Thanksgiving!

master turkey carver!


attempting a family photo


this one's not too bad!


Mara getting started on dinner (she was getting cranky and tired, so she got a head start!)


ready for a feast!


Mara, Jenna, Derek, and Jay - ready to eat!

Mara enjoying some food

This year was the first time Jay and I attempted to cook Thanksgiving Dinner on our own. It turned out great! We made most of the food the night before, so it was nice to not have to be rushing around doing all of that in the morning. I put the turkey in the crockpot and it was really tasty! We did rolls, mashed potatoes (that was Jay's big project) and gravy today, and my sister and her husband brought stuffing and corn.

What a feast! Everything tasted great, I was so happy! Well, I haven't officially tested the apple pie yet, but the meal and pumpkin pie were great, so my fingers are crossed that the apple pie will be yummy too!

It was nice to be at home - Mara was definitely tired and cranky by the time she finished eating, so she started her nap while we finished up - it worked out really nicely! Jenna had to work at 3pm, so after she and Derek left, Jay and I just lounged around most of the afternoon. It was nice to just relax!

I don't know if it's from being up late cooking last night or what, but I've been pretty tired all afternoon and evening. Must be from all that turkey! I think it will be an early night.

I am so thankful for a healthy daughter and baby coming in a few months, a great husband who puts up with me, and fabulous friends and extended family. I am so blessed!

Turkey, and Cranberry Sauce, and Pies...Oh My

It has been a busy night of cooking, but we are almost set for Thanksgiving! We decided to stay home this year and will have my sister and her husband over for a Thanksgiving meal.

We made our turkey tonight (our first time, and it turned out great!), made some cranberry sauce, and three pies! (two pumpkin, one apple). Tomorrow we'll make mashed potatoes and rolls. My sister is bringing stuffing and corn. Hopefully that will be enough food (ha!).

For now, I'm heading to bed...hopefully Mara will let us sleep until at least 7am...and then we'll start prepping more food. Should be a nice day, good food, football, and hanging out at home!

I'm sure I'll be sharing some photos...

Becoming More Domestic

For quite awhile I've been wanting to become more domestic. Maybe it's a 'motherly' thing. I would love to cook and bake more, but I feel like I never have the time or energy to do it. Or, I'm not confident enough in my abilities to try a lot of new recipes. I'm trying to ease myself into it though, especially now having Mara...I'd like to be able to make meals and snacks that she can enjoy.

I think the big thing with me, is planning ahead. Working full time and then chasing after Mara doesn't allow for a lot of planning and prep time for meals every day. I need to get better at planning out meals for the week, and doing whatever I can for them ahead of time, so it doesn't take so long when I'm already hungry! Also, Jay works sometimes in the evening, and on the weekends, so often he isn't around for meals then and I just get lazy... I know things will be even more crazy after this baby is born, so it would be nice to get into a better routine now, while I have a bit more time.

I really don't mind cooking and baking when I have the time (and energy) to do it, and I think I'd like it even more if I found new recipes that were easy and tasted good too. I have a few recipes that I always go back to, so I just need to build onto those.

As far as other domestic things...I've got a decent handle on the craftiness - I really enjoy crafty things. I could do a lot better with cleaning/general upkeep/organization of the house, but I'm trying!

Baby steps I guess...

Table and Chairs

We've been wanting to get Mara a table and chair set for quite awhile. We were both so amazed to see her sit so nicely at a table at daycare, and thought she would love a set at home too - a place to sit to read books, eat snacks, color, etc.

I looked around for awhile, and asked for some recommendations. My friend Andrea showed me a set from Ikea that she has for her kiddos, so we checked that out and ended up really liking it -- so that's what we got. Mara loves it! The chairs are a little high for her, but she's mastered climbing up on them. She loves sitting at her table. (And yeah...sometimes she loves standing on her chair and then climbing up onto the table too...but oh well).

We don't have a permanent spot yet for the table, so for now it's in the middle of our living room, but hopefully we'll be able to rearrange a few things to find more room for it somewhere!

18 Months!

On October 29th, Mara turned 18 months old. It seems like just yesterday she was turning 6 months old! Where does the time go?

As you can tell, this was one of our more difficult months for pictures. She didn't want to sit still and getting a picture without any stuffed animals was pretty much impossible.

Don't be too disturbed by the last picture...she was pretty mad, but she got over it quickly!

She is becoming such a little PERSON...it's fun to watch, even if it does make me a little sad some days!

Always Busy...

I'm a little behind here, there are a few pictures I want to get posted, but I will get to that when I have a chance!

For now, we have been very busy...Jay is super busy with school right now, plus working, and I can never seem to find enough hours in the day. After Mara goes to bed I'm pretty much useless - no energy left! I've been going to bed pretty early. I'm hoping to start planning a bit better so I can get more things done in the evenings, but we'll see how it goes!

Over the weekend Mara got pretty sick (high fever, vomiting), but luckily it was a quick bug and she is feeling much better now. Poor girl was feeling pretty miserable for awhile. We're hoping to avoid any more sickness for awhile -- my fingers are crossed!

I have been feeling ok, and have started to feel the baby move around a bit more too! Jay was even able to feel one particularily strong kick or punch last week. Most of the time the baby is not quite strong enough to be felt from the outside, since the placenta is cushioning it a bit! It's fun to feel more movement now, that's my favorite thing about being pregnant!

I am looking forward to the holidays, although the weather seems more like spring than November lately! I'll enjoy that while it lasts, since I'm sure it will be snowing soon!

Thanks for checking in on us! I will try to update with some new photos soon!

Halloween Fun!

watcing Daddy carve the pumpkin


really interested in the pumpkin carving


checking out the finished product


our little lion eating a cookie at the daycare Halloween party on Friday

playing games at the daycare Halloween party

checking out the pumpkin on Halloween afternoon

CHEESE!

Mara as a lion, posing with the pumpkin

Mara and cousin Rylee at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Uncle Derek helping Mara pick out some candy (she liked to empty the bucket and then fill it up again)

attempting to get both Rylee and Mara in a picture with Great Grandma

We had a fun Halloween! Mara loved wearing her costume and had lots of fun playing with candy (she did have a bite or two, but mostly she was happy to just play with it!). She got to see her cousin Rylee and actually looked at her a couple times and did say "baby" when she made a little noise. It was a fun weekend! Hard to believe that next year we'll have TWO little ones to dress up for Halloween!