black friday online!

I hate to give out all of my secrets, but shh, shopping online for B.F. deals is the way to go. I also don't like to give out all the secrets of what I am getting for Christmas, in case any of the kids reads the blog...but Kohl's starts their deals on Monday, so you can order boots for your girls, or surprises for the other kids...and you get $15 in Kohl's Cash for every $50 you spend...and no I am not getting paid to say this.

We are having our Thanksgiving on Wednesday, because three of the nurses have Wednesday off, and it's all about having the family together, so Wednesday is Turkey Day, and we will indeed be thankful! Thursday will have it's own celebration for all who are able to attend, a brunch, then a pizza later...there's something insanely satisfying about having pizza when you know most of the rest of the country is having a turkey dinner, like we're rebelling against the whole holiday, but in reality we've just already had it.

Anyway. After school today we have a plan to do some crafts at the kitchen table, drink coffee and cocoa, and have fun. We're painting some ornaments...

Sugar. Sugar is my #1 enemy, besides sin, of course. Sugar, as in grains and pastas, and of course M&M's. I try to eat only meats and veggies, barely any fruit even, but last night I had a mini pack of M&M's, and limited it to only one small pack...I knew I shouldn't have had them, even as I ripped open the cute little brown paper, but...then I wanted more, but said NO, and that was it. Our dinner last night though, it was not healthy...but oh it was yum. Cam and I cut like seven pounds of chicken breast into little cubes, then I dumped it all into a corn starch/flour mixture, and deep fried each little chicken piece, turning the whole mess into fragrant fried chicken bites, which we mixed up with orange ginger sauce, served with rice and veggies, rice which I limited to a tablespoon, but accompanied by that decadent chicken, all was lost anyways. But did I mention it was good? The kids really super appreciated it, it tasted better than Chinese buffet chicken, and they also knew Mom stood at the stove for a good hour, frying chicken.

Because sometimes you just look at that package of chicken breast and wonder what in the heck to do with it...we've had chicken and gravy a lot lately, and fajitas are good but who has green peppers and tomatoes on hand right now? I try to avoid packaged foods, and lean on meat and veggies with optional starches, like noodles, potatoes, rice, or fresh rolls or Italian bread, which I avoid in general, and sometimes I just run out of ideas.

Tonight I'm making spaghetti...the kids love it, and I eat the sauce on canned green beans, or perhaps some spaghetti squash.

The girls and I are going on a fun outing and I am so excited! They need red or green dresses for a Christmas concert at church, their dress rehearsal is tomorrow, so today we are going looking. We have been so busy lately, it's nice to have a day like this.

Yesterday was Della's Daycare, we had: Davian(5) and his little sister Anne(1), and Lydia(2), and Jon's friend Toby(12). It was busy and noisy and there were toys here and there and everywhere like the old days, and my head was spinning. There is this awareness of where a child is, what a child is doing, that every mom has or should have...that vigilant second nature that keeps track even while doing a million other things...it took me years for that to dissipate, and to relax, and to realize, there's no one I have to keep an eagle-eye on, 24/7. I found myself watching other people's kids too intensely, making sure they didn't stand up in the stroller, or knock down their drink, but eventually, it sort of went away. Now...taking care of Anne, I watch her like a hawk. It's even more intense than with my own kids, ha. And when Lyd comes over, too...it's back! That hyper-vigilance. The other evening, after little Anne was long gone, back at home with her family, I found myself doing that sudden panic of Oh No, Am I Supposed To Be Watching Someone!!!?

So today...we don't have any little ones...and off we go...the girls are happy, and Jon is doing something with Joseph...after doing some school work, of course:)