Happy Thanksgiving!

Meredith & I set the table


Appetizers to tide the troops over until dinnertime


The family settles in to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner

Have Stove, Will Bake...

We typically go to my sister's house for a big, family Thanksgiving dinner. About 5 years ago my husband convinced me to give dinner a try at home, with just the immediate family. Well, the WHOLE family ended up with a horrible throwing up bug, so the turkey never even got into the oven and I swore that Thanksgiving would be at my sister's from there on out.

So, here we are. I gave into Michael again this year, and agreed to once again attempt Thanksgiving at the Bilbo's.

So, wouldn't you know it? A week and a half before Thanksgiving, my oven decides to die. Don't know what the heck happened, Meredith & I were making cookies, and when after waiting the 12 minutes for them to cook, I peeked into the oven and they were still cookie dough. Because the oven was 17 years old, we decided it wasn't worth having someone come to look at it - we'd invest in a new one instead.

After shopping around, I found the exact stove I wanted and proceeded to find out that it was not in stock in any local stores, so we'd have to order it online. Not a problem, still plenty of time to get it delivered...or so I thought. We ended up with a delivery date of the day before Thanksgiving - cutting it mighty close, but I can do it!

So, my stove gets delivered at 11am on the day before Thanksgiving. I go to the store to get the connector hose needed to install it (forgot to order it when I bought the stove), then anxiously await Michael's arrival home from work. Number 1 on the Honey Do list is the stove, so he gets to work immediately. After about 20 minutes of prep, he realizes the connector hose is too short - so back to the store we go only to find out that by Massachusetts law they are unable to sell any longer hoses. Ducky! Less than 24 hours before Thanksgiving and I still haven't starting cooking a thing!

So, at about 5pm Michael and Paul end up getting into the truck for a road trip to New Hampshire to buy a longer hose. Thank goodness for 'lawless' NH! :)

We finally got the stove installed and working at about 7:30 pm and the girls and I started a mad baking session! Woo hoo! Thanksgiving dinner here we come!

P.S. We're now going to have to switch the whole kitchen over to Stainless! I love it!!

All is Right with the World

I RECOMMEND READING YESTERDAY'S ENTRY BEFORE YOU READ THIS ONE - JUST SO IT WILL MAKE SENSE!

I arrived home last night, and had barely gotten through the door when I was greeted by my baby jumping into my arms and layering me with kisses! Seems like someone else was also bothered by the morning's episode. :)

Paul & I agreed that from now on, I'd get my goodbye kiss as we were leaving the house rather than once we get to school.

But...with the usual morning rush, we forgot our new ritual on Day 1. We were half way to school, waiting for the light to turn green so I could enter the schoolyard, when I remembered.

"Hurry and kiss me goodbye Paul, before anyone sees."

He obliged.

"Were you or your friends making fun of someone that gave their Mom a kiss, and that's why you don't want them to see you?"

"Nope."

"Then why don't you want them to see you kissing me?"

"Don't you watch movies, Mom? Kids make fun of their friends all the time for it!"

I guess he's just trying to avoid the situation before it even becomes one! I can deal with that - As long as I still get my kisses.

No More Kisses?!

I am distraught...

I dropped the little ones at school this morning, just as I do everyday. I pulled up to the beginning of the driveway where the kids line up by class to enter to school together. Paul and Meredith both jumped from their seats and gave me my usual kiss goodbye...Meredith opened the door and hopped from the car, but Paul had a moment and rushed to the back of the van, hiding himself...I wasn't sure what was wrong, but he stuck his head out from behind the seat, and I could tell he was crying - "Mom are the front windows see through?!", he asked...it took me a minute, but I came to realize he was horrified that he had been seen kissing me goodbye by some of his friends!

No matter what I said, he couldn't be consoled. And I need consoling too! The mere thought of my baby not kissing me anymore is very hard to swallow. After a few minutes, he decided to sneak out the opposite door and run around the crowd to avoid those that may have witnessed his 'dirty deed'. And I drove away from the school, my heart melting for my growing boy.

I only hope that tomorrow morning all is forgotten and I get another kiss...But just in case, I think I'll ask for a few extra at bedtime tonight.

Moving On...

Abby's Pop Warner Cheering career is over. They didn't place at the New England Regional Competition this past weekend and she'll be trying out for High School squad in the spring. I don't really know whether to be thankful or not. I was not too fond of the idea of going to Disney two weeks before Christmas, but I gotta say, this team REALLY deserved to make it.

They definitely brought it to the mat at competition - in fact they scored the highest scores they'd gotten all season. Not too shabby considering they had already won 1st place to be Middlesex League Champs (hence the trophy in the picture above). Unfortunately, however, they got a huge deduction for a 'questionable' move in their routine (which they had been doing most of the season without comment). Seems a judge didn't feel their hands touched the mat before their legs did (in cheering terms: a knee drop) which is a no-no in Pop Warner. We're not really sure where they would have placed if not for the deduction, but I'm confident it would have been right up there.

After coaching many of these girls for 6 years, it's hard to say good-bye, but it's been an amazing experience watching them grow as a team and individually, and they should all be proud of everything they have accomplished. They are the winningest team in the current Stoneham Pop Warner program. Great Job girls! Time to move on to the bigger and better things that await you! Can't wait to see you at the High School games!

How Handsome

Christopher attended his first semi-formal dance at the High School this past weekend.

He wasn't too happy about having to go the whole suit and tie route, but I must say, he looked quite dapper!

And although he is a man of few details, it sounds as if they had a really good time!

Weird Family Quality Time

With a family of six and working full-time, one of the hardest things for me to keep up with is laundry - there is a never ending pile of dirty clothes in my laundry room. And, in my opinion, the worst part of keeping my family in clean attire is pairing the multitude of socks my family owns, especially when two matching socks might get washed days or even weeks apart! I've actually been known to make a trip to the store to buy new socks for the entire family, rather than deal with this chore! My mom has even taken a trash bag full of unmatched socks home and returned them all nicely paired & folded, resulting in the entire family doing a little 'dance of joy'!

What the heck does this have to do with family quality time you ask?

Well, I arrived home the other night to find my husband and the kids with our current collection of unmatched socks strewn all over the living room floor. They were picking through Mount Sockmore and creating piles for family member's socks. I (half-heartedly) joined in and we proceeded to spend the next hour or so sorting through and pairing a decent number of socks of each member of the family. Everyone happily scooped up their 'prizes' and delivered them to their rooms.

With the remaining unmatched socks back in their Rubbermaid box (now only half full instead of overflowing), we happily plopped overselves onto the couch for a little prime time tv viewing. I couldn't help but think 'what a strange way to have some family quality time'! But that's truly what it was - the group of us working together, talking, laughing, accomplishing something meaningful! As weird as it may sound, may 'Sock Matching Family Quality Time' have a long and fruitful reign at my house!

Countdown to Competition

5 days and counting until Abigail's cheering squad competes at the Pop Warner New England Regionals Cheer Competition.

Two hours of practice tonight, but I think we have finally made all changes we were hoping for. Now it's just a matter of spending the rest of the week cleaning it up and pumping up the girls to do their best!

I'm starting to get nervous (as I do before every competition the girls compete in) and probably won't be getting much sleep the rest of week, replaying the routine over and over in my head, and hoping and praying the girls are able to stick everything. I don't know why I worry so much, they seem to have a knack of hitting the mat and amazing everyone around them!

Let's just hope this is the year they finally make it all the way to Nationals at Disney in a couple of weeks :)

What did I just wish upon myself?? A trip to Disney 2 weeks before Christmas?? I must be crazy!!

If At First You Don't Succeed...

Okay, so my first attempt at being a blogger hasn't worked out that well, considering its been MONTHS since I've shared a thing. I'm not going to give up though. I think my biggest mistake is trying to write TOO MUCH. My new strategy is going to be sharing A LITTLE each day, and not obsessing about all the DETAILS - although sometimes that's what really makes the story! But that's okay, I'll add them when needed (I don't think I can help myself)!

Grand Champions!

Meredith had a 'fun' Cheer competition in Boston this weekend - and her team did awesome! They were Champions in their division (C Pink) and Grand Champions across all C level divisions! Two trophies in one day! It was a great way for the girls to end the seasons!