Turkey Day 2011

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

Thankful Sprite?

Little Sleeping Beauty goes to a preschool and she had her Thanksgiving Feast last Friday.  She brought home her "Tree of Thanks."  See below:

Me: You aren't thankful for your big sister?
Sleeping Beauty:  I am but I didn't want to tell anyone I am!!
Me:  HAHAHA

Thankful...

What are you thankful for?

In random order, just a few of the things for which I am thankful:

God and Jesus
My husband and two girls
Mom and Dad
Sister and Brother
My grandparents - here or in the hereafter who loved me and are a huge part of my childhood memories.
My aunts and uncles
Cousins
Great family and great church family
Warm showers
Air conditioning and Heating
Indoor plumbing
Clean water
Cameras
Computers and the Internet
Migraine medicine
My doggy
My car (and Tim's car)
Food in the pantry and freezer
Doctors who help me manage my child's asthma
Cousin Eddie from "Christmas Vacation."  I love him.
DVR
Music
Fridge and Freezer
Stove, Oven and Crock Pot
My sense of humor - Sometimes I have to laugh so I won't cry
My ability to journal my thoughts and feelings so I can feel better
My adorable nephew
Great in laws
My house
My dirty kitchen floors - It means we have fun and worry about clean up later
My husband's job
Money in the bank
Insurance
My washer, dryer and dish washer
Hairdryer
John Frieda Frizz Ease (Seriously.)
My health (for the most part.)
A sister who loves my kids like her own and her husband who loves my sister and even my kids tremendously.
Friends that are there no matter what - you know who you are.
Angels in disguise and random acts of kindness
<3

ThAnKsGiViNg 2010

We spent Thanksgiving 2010 at my mom and dad's house with them, my maternal grandma (AKA Mamaw) and my dad's sister Beth.  My brother had to work and came later and my sister and her husband had to go up North for a funeral.  We missed them.  :(

The table all set.  I think the sippy cup really adds something to the atmosphere.  ;)

 My pilgrim Cinderella (she made this at school) and my aunt.

 The King of the Crazies and all the mashed potatoes...

 Lil Sweetie.  King of the Crazies got up for a minute and she was fast in his place!

 At the dinner table he unbuttoned his shirt a bit.  It was so funny because Mamaw did a double take!

 Sleeping Beauty was sick a couple weeks ago and got sick AGAIN last Sunday.  She was put on medicines again and seemed to be doing better.  Then yesterday, after we were there for about an hour, she went downhill and she started feeling warm.  She didn't eat at all during the "feast."  (And didn't start really again eating until tonight.)  Poor little pie. We knew she wasn't feeling right when she refused food.  The child is usually all about eating!

Here she is with a thermometer:

 My gorgeous mom (AKA the best cook ever) and me.  :)

If you haven't tasted her cooking I am sorry for you.  Sooooo good!  We all loved it.  Well, those of us that felt like eating.  :o/

Poor lil nugget didn't want to eat so she stayed on the couch with her "Tappy."  She had it because she was feeling so awful.  :(

 Starting at the right is Cinderella, my aunt Beth, Mamaw, King of Crazies, me and my dad:  

 When my mom first took the bird out of the oven we were afraid it may be "Griswold-ish" but it really was the best ever!  And she's never messed up a turkey for as long as I can remember.

You remember the Griswold turkey, right?!

Then after we ate and my brother got off of work and came to eat, some raking, piling and jumping in the leaves took place.  The two girls and my brother dove in!

Lil Pie getting in on the fun!

My dad took this one. 

A new do?!

One of my favorites from the day:

She tried all three pies.  He has never been more proud:

We did get Sleeping Beauty to eat a few bites of pie and "chicken" later that night before we left:

Today she only ate Nerds (candy) and then tonight Cheez-Its, turkey and green beans.  Her fever broke and she was talking a mile a minute tonight.  I pray this mess is over and gone SOON!

Thankful for the drama, the messes and the squabbles in my life

It is amazing how quickly I have forgotten what it is like to have two little divas in the house all day for several days in a row.  It's only been three months since school started.  Since Cinderella is on Thanksgiving break from Kindergarten (AKA  Big Kid School) and I am a stay at home mom, I have been with the girls a lot.  And THAT is an understatement.  They love one another but let's face it; they are sisters and the fights are inevitable.  The good thing is that, as sisters tend to do, they can be having a squabble and be fine a few moments later.  I, in all honesty, find myself popping more Excedrin Migraine and hanging on for the ride.  I have to remind myself sometimes that this is what I prayed to God for - my girls, their messes and all the drama they come with. 


During the recent days here at home, I have heard my daughters say, "I love you" to each other countless times, but I have heard some "I'm mad at you's" from the one to the other.  And it is usually the pint-size Sleeping Beauty turning her Hulk-size rage on her big sister.  They have gotten along famously for the most part though and are inseparable.  I am so thankful for those times, even when they are few and far between.  More often than not the little sister so is happy to have her big sister home.  I am happy in that they have one another to play with and entertain one another.  I am not so thrilled with the constant keep-up-with-the-house-before-it-all-goes-to-pot feeling.  I feel we are one step away from living in a pit some days.  We are working really hard at keeping this house not only livable but clean.  And it is a haaaard job with the two girls and a dog around.


During the days of Thanksgiving Break 2010, there is a lot going on.  As soon as one activity is started for one, the other one bores of it quickly and makes way to making a new, possibly bigger mess, er activity.  I have to remind them countless times to clean up one mess before beginning another.  Cinderella does well with this but only really when she is reminded, so to me it feels like it is battle that is always being fought.  Sleeping Beauty, on the other hand, lives to create chaos, messes and destroy our home.  And she is good at all of those. I am wondering if I can rent her out to demolish old buildings or something similar to make some money to help pay for her food and clothing.  She eats like a teenage boy and dresses like she is ready for a fashion photo shoot and she has expensive taste.


Tutus are strewn about the room.  Poor Princess Furry Pants is covered in princess gowns with a semi-pleased look on her face.  But to the girls she looks downright hilarious and thus begins a new makeover/dress-up game.  Giggles fill the air as the three girls play and run circles around one another.  Princess Furry Pants tires first because, let's face it, she thinks she is a cat and needs exactly twenty-three good hours of sleep to function.  And by function I mean that she has to be able to make it to the backyard to do her "doggy business," make it to her food and water bowls and police the two girls at all times.  Times like these make me realize how truly blessed I am.


During the course of the day countless activities take place.  Several what feels like countless outfits are worn, some for dress up play and some out of necessity.  They are princesses, but they are messy princesses.  The laundry piles stay high now matter what I do and how hard I work.  It is a good day when the clean, unfolded pile is higher than the dirty clothes pile.  I really think the clothes multiply and I really could write a whole other post on my theories about laundry...


Arts and crafts must take place and that can mean anything from drawing to taping numerous things to a wall to actually drawing or cutting something for Cinderella.  Cinderella loves tape and would probably be happy to get tape for Christmas.  To Sleeping Beauty, arts and crafts means "seek and destroy" her sister's hard work.  It usually ends with one in tears and the other laughing. Can you guess which one is laughing?!


We have numerous baby dolls to be swaddled, fed, burped, patted and stepped on.  :)  The last courtesy of Sleeping Beauty.  The girls ask one another to babysit their respective babies.  I feel bad for Cinderella's babies because Sleeping Beauty has yet to learn to be gentle.


We have fights over how to fix one's hair and who gets to go first and who gets which bow.  It is never dull here and if it is, it won't be for long because that is when they are up to something and yet another mess will ensue.


As one can see, it is certainly not boring here.  There are always messes, squabbles, drama, pretty clothes and accessories strewn about the house.   But there are always a lot of hugs, kisses and "I love you's." 


I am truly thankful.  

Savannah, GA in October 2010
Cinderella has her eyes closed.  :o)

Happy Thanksgiving from our pit to yours!  ;)

Time to Be Thankful

This month, with Thanksgiving just around the corner, I have decided that with each post I will add something in which I am thankful.  Americans tend to complain a lot and I must be 200% American because I looooove to complain.  The King of Crazies says that I am an "American't," but that post is for another day.


I have not been feeling well for a few days so today I would like to be thankful for this laptop my dad gave me in "new-to-me condition."  For without this laptop, I would not be able to find you, dear reader, and grumble and complain about how my face hurts.  It actually burns.  I either can't breathe or my nose is so runny I have actually stuck a tissue up it to dam up the works.  It's a surprise from one minute to the next what my nose will do.  :o/  I suspect it is at least a sinus infection and I will find out soon when I see the doctor.


Aside from obviously being thankful Halloween wasn't ruined by this sickness is the fact that the princesses had fun.  I was beginning to go downhill but made it until after they went to bed after Trick-or-Treating before collapsing.  I have many pictures to share and will get to it soon.  I am coming out of a Nyquil haze to take myself to get doctored.     


Another thing I am thankful for is the fact that my mother lives close enough, and is actually willing, to help me with the kids.  And the fact that she actually takes Sleeping Beauty and lets her demolish her own home and eat all of her food while I rest and go to the doctor isn't lost on me.  :)  Sleeping Beauty is TINY for her age but let me tell you, that gal can EAT.  Sorry if you have to go hungry tonight, Dad...a Crazy was there!


I'm off in a bit...

Merry Hallow-giving?!

Am I the only one noticing that the Christmas decorations are out in the stores earlier each year? Did I forget to take my crazy pills?!

I have always laughed at the fact that the stores seem to push the selling of items for Christmas and its decorations extremely early. In the summer months the malls would have the "Back to School" sales start with specials on clothing for the fall and for school. Then with those, the introduction of fall decor: Pumpkins, scarecrows, decorations for the home in oranges, browns, burgundies, and dark yellows.

The notebooks, pencils, folders, paste that the weird kids ate and backpacks are out next. As a little girl, this was the very worst sight to behold during my months of summer fun. My sister felt the same way. Our days of roller skating in the garage were coming to an end. I felt the end of the world was near and that before I would know it, I'd be back in school, day in and day out. I felt I would be held hostage by the state and forced to learn things I didn't want to learn. I wanted to play!! Never mind the fact that I still had plenty of time. Drama, anyone?! Where do my princesses get being drama queens from?! When one is a child, Christmas takes what seems like ten years to come and summer is over in a matter of days. Consequently, the opposite it true once one is a parent. Funny how life works. School starts as early as August in some states and as late as September, after Labor Day, in others. The school supplies would be out in the stores around Independence Day and depending on where we were living, the summer was either just getting started or winding down in my mind. My dad was in the Navy so we were like ping pong balls, moving from coast to coast, country to country. Some summers really were shorter than others when we left an area that got out for the summer later and moved to area that started school in early August. Those times blew chunks. No matter where we were, I could feel the days slipping by...faster and faster. It was as if, as the days moved forward and toward the days I would be trapped in school, someone, maybe my worn out mom, ;o) was pressing a fast forward button.

I soon reconciled myself to the days of "homework first, then play time." I would look forward to my birthday in the middle of October and Halloween! Halloween is still one of my very favorite holidays and a lot of my most cherished childhood memories were on this holiday. My mom would make our costumes as young children and sometimes Halloween snacks for our classes at school. We'd eat her homemade chili, a tradition I now have with my own family, and then my dad would take my sister and me out Trick-or-Treating. Then, several years later, my little brother came along and my dad would take the three of us out while my mom stayed home and handed out candy to all the little princesses, super heroes, witches and such.

My younger sister (left) and me

                            

Halloween in the early 1980's. 

After my stomachache subsided and the cavities were filled by the dentist, the glorious Christmas decorations and toys would be out in the stores. Never mind the fact that we hadn't even bought, cooked and swallowed our turkey dinner on Thanksgiving. Christmas was coming!! Yahoooooo! Then time began to creep by very, very, verrrrry slowly.

That was then. Back in the days of yore. And when dinosaurs roamed the earth. You see, my kids think we are ancient. All kids think their parents are when they are young. Now the stores are pushing Christmas, sometimes before Halloween is ever even considered. It seems like Halloween is even skipped over. Not a money maker I suppose.

Three years ago, a couple days after having Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and I were out running errands. Christmas had exploded on the scene. It was October the eleventh. This made my two and a half year old Cinderella very pleased. I was left feeling like I was in some time warp and a panic swept over me as I realized I now had TWO kids! I was tired and worn out from just giving birth, having a newborn and a toddler and a house to run and it was about to be the end of me. A few months later I really struggled with something that only God and the King of the Crazies know about. I had postpartum depression and it took me almost a year to fight my way out to the other side. It was a hard time in my life and it was hard on my family but we came through stronger because of it. I will share more on this in a later post. I am starting to be of the mind set that if I can help someone, even just one person, I can get over the fact that it is embarrassing to admit.

A woman can have Post Partum Depression (or PPD) any time in the year after giving birth.

So, there you have it. It may feel like you are in some time warp or "Back in Time" a la Marty McFly, but...

MERRY HALLOW-GIVING!!