Hubby indulged me with getting a 90 minute massage {which once you have, 60 min just won't do...}and then I snagged the last table at my very favorite french market in town to enjoy a cappuccino, lunch and read a magazine. heavenly. It could just be one of the quaintest little places. :) On my way home, I stopped by the library to pick up some good, classic children's books I put on hold for Reed. I feel like you really have to work hard to keep the childhood innocence and purity in this day and age. sad, but I am trying my darn'dest!
So, not exactly sure how I had my act together enough to be mostly done before Thanksgiving this year, but I actually have my Christmas cards ordered and almost all gifts figured out and purchased. It certainly helps that we have really downscaled the boys' gifts. A Want, a Need and a Read. And they ask Santa for a gift as well {if they've been nice}. They also get gifts from grandparents & their cousins so it's not like they are so deprived and it's still alot. A couple years ago we started to go down that overindulgent path and thankfully this sweet boy clued us in it was just all too much. This is probably hardest for me because I am just an overly indulgent person in every sense of the word. But, I try to remind myself of this quote, "want your children to turn out good? spend half as much money on them and twice as much time with them".
I wanted to have all the shopping done come December 1st so we could concentrate on the activities we have planned for our first annual Advent calendar. Each day we will do a different Christmas-inspired activity. Some small and some a little more involved {and pre-planning on my part}. Reed is no doubt counting down to Christmas so he can get the few gifts he has asked for {what child isn't, especially at four years old} but I want him to know that Christmas is so much more than that, and that exchanging gifts is just a small part of it. Besides him learning about the birth of our savior in his Christian school, I also picked up some good classic golden books about the baby Jesus and the Christmas story so he can start to better understand what this time of year and celebration is all about. I also want to emphasize it's also about giving to others and carving out extra time to spend with those that we care about.
I am so thrilled Reed is off school this whole week. It makes me so happy to see that sweet face of his all.day.long. We did our grocery shopping Monday morning to beat the Thanksgiving rush {we definitely weren't the only ones with that idea} and when we got home he wanted to help put the groceries away. Ummm, okay! I am so thankful for this loving, kind-hearted boy of ours. I just beyond adore him!
I am soooo darn cold. I know much of the country is experiencing a colder than normal spell, but I moved south to get away from the cold...so to warm our hearts & souls, Reed & I have been drinking lots of Trader Joe's hot cider and snuggling under the down throw on the sofa. I try to get Luc to snuggle too, but he is too excited to be walking now to care about being chilly. We'll see how much I love theses "charming" old windows after this winter. They are such a leaky sieve...
Last week I made the mistake of buying these cookies at Trader Joes. Have you tried them? Ridiculous is what they are. I barely resisted them yesterday, and frankly I am sad that they didn't go home with me. But maybe once the scale starts going back in the right direction I won't be so sad. I suppose this time of year isn't the best to try to get back on track...
We are having a cozy Thanksgiving for 4 again this year, and I am totally okay with it. We did get a couple gracious invites, but we decided to just have dinner at home and then go over to a neighborhood friends' for dessert. Luc is walking now and chasing him all day at someone else's house is not my idea of enjoyable way to spend a holiday. But, a few hours, I can do.
I am not going overboard having 15 different dishes...just doing a stuffed turkey breast
with spinach, bacon & herbs, mashed potatoes, maple glazed carrots & parsnips, and green beans with shallots. Making peeeecan bars {my southern pronunciation} dipped in chocolate to share at our dessert hosts {and turkey iced sugar cookies for Reed}. I thought I would also bring them some yummy muffins to enjoy the next morning. After a day of cooking, it's nice to treat the host to something homemade {by someone else}.
Reed {& I} made our place cards for our family Thanksgiving table today. They turned out cute, and wait until his daddy sees his, it has four eyes, ha ha {we were laughing so hard...}
Okay, best get back to my food preparation. Wishing you a warm & comforting Thanksgiving. May you have much to be thankful for this year.
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