So this is what he does...



We have these reindeer antler headbands



Won't wear the holiday headbands on the top of his head, he wears one in the front and on in the back.  Then runs around the house jingling

Such a weird kid

Thanksgiving 2011 at the Pyciors



The Pycior's moved this weekend, so we combined helping them and Thanksgiving.  It worked out great- their new place is huge and fit us all and we were able to get them moved relatively quickly. 



Grandma & Grandpa giving Charlie sugary cereal and giving mom (me) a heart attack.  Hardy-har-har

Playing basketball with Grandpa, dad and Levi (coolest dog only third to Lady and Odie)



fuss




Charlie's first Thanksgiving dinner (last year he was on liquids)  Surprise, surprise, he LOVED it



Moving the sandbox

Mr. Tug Boat Captain

Peeking at Uncle Chad

This is how he sits in his car seat lately...we bore him, I guess

2 min on the road back home...

2 min 20 sec on the road back home.....

almost.....

Out...for the next 2 hours and 15 minutes.  This kid rules

Yes, that is my (unsweet) tea - don't judge

My epic pile of laundry...so good to be home...sigh

15 Minute Wreath



The new tree we bought is pre-lit.  I have some string lights left over- thankfully not many since my tree was so small.  I didn't know what to do with them.  I had a wreath form in the basement and I went and bought about $3 of silver garland.   Wrapped the lights, then wrapped with garland and voila- wreath.  The great thing is the garland hides pretty much everything and reflects the light so shiny and sparkly.



As you can see it's not very pretty when it's not lit up

But it's pretty when it's lit!

Kinda retro even maybe?

And I like that it's pretty on both sides

Because they are LED lights, they give off no heat.  This would have been a fire waiting to happen in the 70's

Picture from yesterday- I swear the tree has been straightened

Grandma Kit's Stuffing

With Thanksgiving coming up, there are all sorts of stuffing recipes out there.  I had one blog I follow go on and on about how good their mother's stuffing was.  Ha!  I want to throw my head back and laugh.  There is only one stuffing that beats them all.  I've brought this stuffing to family's, friend's, acquaintance's, boyfriend's parent's- now in-law's houses for Thanksgiving and I've never met anyone who likes stuffing that doesn't say it's the greatest.  This recipe comes from Lucy's grandmother Kit.

Grandma Kit's Stuffing:

1 stalk celery
3-5 medium white onions
4-5 tubes Jimmy Dean Sausage - preferably sage flavored, but you can mix
4 bags seasoned bread cubes
3 sticks butter
3 boxes assorted stock (or 8-9 cans)

Simmer one stalk of celery in 2 cups water.  In another pan saute 4-5 white onions in 1 cup of water.  Simmer until glassy.  Combine and add 3 sticks of butter. 

Brown 4-5 Jimmy Dean Sage sausage packs-drain  (they were out of sage this year, grrrr....I bought 4 packs of reduced fat and added a sage seasoning.)

Take half the veggies (with liquids) and half the sausage and combine with 2 bags seasoned bread crumbs (I like pepperidge farms)

Stir in mixture of broths - I use 1 1/2 of the large boxes of broth.  I use a combo of no-salt added chicken and organic vegetable broth.  You can use mixture of chicken, beef or veggie.  My only tip would to make sure it's at least low-sodium.  This stuffing is plenty salty.  Stir until desired wetness - you can add more as needed, but I wouldn't use much less that that.  Now, do the same  with the other half. 

Spray pam in your casserole dishes and fill with stuffing.  This recipe fills all of my casserole dishes.  I make this stuffing for thanksgiving and then freeze some for Christmas.  I also usually make a little 2 person portion for a special surprise treat for Matt some time. 

To freeze: cover with plastic wrap, cover with foil and put casserole lid on. 

File under Freezes beautifully (catch the reference?  Anyone?) 

Bake at 350 uncovered for about an hour- make sure to at least partially thaw it before baking.  Stir occasionally.  Basically bake it until it's as yummy and crispy on the top as you like it. 

Good, now I can stop panicking because I can't find the recipe- it's officially on the blog

Santa's (not-so) helper

We put out tree up tonight.  I know it's early, but everyone seems to be putting it up this weekend.  Christmas cheer comes early this year

Trying to catch a picture - as per usual, a slew of blurry pics to follow....

Matt hadn't come home yet to help me straighten it- leaning tower of ornaments.  I'm just so excited we have a real tree instead of my little 2 foot one.  It served me well for years, but it was time to get a real size one. 

Now I just need some more ornaments to fill it

That wreath over there on the left?  Made it in 15 minutes.  More on that later....

Weekend at the Hubbards

Playing with his cousins

We took a bunch of these, a few came out.  Cousins all in a row, in PJs

I think this one might be the best one

Matt is hunting all weekend so I took the opportunity to go see my sister with Charlie.  It's so nice to get to see her without the pressure of having to go here and there.  While I love those visits too, it was nice to just hang out, have some cocktails, eat good food, watch a movie and chat.  The cousins played and played and played.  Charlie was so wore out we left early on Sunday.  He took a long nap and I will be putting him down early- he's still exhausted!

Suspenders

I bought Charlie suspenders online for $6 (he wasn't so into posing, I had to get what I could, which was him rolling around on the floor)

He looks like a hipster farmer ted

Baby Mohawk!