Busy week

Well we have been pretty busy this past week. We are having Thanksgiving over at our house with D's mom and step dad. So I have been trying to get organized and to figure out what we will be making. I bought the turkey last night and will be preparing it for brining. I am not much of a turkey fan but a few years ago I made the best turkey where the breast was juicy and it actually had flavor. So I am going to try to recreate that. I will brine the turkey in salt and sugar water and then roast it. So we will see how this year turns out.

I took pictures of my brother's family on Sunday and my friend's boys on Monday. So I have been fiddling with those pictures. I have also been ordering Christmas gifts, getting our calender and Christmas card ordered, and making gift lists for our relatives. Two main gifts that I putting together for the girls are pretend boxes. I am making a doctor one for Julianne and a hairdresser one for Mallory. I am actually finding real stuff (like stethoscope, blood pressure cup, scrubs, bandages, etc) off Ebay and from thrift stores. I almost have the doctor box complete. All I have to do is get the bandages, ace bandages, and other stuff from the drugstore. For Mallory's I am going to find old curling iron, hair dryer, and then buy curlers, hair things and other stuff for her box. I really like the idea (of which I found off of another blog) because I get tired of the same old toys that they only play with for an hour and then they become clutter in our house. So I think that these pretend boxes will last a long while and since they are made of real stuff and not the plastic kids stuff that breaks after a few months the girls will love to play with them. I am really excited about these things since I really don't like the consumerism mentality of Christmas. I really hate the "have you been good/bad all year for Santa" idea. Really, who thought of that idea? It was obviously some guilt ridden parent who did not know how to parent their child and resorted to guilting them into behaving well so that they could get gifts from Santa. I am glad that we do not emphasis the wanting and getting theme of Christmas. They really have not asked for too much stuff. D usually buys the girls clothes and they will have a few other things under the tree from Santa but other than those items and their pretend boxes that is it for us this year. They receive plenty of gifts from relatives so they will have fun.

Here are some pictures from this past week.





Things I am grateful/thankful for:
-Thrift stores-what could be better than reusing an item that someone does not need anymore.
-capturing moments with my camera
-getting a compliment from a stranger saying that "I had a good yoga practice" she said my lines were very straight and it seemed like I had a lot of strength and endurance.