I Am Thankful....

Thanksgiving has come and gone with a blink of an eye and a few stuffed bellies. Between 2 Thanksgiving Feast at FBK w/ the P's and our regular Thanksgiving lunch at my Grandparent's, we were definitely eaten' good for about a week straight.

I look forward to Thanksgiving and my Grandmother's cooking ALL year! As a matter of fact, I'd venture to say, that anyone who has a lick of sense eaten my Grandmother's Thanksgiving Feast would say the same thing, it's that good. I pretty much fast for 2 weeks leading up to the day so that there is plenty of room in my tummy for all the goodness. Creamed potatoes- SHUT YO' MOUTH! There are photo's and videos of me dating back to age 4-5yrs old eating her creamed potatoes, licking the bowl, spoon, counter, whatever may have a smidgen of tater left on it and yes, if you're wondering, you can still catch me acting like an unfed animal when it comes to getting the last bite. That Craig's one lucky guy ;)

My brother Josh came out Thanksgiving Eve to hang w/ Craig and I for a bit. We watched I Love You, Man and called it a night. I needed to be well rested for the run I committed to the next morning. He says he does this every year, that way he doesn't feel so guilty for all the carbs he eats and because he's always been the smart one, I decided to tag along. I woke up, prepared frittata's and met Josh for our first annual Thanksgiving run annnnnnd struggled. Running in 30 degree temps is no joke, especially when you've never done it before, my chest was on fire. Needless to say, it wasn't my best, but hey, it was a solid effort and I will do it again.

When the Orrell " We're always running late " Family finally arrived in Trenton, GA- it did not disappoint. Babies, Grandbabies,Great Grandbabies, OH MY! There were 22 people in attendance this year. I remember the days where there were less than half that. 2 plates at lunch, 2 pieces of cheesecake, followed up by another plate a couple of hours later and I was finally content. Mmmm mmmm good! You out did yourself again this year Grandmother, and me and my 5 extra pounds, Thank You.

It's only appropriate that on Thanksgiving, we give Thanks for those things we are Thankful for.

I Am Thankful:

-That I get to attend Thanksgiving with my family as I have every year since I can remember

-That I have a husband who attends that Thanksgiving me with every year, for 7 years, while missing his   own family meals, because he knows how important it is to me.Who isn't turned off by the fact that my plate may be piled up just as high as his is with food.

-For a Grandmother who spends 24hrs preparing /cooking  for 4 generations of family on Thanksgiving and a Grandfather who mans ship and offers full support. For the 2 who love nothing more than to have all of their family under one roof, if only for one day and a few hours a year.

-For my Mom and her unbelievable amount of strength, dignity, and grace. One who always does for others before herself and who can still rock a pair of skinny jeans and high heels. Funny, smart, successful and beautiful, she is the Mom I aspire to be everyday.

-For my Stepdad, who without his inept ability to scare the absolute crap out of my brothers and I from birth to graduation, I would be the biggest baby this side of Paulding County. The one who took me to get my permit at 15-which was the first mistake considering the 2 dented family cars, 2 totaled cars as a teenager,  1 burned out clutch, and 1 curbed/busted tire later. All that and he has yet to charge me for his labor.

-For 2 younger brothers who now, I actually claim and even consider them my friends. Who have turned out to be quite alright regardless of the mass amounts of torture they endured on my behalf.

-For pretty amazing In-Law's that I love and enjoy spending time with. Who treat me as one of their own, accommodate me in anyway ( ex.preparing 2 beef hamburgers just for me while everyone else eats deer ) and love our little P's more than I could ever ask for

-For each and every one of my girlfriends, for without each of you, your lending ears,and a great glass of wine, I'm quite sure I would have lost my sanity.

And last but most importantly, I Am Thankful and beyond blessed for this little brown eyed beauty and this little strawberry blonde cutie, who remind me each and every day what life is all about.

Pre-K Crush or Slight Obsession....

The P's are in loooooove, full blown boyfriend mode with .........Harry Potter! Forget Bieber Fever, they're Hot for Potter! And it's gettin' scary.

It all started a couple of weeks ago when I returned home from a work trip. ABC Family was airing the entire Harry Potter series from start to finish. I thought it might be a good movie for us to watch, after all I've never seen any of the series so why not? Funny to think that in the earlier movies, the young Harry wasn't so appealing to them- it actually wasn't until The Order of the Phoenix, when Harry is now a teenager that the obsession crush began.

Prior to being exposed to Harry Potter, they thought boys were "disgustin'". The fact that I was actually married to their Dad and kissed him, was out right repulsive.

The P's: Mommy, who's your boyfriend 
Me:  Daddy
The P's: Did you marry Daddy?
Me: Yes, Daddy and I are married
The P's: So, do you have to kiss Daddy?
Me: Yes
The P's ( in unison ) EWWWW GRODIE ( pronounced grow-dee )

All things you expect from 3 & 4 yr old little girls, right? So imagine my surprise when a few months later we're riding down the rode and I over hear Paisley say this in the backseat  "I'm going to put on my princess gown and my lip gloss and I'm going to marry Harry Potter" Do Huh? "Paisley, what did you say? " Presleigh yells in between giggles- "SHE SAID SHE'S GOING TO MARRY HARRY!"  I could not stop laughing and Craig is just sitting there, dumbfounded.

And so it begins, since that day 2 wks ago until right this very minute, Harry Potter has been played on the DVR at least 2x a day and if we say no to replaying it for the 3rd time, take shelter, cause sh*ts about to hit the fan. All day long, Harry this, Harry that... Mom, you know what Harry did... Mom, Harry's my boyfriend, Mom, look, I drawed Harry Potter, Mom, Harry's going to be my prince, Mom, watch this, you gotta watch this part, Mom, where does Harry Potter live- is he at Disneyland? Mommy, Harry's my boyfriend, Mom, Harry, Mom, Harry.... AHHHHHHH!!  What began as a pre-k crush is now a deep obsession and I'm beginning to wonder I there's reason to be concerned! I guess it could be worse, a friend of mine said that when her niece was close to this age she had a crush on Captain Jack Sparrow and would pretend to make out with her pillow. Let me catch that happening and that Harry will find himself banished from my DVR forever!

Mommy's at the Airport...

Last week I headed to Chicago for a Regional Meeting with work. This was going to be a long trip, 3 nights and 4 days, and to say the least, a long week for Craig. I don't have to travel often, maybe 4 times a year or so. I have mixed emotions and worries leading up to each trip. Part of me looks forward to the time away and part of me dreads it. Our Senior Vice President will often say " Now Brittany, try not to whistle as you're packing your bags " A big bed all to myself, no blood curdling screams waking me up in the middle of the night, 7-8 hrs of uninterrupted sleep = pure bliss, all making it difficult to hold back my obnoxious whistlen'. However, the other side knows a few days in I will start to get a little home sick and be ready to return home to the P's and their keeper.

This time around I had a little more worry than usual. Flash back to 3 months ago when I had to head to North Carolina for another long work trip. The P's weren't in school yet and Craig was on his own to beckon to their every demand, hold down the fort, and some how manage to actually work. I prepared myself mentally, knowing that I would probably come home and everyone and everything would be dirty. I know how much havoc those 2 tornado's cause on a daily basis, its a given. On the flip side, I knew they'd be well fed, because we know Craig ain't gonna let nobody go hungry. However, I wasn't prepared for what I walked in to. At first glance everything seemed fairly tidy and I was breathing a sigh of relief until I walked into the girls bedroom, where there to greet me right away were several, maybe 8 little lipstick kisses scattered all over the doorway. Bright pink lipstick. Then just a couple steps further, a nice finger nail polish painting on the floor, finger paint, finger nail polish- its all the same I guess. I'm getting a little more flustered and hot and then I look over and see a large stick figures or "dokie " ( Paisley's name for a her stick figures )  sketched by Miss Paisley, right beside her bed. When I asked her why she did that she replies- "It's you and Daddy, I missed you " How in the hell can I get mad at that?? I was just served a large dose of guilt by a 3yr old. Thank God for that because I was about to hit the roof. With these discoveries, I quickly scan the house combing every room with a fine toothed comb. There was no more destruction or construction found. But now that we're in the light and I can get a good look at the kids and their hair, I can see its clearly matted and on the verge of becoming dreads. It.was.awful. He combed it, very gently, not to disrupt the tangling, but did not bother tackling the rats nest. They have on a nightgown and blue jeans paired with a dirty face and quiet frankly look homeless.The bad thing,  prior to picking me up at the airport, they had been at the ChickfilA playground. ( I started to prepare for defacs ) Presleigh then begins to shout that she needs to potty, so I walk her to the bathroom and there is no toilet paper, no toilet paper anywhere in the house and I don't even want to know how long it had been that way. Craig said they ran out that day...it's probably best I don't know. At this rate I should just be thankful there was not a casualty. Needless to say I wanted to cry, but instead I pitched a fit and took it out on Craig. Lecturing him on it all for probably way too long while he was wishing I he would have just left me at the airport.

Fast forwarding back to this trip and my anxiety about leaving.... The girls would be in school half the day helping some and as luck would have it, picture day would fall the week that I'm gone.I laid our their clothes neatly, clearly labeled with their names and what day it was to be worn and each perfectly accessorized. Made sure that all their princess gowns were clean, we were loaded up on toilet paper and there was plenty of benadryl in the pantry so he could drug them up if need be-totally kidding. My Mom was also going to be able to assist more this time since she is now on the mends from her surgery. All things looking towards the positive, so I left on a fairly confident note. I only received one dramatic call while I was away and that was due to Presleigh pitching a fit because she wanted to open up a Collectors Millennium Barbie her Nana had given her and Craig didn't know what to do. The tears were flowing and the world was coming to an end! With that said, each time I checked in things seemed at ease, almost eerie and the day I was set to come home, Craig felt the need to lecture me and say he would not tolerate my fit pitching this time around.  Guess he had been dealing with enough hormone driven, drama induced mood swings that week. They pick me up, we head home and I walk inside with one eye open and to my surprise, it was clean and almost as I had left it. I do my typical walk through, checking each room, looking for things out of place ( I know, psycho ) but nada, zilch, nothing! The bed was made, this sink was clean, the girls were groomed and actually smelled nice.  I was able to walk in, put on my pj's and curl up on the couch to watch a movie with my sweet P's. I think I might have even pinched myself once or twice. I think the Dad's finally got it, finally.

Although I kinda gave Craig a hard time in this post, I truly am grateful that I can count on him to hold it down while I'm away. He really did a great job this time around and deserves a round of applause with a pat on the back. Also a quick shout out to MiMi, who cooked dinner for my family a couple of times while I was gone, bathed the girls and painted their nails, and for taking me to the airport at the butt crack of dawn. And lastly, a little Thank You to Mrs Sarah at FBK, who informed me today at Paisley's Thanksgiving Brunch that she may have had to put a bow in her hair on picture day.

Mrs Sarah: Hey, good to see you here. Where were you last week? All Paisley kept saying was " Mommy's at the airport " Each day she came in " Mommy's at the airport"
Brittany: Awe, poor thing. I had to travel out of town for a work meeting, so the Dad was in charge. Of all weeks to be out it was picture week.
Mrs Sarah: Well he did really good. She came in looking cute every morning. He was so funny, on picture day, he called up to the school and asked if we could put the bow in her hair. (she's cracking up) We figured since "Mommy was at the airport" we'd help him out a little bit.
Brittany: Well thank you so much for doing that, i really appreciate it and I know he does too.

Wink, Wink, Craig ;) Bet you thought I wouldn't figure that one out!

Halloween Week-end Wrap Up

14 days late on this post, but what's new these days? Feels a little odd to be blogging about Halloween as we gear up for Thanksgiving and some are already decorating for Christmas- ie: City of Hiram, who has already put up their Christmas lights on the all the light post and power poles in Hiram. Too early if you ask me-can we just give our Thanks first AND then decorate for Christmas? Why is that so abnormal these day's?

Halloween festivities lasted a good week around this house. Between the girls Fall Festivals at school, the Paulding Meadows Annual Trick or Treat Village and Halloween itself, the P's had to detox on candy for a good week. Throw in a couple of birthday celebrations that weekend and we were partied out.

Here's the run down:

Fall Festivals- Tues and Thurs- Prior blog post

Alicia's Birthday Dinner at La Cocina- Friday- Great time w/ great friends, enjoying our fave cuisine and monster margaritas! The girls really love hanging out w/ their son Brayden, they get along so well and we complete content playing ant smasher and angry birds all night. Here's a cute little pic of Brayden and Presleigh.

Trick or Treat Village-Saturday- Its held at Paulding Meadows every year. Local businesses, vendors, along w/ the fire depts, sheriff dept's etc, set up booths, haunted houses, games, hay rides where they hand out candy. Its always a lot of fun for the kiddos so we go back every year, we've been going since Presleigh was 1 1/2 and Paisley barely crawling. They of course rack up on candy, get their hair sprayed funky colors, play games, pick a big ol' nose full of snot to find more candy, walk through haunted houses, watch a parade, play on the inflatable slides and dance at the dj booth. I only have one pic to share from this year, but its a pretty impressive one. Presleigh showed a lot of courage by having her picture taken with this scary lookin' dude and the look on her face is proof.

Tinsley's Fairy First Birthday- Sunday. We headed over to the McCollum's house for the birthday celebration. Jennie ( the Mom ) did a fabulous job decorating for T's first birthday! Rolling w/ the woodland fairly theme, all the little girls were equipped w/ tutu's, which the P's loved. We had a great time at the party catching up with all the parents that we do not get to see enough. Although we showed up an hour late, because in my mind the party was a 2, not 1, it went off without a hitch and the birthday girl scored some pretty sweet gifts-which I had to fight the P's off of. Here's some pics of the party stolen from the creator's page :)




Miss Tinsley, Mableton's Most Magical Woodland Fairy





Me and sweet Abigail, 1st time meeting this little one in person.




Me and the pretty birthday girl, post party.



On Monday, Halloween had officially arrived and by 5pm trick or treaters were already making their rounds in Downtown Dallas. We loaded up Snow White and Cinderella in their plastic radio flyer carriage and headed down to MiMi's. Each year we have a big group that meets at my Mom's to trick or treat. She's a great hostess, providing food, adult beverages, snacks and little goody bags for the kids. We quench our thirst and fill our tummy's, watch a few of the trick or treaters then head out. The girls LOVED handing out candy to the trick or treaters and looking at all the costumes, especially the scary ones. I'd venture to say, they probably enjoyed this part more than actual trick or treating. A little background info, thousands of kids trick or treat in downtown Dallas every year. If you are a resident in the City of Dallas, you best be stock piling your candy all year because you will spend a few hundred dollars on candy and still run out by 8pm forcing yourself to run in the house before the next group comes up and turn off the lights. Its unreal how many people come out to podunk Dallas for Halloween. We had a couple Princesses,Captain America a Lego, Donald Duck, Spider Man, and  Ladybug in tow as we hit the streets. Some handed out candy, others gave popcorn and one house even gave out cotton candy. After a couple of hours our entourage started to get a little sleepy so we headed back.I didn't get too many pics this year, but I did get some. Notice Craig in his scary old man mask, we decided to have some fun w/ that while we were out. Even better, notice Erik in his Batman costume. I cannot tell you how many little boys wanted their pictures taken with Batman, if he got stopped one more time,I was going to start charging. We plan to pimp him out for b-day parties in the near future!

Another successful and fun Halloween is on the books and the girls are already talking about what they are going to dress up as next year.