I can’t believe it’s been almost a week since we’ve “talked.” Partly because the last time I didn’t blog for a week was…maybe never since I started blogging? And partly because, with another birthday (Simon’s) and three back-to-back-to-back Thanksgivings, last week was gone in a flash.

I have a Project Elephant update that I hope to show you tomorrow (fingers crossed), but I thought I’d catch you up on the goings on in these parts first.

P.S. A lot of these pics are from Instagram, if you care to follow along. #imthequeenofridiculouslylonghashtags

First up, this little cutie turned six last Wednesday:

simon ratatatcat  

We celebrated with a play date with friends (where Evy celebrated by deciding to start walking<—click to see crazy-cute video proof) and many rounds of Rat a Tat Cat, which has quickly become our family’s favorite card game.

The next day, we headed to Shaun’s grandma’s house for their Thanksgiving get together. We even managed to snag a decent pic of all of us. Uncle Alex took the picture, and, at one point, he exclaimed that surely there was a good one among the bunch because he felt like he’d taken hundreds. IMG_8834-001

I didn’t have the heart to tell him that he’d only taken 20 or so and that getting a good shot of our crew usually literally  requires at least 100 takes. Thank the Lord we got a decent one. I’d say a 1 in 20 chance of getting something this good (6 out of 7 looking!) has got to be a record for us!

While there, we indulged in yumminess like this pumpkin spice cake trifle. (I promise to try to get the recipe for you guys).

pumpkin spice

The next day, we hosted a game day at our house. I made this soup (I added beans, and it was even better that way), and we played a massive (read: 4 1/2 hours) game of Killer Bunnies.

And then, on Saturday, we went to my family’s traditional feast—the one where my mom cooks everything, and I contribute nothing and don’t clean up even a little bit afterwards. 

(Or take any pictures, apparently).

After several days of whirlwind birthday/travel/cleaning/cooking, it was so nice to just be a bum. Thank you, Mama!

Then, yesterday, we finally got around to Christmassorizing the house.

joy pillows

I did a little pillow sprucing (the deer + joy pillows are $3 from Target’s Dollar Spot).

Then, we hauled the tree out, and the kids went to town.

kids decorating

And then gazed in wonder when it was done.

kids gazing at tree

Here’s a close-up, in case you’re wondering how they did:

christmas tree

We fueled our decorating with appropriately-hued dipped pretzels.

pretzels

(Seriously, I just happened to have red and white candy melts in my pantry; what are the odds?)

And we capped it off all with a viewing of A Charlie Brown Christmas (my first ever; I KNOW, how is that even possible?) on our DIY big screen (one of my hubby’s best ideas ever).

You may now consider yourself officially caught up. But I’m guessing I’m not the only one who had a busy week, and I’ve missed you guys!

So, tell me:

How many Thanksgivings did you attend this year? 2 for us, technically, since our game day wasn’t actually a Thanksgiving celebration

Was there gorging involved? I actually did pretty well this year. I don’t like feeling overly full, so when I felt things starting to pile up, I slowed down and waited for my second wind. Sometimes, it never came.

What’s your favorite holiday movie? Anyone else out there a Charlie Brown Christmas virgin? My favorite has to be It’s a Wonderful Life. I mean, really, how can you beat it? And as for CBC…will you hate me if I say that I wasn’t super-impressed? Maybe it has to be something you’ve grown up with? I don’t know. The kids liked it well enough, so we’re calling it a win.

P.S. I’ll be picking a winner to our current MOMbassadors giveaway tonight, so don’t forget to enter if you haven’t already!

8 Comments

  1. Oh boy. Two actual Thanksgiving days Friday and Saturday (Thanksgiving day itself was a crafting afternoon at my mom’s where I readied several advent calendars and no turkey etc was consumed : ) ), decorated the house (most of the way) Sunday afternoon/evening, game night Monday. Yeah, busy here too!
    Lot’s of wonderful food around, but no desire to stuff myself, yea! : ) Your Mom’s no-work-Thanksgiving sounds absolutely amazing, by the way. I don’t think I’d need any other Christmas gifts after that!
    Favorite movie?…hmmm. This is nuts, because we have zero, ZERO,I tell you, Santa in our lives, EXCEPT for Miracle On Thirty-Fourth Street- the old one- and it might be my favorite. The Nutcracker (we have a nice version wherein the guys do NOT wear tights that cause them to look totally nude from the waist down) is probably second. We just watched a couple of old Lassie Christmas stories last night to start the season out. : )

  2. Only one Thanksgiving dinner/celebration here – and it was at my house. Great day with family! I don’t think anyone over ate – we just took it slow and easy and saved dessert for much later (like during the second football game). My favorite holiday movie is “Miracle on 34th Street” (the new one). Love, love, love that movie and HAVE to watch it while wrapping presents (holiday tradition).

  3. We only had one Thanksgiving this year but it was PERFECT! 😀

    Gorging was an understatement, I was miserable for a good hour, and then exclaimed it was “desert time”. I’m sure I will hate myself for it later.

    My favorite holiday movie (although cheesy is The Muppet Christmas Carol. I love the story, and think it’s a fun watch for kids. I still repeat lines and it makes me think of my mother who has now gone to heaven and is spending her first Thanksgiving and Christmas at the right hand of our Lord and Savior!!

  4. We only attended 1 Thanksgiving – my parents hosted us and my in-laws and some of their relatives, so it was one big crazy Thanksgiving. I actually didn’t gorge this year and felt much better at the end of the day 🙂 My favorite holiday movie is probably Home Alone. I bought it in the $5 movie thing at Target last year and was reminded of how funny it is! The voices on CBC Christmas are really strange to me. I want to love it because I feel like I should, but I just don’t…

  5. CBC Depressed me when I was little and my husband has admitted to it making him feel anxious. Therefore we never even showed it to our son! Its A Wonderful Life over here and The Christmas Story!

  6. One Thanksgiving on Saturday (my hubs is a CO at a Fed Prison and worked the actual holiday). We spent the day decorating and eating then saw Frozen at the drive in. Our favorite Christmas movie is Polar Express. My kids will watch it in July!

  7. Haha, we had no Thanksgiving this year, because we had a tummy bug. We were pretty much just thankful for gatorade and applesauce. Although, I was scheduled to bring mashed potatoes to my MIL, so we now have 10 lb of mashed potatoes that I’m systematically working my way through.:)

  8. We only had one thanksgiving this year since we are overseas. It was nice and quiet. Our favorite holiday movies are “Arthur Christmas” and “Elf”. And I must admit I vaguely remember CBC.

I love hearing from you guys!