I'm glad that's over!

What a day! I enjoy having family over and doing the Thanksgiving thing, but this one was stressful for me. But I made it through...and I have the battle scars to prove it. First off, the dog was a pain in the booty. He's a very large English Mastiff but he'll only be a year old next month. Think puppy behavior in an extremely large dog. He's usually very lazy and sleepy when it's just us, but he loves, loves, loves for people to visit. He has no clue how large he is and was all over everyone. We kept putting him up but he would cry like a baby. It was stressing me out. Then, when I was checking the turkey, I burned my thumb and had to peel potatoes. Next, the one time of year that I use a damn turkey baster I couldn't find it. I'm sure it's in the bottom of Abby's toy box. So I was trying to baste the turkey with spoon and touched the top of my other hand on the top of the oven. It actually stuck for second and I jerked it away....OUCH! Quite a few expletives came along with that ouch. So I'm walking around holding an ice pack to my thumb and hand and trying to cook while everyone is chatting and getting in my way in the kitchen. Oh, and of course Abby and her little cousin are having their moments when they can't share or one isn't doing what the other wants.



But you know what. My brother drove to Walgreens without my knowledge and reappeared with something to put on the burns. My daughter and her cousin really did have a lot of fun together. Everyone filled their tummies with lots of delicious food and enjoyed each other's company. I really am thankful and feel very blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wanna smell like McDreamy?

Well, you can. All you need to do is sign up over at Mama's Money Savers to win Avon's new fragrance, Unscripted by Patrick Dempsey. Do you think if I sprayed some on my hubby........probably not.

My baby is 5 years old.

I'll never forget those first few days after bringing you home. I remember thinking, "What have I done?" I was exausted and felt like a cow. You would start screaming at 11pm every night. I would stare at the clock with dread, knowing what was coming. I would also beam with pride when I looked at your beautiful face, studying every feature. I would check on you over and over to make sure you were still breathing. I learned what true love means. It's 5 years later. I can't believe it. You're not a baby anymore. You're a beautiful little girl, and I'm proud to be your mommy. I love you.

Frugal Holidays

If you're trying to save money this holiday season, please take a look at my latest Examiner.com article. Thanks!

I'm sad

Last night I was driving home from work at about 1am, and was listening to the radio to try to stay awake. I was changing the stations, looking for a song. I came upon this song by Darius Rucker, the guy who used to sing for Hootie and the Blowfish. I hadn't heard the song before, but it was basically him talking about his little girl and cherishing this phase in her life, because it won't last. I started crying like a baby, and I'm tearing up now just thinking about it. My Abby is going to be 5 years old next week, and I'm having a hard time with it. I don't know why 5 seems to be a milestone to me. I just can't believe it. I don't want my baby to grow up! How can I stop this process so she'll just stay this age? I'm her favorite person in the world. I crawled into bed with her this morning to get her up for school. We were snuggling and she said to me "I love you so much I could just eat you!" (something I've said to her many times). I just know there will come a time when I won't be the most important person to her. It makes me sad.

I found a video of an acoustic version he did on a visit to a radio station.

Shyness in young children

I've got to get myself organized. I can't seem to keep up with everything I need to do. I need to find someone to do a makeover on this blog, and I need to post more. I'm trying to increase my posts at Examiner.com as well. Please take a look at my article about my daughter's shyness. Thanks!

Thanksgiving books for children

Please check out my Examiner.com article for a great list of Thanksgiving books for young children.

Thanks!

National Young Readers Week

Please take a look at my article over at examiner.com about National Young Readers Week. Thanks!

Parent-Teacher Conference: Interesting information

So, I met with my 4 year old's teacher yesterday for our parent-teacher conference. My husband couldn't go because he's sick. Abby is doing well, according to her teacher. Her only issue is that she tends to be shy and they are working on encouraging her to speak up if she needs help with something. Abby used to be painfully shy. Even when she was a toddler, she would cry if a stranger just looked at her. She would be really anxious in large groups. We've worked really hard not to encourage that behavior but not too push her too hard. She's much better now than she used to be and will even talk to people she doesn't know if we're out somewhere and I'm speaking to them. Family and friends comment on how much more sociable she is now. Her teacher said she will put more energy into working with her on her shyness and speaking up in the larger group because she doesn't want her to get lost in the bigger kindergarten class next year. She also asked me if Abby talks about a boy named Keith. She has mentioned the name before but that's about it. She tells me that Keith is very possessive of Abby and gets angry if anyone else talks to her or tries to play with her. I'm shocked. She tells me that Keith has a speech problem and she thinks he's attached to Abby because she understands him better than most of the other children. The problem is that Abby kind of just goes along with it and does what he says if Keith tells her to do something else or play somewhere else. They have to remind Abby that if she doesn't want to do what Keith is doing, then she doesn't have to. Isn't it a little early for her to already be letting a boy tell her what to do? We are definitely going to have to work on this!

Vera Bradley Sale

Vera Bradley is a having a sale for 60% off their retiring patterns. There are some great deals to be found and there are lots of ladies who would love to get a Vera item for Christmas.

Cute Personalized Christmas Book only $4

Another great post at iMommies shows you how to get this cute Christmas book. My Abby will love it, because her name is in it.

I got my first award!

My first award was given to me by Nicole at Juicy Alligator. Please check out her blog about making yourself and your family healthier. Thanks, Nicole!



I'm going to play along and pass this award on to six of my fellow bloggers. These are blogs that I read regularly and enjoy. Please check them out! This award originated at Maternal Spark and so those of you who want to pass it along can get the code there.

Freaky Frugalite

Journal of Thoughts

The Soccer Mom Files

Holy Cuteness

Tired Mama

A Second Cup

What to do with all that extra Halloween candy?

Check out my latest examiner.com article for a few ideas. I hope everyone is doing well today. Abby gave me her cold...oh joy!

Great Victoria's Secret Deal!

I got 2 bras and a panty for $17.03. Check out Jennifer's post at iMommies to learn how I did it. While you're there, subscribe to her blog. She always has great info!

My daughter, the rock star.

I'm so glad Halloween is over. Abby had a blast trick-or-treating. I felt like such an old lady last night, because the teenagers were really getting on my nerves. They were running around, not watching where they were going. Poor Abby almost got run over a couple of times. She didn't care, though. That girl did some major trick-or-treating. She went until her little princess feet just couldn't go anymore. We live on a busy street, and so we always go to a friend's house. They live in a great neighborhood, where everyone really has fun with it. We get back to our friend's house and hang out for awhile. Tony is in a band with this guy, and they practice in the basement. Abby decided to play some drums, and it was so funny. They had some heavy metal music playing while Abby was playing along and singing.

I know her tiara doesn't match, but she doesn't care, and I didn't think it was necessary to go out and buy another one.


As we were walking, Abby says, "Mom, this is my favorite day of the whole year!"


These girls had fun with it.


And, now for the show.