Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day! It started out with eating a big, home-cooked breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes. I knew we weren't eating lunch until around 1:00, so I was hoping the big breakfast would tide us over. Didn't work for the little ones! They still needed a little snack mid-morning. We pulled out of our driveway a little after 9:00 and picked up Grandmother and Granddaddy Hollingsworth for our trip to Helena. We had a car full of people, food, movies, snacks, and other fun things for the car ride. Luckily it was only a short one! When we got to Helena, Caitlin and Harrison were more than ready to jump out and play with Laci--my cousin Olivia's daughter who just so happened to be the flower girl at my wedding 14 years ago. It was so much fun to see all of my dad's family like we do every Thanksgiving. This year we got to take Randy's parents with us which was an extra-special treat. My Beautiful Aunt Bobbie and Uncle Joe were there along with my parents (Ma-Ma and Pa-Pa). My cousin Olivia hosted us all in her home. Laci was home from Auburn where she is a senior and about to do her student teaching in January. My sister and her family were not there this year because they were spending the holiday with her in-laws. We missed you Dana, Scott, Daniel, and Stephanie! It wasn't the same without you. I think we all ate enough to make up for you not being there, though. The food was delicious as always. It was a beautiful fall day, and we got to spend a good part of the day outdoors enjoying the sunshine. Caitlin and Harrison even got to enjoy Laci's old clubhouse and swing set that hasn't been used in years. They even managed to get Pa-Pa out there! Harrison got a little cranky at the end of the day and didn't want his picture taken, but that was the only blemish on our Thanksgiving. It just makes me realize how very much I have to be thankful for:

1. My family's health-We had too many hospital visits this year, and I am thankful that we had nothing more serious.

2. My husband

3. My beautiful children

4. My extended family

5. My friends

6. My church family

7. My home

8. Food to eat

9. Clothes to wear and wash (even though this is not one of my favorite things!)

10. The Lord above who provides them all

I hope you all had as wonderful a day as we did!

Dentist Visit

Caitlin had to visit the dentist today. She went in for a cleaning back in October, and everything looked great. No cavities--Yea!! However, one of her bottom baby teeth had gotten wedged in between two permanent teeth, and the permanent tooth had started coming in already. I called the dentist last week and talked to the receptionist about it. She said that he would just look at it today, but when we got there today the dentist said that it looked rather odd. He said that it really needed to be pulled. I had told her this morning that he might pull the tooth. I told her my story about how when I was 10 years old I had four teeth pulled at once, and that it was really easy. She didn't get nervous until they laid her down and put "Mr. Nose" on her. Luckily they let her pick her flavor. (That's new! Back in the '80s, they just strapped it on you and it smelled bad!) And they let her take it home! She got really silly talking about how she sounded like Darth Vader. I was as brave as her--I didn't even flinch when the tooth came out! She was a brave little girl, and I was very proud of her. She started complaining when the feeling started coming back into her bottom lip. I fixed her some chicken noodle soup which she gobbled up, and of course, Harrison had to have some also! We can't wait to see what the Tooth Fairy leaves her tonight! We're hoping that since she had to go through all of that, she will leave Caitlin a bigger amount.

Day Off

We had today off from school! Hallelujah! It was nice to be able to wake up without an alarm clock and to snuggle with my family. We got up and the first thing Harrison asked for was breakfast. Our usual Saturday morning tradition is chocolate chip pancakes so I assumed he would want those, but he decided he wanted to help me make eggs, bacon, and biscuits. Caitlin is usually the one who wants to help me cook, so it was a nice surprise having my little man help me. He was so proud of his breakfast especially when we served it to Daddy and Caitlin at the table.

Thanksgiving Cards

The kids were a little bored, so we decided to make some Thanksgiving cards. I traced Harrison and Caitlin's hands, then they colored them like turkeys. We cut them out and glued them on cardstock. Caitlin then did most of the writing on the inside of the cards. Harrison helped out with his own form of writing. She got a little mad at him because he doesn't write as neatly as she does. I tried to explain to her that he is only three years old, but that didn't matter! He messed up her card! We still had fun making our own old-fashioned cards to hand out at Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday to all the family members.

Rock Band

One of Harrison's very favorite things to do is to play Rock Band on the XBox with his Daddy. So last night we had a few of my teacher friends and their spouses over to rock out. Harrison was right there in the middle of it all. Harrison even has his "own" Rock Band guitar that Randy bought for him at a local used video game store. When we were using Harrison's guitar, he gave us the evil eye until we eased the pain with M&M's. The sad thing is...he has more rhythm than his poor mother! We made a big pot of chili since it was so cold out and ended up having a great time laughing at how musically challenged most of us are! It was a lot of fun.

Field Trip

Yesterday Randy and Caitlin went on a field trip to see the play James and the Giant Peach at the Von Braun Civic Center. It is one of her favorite books, so she was very excited to see the play. However, she was a little disappointed because it was not what she expected. I tried to tell her that movies/plays usually are not as good as the book because you have an idea in your head of what everything is going to look like, and it almost never turns out the same way. They still had fun being together. And of course, the greatest part to her was getting to ride the bus! It's amazing how exciting that can be to a child. I absolutely cannot stand riding the bus with so many loud children, but she thinks that is so much fun.

Sick Day

I was sick, sick, sick yesterday so we stayed home from church. Harrison wasn't running at his normal fast pace either. I think we both have colds. Thankfully we have a wonderful daddy who made some delicious vegetable soup for us! Caitlin was the only one of us who made it to church. She begged to go to Break-Out last night, so I dropped her off and Randy picked her up afterwards. You know you've done something right when your children beg to go to church! I tried to go to school today, but I just couldn't keep up with 19 first-graders who demand every ounce of my energy! I left to come home and sleep in my nice warm bed. What a difference that nap made! When Randy, Caitlin, and Harrison got home, I was feeling so much better and was able to play and do homework. As Harrison and I were playing in his room with all his pirate toys, I realized that I had never taken a picture of his Big Boy Bed. We have not put the mattress and box springs on the bed frame yet because I am afraid of him falling off. Earlier this year he fell off the fold-out couch bed and landed on one of his toys causing a beautiful black eye! I don't want a repeat performance. As you can see, a cold nor a shiner can slow this boy down!

Typical Fall Saturday

We had a fun day today. I had to pick Caitlin up at Delaney and Annie's house first thing this morning after she "accidentally" fell asleep there last night! I really didn't mind because she always has such a fun time at their house. Then Caitlin was invited to Kyleigh's birthday party (a girl in my first grade class) at Build-a-Bear Workshop at Parkway Place Mall. It was a lot of fun building a Hannah Montana Bear with my baby girl plus seeing some of my favorite students on a Saturday. We did a little bit of Christmas shopping while we were at the mall before coming home to our boys. Now it is almost time for the Bama/Mississippi State game. Hopefully Bama will win!