Over my allotment of posts for the month, but here it goes....

What a full weekend. Work let out earlier for some than others (like me, but what's new...).

Started putting everything together Wed afternoon, chopping the veggies, baking the sweet potato casserole (non-marshmallow version), cooking the cranberries in sugar water (homemade cranberry sauce is that easy), and tossing together the stuffing from scratch (although I did use bakery bread to make fresh bread crumbs over the weekend, if that still counts). Thursday morning, around 8:30-ish I stuffed the bird's backside and let hubby fill in the neck area since I was having some trouble keeping the flap open and jamming the breading into the cavity. Then we placed it in the V-rack, greased up it's skin and loaded the bottom of the pan with veggies and broth and the roasting began. After 8 trips to the oven to baste and refill the pan with broth (and later water) to keep the veggies moist, the bird was ready. I just had to heat up the rolls, green bean casserole (which I nuked ahead of time to melt everything), bake the remaining stuffing, nuke the peas, and make the gravy (hence the roasted veggies in the bottom of the pan-you press them through a strainer and use the extracted juices in the gravy along with the drippings). Hubby was in charge of the garlic smashed potatoes, which I only had to coach slightly.

We had dinner on the table by 2:30. Stinky Magee requested that we each go around the table and say what we were all thankful for after we said grace. He is grateful for his teachers, Apple Pie was thankful your welcome, and Pumpkin was thankful for the food, DH and I were thankful for our families.

We stuffed our bellies then I threw together the apple pie (an actual pie, not the child listed above) for later in the evening. We lazed around for most of the afternoon and evening, after the dishes were washed.

Friday was uneventful as well, as the weather turned this weekend: cold and wet. So we were all stuck inside and refused to fight the crowds in the malls or the traffic with all of the nearby road construction. We ate leftovers for a couple of meals, and watched movie (OK, I watched Days of Our Lives, too, but who's counting that, since I have not seen it in a couple of years and had to catch up on all the mad-cap goings-on). Stinky-M and Pumpkin broke the wishbone together and the entire top broke off. I have never seen that before. They both ended up with the short sticks. So, either they will both get their wishes or neither. I prefer the former notion.

Saturday was DH's and my anniversary. The day started off nicely, with Stinky-M bringing me a card that he and his brother and sister signed, then I came downstairs to coffee brewing. After sipping a cup I went upstairs to check on Pumpkin who decided to watch Madagascar, and through the amazing wonders of movie previews, watched an ad for Over the Hedge and learned that she could burp the ABC's. Yes, my beautiful, angelic 5 y.o. DD is now running around burping the alphabet (thank you, Steve Carell). What more could a doting mother ask for.

Since it was our anniversary, we thought we would live it up by going out to eat. We mulled long and hard. OK, we drove up 290 and decided that IHOP was appropriate to take a 3 y.o. who had not had a nap. And it wasn't crowded, since it was only 5:30. After a surprisingly pleasant meal (well behaved non-rested children for once!), we stopped by Target to grab a couple of long-sleeved shirts for the DD and a new jacket for oldest-DH (since he lost the one I bought last month). By the time we got home, it was close to bedtime, so I bathed the two youngest while Stinky-M worked on one of his puzzle books and DH played around on the computer. Then we tucked them all in bed, nuked some popcorn and watched an episode of Band of Brothers (how romantic).

Today was rather mellow (or at least to the standards of parents who are used to the temperaments of 3 children. The kiddoes watched Sleeping Beauty and Madagascar. I drank some coffee, showered and made myself presentable to get a burger, since DH did not want turkey for lunch again. So we loaded up the car and went to Becks Prime. Then we returned home and lazed around some more, between loads of laundry. The kids are finally in bed and DH is ironing shirts for next week. Thank goodness for his military training because I am terrible at ironing. That is where I have no patience. And yes, the government did teach him how to properly iron, because making your uniform stand up by itself is step one in defending our country.

Tomorrow, we head back to work and school. Rats. It's been a nice break for the last few days.

Happy Anniversary

We've made it six years, DH. Here's to all the years to come.

I love you!

Happy Turkey Day!

You Are The Stuffing

You're complicated and complex, yet all your pieces fit together. People miss you if you're gone - but they're not sure why.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

I get the impression...

You Are Impressionism

You think the world is quite beautiful, especially if you look at it in new and interesting ways. You tend to focus on color and movement in art. For you, seeing the big picture is much more important than recording every little detail. You can find inspiration anywhere... especially from nature.

What Art Movement Are You?

November's long post

Well, the first week and three days at the new job have past. I'm still alive, still trying to figure out what in the world I'm doing. A bit disappointed at the lack of training on simple things, like how to use the phone, no updated phone list, etc. Nothing like picking up a call and (1) not knowing if the person works there, (2) what extension he/she is at, and (3) how to get the caller off my line and either to the other party or in their voicemail. I felt bad that I only had 4 days to train my replacement at my last job, and here I was kinda dropped in a desk and told to fend for myself.

Oh well, I'm getting the hang of it, even if I feel a bit harried and hurried. Not quite up to speed on their systems and not quite used to answering to seven people at the same time, but I can only do what I can do.

Other than that everything is OK.

Halloween came and went trick-or-treating as a Mad Scientist (Stinky), the Little Mermaid (Pumpkin) and "Buzz-Like-Year" (Apple-S). We still have not carved the pumpkin. Stinky, Pumpkin and Apple did draw all over it with a Sharpie, so there are two faces, a cat, and some random letters and numbers and dots. Quite a bit more creative than anything DH or I could have done with a knife. And we haven't had to deal with the guts yet. Perhaps this weekend we'll dig in and I'll roast up some seeds.

I still haven't finished my last pearl necklace. Poor thing is sitting in the glass bowl and staring at me from under the pile of other items that have landed on it in the interim. Maybe later this week I'll pull it out and work another inch or two. Part of the problem is that I saw a mistake that I made about 1.5 inches ago. Part of me wants to take the whole thing apart and start over (yikes!) since I know the error is there (which with this type of stitch isn't exactly a piece of cake). Part of me thinks I'm the only one who sees the extra loop, so what's the big deal. They're arguing, so the project just sits. You'd think I'd pick up something else while my brain duels it out, but I haven't yet, although I have several ideas bouncing around in my head.

Seems this is turning into a list of things i haven't done, so...

I did do about about eight loads of laundry over the weekend and went grocery shopping. I'm sure that is thrilling news. I did put gas in the car and attempted to find a quicker way to and from work (hahaha). I watched TV and looked for one of the four books that I am reading (and will eventually finish).

We drove northbound and visited Debbie and Nuje and their family and went to park and chased the kids and played Frisbee. Then fed the ruggers and sent them upstairs to watch The Incredibles while we bowled on the Wii. I won 2 out of 4 rounds, which is pretty good considering I have never played before. (Honey, maybe we should start saving up for Christmas...after all YOU got the X-Box that the kids broke and the DS to keep Stinky occupied while you all were fishing...what do I have to play with?)

The big news, though most of you already know, is that hubby passed the bar with flying colors! Yeah! Three years of sacrificing. Here's to a nice pay-off, or at least enough money to put the kids through college and have a comfortable retirement with lots of travel, and maybe cable-TV and a DSL or wireless Internet connection.... And a vacation (kids attendance is optional). OK, and a house with a guest room for our always-welcome families to stay and an office for DS and a hobby room for me (rooms for the kids are also optional--we can always make them "outdoor" children, which is a joke only my mom will get, but to me it's hilarious).