2nd thanksgiving (just as great as 2nd breakfast)

Our Thanksgiving(s) this year were so wonderful. We didn't have the littles for the actual day, so Richard, Meghan and I went over to Darrah's house for suuuch a fabulous meal (stuffing! stuffing all the time!). I may not eat turkey, but I do get particularly excited for Thanksgiving because I use it as an excuse to throw down on some Chilean Sea Bass (which isn't the cheapest fish you can get!), and this year did not disappoint. Darrah has done a lot of beautiful work on her home, particularly in the kitchen, so it was especially fun to inaugurate her new facilities with her and her boys. That's mostly why I don't have any pictures of the actual day because I was too busy "ooh"-ing and "ahh"-ing and laughing with everyone to pause, but you can't ask for more than that. :)

Thankfully (puns!) we were able to have the babies over the weekend, so my mumsie and Grandpa Jim made it over for "second Thanksgiving!" We had steaks, salmon, baked potatoes (including sweet potatoes!), and salad which I dare to say is the greatest 2nd Thanksgiving meal ever. :) Juju even brought over a gingerbread house for the kittens to decorate! (She picked up on the "grandmother" thing real quick, lemme tell ya.) Here are a few pictures from our lovely afternoon...

Emmy was planted in her "spot" in front of Grandpa Jim for a good half-hour since he was sweet enough to scratch her back. (My step-kinds love a good back-stratch. Back-scratches cure all!)

Sadie, teaching Juju how to play some "clapping games." There was a lot of giggling! And it wasn't long before mom ended up wearing Sadie's costume jewelry (those two together are hilarious).

Our beautiful salmon fillet, before preparation.

The girls putting together the gingerbread house! It was the perfect thing to do while Richard was cooking. :)

Recovering from a very fulfilling meal!

The final product! The girls weren't worried about parting with the actual house, which Juju really wanted to take home, as much as the icing. (Priorities!)

Richard and his hero :) (Apparently Grandpa Jim said, "Surprised we didn't break the camera..." ;P)

Not pictured: R3 (poor dumpling wasn't feeling well, unfortunately!), Meghan's homemade honey butter (for the baked sweet taters!), a thousand more boxes of seasonal white-fudge oreos from Juju (my holiday crack), and Emmy & Sadie macking on everyone's plate for their salmon (the little girls are obsessed). We even got to go over to play at Debbie + Aaron's afterwards! Needless to say, we were all very happy by the end of the day. :) Not bad, 2014 Thanksgiving, not bad at all! :)

remember remember, this blissful november

November has been so wonderful this year. The weather has been all over the place, but in all my favorite places! From crisp and autumnal to coldcoldcold to rainy and cozy, I'll take it all! I'm slowly starting to get in the swing of things in my new office and am meeting some of the loveliest people in the process. Richard and I had a wonderful time celebrating his birthday by ourselves. :) Emmy and Meghan have quite the busy social calendars, while Sadie and Richard stay at home and love on us. :) As per usual (!), here are a few snippets from life lately...

Richard and Sadie passed out on the way to Juju's. I'm always such a sucker for dumplings passed out in the backseat. ;)

All dressed-up at the Windspear Opera House with my love, for "The Marriage of Figaro" (i.e., his birthday present!). Afterwards we went to Whiskey Cake (our favorite) and stuffed ourselves silly -- it was such a great Sunday!

Sadie-bug, helping Meggie cook dinner one Saturday night when Mema came over. We had chicken & eggplant parmesan with salad and homemade breadsticks, sooo yummy! It was so fabulous to be able to hang out with Mema, who is one of the most precious people ever. We were sad Emmy couldn't be with us, but she had a slumber party birthday to attend, you know. ;)

Richard and Sadie skating and "skate hugging" early one morning (you can tell because I have serious "morning voice!") These two play so sweetly together, it's such a joy to watch. After they came back inside and took their skates off, Richard just grabbed Sadie under her arms and carried her into the living room to play video games (it was quite a giggle fest to say the least!). 

Day 1 in my new office, complete with name plate and a mass of unorganized papers. ;) I have a great little "corner lot" space and it's so nice to be out of the house and working again!

Stretching with R before an evening walk, ballet style! (Always feels amazing!) Since leaving retail, I'm not running around as much as I used to so we've committed to "buddy-up" on walking 3-4 times a week, and man physically exerting yourself is so much easier with a buddy! There are times when I really don't feel like it, but then I'll approach R and he so sweetly encourages me with his "Yeah, let's do it!" What a guy. ;)

Other funzies not pictured:

- trading baked goods with our precious neighbor, Evie

- trying a local Brazilian restaurant with Tristan and Shaleah

- Emily slowly gaining traction on her clarinet skills!

- trips to my old Whole Foods in Addison for lunches and hugs from so many sweet people

- drinking in the crisp, cold air after being inside for long periods of time

- STILL munching on Halloween candy... :)

- falling asleep watching "Valley Girl" all the time (my new bedtime ritual, however lame!)

- the beauty of having a flexible work schedule! Starting a real estate business is tough, but at least I can stop & go as needed based on my family's schedule :) :)

- Meghan accidentally referring to me as "mom" once :D

- finally trying an Olive Oil's pizza, which was a great decision, SO YUMMY

- introducing Meghan to "The Birdcage" (crucial) and Richard comparing me to Nathan Lane's character (!)

- sweet potato + bean combos, all day every day

- R3 calling Meghan on her cell just to hear her voice and tell her he missed her *crying*

- Amy Poehler and Diane Von Furstenberg inspiring my every move.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving week! :)

littles' school pictures!

Emily told me, "My friend swept my hair to the side to look like Beyonce."

My favorite gopher smile!

Little muppet-face!

I may be the worst step-mom ever. ;)

birthday bowling with juju!

After a pretty epic Halloween, we took Saturday to drive to see my awesome mom and take everyone bowling! The littles had never been bowling before and mom thought it would be a fun way to celebrate Richard's upcoming birthday. There were lots of cheesy fries, fried pickles, and friendly cheering -- we had such a blast! 

Richard has his own custom bowling ball that he inherited from his father. This guy is serious. ;)

Always up for a pose, you know. :)

This is the bowling alley I went to as a kid, which was such a trip. Still showcasing the latest and greatest in bowling technology, don't you know!

We set up the littles (and Juju!) in a bumper lane, and the "granny method" was obviously preferred during their first turns. I obviously get some sick, twisted step-mom pleasure from these pictures. ;P

Sadie lucked out! ;P

Emmy, celebrating a strike! Everyone was being so sweet to one another, I was sooo proud. :)

Silly pose!

I hadn't bowled in so long, I was seriously the worst. ;P The littles were all within one point of each other, with Sadie squeaking out with the lead! Sadie, R3 and Emmy even managed to get in some time at the arcade, too! (Emily was very proud that one her first game, first try she won a ball she wanted out of a grab-machine -- she was floating on air the rest of the afternoon!) Afterwards, we went back to Juju's for taco soup and red velvet cake! Even Grandpa Jim made it over to celebrate. :) It was a great time! I love hanging out with my precious family. :D 

halloweenies!

This year was very exciting in the Halloween realm! We had all the kittens for the actual holiday for the first time since becoming one big family and Meghan made all her siblings' costumes from scratch (her friends', too! girlfriend doesn't play). Meghan's Nick and Krystall came over, in addition to our sweet Hafele friends so we had ourself quite the party! The big kids stayed at home and passed out candy, and we went with the littles to walk around our new neighborhood for trick-or-treating. It was a blast. :)

Of course, Meg made sure the front porch was decorated to the nines...

... including this creepy girl, which Da apparently named "Beatrix"

Getting everyone ready!

And now, the costumes! Here are the sketches Meg did for each of the kiddos, and I have to say, they came out exactly like the drawings...

Sadie, as a "swaggy clown"

Richard, as a "fire mage" (they came up with this stuff all on their own!)

Complete with glowing staff!

Emily, as a "grim-reaper assassin" (she insisted on an action pose, as well ;P)

Meghan, as an escaped mental patient

Vera, as... Vera with a Chelsea smile! And Matthew, as a nerd ;)

Meghan with Nick, "Freddie FazBear" and Krystall, "Kitty the killer" 

And finally, me and Richard as Dorothy and Toto... :)

... complete with tail!

and my red Keds :)

Our Halloweenies!

Spoils! The littles all made out with about 5lbs. each! Not pictured: the giant mess in the rest of our house, the fire in our fire pit, and the s'mores!

The grand finale -- probably my favorite picture of the night (don't worry, I took the stick out of his mouth ;P)

Hope everyone had a fabulous Halloween! :)