Thanksgiving,Black Friday,and Krispy Kreme

Here is part 2, if you missed part 1 you are so out of the loop, you may never recover. Just kidding, I am the one out of the loop and this is my attempt at catching up. Today's make up topics include Thanksgiving, Black Friday and even our "field trip" to Krispy Kreme.

Every year we head to the Outlaws house down south and spend the Thanksgiving holiday with them. It is not really a HUGE gathering, usually just the Outlaws, my husbands two uncles and their wives, and the 5 of us. BUT, you would NEVER know that by how many things we prepare every Thanksgiving, or the shear quantity that we surround ourselves with on this day every year. Here is the rundown:

Turkey
Spiral Ham
Dressing
Sweet Potato Casserole
Homemade Mac-N-Cheese
Green Bean Casserole #1 with water chestnuts
Green Bean Casserole #2 with artichoke hearts
Corn Salad
Fruit Salad #1 with coconut
Fruit Salad #2 without coconut
Deviled eggs - appetizer
Pinwheels - appetizer
Pickles and Olives and Pimento Cheese on celery
Raspberry Jello Salad
Panseet-uncles wife is Filipino and this is like a rice noodle chow mein....so yummy
Lumpia - same wife, these are like tiny egg rolls, more like a taquito...also super yummy
Rolls and Gravy
Pumpkin Pie #1
Pumpkin Pie #2
Pecan Pie

So, basically we had 13 people and 20 items....that is so INSANE!!!! In our defense, this is the ONLY big meal we make all year. We don't do an Easter meal or a Christmas Feast...we just do Thanksgiving in a HUGE way.

This year we also had a first.

This photo is serving as PROOF that my husband actually helped with the cooking once in 13 years. Of course after this photo op he was back to watching the parade and eating the deviled eggs(his normal activity of choice during the prep)

This photo is NOT a first. My F-I-L (half of the Outlaws) ALWAYS cleans up behind me on Thanksgiving day...I love a man with dishpan hands!!!!



This is Crack and Mamaw(the other half of the Outlaws)


I love this pic solely because it looks like I am shorter than my Man...which I am, but only by an inch...this pic either makes me 5'8" or him 6'4"...I'll take either.


Saturday we trekked to Krispy Kreme, where the boys handed in their report cards(yes, even homeschoolers get report cards) and received a donut for each "A". Beez was not pleased that I left her out of the report card/donut give-a-way...but cut me some slack, she only eats the sprinkles off the donuts, not the donuts themselves(such a travesty, I know) I promised her next time I would have her a report card too.

Husband and the Outlaws...can you tell he loves Krispy Kreme?


Mamaw, Beez, and Pappy


He is his fathers son...the kid LOVES Krispy Kreme.

He is SO NOT JOKING...he claims the fallen glaze is like fries in the bottom of a Micky D's bag...you have to eat them..and so it goes with the glaze. Although I did make him restrain himself enough from actually LICKING the box...instead he licked his finger and dipped it in the pile of yummy goodness.

Last but not least, and really this should be a post in and of itself. We are those crazy people who go shopping the day after Thanksgiving. We are the REALLY crazy ones. We were up 2:30am, and were the FIRST in line at Target at 3 am. By opening time (6am) there were 500+ people. We split up and had all of our loot and were checking out at 6:04(me) and 6:07(him). We had everything in the car and were heading back into Target at 6:09 for a potty break when the local TV station stopped us for an interview for their live broadcast. (we had already been interviewed for being the first in line)

After that we headed across the street and made a quick dash into HomeDepot. I grabbed a buggy full of items, and even three 99 cents poinsettias and checked out. While I was doing that, my husband found one more item and got in line himself. Now, while we do set aside cash for Christmas shopping every year, we actually charge everything the day of because the one year we carried cash I was a nervous wreck. It also makes it easier for returns so that way if we buy something and then find it for less somewhere else, it is no problem and doesn't tie up twice the cash.

Anyway, I say all that because when he got to the checkout our credit card was declined, which was shocking beacuse I KNEW we had 4x the amount of what we had budgeted for Christmas free our our credit card, and it was weird since his amount was only $20. I told him not to worry, just use the debit card instead.

Well, 8 hours later, when we got home I was checking email and I received a notice that our card had been frozen due to fraudulent usage. I was worried because my credit has been hacked into before and it is such a headache!!!! But, I called the number and this is what the nice lady told me (after verifying like 100 different things from age, address, 2nd born's birth weight, what I ate last night(see previous list) and so on....and I quote, " Mrs. Laughing Momma, we froze your account because BOTH of the cards assigned to this account were used minutes apart at the same store, and then again just a few minutes later at a different store. Can you verify if you did indeed make these purchases???? They were at Target- 6:04 am and 6:07 am and then HomeDepot at 6:13 and then 6:15" I replied, "Yes, I am happy to say that my waiting in line for three hours paid off, we are guilty of power shopping,(and later dropping) the day after Thanksgiving" Mrs Credit Card closed our conversation with, "Well, Mrs Laughing Momma, I am sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you(that would be a glare from my husband...you know the kind that turns him into the Incredible Hulk...and a hundred questions on whether or not our last bill had been paid....not so pleasant) and we hope that you continue to enjoy our services...I will flag your account so that next year when the computer tries to falsely accuse you, the card holder of fraud, it will overlook the fact that it is practically impossible to be 4 places almost simultaneously, we will remember that you are Super Woman...just out looking for a good deal."

"Thank you, please see to it, cause I may be Super Woman, but I am no match for the Incredible Hulk"

What we did last night(and this morning) 12/3

We decorated our Christmas tree last night. You would think we could do somethings normal but there is always HIGH drama at our house. It started with one male child, who will remain unnamed, deciding that behavior worthy of a good whooping was the best way to start the evening. We actually had to stop the video camera so that he should get some "wise council" in our room.
Once we did get back to it, I was so excited because I bought some new lights day after Christmas last year and I was excited to see them on the tree. I should stop here and say that my Mom was kind of a Christmas Nazi when it came to decorating our tree when I was little. Every year the tree had a theme, usually based on a common color theme....Red and White, Blue and Silver, Purple and Gold. So we never were able to just go hog wild...until she finally wised up and got us a tree for our room that we could decorate with anything we wanted(except that years themed items) In the end, I was not warped or anything, and actually I really love symmetrically decorated trees. Even ones that are multicolored but maybe only have glass balls, or stars, or Santas, or Crosses.
If I was brutally honest I would have to say that I would love to have a tree like my Mom use to do, but my husband is a purist when it comes to decorating and that means ANYTHING goes.
For years, my only say so was that we had white lights. I lost that battle when the boys got older and decided that they wanted multi-colored lights(one of my least faves) and so the past 3 or 4 years, rainbow lights have adorned our tree.....But last year I found solid red lights and solid blue lights for like a buck a box. I was so excited to have unity at least in the light department. SO there I am, ready to do the lights...when I open the boxes and find that the cords are WHITE!!!! Hello, my tree is green!!!! How in the world am I going to cope with WHITE electrical cording all strewn through my already cosmically created explosion of every color and type of ornament known to man??????
The answer...colored lights again this year. I knew the white cording would bug me in an OCD neurotic way from now till tear down day and I couldn't do it...even for red lights.

Now for my pictorial review of the night. Every year the Outlaws buy the grand kids Hallmark ornaments. They usually buy something that represents what each kid is loving or into that year. Well last year was the best year ever because Hallmark did ornaments from DC Comics. You all know that we are secretly a family of Super Heroes right? Especially Beez...She loves Wonder Woman. Now, while the rest of the DC crew had really cool figurines-each hero in a really cool pose- I guess the best they could come up with for WW was her clothes.
Yep, in case you were wondering if you missed the rapture, here is proof. Hallmark designed the WW ornament to be a testament to her outfit and nothing else.


Don't ask me why, but I guess since we got married the week before Christmas 13 years ago, somehow we thought that a laminated copy of the newspaper announcement should be stored with the Christmas decorations...that makes sense right? So here it is...don't laugh.


Halfway through the kids decided we needed some comedy relief...so they posed a few times...They are total nut cases when it comes to Christmas...that is SO not my side of the family!!!!


Lastly, I have been itchen' to get my sewing machine out and I finally did this morning. I whipped this up in about 2 hours, half of that was spent ironing the the seams and basting the initial on....isn't it adorable?????

If you are on my Christmas list...you might be getting one of your very own if I can find time between now and then.

I was super pleased...I didn't use a pattern. I am kind of pattern illiterate sometimes...all the sewing jargon throws me, so when possible I just wing it.

Cakes and Closets

Every year, just before Christmas, I do a thorough closet cleaning. This year was no exception, and Snake's room was the one I really had my eye on. The kid is growing so fast I can hardly keep him in clothes(hint to a OK friend...need more 12's and 14's?) Anyway, I tortured him and required him to try on EVERY pair of pants...which of course is pure misery for an 10 year old. I finally wittled the massive pile down to just what was needed and even made him give up all but four pairs of shorts for the winter.
The best part about the whole closet and clothes ordeal was that the following weekend, my husband was volunteering at a local ministry and as he was leaving someone was unloading a BEAUTIFUL maple dresser with matching mirror that the manager said he could buy for $60 bucks!!!!....did I mention that Jake is the only one without a dresser???? He has had a 3 drawer Rubbermaid on wheels in his closet for underclothes and jammies but everything else was either hung up or on shelves in his closet.
It was perfect timing since everything was cleaned out and gone through...I couldn't be happier to say that all the closets are cleaned out and toys gone through...that is always such a huge undertaking and to have a checked off my pre-Christmas list is a weight off my shoulders.

Now to cakes. I make cakes as a hobby. It is very relaxing for me and I love the creative part of it. This month I had a bunch of cakes to make and even had a Wilton character cake in the mix...which I have not done in years. In addition to the following cakes I also made two cakes and 4 plates of gourmet jumbo cup cakes for a cake auction that our church has every year. My Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cake went for $75 bucks and a Red Velvet Crumb Cake similar to the one below went for $65. Each plate of (4) gourmet cupcakes went for between $20 and $35. I was super excited...mine didn't catch the highest bid(that was $120 for a cheesecake) but they were highly sought after which made my day.

Red Velvet 4 layer Crumb Cake....it was suppose to have five layers but in the middle of making-baking-frosting 5 different items...I misplaced one of the layers...I found it after I had frosted the stupid thing!!!!

My Niece, the Beast turned 2, and we celebrated with a Wilton Dora Cake. The recipe called for a different color for her skin, but it was super orange....so I altered it and ended up with a Caucasian version of Dora...I was cracking up...totally not a politically correct thing to do..but it was so funny to me after a late night and cramping hands from icing the darn thing.

Well, that was not so bad. I knocked two off of my list...more later.

What we did last night(actually what we have done the past two weeks)

I know, I know....I am fired. I do not think I have ever gone TWO WHOLE weeks without a post but it is not because I don't have anything to post...it's because I have SO MUCH to post. I really do not even know where to begin...how about I bullet point the topics and then try to touch on all of them this week.

• Closet Cleaning
• Birthday Parties/Cakes
• Cake Auction
• Christmas Shopping
• Black Friday shopping(1st in line a Target...3am)
• Christmas Tree Cutting
• Thanksgiving Prep
• Krispy Kreme Field trip
• Flat Stanley Musical
• Garage Cleaning
• Jane Austen Reading
• Christmas Decorating
• Writing on the bathroom wall
• 5year old joke gone awry

Winter is upon us

Somebody PLEASE tell Beez that it is WINTER!!!!!

It was 40 degrees outside and the wind chill made it in the 30's. Tonight we should get down to the mid-20's...and she is building sand castles. Oh, and she wants an audience...which means that I am outside in the freezing cold watching her build away.

Lord, I love the fall and winter but if this keeps up I will praying for spring to come earlier. I almost built a fire in our fire pit this afternoon...Lord help me.

Not Me Monday 11/17/08

*******UPDATED********

It seems everyday during the week, I have random thoughts of..."THIS is so going to be a 'Not Me " entry next week." but then, in the utter craziness of my life I forget them and try to pinch out what little remembrance I do have at the end of a very long week. So, here goes.

I did not buy the cutest white maternity top from Old Navy this week because I am NOT pregnant and that would just be absolutely crazy..(but for those of you who do not believe me, at least understand that I am really tall and I have issues with finding long shirts...and sometimes, just sometimes the extra length bequeathed to maternity tops hits me just great and I can not resist.)

I did not run away from the Monkey Exhibit at the Zoo last week when the Monkeys stopped being Monkeys and started doing "Monkey Business" Cause I am one of those cool moms who totally are down with the "How babies are made" talk...or at least I was until EVERY body part started having an alter ego within the minds of my growing boys.

I did not find and buy the cutest shoes at Target last week while shopping with my sister...because we were Christmas shopping...NOT shoe shopping. And they were NOT an amazing deep purple Mary Jane-like flat because there is no way that I would have anything to wear them with...oh and they were only $9.98!!!!

I did not buy my oldest son almost $100 worth of clothes for Christmas and almost fall out right there in the middle of Belks. Cause $100 is not THAT big a deal...did I mention that it was only FOUR items...and that usually when I spend a hundred bucks at a department store it is because it was an ADDITIONAL 50% off an already 75%...which is basically FREE and like twenty items MINIMUM!!!! I thought they would have to shock my heart to bring me back.

I did not spend 8 of the past 9 nights up with one or more of my children for PROLONGED periods of time and various cough-choke-gag-cough again-hint of fever-you better not puke on my bed maladies...cause that would be INSANE and I would then not be able to be a rational level headed mother in the morning.

I did not threaten my children with NO THANKSGIVING OR CHRISTMAS break if they did not make their fall goals...cause that would mean that I MIGHT NOT GET A THANKSGIVING OR CHRISTMAS break....and you don't want to see me at Easter if I missed Christmas.

I did not use the 1-2-3 punch of Tacos(for Saturday dinner), Hello Kitty Nightie(for Saturday dessert), and Meatloaf(Sunday after church meal) to make up to my husband the fact that I spent 4nights and 5days with my sister...cause I never use the power of a good meal and a great nightie to my advantage.

*****UPDATED*******

I have 6 sisters and 5 brothers...a few of who regularly read this blog. One of them sent me the following email with her own "Not Me" list. I couldn't help but post it...and I agree...she TOTALLY beats mine this week.

So I can't comment anymore on your blog for some reason, but here goes my Not Me Monday story... are you ready for it... I meant to leave it a couple weeks ago when it happened but at that time realized I couldn't leave comments for you under "name" anymore

So here it is...
I did not go with my friend/employer to a super fancy French
lingerie boutique while I was working. While we were Not there, I did Not
try on mulitple bra-panty combos that made me look and feel as expensive as they
were. Although all of the panties I tried on were done so over the thong I
was wearing, I did Not forget to remove the last pair of $50 grey undies from my
buttox and put my pants on over them with the tag blatanly hanging out the
back! After my purchase of the cheapest bra and panty combo they had at
the store, we walked out to the car and my friend Jennifer did Not shriek as I
leaned into the Expedition to strap her little man into his carseat as she saw
the tag to the $50 grey panties hanging out. I did Not jump into the front
seat, strip down as an old man pulled up into the spot next to us(AHHH!!), take
them off and sheepishly take them back into the overpriced French
boutique. Now I don't think the French owner believed my story, but that
doesn't matter because it did Not happen!
AHH!!!
That tops them all for
me.
Love ya,

Praying God's Word Over Our Children

One of my first must read blogs was Bring the Rain. This wonderful mother speaks her heart and bares her soul in honor of Our One True God. She is the earthly mother to three lovely ladies, and heavenly mother to two others. She is also a fellow homeschooling mother, and this being her rookie year, she is faring wonderfully. I would love for you go and spend a minute on her page, and read what she has to say about praying over our children the Holy Scriptures. She is urging us to pray these 7 prayes, 7 days a week over our children. Not only has that inspired me to do the same, but I also feel led to search out scripture to pray specifically for my BOYS. Every mother knows that boys and girls are different, and while the verses she choose, would definately have purpose over my growing boys, I feel like Holy Spirit is urging my to make this practice even more practical. So, go and visit and then sit and pray.