Thanksgiving

It seems that every year my family has to work or has other plans on Thanksgiving. We don't want to give up that time together so we just do it earlier or later than the traditional date. This year we did our Thanksgiving the weekend before the actual holiday. It works for our family!

We went to my mom's house in Evanston on Saturday morning. We ate ALL day that day and most of the day Sunday too. We had all the normal Thanksgiving food except pumpkin pie... Can you imagine that? My awesome sister in law came to the rescue with some amazing banana pudding (I really need to get that recipe). Thank You Brandy!!! We played games, chatted, and made fun of the whole family. I think everyone got a turn to be made fun of... isn't that how all family gatherings go? I made a comment to my brother wondering how mormons get through holidays because we don't drink. Most people get the luxury of having a few too many glasses of wine when family times get tough... not us. :) However, I did make it with very few incidents... we will see how Christmas goes.

Here are some pictures of our awesome day!!!

The "work band aid"

So, as you all know, Brian works in construction and he gets small cuts on his hands regularly. They have a first aid kit at work, but most of the time they are out of band aids. Brian, along with his buddies have found a solution... Gauze (or toilet paper) wrapped around the cut with tape. Painters tape seems to work the best. It works for them until they get home or until the cut feels a little better.

Brian has brought his "work band aid" home to the kids. First of all, my kids are OBSESSED with band aids. They have to have one on if they get the slightest scrape/scratch/cut. Cienna even finds places that she needs a band aid if one of her siblings gets one. :) Anyway, one time when we were out of band aids, Brian showed the kids his "work band aid". They thought that this was even cooler than the regular ones... imagine that! So now if my kids need a band aid, they request daddy's "work band aid".

A few days ago Calli got a scratch on her arm and requested a work band aid. We were busy so dad gave her the roll of tape and told her how to do it. This was the result...

ME... ME... ME

Is it really weird that I am writing a blog about myself... I feel weird. Anyway, in honor of my 25th birthday, I am sharing 25 semi-interesting things about me!

1. I am a little OCD... I really like things my way
2. I was married when I was 17 years old
3. I am obsessed with trashy teen TV dramas (The OC, One Tree Hill)
4. I have more black shirts then I do any other colored shirts combined
5. I have 3 jobs not including being a mom or church volunteer- preschool teacher, cheer coach, partner in a tile business
6. I love the color yellow
7. I crave chocolate on a very regular basis
8. I still feel like I am 20 years old :)
9. I drastically change the color of my hair 2-3 times a year
10. I wish I knew how to cut my kids hair
11. I love baths
12. I can still do the splits
13. When I grow up, I want to be a party planner or work in the med field
14. I love to read... anything... newspaper, instruction manuals, directions, books...
15. I really, really hate to cook
16. I still occasionally jump on the bed with my kids
17. My favorite thing to do in the winter is go puddle splashing
18. I am learning to enjoy running
19. I like to read books in the car
20. I am a list writing freak... I write one for EVERYTHING
21. I am still not very good at math
22. I hate the saying "we will cross that bridge when we get there"
23. I think I have the most amazing, beautiful kids ever
24. I love history and sometimes politics
25. I have the greatest family, friends, ward, and group of acquaintances in the world!

Updates

Ok, lets see... Today Cienna had her post op appointment with the ENT. He said that she looks great and that he thinks this will fix her recurrent croup/strider. I really hope so... when she gets sick, it is like the whole world is falling apart. :) Her nasty, horrific, deadly breath is about gone. I was so freaked out when she breathed on me for the first time. I thought something was so wrong with her insides that it was making her breath reek of death. Seriously, it was THAT bad. She seems to be herself again.... rowdy, hyper, sassy, and an all around stinker.
My birthday was fun. The day was pretty normal. The kids had school, I had to coach the cheer team, I had a million errands to run, but that evening Brian and I went to dinner and a movie. We went to Olive Garden because I wanted soup really bad. They have a new soup that is like a chicken and dumpling soup, but I was pretty disappointed. I will just stick with the zuppa from now on. Brian brought me home some of the most amazing chocolates ever! They are local and Brian gets a pretty good deal since his buddy's dad owns the store. The have these amazing peanut butter cups that are like three times the size of regular ones and 20 times better tasting. The kids were pretty cute too. All day they kept singing Happy Birthday to me and then they would ask if I would sing it to them. :) Funny kids! They also insisted on telling everyone that it was my "very special day". All in all... it was a great day!
Calli, Cienna, and I are all getting ready for the Christmas performances. There is a slow time right now with the studio and I am totally loving it! I love coaching and watching the girls, but the Halloween season was a pain in my rear. I am glad we get a little time to recuperate. Caden is doing amazing in school. I ran into his teacher the other day and she is just so impressed with him. She thinks he is one of the best behaved kids she has ever met. That makes me proud, but I just told her to wait until she meets Cienna. :) Brian continues to work all the time. They are so busy, but at this point we are so grateful for any work. With all the building that has stopped, it really has had us worried. For now, things look good... at least until next summer.
Other than that, nothing else is really new. I have some cute pics that I will post later. :)

Well, I just have to say that I have done my civic duty and voted! I feel good about the candidate that I chose and I am excited to see how this election will finish out. There are a lot of things that seem so unsettled to me and I can't wait to know how it will all end up. Anyway, I hope you all went out and just cast one vote... it is such an awesome right and we should all exercise it. Anyway... may the best man win! :)