Blueberry Ever After

This weekend we are hosting my sister Becky, my brother Matt and his wife Caroline and Caroline's brother Wally for Thanksgiving. We have already told Wally that from now on he'll be referred to as brother-in-law because otherwise it gets too complex to explain and he kind of is one anyway right?

Becky and I started the day out with a 5 mile race that Kathleen and Amy also ran. It was pretty hilly so we definitely earned our dinner! Unfortunately the fried turkey didn't fry all the way through so we had to finish it off in the oven and it wasn't ready to eat until about 5pm. So dinner came later than expected but it was good, which probably has more to do with the beer and sangria we used to entertain ourselves while it was cooking than the actual quality of the food.

Luke is enjoying all of the extra attention he's getting this weekend from our guests and had a great first Thanksgiving Day. We gave him a bite of mashed potatoes that to Jay's great dismay he wholeheartedly rejected. He made the most disgusted of faces, an expression that said: What is this flavorless mush you are trying to force feed me? As if!

Jay, Matt and Luke just went out to brave the Walmart black Friday sales. I am happily resting at home in my warm bed with my coffee, trying to avoid the holiday crazies. Caroline and I may venture out later in the day when those 3amers are safely out of the way though.

Happy Black Friday everyone! :)

Luke modeling his indian headdress project from daycare:

Hanging with Mommy while waiting for the turkey to finish cooking:

Luke finally let Uncle Wally hold him--he was scared of the beard at first but now seems to be enthralled by it:

Uncle Matt didn't even make it as long as Luke did last night. He promptly fell asleep after dinner on the floor around 6pm. Roux took total advantage of having a new cuddle buddy!

• Burnt popcorn smell.
• People that get up to go to the bathroom on the airplane after they just made an announcement that you should stay in your seat. And also people that get up to get in line for the airplane bathroom when there are already like 10 people blocking the aisle. The bathroom isn't going anywhere people, can you wait 5 minutes?
• People who cut in front of you either while walking or driving, only to go slow. If you are not in a hurry, then why did you have to cut in front of me?
• People who don't pick up after their dog in public.
• Waking up like 30 minutes before your alarm. I can never fall back asleep and enjoy those last few minutes.
• Inflatable yard decorations.

I think that's it for today...

My husband requested a holiday wish list from me the other day and it got me to thinking, as I could offer nothing I truly wanted or needed off the top of my head (apart from a shiny new ipod to replace the one that went missing this summer). A few items began to occur to me this week and let's just say I feel super lame about even putting most of them out here:

• New kitchen scissors. Yes, I said it.
• Dish towels for the kitchen that are pretty, neutral and not stained.
• Hand towels for the guest baths that are also pretty, neutral and not stained.
• I still want fluffy gray bath towel sets for the master bath (see birthday wish list).
• A kickass food processor, perhaps one that doesn't make it sound like a 747 is attempting to take flight from inside my kitchen, like my current one does.
• Aforementioned iPod. Preferably the touch, 16 or 32GB.
• A nice reusable water bottle with a spout, bpa free that doesn't drip or leak all over me, something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Camelbak-CamelBak-Better-Bottle-Limited/dp/B002HQTVXW/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1257972153&sr=8-4

There are actually a couple of fun items like Wii games on my amazon list which I am too lazy to list here. But as you can see, I have the list of a Mom. Not someone else's Mom either, this is all me...when did I get this old?

I ran my first 5K of 2009 on Sunday afternoon, the Monster Dash, which took place in Cameron Village. It was chilly and overcast which made it a great afternoon for a run. Kathleen, Bill and Nolan also came out to the event. Kathleen ran in the 1 mile fun run, pushing Nolan in the jogger like a champion, and Bill ran the 5K and won 1st place in his age group--go Bill! I was just happy to complete the 5K standing and came in at a respectable 32 minutes, considerably faster than the 12 minute training miles I have been running lately.

Of course, it helped to know the cutest cheerer on the block was waiting for me. Jay is training Luke well in the art of cheering. I just love turning the last corner to find them yelling my name and encouraging me (well, Luke isn't exactly yelling yet but you get my point)! But they weren't the only cheerers on deck Sunday. Amy came out to support us all, and my friend and former coworker Ashely stood out in the cold as well, since her place was right around the corner from the race start. Thanks to all of my cheerers, I couldn't have done it without you!

Well, today is my official start date, so little man is over at daycare having his first day of school! Luckily I don't travel for training until next week now, so I am right around the corner from him for his first week. He seemed quite content when we left him this morning. Hopefully he'll have a good day. As for me, I have no computer or phone for work yet, so today will be interesting. At least I should be able to go get Luke early this afternoon. This is my first day alone in the house since he's been born, which is strange, but the dogs are here to keep me company!