a slice of humlbe pie to go with all my bitchfest entries....

so jeff has been home now for 10 days and 1 1/2 hours give or take a minute or two. and i am loving it....he has slowed down (could be the fact he worked for something like 36 days in a row), i must clarify, jeff slowing down is kinda like me on crack. however, he has been here at the beck and call of both girls and just when i think i am about to curl up in the corner and cry he gallops into the room to save the moment. izzy even told dadda she needed to poopoo and he took her to the potty, brushed her teeth, nite nite diapered her all the while making it the event of a lifetime for her. i make it sound like he is not normally so helpful, he is when he is home....this being the issue. before going to new orleans the work here was coming in like crazy, still is but not quite so hot-n-heavy.....so jeff was leaving by 7am and returning at the end of bath time most night; this does not leave much time for dadda bonding or mommy help. i will admit the first few days were touch-n-go being he was not used to being here and a part of how i keep it all together (even in my own may not make sense to you way) and i was not used to him standing there trying to figure out how to help or be a part of our chaos. by thanksgiving morning we had figured it out and well, my life has been so much easier since.

i better stop before my dear husband's head gets too big......

i will finish by trying to update through photos from all our many challenging yet rewarding days the past few weeks.

here are the girls halloween night. their costumes were kinda all over the place. these tutus were a gift from momo (my mother) along with matching shirts. i found izzy a bodysuit, wand and wings and she became some type of fairy. poor annie was not in the mood to dress up and she just wore here skirt for about 10 minutes!

as i mentioned before thanksgiving was at our house this year and everything worked out wonderfully. jeff and i teamed up without too much fussing at one another and brine the turkey, roasted and for what was our first 23lb bird....we did a damn good job. i informed him maybe in a few years we should do two turkeys and try to fry one.......my whole family (well, those around here) came over and my aunt with the body of a 20 year old brought gluten-free desserts (have to say they weren't too bad, however, i do like her full-throttle chocolate chip cookies better), even all three of my cousins showed up along with one of the girlfriends. i opted for the easy way out and rented the dishes and table clothes, with a little rinse-rinse and re-stacking in crates clean up was a breeze. as usual we played hours of apples to apples and well, lets just say my mother is a good sport because she gets a lot of shit during this time.

jeff had izzy outside helping him cut up firewood and burn some of the brush. she did not get dress until 2:30 and smelt like a boy....no complaints here, i had lots of free time in the kitchen to work some foodnetwork inspired magic. during the crunch time of smashing potatoes and reducing pan drippings for gravy babci and dadda kept annie entertained by the fire in our backyard. by this point izzy fell asleep and stayed that way through dinner but woke up in time for dessert. cade had some type of flu the whole school break....every time i entered his room i was armed with a can of lysol and breathing mask.....all i could think was who would do all i do if i get this crap!

last friday i had a list of things i wanted to do while jeff was home...go to the parade of lights, the gaylord for the ice wonderland, the zoo, christmas card photo and put up our tree and hang the lights. well, after being sidetracked for most of friday we decided to meet the cooks downtown to watch the parade of lights. okay, we decided at 5pm and it started at 6pm......not only did i need to dress the girls in warm clothes, pack the stroller, chairs, snacks and what not; we were also going to stay the night at the worthington and kinda take a ftw vacation night. the girls enjoyed the parade...jackie and i enjoyed waiting two hours for the guys to return to the suite with uno's pizza (jury still out on this one) but the best part was the following day....after dragging dad and his foggy brain out of bed we went to breakfast and walked around a bit, then annie and dadda took a nap in the room while izzy and i walked down to see my aunt at larry north and read a few dozen books at barnes n noble. on our way back up we stopped in and took a swim with owen in the pool. it was a wonderful 18 hours away from home! (fandango did not agree...poor pup!)

babci (jeff's mom) is doing something different this year for the girls and their christmas gift.....she has prewrapped 24 individual gifts for everyday leading up the christmas morning. each one is labeled and ready to be opened on the appropriate day. i hope to find the time to share them all with you as i think this is an awesome way to kick up the excitement in a two year old who may or may not understand what is going on.

on the first day of christmas izzy and annie received new ornaments....beautiful butterflies to go with a new santa and sleigh for mommy and daddy. m-n-l gives us these polish ornaments every year corresponding with a big event we shared.

on the second day of christmas the girls received new scarf, mittens and hats....izzy loved hers so much she went to bed tonight with them on! annie just patiently, or rather as patient as she can be, waited through whole gift thing for her nite nite bottle and crib.

finally, the girls went over to momo's house today for almost 6 hours. my youngest sister is in town this week so the girls had some much needed aunt cari time too. i came home and worked for 4 hours straight...no interruptions or jumping jacks to keep my eyes open, plus i was able to shower too! they had so much fun playing in the leaves and making christmas cards i think the just might have to try it again next week. well, i have now sat here next to the tree in our quiet house and updated both my blog and facebook....nite nite!