the day before thanksgiving

I have a headache and I'm trying to ignore it.
I was looking forward to today
...but having a headache makes everything harder.

We're going to some friends for dinner tonight.
and we're having some other friends over tomorrow
...for another Thanksgiving meal.
I'm not making anything for tonight's meal.
I am making all of tomorrows.

It's hard moving forward from what you've always know.
The food, the company, the activities, the music, the feeling.
It's time to fill the void with new traditions & new memories
...even if it's hard.




The weather is unusually warm here for November.
The little bit of snow we had is melted,
and winter feels like it's fading, not coming.

The boys are playing in the garden,
with tractors and trucks and shovels.
Ozzie is still in his pajamas,
he can do that since he's only 4. :)

Our 6 cats have adopted a feral kitten.
He's an orange manx just a bit older than our kittens.
The other wild cats have abandoned him.

We took off school this week
and we're trying to get some house projects done.
Too many to do for one week but at least we'll finish a few.

I miss my family like crazy.
The holidays always make it harder.
I wish we were all together, 
but we're not.

I ordered the girls boots
and some winter clothes.
I bought them new,
it's an odd feeling for me.



We're having quite a meal tomorrow.
We had a family meeting to decide on the menu.
It's...
Pomegranate Walnut Chicken
Hearty cheesy potatoes & cauliflower
Tomato basil risotto
nut sweet potatoes
cranberry orange sauce
garlic green beans
honey carrots
nut veggie slaw
banana cream pie
and sticky popcorn for an evening treat
We're going to send out Christmas cards and photos this year.
It's time we sent one again,
the last one was years and quite a few kids ago.

The girls sang me
"you are my sunshine, my mama sunshine
you make me happy when skies are grey
you'll always know mama, how much I love you
and my love will never go away"
last night.
LOVE love LOVE these girls!

What are you doing for Thanksgiving?
Are you staying home,
with our without family?
Do you cook a big meal?

Happy Thanksgiving friends and family!
and now I'm off to the kitchen to start cooking

8 comments:

  1. Happy Thanksgiving to you & your family.

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  2. Sandra Kohlmann11/23/11, 4:04 PM

    Bummer that you have a headache. I hope you're feeling much better by the time you head to your friend's house. Your meal for tomorrow sounds lovely. We have the same meal at my mom's house each year. It is a huge meal and we all look forward to it. We have foods that are reserved just for that day. Our meal will be a loud one, with lots of laughter and talking over one another. We're silly and we all revert back to being kids again. Have fun and happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

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  3. Salt in Suburbia11/23/11, 6:06 PM

    Oh that menu sounds incredible! We are hosting 33 at our house tomorrow, so I need to get back to it instead of taking a break to read blogs! Glad to hear you are sending a Christmas card. I love both sending and receiving paper Christmas cards the "old-fashioned" way. Hope you feel better and enjoy the new traditions you are creating.

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  4. I moved away from my family 23 years ago, I still miss them at holidays. I will do what I have done every year for 13 years. I spend it with my husband, daughter, 3 stepsons and thier mom. She and I take turns which house we will be in, she has this year. I will have them all for Christmas Eve. We are not a traditional family to many but we are to us. My stepsons never had to "pick" a house or miss the other parent. We eat, play board games and love each other. I made new traditions that are so important to me. If my parents come they love my crazy family. Enjoy your new traditions, eat well and have a great day.

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  5. James Valentine11/23/11, 9:36 PM

    Hey! Hope you feel better by now and that your headache stays away for tomorrow!  Enjoy your time with new friends and new traditions and always remember the past but live for tomorrow (which I know you already do!)  I have been trying to eat much healthier (and it has payed off - although i have regressed a bit lately) but I'm a traditional turkey and stuffing guy for Thanksgiving.  Your meal does sound amazing though and I love how you let the kids participate in the planning (I mean it is a FAMILY holiday).  I hope as always that you and your family and friends have a wonderful Thanksgiving and many more blessing to come!

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  6. James Valentine11/23/11, 9:38 PM

    I absolutely love how you have integrated both families and how you can allow the boys the blessing of having both parents around for major holidays and milestones.  Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family and friends as well. 

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  7. Thank you James! I am a blessed and lucky woman. I'm glad it's worked so well all these years. It was tough the first year, putting hurt, anger and jealousy aside. Now it's what family is to me. Happy kids mean happy parents. At Christmas I even have a stocking for his ex-wife on our fireplace, that even makes me laugh:-)

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  8. New to this blog, loving the health, the pictures and the great writing. It's so clean and comfortable here, happy to come by and learn about your lovely family!

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Thank you for blessing me with your words!

Brittany