week that ended with a student vs. staff volleyball game yesterday afternoon.  Needless to say, I wasn't the MVP, but I got my hands on the ball a few times and had a lot of fun.  The students didn't boo me, so that was a good sign.

I left work much earlier than usual yesterday afternoon and spent a couple of hours making a huge dent in my Christmas shopping list before meeting my book club friends for dinner.  I was able to check quite a few items off of my shopping list.  One highlight was seeing tents and grills set up outside of Best Buy.  I mean, I like big TV's and bargains as much as the next person, but sleep on a sidewalk and skip Thanksgiving just to get one?  I think not.  Anyway, it was nice to have a couple of hours to peruse different stores in search of the perfect gifts.  My last stop before dinner was World Market, where I picked up an old school Advent calendar for Sara.  I know she'll love it this year.  My sister and I used to look so forward to the Advent calendars my mom bought each year.  It's just a fun tradition, and the fact that it makes eating chocolate at the start of each day acceptable is just the cherry on top.

It was fun to catch up with my book club.  Due to schedule conflicts, I hadn't been since August, and was really looking forward to the social time.  We shared lots of laughs, a couple more serious conversations, good food and bevs, and a little book talk.

Today Sara I went to get the last of the necessary items for tomorrow's feast.  Today I'm making chex mix (which might be gone by tomorrow), pumpkin pie (which won't be as good as my sister's, but hopefully close), and deviled eggs (which I'll probably regret).  That leaves me time and oven space tomorrow morning to finish the stuffing, potatoes, and turkey.  I love waking up on Thanksgiving and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and then anticipating a day filled with good food, good company, football, and maybe a nap.  Over the rest of the weekend we will get our Christmas lights hung and tree put up ... I look forward to this all year!

Tonight I'm going to Zumba, and I'll have to work extra hard so I can save myself some guilt tomorrow.  Hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Going Around

I'm getting a taste this week of the head/sinus/general-body-ache that seems to be going around.  I probably need more sleep.  And I'd be getting more if I could sleep, but this junk makes it hard.  At least it's almost Friday.

We woke up an hour late this morning.  Oh, the panic!  I know you know the feeling.  But ... we were up, showered, made up (hair and all), and out the door in twenty-five minutes.  It was a team effort, and Steve and I were pretty proud of ourselves.  I think we set a new family record.

Tonight I'm making my mom's famous Mashed Sweet Potato Bake for Sara's Thanksgiving feast at school tomorrow.  (I'm trying not to breathe on it.)  When I mentioned her Thanksgiving feast, Sara said, "Thanksgiving ... oh, great!"  It's just the best time of year, and even better with a toddler.

All week I'd been wondering when 103.7 would start playing Christmas Carols.  They hadn't made an announcement because they wanted to keep it a surprise, but when I got in the car after work tonight, there they were, waiting to greet me.  Any and all of my drive time becomes more pleasant when the carols are playing.

We had Christmas pictures taken last weekend, and I'm anxious to see them.  I may give you a sneak peak once I have them.  I've already browsed through the card selection at shutterfly.com, so now all I need is for the pics to arrive.

We're headed to Kansas this weekend to pay a visit to my sisters-in-law and their families.  I love watching Sara play with her cousins (she's the oldest of the youngest four - all girls!); they have so much fun together.  We'll come back Sunday for just a couple days of work before our Thanksgiving break.  And a break, my friends, is something for which I am incredibly thankful.

Have a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

Anecdote: Getting Skinny

This particular story deserves a spot in my memory via this blog.  Last Saturday morning, as Sara and I were walking into the rec center, our conversation went like this:

Sara: "Mom, are you going to come into the play area with me?"
Me: "No, Mommy is going to go upstairs to work on getting skinny."  (Sidebar: I hate it when I say this type of thing to my impressionable little girl, but sometimes I let such phrases slip without thinking or filtering.)
Sara: "Okay.  When you are done getting skinny you can come get me."

Either she thinks such a feat is incredibly easy or she was prepared to play for a very long time.  Regardless, I got a little laugh out of her logic and her sweet innocence.

Rambling

Halloween turned out to be quite an eventful time for us this year, as evidenced by the number of blog and Facebook posts that referenced the holiday.  Sara's favorite candy choices this year include Smarties, Skittles, Starbursts, and "chocolate balls" aka Whoppers.  She is definitely my child.  Now Halloween has been over for a week, and Sara reminds us everyday that, "Halloween is over.  Next it's Christmas Day."  We're working on learning about Thanksgiving.  So far Sara knows that that is when we eat turkey.  She's on the right track.

I'm home earlier than planned tonight from the last 7th grade football game of the season.  It was called early due to severe thunderstorms.  I'm not complaining.  I got home in time to tuck my girl into bed, and now I'm catching up on the blog and the DVR (current feature presentation: Sister Wives ... anyone else addicted to this show?  I know it wasn't on my original fall must-watch TV list, but now I just can't delete it without watching.  I'm fascinated.).  In other TV news, I dropped Pan Am.  Although I've continued to hear good things, I just didn't find myself engrossed enough to devote an hour each week to the show.  Shockingly (or maybe not), we're on the fence on The Office.  We keep watching because the DVR has it set to record each week, but it's just not that funny anymore and I don't think we'd miss it at all if we walked away now.  After more then seven years together, I'm not sure how we'll go about ending this relationship.

Steve ran his first half marathon over the weekend, and he finished in about two hours and sixteen minutes.  I am proud of him, and was so excited to see him cross the finish line.  While I'm still not feeling the urge to run such distances, I did finally get a membership at the Wylie Rec Center and I feel myself getting back into a routine where I want to workout.  It feels really good, and I love that Sara enjoys going, too.  Every time I have gone to pick her up from the play area after a workout, she has left very reluctantly asking when we get to go back.  Nothing makes you feel like a good parent like your kid not wanting to come home with you.

I'm loving my iPhone 4S.  I can't believe we didn't make the switch sooner, and now that we have, I don't think we'll ever go back.  For the first time in a long time, I'm not embarrassed to take my phone out in a crowd.  At least five people I work with nearly died of shock when they saw that I had finally upgraded from my stone-age slider phone with no touch screen or internet.  That's only a slight exaggeration.

I'm going to wrap it up for tonight.  After I get things in order for tomorrow, I plan to fall asleep to the sounds of the storm.  Waking up to the same storm tomorrow morning won't be nearly as pleasant.

Happy Halloween!

Sara hopped out of bed this morning in anticipation of The Big Day!  She was so excited for Audrey to come over, and she had the plans down to a tee.  As she told me in the car, "First we'll eat dinner, then put on our costumes, then trick-or-treat."  With each step, her voice grew increasingly more high-pitched.

Here are Sara and Audrey, ready to trick-or-treat!

 When they came back, Steve was holding this adorable ISU cheerleading outfit.  Our Cyclone neighbors down the street have a daughter who is a little older than Sara, and they passed this down to her.  Sara told me, "Now I'm ready to be a cheerleader!"  Looks like next year's costume might be ready to go.

After she was done trick-or-treating, Sara had fun passing out candy to other kids who came to our door.  She's now in bed ... it's all over just as quickly as it starts, but it has sure been a good celebration this year.  Happy Halloween!