off my feed

a bout of the grippe has sidelined me for the past few days.  hubby and i were so sick.  thank goodness the children weren't sick.  hubby was so sick he took a day off from work - he never does that.  we don't know what made us so sick, but hubby thinks it's the popeye's we ate saturday night.  we're feeling a lot better, but eating isn't up to par.

on saturday we went south to visit hubby's GM.  we aren't going down for thanksgiving and since GM wouldn't see the babies until next summer, we wanted visit sooner.  she really enjoyed seeing the kiddos and we took her out to lunch at a really good buffet place.

we also made our quarterly pilgrimage to bRu, to look for new bottles (the avents leak and therefore suck), sippy cups, feeding supplies (since we need doubles) and a couple of other odds and ends.

i also made my jaunt to borders.  it yielded me loads of mags and books.  to wit:

november's yarn forward

issue 11 of the knitter

interweave knits accessories

interweave knits holiday knitting

november's knitting

december's knit 'n style (and anniversary issue!)

fall/winter debbie bliss magazine


i also got some books.  a couple of winter books for the kids for christmas.  and books for mommy!

itty bitty toys by susan b. anderson

naturally healthy first foods for baby by jacqueline rubin

what to expect the first year


i got this book a couple of weeks ago:

sock innovations by cookie a


thanksgiving is tomorrow.  we are spending it at home, just the five of us, eating very untraditionally (slow cooker hot sausage and peppers sandwiches, mac and cheese).  and i actually baked:

crustless pumpkin pie.  it's basically pie guts baked into ramekins.  when they cool, i'll top with cool whip and pie spice.  grams makes the best pumpkin pie, and for the longest time i thought it was a very special recipe, but she uses the recipe on the back of the canned pumpkin label!  i love her pie, but 'm not so much a crust person.  i'd rather eat the guts and leave the crust.

the kiddos are cooing now and smile more.  now they smile at the sight of me and return smiles when i give them!  and i swear i heard monkey ears say/coo "hello" a couple of times, and the pixie mouth "hi" to the boy.  the boy got an iguana eraser for having a month of no misbehaving at school.

this is the time of year that we count our blessings and give thanks for everything we have.  we should do this every day, not just one day a year.  not a day goes by that i don't thank God for my beautiful, healthy children, my wonderful, patient, kind and funny husband, my understanding and loving parents and grandmothers.  friends, both in person and in spirit.  i'm grateful that hubby still has a job and although things are tight financially, we are able to take care of our children and meet their needs.  grateful for a warm dry house.  grateful for a car that the five of us fit into.  grateful for my health.  grateful for my family's health.  just grateful.

i'm toying with going offline for a few days.  i have a lot to do - decorating for christmas, "spring" cleaning the house, spending time with my family.  knitting,  catching up on reading.  it's a challenge that's due.  wish me luck.