Tomorrow is Dec. 1

Today we got our first snowflakes. Unfortunately as quickly as they came, they left. A bit too warm still. The boys were still excited and ran outside to play in it. Jacob asked for his snow pants. Too cute.

We finished putting up the Christmas tree today. We started last night but could only get it assembled (the best purchase I ever made, next to the dishwasher) and put on a few ornaments before bed. I told the boys we would put it up but some other plans came up. Here are a few pictures of our start. I will have to put up others later. It was fun to see Joshua put up the ornaments he has made in school over the years. Now Jacob will start making some since he is in school. The only problem is that we have a damp basement. One of Joshua's ornaments was a bit moldy. That didn't stop him from putting it up. It just blends in with the tree. I also had two angels that had been crocheted for me and they are damp and limp instead of stiff from the starch, can't figure that one out???

Here are some random pictures that I had taken. I still don't have a new camera and can't really view what I have taken. It is such a pain. I can't even delete some of my stuff off the disk since I can't see anything on the screen. The first one is a project that Jacob had. He had to make a disguise for a turkey. I think 'we' had a cute idea. He is outfitted in camo and an orange vest. The boots are catalog pictures.

This one is Joshua helping to make the chocolate cream pie for Thanksgiving. This is always their favorite part.Oh, yeah. Tomorrow is Dec. 1 and my van is not registered or inspected. Wish me luck not to get caught tomorrow..........

Ahhh

I just finished my first cold turkey, stuffing and cranberry sandwich. You've got to love it! That is the great thing about cooking at home for Thanksgiving-leftovers. And with the invention of the dishwasher, the clean up isn't that bad either. I got the turkey in the oven on time with Jim's help. I had him find all of the surprises in the turkey (which we saved for Auntie) and clean it out as I got the stuffing ready. I like to jazz up the Stove Top with some onions, mushrooms and ground pork. Thank God for the little popper upper. No guessing when it was done, well kind of. At least it didn't have a ton of meat thermometer holes in it.

After dessert we headed over to Jim's Uncle Paul's house. He and his son-in-law put on an extravagant light display and they kick it off on Thanksgiving night. They have their own website and usually collect for different charity each year. It is quite a commitment. Because it is so well known and extensive, someone has to be out there every night. As you can imagine in this day and age, people help themselves and walk right onto their lawn to explore if they don't. That's all they would need...an electrocuted corpse as part of the display. Jim's Uncle Paul is a California transplant. I'm pretty sure he spent most of his life in the warm climate. Now every other day from Thanksgiving to Christmas he is out in the frigid temperatures. No wonder he already has his Florida vacation planned for January.

Right now the boys are playing with early Christmas presents. Auntie Jackie came out for the holiday and wanted to bring them shopping for their Christmas gifts. I'm getting a hint of the quiet that we will experience that comes with the excitement of new toys to explore.

Far and Few in Between

I haven't written many posts lately. I try not to when I'm feeling in a funk. I try not to vent much here, but then I go MIA. I do try to be everything to everyone, but I don't like being expected to be Mom to a 43 year old. One who expects me to buy his clothes and then complains about everything that is bought, and how dare I not know his size. "I told you these fit good", Silly me, I thought it was the style he liked.

Man it is so cold, and we have no heat upstairs. I had a plumber come to service the furnace (yes I) which hasn't been done since we bought the house 7 years ago and is apparently supposed to be done each winter. But anyway, supposedly it will cost $1000. to fix the 'problem'. They can't treat the 'symptoms' for $500. but that won't cure the problem. Of course I want a reputable company, but then you deal with their overhead. We had the same word done about 4 years ago (I found the reciept) and it cost $176. Now I know inflation happens, but that's a bit much. So I have to wonder, did he not fix it right to begin with and I got what I paid for, or does the new well known company have a lot of overhead. I guess another estimate will will give me more of a headache help. For now, more blankets. Oh and I still haven't replaced my camera and my printer is not working. Merry Christmas to me...

Today Jacob is going to his first birthday party. It is at a bouncy place like Joshua's party last weekend was. It's a cool thing to have especially in extreme temperature times. He is excited and has waited a long time to get to go to parties for his friends.

Any special Thanksgiving plans out there??? Robin and I will be cooking together. That is if she doesn't drop the turkey off the night before and show up an hour before dinner. ****THAT IS A JOKE...I DON'T WANT ANY COMMENTS ABOUT HOW MEAN I AM**** I am looking forward to having leftovers as we are usually not home. I just love cold turkey, stuffing and cranberry sandwiches (and so do my hips). The night before we will be going to Aunt Barbaras to get together with some family that is spread out for Thanksgiving. I think that would be a cool tradition to start. Auntie Chris participates in a 'Chinese Thanksgiving' each year with another family of friends that are also spread out on Thanksgiving. They all get together and order tons of yummy chinese food.

While I wait for the take-out

I'm so in the holiday spirit. I really wanted to put up our tree today. The good thing about having an artificial tree is that you don't have to worry about when you put it up because it won't die. In other words, I can't kill it from forgetting to water it. It's not up yet. I usually wait until Thanksgiving goes by, but I don't know that I will. I use to have friends who would put up their decorations right after Halloween.

Not much happening this weekend. A birthday party, recycling, an ear infection, a rainy day and the same I Carly episode we have seen at least 4 times this week. The boys had dentist appointments this week. I was pleasantly surprised that they both got good reports. I was so worried about my candy monster Jacob. But she said he looked great. Next visit Joshua gets his start on sealants, money making manuevers to save baby teeth.

Got the Spirit

So not only did I Christmas shop this weekend, I wrapped them too. The boys helped me (which takes quite the patience). Can you see your present in the picture? It's kind of exciting. Don't get me wrong I'm sure I will still be out at 5 pm on Christmas Eve finishing up last minute gifts. It never fails.

The boys sent out their Christmas e-mail, thanks to Auntie, and received a response. In case anyone wondered how Santa keeps in shape, he says it's by riding a bike. Just so you know.

As I type tonight Jim is away hunting. I hate how I always hear different sounds when he is away. He'll be back tomorrow so I think I can handle one night.

Getting back on the horse

It's been a week. Where does the time go? This week I turned a year older, and a year wiser I hope. We celebrated by having spaghetti, salad and rolls with dipping oil. So yummy. We got rolls from one restaurant and dipping oil from another. Robin made a strawberry rhubarb pie and Jim got a cake too. He actually got all 34 candles on the cake. It was really pretty to see all the candles. And yes, I got them all in one blow.

Jacob gave me a funny story this week. I'm sure he'll thank me someday for sharing it with you. At the end of one day this week he informs me that I didn't put any underwear out for him. "You mean you didn't wear any underwear to school today?" I asked him. "Well my pants weren't loose" he assured me. (The underwear had fallen off the couch right where I put his close each morning) So this weekend he showed Jim and I how he wore two pairs. Apparently he was making up for earlier in the week...

I am so excited, I actually got going on my Christmas shopping. It has been a bit rainy and the kids where getting a bit stir crazy so Jacob came with me. It was nice really to have one of them. I try to get one to come with me somewhere once in a while for one/one time but usually they want to be together. I picked some gifts while Jacob picked out items for his list. He was content with that. I bought myself a little birthday gift too, 300 thread count soft sheets. Sweet. You know we spend half of our life in bed...you should splurge with good sheets. Joshua stayed behind with Daddy and then they went for a little walk in the woods. Daddy calls it hunting. But after 12 years of knowing him and no deer, I call it a nature walk :)

Trick or Treat

Here are a few pictures from last night. The boys were super polite and wanted to pet every dog they saw. I thought it was going to be a long night. I always get a kick over how different Trick or Treat is now than when I was a kid. These days candy is nothing special, a weekly affair. The boys are done by 7 (we start at 6) and they are happy with what is in their basket. When we were kids, we had pillow cases and literally ran until the very last minute. We knew that candy needed to last until Easter :)Aparently Scarecrows look different standing on one leg.

I don't know, didn't ask, just snapped the pictures. I'm well know for giving 'big eyes'. Here you can clearly see Joshua is my son. "Mom, how did the picture come out?" "Mommy looks a little goofy". "You always do". Thanks kids. I just can't take all of the compliments he give me.

These are just a few of the 'wacky pumpkins' we made at Jacob's party.