Criminals

I had big plans for turkey day.
It would be my first homemade turkey dinner.
I made lists.
I made trips to the grocery store.
I made turkey brine and soaked that sucker for 16 hours.
I had yams
and acorn squash
and mashed potatoes
and apple pie
and asparagus
and cranberries
and stuffing.

The day began without a hitch.
Laundry turning.
Cleaning done.
Chad had to work but got home early.

At twelve I drained the turkey from the brine
and began to stuff it with lovely, organic, store-bought stuffing.
As I stuffed I could smell the herbs
and spices all mixed together.
Rosemary.
Thyme.
Dried whole grain bread.
Apples.

Apples?

Hold on.
Is that a dried apple?

I stopped. I thought for a moment.
Hmm. There was no dried apple listed in the ingredients.
I knew this because I am nearly psychotic about reading food labels.
You know, because of the allergies.
Allergies to dairy, egg, nuts, fish and shellfish.
I checked the label.
No apples listed as ingredients.
And yet, there was the apple in my hand.
There were many, many dried apples.
All there.
All looking up at me.

It could only mean two things.
1) They forgot to add "apples" to the list.
OR
2) This was the wrong list of ingredients. The package was mislabeled.

I decided to search the store website for ingredients to their "Dry Holiday Stuffing."
After a good ten minutes.
I found it.
There it was.

"Holiday Stuffing: Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Apple & Walnuts."

Walnuts.
you little devils.


I walked back downstairs and surveyed my beautifully stuffed turkey.
I'd stuffed him good.
I dug through the leftover stuffing.
I spread it out on the cutting board.
There he was.
The criminal.
The walnut, finely chopped and barely discernible.
One taste confirmed it.

I sized up the situation.
There was no way to remove the stuffing and be sure all the nuts were gone.
There in front of me was the lovely 1o lb organic turkey my children would not be eating for Thanksgiving.
and not the gravy that comes from the turkey.
and why would we have mashed potatoes without gravy?

Chad tried to console me with, "It's not the end of the world."
Wrong words Chad.
"Just make the other stuff."
Wrong again Chad.
Then, Chad being a smart man and realizing I was in a "throw the turkey across the room state of mind", patiently stood by me as I began to cry.
They were big tears.
Walnut sized.
They were accompanied by sobs.
And though the turkey didn't need any more brine...it got some.
And a couple of small, minor punches to the right wing.

I cried because of the stupid turkey dinner.
I cried because of the stupid food allergies.
I cried because hundred of miles away my mom and dad and sister and brother and Kari were cutting apples for a pie.
I cried because of French Toast,
quiche,
egg rolls,
the pizza at all the birthday parties they can't eat,
pot luck dinners at the church,
mom's Beef Stroganoff,
Texas Toast,
and Blue Bell Ice Cream.

After much time.
Much time of wailing, gnashing teeth, and tearing of tunics...
I made an executive decision.

We did what any sensible person would do.
We cut large slices of apple pie right then and there.
We topped them with soy ice cream.
And we spent the next hour playing cards and watching the John and Kate Plus 8 marathon.

We ate Cream of Wheat for dinner.

This is shock and awe at it's best people.

Thanksgiving has been rescheduled for Sunday.
And that's when you can check back to find out what I am thankful for.
(and for a kick-ass homemade stuffing recipe.)

The Beach

Salty ocean air.

Sandy toes.

Diggin'.

Scoopin'.

Makin' Memories.

Dancin'.

Smashin'.


Writin'.

Wigglin'.


Buildin' Sandcastles.


Climbin' Treehouses.

Swingin'.

The photos above and below were taken a few weeks ago. We had the opportunity to vacation just outside of Hilton Head, SC. It was a lovely, lovely time with my side of the family. My Grandma, Uncle Dicky, Uncle John, Aunt Barrie, Mom and Dad were all there. We stayed in a huge guest house dad picked out. I spent part of the vacation taking design tips from the interiors. Low-country chic is what they called it, I think. : )

One of the best memories, though there are too many to choose from, was a day at the beach the girls and I shared with my mom. It was about 75 degrees with a ever so slight breeze from the water. It was sunny without a cloud in the sky. The girls played in the sand for hours and hours. They built castles, wrote letters and shapes and names in the sand, we dipped our toes in the chilly water and warmed them back on the shore. Oh. It. Was. Fabulous. Sometime during the cold winter I will close my eyes and remember this wonderful day. : )

Palmetto Bluff

The Mortonos Crew!

Our wonderful little family.

Ditto that.

Dad and his girls.

Uncle John helping Ava with her ice cream

Yum.

Little A



Loving the bike



Really loving that bike (which gave Mormor and Papa an idea for a birthday present!)

Just lookin' cute.

Play it again Jules!

The Singer/Songwriter Within

Julianna received many wonderful gifts for her birthday. Among them was a kid-sized acoustic guitar. It was love at first sight. After saying good-bye to all her guests, her first words were, "Can I play my guitar now?" and "I need a pick mom." ! : ) Thanks for my guitar Micah!

Julianna Marie Turns Four!

Happy Birthday Flowers from Daddy.

Ava was very patient, kind, and understanding of all the fuss over Julianna. She was just really happy for her sister. Big sister was also good to share her bounty with Ava. : )

On Friday, her real birthday. Opening presents from mom, dad, and Ave.

The best-ever present for princess lovers...Target sells a Disney princess pack of seven Barbie Disney Princesses...OMGoodness!

Little Birthday display with cake, photo, and scrapbooks. Since Julianna has food allergies, I always make the cake myself. (I also really like to do it!) I bought the cake kit (turrets, frame, and figures) from our favorite grocery store. I found some simple instructions online on how many layers to bake (with a few minor adjustments on my part) and I sorta winged the icing. All in all, I was very happy with the result. The hardest part was making the roses. I didn't have instructions for those. But, I had a vague visual on using a thin dowel rod and building the flower from the inside out. So, that's what I did! : )

There she is, our princess, amidst her kindred. ; )

Just before the big par-tay on Saturday.

Jules had a fabulous birthday. It was really terrific. We spent her actual birthday prepping for the party. The anticipation is quite often just as good as the real thing. : ) These are the few photos I have from the whole event including Saturday. Thankfully, my friend Saletha spent much of the party snapping shots and is making me a disk! : ) How awesome is she?! : ) So I will post those soon. : )

Halloween

This year we opted for a quiet, hand-out-candy Halloween. Julianna LOVED it and so did Ava. After each trick-or-treater Julianna would say, "I think there's another person coming." Not wanting the night to end. Both girls were quite taken with the parade of colorful costumes. That is...until the kid with a white face and faux nails in his scalp came to the door. Ava froze in an instant. The look on her face said, "If he takes one step closer to me I will lose it." Rapid breathing, near tears. Thankfully, he took his candy and left. But it was a close one.

We had many, many more knocks on the door. Including my personal favorite, "Mr. Blimpy." A jolly little fourth grader dressed up like...well, a blimp. His costume actually had some kind of air machine inside which blew his costume up like a balloon. (Visualize Violet Bauregarde in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) I have to say, as he walked down the sidewalk under the street lights, his tubby little silhouette gave me quite a chuckle. : )

"Reading"

Julianna has become increasingly interested in the process of reading. She's always loved for me to read books to her. Jules loves asking questions, many quite thought-provoking. Her favorite reading skill to date is making connections from the story to life-experiences. It is so fascinating to watch her little mind whirl.

Above she is "reading" an impromptu story. I only caught the second half. She is using the pen to point to each "word" as she "reads." : ) The sound quality on my digital camera is really poor. The jist of the story is...about a little girl who goes to a picnic and brings too much food. Jules lists the real and make-believe foods she brings (including "Coke, Fire Stew, and fruit). At the very end she adds, "dot.com" for an unknown reason. : )

A Simple Explanation

Sorry. There are no subtitles. : )

Jackie, I feel the "Whirling Dervish" is only days away...

Fall Festival (aka, how we made daddy sick riding a zillion kiddie rides just after he ate chips and salsa)

This was my favorite! (oh, and Julianna's, too :)

Away we go!

Ava's fav, too.

Joyful!

Spinning! Lots of spinning!

Festival Love

We had an AWESOME time at the (mini) Fall Festival last night. It was just around the corner from the house, had a few rides, a few inflatables, a few snacks, a few carnival games, and a wholelotta fun. : ) Since the girls are still young, it is really nice to have some mini fun. Just a perfect Saturday night. : )

Dress Rehearsal

THANKS FOR THE BELLE COSTUME MORMOR & PAPA!

Dress Rehearsal

THANKS FOR THE AWESOME TINKERBELL COSTUME MORMOR & PAPA!

Pumpkin Pickin'

Pumpkin Patch 2008!