MIA

Wow! It's been almost a week since I last posted... and I was doing so good with the NaNoMoPlo thingy. I do have a valid excuse though~ we've been busy;)

• Last Friday evening we went downtown to make an appearance in the Christmas parade. We froze our niblets off, it was so stinkin' cold!!! We sat for quite awhile in the staging area waiting for the parade to start. As our wagon finally began rolling, Audrey immediately stood up and began her beauty pageant wave. After several enthusiastic moments she turned to me upset and exclaimed "they're not even waving back!" (keep in mind, we were still on the dark, unlit back street with only a couple of people walking past to get to the parade route.) I do believe we have a beauty-queen-in-training on our hands.
• Late Saturday nite, Austin threw up. Twice. First in his bed, then in ours. That only added about 5 extra loads of laundry to the growing mountain in the laundry room. Thankfully, no one else has gotten sick... yet.
• I had cheerleading practice and worked 2 full shifts this weekend.
• Monday I boarded the bus to Waldron with the 3 kids in tow. Even though they are all very well behaved on the bus and during the games, I do believe the 45 minute+ bus ride is the limit in regards to my sanity.
• Tuesday morning it was 3 for the price of 1 as the girls (and myself) joined Austin at kindergarten. He had a small part in the Thanksgiving chapel and then the class had a feast. Lots of good food. Incidentally it was Austin that volunteered to bring the turkey for the class feast. And couldn't be talked out of it. We compromised and took a rotisserie chicken from Meijer instead.
• Tuesday evening we enjoyed chili and pies at church. Once again, I cheated. And once again I enjoyed a yummy homemade pumpkin layer pie instead.
• Today my grandma watched the kids while I went to an appointment and then I got her to stay to give me my once yearly crash course in pie making. She got me through the first 2 steps and thinking I could handle the rest by myself (her thinking, not mine) I reluctantly dismissed her. 5 full pie crust recipes later I was going mad. I.could.not.get.it.right. Let's just say it sucks being a type A perfectionist (sometimes). I finally got a pie together and decided to bake it knowing that it looked too crappy to even consider taking to Thanksgiving tomorrow at my in-laws. I called my grandma looking for some helpful hints. We made a couple of changes to my process and the sixth time was a charm. In the end I can recite the recipe from memory (2 cups flour, 1 tsp. salt, 2/3 cup Crisco, 4 tbsp. water...) I blew thru a 5 pound bag of flour and about 5 sticks of Crisco but I now have a pie waiting to be freshly baked for tomorrow's dinner. At least the kids enjoyed playing with all of the extra pie scraps like play-doh.

So that's my MIA week in recap. We're looking forward to making stuffing and strawberry pretzel salad tomorrow while watching the Thanksgiving day parade. And if the weather cooperates, the outdoor Christmas decorations may make an appearance before dinner with mom and dad Hosmer. Oh, and in case you were wondering about the pie, it's apple. What's your classic Thanksgiving dessert?