All the turkey details

Now that all the hard work is over, and the food is mostly gone, I finally have a minute to sit down and post a Thanksgiving update. Is all your food gone too? Is it just me, or does it seem like an awful lot of work to go through just for a nice dinner that gets eaten within 30 minutes? Then the continual snacking and pie eating over the next 2 days takes its ugly toll on our waist lines, which continues over the next month with an abundance of Christmas candies. But what a better way to show our thanks...at least our thanks for good food, right?

Enough about that Heather, get to the details!

So I was complaining to Ryan recently about how Im never in any of the pictures we take since Im usually the one behind the camera. I mean, I want our kids to remember me too! So he made an obvious effort over the last couple of days to stick me in front of the camera. Why, oh why did I mention it!? My poor husband cant win. Oh yeah, now I remember why Im the one behind the camera-I usually dont like pictures of me. But here they are anyway, pictures lacking Ryan, and displaying too much of me. Did I mention, the camera adds 10 pounds, or 20 or 30?

I got the smallest turkey I could find at 10.11 pounds. The good thing about that is that it only took about 3 hours to cook, especially since I didnt put stuffing in it (you know, because its bad for you to eat it...or if you didnt, than now you do!) Instead, I just stuffed a lemon up its...you know what, and covered it with butter and spices. Madi was excited all day to help out, and putting an apron on made her even more gung ho, so here she is posing with a lemon.

The kids wanted to try this chocolate chex caramel crunch stuff, so while the turkey was cooking, we added that to our list of preparatory foods. Yum, caramel!

Finally the cooking was done and it was time for devouring! Im not posting a picture of the turkey because I dont want there to be a "who has the best looking turkey?" contest, but you can catch a glimpse of it on the table. It turned out pretty good, although if you really know me, you know I am kinda a meat-a-phobe and tend to overcook fleshy things really well, so we dont catch its various diseases. Well, dont worry, I didnt overcook it...but therefore I was worried the whole time that it wasnt cooked enough, and ate it sparingly in fear of whatever the undercooked turkey had in store for us. No one ended up getting sick, so I guess it was cooked enough. Bon Appetite!

After dinner, we headed over to a friends house for dessert and games. It was good to wind down and have some laughs. We dont get to do that enough. I actually prefer having dinner as a family, and then getting together with friends afterward. It makes for less stress, and a good balance of things. I guess thats about it. I could make a list of all our thankful things, but that would take too long, so I will just say...Im thankful for all of you who still follow our blog and put up with my ramblings, and post a comment even though you dont have to. It makes us feel so loved! Hope you had a happy thanksgiving too!

New Gadget

I just wanted to bring to everyone's attention the new little gadget on the side of the blog, titled "Kids say the funniest things". We always find ourselves laughing at the funny things that come out of the kids mouths, and Ryan actually suggested that we blog these things. Well, rather than a whole post for every little saying, I thought I would just put the most recent funny quote on the side of the blog, so for those who are interested you can just peek over when you are visiting.

The current one is one that always gets a laugh at our house. Zack has definitely watched Toy Story enough times. That kid always cracks us up. Tonight he was put on a "leash" by his loving sisters, and sent to hunt down M&M's like a hound dog. This being referred to as "his new trick" by his owners. That kid can sniff out chocolate...he must get that from me! The poor boy is so confused around all these girls, he doesnt know who he is. He insists that he is a princess, not a prince...I wonder where he got that idea? It is funny to watch, but dont worry- he has plenty boy in him! It will make for good embarrassing memories when he is older!

Look who's crawling!

Thats right...at 11 months and 8 days, Brylee finally decided to take to her hands and knees! I had a video, but cant find the cord to connect it, so pictures will just have to do this time. Usually at this point most babies start walking, but we have decided that Brylee is a perfectionist. She wont move onto a new step until she has mastered the previous one. She became a pro at rolling, and then decided it was time to move on to bigger things. She's getting good pretty quickly with this trick though, so who knows...maybe she'll be walking before we know it!

So now what does life hold for her, and her new discovery?

More toys at her reach.

Getting into things. Here she is going after Madi's backpack,

and shoes.
"Look what Ive found!"

Her favorite new discovery so far though, has been the curtains and the vacuum and computer cords. Looks like its time to baby proof again! And just in time for Christmas! Won't that be fun!?

Rules, Rules, RULES!

Is it just me, or does it seem like there are a lot of kids running around without any sort of parental discipline at all? Bear with me here, Im about to go on a rant...I need to vent!

During the summer months, I have observed the neighborhood children out frolicking about the neighborhood and roaming from house to house...playing on everyone else's swing sets, trampolines, and in their garages. They have even come into my house and asked me for a snack. Excuse me...what? I am not the local snack vendor! I can barley afford or want to give my own kids snacks, let alone all their friends. The only reason they get 2 snacks a day, is because the school requires that they bring a snack to school. Now they are hooked. I make it a point to tell my kids to try not to eat all the neighbors food. Maybe its just the way my kids are, but if they eat too many snacks...they dont eat their meal. And I would much rather them be a little hungry and eat their dinner all gone, then fill up on empty calories and sugar all day. If they are hungry, they should come ask me. Do the neighbors not eat actual meals? Is snacking the new dietary recommendation? Im just trying to crack the cool mom code, because Im totally not getting it. Why is it, when I call my kids in for lunch/dinner, the other kids stay out and play? They look at me like Im from another planet because I want my kids to take a break to come in and eat a meal. How rude am I!?

Do these parents have tracking devices installed in their children? Do they have a bug planted so they can hear their conversations? Even now, nearing the winter months, when it gets dark out by 5:30 pm...I am always the first to call my kids in when I can no longer see them in the darkness. Am I neurotic? Paranoid? Out of line? Just strict maybe? Just when I think Im being the cool mom by letting my kids stay out a little longer against my better judgement, I look out and still see the neighbors running around in the darkness! Dont get me wrong, my kids (specifically one who's short and curious) have been seen wandering where they shouldnt. They have been in places where I have had to go look for them. But when this happens...they are sure to face the consequences of their actions. They know, the rule is that they dont go anywhere without my knowledge. I want to know where my kids are. I welcome the neighbors to play over here, so I can see what my kids are doing...as long as they ask, and they dont want food. =)

Now, we have great neighbors. We really, really do. They are social, friendly, they keep their yards groomed, they dont make domestic disturbances...they are just what seems to be - good people. I just cant complain about our neighbors. But as we all know, being outside of Utah, not everyone shares your same values. This doesnt make them bad, just different. We like diversity. Its no big deal to us to decline a birthday party because it is being held at Chuck-E-Cheese on a Sunday. But what happens, when that same neighbor invites your kids for a sleep over in that same week in which the party was declined? To some you say...let them go. But being the strict parents we are, we have decided to make the rule that our kids are not allowed sleep over's at friends houses. Its for equal treatment really. What may be fun and safe at one neighbors house, may not be at a school friends house when Uncle Joe (the ex-pedophile) shows up for a surprise visit. Im just not comfortable sending my kids to sleep at someones house who I just met.
So first, NO you cant go to that super fun birthday party that is being held on Sunday, and second, you CANT sleep over either. I AM the mean parent on the block. (Just to clarify, they are allowed to sleep over here.)

So lets re-cap:
rule #1: No snacks right before meals.
rule # 2: I must know where you are at, at all times! (they are still kids for petes sake!)
rule # 3: ask permission before going into someone elses home, both mine and theirs.
rule # 4: No sleep-overs at friends houses
rule #5: Sunday is for family time. We can go visit and do things with other people, as long as we are all together. No recreational activities. (Its just once a week!)

So now my question(s) to you is...am I so mean? What rules do you enforce at your house concerning friends? How do you handle sleep-overs? I really must know if its just me being out of line. Please tell me there are other parents out there who discipline their children! I always wanted to be the cool mom...its just not working out for me. You cant be cool and a responsible parent at the same time! At least...I cant.

Halloween slide

Halloween/ Ryans birthday

Halloween just hasnt been the same since we moved to this place. Each year they do trick-or-treating on the Sunday before Halloween, in the broad daylight at the set time of 3-6 pm. Where we are from we did like it should be done...on Halloween. You start out as soon as it gets dark, and go until you get tired, cold or everyone turns out their lights on you. Of course this philosophy doesnt work as well with young children, but they too will grow and also discover the correct method of trick-or-treating.

This year however, the county decided that since Halloween was on a Saturday, they might as well trick-or-treat on a Saturday. Why whoever thought of such a novel idea!? They didnt quite hit the mark of going out at dusk time. We still had to head out at our appointed time of 3:00 in the afternoon; but maybe over time they will realize that this too is preposterous and should be changed. Even with what seems to be an obvious change to me, the people who have lived here and done that forever, could not be persuaded that going in search of candy on Halloween was a good idea. Maybe over time, they too will realize that this is the best way, if for any other reason than just because- I...said so! I mean, why trick-or-treat permanently on a school night?

Anyway, with this wonderful news, we thought it was appropriate to celebrate. We sent out some invites, and starting planning for a Halloween party. As time grew closer however, and I realized I had 18+ kids coming with their parents, I started wondering what I was thinking and began to panic. Halloween this year turned out to be the busiest, and most stressful yet. Ryan and I started off the morning the way anyone would on the day of the year that you eat the most candy...with a dentist appointment. Can you believe, I didnt eat one piece of candy all day? Its true. As soon as I got home from the dentist, I began making enough cookies, cupcakes, popcorn hands, and soup to feed 36 people. It was non-stop until the guests started arriving at 3:00 and I knew it was time to finally get the kids costumes on. Then, off trick-or-treating they went, while I prepared Mummy Dogs with the help of one of the gracious guests who must have sensed my level of stress. The kids all came back too soon, and I continued to run around like crazy trying to make sure everyone was being entertained and having a good time. After all, I invited them here, and it was my job to make it worth their while. I dont want to be known as the person who throws a lame party! So the kids decorated their cookies first which clearly wasnt very well thought out since they all wanted to eat them right away...right before dinner. Then they decorated treat bags to put their popcorn hands and already eaten cookies in. Thank goodness I also has ghost suckers and activity pages to put inside them. By then, the mummy dogs were through for anyone who still had the appetite to eat them.

As the kids ran off to create a tornado throughout the house, (which was expected) the adults got to sit down and eat. Yay, my first seat all day besides the dentist chair! Too bad Ryan opened an aggravated liter of soda pop and it sprayed all over the kitchen, and the food. Sitting is over rated anyway. After dinner the adults were led down to the basement to walk through the haunted house the kids put together, while I lit the candles on Ryans Birthday cake. Half way through the candle, Ryan finally came back up and we sang a quick version of Happy Birthday to salvage what was left of the candles. Lastly, we tried to scatter the children so we could play Halloween charades/pictionary. 30 minutes later, with noise and kids running everywhere, the game started. It was pretty simple...I guess those online clues may have been for kids, so they joined in on that game as well. After everyone had finally had enough, they all packed up and left. Now all thats left is the lingering hope that everyone else didnt feel as chaotic as I did, and actually had a good time.

In the midst of all the craziness, I neglected to even take pictures of the kids in their costumes, so I made them put them back on and pose. This also gave us the opportunity to finally pull Ryans birthday present out of the closet for him to open. Sorry babe. Clean-up, baths and bed couldnt come fast enough, since we had to wake up for 8:30 church in the morning. Thank you for the hour time change! And thank you for days of rest!

Finally what you've all been waiting for, the kids in their costumes:

The Devil

The Witch
The Dalmation
The Tiger
The chicken
Napoleon Dynamite

I couldnt get the slide to post here, so its posted before.

ps. Ryan just read through this and made the comment that it sounds like I didnt want everyone to come to the party. I just had to clarify, that although I was a basket case and stressed out, I am glad that we were able to have a party and most people were able to come. I just like things to be perfect, and thats nobodies fault but my own! I just have hopes that it was fun for all! Thanks for coming...if you came!

Happy Halloween!

*Pause the music at the bottom of the blog before playing this video. Then turn up your speakers!*

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