Where is Everyone?

Does your child use a sippy cup or a bottle? Or maybe are hoping that they will soon... (as I am!) Perhaps you have a pregnant sister, cousin, friend, or neighbor? If you found yourself answering yes to any of those scenarios, than it's time for you to enter the LilyBugs Giveaway. Hurry up, time is running out! Click here to get your entries in. You can enter up to 6 times, depending on how much you interact with my site. Giveaway is open until 11:59 pm EST on Saturday, November 28, 2009.

The Sound of Clean

Some people love the smell of clean. Others love the look of clean. I, on the other hand love the sound of clean. You know what I'm talking about. The sound that the vacuum makes as you suck up all of the food crumbs, shoe-clinging sand, dirt, and other household carpet particles that your family brings in. For some reason, I just love hearing my big pink Dyson suck all of those little pieces into it's bag-less canister, where they swirl around as I finish the job. (and no, Dyson did not provide me a product sample, nor are they paying me to write this post) I generally love that sound. It is so satisfying.

The previous random blog-fart was brought on by my pre-holiday cleaning, in preparation for Turkey Day. This will be my very first time hosting a holiday. I've worked for two days getting everything ready, and I am really looking forward to staying home tomorrow, watching the parade on TV, and visiting with 9 people that I love very much. I have made mashed potatoes, stuffin' muffins, banana bread, rolls, and prepared an appetizer. The rest is being brought in by my guests (including the turkey!) I've also unpacked my china (for the first time EVER!), prepared a centerpiece, and picked out a lovely festive ribbon to tie my cloth napkins with.

It's a little weird because for the first time so much of our family is so far away, and I wish that everyone that we love could join us tomorrow. But I feel very fortunate to have some special people to share Thanksgiving with, and I truly feel that we have a whole lot to be thankful for. I am very thankful to have a great place to call home, delicious food on my table, 3 healthy and happy children, a husband who loves me, and many wonderful friends and family members.

So all of this leaves me wondering, what are you thankful for this year? Please comment and share...

Banana Bread

Banana Bread is one of the few things that I bake from scratch, and it is a big hit in this house. Ron can consume an entire loaf on his own, although he usually isn't allowed to... he must share with me and Joey. In fact, I really think that Ron enjoys watching a couple of extra bananas sit on the counter day after day getting over-ripe because he knows that the banana bread is coming soon.

Since this is my first year hosting Thanksgiving Dinner, (and I had a couple of over-ripe bananas) I decided to add my authentic banana bread to the menu. I had a little extra time this afternoon before the children woke up so I whipped up a batch. I love saying that. Oh, I just whipped this up. Easy-peasy. Ha. So anyway, Joey watched as I poured the batter into the loaf pan. He called it baby food because to usually most semi-solid/semi-liquid mixtures in our house is baby food. I said, "No honey, this is banana bread. Mommy is going to put it in the oven to let it cook and we can eat it on Thanksgiving." "OH-KAY!" He responded. So in the oven it went, timer started, and I went back to playing choo-choos on the living room floor.

Ron came home from the grocery store a bit later, took one whiff, and said "mmmm, smells like Mommy made banana bread." Somehow I figured he knew it was for Turkey Day, and didn't need reminding not to eat this particular loaf the minute it was on the cooling rack....

I suppose you can figure out what happened next. Well actually, what almost happened next. While I was walking down the hall from the afternoon diaper changing station, I caught Ron standing over my perfectly brown banana bread, knife in hand, Joey and Daisy prepared to go in for the kill. "STOP! That isn't for today, it's for Thanksgiving." All three perpetrators turned to look at me. All three were equally disappointed as I quickly snatched up the banana bread, wrapped it in foil, a put it way back on the counter. In fact Joey was so disappointed that I had to bribe him with gummy bears to get him out of the kitchen. (Ron too!)

My Breastfeeding Toddler

Joey spends most of his morning following me around the house while I do various tasks. He rarely sits down or stays in one place for longer than three and a half seconds. Until 10am, when I give him a snack and turn on his favorite show of the moment: Sesame Street. Then he actually sits and watches. But the rest of the time between breakfast and lunch is usually taken up by him bouncing from room to room, often doing silly things, making me laugh, and talking my ear off.

Yesterday as I was folding laundry in my bedroom, in comes Joey. I noticed right away that his shirt was all crooked, but didn't pay much attention to it. He caught my attention though when he turned around and there was a Fisher-Price Little Person figurine trapped between his body and his stretched out shirt. So I inquired about what he was doing. His response? "My feed gurl mommy. My feed gurl baby milk."

I had to conceal my amusement, as I didn't want to squash his enthusiasm for this innocent role play. I was actually kind of proud, because it was obvious that Joey is paying close attention to the world around him, and mimicking the behaviors that he is observing. But I did make sure to have a discussion that involved me explaining to him that only mommies make baby milk, and boys can't be mommies. Now I am having visions of my darling child in preschool tearing his shirt off to expose his nipple and sit down to nurse the baby doll.

Not A Proven Weight-Loss Method

Today was the day that changed one family's life forever. My sister and her three children have started a new chapter. Selfishly, I am excited to have them so close by (they moved into the same apartment complex!), but I have a deep sadness in my heart knowing the circumstances that have brought them here. In an effort to make sense of all that has transpired to lead up to this event, I am having faith that God has a plan for all of us. Good things are ahead for these 4 strong, beautiful, talented, and amazing people. I just know it.

Knowing that my sister was alone in her new home, without so much as TV hooked up yet, I decided to take a walk over to keep her company for a little while before bedtime. She lives on the opposite side of the complex, a decent 5-7 minute walk. We fixed ourselves a drink and sat on the couch together discussing the dramatic events that have led up to this move for herself and her children. We laughed, cried, and (hopefully) comforted each other in knowing that our sisterly-bond remains strong through her difficult time.

As the clock neared 11pm, I decided I should go home to get some sleep, and told my sis that she needed to do the same. Before heading out, I dug through her boys' bucket of Halloween candy for a couple of pieces to enjoy on my walk home. I'll admit, I complained about the selection but managed to find a Snickers and Twix that would suffice.

My sister walked me out, letting her dog have one last pee before settling in for the night. As I walked away I called out to her, "Hey, maybe the walking back and forth between our apartments will help me lose weight!" Her response: "Not if you stuff your pockets with Halloween candy on your way out!" I laughed all the way home.