Santa's Village

After Jackie's birthday dinner, we took the kids to Santa's Village. Hayden and Ben were in Nashville for a basketball game and Robin's family had things to do.

It was a good night to go and I think everybody had a good time. Oh, and I almost forgot, the boys actually stood by Santa . . . but they did not smile about it.

And neither did Santa!

Another black friday has come and gone.

Not too much to report from this year's outing. Here are the highlights:

• Met for breakfast at 7:30.
• Got to see Jackie make a quick exit at Game Stop.
• Shopped at Target.
• Got to see everyone else's expression when Dad announced his potty issue.
• Shopped at Hobby Lobby.
• Shopped at the mall.
• Tried to get Dad to go to Burger King(recall last year), but he wanted a REAL burger.
• Took an hour long lunch break - but I did not eat a burger. (Love you Ben!)
• Experienced Dad's Toy's R Us gas problem. ( Like Pavlov's dog)
• Went solo to South Target.
• Returned to car with gas leaking out of it.
• Stood around waiting for someone to "flick" a cigarette out and catch my van on fire.
• Waited with Mom and Nanny for the tow truck driver to finish watching the game.
• Had my car fixed and was on my way home around 6:00.
• Thanked my husband for taking care of the kids and the car issue and went to bed.

A word from flower plucking star dancer.

Our Thanksgiving festivities kicked in as soon as we crossed the finish line. Our annual trip to Walmart for items I had forgotten, watching the parade, finishing cooking / icing my dishes and loading up to head to Nina's. The girls were a big help with all the food.

Dinner was yummy. Ben said I did good at my first attempt at dressing. The cranberry relish was good(anything with that much sugar should be!), but my sweet potato balls were a little scary. Of course, everything else was great. I love Thanksgiving food.

After we stuffed ourselves, we moved the party downstairs for a performance. Hayden had worked really hard writing, directing and producing the Thanksgiving story. She even had typed scripts and cast lists. The grand finale was the reading of our Indian names. She even included the dogs.

We moved back upstairs for dessert. But wait, don't eat that yet, we need to get a family picture. Come on 3 year olds, move away from the ice cream and sprinkles. Next year I think Pop Pop needs to run in the Turkey Trot with us - his sprint from the camera to the group was fantastic. I believe it even had Ally doubled over laughing in one picture.

Back to dessert. The chocolate pie went fast. The coconut cake was also a big hit. So big, in fact, that Ben tweeted about it. The pumpkin pie, yum, I about had it all to myself!

We ended the day with a gameplan for Black Friday and retreated to our homes to rest up. However, there were 3 nuts up at midnight already looking for deals. I guess the others are wimps!

A stroll on the UAH campus.

Previously, I've explained my addiction to 5k runs. It's all about the shirt . . . and of course the bonding. Thanksgiving day I like to participate in the turkey trot. It is sponsored by Helpline and takes place on the UAH campus. The starting line is right in front of the building where Ben and I met for the first time. But I digress.

Last year it was Hayden and me. This year we included Ally. Notice I didn't say "invited" but "included". I apparently overstepped my enthusiasm boundary by not asking her first. In my defense, I told her that morning, she did not have to participate . . . and she could still have the shirt. Oh, alright, I'll do it she clearly said moments before the race. And so it began.

Just seconds into the race, Hayden left us. Something about moving at a snail's pace and her sister complaining turned her off to the mother/daughter bonding experience and made her run as fast as she could to get as far as she could in front of us. By mile 0.2, Ally was done. If I had seen Ben, she would have been ejected from the race. No it wasn't until mile 2.5 that we saw Ben and the boys and by that point I was bound and determined to make her finish this race.

I finally got her to move it along when I told her I would race her to the finish. If she won, I would do her chores for a week, if I won, she would clean the living room each night for a week. She crossed the line first. I was just so glad we finally finished.

Our time, an astounding 50 minutes and 50 seconds. Do you see the trend? I'm getting slower! We did, however, beat the time of the bulldog in the stroller.

Go Hayden Go!

What a nice day for a stroll!

Look at us go!

Somebody doesn't look happy!

No they don't need a nap.

The living room got really quiet. I walked in to see if everybody was still breathing. Guess I was wrong. Ben, they did need a nap.

We had a Wii night.

The Wii gets way underused at our house. To remedy that, at least for one night, we had a little family competition tonight. Me vs. Ben (he just wants to guarantee his win), Hayden vs. Ally (as if there isn't enough for them to argue about) and Caleb vs. Josh (same weight, same height, same DNA - easy match).

Outdoor challenge it is. We started with sprint while jumping logs, progress to a slapping game(the board not each other) and the grand finale is jumping rope. I lose almost every dual, thanks in part to snuggle bear getting fresh, Sadie needing to be close to me and my inability to do anything without laughing. Hayden and Ally each win some and lose some, and thankfully don't have to fight about it.

. . . and Caleb and Josh can jump like monkeys over some logs. Maybe they will be basketball players.

Getting passed.

Drop off for preschool just isn't the same. In the olden days, you would pull up to the door and the teachers would unbuckle and drag your child to their classroom. Now, we have to park, unbuckle, gather our gear, wrestle kids out, dodge cars across the parking lot, walk in, maneuver up the stairs, get to the classroom and spend 15 minutes convincing the boys that their teacher can flatten play-doh as well as I can. Nothing really stressful until the convincing part.

Today, the stairwell became another "stress-zone" for me. I get it. The boys are slow, not because they aren't familiar with stairs, they are lingering in the stairwell for extra bonding time with me. I am slow, not because I want to be, but I am following 2 lingering boys and I have 2 backpacks. There was a Momma today that didn't care what my issues were, she wanted up the stairs. After bumping me in the rear with her son's backpack several times, I asked if she wanted to pass. Affirmative. The boys and I huddled against the railing while she hustled her son up the stairs. One of my favorite people at Mt. Zion made a face and I could tell she was thinking the same thing as me. "Take it easy, lady. I know your freedom is minutes away, but really? Really?" Another friend, laughed and joked that I got passed. No kidding. Not like it's my first time.

After delivering the boys to their teacher, I had to show out. It further encouraged my immature behavior that my friends were still laughing and the stairs were empty. At first I hogged the stairs, then I decided to walk as close to the wall as possible. Imagine a mix between Spiderman and spastic Mommy. Everybody thought it was funny until a high school friend's husband entered the stair well. I no longer thought that it was funny, more embarrassing. My friends . . . no longer funny either. Hysterical.