Toast 2 Mom

Interstate Turkey

Not a big fan of turkey, but oh how I can smell and almost taste those wonderful sides. The buttery potatoes, the sagey stuffing, the crunchy Frenchs onion topping on the glorious green bean casserole.
No other year have I been more eager for Thanksgiving than this year. I haven't celebrated turkey day with my family in years. When my husband and I married and lived in Omaha, we celebrated mostly with his family. While it was lovely, nothing beats the tradition you grew up with.
Our journey to embark in this gobble fest was supposed to be a 16 hour drive. Our first leg yesterday, suppoed to be 7.5 hours, ended up being just shy of 10 hours.
Today is a different story though. We have an open highway. The sun is shining. The tunes are happily getting us down the road.
Though it's quite a trek, and yesterday presented some challenges, there is much to be thankful for.
I am thankful for two of the best traveling children ever!!
I am thankful for a husband that is an excellent driver (while I blog and read celebrity gossip magazines).
I am thankful for Diet Coke - the perfect beverage after a less than average night of sleep in the hotel.
I am thankful for Vanna the van. Though I resisted buying her, I love her for all she provides, especially on long turkey trips.
I am thankful for Disney soundtracks and Chicago soundtracks for providing entertainment.
Lastly I am thankful in just a few hours we will be greeted by loving family, a warm home and delicious food!
Happy Thanksgiving!

That Darn Clock...

Uh, I've had so much to say this week but not a bright eyed moment to share. The clock has been my enemy. I'll have to catch up on my thoughts soon.

We're heading to Illinois, via Vanna the Van (road trip). The girls (and I) are probably in for a rude awakening of what November air should really feel like. We've all adjusted quite quickly to our warm temps. My Sydney is made for sleeveless clothing. I told her I'm packing all long sleeves AND a coat...she's not too happy with me about that.

It's going to be a holiday bonanza where we're going. We'll be doing Thanksgiving and three Christmas's in one week's time. I only think our van is loaded today for the drive!

But first things first, Thanksgiving. Well, I am thankful for so many things....but I'll plan to make my list and share tomorrow. I'll have lots of quality time on the road to put it all together.

Until then...

All I Want for Christmas...is a decent portrait of my family!

Seriously is it too much to ask to get a decent photo of the four of us? We have tried again and ....well, we'll try again. This time the photo ended up being the best it's ever been; but why is it so exhausting!

No one tells you before you have kids the anxiety that comes along with getting their pictures taken. I take pictures of the girls all the time, and I realize there are good times and bad. But something happens, and has happened since my first daughter's first photo session at three months old, when we walk into that photo studio - it always ends up bad!

One kid looks up, one looks down. One has a crooked bow, one has a crooked smile. One is laughing, one is crying. I could plan the photo first thing in the morning or at the end of the day....and it is never the right time. Then you add the Hubby and me into the mix.....forget about it! Sighhhhhhhhh. Maybe next year.

So, dear family if you're reading this, you'll get a picture, we're all in it....and let's just leave it at that.

Polly Pig Pink Cupcakes

Remember yesterday how I was mentioning that we're in high gear here getting ready for the holidays. Well today we took a break from that. It was rainy here all day. Yesterday Sydney told me she wanted to make cupcakes. As I've several times before tried to recruit my girls into the kitchen with me for a bake-fest and failed, I was all over this proactive suggestion.

Today the cupcake party was brought up again, so I knew we were on. After lunch, the girls and I gathered around the kitchen island to measure, pour and mix. Natalie watched while Sydney and I whisked eggs and poured in milk. The hard part was getting them to realize that they had to bake and cool before the decoration could begin. That's when nap time came in handy.

During their nap, I baked the cupcakes and made the frosting. Sydney decided she wanted it to be pink frosting, like her latest favorite animal, Polly, the pig. So we made Polly Pig Pink cupcakes. When Sydney woke, everything was ready to go. I did the frosting and she did the sprinkles. Some had way more sprinkles than others, but we evened them out. And below is the result.

It might have thrown our holiday preparation schedule off a bit, but it was well worth it!!

 

Egg and Bacon Burrito

Well, in one week we'll be celebrating Christmas. Yes, my side of the family is going to be doing the Thanksgiving/Christmas thing all at once. So, leading up to this moment, I'm spending all of my spare time Christmas shopping!! And preparing for our travels.

Because of this, life has been simple. Tonight, the girls are getting their third microwave egg and bacon burrito for the week. It's not a burrito I microwave. It's an egg and then bacon that I microwave and put into a tortilla and roll into a burrito. (I just needed to specify!)

Perhaps you'll get a picture or two out of me - or maybe a clever thought or two before next week. But basically just wanted to chime in with our current status....Christmas. Feels a little strange...since it was in the 70s today and all I want is some stuffing and gravy.

Chapter 35 - Living to Love What's Ahead

Today I turned 35.

"And I'm gonna be 40....someday!" When I heard Sally, from When Harry Met Sally, give that quote, (eek, 20 years ago) it's sure hard to believe I'll be saying 40 in just five years.

I've spent a lot of time looking in the mirror lately thinking, hmmm, maybe needles for Botox would be worth it?

I've spent a lot of time lately thinking what should I be doing next?

I've spent a lot of time lately teetering between thoughts of "am I too old for that?" and "I wonder if I could do that anymore?"

I so wanted to have this profound message to say for this year...but I just don't have one. Being 35 - I'm not really afraid of it or intimidated really. It's just kind of hard to believe I'm already here.

When I look around at my surroundings, I think I'm where I need to be by 35. I know most of what I think I should know by 35. I've seen a lot of what I think I should have seen by 35.

But then again....I feel there's so much I don't know. There's so much more I've craving to do. There are so many more lessons I need to learn. So while I may not have a list of 35 things I'm grateful for or 35 lessons I've learned in 35 years, I am pleased to say that 35, no matter what progresses this year, thus far has been a great birthday.

Here are some highlights:

• I received some beautiful (and unexpected) jewelry from my husband.
• We had family in town to help celebrate.
• We had family in town to be babysitters....and the Hubby and I got a much needed (appreciated) night out.
• I received a number of cards in the mail.
• I received phone messages and calls from dear friends.
• A beautiful bouquet of flowers was delivered to my door.
• I got the annual call from my mother telling me about the day I was born.
• My daughter acted out a Snoopy birthday card by surprisingly licking my face when I opened it.
• I had many thoughtful birthday wishes from email and Facebook.
• We took a love road trip to Fredericksburg today to enjoy a meal out, shopping, walking, lovely weather and photographing.
• And last but not least, my older daughter picked out my birthday cake (see below)....and my baby girl gave her best rendition of Happy Birthday.

So, here's to 35 and what's ahead....and mannnnyyyyy morrrrrre......Cha, Cha, Cha!

 

A Good Morning for a Hike

The grandparents are in town this weekend. When we have guests, we enjoy dining out. To work off those meals out, a nice hike helps. We're lucky to have several hiking trails near our house. I've been wanting to try out a trail off the road by Sydney's pre-school. Today we finally got the chance. It was a foggy morning, but the sun broke through to another gorgeous fall day.

Here are a few photos from St. Edwards trail.