Thanksgiving Day Recap

The Kids - Connor, Philip holding Janie, Catherine and Maddy

Even though the temperature outside was about 12 degrees on Thanksgiving Day, we had a wonderful day full of warmth and love and food and chocolate! What more could a person want?

Everything was so yummy! Well, except for the awful, horribly dry and tasteless stuffing -- ugh! I thought cornbread stuffing sounded good, but no, it wasn't!

Note to self -- don't try something new at Thanksgiving!

Philip & Catherine came with darling baby Janie and brought a most delicious thunderbird salad. So tasty and I don't like salad, but I love that one! It has bacon and mayonnaise in it -- what's not to love, eh!

Cboo brought beer and wine -- yep, he's my favorite son! Just kidding!!! :) Since he is now in the bar business, he knows a few things about wine and we were the lucky recipients of that knowledge!

Of course, I made the turkey and Lisa's fabulous mashed potatoes. Thank God for those potatoes since that stuffing was so awful. Also on the menu -- delish green beans, cranberry jello, dinner rolls, pumpkin pie, fudge and marble cheesecake with homemade raspberry sauce! So, all those people who think I can't cook -- I just proved you wrong, didn't I! Just because I like fast or frozen food a lot of the time, I do know how to make a few things! :)

Maddy feeding Janie her first taste of yummy mashed potatoes! She loved em!

I had read about some handy little "dinner conversation starters" so printed those out, folded them up and put them in a bowl. Everyone had to take one, read it aloud and then we all took a turn answering the query. It was so fun! I know Mr. Tennis was rolling his eyes about it beforehand, but he loved it too!

The most special part of the day was watching Maddy love on little Janie. The highpoint was hearing Maddy excitedly say, "Mom, did you see that? Janie hugged me!!!" My heart melted and I know Philip and Catherine's did too. So much sweetness in one place!

Our original little family unit!

And then the next morning -- shocker--I got up at 4 AM to catch a Black Friday Sale!

Scored a nice new laptop -- Merry Christmas to me!!! :)

So Crafty!

I try to be crafty sometimes, esp. around the holidays -- sometimes I'm successful;

sometimes, not so much.

A week ago, a friend of Maddy's was over to play. Since I know both girls like to do

crafts, I figured I had the perfect thing for them to work on.

Go figure, both lost interest very quickly and guess who ended up

finishing their projects while they colored? Moi, of course!

Anyhoo, we made these adorable (in my mind) jars with snow Epsom salts, a votive candle, twine and bells around the top and the girls wanted bows on their jars.

Let me just say, it looked a lot cuter on another blog,

but the smiles on these two cuties faces made it all worthwhile.

Thankful . . .

For each morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

This year, as every year, I am incredibly thankful

for my sweet and wonderful family --

my dear parents with their up-beat attitude despite health issues;

to my sweet and cute Hubs (Mr. Tennis);

my wonderful children - the big ones (Philip & Catherine; Connor),

my little sweetie, Maddy, cutie-pie granddaughter Janie

and couldn't forget our not-too-naughty puppy, Muffy.

We are so very blessed!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Traditions

[Fantasy Fudge from Kraft.com]

What are your holiday traditions?

Any special recipes?

One of my fave foods for Thanksgiving is fudge!

Yes, you read that right -- fudge.

Not surprising is it -- knowing my love of all things chocolate?

I make Fantasy Fudge every year at Thanksgiving!

I'm not going to tell you how much of it I eat -- let's just say . . . a lot!

The last few years, I've also started to make a marble cheesecake.

Well, actually it's called Chocolate and Vanilla Flourless cake -- but let's get real --

it's cheesecake, only better (and probably less calories)!

I don't even like cheesecake, but it is so delicious!

Maddy and I already made that and I'm making some homemade raspberry sauce to go over it.

Do you kind of get the idea that desserts are my favorite parts of Thanksgiving dinner?

Yep, that's right! :)

Do tell your fave desserts!

P.S. Also LOVE pumpkin pie! :)

All About Chocolate!

Do you have a hall monitor in your life? I do -- actually more than one -- a little scary , isn't it! Even scarier -- a chocolate monitor!!!!

I suppose the first step to recovery is admitting there is a problem, so ok, ok,

I have a problem -- I'm a chocolate addict!

I have a bit of chocolate in the morning, mid-morning, lunch, afternoon and evening.

What??

Is that too much??

I don't really think so and am wishing the chocolate monitor would stop already.

My enjoyment of chocolate is being curtailed and that is not a good thing.

So, while I was thinking of chocolate and plotting where to nab another mini-candy bar the other day, I decided to check out the Hershey store. One of our favorite parts of visiting Chicago last summer was the Hershey store -- YUM!

Guess what -- I found a ton of PERFECT Christmas gifts for those other lucky people who love chocolate and . . . who will share with me!

Mr. Tennis is definitely getting this adorable cup full of Hershey kisses from me and Miss Maddy!

Just what every tween girl needs -- some chocolate lip gloss!

Hey look, I am hitting the four basic food groups with my love of all things chocolate!

Next up -- my blossoming Star*bucks addiction!

Falllllling Temps!

Definitely fall around these parts! The number of leaves that have fallen and clogged up my gutters and the lawn is at an all-time high right now. We rake and rake and clear the lawn off and then more leaves fill it up again sometimes within an hour or two!

Last Friday evening the torrential rain that we'd been hammered with decided on a whim to turn to snow!! Yep -- snow! Mark your calendar -- first snow of 2010 season on Nov. 12! At least it was about a month later than the first snow of 2009, so that made me happy! Unfortunately, not all the yard work has been completed . . . really, is it ever? So, these poor roses met an untimely demise due to snow and ice!

Little Miss Muffy, our Scottie puppy, did not know what to make of the snow and alternated between giddy delight and downright annoyance. She ran, barked, rolled in it and barked at it some more! We had about 10 towels on the kitchen floor to dry her off repeatedly after her many visits outside. It may be a long winter and am thinking the washing machine is going to get lots of use!

Haven't posted about Miss Muffy lately and it is so difficult to get a good photo of her because she's always on the run.

She is a sweet girl and goes to bed so nicely at the same time as Maddy . . .

mainly because Maddy wouldn't have it any other way.

When Maddy goes up to bed, Muffy climbs into her kennel

because it really would not be "fair" if Muffy got to stay up later. Works for me!

Black and White Wednesday - Maddy and Her Guys!

Maddy has such a deep love for everyone in our family -- especially for her Dad and her brothers! Aren't they all so cute!

Cboo moved into an apt a couple months ago and is really busy, so we haven't seen too much of him and she misses him so much. She misses Philip too, but is more used to him being gone since he lives about an hour away. Maddy is scheming to set up a blind date between Connor and Taylor Swift -- hoping that someday, Taylor would become her sister! Wouldn't that be sweet!! So, if anyone knows Taylor and would like to assist in setting those two up, please advise.

Here's the photo above in color!

Love Maddy's red dress and the red tie on Mr. Tennis!

How time flies! This photo of Mr. Tennis and Maddy was taken when we went out to lunch after her Nebraska adoption hearing in November, 2003! Those two are so adorable!

Happy Birthday to my Mum!

Today is my dear sweet Mother's birthday!! Happy Birthday Mum! I'm not going to say how old she is because both she and I have a tendency to not count birthdays. We celebrate, of course, but don't add the years on, which is totally fine in my book!

[On their wedding day! No wonder I have curly hair, eh!]

She's an amazing Mom! She had to find a job and go to work when I was 10 years old because my Dad (a/k/a Al) fell off a roof, broke his hip and was laid up for quite some time. She became a working mom way before it was the norm.

She encouraged me and my brothers and sisters, always telling us we could be or do anything we set our minds to do. She listened and commiserated when we called her with tales of woe. Shortly after Mr. Tennis and I got married, we moved to Philadelphia for the Hubs to attend law school. One disaster after another on the road led me to call her crying repeatedly (at least two or three times, maybe more). After one of those desperate telephone calls, I do recall that she questioned whether the priest actually signed our marriage license and said maybe I could just come home and leave the Hubs to deal with a broken-down U-haul in the mountains of Pennsylvania! Funny!! She didn't really mean it, but it did make me feel better!


She's had many health issues over the past ten years and especially the last year,
and I am so thankful that she is with us and able to celebrate her birthday!
Love you Mom!

A Sport for Life!

When our boys were young, the Hubs and I encouraged the boys in sports. We wanted them to be active and enjoy sports. I taught them to ride bicycles (former bicycle champion, you know!!) and they played soccer and basketball and took swimming lessons.

As they got older, Hubs said, "it's time to pick a sport -- they can't play everything!" And so, with some guidance and nudging from him, they picked tennis! Both enjoyed it and played on their high school varsity teams. Watch out -- bragging ahead -- their teams were state champs and Cboo won the State Championship two years in a row at the No.2 singles position. So, we are kind of a tennis family. I say "kind of" because everyone plays but me. I tried, I really did! I got the skirts, the fancy panties, took clinics and lessons, but was never, ever able to perfect a serve - heck, I couldn't even get one in. I simply could not learn to serve, so I finally gave up and became an official tennis mom!

Unlike many sports, tennis is truly a sport you can play for life! You really don't see many adults playing soccer or football -- well, football -- maybe if you're a Kennedy! :) Mr. Tennis plays every single weekend -- getting up very early on one of the only days he could sleep late! My sister plays all the time, and truly, I would play if I could figure out a serve.

Anywhooo, Miss Maddy takes gymnastics and has not been interested in soccer or volleyball.

She has hit some tennis balls in the past with the Rickster and enjoyed it, so that's her new sport. Her class meets once a week for 45 minutes. There are only six kids in the group, so with two pros, it's almost like private lessons!

Plus, who doesn't love the cute tennis outfits!!