Wow, I haven't posted for a while. Hmmm, let's see now. Joe's brother and family came for Thanksgiving. It was so great to have family here to celebrate with us. Thanksgiving just isn't the same without extended family, ya know? The kids were so excited to see their cousins again. We all had a good time eating, and playing games, and eating, and putting puzzles together, and eating, and shopping, and eating, and vegging because we were so stuffed from eating, and then eating some more, and watching movies, and eating. Yes, we gained a few pounds, but it was worth it. We had BBQ Briskett (best we've ever had - little pat on my back), and homemade cinnamon rolls, and yummy spinach artichoke dip, and a really good and juicy turkey with all the fixin's. Mmmmmm.
We have a tradition at our house that Christmas officially begins after the Thanksgiving feast. So all the kids helped us set up our tree and all our Christmas decorations. It's the cutest little tree, but it's a little sad because it doesn't have very many ornaments yet. And of course we listened to Christmas music, watched Christmas movies, and the puzzles we put together were Christmas themed. They were tough one's, and we almost puzzled ourselves to death. Thankfully, we took breaks and played UNO flash (I believe that's what it's called).
And then it was my birthday! I woke up to my alarm, and hit the snooze button. A couple of minutes later Cora came in my room and said, "Happy Birthday, Mom." I thought that was so sweet that she remembered. She crawled into bed with me. Joe had already gotten up - he's usually gone to work before I get up. Then a little while later, Madleyn came in and said, "Happy Birthday, Mom." I thought that was weird that she would know it was my birthday, but I figured that she must have heard Cora. I got up and went into the girls' room to get them clothes for the day. I was sitting on their bedroom floor, and happened to glance at the door into the hall, and I saw this hand dart out and grab something on the floor and then disappear. I thought maybe it was JT. So I went out to the hall, but nobody was there. I went down the hall to the bathroom, and I see this post-it note on the door.
It's in Joe's handwriting. Has he left me some sort of surprise? Then this one.
Joe is not usually good at surprises, because he can never wait to tell me,
so this is really cute. And here's the last note I found.
Huh? I was thinking, does he want me to drive to IHOP and meet him there? I'm supposed to get the kids to school in the next half hour. Then I think, wait, maybe he's still in the house and I'm supposed to find him. Sure enough, he had somehow snuck back in our room and was hiding under the covers. He actually took the day off so we could spend my birthday together. So sweet. Now you have to hear his side of the story.
Joe: I got up at the usual time to go to work, knowing that Ruth wouldn't get up for a little while longer. I thought I had plenty of time, so I started writing little notes, intending to write a whole bunch and put them up all over the walls. But all of the sudden I heard Ruth's alarm go off. I panicked, and wrote one last note and stuck it up ont he wall. Then I went and hid under a blanket on the couch, thinking that she would come in any second. Then I heard the notes fall off the walls onto the floor, so I ran and put them up on the doors in the hall (thinking they would stick better on the door than they had on the wall), and ran back under the blanket on the couch. I waited and waited, but Ruth wasn't coming. So I went and woke up Cora and told her to go say happy birthday to her mom. I thought for sure she'd come out then, so I went and hid again....only, she didn't come out. So I sent Madelyn in. I thought that would definitely tip Ruth off. No such luck. I finally saw Ruth come out of the room, and go into the girls room. Even though she walked right past me, she didn't see me. Then I heard another note fall. I snuck over to the hall, sure that I'd get caught any minute, and I grabbed the note off the floor, hurried and stuck it on our bedroom door, and ran into our bedroom and hid under the covers in there. Ruth found me soon after that. The rest is history.
Yeah, so that was kind of funny to hear Joe's side of it. After we dropped the kids off at school, Joe took me to IHOP. He tries to take me out for a big breakfast every year on my birthday because I LOVE breakfast food, and he doesn't at all, so we never go out for breakfast, except for once a year for my birthday. Anyway, I go a little crazy with this breakfast, because I just want a little bit of everything, seriously. So this is what I ordered - Pecan Struesal Pancakes, that came with hashbrowns, two eggs, two peices of sausage, and a side of grits, and a side of biscuits and gravy. Yes, it was a lot of food, and No, I didn't eat it all. But it was sooooooo good. You know those commercials for Campbell's Soup where the guy is like making all the yummy mmmm sounds? That's what I sounded like while I was eating breakfast. I'm sure it was a little embarrasing if anyone heard me, but I just couldn't help myself. I couldn't eat any lunch after that. We did have a carrot cake, and it did have 34 candles on it, but I forgot to make a wish. I already have everything I want anyway, except for a million dollars, and like blowing out my candles is going to get me that - hah!
Thanks honey, for this flattering picture:) Anyway, I just had a really good day. And now we are very much looking forward to Christmas. Am I forgetting anything?
