A Black Friday Thanksgiving Recap

I hope you all had a Thanksgiving that made you happy. Our celebration began on Wednesday when we made the kids' dreams come true and relented into a Christmas inflatable. We went with this 4-foot Olaf. So... like the baby-est step one can take into Christmas inflatables. But we love Olaf and everyone is happy. 

Thursday morning came in with a parade bang. It's C's most favorite day ever and honestly, he was nearly manic with excitement all day wanting to make the most out of every second. 

We had our traditional monkey bread and orange juice breakfast. As one does during the parade. 

And I got my picture of C with Tom Turkey as always too. In his parade pajamas obviously. 

After the parade we just hung out and got ready. We went to see Trolls Band Together. I bought the tickets over a month ago and when we got to the theatre they had switched which auditorium we were in. Which was apparently confusing to two different employees. 

But we got it sorted out and settled in. 

We overall really liked it! But I will say this... I don't know that there's a single musical number I feel inclined to listen to again and that is not the case from the first two movies. 

Then we came home and I got to work on my very fancy* tablescape for dinner. 

*It wasn't in any single way fancy. Please note the chocolate turkeys on the windowsill, aka dessert.

A few weeks ago we were talking about what we wanted to have for dinner C lost his mind that we weren't having turkey for dinner. Historically we've been all over the place with our Thanksgiving meal, while we have gone traditional we are also just as likely to have ribs or alfredo or whatever. 

After hours, truly hours, of discussions, we settled on a take-home Cracker Barrel meal. We preordered it and then all we had to do was heat it up after the movie. All in all, we quite enjoyed it and C was delighted for the turkey and I was delighted at how easy it was. 

We ate. We opened our Thanksgiving crackers. Which was fun. 

Then after talking to my family for a bit we snuggled in for quiet reading time. Everyone read their book together in the same room. It was cozy, comfortable and quiet. Kind of the perfect addition to the day. 

After we tucked everyone in, Husband and I set to work on designing the Christmas card. We're behind this year, but it's okay. And Husband watched Planes Trains and Automobiles. I don't actually find that movie funny, but rather just incredibly implausible. But it's his tradition. 

And that was Thanksgiving! 

Heading Into Thanksgiving

Hey friends! 

I am sorry for not being around much... but nothing much has been going on. At all. I have barely taken any pictures even. And we all know a post should have pictures. 

A few weeks ago our office got a new walkway. My co-worker was out that day so I was the lucky one who got to sit right next to all the jackhammering. 

It took them FOREVER to pour the cement and all the things. But it's all done now thank goodness! 

C altar served a school Mass. He was a rockstar.

The boys went out of town and M and I had a girls' weekend in which I took no pictures. We did go hold some kittens at PetSmart. This is Mr. Heckles. 

The boys are incredibly allergic to cats. So it was a fun treat for us. M and I also enjoyed watching Ever After, it was her first time and I was thrilled to share a special movie from my childhood with her. She liked it. 

I am super unclear as to why it's PG-13... it's for sure actually PG. They barely even kiss! It's kind of the perfect Cinderella movie. 

M also has been doing my hair lately. 

I went to Ladies Night Bingo at school and the only picture I took was of this Bruschetta. Because my coworker was at NCYC and I got to eat his wife's food. 

Last Friday, the 5th graders served food at the Senior Thanksgiving Dinner. C was on pie duty. 

I went to see The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. I have always gone to see the Hunger Games movies on opening night, but, I am old. So I went to the 10:00 am showing on Friday. 

As the crisis contact for NCYC I had to be available 24/7. So I brought my emergency folder into the theatre with me, thus assuring everyone's safety. 

Overall, I thought it was a very good book adaptation. I thought the film would clear up some of the ambiguity at the end but I think it made it worse for me. Also I thought they could have done a little more with part I and III and less of II. But, overall, it was a strong movie. 

I did not care for the 27 minutes of previews tacked on to the 2 hour and 38 minute movie. Especially since only 2 movies were of anything I'd actually go see. 

And just to prove I still have a daughter even though I haven't taken any pictures of her lately... here she is with the scurvy pirate hat she made. 

So there's the nothing much is new post you've all been clamoring for. Lol! 

Have a very happy Thanksgiving! 

A Weekend!

So remember last Thursday when I waxed poetically about my love for Cracker Barrel? 

Yeah. Guess where we had dinner on Friday night? 

Don't mind his full cheeks! M had a roller skating birthday party to attend and guess what restaurant happens to be awfully close to said roller rink? 

And we wandered the gift shop after as you do, and found this Lambies in Jammies and Goats in Coats planner we thought was funny. C also found a comic a day calendar he was interested in. 

Do you do this? It has worked SO well for our family. When our kids see things they want in stores we take a picture of them holding it. Being able to look back at a picture of themselves holding a thing makes them happy and sometimes is enough to not even ever talk about it again. 

And for the things they still really want, we can go back through photos when we need gift ideas and see exactly what it is they had their eye on. Perfect for holiday list-making. 

Saturday we had a family adventure that was almost (girl math) free. First the kids had an explorers class about World Cultures at the museum Husband works at. 

I went with for pick up and it was the first time I saw his office and the behind-the-scenes stuff. I wanted to go on a weekend so I wouldn't have to run into coworkers and things. I am weird like that. 

Then we went to Barnes and Noble. We could browse for hours there and the kids each picked a book and so did Husband... and we had gift cards for all of it. 

After that we got Chick-Fil-A from the food court. We had reward points for free fries and a free sandwich so a portion was free and we earned a free sandwich with what we paid for. 

M and I went to Bath and Body Works after because she loves that store. She got some lotions and potions and things. And okay, that wasn't free. 

THEN we went to Mad Potter a paint-your-own pottery place. We'd been talking about going there for a long time. And we finally just did. 

We then went home for some decompression time! We all needed it.

Later we went back out to Kohls. We actually were looking for new bedding for M but she didn't find anything that she liked. We are waiting for a wow! 

But Husband needed some pants for the holidays and he wanted a new hoodie. And he looked like a cartoon character who only wears one thing as he checked out his khakis and blue hoodie while wearing khakis and a blue hoodie. The best news was we had a Kohl's gift card too. So free! 

Yesterday we spent a good solid 5 hours burning through a large stick pile in our yard. We didn't finish but made a great dent! 

We were outside from 2-7. Husband even longer as he waited for the solo stove to cool off. Once we got it going there was no smoke or smell. And our neighbor started burning at about 8:00 and it was SO stinky and smoky that we could smell it in our living room! I was not a fan and I will sing the praises of the solo stove forever. 

So that was our weekend! Busy Saturday but in a good way. Low Key productive Sunday. All is well. 

November!

Enter the requisite conversation about how I can't believe it's November. Except I can. Because though this year went quickly. It also crawled by. 

But let's not dwell on that. 

Halloween wrapped up nicely! 

All Saints Day Mass was nice. And C got to sit with his prayer buddy who is in Transitional Kindergarten. It was super cute to watch! 

At dinner last night he said "Now I know what it's like to be in charge of someone who doesn't listen." His sweet buddy E was really not super great and even the teachers had to intervene a few times. But C was very kind to him and a good example of what to do. 

We found this sweatshirt on the interwebs. I think I need it. I wish it had a hood. I am not really a fan of crew neck sweatshirts. 

But I do love me some Cracker Barrel. And I would almost rather be there most of the time. Lol. Especially now that it's fireplace season! 

We are actually on Fall break today and tomorrow. Not that we are actually doing anything. But gosh isn't that the best anyway?! 

The kids still had rehearsal today so that's what they're doing. And we've got some leaves to rake. Even so... November is off to a good start! 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween Friends! 

It is, like most of the country, really cold here today. But my parents have snow and I do not so I will take it. 

We kicked off our Halloween festivities on Friday with school Trunk-or-Treat. 

My Nothing Bundt Cake and Sorcerer Mickey had a very nice time at that! Both kids went around with their friends this year. Which was a new twist. They're definitely getting older!

In a not in any way Halloween related, guess who ended up back at the Eras Tour movie? That's right. And I even made these fun guides for all my young friends. I am glad I did. 

Not one of these third or fifth-graders asked me what song came next. It gave them just enough activity to keep focus on. 

I loved every second of my second viewing and I would still see it again so I am going to need it to be available real soon. 

We also made 9 of these Swiftie shirts for a special sweet sixteen gal's party this week! 

Also on Sunday Veronica wore her Vikings shirt for the first time! 

The good news was that they beat the Packers. But at the expense of Kirk's Achilles and I am so so sad about that. He's such a good guy. 

Last night we had school conferences. For the most part they went okay. After a delicious meal we carved pumpkins! 

I am very glad we were able to squeeze it in this year. It felt very last minute in my mind because M's pumpkin had rotted so I had to go buy a replacement pumpkin yesterday. And then the busyness of conferences. But we typically carve the night before trick-or-treat so we aren't late at all. 

Today are the class Halloween parties and fun! I am sure they're having a grand old time. We are going to go trick-or-treating tonight but it is VERY cold and winds are gusting up to 40 mph so we will not go far! 

Happy Halloween friends! 

It's Not Saturday

We shockingly didn't sleep a ton this past weekend. 

With staying up late to wrap and set up on Saturday night. (We always wrap the day before an event because of snoopers.)

Then Sunday night I was finishing my review and we woke up super early on Monday morning to buy M's school birthday treat. She wanted Dunkin Donuts but not any donut, everyone was to have a chocolate sprinkles donut. 

So we had to go early because that is a lot of the same donut. Plus she also wanted bubble braids for school so early to rise we were. 

Because of that, Husband and I went upstairs at the same time as the kids last night. We forced ourselves to stay awake a little longer so we didn't wake up at 3:00 in the morning. We safely decided we could crash at about 9:15. I didn't even want to stay up to see the end of the Vikings game. (Though can I tell you  that I am quite happily surprised by that outcome.) 

And when our alarms went off this morning we both thought it was Saturday. 

I am sorry to report that it is definitely only Tuesday. 

Make the best of it everyone! 

Happy Birth-Tay

 It was a full birth-Tay weekend for our Taylor Swift-loving girl. Saturday afternoon we hit the movie just us two! 

We LOVED it. And bonus... I got to review it! 

Just so you don't think the boys didn't get to do anything fun, they most certainly did. They actually went to a movie themselves! 

Back to the Future happens to be Husband's favorite movie and it was on the big screen for Back to the Future Day this weekend. C had never seen it. Do you see his shirt? They had time to kill before their movie started so they went to Old Navy to get a pair of jeans for C and found that too! 

They LOVED Back to the Future! 

Saturday night we wrapped and got the birthday banner up! Happy Birth-Tay! 

It was a real treat to see all of her favorite friends at Mass yesterday! We didn't have a party party this year. We may take some friends to see a movie later when some good ones come out. 

She rocked her birthday shirt all day. (With a skirt at Mass.) I Don't Know About You But I'm Feeling October 22! 

She opened her presents with my family via a teams meeting. And she got this Yeti hat from my brother that she had been eyeing for some time. She also got some of her favorite pajamas, crocs, squishmallows, books, a Tamagotchi, and art supplies. Oh, and a few Barbies. And a MN Vikings shirt for her American Girl Doll. As one does! 

We enjoyed the cookie cake from Sam's very much. Someone come get some because this is massive and we are just 4 people! 

They didn't capitalize the T in "Birth-Tay" but they also didn't just write birthday so let's just go with it! It eats the same anyhow. 

And just like that... she's nine.