A Handful of Holiday Stuff

Warning: this post is going to do a yippee skippee back and forth between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Do you feel like Thanksgiving week doesn't really know what is is? Is it still fall, or actually early Christmas time? I guess when you live in Florida like we do, and most season changes exist only in the imagination anyway - it can be whatever time of year you fancy! Anyway, this last weekend was a confusing holiday merry-go-round in our family for sure, so bear with me!

Before I start talking about the weekend though, I wanted to take a moment to introduce you to our Thanksgiving tree. This project really deserves a post of it's own (because it involves a comical mother/daughter story) but I wanted to go ahead and share it real quick in case you wanted to do an easy project this week. Mine is a combination of three branches wired together and placed in an old crock filled with Hickory nuts. We wrote a variety of things we are thankful for on some tags and hung them on the tree. I used a craft tag punch and some scrap book paper (by Anna Griffin) to make my tags. I like the way it turned out. If you make one, you have to send me some pictures!Ok, the first stop on our holiday weekend tour is the world's saddest little Indian from Friday. Her name is Prancing Zebra, and her mother showed up just in time to hear the last verse of the last song at her Thanksgiving feast program. Do you feel like glaring at Prancing Zebra's mother? Please, just shoot her instead! Oh my word, I've never felt like a worse mother than I did this past Friday at 12:20 pm. Ok, so the pre-k "feast" was scheduled to start at 12:15, and none of the papers that came home from school regarding the feast mentioned anything about a program - only lunch. I live just minutes from the school, so I was not feeling rushed, I just meandered on up there. If only I had known that Evie was singing her broken little heart out to "Hello Mr. Turkey How are You?" while I was still putting grapes and cheese cubes on skewers! So I walk into the classroom, with an armload of Anabelle and a fruit/cheese platter to be met by seated parents and video cameras! I wanted to die! After they were done singing I pulled teary Evie to the side of the classroom to pour my heart out and apologize, meanwhile another mom is trying to inform me that Anabelle has licked a turkey made of an apple and a circus peanut belonging to one of Evie's classmates. I left the feast feeling like my only redeeming quality as a mother that day was that I had my girls dressed to kill - but that didn't make me feel much better :( I hurt Evie's feelings and that just kills me! I did however come away from the feast with a cute favor - a recipe book called "How to Cook a Turkey" written by the kids in Evie's class. Here are a few of my favorite entries...

- Get a turkey from WalMart. Take it home . Put syrup on it. Then put it on the grill in my garage for 33 hours. Put it on a larger plate and then eat it.

- Get a turkey from home. Put rice, jelly, syrup, cake, and salt on the turkey. You don't have to cook the turkey because it's already cooked. So you just eat it.

- Get a turkey from the grocery store. Take it home and put cherries, pizza, ham, and pepperoni on the turkey. I cook it in the microwave for 45 minutes. I give it to all my friends and then I have to bake it some more.

And then there was Evie's entry...
- Get a turkey from a cow. You put salt, sugar, and I think some flour on it. Cook it in the oven for 10:30. Then eat it.

Yummy!

Fast forward to Saturday morning and some Christmas fashion fun! Evie and Anabelle participated as little models in Willie's Holiday Fashion Sidewalk Show. They were so cute holding hands and strolling down the sidewalk in front of the shops, showing off matching "Green corduroy bishop dresses smocked with red ornaments by Zucchini" ;) I had signed both of the girls up to be in the show weeks earlier, but I was doubtful that Anabelle would actually want to participate, I was so surprised when she took hold of Evie's hand and stepped out into the procession. Evie is a very good big sister and Annie trusts her, that makes my mommy heart happy! Here is something else that makes my mommy heart happy - the discount we got on the Christmas dresses for participating!We rushed straight from the fashion show to Nutcracker practice. Yes, Evie and I are both still loving Nutcracker practice! The show is only a few weeks away, and we're getting really excited. Evie is going to be the cutest little mouse and we're really looking forward to sharing the experience with our family and friends! If you think you would like to join us, please let me know and I'll give you the information for purchasing...TICKETS!!!

Oh, and do you see anything different on Evie? She got her ears pierced the weekend before last! It's was an early birthday present- we wanted her to be able to change them by the time her actual birthday comes in January. Plus, who wants to get holes punched in their ears on their birthday anyway? It was all her idea, and since she is such a careful and responsible girl, we agreed. She handled it really well (I thought I was going to vomit!) and she only cried for a few minutes, but I'm so glad it's over!

Ok, back to our seasonally confused weekend...Sunday morning came and we found ourselves celebrating fall again. The girls wore some of their fall outfits to church one last time before it is time to pack them away. I bought Ev's scarecrow dress from a friend last year, and then my mom gave Anabelle hers for her birthday this year - they coordinated great together didn't they? It was a great weekend! Just think - this time next week we'll be singing Jingle Bells!!! Have a happy Thanksgiving week everybody!