we hope it's not

new rule:

when taking down the tramp for winter,

no kids are allowed to jump on the tramp in the process.
enclosure was undone at the bottom,
brennan tried bouncing off of it like he always does,
and there he went,
flying right off of the side of the tramp.
SMACK.
on the ground.
i saw the whole thing.

DOH!

finger's crossed that brennan doesn't have a broken arm.

verdict's still not in.

but he CAN do a push up.

so i think that's a pretty good sign.

just don't press down on his forearm.

he gets mad.
and starts to wail.

it's not pretty.

poor guy.

he now knows that he can't fly.

pity.

 {chase only wants to look at everyone else's books. i say, go get 'em chase, 

give those big kids all you've got! it's payback time.}

the day after thanksgiving

leftovers.

GLORY BE:)

........

after we put the kids to bed,

sean and i watched "home for the holidays."

our family classic.

that i've been watching thanksgiving night with my family for as long as i can remember.

or 12 years old.

or something.

whichever.

most people don't like the movie when we show it to them.

too awkward.

or true.

whichever.

we spent the night laughing at the movie quotes we look forward to oh so very much all year round.

i texted my brother the entire night with my favorite lines.

then when he started watching it at his house,

he started texting me his favorites.

it was almost as good as watching it together.

some of my favorites:

"when you go home do you look around and think, 'who are these people?!'"

"par par, bogey bogey, par par."

"this is not my enormous coat."

"you know, i have this fantasy. you want to hear about it?"

"and we won't even take pictures. so no one will be the wiser. except us."

"too much stuff!!!"

some of adam's favorites:

"isn't your coat extinct?"

"yes, but it wasn't...when i bought it."

"well then, you did your part didn't you?"

"your mother uses that orange lipstick all the prostitutes love."

"best moment of my life. 10 seconds. tops."

"didn't you have a girlfriend?"

"yea, then she went and married my best buddy....and then my parents went and died on me."

"maybe next year will be better for you."

"yea, or worse. merry christmas if i don't ever see you again."

"shoveling turkey and stuffing the snow! as i was saying, God, before my wife interrupted me."

.......................

and then we both agreed that we cry at the end of the movie 

every time we watch it.

b/c we're cute like that.

happy thanksgiving.

:):):)

'twas the night before thanksgiving {puking & other P's}

sean came home with a wild turkey feather for the kids tonight.

i'm not quite sure what to do with it.

brennan was ecstatic!

sean went to throw it out after the kids were in bed,

and i stopped him b/c i knew brennan would ask for it in the morning,

and it is thanksgiving day and all.

so a boy should be able to inspect a real live wild turkey feather as he pleases.

i was told it had been disinfected.

linsey thinks i should put it in a flower arrangement or make brennan a dream catcher.

i think we will parade it around tomorrow and then it will mysteriously disappear.

.....................................

i had planned to have a relaxing afternoon/evening 

of cooking as much of tomorrow's feast ahead of time as i could,

but max ended up puking in front of the pizza section at harmon's with my mom

{and came home smelling like puke},

and chase blew out all over me and his car seat.

{at two separate times--i just didn't figure out any of it until it was too late.}

like i've never been SO covered in poo in my entire life kind of blow out.

like i got all the way inside, went to put him down,

saw my leg,

saw his legs,

saw my hip,

saw my wrist,

saw my hand,

saw NOTHING on the ground--thank heavens.

so of course, i took pictures to send to my loved ones,

so they could share in my smelly tragedy from afar,

pulled the pizza out of the oven with my one good clean hand,

poo covered baby in the other arm,

and threw chase and max in the bath.

puking and pooping smell gone.

and then i thought i'd better check the car seat,

SAW THE CAR SEAT.

and then it hit me.

in all of the hustle and bustle of P-things,

i had forgotten about my beloved vegetable medley veggies. 

that had been steaming in their little pots on the oven,

for 45 minutes.

{38 minutes LONGER than needed.}

at which point i told sean 

"if it's bad,

it's not b/c it's bad,

{the vegetable medley that i'm so fighting for a spot in our traditional feast.}

it's b/c all of the veggies are soggy.

b/c i was cleaning up poo."

and then i asked if he would take care of the car seat cover for me?

and showed him the homemade pumpkin cheesecake, 

and grandma max's sweet potatoes and ham rolls i had slaved over all day.

he of course said yes.

and then do you know what he did when he was all done with that?

he did the dishes.

i know,

i'm ONE lucky girl!

i just sent sean to the store for a late night turkey bag, kitchen rope, and skewers run,

as my grandma gigi informed me there is no juicier turkey than one cooked in a turkey bag. 

is it tomorrow yet?!

ladies and gentlemen,

i give you.....

Beth's 

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

recipe

{go ahead, make one last run to the store for all of this. you won't regret it.}

CRUST

1 sleeve of graham crackers blended/finely crushed

1/4 c brown sugar

1/4 c butter, melted

1 1/2 c chopped pecans, oven roasted {5 min 350*}

FILLING

2 packages cream cheese, softened {16oz total}

1/2 c sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 c pumpkin puree

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 pinch nutmeg

DIRECTIONS

1. preheat oven to 350* 

2. mix crust ingredients together with spoon until soaked in melted butter.

3. fill greased pie pan to mold the shape of the pan.

4. combine cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar, blend until smooth.

5. add eggs one at a time, then pumpkin puree and spices.

6. pour into pie pan.

7. bake for 20-30 minutes or until center is not runny.

8. let cool overnight.

**serve with caramel topping, whipped cream, and ice cream.**

typically priceless

{don't mind my crazy eye. it's lazy.}

{AND it's beauty mark. not a mole. just sayin'}

................

i go months without going out with any friend,

and then BAM!

it was like christmas morning!

all

day 

long

today.

:):):)

lunch with beth and her baby bear.

4 little babes in all.

dinner with ann marie,

suuuuuuuuuuuuushiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.

and movies with she, linsey and marie.

who knew a girl could be so rich with friends.

linsey smuggled in a slew of treats.

i provided the $1 soda mugs.

which i won a free refill for my next visit if it's in the next 30 days.

the cashier told me it's more fun when someone wins one of those when they don't have a mug.

BUZZ.KILL.

i smiled and told ann marie i was glad we upgraded 

to the large popcorn for the extra $1 since, you know, 

I WON a FREE  $1 refill after all.

a dollar's a dollar ya'll.

and my friends,

well they're priceless.

don't worry,

we had the row of ladies in front of us 

take three shots 

before we decided to take this one of our own means, 

squished in together, 

and agreed upon the black and white filter.

typical.

typically priceless.

starving until thursday

no idea what we are going to eat until thursday,

because with all of this food i just bought, 

i don't feel like i have anything to make for dinner until then.

weird.

'twas the monday before thanksgiving...

 this weekend i gathered all of my favorite recipes,

and compiled my thanksgiving shopping list.

we {as in the 5 of us gib's} are going to have our very first little thanksgiving dinner.

all to our very own selves.

which means...

we also,

get all of the leftovers all to our very own selves.

we are beaming with excitement over it all:)

i pulled out my better homes and garden cookbook to brush up on my turkey cooking and carving skills.

except i've never cooked one OR carved one before,

so it was a little more than brushing up.

or less if you're like me and like to 

fly 

by 

the 

seat 

of your pants.

it was actually more like a glance of cook times,

and deciding that i didn't really need to know how to carve a turkey anyway,

{but looking at the pictures tickled my taste buds to preanticipation joy--yep, i made that one up folks}

b/c clearly the carving is going to be sean's job.

as it was my dad's,

and my dad's dad,

you know.

i'm venturing away from the classic green bean side to a medley this year,

which sean is less than pleased about.

due to tradition.

but i told him he will not be disappointed.

and agreed to include green beans in the medley as a compromise.

my parents and siblings will surely disown me for breaking tradition when they hear of it as well.

not to fret,

i vow to win them ALL over to my medley one day.

beautifully mixed in processed cheesy goodness.

i can't wait.

i'll also be making beth's pumpkin cheesecake recipe,

{who i got to squench and chat with on saturday night at megan's wedding--

oh the bride was just BREATHTAKING! the buttons up the back of her dress

made me want to pull out my wedding dress and sew on buttons down the back of my own from top to bottom. her necklace was so delicate, and her hair was up in the most beautiful swirls of blonde.}

the pumpkin cheesecake {as i think pumpkin pie is overrated} will be

complete with homemade whipping cream and pie crust.

beth and i will be eating the leftovers this weekend,

along with using all of the leftover turkey to make turkey noodle soup for the next 6 months,

as i have decided to do a full turkey instead of the mini turkey i thought i was going to do at first.

when i told the kids about our menu they got excited about grandma max's sweet potatoes 

b/c of the melted/roasted marshmallows that go on top.

brennan's exact quote: 

"i WUV that idea!!! i WUV marshmallows!"

and then he asked if he could have whipped cream in his mouth too.

when i told him we were making a turkey he told me they take a long time to cook.

i can't decide if we should cut out the rolls,

but i know for sure we will NOT be cutting out the stuffing,

as IT is my favorite side.

i can hardly wait to soak it all in.

left: beth and me     right: meg {the bride} and me

max had four glasses of the apple bubbly,

chase a sip or two,

although i think most of it ended up on his shirt,

and we all ate beth's homemade crackers 

that i declared i must make to go with my baked bri cheese on thanksgiving day.

from the phototography stuido of brennan...

he's skilled.

we know.

we're signing him up for a photography class

STAT.

he takes at least a hundred of these beauties every day.

i wish he would work with my angles more though.

and shoot from my good side.

bahahahahaha.

let the gobbling week begin!

god be with you 'till we meet again.

last sunday morning,

veteran's day,

at 6:15am grandpa casper passed away.

after a long fight with Parkinson's disease,

his body was finally released from all of its mortal pain.

i sat behind grandma casper during the burial services.

i had never heard what they say when they hand a wife a flag 

from the United States of America 

at a funeral before.

it's the most breathtakingly beautiful sentiment.

that would make anyone want to run out and enlist.

grandpa would have been so proud at how we celebrated his life.

he was a mortician,

so we had high standards to meet.

short and sweet.

and all about the family.

that's how he liked it.

even though grandma didn't want them to shoot off the guns.

brennan loved it.

and collected one for himself on our way out.

we all jumped.

and snuggled together under blankets and coats.

except for brennan, who refused to wear his coat,

and then cried about how he was cold, 

and wanted his coat during the dedication prayer that sean's dad gave.

we warmed up at the luncheon back at the church,

with some of the best ham and funeral potatoes i've ever had.

then we all {grandma included} spent the night playing games, drinking soda, and eating treats,

celebrating the hard working, selfless, and loving grandpa casper.

god be with you 'till we meet again grandpa.

we love you.

root beer foam {my gorilla GO-TO}

from lizard man's tail and the mermaid necklace,

this has become my latest and greatest household go-to.

but beware,

lizard man looks like he leaked root beer foam through his cracks.

just sayin'.

it expands.

but it's well worth the expanding.

aMAZing.