11/22/12

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! Today was definitely a wonderful day. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Thanksgiving! First of all, of course I have so many infinite number of things to be thankful for. To name a few:

1. Thankful for the hubby. We fight, we argue and it isn't always pretty. But, he's my partner in crime...we've grown up together, we've lived so much life together and every day is a new adventure. I know he'll do anything for me and our family, and for that, I'm thankful.
2. Thankful for the little divas I've been blessed with.  No matter how crazy they drive me, or how trying they may be - they are a daily reminder of how amazing life truly is. They are so funny, so energetic, so full of life. They make me a better person, and make my life complete.
3. Thankful for my family...immediate, step, extended and by marriage. I may not see them as often as I'd like, or be as close to them as I wish, but I have so much family, and they are all such wonderful people, inside and out. I'm truly blessed to be surrounded by such them. Especially my parents, who I know would do anything and everything they could for us.
4. Thankful for my friends...the old, the new, the ones I see often, the ones I never see at all..."real life", online, highschoool, co-workers. My friends have helped make me the person I am, and are definitely more like family. For that, I'm grateful.
5. Thankful for our jobs, and everything that it provides for our family...from a house to keep us safe and warm, to the food on our table. From basic necessities to the few splurges we enjoy in life.

This year, we have a few extras to be thankful. I'm thankful we made the decision to put the girls in KinderCare. It's done WONDERS for their development, social, physical and educational. Watching them grow through REALLY learning has been amazing. It was a hard decision to make, a difficult step – but they are SO much better for it.

And, I'm thankful for our furbabies, especially our Rico Suave for still being with us.

It's been a year of challenges, but so many happy times and amazing memories. We have so much to be thankful for.

We were all up bright and early. Our rolls rose wonderfully overnight, so I started up the stove right away. Christian put the laundry room back together and cleaned up his handy-man mess while the girls and I ate our rolls and watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Amelia didn’t really care much, but Olivia loved seeing all of the balloons and characters this year. It’s so fun seeing them get into things more and more every year.

The weather today was amazing (well, the first half). So, after cleaning up and watching the Parade, Christian took the girls outside to trim some of the plants and bushes down and play for a while, and I got started on the food. I baked the apple and pumpkin pies, made the cranberry sauce and peeled the bags of potatoes. I got together all of the pans, measuring cups/spoons and everything we’d need for the cooking extravaganza. We were READY TO GO!

I got the girls down for their naps a tad early and we finished cleaning up, showering and getting ready for the day. Our family started arriving around 2:30 – this year it was us, my mom, her friend Jerry, Christian’s parents and his sister with her 3 girls. The men headed outside to fry the turkey (seriously, the ONLY way I will eat turkey – it’s amazing). The kids destroyed the basement, having the time of their lives together. And, we ladies got to cooking. I actually did a large majority of the cooking and prepping myself this year – I hope to do it ALL myself soon. My in-laws did bring the rolls and stuffing, and my mom brought some salad. We made the green bean casserole, cheesy potatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy couldn’t wait to eat.

We sat down to eat around 4:30 and OMG did I eat. So good. There’s nothing like a good, traditional Thanksgiving dinner. We cleaned up the kitchen and got everything put away…the girls went right back to playing while the adults all sat our full butts on the couch and watched some football. Eating is hard work! 

After a little rest, we all made our way outside to “flip the switch” on our Christmas lights – a tradition. The house looks so great! Every year we add a few more lights to the display, so it’s pretty exciting. The weather took a drastic turn today around 1:00/2:00, and it was FREEZING out at this point, with a nice coating of snow on the ground. We went from mid 60’s in the morning/early afternoon to upper 20’s with snow and wind tonight. That’s CRAZY!

We had some pie, and everyone started heading home. Christian has to work tomorrow, so it was a pretty early night for us too. I watched a couple shows while everybody else passed out, and called it a night myself. Another year down. Now, time to prepare for Christmas! I can’t believe it’s a little over a month away already. YAY!