Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

Pictures

These pictures belong with the post below, although I wasn't smart enough to figure out how to add them to that post.

Are you a guitar hero?

From the start of our trip to Yakima, Greg was set on getting his hands on the video game "Guitar Hero".  This was to be quite a feat being as my parents sure don't have that game, let alone a Play Station.  However, with the dedication of a karate master, Greg kept calling places, pleading with people, and eventually convinced a friend of Hannah's to loan us his entire system for the weekend, Play Station, guitar, and game.  It was an unbelievable hit with everyone, especially my dad.  On Friday night Greg and Dad stayed up until 1:30 a.m. playing bad 80's butt rock until Greg called it quits.  Dad said he was going to play one more song.  Mom found him the next morning asleep on the couch in the family room, fully clothed except for the shirt he was using for a pillow.  Come to find out the man stayed up and played by himself until 4:45 a.m., at which point he collapsed from exhaustion.  He got almost 3 hours of sleep that "night" and spent the next day decorating the house with Christmas lights in a sleep deprived frenzy.  He told Hannah he was going to tell her friend that we had lost the Play Station.  

I also put up a few pictures of the kids helping make Thanksgiving dinner.  I love watching memories being made.  We had a truly fabulous week.  Anyone else find this Monday hard to swallow???

p.s. On second thought, the pictures will have to wait.  The blog won't download them for some reason so I will try again in a bit.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy turkey day!  We have had a day of complete gluttony and it's been glorious.  Our multi course meal was a carb fest.  We washed it down with sparkling cider and a good wine and topped everything off with three different kinds of pie.  Seriously, it does seem sinful to have a holiday that really is based around food but man it's good!  The whole fam was here other than KayLynn and her husband David.  She is spending her first holiday away from home and was very sad.  I encouraged her that it would get easier but I could sympathize.  My first Christmas away from home I called, spoke cheerfully, hung up and cried.  We included Matt this year though so that was fun.  Who ever thought I'd have Thanksgiving dinner with Matt Sackmann????

I hope you all had a great day with people who love you and you love too.  It's so nice to have an excuse to just be with my family.  And tomorrow I'll be up at 5:00 a.m., ready to join the masses for insane shopping.  I do love Thanksgiving.

TGIF

Wow.  This has been a long week.  LONG.  REALLY LONG.  Greg has been in the midst of a deadline that should be, God willing, coming to a close tonight.  I say tonight because the poor man is hoping to be home by 9 p.m., after leaving the house at 5:30 this morning.  I did some calculations and have decided it's been a nearly 70 hour week for him.  No surprise that when he works crazy hours, I feel like I'm working them too.  We are all so anxious to have this week behind us.  The kids miss their daddy, I miss my husband, my husband misses us, and we all miss our regular lives.  Plus, at my doctor's appointment today my blood pressure was up, I've been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions, and I'm feeling generally worn out.  We all need some rest!  Greg has all of next week off but we aren't leaving for Yakima until Monday.  Tomorrow and Sunday will be days of rest.  Rest.  I'm not sure we remember what that is. Here's to hoping that some mama and papa lovin', turkey, football, and time with family remind us. 

In the midst of this craziness, I have been trying to focus on the fact that we are looking forward to Thanksgiving and the things we can be thankful for. Things that come to mind are a job that lets me be at home with our babies, kids who crack me up everyday, a husband who, after 13 hours of work, walks in and changes a dirty diaper, a man who is the best snuggling partner EVER, a thermostat that I can set as high as I want and not worry that we can't pay the heating bill,  and the security that comes with knowing that I really wouldn't rather be anywhere else in the world.  After all this self reflection I asked Aubrey what she was thankful for.  "My blue blankies", she said.  (This, by the way, is what she's always thankful for.)  "What else?"  "Um, Nathan's green blankies?"  To this Nathan ran and got his blankets and I got to hold both my babies on my greatly reduced lap with their respective color of blankies.  And I thought about how I really do have room on my lap for three kids.  Another thing to be thankful for.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

It's good to be married to your best friend

I know I have said that Greg and I can't play games together without regressing to 5 year old bullies, but we have found cribbage to be the exception. We are hooked on this game right now and having a blast. Like all games, Greg is ahead in total games won, but the game tonight was one to remember. After I lead the whole stinking game Greg got SIXTEEN POINTS in his kitty (I know this only makes sense to other cribbage players) and was back in the races. I only needed three points to win and on my next turn got, you guessed it, a total of two. The lowest score of the game. This put me one point from going out and Greg two. Yet, because the game gods were shining down upon me, I pointed out on the next hand's opening play. It was a spirited yet very sportsman like showing on both our parts. We commented afterwards how great it is that we still enjoy each others company and spending time together. I do love my husband.

A weekend with the Jones family

We spent this last weekend in Federal Way, soaking up some time with Greg's sister Julie and her husband Jason. Greg's parents made the trek over as well so it was a family affair. To be honest, the weekend mostly paid homage to the gods of good food and sloth so that must have meant we had fun. In no particular order we watched movies, played cards, ate copious amounts of steak, spaghetti, and chocolate, played with the kids, went to the park, and napped. As an added bonus Jenny and Dane came over for a short visit Saturday afternoon. That was great, except for what was said afterwards. I might have remarked that Jenny didn't look anymore pregnant than I did and Greg said, "No, she really didn't." Then everyone had to be amazed that she was due a month before me. If she wasn't my best friend I'd really have to hate her.

The only downfall was that Greg had to work most of Saturday. He took it like a champ though and we were just grateful he had made the trip. Up until Friday morning he didn't know if he would be able to come so we satisfied ourselves with seeing him during breaks and living it up during the evenings. I don't think Thanksgiving break can come fast enough for any of us.

Have a good week!

A case of the Mondays

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. We had a fantastic weekend and I woke up this morning bummed that it was Monday, my weekend was over, my house was a mess, and my back hurt from sleeping in one lousy position all night. I was grumpy and impatient and bratty. For no good reason! I sulked about all morning, pouty and cranky, sure that my laundry was breeding downstairs and that I'd never see my kitchen sink again. About that time Aubrey began talking about Halloween and all she had seen. She then exclaimed, "Do you remember the pelican I saw at Daddy's post office?" After some questioning I determined that she was saying, "Do you remember the SKELETON I saw at Daddy's OFFICE." It was so funny that I felt instantly better. Taking a nap this afternoon also helped. Greg telling me that he was bringing home my favorite gumbo and an ice cream cake for my birthday tomorrow helped most of all.

p.s. I just sent out a massive blog invite to all of my family. Sorry it has taken me this long, I have been too lazy to enter in all the email addresses.