Thanksgiving Weekend 2011

I wanted to get this post done yesterday....

and I also had every intention of updating my blog daily during my long weekend....

But that just didn't happen....

So you'll just have to be happy with one weekend re-cap post. 

I figured if I didn't do a post soon, some of you might be worried I was injured during my annual Black Friday extravaganza.

No need to fear, at this point in my life, I'm a professional.

:)

I started my four day weekend out just as I always do...

Thursday's paper with all the Black Friday ads

and something to eat.  

Bacon, Eggs, Hashbrowns, a pumpkin spice muffin and a diet soda.

Breakfast. of. Champions.

My turkey turned out Fantastic!

(brining is really the only way to go)

A little vino to wash it down....

Just a bit... I had a loooooong night ahead of me.

The whole Gang at dinner. 

We ate at 3 to give me plenty of time to clean up and prep for the night.

Everyone was gone by 6 and we finalized our lists.

We were out the door by 8:30pm.

This was the first year that the sales started so early it almost didn't feel like Thanksgiving.  I really like my "power nap" before heading out, but with the first sale starting at 9pm...there was no time!  So, I tucked the kids into bed, threw on my outfit for "battle" and headed out.

Mom, Brit and Me.  

Just the Girls.  

Black Friday is not for the weak.

You have to pick your group with caution. 

We decided this year that we would invite Mary to go with us.

We were in line at Toys R Us by 8:45.  The line was so long that it wrapped all the way around the building to receiving.  The store opened at 9pm.  Any special they had could have been ours if we wanted it.  The night was looking good!  We were in and out by 9:20 and on to Walmart.

The parking lot was so packed, we had to walk 3 blocks from a residential neighborhood to get in.  The sales at Walmart did not start until 10pm.  We were in the door by 9:50.  It was INSANE. Mary met up with us at Walmart. She was the perfect addition to our Posse.  We finally made it in line, and were able to get EVERYTHING on our list.  Yay!  We were done by 11:30pm and on to Target that opened at Midnight. 

Here is a snap shot from my Mom's Iphone of our cart at Walmart.  Now mind you....this cart is for 4 people.  

We patiently waited in line at Target, found EVERYTHING again on our list, INCLUDING special electronics and were done and on to Kohls by 1:30am.  Then we went to Macy's Home store, Sears, Macy's woman, JCPenny's and finished our adventure at Mcdonalds for some fine dining.

Here is a picture of the four of us at breakfast at 6am.

(Brit got cut off, because the lady next to us said she couldn't work an Iphone...Dude.)

All in all it was a success!  Lots of gifts done! Yay!

There were a few mishaps along the way....There may or may not have been a small brawl in between the cosmetics and deodorant aisle at Target....But still!  Lots of nice people, fun with my girls and so many good buys!  I can't wait till next year! (I'm not gonna lie....there was a *tiny* bit of mourning at the trash can on Friday night as the ad's went in....)

;)

As always, much to my Husbands dismay...Christmas "threw up" on our house after my Morning nap on Friday. Jack was SO excited to decorate the Tree.  The Holiday's are so much fun with the kids.  I think it might kill him to wait until December 1st to open the first door on the Advent Calendar my MIL prepares for them every year.

Saturday Afternoon was Janice's Baby Shower. She is due in 8 days!!

Saturday night was Miss Lindsey's Birthday.  The ladies headed out for a night on the town.

And Sunday was for rest.  Lots and lots of rest. 

Monday came too quickly.....

I have so much to be Thankful for.

My Husband who puts up with me and all my crazy antics and loves me unconditionally, Always.

My children who put a smile on my face everyday.

My new puppy who reminds me daily what patience is.

My family who is always there for me, No. Matter. What.

My friends who keep me grounded and sane.

My job and Clayton's job that helps pay our bills to keep a roof over our head and food on our table.

My health, so I'm able to do all the things in life that I want.

The list goes on and on.

I am truly blessed.

 And So so grateful for all I have.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Good Bye Baby Bed! Hello Big Girl Bed!

It's been a long time coming....

and I've been dragging my heels...

We finally converted Madeline's crib into her "Big Girl Bed".

And she couldn't be more excited.

She immediately grabbed all of her dolls and placed them in her "new" bed.

Doesn't she look HUGE in this picture???

Where did my Baby go???

Last night was our first night of the change, and she did quite well....

Tonight was night two and was not as successful.

Everything takes some time to get used to...

Mostly I'm just sad we are done with the Crib.

I loved this crib.  I remember looking online and finding it with Clay's Mom.  I loved that it was red, and like no other crib I had ever seen.

  It's so hard to let go of the last of the baby items.

But it was time...

I'll miss placing her into her bed after singing to her every night.

I'll miss reaching into her bed in the morning and pulling her out for big morning hugs.

I'll miss watching her Macgyver her way out of her crib every night to sneak downstairs.

But at least I have moments like these recorded to remember those days fondly:

Madeline was definitely ready to say Good Bye to her "old" bed.

Before I know it, we'll be decorating her Dorm room.....

Awwwww...

Weekend fun in Cambria

This weekend we drove to Beautiful Cambria.

If you haven't been.....You should go!  It's a fantastic quaint little town, about 20 minutes from Paso Robles on Hwy 1.

We stayed here:

The Pickford House.

It had 9 rooms and an off site guest house.  Each room had it's own bathroom!  There was a HUGE kitchen, and a great room with a antique restored Bar.  We went with my Dad's side.

We were there to celebrate my Grandparents 80th Birthdays and 60 years of Marriage, which all happen to fall in the same year.

The ENTIRE family made it.

All 24 of us.

And it didn't feel cramped at all.  There was PLENTY of room for everyone. 

Here is our room

In case you were wondering, 4 bodies fit across....
(some of us were afraid of the cot in the room)

The Hallway of rooms

All meals were served in the main room.  Everyone ate together.

Saturday Morning we woke up and headed to the beach.

We couldn't have ordered better weather.

Madeline took an immediate liking to Auntie Debbie.

Jack had to get in.
(if you look closely he is wet up to his HIPS)

Mr. Kirbyface enjoyed some football time in the sand.


My Mother and Aunt thought it would be a good idea to spell out our Family name.

Since there are 9 Grandchildren
and 9 Letters.

They put us in order of age

I being the oldest got "R" Then Chris was O, Nick was B, Trevor was E, Benny was a lower case "r"..

Keith was T, Dan was S, Max was little "o" and Jake was "n".

(I guess it's clear where my crazy photo ideas come from....)

A lot of time was spent here.  The family cooked all the meals.  Well....
The Women cooked the meals.

There were intense games of Connect Four.

And Piano play

And puzzles....

Until....

The Karaoke machine was found....

And then it became clear...

That

EVERYONE....

Has a song...

that compels them...

to grab the microphone

Myself included.


Madeline enjoyed the show

Especially

When Oma joined in the fun...

And you can imagine my shock...

When Mr. Kirbyface grabbed the Mic.
That's right.  Even Mr. Kirbyface has a "Song".  I think I actually had to pick my chin up off the floor when I saw him reach for it.

Just for the Record.  Clayton's song that compels him, is "The Joker".

It was a great weekend. Filled with lots of family time, delicious food, and fun.

Who knows...

Maybe this will turn into an Annual Family Weekend!

Which would be fine with me!

As we came down off the pass, on our way home we were greeted by this

It was so nice to get away.... But even nicer to be Home Sweet Home.

:)

Now that Thanksgiving has been officially kicked off...

I'm on to perfect my Menu.

Turkey is being enjoyed at MY house this year!

Get ready to loosen those belts!

Flashback Friday!

With Thanksgiving just around the corner......

Jack would like to remind you to..

Eat lots of Pumpkin Pie!

(Every time I look at this photo I think of my friend Summer.  I sent this photo out to all my Girlfriends in an email and Summer replied with the comment, "You're a Strange Mommy."  Dude. Putting your child in a carved Pumpkin is completely acceptable....I'm just sayin...)

Our Thanksgiving festivities always start the weekend before Thanksgiving day.  So we are off to have some family fun in Cambria!

Hope your Thanksgiving week starts off with a Bang!

Not your run of the mill Monday....

Brittany scored 8 crabs from her Dad's latest crabbing adventure in Half Moon Bay!

She's is so sweet, and brought over all 8 to my house tonight!

My plan for dinner was Beef Stroganoff, but move over, beef!  

Mmmm...

How I love me some Crab!

Then Lynne stopped by with some Champagne!

And before I knew it I had a regular Christmas Eve Dinner on my hands!

The kids weren't too sure about Crab yet...

So they had Chicken Nuggets....

and somebody left their plate unattended....

Oops!

See!  Mondays can be AWESOME!

Flashback Friday!

This week marks the end of my Happy Birthday Posts.

I hope you enjoyed them!

:)

I started thinkin...

It's time for something new.

I haven't been blogging long....

Which means two things:

a) I don't have a lot documented that I wished I did,  ie-first steps, first words, family vacations, first Birthdays, etc.

and 

2) I should have listened to Tegan and Roseanne a LONG time ago.

So. 

To make up for lost time, I will start doing Flashback Fridays.

And today is the first Flashback.

Three years ago today I found out I was pregnant with Madeline.

It was a tad different than how I found out with Jack.  With Jack I was peeing on a stick, while talking to a girlfriend on the phone with another girlfriend in the bathroom with me. 

When I got pregnant with Madeline, I just knew.  I could feel it.

I ran out and secretly bought a pregnancy test at Target.

No one knew we were trying.

Well...

Besides Kim.  (I have my reasons)

I took the test at 4am in our guest Bathroom, with only the light from the outside window to see the line appear.  As it started to appear I remember blinking, and bringing the test as close to my face as possible, and then finally giving in and turning the light on, just for a minute to not wake up Clay.  (I wanted to tell Clay in a really special way, and didn't want to get his hopes up if the test was negative.)

It wasn't.

  I was ECSTATIC. 

If you know me....I have a hard time keeping my mouth shut.  I talk to my girlfriends, and Mother, and Grandmother about EVERYTHING.

Keeping something from them is pure torture for me. 

I immediately had to get my plan into action.

I went to a local Maternity and Baby store and purchased a T-shirt that said "I'm the Big Brother".

I was over the top excited.  I couldn't contain myself. 

I blurted out to the salesgirl 

"I just found out this Morning I'm pregnant!"

Sometimes I still can't believe that the first person I told was the girl behind the counter at Bellies and Babies.

(and the girl in the dressing room who over heard us talking and stuck her head out to say congratulations)

As soon as I got home that night, I broke out the camera and prepped Jack.

He could even say it.  

It took Clay what felt like an eternity to get home that night.

He walked through the door, Jack jumped on the couch and said:

"Ine gonna be a brover!"

I will never forget the look on Clay's face.  Shock, excitement, and a little bit of worry all in one.

He looked at me and said 

"Really???"

The next morning I sent out that exact picture to my Girlfriends with the subject title to the email: 

"First Come, First Serve." 

 (We are all kind of territorial when it comes to pregnancy.  I mean...Come on...Who doesn't want to be the first to know!)

I won't say who responded to the email first...

We told the rest of the family over the Holiday's in the same way.  It was fun to see them read the shirt and then watch the light bulb go off.  

(some took longer than others)

 9 months later my daughter was born. 

P.s. That shirt is in Jack's keepsake box...Maybe it will fit his son for a big announcement someday... No pressure  ;)

Puppy Love

Meet Henry.

The newest addition to our family.

Today we took a very long drive to pick up our perfect puppy.

Awww...

The ride was longer for some more than others.

He is such a happy boy!

The kids adore him.

And he has LOTS of love to give back to them.

I have a feeling he will be my new favorite subject to photograph.

I mean seriously.
How can you resist this face???

It took some time for us to decide to get another dog.  And we thought long and hard about all the work, and time and money that a puppy requires.

But....

We are a dog family.
So the decision was easy.

And we are so excited!

 Welcome Home Henry!

We're so glad you're here!