Long Ride Home

What makes an 11-hour car ride a 14- hour car ride!?

Yes, a flat tire! Fortunately, it happened in a populated area on the interstate (right near an exit ramp!) and not in the middle of "no where"! Although not the ideal situation, it could have been worse. (Funny enough, two years ago we got a flat tire in the same area on the Interstate!)

I am Thankful for...

FAMILY

It's My Birthday!!

Nothing like cake at 9am! Breakfast of Champions!

Take the Wet Ones Pledge to Stop The Spread of Germs!

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Click here to Take the Wet Ones Pledge



Upon signing the pledge, you will also receive a downloadable coupon redeemable for $1.50 off a Wet Ones® product purchase, along with valuable information on how to help keep your family healthy this season, including a simple and effective Flu Prevention Plan developed by renowned pediatrician Dr. William Sears, M.D.

I am wishing you all a HEALTHY Holiday! :)

Louisiana Vacation - Day 3

It was a lazy Sunday...it required Starbucks to get us moving! Practicing with the fishing pole.
My sister with the kids.

Picking fruit in my parent's yard.

Louisiana Vacation - Day 1

We drove 11 hours yesterday to Louisiana. We are spending the week with my parents for Thanksgiving. I hope to post photos all week! New Toy Story outfit
More new clothesPop Pop (my dad)
New chairs

Sick of being sick

I had a sinus infection, both kids had the flu, and now I have another sinus infection. Geez. I am so ready for our household to be healthy again. In just six days, we spent over $320 in co-pays at doctor appointments and filling presciptions! I am just hoping we all get better so we can enjoy the Thanksgiving holidays!

More Christmas Decorations around My Home

I mentioned on Friday that I let the kids put up their tree. Well I put up a few more decorations over the weekend. My reasoning is (a) I love Christmas so why not extend it! and (b) we will be out of town for Thanksgiving and I didn't want to rush to put it all up in early December.

The mantel with our stockings and Christmas pictures of the kids.

Cookies for Santa (on the fireplace) The kids have a Little People nativity scene that I keep in the den. I grew up loving the Peanuts gang and my mom has given me lots of Charlie Brown Christmas items over the years......including a 4-piece set of Snoopy Christmas dishes which I keep on the breakfast table.

Recipe: Wild Rice Soup

Last year, I made this soup for Thanksgiving and everyone LOVED it.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Wild-Rice-Soup-III/Detail.aspx

The secret is using a rice mix with good seasoning. (I used Mahatma Long Grain Wild Rice with seasoning). I also added some garlic salt and Cajun pepper). I actually fixed the soupthe day before Thanksgiving (Wednesday afternoon), let it sit in the fridge overnight and reheated on Thanksgiving.

Oh, and this is funny. I didn't have any chicken in the house, so I went to KFC, purchased a chicken breast, took off the fried crust and added it to the pot...ha...it worked great!

Teaching your child the MEANING of Thanksgiving

I think as parents, we all want our children to be grateful, but how do we do it? Here are some links that could help you this Thanksgiving season:

• NickJr.com has a number of "grateful" ideas for you, including this Giving Thanks Lesson Plan.



• Stacey Schifferdecker talks about Thanksgiving being a "hard sale" for children (there are no gifts, no candy, no surprises), but offers suggestion on teaching children the meaning of Thanksgiving.



• Parents.com has suggestions from other parents on Teaching Children to be Grateful.



• Suite101.com also gives tips on Raising Thanksgiving Children such as making a gratitude list and shopping for others

Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids

Are you trying to find Thanksgiving crafts for your kids to do while you are cooking in the kitchen? I searched the 'net to find four you may like.

Ask your kids to fix dessert (FamilyFun.com's Sweet T.O.M. Turkeys)

NickJr.com encourages Max & Ruby's Pilgrim hats (printables)

Parents Magazine shows you to make a "What a Turkey".

Kaboose.com offers directions for a super cute paper cup turkey craft.

If you prefer simple crafts, here's a link to some coloring pages and printables: http://www.dltk-holidays.com/thanksgiving/mthanksgivingposter.html

ABC Family Countdown to Christmas Lineup

Each year, I look forward to ABC Family's 25 Days to Christmas lineup. But last year they started adding "Countdown to 25 Days to Christmas" which basically means two full months of Christmas shows! yea! So if you are interested, here is the schedule for this year:
http://community.abcfamily.go.com/25-days-christmas/schedule.

Tonight (Nov 10) is 7/6c Snow followed by 9/8c is Snow 2 Brain Freeze

Traditional Thanksgiving Recipes with a Twist

Last year it was my first time hosting and cooking Thanksgiving lunch for the family. I wanted to give everyone the traditional side dishes, but with an updated twist. Here are four recipes I loved and plan to use again this Turkey Day.

Most people like the traditional sweet potato casserole with either marshmallows or pecans on top, but I recommend you try Sweet Potato Balls this year!

Cranberry molds are too dated (I mean truly I think of my deceased great Aunt who would always "mold" her fruit in jello!). Why not serve cranberries in a salad, like an apple-cranberry salad toss?

Pass up the green bean casserole and opt for Lemony Green Beans which have a tint of lemon and basil.

As for mashed potatoes, I like to do them a few hours before in the crock pot! Add some cream cheese and sour cream for instant YUM with these Slow Cooker Mashed Potatoes.

Do you have a favorite Thanksgiving recipe?

Sale at Target: Halloween Costumes and Toys

The kids and I went to Target this morning. I found some great things.

I found this cute purple long sleeve dress for less than $5:
And Halloween costumes on clearance for $1.99!

Also, Freebies 4 Mom has great coupons for Christmas toys at Target:

http://freebies4mom.blogspot.com/2009/11/stackable-target-toy-coupons.html

A Hurricane? In November?

This week, it's finally starting to feel like fall in Florida. Temperatures have dropped below 80 once or twice. I was actually able to open my windows yesterday.

And then I turn on this morning's news to hear we may have a hurricane (or tropical storm) next week. A HURRICANE. IN NOVEMBER? Yup, Hurricane Ida.

For those not familar with hurricane season, we typically get hit in August and September when the waters are hot. (Andrew hit Florida and then Louisiana in late-August, as did Katrina hit New Orleans in late-August). So a hurricane in November is very odd (since the Gulf's water have cooled off).

We should be thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas, not hurricane preparation. Very odd.

Thanksgiving Table Settings

I have been searching for beautiful Thanksgiving Table Settings online. I have found a few that might inspire you this season. Let me know, please, which are your favorites. (You can also see a few Thanksgiving Table Settings pictures I posted last year.)

Country Living's site has a few settings including this "Words of Thanks" Thanksgiving look:

HGTV's offer beautiful Thanksgiving centerpieces on its site.

Check out Pottery Barn's "Thanksgiving Table" inspiration page:

Southern Living's Pint-Size Pumpkins & Blooms (Now this photo shows an outdoor flower box but it can easily be done inside on your table):

(You can also check out the Southern Living web site has a two minute video with 100's of ideas:

http://www.southernliving.com/home-garden/holidays-occasions/fall-decorating-ideas-thanksgiving-halloween-00400000055475/

I love the white pumpkins: White Autumn by Better Homes and Gardens

Testing, please ignore

Can the ignorant stranger qualify the crown?

Time change

I am probably one of the few, but I love this new time change. I like going to bed early so the darkness does not bug me at all. The kids will slowly adjust, although Mimi was up at 5:30am this morning. I like to sleep later in the mornings, too and feel that I get more sleep on standard time. What about you?