Thanksgiving Musings

I know I'm a little late but I wanted to share some photos from our St. Louis Thanksgiving. Other than my honeymoon, this is the first Thanksgiving that I haven't spent the day with my family in Virginia. And it was my very first turkey. I think that, overall, it was very successful. Everyone said that the dinner we put together was yummy! We didn't leave the house ALL day. Me and Meighan wore pajamas ALL day. And we just enjoyed each other's company!

Here is our spread - turkey, stuffing, yams, green beans, biscuits, gravy, cranberries with Pumpkin and Banana Creme pies for dessert!

Just before we ate, we went around the table to say what we were thankful for this year. Paul and I said what you'd expect - the kids, each other, having a steady paycheck, etc. Meighan gave a longggggggg list of all the people she loves - Mommy, Daddy, Alex, Sami, Grandma, Grandpa, Nina, PopPop, Elizabeth, Mimi, Aunt Paula, Uncle Ken, Alyssa, Jenna, Stephanie, Carmen, John, Miss Kimmie, etccccccccccccc. She went on and on and on some more. Mentioning anyone and everyone she's basically ever met even people that I don't remember us meeting. So, then I turned to Alex to ask him what he was thankful for and he just looked at me very seriously and said "BARS AND APPLES, Mommy!" We almost fell out of our chairs, cracking up. He is so funny. He goes his own way and I love that about him. And, again, this demonstrates the massive differences in raising a boy and a girl. They are such different creatures that it amazes me each and every day.







I had to work the day after Thanksgiving but before bed that night, the kids and I made chocolate chip cookies (well, Alex was there for maybe 3 minutes before taking off to do something more interesting). Meighan was there until the end - she's a great helper in the kitchen! Here she is showing off her freshly baked cookies ...


And being silly, silly for the camera ...



And the final product. They were YUMMY and didn't last long!


And, last, but certainly not least - is my son, caught in the act of playing with Mommy's camera which he knows very well is not allowed. By the way, it wasn't just laying around. He climbed quite a bit to get it and bring it to his level to play with. When I pulled our Thanksgiving photos off the card, I found about 12 of these very close up and very incriminating photos ...

Musings on John's Visit to St. Louis

I'm sorry that I'm a bit late posting this but its been CHAOS here due to some work stuff that I have going on which has been keeping me occupied day and night!

So, back in November, John came to visit us in the big city! We had a great visit ... the night he arrived, my friend Stephanie came over and we all played wii & laughed at our crazy kiddos! See Spiderman climbing over John in the background of the next picture. Yes, my kids are greatly entertaining!!!


Stephanie who will kill me when she sees I posted this here as well as on FaceBook! She's my best bud at work & keeps me sane when work gets insane. And she gets me which is so nice!

Paul helping Meighan play baseball ...

Meighan getting instructions from her 'coach' (AKA Daddy) ...

It was COLD the day we spent at Forest Park so we all bundled up nicely ... I've got to get used to the actual winter that we're experiencing here. I'm a girl who didn't even own a winter coat in VA ... now I need to buy one and QUICKLY. And a hat. And gloves. And snow boots.

Silly, silly, silly & sillier ...

St. Louis in all his glory -

The St. Louis Art Museum which we visited for the first time with John. It's a very nice museum and we had a great time. The kids were really good which surprised me since they had to be quiet & aren't that interested in art ...

Forest Park - It's so beautiful.

Megs and John looking over the park -

See, they occasionally like each other. They even hug each other when they aren't ready to kill each other. Yes, we're having lots of sibling fighting these days but I hear that its par for the course and to get used to it!

Our beautiful girl -

John and Alex spinning webs & Meighan doing gosh knows what -

Walking up to the Arch ...






My favorite guys ...

Alex saw a helicopter which he LOVES and is now wanting to ride in ...


Next, was Stephanie's birthday. The kids immediately ushered Stephanie upstairs and into the tent when she arrived at our house for her birthday celebration. She was a good sport & ended up having a blast with our kiddos.



The kids helped with her cake ...

Paul and John took the kids to see the Science Museum here in St. Louis. I was at work and missed it but these pictures are making me want to go ASAP. They said it was a very cool museum and definately more modern and interesting that the one in Richmond which I think is old and in need of massive upgrades.








Just before John flew out of town, he and Paul went back to the Arch so that he could actually go up in it. When we'd gone the weekend before, the lines were massive and they decided to wait. So here are pictures they took while visiting the Arch.

The baseball field ....


View from the top - yikes. Makes me sick to my stomach to look down like that.

Doesn't he look sad to be leaving?


Okay, that's it for the moment. I have more Thanksgiving photos to post which I'll do soon. And some layouts to share.

Sunday Musings - Part 1

First up, a recap of the NKOTB concert ... It was FANTASTIC! I went with a bunch of ladies - Carmen, Nicole, Danielle, Stephanie and Michelle. We went to dinner at Maggie's which is near Scottrade so practically EVERYONE in the bar was heading that way too. It was a lot of fun to just hang out and chat over dinner.

This is a photo of all of us ...


This is Michelle, me and Carmen at dinner -


This is me and Stephanie -


This is Carmen and Stephanie once we got to the concert ...

And here are the guys on stage. It was a lot of fun - they did just as many old school NKOTB songs as they did new ones. Since I love both, I was a happy camper. They certainly know how to give a good show! It was a blast!

Guess Where I'm Going To Be Tomorrow Night?

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK!

Yes, they are all grown up and performing at Scottrade tomorrow night. And I'll be there with the girls - Stephanie, Carmen, Michelle, and Nicole. I'm so excited! Yes, I know I'm in my 30's and its probably insane for me to be excited about seeing NKOTB live. But, I can't wait. I feel like I'm revisiting the late 80s, early 90s. And I'm loving it!