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menu plan : the thanksgiving 2012 edition.

 

i'm a bit of an ocd organizer.  just ask my husband.  i have a binder with every thanksgiving menu i've planned and prepared.  this year marks year number seven.  i love everything about this holiday.  the planning of and preparing of the meal and just hanging out with family.  i don't make a big meal for christmas so this is my one chance to go all out.

this is what we'll be dining on this year...

citrus rubbed turkey with cider gravy.  a new turkey recipe from everyday food.  i made a turkey from EF last year and obviously didn't find it that memorable as i'm switching things up again.  part of it's prep starts tomorrow with lemon and orange.  hoping it's as good as it sounds.

aunt ruthie mashed potatoes.  already made and in the fridge awaiting baking on thursday.  it wouldn't be thanksgiving without them.  there is rarely anything left of this dish.

sweet potato casserole.  love that this can be made in advance and served at room temperature.

citrus cranberry sauce.  this is always the first dish that i make and signals the marathon kitchen session about to take place.  i really enjoy it warm.

cornbread and sausage stuffing.  everyone loves it so it's the only stuffing i've ever made.  i've actually adapted it to make it in the crockpot to free up oven space and it works really well.

brussels sprouts with bacon and apple.  i wanted to try pioneer woman's balsamic brussels sprouts this year but was vetoed by andy and his sister as this recipe has bacon.

green bean casserole.  i've tried making more refined versions, but really only the classic will do.

rolls.  a family recipe that i always remember my aunt making each thanksgiving.  each year i tend to give her a call about her potatoes and/or rolls and we end up having a nice long chat.  always a highlight.

upside down pumpkin pie.  i don't care for pumpkin pie, but this stuff is good and super easy to throw together.

brownie pecan pie.  l-o-v-e.  and it makes two pies.  i was scolded by my husband the year that i gave the second one to a friend instead of keeping both for us.

apple pie.  andy always requests this and i've yet to find a recipe i love or want to devote my time to making one so preparing this one was pawned off on his mom.

here's to everything coming out of the oven at the same time!

that's us.

SportsFreaks? yes, that's us.

i was the vice president of the student athletic board - we promoted all of the non-revenue sports on campus - and we were interviewing for new members.  and in walks this guy wearing this absolutely horrible gold mizzou hat.  through his entire interview all i could focus on was that hat.  long story short, he became a member of our group and our paths continued to cross through the various baseball and volleyball games we attended to earn points for the best football and basketball tickets.  and of course, the guy ends up being my future husband.  go figure.  (and you know that one of the first things i did was lose that gold hat.)

our love of sports continued and has been passed along to our children as well.  literally.  the middle names of each of our children is a street around wrigley field - go cubs!  people always think when they hear their names that they are family names, and i'm sure they are, they simply aren't anyone we're related to.  now that the girls are both a bit older, it's awesome to watch their love of sports develop.  they know that mizzou plays on saturdays and the bears usually play on sundays.  granted, trying to explain the rules of football and basketball to a four and two year old is a bit tricky...

with the holiday season upon us, being like minded it's a win/win to find andy something sports related as a gift.  in fact, i already have!  i like to collect memorabilia for him to go into his "someday office."  that would be the space he'll have in a future house that's all his.  that he doesn't have to abandon to make into a room for one of our children as he has done in the past.  the bears calendar was the perfect gift for him and the rest of our family  to enjoy together as i was able to personalize it with our birthdays and anniversary dates, including photos.

i love that sports is what brought andy and i together and it's something that our family - no matter the age - enjoys together now.

Showing off your team spirit has never been easier! Whatever team you root for and whatever sport they play, find the gear you need at SportsFreak365.com. Just in time for the holidays, you can get 30% off  any purchase using the code “Clever30.” And while you’re there, be sure to enter to win $500 toward team gear in Ditka’s SportsFreak of the Week Contest!

I was selected for participation in this campaign as a member of Clever Girls Collective.

10 inches later.

 

a very exciting afternoon at our house as i took camryn to get her hair cut.  her first real cut as everything else has been a trim to this point.  ten inches donated to locks of love.  so proud of this girl.  

she says she wants to do it again.  wonder how long it will take to grow ten inches of hair this time around?

wordless wednesday : not a rockstar.

 

my attitude towards this one after only taking a 20 minute nap this afternoon.  if he wasn't so cute...

 

carson : 5 months.

 

finally getting a chance to do his monthly update.  this one keeps me on my toes!

at five months, carson :

• goes to bed around 7:15p and wakes up around 7a.  he's been waking up two or three times a night for me to put his pacifier in which let's be honest, is a bit annoying.  leighton did this as well and finally snapped out of it after a couple of months.
• is continuing his non-napping ways. in theory he takes two naps a day.  some days he'll sleep only one hour for the entire day.  others he'll take two one hour naps if i'm lucky.  i continue to try and simplify our morning routines to insure that he gets this much needed rest.
• eats five times a day, about every three hours.  unfortunately we're having a feeding issue but we're still sticking with things.
• is starting to like cereal but would rather gum on the spoon if given the choice.
• continues to hate tummy time.  thus he hasn't rolled over.  either way.  it's not that he can't, it's more like he won't.
• isn't a bit fan of his bumbo seat either.
• enjoys his jumperoo the most followed by the exersaucer and playmat - on his back of course.  
• can spin himself around while laying on his back.  he loves grabbing both of his feet and rolling to the side.
• when in his infant seat he pulls up both of his pant legs.  a super hot look, especially as we head into winter.
• has started taking baths in the bath seat with his sister's.  he needs a towel to prop him up a bit but he was way too long to continue baths in the infant bath.
• current nicknames : handsome, handsome pants - both from mama.  buddy, buddy boy - by the girls.
• loves his reflection and gazing at himself in the mirror.

 

the crazy three that i'm lucky enough to spend every day with.  

menu plan monday : 11.12.12.

 

ack.  i haven't posted our menu in the last two weeks!  i've continued planning, but blogging has taken a bit of a backseat.  there truly aren't enough hours in my day...  here's what we'll be eating this week.

 

meatless monday : baked potato soup.  i made this for the first time last fall/winter and it is AMAZING.  it's also beyond easy as it's made in your slow cooker and makes six quarts.  perfect for leftovers!

i've selected monday as a night of the week for our family to eat a meatless meal as it tends to be more budget friendly as well as a friendlier option for the environment. my meat and potato eating husband tends to go along with this idea because i also make him a yummy dessert in addition to his meatless meal. what can i say, i'm nice like that.

tuesday : leftovers. we'll no doubt have soup leftover and we have some baked spasanga left over from last night's dinner as well.  a win/win!

wednesday : crockpot mexican stuffed peppers. andy really likes stuffed peppers and when i saw this version for the crockpot where you don't even have to brown the meat for the filling first it was immediately added to my need to try soon list!

thursday : breakfast casserole. totally getting into the holiday mood as this is the breakfast we'd eat every holiday morning when i was younger.  it also makes a great dinner as you put it together in the morning and then it sits in the fridge until you're ready to bake it in the evening.  as it bakes for 90 minutes it works so much easier for me as i don't like to rise early to put something in the oven.

friday : garlic pesto chicken with tomato cream penne. i had originally pinned this as it was marked a crockpot recipe and was a bit disappointed to see that it actually wasn't.  it looks so good that i'm going to give it a chance.

we voted.

 

we voted.  and by we, i mean i got everyone bundled up and headed out into the snow.  luckily, it took longer for me to get everyone loaded, unloaded and loaded again than it took to cast our vote.  no line!

this was the second big election in carson's short five months.  when he was just four days old we took everyone to our polling place to vote in our state's historic governor recall election.

 

 

after voting, it was off to the mcdonald's drive-thru.  this has somehow become a tradition of sorts.  not that i'm complaining as i was looking forward to my large coke.

 

 

and the last batch of these came out of the oven to snack on tonight while we watch the returns.  so thankful to live in a country where democracy is alive and well.

 

the costumes.

 

catching up on our halloween festivities.  the costumes were ordered in august and never once did they waiver.  once i knew that the girls were dead set on being princesses, i went with it and made carson a frog.  the great thing about the girls' costumes is that they went directly into the dress-up bin and have been worn each day since halloween.

 

 

my handsome little frog prince.  he was such a trooper while we were out trick or treating.  i had him in a moby wrap and he also was wearing his hat under his costume so i think he stayed plenty warm.  he didn't fuss whatsoever and was still smiling when he went to bed an hour later than normal.  love this boy.

 

 

love that they wanted to be the same thing and still love to dress alike.  i have no doubt they'll wear these costumes until they're threadbare.  the first thing they did the next morning was put them back on.

they're already requesting to go trick or treating again.  a bit bittersweet as i know the next time we go will be in our new neighborhood seven or so hours away.

 

project life | week 40.

Skipping ahead for this month's What A Week feature on the BG blog and chose to document the 40th week of this year – just a few weeks ago!  I’m actually two plus months behind on documenting our weeks this year so I love that this week really documents what my life is currently like right now.  This month we paired BG's Serenade Collection with stamps by my amazing friend Kelly Purkey.

[Left Page] Four month well baby check-up.  The Met Life blimp.  PreK craft project.  Story time nametag.  Afternoon bike ride.  Monthly photo of all three kiddos.  A favorite toy.

Kelly’s October stamp is the reason why I skipped ahead to document a more current week in my album.  This stamp is also perfect to document your life in July 2013 – yes, I checked.  Simply cover the October with stickers and you’ve got the perfect calendar for that month as well!

My four year old’s handwriting is an ever evolving masterpiece.  I wanted to include her name tag from storytime this week and easily did so by simply trimming a sheet of paper from the Serenade 6×6 Paper Pad to fit this pocket and creatively cropping the name tag itself.

Kelly’s Magic stamp was the perfect match for this photo of my daughter riding her bike under these bright autumn leaves.  I actually used the stamp on the back of tag that was tied around the stamp’s handle.  A great repurpose of product packaging!

[Right Page] Craft time after breakfast.  A walk on the trail.  Post-nap snuggles.  4 month photoshoot.  Date night.  Our weekly Target trip.  Tiger fans.

I love using stamps for my weekly layouts as they’re so easy to customize.  Kelly’s Field Notes stamp and a strip of paper provided the perfect embellishment for this photo.

I love the Serenade alphabet stickers and how three different alphas are included on a single sheet.  I paired one sticker with a sticker from the Serenade Titles stickers for an easy embellishment for my son’s monthly photo.