Thankful for Thanksgiving

We had an awesome Thanksgiving yesterday.

The boys caught “Willy Wonka” on TV in the morning and then watched a good chunk of the parade.

After lunch, we needed to get out of the house and do something. So we all walked up to the high school and held the first annual “Rooney Thanksgiving Race” on the track. Nolan came in first and was awarded a medal we made before heading up there.

Later in the day we went over to my sister’s and just had the best time. The kids had a blast playing with their cousins and we enjoyed visiting – and eating! I massively overate, but that’s what it’s all about isn’t?

Don’t worry, this morning I got early to work out. So now I feel a little less guilty.

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us and I even got to watch some snowflakes fall this morning, I’m feeling decidedly less bah humbug about the Christmas season. Now I’m ready! Bring it on!

$27.70

This is the amount of my first paycheck in quite a few years--I'm so excited! Tomorrow I'm going to the store and spending it on my most favorite thing--socks!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our friends and family -- we are grateful for each and every one of you. Chris says Thanksgiving is the greatest holiday--it combines family, food and TV--his favorites! We are spending Thanksgiving this year with Chris' family at his sister Annie's house. All I have to do is make pies, so I have the fun part. We leave Saturday to visit our friends, the Reeds, in New Hampshire.

Family, friends and fun--it couldn't be better!

Get ready for a new resident, Grandma!

Yesterday, Thomas was disgruntled because he wasn't getting something he wanted, so he announced he was going to move to Grandma's house. He packed a pillow, blanket, Leapster and Monopoly game. He said he would just walk there and be back the next day. I told him how much I would miss him and that I didn't want him to go, but if he really felt he had to, then I hoped he'd have a safe trip. He started going out the door, but once he saw it was pouring rain, decided to wait until later. He kept telling us he would go after he played, or after we got back from errands. Then, sometime in the later afternoon, he decided he would stay home after all. Whew! You almost had another mouth to feed, Grandma!

The weather was nice this past week, but the wind came today to bring colder temperatures. On Veteran's Day, the boys and I had fun playing indoor mini golf and lunch with Dad at work. I was in Thomas' classroom helping a few days and went on a field trip with Nolan's class. Today Chris took the boys to volunteer at the food bank while I went Christmas shopping with his mom. I'm almost done shopping; just a few more things.

This week we have a den meeting where the cubbies are going to make bird feeders. I helped organize an effort at church to pack shoeboxes with toys and necessities for needy kids; the project ends this week with the shoeboxes getting delivered. Also, through church, we are going to an intergenerational Advent gathering on Saturday. I am in charge of K-2 group Saturday night. I'm going to have them play with gingerbread playdough while I ask them questions about Advent. I have to make the gingerbread playdough this week, with Thomas' help probably. So between all of this and other meetings this week, I'm beginning to feel churched out! But it's all good stuff, and with Thanksgiving coming, we really have so much to be grateful for. Thanksgiving is at Chris' sister Annie's house I think--can't wait!

Swim Lesson

Here's a pic of Thomas learning to swim. He always ducks when I get the camera so it's hard to capture him. I'll work on it. We'll take some shots of Nolan with basketball soon too.

Tick Season

Yesterday, we went on a hike in the Albany Pine Bush with the Cub Scouts. What a nice oasis in the middle of such an urban environment! You can hear the traffic from neighboring highways, yet there are quite a few trails that wind around and you can pretend you're in the middle of nowhere. It's unusual in that they have controlled fires to maintain the habitat there. The endangered Karner blue butterfly lives there and it lives off of wild blue lupine flowers. So that the pitch pines and scrub oaks don't take over that flower, they regularly burn them off. The area used to be a glacial lake, but over time the lake went away and left sand dunes. It's pretty interesting, and the Discovery Center has lots of hands-on activities. Check it out here. But beware of ticks! We found one on Nolan when he woke up this morning, and one of the other Cub Scouts brought his dog who had over 10 on her!

Other interesting news this week. I subbed as an aide at another elementary school this week while Thomas was at school. I really liked it. It's the first time I did something that paid in 9 years! I can't wait to get the paycheck. It will probably be about $15 after taxes, but still! Tomorrow the boys are home for Veteran's Day. I'm not sure what we're going to do yet--maybe go to the Schenectady Museum. Wednesday, Nolan has a field trip that I get to help chaperone to Proctor's Theater. They are going to watch a short movie on Antartica and then talk to a pilot from the local Airguard about the flights they regularly make there.

This weekend, Chris is going to a Cub Scout training thing, so I get to be Mom Taxi and bring the boys from basketball to swim lesson to play date to birthday party. And the boys are already counting the days to Christmas. 45 days!

Happy Belated Halloween!

There were all treats and no tricks for the boys this year! They had a great Halloween with a parade and party at school and then trick or treating at night. When Chris got home from work, he just had to dress up too as his favorite character and off they went. I got the trick this year--a stomach bug--so I put candy on the front step and hid in the basement on the couch until they came back. The boys worked on their costumes themselves. They both wanted to be skeletons, so they painted bones on their sweatpants, gloves and hats. We already had the shirts. I'm glad they are still young enough to be so cute in their homemade costumes.

We had a whirlwind of a week. Cub Scouts is in full force with a pack meeting and popcorn sales now winding down. Thanks to all who bought from us! Nolan did meet his $300 goal and then some, so he's getting the prize he wanted. They sold popcorn yesterday in front of a local grocery store. Swim lessons just ended but we're starting a new session next week. Thomas just moved up to level 3 which is beginner swimming. He can go 5 feet unassisted now. Nolan started basketball yesterday. Between all of this and religion classes, we are keeping pretty busy.

Last night we had dinner with our friends the Prices. It really hit us how old our kids are getting and how LOUD they are when we're all together! Still a great time and fun to get out and talk to other grown-ups. Today, Thomas got to go see the real Wiggles at the TU Center in Albany. He was bee-boppin' all night when he came home! Because Chris and Nolan are so involved in various sports, this was Thomas' turn to do something special with Dad. He got to pick a friend, and he picked his Grandma Gaba! So Gaba got to dance with the Wiggles too, and from what I hear, was just tickled to be picked. Nolan wanted NO PART of the Wiggles, so he stayed here with me and had a friend over.

I raked leaves and cooked pumpkin for future pumpkin breads and pumpkin pies. It felt very fall-like today. It's All Souls Day today, so I thought a lot today about my father-in-law, Mikey, Matthew, Indy and now my Aunt Helen Jane. In religion class today, I taught the kids that going to heaven is a lot like leaves changing. They're still leaves even though they change color, just like we're the same. So the analogy continued as I raked today.

This week we have election night! I hope my Uncle Rush wins again in New Jersey. Chris will have a very late night. The book fair is going on at school, and it ends with a Poetry Night on Friday. The boys made their own poems and will read them around a bonfire in the school courtyard. There's cider and doughnuts--should be fun. Next weekend is more of the same--basketball, swimming and errands. We have a Cub Scout trip on Sunday to the Albany Pine Bush Discovery Center to do a little hiking. I'll let you know how it all goes!