Thanksgiving Roundup

1. I did not lose 5 pounds by Thanksgiving. However, I'm fairly certain I gained 5 pounds in turkey, dressing, and pumpkin pie alone.

2. The trip to my parents house went fairly well. We borrowed my mother-in-law's Subaru Forrester in an attempt to gain ourselves some cargo space and passenger room only to find out that we probably could have done as well in our Honda Accord. It was a rather cozy 6 hours each way in the car with four people (two in carseats) and a dog. It was the one and only time I've wished that I had a minivan.

It was nice to visit with the my parents and they enjoyed seeing the kids. Maggie got some vet work done by my Dad and is now the proud owner of two gaps in her teeth (she had to have two teeth removed) and a row of stitches on her right hip/flank area (she had a cyst removed). She's a happier dog, though, so I can only assume that her mouth was bothering her even though we had no idea the two teeth needed removal.

I was sick for the first portion of the visit with a nasty cold that left me hacking, nearly voiceless, and choking on my own snot (yeah, you needed that image, eh?). Just about the time that I started feeling better Scot came down with a NASTY migraine and the following day started showing symptoms of my cold. Dude, he cannot catch a break.

Jamie did about as well as I expected him to do with the interruption of his schedule and the necessity of sleeping in the same room as me. Which is to say, not great, not horrendous, but definitely not what I see at home. I'm glad to be home but I know I'm going to spend the next week re-training him to sleep at night.

Liam spent most of his time hanging with Puppa and running himself ragged with the Maggie and Archie (the dogs - Archie is my parents' Cavalier King Charles spaniel). I think he wanted to take Archie home with us - or better yet, just stay there and never come home again. :P

3. I attended my 15 year high school reunion while I was in Michigan. I, unfortunately, only got to stay for about an hour because Jamie had a complete meltdown at home which neither my mother nor my husband could calm so I was called home to deal with him. But, it was nice to see people, they were all really nice to me - even going so far as to offer me hugs in greeting - and it was obvious that my nerves over the event weren't justified. I know that I've changed since high school and it's obvious that most of them have as well. So, the rotten treatment I received at the hands of some of these people is just not important anymore. Now that it's over, I'm kind of bummed that I couldn't stay longer and that even if I could have, I would not have been able to stay out until the wee hours since I have a baby who is still nursing and needed to drive 6 hours the next day. I'm hoping I'll be able to make the 20th reunion when the kids will be a bit older and I'll have a longer leash. :)

4. It is so good to be home. I'm reveling in the quiet of two kids in bed, the husband headed there himself because of his cold, the dog sleeping on her cushion, and the rain on the roof.

Roundup

1. Thanksgiving this year is going to involve a road trip. We’re headed north to my parents’ place. We haven’t seen them for Thanksgiving (or any other holiday, really) since I was pregnant with Liam so this should be a good trip. I’m just hoping that Jamie gets his sleep under control between now and then. Otherwise, this trip is going to suck donkey nuggets. I wonder if they’ve got any spaces open at Gitmo - it couldn’t possibly be worse than what Jamie’s been putting me through lately.

2. In conjunction with Thanksgiving, I also have my 15 year high school reunion. Let me pause a moment here while I breathe into a paper bag. *hyperventilate* Ok, all done now. Anyway, I don’t know how many people will be there and I don’t think I’ve seen a single one of them since graduation day. I’ve reconnected with one or two via Facebook but to say the least I’m a little nervous. I keep flashing back to the scene in “Grosse Pointe Blank” when John and Joan Cusack are discussing reunions.

Martin Blank: Did you go to your reunion.?
Marcella: Yes. It was just as if everyone had swelled.

Yeah. I’ve swelled. Damn baby weight.

3. Jamie, little Nero that he is, has suddenly decided that baby food from a jar? Sucks. He’s become increasingly difficult to feed even his favorite foods. Today I threw up my hands in frustration and started feeding him table foods. I watched him cover himself in avocado at lunch today. But the interesting thing is that if he has something to self-feed, he’ll eat muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch better off the spoon. Sneaky little man.

4. My mother-in-law introduced me to a new and evil cookie recipe this weekend. It’s not only dead simple it’s also sinfully good.

Cake Mix Cookies

1 chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup oil
2 eggs
12 oz chocolate chips

Blend cake mix, flour, oil, and eggs. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop from teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 9-11 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool on sheet for 2 minutes then remove to a cooling rack.

Voila! Scrumptiousness.

I keep looking at this recipe and finding yummy ways to vary it. Mint Chocolate Chips! Sin in a cookie, I’m telling you. Peanut Butter chips! Mmm, mmm, Good. How about a vanilla cake mix with cinnamon chips? Orgasmic!

I foresee this becoming a staple in our house. And I wonder why I swell.