Out With a Bang

Being the last day of November, I should come to you with a great post and wise words. Sadly, or should I say, more predictably, that is not the case. Tyler is watching snippets of Friends on the computer next to me, which is very distracting, and I should be writing our Christmas Newsletter. (Which should have been written a few weeks ago.)

So, so long and thank for all the fish. I'll be seeing you next month.

Grandpa Got 'Em

Same ole drill as usual boys.

Except this time he got my baby.

I was not happy. Besides the fact that it is permanent marker on their foreheads, it smells nasty. And I can't snuggle her like usual. Luckily it washes off pretty well.

Fine Print

According to blogger rules, as long as it is not past midnight on the North American continent, it counts as being posted that day.

Therefore, since it is not midnight in California yet, we'll call it good.

It's like on Sunday. Being Mormon, we don't shop on Sunday. So when it hits midnight, can you suddenly go shopping, or do you wait until you go to sleep and that makes a new day? I am more of a mind that the day continues until you go to sleep, unless I need to buy medication for children, in which case I might break the Sunday rule anyway, but only after checking with all my neighbors first.

Enough of my craziness. We just got chatting too long with the Neilsen's tonight. We had to celebrate their good news. Baby(ies) on the way. Double woot.

Early Christmas

Now that Thanksgiving is over, there is not much to hold back the tide of Christmas that is inevitable. I am not ready yet, but as my Father-in-law pointed out, it is coming whether I am ready or not.

My shopping is half finished, I don't have any advent activities planned, and I only have a few ideas in my mind  for the girls. (This is in the hope that they can still make home-made gifts for each other.) All these things will fall into place, I am sure.

In the meantime, I should feel rather festive because I have already received a few gifts. Firstly, if you send me out on Black Friday, I AM going to buy something for myself, almost guaranteed. Don't get me wrong, I love buying gifts for others, but I also love buying things for myself. I told Tyler he didn't even need to shop for me because I took care of it for him. Let's take a quick look at exhibit A.

Yes, self-portraits are not my strong suit, but what can you do? You can kind of see the shirt I bought myself. I really like it. It is more of the baby-doll style which Tyler called 'maternity', but I don't even care. Truthfully, I will probably have a 'maternity' looking tummy for the rest of my life considering how many times it has been stretched out. It is not hemmed at the bottom which drives my Mother-in-law crazy. But I like it. It fits my personality. Also note the boots. This is the first year I have gotten boots for myself. EVER. We go to Idaho every year and my feet are always cold. This year, those boots are single-handedly keeping my entire body toasty. Yay.

The other thing you can't see in the picture is this:

I have this thing for owls recently. Not sure why. But I saw this necklace and had to have it. I like interesting necklaces because my girls love to play with them in church. Mr. Owl here seems to be a good addition, and Pearl has already taste-tested him and shown her approval.

My Sister-in-law may have noticed my owl fetish because check out this cute ornament she got me.

That alone makes me excited to decorate my tree. I guess I can get into the holiday spirit.

700—WOW

Seven hundred people. That is how many posts I am up to. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself, and really, who else is going to say anything around here?

I have done the Black Friday thing. I have gone and victory was had...

by the stores, that is. I got plenty of good items, but a few snuck in there that I know were not on the list. But enough of confessing my weaknesses. Let's reminisce about the days of yore. (i.e. yesterday)

My sister-in-law carried the burden of Thanksgiving this year for the first time. She did such an amazing job. I feel guilty that since I come from out of town, I am never asked to bear the onus of hosting the feast. Although I think karma caught up with me in the car yesterday. Regardless, I am secretly pleased that I am not in charge. (Although I guess that is not so secret anymore.) It is a wonderful thing to arrive, partake, and see all the work someone else has gone to in your behalf. Seriously, all those of you who showed up at someone's house yesterday, even if you brought something, be grateful.

Kathryn did an excellent job, from the food, to the decorations. The chow was great.

There were cool lights on the table. (Never seen that before.)

Drinks and desserts were plentiful.

Pearl was digging her first Thanksgiving. Have I mentioned that child can eat?

Lastly, Kathryn got these scratch cards where you could write what you were thankful for. Those were way too much fun. And such a great idea.

Kathryn, for the record, I am indeed grateful. You outdid yourself. Maybe I can bring more next year. Or maybe, one of these years, you will just have to come down my way.

What was your first clue?

June may be one of those people who gets sick while reading in a car.

The drive to Idaho is not a bad one, and considering the weather, we made excellent time. However, literally ten minutes before our destination, June pipes up from the back, "Um, I just threw up."

Those are so NOT the words you want to hear in the car. EVER. I looked back and assessed the situation. I was riding shot-gun so it was my job to move about the car and help children. I dutifully left my seat and was deciding what to do next. I thought about going for a plastic bag, but it seemed like the damage was already done. So, the next option was wet wipes.

I should have gone for the bag.

Moments later, like a fountain, June threw up two more times. Oh, I love the holidays. We had no good way to clean it up, so like good parents, we made her sit in puke while we drove the last ten minutes to Grandma's house.

She was fine for the rest of the day and enjoyed all the feasting we did. We are thinking it had something to do with the fact that she read to her sisters for almost the whole four hours. And miraculously, we only got vomit on one book. (That is amazing since I think they brought almost 15 in the car.)

I do have pictures from our Thanksgiving spectacular, but I need to get to bed. Black Friday is a tradition around here, and I need to get some sleep before we wake bright and early.

Hope your turkey day was a groovy one.

HE'S Packed

...or so he says. Which means that it is only my unpackedness that is holding us up. Sheesh, don't I get any credit for helping children pack? Although, I didn't help that much this time around, and the one who needs the most help (Pearl), is also not packed yet. So maybe, he has a point.

So, I am going to go pack.