Traditions

We're not a family that has a ton of'em...but we've got a few.

We've been doing Thanksgiving on our own (away from family) since Paul started med school. Was that really six years ago??

That makes this our 7th Thanksgiving on our own, we've hosted 5 out of the 7 times.

We've come up with a few good traditions along the way...as well as some funny experiences and great memories.

First of all:

Martinelli's Sparking Cider. As in every one gets their own bottle.

And yes, we drink from the bottle.

Then:

Best Pecan Yams. They'll change your life.

(from the Favorites book)

And of course:

Triple Layer Chocolate Mousse. Nothing else needs to be said.

Then there's rolls...and this is where the funny experiences come in.

(Although not at all funny at the time.)

To make a long story short...homemade rolls are the bane of my existence.

CAN.NOT. DO THEM.

I've tried different kinds, different recipes, tricks of the trade, I've even had more than one tutorial.

CAN.NOT. DO THEM.

But a few years back, when we were not hosting, for some reason I agreed to bring rolls.

That was mistake #1. But it got a lot worse from there. And that frigid snowy Thanksgiving morning was turning into something of a disaster for me as one thing went wrong after another.

And then, the car is loaded and ready to head over to our friends house - we're just waiting for the timer to go off so we can take the rolls and stuffing out of the oven.

Which is when we realize...I never even turned on the oven.

And THAT is when I sat down in the middle of my kitchen floor and cried.

I've come a long way since then.

Which is why tomorrow morning you'll find me at Great Harvest Bread Co.

Buying rolls.

(Don't judge, they're delicious)

We do have Thanksgiving traditions that are not based on the menu.

Most years we go around the table at the beginning of the meal and say one thing we are thankful for - not Paul's favorite, but I like it : )

And this year we've started something similar with our kids.

Every night for the month of November we get together as a family and say one thing we are thankful for.

It's always fun to see what the kids will say...and to come up with our own new thing each day.

Here's mine for today:

I got to have lunch with Noah at school

bring treats to his class

read to them

and watch them do a super cute birthday song thing too.

Loved it.

Love that he wanted me to come (Paul says next year he probably wont)

love that he insisted we take the extra cupcakes to the principal and other office ladies

love his cute friends

and loved hearing from some of the adults at school what a wonderful boy he is : )

And now for one more funny Thanksgiving memory:

a few years back, after a somewhat late Thanksgiving dinner (to accommodate crazy work schedules) we all gathered in the living room around our little tv...

to watch the Thanksgiving episode of Grey's Anatomy.

It was very important to me.

And now it makes me laugh out loud!

Because I've given up Grey's and I'm totally beyond that now : )

My Thoughts On...

(Because I don't want my most recent post to be about Avery getting her head split-open anymore)

online Christmas shopping - best.thing.ever

skinny jeans - pretty dang comfy

ear warmer head scarf thingy - I might not do my hair a single day this winter

having 3 kids - well. tonight I said to my husband, "Children was a mistake." He said, "I know."

But that is mean. And not true. So here are my real thoughts on parenting:

It's hard. And there's lots of crap. It's exhaustingfrustratingdrainingneverendingmaddening. It's not the laugh and play and read books and snuggle and have fun with your kids all the time that you imagine it's going to be. Although we do some of all of that. It's just that there's a lot of hard stuff in between. More than you realize there is going to be. But here's the thing - the good still outweighs the bad. Not in amount. Most days there is a lot more "hard" and "bad" than good. It's more that the good is so great that it makes up for the bad, makes it worth it.

So today I am grateful that when I sat down to play with Avery she kissed my face every 5 seconds. And that Noah insisted on reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to me before bed. And that Alex danced with me in the living room after dinner.

Yeah, today was a(nother) hard day. But that is the stuff I'm going to remember.

"Life is just like an old time rail journey ... delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."

- Gordon B Hinckley

Warning: the following image may be disturbing to some viewers

Or is it just me?

Avery had her first stitches today after slamming into the coffee table.

It was traumatic - for me and for her.

And after a visit to the ER we barely had enough time to make it to church for the Primary Program.

Like I threw on a skirt, took a minute (much to the annoyance of my husband) to put on minimal make-up, and went to church with Avery's blood on my shirt and the I-rolled-out-of-bed-and haven't-touched-my-hair yet look.

Awesome morning.

Poor Baby.

Winter Love

Today I loved the "first snow"

and watching the big kids from the window with this little kid.

Because I like snow a lot more through the window.

I loved watching them build a snowman together.

Never mind that moments later they were fighting about said snowman, which turned to screaming, which led to Alex trying to demolish the snowman, which caused Noah to throw snow at her, which sent Alex into the house in tears.

It was cute while it lasted.

I'm also loving Bath & Body Works hand soap in winter scents.

This one is my fav for sure.

I'm loving (a little too much) these buckeyes

(aka chocolate dipped peanut butter balls).

Not so good for my (first-ever) pair of skinny jeans I just got.

Not posting a picture of that, still trying to adjust to the idea.

But they fit in my boots - warm and dry warm and dry warm and dry.

I'm loving this ear-warmer head scarf thingy.

And I love that it fits me no matter how many buckeyes I eat.

Would You Rather

This is what the alarm on Paul's phone looked like the other day.

Yes, that's 3:30am

Although it was Daylight Savings, so it was more like 4:30 am. A typical day in the life of an anesthesia resident.

And then there was my morning:

I woke at 7am - to a sick, crying baby covered in vomit and diarrhea shortly followed by a second screaming child with a face covered in blood.

The story:

As I was dealing with Avery I heard what sounded like my big kids sliding down the stairs in sleeping bags.

I yelled, "that's a bad idea!"

just in time to hear a crash and then blood curdling screams from Alex who came running to me with her face covered in blood.

Face first down the wood stairs and straight into the tile landing results in a bad bloody nose.

So...

work 90+ hours a week in a high stress environment including 30 hour shifts and getting up to go to work in the middle of the night

or blood vomit diarrhea laundry 2 screaming kids and another one to get ready for school

Some days I'm not sure what I would rather.

(Alright. I'd still rather do my job.)

Things We Like

(and when I say "we" I mostly mean "they")

Riding the plasma car in the newly-cleaned-out garage, baby sister humming in your lap

being swaddled like a baby, especially at bedtime but sometimes in the middle of the day (?)

snuggles from baby Av, she likes to use her forehead

and sometimes her cheeks

doing mom's hair with every hair clip in the house (and then trying to convince her to go out like that but settling for a picture)

and making the biggest possible mess at every meal!

Oh and we can't forget "poison baby."

basically Avery toddles around the house after the kids making funny noises at them and if they get touched 3 times they're dead.

Want to come and play??

Word of the Day

justasec

definition: a measurement of time

As in, when I tell Alex to get off the computer she says, "But mom can't I have one more justasec?"

and now for a completely unrelated story:

Paul had the day off on Tuesday and was actually home. Also, Noah was home sick that day. So when Paul was in the kitchen that morning, making eggs for everyone for breakfast, I looked around and saw my whole family and declared, "This feels like a holiday!"

Paul laughed. "Not a weekend?"

And then we both laughed. Because we both know he's not around on the weekends either.

Thanks for working so hard for the family hon - the upside of all your long hours is that when you're home it feels like a special occasion : )