gobble gobble

wednesday we headed on down to mansfield to spend thanksgiving with corey's family.  after i got off work, we left as soon as i could get us packed and arrived in town about 5:30ish.  we met up with kelly and grabbed a bite to eat at applebee's and then we all went back to the house to relax.  the kids know exactly where the toy box is at granna & grandpa's house and they made a bee-line straight to it as soon as we were in the door.
right before we left, corey threw his back out pretty bad.  he couldn't lift anything and it was nearly impossible for him to walk.  he had to borrow a cane from his parents just to get to and from the bathroom.  after a bit, the pain was bad enough that he let us call our friends dave and tanya (tanya's a masseuse) to see if they could come over and help his situation. 
while corey was getting massaged, we chatted with dave and kelly spent some quality time with the boys.  
some where in there, kelly made a call to ben to wish him a happy thanksgiving and talk about the song alice's restaurant by arlo guthrie.
the kids were pretty good the entire trip although jagger was quite ornery, getting his hands into everything.  at one point in time, he was crying in the hallway for no reason and when kelly and i went to go get him, he turned around and pointed at me very angrily, much like the evil monkey from family guy.  still not sure what that was all about.
it's getting harder and harder to capture pictures of that kid.  he runs from me when i get the camera out.

after staying up late talking with everyone, we finally turned in around midnightish.  i was a little wary about how the night was going to go because the kids have a really hard time sleeping anywhere but in their own beds.  we had decided to bring jagger's mattress which we set on the floor next to our bed and it worked perfectly.  cash and slade slept in pack n plays at the foot of the bed and they did get up a couple of times each, but the night went much better than i expected.

on thursday, jagger woke up at 7:30, which was way too early for me, so i let him hang out with granna & kelly and i went back to sleep.  cash and slade woke up at 9:00am and this was the look i was greeted with when i got slade out of bed.
kinda reminds me of nick nolte's mug shot, don't you think?  if he just had a little bit more hair...

the kids ate breakfast and we all just lounged around until it was time to start getting the table and food ready.  
grandpa serenaded the kids with some snazzy saxophone playing.  they were mesmerized.
jagger kept crawling around under the dining room table and slade would try to follow him, but he kept getting stuck.
then jagger tried dipping into the pies a little early.  
finally it was time to eat!  cash and slade thoroughly enjoyed the meal, but jagger was needing a nap by then and so he was not as pleasant at the table.  and even though it was nice to not have to fight over the mashed potatoes, i was pretty sad that andy, kate, and tek couldn't be there with us.
cash and slade went straight into the tub after the meal :)

once we let the food settle for a bit, kelly, tom, & the dogs and i, took a nice long walk over to fox glen to work some of those calories off.
once we got back, more lounging around ensued.  after a little while, i noticed jagger was missing and i hadn't heard a peep from him for quite some time.  i yelled for him and he came running out of corey's parents room covered in powder.  when we went back into the bedroom, we discovered the "powder" was actually ashes from their wood-burning stove and he had dumped them in piles all over the carpet.  here is some of the evidence:

that kid gets into everything, and i know it's only going to get worse when the other two are walking.  i just know the three of them are going to conspire together ;)  

we were able to get an ichat in with the savannah blairs, which was nice, but not as good as having them here with us.  it was great seeing tek walk.  we are so looking forward to seeing them after christmas.

at 6:00pm, we packed up the car and headed back to warren, since i have to be at work at 7:00am on friday, but it was a great meal with good company and i took a ton a photos (of which you are only seeing a fraction of).   i'm glad we made the trip.

christmas is just shy of 4 weeks away (!) so we'll be back soon :)

randomness

the fish was this big!

o.k., maybe it was this big.
thug life ain't easy
do you like fava beans?  slurp, slurp, slurp

thanksgiving

tonight at church we had a huge family thanksgiving.  it was a great turnout (over 60 people!) and lots and lots of good food.  i would say it was a smashing success (to use magen's words).  i'm pretty sure it's going to become an annual event.  here's a visual of the night:
the setup:
the plating:
the digging in:
the clean-up:

finally

it seems like the boys are on the mend.  finally.  i've got to say, it has been one miserable week.  so glad that they are getting back to their normal selves.  pictures to come soon.

as for twilight.  i have to be honest, i didn't care for it.  perhaps i'm being overly critical or i just expected too much.  the casting was not the greatest.  the acting was not the greatest.  several times i laughed out loud at how cheesy scenes were.  the jasper character reminded me of edward scissorhands.  a lot of time was wasted on stuff that didn't matter when they could have been telling more story.  so much stuff was done out of order or just not right at all.  i know it's hard to make a movie as good as the book, but i feel like they could have done so much better (i mean, look at the harry potter movies. i love them).  it was interesting being in a theater full of teenage girls.  there was a lot of talking (to the screen) and clapping going on, and i kinda hate that stuff while i'm watching a movie.  it's not like it's a play, you know what i mean?  i'm glad i saw it, but i have no desire to see it again and i won't be buying the dvd when it comes out.  it's a shame, for i do so love the books.  i've been checking the reviews and i see my opinion is definitely the minority.  everyone seems to be loving it and and i just can't understand why.  oh well.  

twilight

tonight!  @ midnight.  so excited. 

2am

these blair boys, they be sick.  again.  specifically, cash and slade.  it started on sunday.  and it is miserable.  for us. for them.  i swear, it stresses me out when they're not well.  doesn't it seem like they are always sick?  it does to me.  i think all it is is a cold.  they are hot.  on fire even.  and we have been doing everything to cool them down.  strip them down to their diapers.  cool baths.  alternating tylenol and motrin.  poor cash is pretty lethargic.  he just whimpers and wants to be held.  and he's sleeping a lot.  slade has a major runny nose to go with his fever.  plus he's cranky.  way more than the usual cranky.  and they seem to have little internal alarm clocks set to go off @ 2am.  slade wakes first.  screaming.  which then wakes up cash.  and then that's it, they are up and unhappy until they finally fall back to sleep around 5am.  this has happened the past two nights.  not fun.  and i just feel so bad for them 'cause i know they are feeling cruddy.  thankfully, jagger seems to be doing alright.  not showing any signs of sickness.  yet.  i prefer healthy kids to sick ones.  so i'm looking forward to the day when they are well.  hopefully it will be soon.  

big brother is always watching

this is how we keep an eye on the kids.  cameras everywhere!

channel 1: cash's crib

channel 2: slade's crib

channel 3:  jagger's room

channel 4:  yet to be determined

(notice where jagger is in his room?  not in his bed, that's for sure.  look at the time, it's p.m.!) 

three cheers for good friends!

today was a good day.
i got to spend some time with my good friend jessica, sans kids.
she is heading south for the winter (4 months!) and i'm trying to squeeze in as much time with her that i can before she leaves.
we decided we had to get her feet beach ready, so it was essential that we get pedicures.
uh, pedicures are glorious.
and then she surprised me with some gifts to "remember her by."
she knows of my love for funky knee socks.
so she hand picked me a pair with special meaning.
it seems that every time we're out together, if i spot anything with butterflies, i tell her that "butterflies are all the rage this season."
and i point out owls everywhere 'cause i like them.
thus creating this magnificent ensemble.
i will wear them with pride (matching is not necessary for me) :)

and then, to top it off, jessica made me this sweet mix cd.
people don't make mix cds much anymore and i think we need to bring it back, 'cause i'm a fan.
next up, twilight movie midnight showing.
oh, jessica, i'm gonna miss you.
send me postcards and make sure you blog!

what in the world?!

yesterday, when i went to get jagger out of his room after his "nap,"  this is what i walked into. what is that kid doing?  obviously not sleeping. he is insane.

Happy Birthday Ali!

I wish we could be there with you.

I hope your party was great and 

you got everything a little girl could want.

We can't wait to see you again!

practice

slade has decided to start practicing his walking skills.  it involves the dining room table chairs.  he pulls himself up and starts pushing the chair while walking behind it, until it will go no further.  once he gets stuck and the chair won't move anymore, he gets mad.  until we re-situate him and he is able to push/walk some more...

uh-oh!  chair's stuck

 time to re-situate and start again

Saturday

7:44 am -- cash wakes up.  too early for mama.  give him a bottle and he falls back to sleep.  so does mama.

9:12 am -- slade wakes up.  change his diaper, dress him for the day, and head to the store to get some groceries.   decide to take advantage of the fact that i only have one kid with me and swing by linens 'n' things to check out their going out of business sale.  blah.  only at 20% off; still too expensive.  also swing by cord camera to see if they are having a going out of business sale.  nope.  they are just locked up with a sign saying "this location closed."  sadness.  they were my favorite scrapbook shop in the area.
--  jagger and cash wake up while we're gone.

--  11:07 am --  start making breakfast, only now it's more like brunch.  biscuits and sausage gravy.  yum!
--  11:25 am -- corey leaves for work.

--  11:49 am  -- kids are done eating and head back to jagger's room to play.

--  11:56 am -- assembly line diaper changes. start doing laundry.  flip through a few magazines i got in the mail the other day (everyday with rachel ray & wondertime).

--  man, i started working out on thursday, as part of my plan to lose weight, and  i hurt.  everywhere.  

--  found a little dr. seuss backpack that we got as a gift with a purchase of a few books a while back.  show it to jagger.  he loves it.  has been filling it with stuff and running around with it on for the past 45 minutes.
--  1:01 pm -- naptime!  cash and slade go down for the count. @ 1:24 pm, try putting jagger down.  don't know if it will work, right now he is crying at the door.  1:35 pm, check on jagger and he is out.

--  laundy, laundry, and more laundry.  i'm in the mood for a chick flick.  try to watch no reservations while folding clothes.  

--  1:57 pm -- get the mail.  get an awesome card from kelly.  made me laugh out loud.  thanks kell-bell, we love you too :)
--  2:08 pm -- slade wakes up.  

--  3:01 pm -- jagger wakes up.  he's crying and when i get him out of his room, i see that he has somehow tangled himself up with the drawstring on his sweats and his backpack.  spend 3 minutes trying to get the knots untangled.

--  3:27 pm  -- cash wakes up.  make fried rice for after nap snack.  put a little too much soy sauce in it.  oh well, it's still good food.

-- get a phone call from my mom.  it's been forever since i last talked to her.  it's good to hear her voice.  kids go insane while i talk.

-- 4:58 pm -- cash and slade are acting so tired.  decide to try to put them down for another nap.  maybe if they sleep for an hour, they'll feel better (and be happier).  yeah, that lasted all of ten minutes.  good try, though.

-- 5:47 pm -- all kids are screaming.  call corey for his eta.  start marinating chicken for dinner (chicken a la magen).  still washing & folding laundry.
--  jagger is obsessed with the page button on the phone.  he has been hitting it for the past hour.  he was upset when i took the phone from him to call corey.  he has it back now, so life is good.  can't get a picture of him, because he keeps running and hiding ;)

-- 6:04 pm -- corey arrives home.
-- 6:37 pm -- make dinner.  everyone eats.  wolfgang helps with clean up.
-- 7:45 pm -- bath time.  these kids love to splash.  get everyone in their jammies and cash and slade to bed @ 8:20 pm.
-- 8:30 pm - 9:00 pm -- workout

--  9:23 pm -- jagger to bed.

--  9:46 pm -- watch last episode of dexter.  read a little.  head to bed.