I have a secret. And, because of recent events, I am going to share my secret. Every week when I go to the grocery store, as a reward for going shopping (because I am not a fan), I get a six inch sub at the Subway that they have at the exit. Usually I even get cash back so Asa doesn't see how often I go, on the debit card. Now, I save up my Subway points until I earn a free footlong. This takes about two months. Then, I go to the Subway that isn't in the grocery store after I drop the boys off at school and collect. Because, it's very exciting to get the free footlong and NOT have to go to the grocery store to get it. It's really very exciting. Today I collected my free sub. I got enough points when I went Thanksgiving Dinner shopping on Tuesday. I've been waiting five whole days to collect, which is much longer than normal. So, at lunch time today, I opened the fridge and smiled. There it was, my footlong turkey on wheat. Complete with lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, pickles, and black olives, no cheese (it gets kind of gross if you don't eat it right away). I sat down to enjoy it, unwrapped it on the coffee table, and picked up the first half. Then, disaster! Phenom, Asa's dog, sniffed at it. I yelled at him, but it was to no avail, he grabbed the half in his mouth and flung it across the living room. It was mayhem. Dogs running to catch the insides, phenom running dragging 6 inches of the bread behind him, and me paralyzed in shock, devastated that my two months of saving points had crescendoed into this debacle. And so, I'm left saving up points for another two months. What a let down.
Anyway, I'm bothering telling you this because after I had enjoyed my much anticipated delicious larger than normal lunch, I was going to be super motivated to put on some Christmas music, and clean the disaster that has become of my house over the last five days. But, now, I'm putting it off a little while later to blog about the past week. Motivation has officially been killed. Just like my love for Urban Meyer, which was DOA this morning when I saw he was going to coach at Ohio State. And, just like our dryer, oh yea, that broke too. I was hoping it would last until we moved, as the dryer belongs to the house and not us, but the hope died yesterday along with the ailing dryer. Oh, Mondays. I should have known better than to get my free sub on Monday.
So, lets go back and revisit some happier times, you know, like 6 days ago, before anyone saw this dreadful event coming.
The week could be renamed into how many turkey food/crafts/items can you make into a turkey shape. Monday we made paper plate turkeys. Peyton skipped out on this one because he was in super big trouble. Lets just say there is now a need for a truth meter in my house. Anyway, the next morning when we were eating our turkey shaped pancakes, he was rather upset he didn't have a toilet roll paper plate turkey to contribute.
The boys had school Monday and Tuesday, although Tampa area schools were off the whole week. I got so much done during the day Monday and Tuesday- chopping, shopping, precooking, cleaning- that I was really happy we lived a mile farther north and therefore in the Pasco county school district. Tuesday night we made a popcorn turkey out of popcorn and brown paper bags. Peyton as this point was really into arts and crafts-more than normal- because he was grounded from pretty much all other fun things.
Calib went over to a friend's house, when we decided maybe we would go over to the outdoor mall and see the Symphony in Lights- a light show they put on to Christmas music twice an evening. Usually Peyton would not be up for such events- but as previously discussed he was bored to death- so he jumped right on board. Calib didn't want to come home, so I just took Peyton and Hayden. It was really unusual because we don't hardly ever do things without all of us. We stopped by Starbucks to get some hot chocolate first, although it was still at least 75 degrees out. Hayden LOVED the light show. At one point it started 'snowing' this bubble foam substance, and he couldn't get enough of it. I hadn't realized the spot we picked to sit was right under the 'snow' maker, so we ended up covered in the stuff. When we got home Hayden kept telling Asa how awesome it was, and how he wanted to go see it again. Maybe we'll get there before Christmas again.
Wednesday, after I made the boys 'Turkey Sandwiches' for lunch, I made Peyton help me with last minute cleaning and cooking. He wasn't very happy about it, and Calib quickly skirted out of the house and over to his friends house again. Partly because he didn't want to hear Peyton whining, partly, I suspect, because he didn't want to use his immunity idol. He's been holding onto that thing for something pretty epic, I've determined. I gotta find a way to flush that thing out, all Survivor style. I did tell Peyton if he helped, I would still take him to the pet store to get the fish I had promised before he got grounded, so he was more helpful than usual. My mom had sent my dads aquarium down with Clint when we saw him a few weeks ago- and Peyton has been dying to get fish for it, I'm pretty confident in saying he asked at least twice a day for two weeks. I poorly managed my time though, and headed out as soon as Asa got home from work, not taking into account dinner before the Second Annual Pie Making Wednesday. We did fit it all in though.
So, What is the Second Annual Pie Making Wednesday? Well, it's the day you make pies for Thanksgiving of course. It's an official event, facebook says so. Though the First Annual Pie Making Wednesday only had 6 attendees, the five of us plus Justin, this year we expanded to the bigger venue of Justin's house, and invited a few more people. Justin didn't get home until 8:30 or so though, so we had to start pie making without him. Ann made some awesome brownie concoction, but ruined it with the addition of pumpkin. Katie and Kevin stuck with the more traditional apple pie. Calib made a cookie pie (delicious with ice cream, by the way), I made a lemon meringue that didn't quite set up right (I should have done a trial run like Justin), and Asa made pumpkin pie, minus a pie shell. Eventually Justin made cheesecake, but by that time it was more "The Second Annual sit around and watch Justin cook while we all talk in the messy kitchen we made Wednesday".
Thursday I got up and started the Turkey. Here's how I generally feel about Thanksgiving.
Peyton: Mom, whats your least favorite holiday?'
Me: "Thanksgiving"
Peyton:"But we get all the yummy food!"
Me: "And, who do you think makes all that yummy food?"
I mean, generally, I cook dinner every night. Thanksgiving is just that on steroids. Justin comes over, but other than that, it's just us. I did find a few more people who had nowhere to go on Thanksgiving, and maybe Brandy will move here next year in time, so I may grow it to a full on misfits Thanksgiving. Maybe that'll make it a little better. It is a good excuse to make sweet potatoes though. Nobody else will even touch them. Hayden won't even eat the part with marshmallows on it. So, I feel like I can't make them the rest of the year. That, and acorn squash. I did even make a bacon weave and laid it over the turkey this year for added dramatics. Asa saw this and said he was going to make the turkey next year. I will gladly hand the turkey making baton over to him. He can have it, and all the disgusting inside parts. Ew.
We did watch the parade, and eat donuts for breakfast, and then watch the stupid Packers beat the Lions, and Suh beat the Packers. Ha! A little NFL humor for you there. The Lions on Thanksgiving remind me of my dad, I was actually hoping they'd win, but alas, it was not meant to be. We played some games, and checked through the ad's to see if there was anything all that awesome. Hayden made a fruit Turkey from fruit kabobs and a pumpkin, which was a big hit. I did add a new Thanksgiving tradition, I saw this idea on pinterest and had to use it. I bought a sheet to use as a table cloth, and everyone drew on it. I'm going to embroider the drawings (which this year was everyone's handprint a la turkey outline) and we'll add to it every year. This will be my first embroidering experience, but I'm pretty confident I can pull it off. Hey, I'm going to make stuffed octopus, if I can do that, I can pull anything out of my bag of tricks.
Thursday night we were trying to decide how to handle Black Friday Shopping. I was so annoyed at the stores opening on Thanksgiving Night. It brought out more shoppers, and a whole different crowd. Us shoppers who have been doing this for years are hardcore, and gladly get up at 3 am to go get deals. These new shoppers have no dedication. Surely, they wouldn't be getting up at 3am, but they have no problems staying up until 3 am to get deals. I went over to Walmart at 9:15 thinking I'd pick up a few toys and the place was crazy. Cars parked in the grass, parking lot (which is HUGE) was full, and I could see people with carts waiting at the registers already. I said forget this, and headed home.Justin was going to come back over for pie, and kid watching since both Asa and I were going to be out shopping. Asa was going to go to Traget to get Calib a netbook, and even though it was now 9:30 and they didn't open till midnight, I told him he better head out, plus at that point we didn't have to worry about a babysitter. He left, and waited in line. He got the second to last netbook, and was within the first 100 people in line. That was the extent of our early morning black friday shopping. I spent most of the time he was gone online shopping. I actually found pretty similar deals online as the stores had, and for the lack of craziness, I was happy to pay the few extra dollars and still get good prices.
Friday morning we got up and headed over to Disney. Cort and Holly were taking a trip sans Gwen and Garrett, who spent the holiday with my mom. They were staying at the Boardwalk hotel, and we decided to just visit them there instead of attempting a park on a holiday weekend. We had lunch with them, where Hayden took the opportunity of no Gwen to talk Aunt Holly's ear off, complete with the Bumblee Bee Song that went on for about thirty minutes. The boys went swimming in the pool, and played some games the pool staff was putting on. I didn't attempt to go swimming- are you kidding me- that water is not warm anymore in November. I'm from Florida people, that water needs to be at least 80 for me to consider jumping in. Hayden guilted Uncle Cort into getting in, and catching him at the bottom of the slide, and everyone took a dip in the hot tub. Afterwards we took a walk around the Boardwalk, where Cort and Asa tried to figure out if it was possible to bury yourself in the sand, and schemed on how to illegally get us all into the Yacht and Beach Club awesome pool in June.
We stopped by the gingerbread house in the lobby of the Boardwalk to count hidden mickeys, and convinced Hayden he found them all. Then we headed out, and stopped at Cort's car to pick up some more things mom had sent, and presents from Cort and Holly for Christmas. We then proceeded to open presents in the parking lot, because that's how we roll. Hayden got a hotwheels/Cars 2 thing that is super cool, and as a bonus doesn't require batteries. He loved it. Peyton got a science water kit thing, which we haven't opened yet. Calib got a game containing 100 dice, which we played Saturday night. This game is super fun, and requires things like stacking dice, drawing pictures, running in and out of rooms, flicking dice, and arm wrestling. I won, which rather upset Peyton, as he went off on a 'Mom always wins everything' rant. Gee, Asa Waterstraut, wonder where he got that from. Oh, and I'd like to thank Holly for the bacon toothpaste. Um, super gross. Asa also got a bacon wallet he's very excited about, and I got a find it game, which I played Sunday with Peyton and is actually way more exciting than the name would suggest.
We were going to go to Downtown Disney after our visit with Cort to watch the Muppets, but we couldn't find a parking spot, and it was taking forever in traffic to even get down there, so we decided to head home. Asa then decided the best way to kill time while I drove home was to have the boys play wheel of fortune on the magnadoodle. Surprisingly, they never put together that Asa was deciding what their spin would be. Although the spinner sound effects were top notch. Final score: Hayden (with Peyton's help since Hayden's reading skills are lacking): $3,655. Calib: One piece of candy valued at 55 cents. He won the prize puzzle.
When we got home it was still early enough I thought I'd head out to see if I could find any good Black Friday deals still going on. I went to Joann Fabrics where they had some awesome deals. $1.49 a yard for flannel. AND if you got the last part of the bundle and it wasn't a whole yard, you got 75 percent off. It was great! I loaded up on fabric, and then headed over to the mall thinking I would pick up the boys Christmas ornaments for this year, stop by the Disney store, and get the Elf on the shelf at the bookstore. Shows how often I go to the mall.. the Disney store was closed, the Bookstore was gone, and Hallmark had zero sales on their ornaments. I left and went to Kohls, where I came across a couple of great ornaments for the boys, and found Nintendo Monopoly which Peyton will love, and picked up enough to get Kohl's cash. I tried to convince my mom to send me her kohls cash, but to no avail. Rats. Then I stopped by walmart to see if they had anything left that I had wanted to get the night before. I managed to find the last two Xbox Live 3 month giftcards for $12 hanging out with all the other gift cards at the register and some other finds. By the time I got home between all the deals I had just gotten, and my online shopping, I was all done with the kids for Christmas. Justin was here to finally eat some pie, and we talked about how his house will be the perfect hiding spot for presents. I just don't know what to do with myself this holiday season. No more shopping, No going to Ohio. It's going to be awfully quiet and non-stressful. Except of course, for that whole moving/buying a house thing.
Saturday we went out to see The Muppets at Citrus Park. Let me tell you, if you want a movie dripping with nostalgia, this is your flick! I absolutely loved it. The boys thought it was great. The nods to the 80s made me happy. Oh, Childhood, how fun you were. The Muppets remind me of Sunday Night Bubble Baths and Footie Pajamas. The memories! When we got home we had leftover Thanksgiving Dinner, which is never quite as good or as fancy as Thanksgiving itself, but I just had to take a picture. I call this 'second thanksgiving'. Note the paper plates, plastic silverware, and tupperware.
Later, we played the new game from Cort, which I won (of course), and watched some movies on TV. Yay for Horton Hears a Who and the Bee Movie. It stinks nothing is new this time of year, but I love that there's all kinds of family friendly shows and movies on. Plus, theres plenty of room on the DVR's for the movies. Although, watching kids movies with Asa can, and always has been, a little taxing. "Right, because clearly that speck of dust is safer being carried around by an elephant than in a field of totally untouched other clovers'
Sunday was football day, as it will be for the next few weeks here. I was so confident the Bucs would win this week. It's been a month since I saw them win. But, nope. It was not meant to be. We better beat Carolina next week at home, or it may be the last football day we have at home for awhile. I later wrapped presents and watched Tim Tebow take down Philip Rivers away from Asa. I feel I handled the win with class, and good news, Asa didn't file for divorce this morning, so it looks like we're out of the woods, there. But seriously, people, have you seen the Tebow Magic at work. It's dripping with Florida Gator Memory-goodness. I LOVE it.
I guess that's it for this week. It seems like it was a long one, we kept awfully busy. It's back to ye old grind now though. The holidays are a comin!
Oh, and the award for the week..of the fourth most funny person in the house:
Me.. and my Thanksgiving Jokes!
What sound does a Turkeys phone make? Wing Wing.
Whose not hungry at Thanksgiving? A Turkey! Because he's already stuffed!
These Awards presented by Hayden Waterstraut.
Thank you, Thank you.
Hope you all had a wonderful long weekend!
Ugh, and now I suppose it's time to go clean. I had nearly forgotten about the sub.
Next Up: SNOW! For real, actual Florida Snow, Puppy Birthday Parties, Kindergarten friendly recipes, and the debut of Christmas Crafts!
No comments:
Post a Comment