Four Days of Reporting in one FAST post!

You may have heard or maybe not - my parents came in on Wednesday for the holiday. Can we say hyper, loved up children? Spoiled? Absolutely not! My mom was better at disciplining Captain Attitude (aka Rhino) this weekend than I was! My folks are good that way!

But on with the tales! Thursday was MY holiday. I was up at 7 and leisurely cooked all day. My turkey came out perfectly; my mom made the pies for me and they were fabulous; the stuffing didn't survive the meal; I got my fair share of the potatoes and here on Sunday almost ALL of the leftovers are gone. An ideal Thanksgiving!

As we all know I skipped out on the shopping on Friday - well, except for that trip to Home Depot for the supplies for the BIG Christmas surprise for the kids (which Poppie got fully assembled this weekend!). We took the kids to the park and just pretty much lounged all day.

Saturday was a quick trip out to WalMart, JoAnn's and Target for some sewing supplies and new sneaks for Rhino and Marmoset (Thank you Grammy!). And then.....Cookie Bake 08! I don't think you guys really understand the level of my passion for baking. I look forward to this day all year. I plan, strategize, and maneuver like the rest of you manage your shopping.

Wanna see what I did? Ok! Since you asked so nicely!

Yes! That IS four trays of sugary homemade goodness. I think (and this is just an estimate) there are about 12-15 dozen cookies there. And guess what? They are all gone! I gave every last one of them away! Yay me! (And yay for my butt!)

There's a more detailed version for you. Clockwise from 1 o'clock: Snickerdoodles, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Lemon Cookies, Peanut Butter Cookies, Peanut Butter Blossoms, and Mantecaditos. (Thank you Erin for the Mantecaditos! Wow! Yummy!) There in the center is a nice little mound of Chocolate Covered Pretzels.

And I'll probably do that again somethime before Christmas - parties and all you know. And of course I'll have to make the cherries for the Christmas Eve party (I've already been told). Let's hope my behind can make it through the holidays.

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend! Make sure you check back later for the first installment of Christmas Around the World! Want to visit any country in particular? Drop me a line at ineedthezoo(at)yahoo(dot)com!

Count your Blessings; Name Them One by One!

Sniff. Sniff, sniff. ::wiping tears:: HOOOOOOONNNNNNKKKK! Sniff. Today is the last day of the Blog Party. Sniff. Ok. I'm over it. Know why? 'Cause that means Trisha starts to pull prizes soon! Woo Hoo!! Even if I don't win something, I already found a bunch of new stalkers - I mean blogs to stalk - I mean! Jeepers! Did I say that? I must be tired! But as great as you guys are, I better stinkin' win something!!

Sponsors: Day Twelve Blog Party Question is Brought to you by Georgie Tees and Mutsy.

VIP BLOGS to visit are Parent Reviewers , Mom Most Traveled, Mommy Zabs, MomStart, HipposToes, Run DMT

Well, anyway. The final question? Considering today is Thanksgiving, I think you probably already know.

I’m Thankful this Year because….___________

Oh where to start? I know in today’s financial climate and with the news that pounds at our brains everyday it is incredibly easy to get washed away in the hopelessness and despair. But I AM thankful.

My husband still has an income.
My children are incredibly healthy, funny, smart and fun.
I have developed a new hobby this year that has brought me some really great people to interact with even if it is on the other side of a computer monitor.
I have friends who are faithful and who take me as I am and where I am no matter what.
I have a warm home.

But the thing I am most grateful for is that I have The Present. If you haven’t read it yet you need to find Dr. Spencer Johnson’s The Precious Present and read it. It will take all of twenty minutes but if you really absorb it, it will change life for you. Especially right now.

I have learned from my past. I trust my Father with my future. I have The Present.

And for that I am Thankful!

Thanks for playing along in the blog party with me. Some of you have become regular rock stars on my reader. Some of you have made me laugh until I pee. But all of you have impacted me in one way or another. Thank you! And thank you to Trisha, Alicia and Bridgette and all the ladies at MomDot for all you did to make this happen! You guys Rock! Even from the other side of a computer monitor!

Grab some more warm fuzzies but checking in with the rest of the gang over at MomDot!

Oh! And Happy Thanksgiving!

Praise the Lord and Pass the Mashed Potatoes!

Can we say blurry eyes? Holy cow! Let's just see. I comment on an average of 15-20 blogs a day; we've been at this for 11 days now? So I'm up to about 165-220 comments? No wonder my contacts took themselves out last night! But you know what? I'm going to miss it. This has been a real treat! And of course I have added so many blogs to my blogroll! Yay! So here we go!

Sponsors: Day Eleven Blog Party Question is Brought to you by Shishu Style and Mimsi Bags.
VIP BLOGS to visit are Parent Reviewers , Mom Most Traveled, Mommy Zabs, MomStart, HipposToes, Run DMT

This was by far one of the hardest questions of the whole party! I hope the rest of the participants did better than I did.

If you could only eat ONE food on Thanksgiving Day, what would it be? Do you have a homecooked meal for Thanksgiving or do you go out to eat? Does your family dress up?

Yay! It’s almost here! I L-O-V-E Thanksgiving! I should have been a cook. Cooking and baking are my therapy when nothing else will soothe my savage breast (which I baste every 90 minutes BTW!) The warmth. The smells. The challenge. The suspense that it all came out right! I’m getting the giddy shakes already!

Oh yes. It is definitely home cooked here. We start with the stuffing which is packed with sausage, onions, celery, garlic, and mushrooms. We fill the turkey and we peel the REAL potatoes. We stew and relish cranberries. The pies, apple, cherry and pumpkin, are baked first thing in the morning to tempt all day. There is a green bean casserole, baked butternut squash or sweet potatoes, and gravy. The table ends up so full that we pass the plates instead.

In regards to dressing? Promise you can keep a secret? I dress from the waist up – pictures and all you know. But you can bet that my legs are tucked inside some nice, stretchy, comfy-under-any-pressure yoga pants! Oh yeah! It’s not about the waist band for me. It’s about the easy transition from Cooking Nazi to Tryptophan Coma Girl. If you are going to get a really good nap in after your meal you HAVE to be comfy!

And now the moment you have been pining for. If I could only eat one food on Thanksgiving what would it be? I like turkey. I love green bean casserole. Stuffing is killer. But if you are going to give me a plate of anything and tell me that that is the only thing I get all day? Bring on Mount Mashed Potatoes! Dump a tub of butter in the bowl and pass them over with a great BIG spoon! Remember the scene from A Christmas Story? "Show mommy how the piggy eats!" Gimmee those taters and I’ll re-enact it for you!

You may have noticed that there aren’t many full body shots of me around. Mashed potatoes will do that to a girl’s butt!

But I'm curious as to what my readers will pick as their one and only. Hmmm? But I'll warn ya, come after my taters and you may draw back a nub! Don't forget to check out the rest of the bleary eyed party animals over at MomDot and see what leftovers are out there for you!