my little indian

And just so i don't leave you with that sad picture of my precious boy......he is definitely feeling better.

Thanksgiving

We've had it in a calendar for months. We were loading the family into the minivan & headed west. First down to the new orleans area & then to jackson to see family - we were excited for the kids to be with that side of the family & also to eat some of the best food you've ever had. Both my mom & my dad are excellent in the kitchen. Thanksgiving food for me, as for many i suppose, is a lot about comfort. Comfort & variety & a lot of it. I love to see a large dining room table spread with tons of casserole dishes & a big turkey & canned cranberry sauce....i can't help it, i love the stuff. I've made the real deal before & for me, as gross & bad for me as i know it is...i choose the can. There are some staples that I can't live without for Thanksgiving - cornbread dressing is the main one. I don't do stuffing. I actually wasn't aware that there was a difference growing up. I just made the assumption that everyone ate cornbread dressing & some people just called it stuffing. I learned that I was wrong when I was invited to spend Thanksgiving with a friend whose family lives on the eastern shore of Maryland. Stuffing & dressing - not the same. Very different. And I need dressing.

But I digress....

I can't keep the days straight but I believe it was last Thursday (the one before Thanksgiving) that my boy woke up crying with a fever. He was getting a cold, for sure, but then there was this stuff in his eyes & at times they were swollen like golf balls. He was miserable & kept getting more miserable. See.....look.

So we made the call to not go & then we all started getting the bug one by one..... I don't deal well with last minute changes so I started "coping." I turned my panic into action.....we were not only not going west for Thanksgiving, we may not be going ANYWHERE for Thanksigiving....no big Thanksgiving spread of food. No people. No cornbread dressing! No turkey? How could this be?!

What was I to do?

I went to Kroger & started buying things. Turkey - on sale! Ham - on sale! Because a family of 5 with 3 kids 3 & under really NEEDS a turkey AND a ham. I gathered the makings for a few favorites & I was feeling a little better - a bit gluttonous, but still - a little better.

Lee (though he has lost his voice) was able to take the girls to his parents' house to celebrate & visit with family while I stayed back with the boy, who was definitely on the mend, but still contagious & not his best.....we played (made the kid an indian hat) & then I cooked. A lot.

Here's the enormous amount of food the Mitchell family lived off of - breakfast, lunch & and dinner for too many days to count....

I had a lot of favorite dishes to choose from - see at my mom's we usually have turkey, ham, dressing, spinach madeline, curried fruit, cabbage casserole, potatoes au gratin, chess pie, & more..... At my dad's we have smoked turkey, ham, dressing, broccoli casserole, this jello salad that is so amazing, sweet potatoes, pecan pie, & more.....
A chose 4. 4 casseroles, a turkey, a ham, canned cranberry sauce, rolls & a chocolate chess pie.

It was good - & I'm quite satisfied.....for now. I will be antsy again come Nov 2009.

black friday

OK, I have to know because all of the friday sale commercials on TV have completely stressed me out & it leaves me wondering......do you get up before the sun to go to shopping on the day after Thanksgiving? Or are you like me.....roll out of bed & grap a piece of leftover pie from the fridge for breakfast? For me, black friday is all about the leftovers.

Sick & Thankful

Well, it's been a week. A week filled with runny noses & nasty eye stuff & even a little throw up. We had to change our Thanksgiving plans which led to some coping activities which have kept me really busy. And i have pictures of all of it.....and after a good night's sleep, I'll fill you all in.
But I know this. I am blessed. Blessed beyond belief. A house filled with germs & a husband with no voice & I'm a talker so it's been kinda lonely, a 3 year old who seems to think she's 18 & free to do whatever the heck she wants & a toddler who cannot quite communicate his desires with words so chooses to scream & stomp his feet instead...and I am so incredibly thankful for all of it. Happy Thanksgiving. Night night.

wonderful memories

Only the big girl was awake one afternoon when my dad said he would stay at the house with the sleepers & Lee & I could take big sister to the beach one last time. She had been earlier in the weeek & had a blast, but for whatever reason she said, "I don't want to go to the beach with sand."
"Come on, we're gonna have fun!" we chimed back. So we loaded her onto the back of the bike & took a ride to the beach.
She was reluctant at first - head buried in her daddy's shoulder.

Then she warmed up a bit - up on the shoulders, smiling, gaining confidence....

And then she just started playing. Drawing in the sand. Laughing. We were having a blast - makin' mem-ries.

And then we started playing chase - me & the girl, that is. Lee was watching from the sidelines. She loves to run around & "Be crazy!!!" She says it all the time, "Let's be crazy!!!!"
So we're running...."I'm gonna get you!" squeals of true joy.
And then with the grace of an angel......my feet get tangled up somehow & I'm falling......I reach out my arm to catch my fall, my hand hits her back & I accidentally throw my 3 year old face planted into the sand.
Her face covered. Blood definitely coming out of her mouth.
We load her back into the bike...tears & wailing & this is what I heard the whole way back,
"Mommy pushed me down!" & "I don't want to go to the beach with sand!"
Seriously, what kind of therapy are we going to be paying for.....seriously.

Mitchell 2048

There's my boy - sitting in the same chair that President Bush sat in for the G8 conference. We have high hopes for the little man & I must say he looks pret-ty comfortable right there.
Mitchell for President 2048

and they will rise up & call me blessed....

Now then. I'm back & ready to post some pictures & stories from the beach. Let's start here.....
My darling children. As I said it was time to go, they cheerfully jumped into the stroller so obediently, I was so proud. It was one of those moments you never really forget as a mother.

Smiling

I'm sure you are all wondering where in the world I have been! All 2 of you who read this blog regularly :). But i am at the beach & caught the baby with a big smile on her face - staring at her granddaddy so the smile is quite understandable. She's getting so big!!

And how cute is that onesie??!! Our sweet neighbors gave that to her. Thanks again Kelly & Jimmy!!

Halloween

My battery was dying on the camera for the morning pictures & then i left it at a friend's house for the evening pictures! The big girl looked a little different that night, but this is what she looked like the morning she left for school. Adorable, right?
We are not huge Halloween people - we love Christmas & Valentine's Day & Easter...we jump all over birthdays & believe whole heartedly in celebrating. But halloween isn't our favorite.....so she's in a t shirt. But she wasn't just begging to be anything special for halloween & I'm certainly not going to spend a whole lotta cash on a costume when I wasn't even sure if she would be interested.....and then the whole candy thing. Well, i'm exhausted from a child jacked up on sugar....and I am 10 pounds heavier. I have to say, though, she had a blast. Her laugh is contagious & I heard it often that night :).