A Great Thanksgiving

We had a very busy Thanksgiving with friends and family. It started with a tradition our friends, the Manwarings, introduced to us. We met up at the local rail-trail and had a 5K run with several friends including the the Weeds, Walkers, Manwarings and Mitchells along with Tom and Jocelyn Harris. We had prizes for best times, best dressed, sweatiest runner and so on. It was a good way to start the day.



Kelli made medals for all the kids



Our townhouse is right next to a new hotel, which is separated from us by a huge 30 foot wall. We always thought it would be fun to set up a rope and let the kids climb it with a harness on. Needless to say, they were all excited as we set up the ropes, but once they got on the wall they either chickened out or said they were too cold to do it. So we harnessed up and had races climbing to the top. Micki was the first person to scale the wall, Jocelyn the first pregnant person to scale the wall and Tom the fastest person at 17 seconds.







We had worked up a good appetite by this time and the turkey was ready to be eaten. We all settled in for the usual Thanksgiving fare, but this year everything just tasted a little better than usual.









We let dinner settle in then indulged in pies in all their varieties.



Then it was on to an old Adams family tradition - Indian Leg Wrestling. Even the little babies got in on the action.







By this time the kids were worn out and we sent them to bed. We finished off the night with a nice game of Acquire and called it a night. It was a good time had by all.

Alternative Christmas Music Compilation 2009

We have compiled our yearly mix of off the radar Christmas music and have it here for your downloading pleasure, just in time to be added to your media player of choice for post-Thanksgiving revelry. This year we have a mix of mostly original songs by different indie and alternative artists with a few remakes of older songs and a few older forgotten songs that need to be revived. You can download the zip file of all the songs by clicking here. Here is a sample of a few of the songs:


If you missed out on our Christmas mix from last year, you can download it here. We guarantee you won't be disappointed.

A Saturday in Pittsburgh

Mat's parents came in for the holiday, so we took a little jaunt up to Pittsburgh, PA.




The deal was, that if we went to the Botanical Garden first:







Then, the kids could play at the Science Museum and touch anything they wanted:

Basketball shooting machine robot. Humans had their own hoop next door. Robots 62% accuracy and the humans were 15%. Step it up Humans!



Air hockey against a robot anyone?


Flight simulation=bad hair, especially for the one taking the picture


Time for work!


Work complete! Great job getting the job done (all wet).


I ended up buying memberships to both, Mat will get his pictures at the gardens, the kids will play with science, and I will be happy getting out of the norm. Everyone wins.
We hit Costco on the way home so we could prepare for our Thanksgiving Feast this week. We were pooped, but had a lot of fun.

Incredible!

Here's a vent:
Mat took my keys this morning and as the domino falls now I am now so behind in errand running. The in-laws come tonight and I had this little window from 12PM to 1PM that I had to do it in. I wouldn't normally be so BUGGED, except Mat takes my carefully placed keys all the time to work. This happens not once a year, but several, several, times a year. I tried to get an extra keys made, but they can't remake it because of the type of key. I am fumed! Livid! And, there is nothing I can do about it. Now, I get to go to the store when the traffic is horrendous, the cashiers are cranky and it's dark.

I feel better. There is nothing better than writing it all down when you can't do a thing about it.

Signed,
Miss Routine

PS:Oh! He was so in trouble when he got home. I made a new key chain



I also made him forfeit his van key. He's not allowed to have my keys EVER and I have suspended his personal van key for at least 2yrs.

Jail Break

We are free from the nasty creature that dared to set foot into our house. Didn't he know he was doomed from the beginning? (I have to admit, it had me wondering) I am happy Gretchen has finally got some color in her and her eyes aren't dark and sunken in too.



We do miss lying around all day. There is something about not having any responsibilities and it makes me think, "I could do this for weeks and weeks."



The kids are back to themselves...well sort of



.... I am trying to break Gretchen from milking that she is still sick, but mind you, she's not! Do any of your children do this? This is something new for me. If someone asks her "Are you feeling better?" She frowns and croaks and winces like she's close to death again. Mat and I have rolled our eyes so many times that our eyes have rolled completely out of our sockets these last few days trying to toughen up the 4yr old again. Maybe I'll take her to one of those Christian seances where the preacher will heal her altogether.

I'm Traveling to Guernsey this Weekend!

I just finished reading the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society a whole 5 minutes ago, and I'm now going to marry it. I have everyone of these characters in my life and that is why this book is so amusing. The island is quaint and charming, and I asked Mat to take me there when we can afford it. He said yes, and then rolled over and went to sleep. Anyway, I savored the last ten pages and didn't want it to end. I wanted to continue to pry into these peoples lives and maybe even buy a house and settle there.

I know some of you have read this and now I'd like to be in your club.

I'm Putting on the Boxing Gloves!

This flu and I are going to have some words! When I finally get it out of its very uncomfortable host, I'm going to strangle, pounce, and do my fiercest Miyagi on it! Gretchen still has a high fever and is now going on day four. I was extremely happy last night to find Gretchen wasn't burning after going 6 hrs with out medicine, but this morning it spiked again. Remind me that I need to invest stock in Tylenol and Motrin. The doctor said we are doing all the right things, but it just has to take it's course (scenic route, in this case). I have never seen any child so ill..

In the meantime, we've memorized every pbs show, rearranged the furniture because I was tired of looking at it, and I ate another piece of garlic, not because I had symptoms, just because it made me feel like I was doing something.

Micah has also sucked on two drinks of Gretchen's when I had my head turned for a mere 2 seconds. She is very carefree and casual on the rug now, let's hope she has some super hero immunity not to get this villain of a bug.

Preventative Measures

Mat and I were thinking last night that our throats were sort of dry. It led us to think that we too might be getting sick!

I took action and did the bizarre! My friend gave me the wonder medicine, Air Born, invented by a teacher and my neighbor says she eats a whole clove of garlic when symptoms are starting to occur. I did both. That's right, I swigged back a glass of carbonate herbs and I wrapped a slice of bread around a fresh, raw, clove of garlic.

It's what happened afterwords, that brought our marriage to whole other tolerant level. I reeked! I brushed, rinsed, flossed, gargled, brushed and rinsed again, but I S-T-U-N-K, STUNK (sounds better when you say it with a southern, twangy, accent)--BAD. Mat was trying to be kind and gentle, "Dang! Try gargling or something?" "I can smell it over here." "That smells going to be with you for a few days." You better believe it! You should have seen our attempt for a goodbye kiss this morning when he went off to work.

It's best that I nor Gretchen go out today. Unless you need protection from vampires?

Update on Greti, she started to stir around 2AM this morning and I went in to lay by her. Finally, at 3AM she asks, "Is it breakfast yet? I'm kind of hungry." I sprang out of bed! She eats! She is eating! This is good! Just a little bit of food, but at least there is some glucose in her.

Round 2

Miss Gretchen is ill today with nausea and THE FEVER (it deserves all caps because it spreads like the wild fires in Southern California)! Healthy yesterday, laid out on the couch the next. Where's the break? Becket had it two weeks ago and now Miss Gretch. I thought we were done, but it looks like we are going to take another round of this. I feel bad for her. She hasn't really eaten all day. I check on her periodically, give her a few strokes to the forehead, but that is about all I can do.
On a positive note, I did clean and organize all the toys and the food storage; that was putting on it's own balancing act. I kind of feel achy, but I believe that is due to lifting from my back not my knees.

Cleaver to the fever! Cleaver to the fever! Cleaver to the fever! Cleaver to the fever! Cleaver to the fever! Cleaver to the fever!

Happy Sunday

Hope your weekend was good.

Ba, Ba, Ba, Ba, Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum

The Boy turned 6! He is still older, faster, somewhat smarter, firster, and a hot luncher, before his sisters. He loves his new status!

Happy Birthday Becket!



I remember it was an abnormal 72 degree weather day in Pennsylvania. Leaves were blowing in the wind, and I was nothing but happy.

Our little Burrito, as Dad called it!--His favorite picture of you, he swaddled you himself.


Tired then, like I am tired now (in a good way)



Proud of you then, like he is proud now



Unique then, like you are unique now

Leaf Me Alone

No words needed for this:


And if it looks like we have one too many pictures in our pajamas, that's because we've been oinked (swine flu, possibly). Becket came down with The Fevah and cough Wednesday night and we've been in hibernation ever since. No one else has shown any other flu like symptoms so we are now dressed and showered. Sometimes being sick isn't so bad --lots of movies, I can stop saying "I've got to get that done!" to projects I've been staring at for the last month, and it's a lot of good quality, family time.

Happy You Know What!

Sugar highs and blown up thighs! Happy Halloween Everyone!

This year, my kids chose very creative costumes, which got my wheels turning trying to figure out how to make their costumes. Behold, Gretchen-the worm (don't ask) Becket- the chameleon (because he likes scary things with sharp teeth) and Micah- the corn on the cob (because she's a maizing, get it?)



It's so exciting! We're not trick or treating our own house, it's just all the houses look the same where we live.



Our friends love Halloween and do a great job decorating



The graveyard


The open coffin with Todd inside



Oh! I forgot to mention that the kids also needed Halloween costumes for their pets. What has this household come to?



Hope everyone was happy and safe!