Happy Thanksgiving!

Every year on Thanksgiving we head to Dave’s parents’ house.  I feel very lucky that all I need to do on Thanksgiving is show up with a couple of side dishes (I’m going to post the recipe for one of them later this week), with my mother-in-law in charge of most of the meal. 

Tom and Julie

Here’s the menu:  turkey (duh), mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, sweet potato casserole, broccoli, mushrooms in sour cream, squash, and cranberry relish.  Everything is DElicious.

Here is Dave’s dad carving the guest of honor. 

 

The only ones missing this year were Dave’s sister Sue’s family.  Sue hosted her husband’s family at their house and joined us later for supper leftovers.  Can you see in the photo above that Maddie is already dishing out the cranberry relish, it is her favorite!  Ben’s favorite is the turkey or the sweet potato casserole, and Jack’s favorite is the stuffing or possibly the olives (I’m not kidding, he loads his plate with those things).

No one was ready for dessert after that meal, so after we cleaned up, we headed down to the Quittie for a walk.  Click here and here to see some of our past Quittie walks.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous on Thanksgiving.  We needed jackets, but the sun was shining, and the ground was dry.


After our walk, we had some dessert (pecan pie, pumpkin roll, pumpkin pie, pumpkin dump cake, pumpkin cookies...do you think we had enough pumpkin in there?), football was watched, ping pong and wall ball was played in the basement, and the waiting game for the cousins began.  We also looked at old photos:

Here is Dave’s dad and Dave with their dog, Cleo.  Several people said they could really see Jack in Dave in this picture.  Can you?  I have a hard time seeing it.

Finally the cousins arrived and the party really started!  Appetizers and then Thanksgiving leftovers were laid out and we eventually said goodbye to everyone and waddled ourselves out to the car. 
That’s a lot to be thankful for.

Squelching the Rumors

We had a super lazy weekend.  Nothing planned except for flu shots.

Everything went smoothly, with no crying.  Click here to see how flu shots went three years ago.  It’s a nice reminder that sometimes when the kids get bigger and more mature, it’s a good thing.  Jack actually went first for the shot, but he didn’t want me to take his picture.  Maddie did a little dance for him to make him forget about the shot, so in the picture above, Maddie is watching Jack dance for her.  Ben remained quietly behind me while the two of them got their shots, and didn’t cry when it was his turn, but did give me a panicked look, so I put down the camera and hugged my boy.

On Sunday morning, Maddie’s PREP (or Sunday School) class was in charge of the children’s monthly mass.  She and another girl got to read the announcements, and she did great, no spitting, tripping. or unintentional swear words slipping out (as you can imagine, she’s got to be so careful about that last one).

We were sitting in the front row because it was also “Enrollment” Sunday for the Second Grade class, which means that Father had the second graders stand and he asked them questions about their intent to love God and Jesus, etc. since it is their year to take First Holy Communion (in May).  Jack said “yes” to everything except the first question when I whispered to him, “Say ‘I do’!” so he did, but then Father asked the kids to say “yes” and I got a dirty look from Jack.  Hmph.  Last time I try to help.

So, now we get to the rumors I am squelching.  

I am way worried that my church congregation thinks Dave and I are either separated or just really don’t like each other, because since August, we have been arriving at church at different times (or even attending different masses) for a varied number of reasons (for instance, today I had to attend a 9:00 meeting during PREP time, so Dave joined me later for mass.  I tried waiting with the kids in the back for him, but I was worried there wouldn’t be seats left in the front for the second graders, so we went in without him). 

Here are some more reasons we are arriving at different times (I am thinking of having this posted in the church bulletin, what do you think?):

-from mid-August to mid-September, Dave went in early so he could speak/sign people up for the golf tournament he and some friends were organizing.

-Twice Ben was altar server for the early mass and we decided to let Maddie sleep, so she, Jack, and I went to the later mass.

-Maddie and I were away for the swim clinic weekend.

-Dave took the boys to the early service on Jack’s birthday so they could attend an open house at the Sportsman’s Club later that morning.  Maddie and I went to the later service.

-Last week, we arrived together, but Dave took Jack to the bathroom, and the big kids and I walked in and sat down, before I realized my error.

-And of course, this week, with my 9:00 meeting, we sat down and Dave arrived 10 minutes later just as Maddie was about to read the opening announcements.  You know the busybodies were whispering about that.

Dave thinks I’m crazy.  Dave thinks I’m hypersensitive.  Dave thinks I care too much what other people think.  Dave refuses to give me more than a peck on the lips during Sign of Peace even though I have begged him for a more…extended Sign of Peace, shall we say.  Dave refuses to engage in a makeout session with me after church in the vestibule, which I just know would stop those tongues from wagging (or at least cause them to wag about how inappropriately in love we are with each other.).  So I have to be content with smiling at him a lot, and faking silent laughter at his nonexistent jokes, and picking imaginary lint off of his collar in a loving, possessive way, which can be exhausting.

So, people, we are still totally in love with each other, so stop all the talk and fuss, you should all be ashamed of your darn selves. 

What Would Jesus Do?  He would say, “Beth and Dave, you guys rock, and also, stop making out, that’s totes disgusting.”

The Disappearing Maddie Trick

Dave’s birthday was last Friday.  He’s older than I am…that’s all you need to know.

Jack played “Happy Birthday” for us on the piano as we sang to him, which explains why Jack’s missing from the picture below.

But then he joined us as Dave smiled for the camera…

…and made his wish…

And I really don’t know what he wished for.  Maybe healthy kids or a low golf score or that his candles wouldn’t set the house on fire.  But what he should have wished for…

…was that his darling oldest child wouldn’t fall off of her chair.  Because she did.

                                 Happy Birthday, Big D!  We all love you!  (Especially the one in hysterics on the floor.)

October Instagram

Good Lord, I don’t even remember October.  I will do my best for you people, but don’t be surprised if I start making things up.

In early October, I was so excited to see a truck o’pumpkins drive by!  I got to the intersection just as the light was turning red, and as the truck slowly started moving forward, I whipped out my phone and got my shot!  Sort of like an old timey cowboy, minus the holster.  However, now that I think about it, a holster would be an excellent place to store your phone.  I could probably also stick miniature KitKats down in the bottom for those times when the grub around the campfire is beans again.  Cause it’s always beans when you’re a cowboy.

           You can tell the people in the cars behind me are totes jeal of my holster idea.

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Jack and Maddie got to do the yard marker at Ben’s last flag football game of the season.  They actually did a great job, following along with the ref, and moving the sign to the appropriate spot.  Maddie would dip the sign down so Jack could change the numbers.  Jack eventually got bored about halfway through the game and came over and joined me on the sidelines, but then Maddie was happy that she could have a turn switching the numbers.

On the way into the game that day, I snapped these two pictures of Maddie, which may be among my favorites out of the whole year:

We parked at the bottom of this huge, leaf covered hill.  I was already taking pictures (you’ll see one that follows) when she slipped on the leaves and slid down the hill.  She was laughing hysterically, and I’m just so happy that I captured that moment!

Here’s one when she made it to the top.  I’d say it looks all arty except for the darn car that’s in the bottom corner of the picture, but still, I like it.


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Jack made his bed and set up his stuffed animal collection and asked me to take a picture.

                                       I love that he’s giving the Despicable Me minion bunny ears.

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Herbert loves to lounge.  And we love to pat his chubby belly when he lounges.  It’s a win-win situation, people.


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We lost another fish.  Jack was very sad and cried a lot until I reminded him that he could pick out a new one at Wal-Mart.  He added Christopher to the fishy graveyard where he joined Molly and Gibby then swam his little fishy self to that aquarium in the sky.  Our new fish is a sucker fish that Jack named Alex and he keeps the tank super clean.  I love him and his little algae-eating self.


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Remember I showed you the picture of Dave and me at the Halloween party dressed as Alan and Stu from The Hangover?  (Scroll down one post to see the picture).    Alan wears a shirt in the movie called “Human Tree”.  I printed out a picture of it for Maddie and she drew/painted the design onto an old undershirt of Dave’s for me!

                        The sweaty pit stains only added to the realism.  Or so Dave told me.

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Here is Maddie getting her swim bag and the t-shirt she's wearing signed by some of the Olympic medalists at the clinic we attended. 

I’m out of frame here, busy forgetting my dang computer cord, or possibly trying on this awesome pair of shoes:

I could just kick myself that I didn’t buy them.  They would go perfectly with the sequined, low-cut little number I’m wearing to parent-teacher conferences this afternoon.  Note to Tara:  they can be found at the Burlington Coat Factory and would be an excellent addition to your collection.

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“May I interest you in ze cupcake du jour, madames et monsieurs?”

Here’s a little tip just for you.  When you are finished playing with your stick on mustache, it makes pretty awesome eyebrows!


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My mom stopped by the house on trick-or-treat night to see the kids in their costumes.  We knew she was coming, so Jack ran to the door when the doorbell rang.  Three seconds later he zipped back through the kitchen and hid in the living room.  This is why:

After he went and changed his underwear, he thought Grandma was pretty darn funny.

Happy (Slightly Belated) Halloween!

This year we carved our pumpkins just as Hurricane Sandy was warming up.  I, however, was not too terribly warmed up after attending an adult Halloween party the night before.   I think I may have indulged a little too much because I lived up to my costume’s namesake. 

                                    (Allan and Stu from The Hangover).

Anywho, with my head pounding away, we got busy.  We were dismayed to discover that our big pumpkin had rotted, but our three little pumpkins were good to go, so the kids got busy on their designs.  Ben did his in about 3 seconds and Jack’s took a few minutes, but Maddie spent at least an hour on hers.  She wanted to try shaving off the pumpkin’s face and then carving a design into the flesh.  She ended up carving Harry Potter into her pumpkin, but wasn’ t very happy with how it turned out.  I thought it was very cute though!

Ben’s on the left has a mustache.  Harry Potter is in the middle…it’s hard to see his glasses and lightning bolt scar, but they’re there.  Jack’s is a classic.

Thanks to Hurricane Sandy, our Trick-or-Treat night was pushed back one night, but I certainly can’t complain about that when you see the devastation she wrought along the east coast.  The extra time actually worked to my advantage as it gave me more time to finish Jack’s costume.

Photo below:  (back)-Maddie as Napolean Dynamite, Maddie’s friend Kelsey as grapes (don’t you love it?!), (front) Ben as Ghost from one of his video games, Ben’s friend Nathan as a banana (I didn’t notice his banana top was down until after the picture), and Jack as a chicken.

We walked together as a group for exactly one house:

And then Jack took off running.  It’s very hard for the average kid to keep up with him.  We tried going with friends last year, but in Jack’s words, “they’re slowing me down!”  So Kelsey’s mom (Dana)  and I raced around the neighborhood with Jack while Ben and Nathan went on their own, and Maddie and Kelsey went on their own.  We saw them occasionally on our race around the neighborhood, and I looked wistfully at other groups of neighbors all enjoying a leisurely stroll, socializing with each other, but for now, I just keep up with Jack.

Jack’s goal was to hit Santa’s house early this year (you do remember that Santa lives in our neighborhood, don’t you?)  Last year, by the time we got to Santa’s house he had already turned out his porch light.  Jack was heartbroken.  I gave him permission to ring the bell anyway, and luckily Santa and Mrs. Claus were happy to see him and had exactly one piece of candy left in their bowl.  Jack was not about to let that happen again this year.

Jack was spellbound.  Santa chatted him up and gave him his candy and complimented his costume, but Jack made no move to leave.  I seriously think he was just starstruck.  Eventually, after a few more HOHOHO’s, I thanked Santa and pulled Jack away.  Best moment of the night!

After about an hour and a half, Jack, Dana, and I were the last ones back.  The kids spread out their hauls and the trading began.

 

We had such a fun night, and within the hour we had all (especially me) collapsed into bed.

Happy Halloween!

Autumn and Herbie

My computer cord was delivered today while I was busy being sneezed on by a bunch of first graders.  Woo hoo!  Now, of all the posts swimming around in my fishbowl of a brain, I felt that Herbie’s fans would most appreciate a post devoted to him.  You’re welcome!

Let’s begin by taking a look at Herbie’s favorite fall flower, the chrysanthemum.

Herbie and I have had many a lively discussion debating the merits of the chrysanthemum vs. the aster, with Herbie stubbornly proclaiming the chrysanthemum’s superiority which  I think, quite frankly, is ridiculous.   I mean, you’d think he’d open his mind for a friendly discussion about bloom time or frost resistance or pollen production, but NOOO, it’s chrysanthemums all the time with him.  It actually gets a little annoying, if you want to know the truth.

When the chrysanthemum discussions get a little old and my head starts to hurt from all the eye rolling I’m doing, I take Herbie outside for a visit to Mr. Skeleton.  That always calms him the heck down!  Herb gets a little freaked out with these visits.  “What’s another nice fall flower Herbie?  That’s right, dude.  The aster.”

Herbie likes pumpkins though!

In fact, he loves pumpkin seeds so much that he usually starts begging to carve the pumpkins in mid-July, but I’m all, “Herbie, why you ackin’ so cra-cra?” and he’s all “If you really loved me you’d do it” then I’m all, “If you really loved me you’d stop pooping every two minutes” and then his shame takes over and he shuts up already about the stinkin’ pumpkin seeds.

Herbie also enjoys climbing amid the autumn foliage!  I bet you didn’t know guinea pigs could climb trees, did you?

He gets so excited that he just keeps climbing and climbing.  One time we had to call the fire department in to get him down, which was really quite embarrassing for everyone involved, especially me.  There were a lot of questions posed regarding my “competency” as a pet owner, but anyone who was really watching would have picked up on Herbie snickering as he sat in the fire fighter’s hat, whispering,  “Chrysanthemums rule” under his breath.  Seriously.  What I put up with.

Herbie is also always up for a good romp in the leaf pile.

In the picture below, Maddie is trying to get him to calm down.  Sometimes he takes leaf throwing a little far and more than one person has ended up in tears over Herbie’s crazed “tornado o’ flaming leaves” as he likes to call it.

“I sorry.  Can I has a pumpkin seed?”

Still, we love our sweet Herbie.  And we wouldn’t trade him for all the asters in the world.

I’m Back---But Not Really

I haven’t been able to blog and it’s been driving me crazy!

Two weeks ago, Maddie and I spent the weekend together at a swim clinic in New Jersey.  She swam and went to lectures with Olympic medalists (really, she did!)  and I hung out with my friend Ellie and the other moms and watched old Mad About You episodes, and went shopping and basically took it easy.  It was awesome!

Then when we got home, I realized I left the cord to my computer on the desk in the hotel room.  Now it’s two weeks later, and I still don’t have it back.  I’ve been waiting impatiently every day for the FedEx man but every day Ralph, Louis, and Demetrius (my Cherry Hill Housekeeping Management Team) let me down.

I have some blogpost ideas in my head.  I took a Fall Photoshoot of Herbie and I have all of our Halloween pictures and October Instagram and I CAN’T USE ANY OF IT! 

Last night Dave suggested I use his computer to update my blog, (and duh, why didn’t I think of that before?) but I can’t include any pictures so mostly you’re just getting this explanation.

And also this bonus photo from 2009 that was on Dave’s computer…

and this one from 2010.

And I hope I’ll be back soon.