I Am Thankful For.....

This last week was full of things to be thankful for. I am surprised by how the simplest things can help you appreciate the gifts that surround you. Audrey had a school project to build a mouse diorama for school, I am very thankful that Wesley is such a gifted artist, and can help Audrey build amazing projects. We decided to do a Ratatouille house and Audrey could not have been happier with it.

Audrey has teeth falling out left and right, the Tooth Fairy can not keep up with how fast they are coming out of her mouth. Audrey lost a tooth the day after Thanksgiving and I am ashamed to say that the Tooth fairy forgot to come and make the switch.

Audrey got up the next morning and said that the Tooth fairy did not come but she was not disappointed, she said that she had another one that was ready to come out, and the Tooth fairy was waiting for two teeth instead of just one because she knew.

After dinner that night Audrey lost another tooth. I am thankful that my 7 year is much wiser than I when it comes to understanding something that could of been potentially very disappointing. The Tooth fairy came that night and Audrey woke up the next morning and said she knew that was what the Tooth fairy was up too!!

I am thankful that we had were able to have family & friends come for Thanksgiving dinner. I made a five course meal. I am thankful that my friends Paul and Janice helped me cook this yummy dinner so that I would not kill myself doing it. It took me 3 days to make it w/ their help. It is really nice to have friends who also know how to cook. They were my sioux chefs, I should ask Wes to get me a sioux chef for Christmas this year.

Course one was a olive and cheese plate that had several different types of yummy cheeses and olives.

Course two - Butternut Bisque soup.

Course three - Spinach salad with dried cherries, red grapes, apples, scallions and goat cheese.

The main course - Maple Roasted Turkey with Sage Butter and Apple Smoked Bacon, Cranberry Orange Compote, Yams (grandma's of course), Mashed Potatoes w/crem fresh and olive oil, Broccoli with a Morray sauce (a white cheese sauce), Cippolini Agrodolce (onions in red wine vinegar and balsamic), white rolls and of course cinnamon rolls

Dessert - Apple pie, Wild Berry pie and a Pumpkin I also made Mulled Apple Cider.

I am thankful that I do not have to cook Christmas dinner this year:)

I am also thankful that the girls got to go outside and play in the snow with their cousins the day after Thanksgiving, I am glad that it is melting now and maybe we will get a few weeks break before we get slammed with snow for the season. Did you know that Syracuse gets more snow than anywhere else in the United States.

I am THANKFUL that I have family to read this blog!!! Love you all!!!!!

Twilight, Throwing Up and Christmas Trees!!

A couple of weeks ago Megan told me about the book Twilight by Stefanie Meyer. I have not had much time for reading and lately it has been hard to really get interested in a book that is not Harry Potter. Danielle called me on Thursday and told me she was reading this fantastic book and that I had to go and buy it right away...it just happened to be Twilight. I bought the book Friday and was done by Sunday. It was soooooo good and can not wait to read the next two in the series.

Audrey has been sick for the last couple of weeks, she finally got over her infection and we sent her to school Friday morn only to get a phone call from the nurse saying that she threw-up in class and we need to come and pick her up. I could not figure out what was wrong with her she did not have any other symptoms, so I thought perhaps it was a gag reflex to something and decided to still go to the mall to run errands for Thanksgiving. We were at the mall for about 15 minutes and we were walking right in front of the Pottery Barn when she stopped and heaved all over the floor. I did not know what to do, people started starring and making faces, at that point I decided the only thing I could do was comfort Audrey and tell the Pottery Barn people that my daughter just threw- up in front of their store which I am sure would not be good for sales. Hey it could of been worse we could of been in the store when it happened. Audrey was 100% better after that. Wesley on the other hand got it Saturday night and is not bouncing back as quickly as Audrey did.

We put the Christmas tree up Saturday night, we usually put it up the weekend after Thanksgiving but we wanted family to see the tree this year. I think it will make Thanksgiving dinner very festive. I am going to start cooking it tomorrow (Tuesday) 5 courses. I can't wait to eat!!

Christmas in November

Well last week was truly unique, we had Christmas on Saturday with Wesley's family for no reason whatsoever.

This was the first weekend Wesley has had off in a long time so it would been nice to have family time and relax. We decided to go to this family get together (that was planned in August) 3hrs away in Albany instead. I thought it would be nice to have a "holiday" with his whole family, the last time they all celebrated Christmas together was 15 years ago. I was WRONG!!!!

To start out with the girls had been sick all week and had just started feeling better. So to say the least they were not there usual easy going happy selves. I had to finish Christmas shopping and the budget in November is not as good as in December because that is when we get our Christmas bonus, so we were not able to spoil the nieces and nephews like we usually do. 6 kids and 2 adults can really add up.
We found out that Wes's Mom was not going to go because she will not drive long distances (5 hrs) after the beginning of October, I thought that was the main reason we were celebrating so early but she would not bend to celebrate with her family in November. O well.

- A personal message to President Bush.... I do not appreciate spending $33.00 to fill up a Dodge Neon. When I bought my fuel efficient vehicle in 2003 it cost $15.00 to fill.

My sister in laws decided to do a turkey dinner and everyone bring 2-3 dishes. I brought yams, chocolate pumpkin squares and chocolate gingerbread cakes. Did I mention that my sister in laws do not know how to cook and have not made turkey, stuffing, or gravy by themselves before. So I got to give the basics of thanksgiving dinner 101. I didn't mind so much, it gave me a chance to get to know them better. They are both in their late thirties and we don't have much in common.

So we eat and it is time to open presents. We lined all the kids up in a row in front of the gifts and I started passing out one at a time youngest to oldest. Well I gave my nephew Ben (5) his gift from us, Meet the Robinsons (if you have not seen this movie rent it, very good) and he threw it down on the ground and started screaming and yelling that he hated it and wanted a toy instead. His parents (Wes's brother and wife) picked him and gave him a hug and told him everything would be alright. I thought I was going to burst into tears. I could not believe that they would approve of horrible behavior like that. Ben opens up his next gift and proclaims he already has it and throws it aside, his Mom tells him that they will go and return it and get something else for him. It reminded me of the Dursleys. INSANITY!!!!!

The girls got Harry Potter Scene It (YEAH!!!), season one of Little House On The Prairie, a High School Musical game, Cinderella game and some toys. They were pretty happy. Wes got a electric screwdriver and I got a picture frame.

So after gifts we went and had dessert and things are going ok....and then Ben puts his whole hand in the apple pie and starts to eat it. It was time to go. Merry Christmas!!!

Audrey had parent teacher conferences last week and we are so PROUD!!!! The teacher had nothing but good things to say about her and she is doing well in math. She must of got that gene from Wes because she certainly did not get it from me. Hannah wrote Jam all by herself today and that is quite a accomplishment, she usually draws the jar of jam. She is very different from Audrey....it is amazing how two children from the same parents can be so different but so alike.

Another Top Five

This is Jenny speaking......
Here are my top 5 annoying things that happened to me this week in no paticular order:

1. Both the girls have the stomach flu and it is pretty much a wait it out and suffer. I hate it when they are sick. They can put a man on the moon but they can't make a children's cold medicine that tastes good. What is is up with that?!!!

2. Wrapping Christmas presents for the "Jordan Family Christmas" on Saturday, when I am trying to concentrate on Thanksgiving and it is completely throwing off my grove. Why can't we celebrate Christmas in December like everyone else?!! Not to mention we have to drive 3hrs to Wesley's sisters house and then drive back the same night.

3. TELEMARKETERS!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhh....we have only had this new phone number for a couple of weeks and the phone is ringing off the hook with people trying to sell us nonsense. I have put the new number on the "Do Not Call List" but obviously they are not paying attention to the "list". Very annoying!! Especially the guy calling us about lawn care, hello, look out the window... it is snowing outside does it look like the lawn needs to be mowed.

4. Not having enough money to decorate the house all at once. I just want to be able to go to the store and buy everything for every room. I hate having to budget and be patient. By the way, the Squirrels must have sabotaged the money tree I planted......Evil Squirrels.

5. Verizon...they better get Megan's phone up and running in her new house. Very annoying, I must be able to call my cousin when I am feeling annoyed.

My top five. . .

This is Megan Speaking. . .
My top five annoying things that have happened to me so far this week-in no particular order:

1. Calling Verizon to have the phone lines transfered to our new house. They promised it would be done the next day, but they only cut off the phone lines at the other house. So, we have two houses right now and are completely phone less. I hate it when that happens. . .

2. Joshua, figuring out that he can walk out of his room any time he wants when taking a nap because he is in a big boy bed. You should see the trail of toys he leaves behind.

3. Having to go to work on your day off to do inventory and only being there for an hour. . .And it's a two hour round trip.

4. Having some one startle me in the middle of doing a haircut and almost cutting my finger off. It's not as bad as it sounds, but I have to wear a band-aid, which drives me nuts. I hate the residue they leave behind.

5. Having a house so clean that I run out of things to do. This has never happened to me before, and, although I end up going to bed at nine from boredom, I think I could totally get used to it.

So, what about you? What are YOUR top five?