Thanksgiving Photos

Hey All! A few Thanksgiving photos for you to enjoy. This first one is Grandma Dorothy, Grandpa Harvey and I chatting after our big dinner and, of course, PECAN PIE!! (Harvey and Dorothy are John, Lucy and Isaac's Great Grandparents.)

This next photo is Lucy and I playing rock-paper-scissors together. I love this photo for two reasons: one, Lucy is laughing and smiling so much, and two, Thomas is trying to eat the pies in the background.

Next is Lucy and Megan enjoying the nice weather and sunshine at the park, across the street from Harvey and Dorothy's home.
Another smiler, enjoying the playground after turkey. John requested a turkey sandwich, rather than turkey cut up on a plate. I was not surprised! He loves sandwiches. Doesn't he have the sweetest cheeks when he smiles?

Right now Boo is Mr. Roly-Poly. He will roll himself all the way across a room. Then you pick him up, bring him back to where he started, and he rolls all the way across again! In this photo, Boo rolled himself right onto Grandma Dorothy's slipper, which she got a real kick out of.

And finally, Daddy and Boo end a nice day by reading a book of words together. Kevin and I thought this might have been the first book we read to Isaac. He has looked at books and played with/chewed on books, but hasn't listened to any until now. A special moment!

Flagrant Rule Breaking

OK. So, I have been listening to Christmas music all week. I know!!! Someone said to me (hint: it was Kevin) "Thanksgiving is simply a speed bump on the road to Christmasland." I don't think that! Thanksgiving is important for its own reasons! Really. But, I have been listening to Christmas music anyway.

I forgot another of my very favorites: I'll Be Home For Christmas.

This morning I went onto the JC Penney web site and on their home page, there was an option to sign up for a Black Friday wake up call. People, the day the JC Penney web site calls me to wake up and start shopping is the day I need to take a serious look at my life.

Happy Thanksgiving! We are off to Freeport bright and early in the morn.

Broke "The Rule"

This weekend I broke "the rule." What is the rule you ask? It's listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving. I absolutely love Christmas music and listen to it just about 24/7 for the entire Christmas season. So, to keep my family from going bonkers (and because it's just not right to mistreat Thanksgiving like that), I have a strict rule of no Christmas music until the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Well, on the way to Ohio this weekend, I was scanning through the radio stations and somewhere past Indianapolis I found a station that was already playing all Christmas music. For a split second I thought about changing the station, but instead gleefully broke the rule and we all had a good laugh about it.

Here are a few of my favorites, and least favorites too. Check some of the best out on ITunes and you won't regret it! Go ahead and check out the awful ones too just for fun.

**Post some of your Christmas music likes and dislikes in the comments, please!**

Absolute worst Christmas song of all time: It's a tie between "Wonderful Christmastime" by Paul McCartney, and "Last Christmas" by Wham. Although, I think McCartney takes it by a hair.

The Why, Dear God, Why award goes to: "The Christmas Shoes" by NewSong. Why, dear God, why, would someone make a song about a little boy with no money whose mother dies of cancer on Christmas Eve?? I can start crying within the first five notes of this song. I have been known to stop mid-sentence and leap across the kitchen to change the station when this comes on. Blech.

Absolute best secular Christmas song: "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" by Judy Garland. Are you surprised that my fave is from a musical?

Absolute best sacred Christmas song: Tie between "Jesus, Born On Christmas Day" by Avalon and "Welcome To Our World" by Chris Rice. Not to be missed.

Some other favorites: "Do You Hear What I Hear" by Whitney Houston, anything by the Carpenters, "The Christmas Song" by Nat King Cole

Some other duds: anything by Aaron Neville, "Pretty Paper" by Willie Nelson, "Run Run Rudolph" sung by anyone.

One More Thing

Couldn't turn off the computer without posting this. The brain trust of Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz had a baby boy yesterday and named him Bronx Mowgli Wentz. Darn it! Why didn't I think of that one?

Just imagine being 75 years old and named Bronx Mowgli.

Away

I'll be away from the computer for the next few days. Have a great weekend everyone!!

Presidential Prayers

Something about this morning's prayer requests for the President and President-Elect really struck me. I thought there were so many important and pressing needs addressed, and although it is so easy to get caught up in the difficulties of our own lives sometimes, there is so much need throughout the country and the world. I thought I would post them here so others can also be praying.
I really like the Presidential prayer team, because they aren't partisan but instead are just presenting you with what's happening with the president and asking for prayer in each instance. No matter who the president is or what he's doing, the PPT's goal is to be supportive through prayer. Also, it helps me stay informed about the president's day-to-day actions, more than I would otherwise.
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Pray for President Bush as he prepares for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC) in Lima, Peru 11/20-23, asking God to protect and guide him throughout. Pray for these leaders as they work on critical economic and business issues.
Pray also for President Bush as he hosts the annual White House Turkey pardoning in the Rose Garden 11/26. Pray for the children who are invited to this to learn much and to experience great joy at the 61st occurrence of this White House tradition.
Pray for President Bush as he works for a strong and positive changeover with President Elect Obama’s transition team, asking for God’s wisdom and grace.
Pray for President Bush and members of Congress as they consider plans to help the automobile industry.
Pray for President Elect Obama as he continues to consider key cabinet appointments, asking God for great wisdom and discernment.
Pray for the crew of Space Shuttle Endeavour as they continue repairs on the International Space Station. Pray for their safety and success and for the spirit of God to be present with them.
Pray for the members of President Elect Obama’s transition team as they communicate daily with members of President Bush’s administration seeking an effective transition.
Pray particularly for Dan Terullo, liaison to Treasury Sec’y Paulson, as the two men work together on concerns with the economic recovery plan.
Pray for President Elect Obama and Mrs. Obama as they consider the many details related to their move to Washington, D.C. after many years in Chicago, asking God for wisdom and grace in decisions ranging from where daughters Malia and Sasha will attend school to what church the family will attend. Pray for grace in these concerns, particularly that they will have the spiritual support and nurture they need as a family.
Pray for God’s complete protection for President Elect Obama, as threats on his life continue to be raised. Pray that any plots to harm him will be uncovered before they can be implemented. Pray for those who have been impacted by wildfires in Southern California last week, asking God to comfort all who have lost homes and businesses, providing their every need from His vast resources.
Continue to pray for the many families, business owners and workers who are deeply impacted by the current economic crisis, asking God to be their strength and comfort. Pray that our nation’s churches and helping ministries will step up to meet needs.

Laundry

Actually, adjusting to having three kids really has not been that bad. A friend of mine, who is having her third, asked me a few weeks ago if I had any advice to prepare her for the transition. So I have been reflecting about this. We had a lot of help for the first 4-5 weeks of Isaac's life, and that took a lot of pressure off of me and made sure John and Lucy were still getting attention and getting their needs met. Over the summer, I kept my expectations low and stayed home a lot. If the kids wanted a playmate, we invited friends over to our house to make it easiest on Boo (plus it's not quite so awkward nursing in front of people in your own home). Kevin or I grocery shopped after everyone was asleep, and anything else we needed, we tried to buy online. Kevin kept his work schedule flexible, and would work at night or early in the morning if I needed a little extra help around dinnertime or had a Dr. appointment, etc.
Since the kids started school in late August, we have really gotten into the groove of each day. We have a good daily schedule that works almost all the time. Isaac and his little things have just fit into our family and I think all five of us are happy about how things are going.
If there is anything that irks me about being a family of five, it is THE LAUNDRY. What a mom thing to say, no? It's true though. The one thing I didn't expect to change so much is the amount of laundry I feel buried under! Before Isaac was born, the laundry was something I did once or maybe twice per week. I could leave a basket of unfolded clothes sitting around the house for quite some time before I needed the basket, or someone was out of underwear, etc. Now the laundry has become a part of our daily chores, along with washing the dishes, making John's lunch and getting the mail. I have to do a little bit every day. Our one tiny little Boo seems to have doubled the amount of dirty stuff that needs cleaning. (Well, that's not entirely fair to pin it all on Boo - since John easily gets skin infections I have been extra careful about having him use towels only once, wear a pair of pajamas only once, change his undies two or three times per day, etc. to try and protect his skin more.) I usually put a load in the washer before bed, and when I get up, and sometimes once or twice during the day too. Hanging clothes up in everyone's closets and putting away folded clothes is now a part of my daily morning routine.
I am not particularly happy about this, but I feel better trying to stay on top of it. If the kids can scale the pile of dirty laundry, then I waste an entire day on it rather than a little bit every morning. Plus, John and Lucy are at the ages where they have favorite things they like to wear to school. For Lucy it's pink things, for John it's his blue jeans. So those things go through the wash sometimes 3x per week.
I think if this is my biggest problem, we are doing just fine. And for the most part, it is. Lately Boo is waking up between 4:45 am and 5:30 am. I am a little frustrated by this because I think it could be his wakeup time for a while now, like through toddlerhood. But at the same time, I just sit in the rocking chair and nurse him, watch the news, and then go in the shower before anyone else is up. So even that's not all bad. When John was a baby, I about wanted to leap off our apartment building when he woke up that early. Our kids mellow us over time I guess!
I do feel like I spend so much time and energy on our daily maintenance needs (i.e. laundry, dishes, making food, giving baths, picking up toys, etc.) that when it is time to do some cleaning, I never get to the less frequent tasks that are still important. For example, all of the kids' 4T and 5T sized clothes are in piles on a table in our basement waiting to be sorted and put away into bins. I would love to be taking better care of these items but just never have the time to do that job. This is not a big deal, but you get what I am saying.
OK, I better go and fold a basket of...you guessed it!