Thanksgiving 2011

It was a fantastic Thanksgiving full of wonderful family and food.  Tonight I feel so blessed.

Hoping not to forget:

Watching-

*My girls delight with their cousins and their cousins loving them right back.  These sweet girls are in high school and are one talented bunch. They spent hours writing songs on the ukulele with Emma and Eleanor right in the midst of it all.  

*My mom and Eleanor leave together on a shopping trip.  My mom and her mini-me.

*Two lovely cousins as a new wife and a (fairly) new mother.  What a lucky family we are to continually be blessed with more!


Feeling-

*As always completely welcomed by my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Ed.   As I helped my Aunt Kathy with a tablecloth she said "I'm not fancy, I've always wanted to be but I'm just not".  Fancy no, perfect hostess, yes.  Martha Stewart is so overrated.  No fancy table setting or new dish can ever match genuine love and hospitality.  I hope someday when my kids come home for the holidays I'll be busy making sure my house is full of love and laughter and not worry one single minute about fancy.

*My Great Aunt Shorty's great big hug.  She's my Grandma's sister and her hug is the closet thing to a hug from my grandma, it has the same tight hold hers had.  The hug is where the reminder ends though.   At 80 something she can still make just about anyone blush with her probing questions and salty language.   I think I'm blushing right now!


*Loved.  We had care packages x 3.  My mom, my dad and Kyra and my Aunt Kathy all made sure we never had any chance of being hungry on our travels.  Thanks to my dad and Kyra for making sure we had a half way stop too.

Hearing-

*Lucy bark at the cats!

*Emma tell me that one of her cousins told her that she hoped to marry someone without a family so she never had to miss a holiday with her own family and that Emma thought that was so smart.  I love these girls!

And as if we weren't already having the best weekend, Eleanor lost her first tooth last night.  

My baby

Lucy with her first and hopefully last shiner.

Lu is now walking, a whole month earlier than her sisters walked.   She's walking and tripping and getting herself into everything.  It is so much fun.  But boy do I enjoy nap time.  Every single part.  The bottle, the rocking, the holding (and of course the sleeping).  It's one time when I can still cuddle her up and listen to her breathe.   It's like my own little magic potion.  I read the following poem today on another mom's blog, such a good reminder.


The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.


taken from ....
 Ruth Hulbert Hamilton, Song for a Fifth Child 


However in full disclosure, after rocking and cuddling I tear out of Lucy's room like my pants are on fire to get a few things done around our house.

Miss Independent

She even gets her own snacks.  Sheesh!

At least she chose bread and not cookies!  

A rockin' run!

This morning I ran my first post Lucy Adelaide half-marathon.  It was hard and I am tired, sore and HUNGRY!  But, it was amazing!  This summer when I first started contemplating training I was struggling to run 5 miles.  I wondered how I'd more than double the distance.  This training was the best thing for me.    There were lots of days I pushed Lulu in the stroller right after I dropped the girls at school or frantically before I picked them up.  We ran in the rain, in the heat, and sometimes when neither one of us wanted.   All those days we fit in a run when it didn't seem possible, when I wore my running clothes all day "just in case", when we skipped something else even though it sounded more fun, culminated into the best feeling.  Today I am stronger mentally and physically than I was just a few months ago.  Setting a goal and seeing it through, it's worth it.

My little running buddy with our medal.  I tied my PR which makes me super happy since when I started training this summer I just hoped to finish.  Kevin however was AWESOME today and ran a 1:42!!!  A PR for him!  

The best seat

Watching my kids watch the World series was even better than watching the game. We rarely watch any sports but you would've never guessed it had you been in our living room last night.  The girls were so pumped, cheering and making signs.  They watched every moment of the 6 innings they were allowed to stay up for.

Just a few of my favorite moments:

*The girls distrust of the Ranger's pitcher, C.J. Wilson. They were not impressed with his haircut.   Alexi Ogando got their ok.

*Emma's emotion at Pujols being walked.  Her face was priceless, a look of total shock.  Followed by jumping on her chair and shouting "WHAT???  COME ONNNNNN!!!" And then Eleanor's "I knew I didn't like him "( the pitcher that is).

*Eleanor's constant reminder , "Emma, this is just one game, there will be more."

*Emma trying to help Ellie say Pujolis.  El pronounces it Pull-horse.  Emma would, as patiently as she could, say Pujols, slowly.  El would then say "yea, Pulllll-hoooorse".   Finally, totally exasperated Emma said, just call him Albert.

As I was putting the girls to bed Emma said "mom, people are saying the Rangers are a better team, but I don't think they have our heart.  I hope when they go to Texas they can look out and see just a little bit of red and remember we're all cheering".  My own little birdo.

Emma watching the Cardinals play in the 2004 play offs.

Rain drops keep falling on my head...

I'd forgotten how futile talking to a 14 month old can be.  Like explaining that it's raining so we can't go to the backyard to play.  All that my explaining produced was lots of high pitched "neee, neeeeee, neeeeeeeee" and pointing to the backyard.  Realizing this was a losing battle we headed to the swing set, in the rain.  She didn't mind one bit, in fact the rain cracked her up.  Looks like a good rain jacket is in my future.

Baby love

        There are  only a few things that can pull her away from a book.  Sometimes the pull is quite literal!