Looks like Christmas

I know, I'm a looser. Every year, I get Christmas decorations up the day after Thanksgiving. Every year. Since 1995. Really. But I slacked this year (ie: Gregg and I slept in late because he isn't a good sleeper -- yes he is finally having that sleep study, and although I'm a great sleeper, thanks in part to a terrific little pill who shall remain nameless at this time, I had been up until 4 am reading the Twilight books) and so the decorations were put up last night, frantically, before friends came over for dinner.
We don't put up a tree, because we have ill-behaved pets. Don't get me wrong, we love Jazz and Lola to pieces, but (1) they fight, a LOT and (2) Lola still puts EVERYTHING in her mouth. Since almost all of our ornaments were actually a wedding present from Gregg's sister (and they are GORGEOUS delicate German ornaments), we don't like to take the risk. So, we do garland, and put the ornaments up high. I also have a little village with a tree on top of the TV (again, safety first), and we decorate outside with a wreath and garland. So, I do consider our house to be quite festive. Just sans tree.

Back to the friends who came over. Kim & Francis welcomed Maddie home 3 short months ago. We saw Maddie when she was just 2 weeks old, and the difference last night was amazing, to say the least. This girl has a personality you wouldn't believe! She smiles and laughs at you, and is OBSESSED with ceiling fans. I got the distinct pleasure of being able to wear Maddie most of the evening, so Kim & Francis could enjoy a hot meal, eaten at the same time, rather than their usual "shifts." They say practice makes perfect, so between my nieces and Maddie, I'd say I'm more than ready for Sam.

Pictures of the IEK holiday brunch

Yes I did take my camera. No, I didn't take pictures. Yes, it was because I was talking A LOT. Hello??!! This is Meg. I was also incredibly busy holding babies, talking to toddlers, and eating injera with red lentil wat. YUM.
So, please visit Nancy's blog for a picture slide show. Turn up the volume on your computer, because the slide show is accompanied by a particularly jazzy drum version of "Winter Wonderland." Enjoy!

Inskeep Thanksgiving

As you can see from the pictures (some of which were taken by 3 1/2 year old Emma), the Inskeeps had a FABULOUS Thanksgiving today. The food was top-notch, as was the company. Everyone contributed to the meal, and my brother-in-law deep-fried the turkey -- DELISH! The best though, was Manda's pumpkin cheesecake. You'd never know from the taste of looks of it that it was her first try at a cheesecake.
The best part of the day was when I asked Em what she was thankful for, and she said, "You!"
Hope you had as good of a time as we did! I'll post some recipes tomorrow.

Favorite Digital Short FOUND

Did you know that the UK version of YouTube has videos that were pulled in the US?? Specifically, the SNL digital shorts have been, in the past, pulled off the US version of YouTube.
But today, in honor of the holiday season, I found my all-time favorite digital short "D**k in a Box" staring JT and Andy Sandberg.
(Some adult content, for mature audiences only, although the bad words are bleeped out.)

Thanksgiving No. 1 -- 2 DeZuttis

Yesterday Gregg and I were Thanksgiving orphans for the first time in 7 years. Because of family scheduling, there wasn't a DeZutti Thanksgiving this year, and the Inskeep Thanksgiving is on Saturday. Gregg and I decided to have a low-key relaxed meal, just us, on our LAST THANKSGIVING WITHOUT BABY SAM. It was actually really neat to be able to have a holiday, knowing that it would be the last one of its kind without Sam. It's amazing to think that in a few short months our lives will chance forever, and next year this time we'll be cleaning mashed potatoes off a little guy's (or girl's) hands, face & likely, head.

Gregg brined an 8 lb turkey. Yes, I said brined. As in a salty liquid to preserve meat and veg. He brought the brine (water, salt & herbs) to a boil on the stove Wednesday night, and then put the thawed turkey in a pot, with the brine, put the lid on, and put the whole thing in the fridge. Let me just say, that it was the best turkey either of us had ever had before. So juicy and tasty. He used rosemary, garlic and whole peppercorns in the brine. I made my smashed potatoes (I keep the skins on, using red russet potatoes, lots of garlic, butter, and veg stock), and Sandi Brown's Cranberry Cheesecake Bars. Warning -- these are dangerous. I mean, they are PERFECT for Thanksgiving because you get your cranberry course and dessert course all in one lovely bite, but I must report that the 9 x 13 pan is almost gone, and it's just the 2 of us!! I think next time I'm going to make them with Stephanie Adam's homemade cranberry sauce. Green beans and gravey rounded out the meal. I had a glass of Michigan Cherry Wine, and Gregg stuck to his usual iced tea. It was a wonderful meal with my favorite person in the world.

Today, I made my from-scratch Carmel Apple pie. I'll post pictures and the recipe tomorrow night, after I cut into it for Inskeep Thanksgiving. Gregg is bringing roasted carrots and sweet potatoes to that. It's at my sister's house, and I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE MY GIRLS!!!!!

Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving with family and friends. If you are lucky like us, I hope you have a Thanksgiving No. 2 tomorrow as well! Healthy eating & exercise to start in earnest Monday.

Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving Day faithful readers. I hope that you are eating too much food, laughing too hard, and in the words of Em, loving everyone "too much."

Thankful for friends

Erin, of Full House Full Hearts Full Hands, started blogging about what she is thankful for, in anticipation of Thanksgiving. I think this is a fabulous idea, and decided to do it myself.

Day 1 -- I'm thankful for my friends.
I am a very social person. I have lots of lots of acquaintances, lots and lots of friends, and am oh-so-lucky to even have more than a handful of people I consider really good friends/ homemade family. I am blessed to have sisters who are great friends. Sisters I would hand pick to be my sisters. I don't believe many people can say that. I have girlfriends I consider sisters because we are that close. I am so thankful for that. I have friends I have meant on this adoption journey that I feel so close to, even though we have never met in person (but we will -- just wait and see, we will!)

I am so thankful for my friends, because I wear my heart on my sleeve and have a rally of friends behind me to ride out every up, down, and zig-zag on this roller coaster ride. I could never be who I am, never be a mama-to-be, never be a successful wife or attorney, without the loving and supportive friends I have. My friends inspire me everyday.
I am a better person because of the friends I have.

Today, one of my dear friends, Sandi Brown, found out that her son passed court in ETH, and they would be able to go to ETH in just 3 weeks to bring him home. The Browns will be in ETH for Paul's first birthday. They will have him home for Christmas. When she called me, I felt as if my heart had wings and I was soaring in the sky. He is an unbelievably beautiful boy, and already looks like a Brown. Seriously, when you look into this child's face, you see Sandi, Bill and their girls. It's truly amazing.

Today, one of my dear friends, Amanda, found out that her son and daughter did not pass court in ETH. It was so simple and so very wrong. A name on the birth mother's birth certificate was misspelled. And the judge said, no-go and assigned a new court date in late Christmas. Amanda's children are 5 & 7. They know their mom and dad's faces. They ask other families at HOH about their mom and dad and want them to bring them home soon.
It's utterly unfair that Amanda's children won't be home for Christmas or New Years.
Amanda and her husband won't be able to travel until mid-late January. I know, when they have their gorgeous kids home, all this will seem like a dream, a dream they'll hardly remember. But today, their hearts are breaking. And my heart is breaking for them.

One day, when my child is old enough, I'll be able to explain friendship. I'll explain that friends are people we spend time with, people we enjoy being around, people we love. When you love a friend, you feel some of the emotions they feel. Sandi and Amanda have been so supportive of me and my highs and lows in this adoption journey. I hope I can be the kind of friend to them, that they have been to me. I want my child to grow and have friends like Sandi and Amanda.

Because this blog is private, I know each and every reader. I am proud to call you my dear friends, and feel so blessed to have each of you in my life. I am THANKFUL for YOU.

Mom's visit & Makeovers

Mom came up for a visit this weekend. We hadn't seen each other since baby shopping in August, which was much too long. But with difficult schedules, and 2 1/2 hour drive between us, you know how it can be.

We went to Bare Escentuals for makeovers and new makeup ideas. We did have "before" pictures taken, but I accidentally erased them (seriously, it was an accident). I don't think the pictures do justice because mom looks amazing! Really -- truly amazing. She has always been very beautiful but the new makeup really brought her beauty out. My makeover was only for my eyes, because I have used BE for years and years but am afraid of too much eye makeup. I have always thought too much eye makeup made me look like a french whore (which my husband doesn't seem to see a problem with.) Mom and I learned new shading techniques and how to do a 3 part eye is just a couple minutes. I got some great ideas and think my eyes won't look so lost behind my glasses. It was a lot of fun.

We then went to Ikea!! Such a treat for mom because there isn't one in Indiana. We ended up getting a great present for Emma's 4th birthday (in February), as well as some stocking stuffers for the girls for Christmas (hello hand puppets!).

We came home to a lovely dinner made by Gregg -- roast pork loin and roast sweet potatoes & carrots YUM!!

Uber early Holiday cards & Compost piles

I know it's crazy, but I already ordered our holiday cards -- last night. They will be in on Monday. I get them at Kodak and they are delivered for free to my local CVS pharmacy.
It's still just mid-November. I don't plan on mailing them until after Thanksgiving, but this way I can have them all addressed and stamped and ready-to-go. The holidays get so crazy at home and work, I was just thinking, if I can do stuff early that's 1 less thing on my "to do" list.

We still don't have our DCFS certification and original homestudy yet, and have some items for our dossier that have to be re-done (the notary expires before January, so if we don't get the dossier out until January, then Washington DC may kick it back.) Since I'll be worrying about our "golden ticket" and dossier in December, I didn't want to have to worry about holiday cards and presents then too. Don't worry, in my crazy-mixed-up mind this all makes sense.

On other news, my mom got a composter!!! Yeah!!!! We always had a compost pile at the farm, but it's really different when you dont' have 80 acres and 400 head of cattle. Now compost piles have to be enclosed and not covered w/ a swarm of hungry flies. Manda was the first to add this green-ness to her house. She's had a nicely constructed compost bin from Gardner's Supply Company for about 2 years now. Only problem was she didn't have the right nitrogen levels so she didn't have much decomp this season. Oh well, I'll get her some super-hot, which is a compost starter mix with the right amounts of each nutrients -- it JUMP STARTS the decomp and ensures you dont' have any bugs (other than the worms which you need.) I got my compost bin from Gardner's Supply Company too, and have had it about 1 year. I have had great luck w/ decomp and with the added leaves this fall, should have "ready" compost in the Spring. I just love the fact that we aren't putting our fruit & veggie cuttings in the garbage disposal, and aren't throwing away our coffee and tea grounds. I even put some recycled papers and cardboard in there and it does great. Grass clippings are the best though, because they really increase the temp and keep everything "cookin'" nicely!

Manda and I both have 99% toxic-free houses and have really seen the benefits. I did not get my annual bouts of pneumonia and bronchitis this year. This is huge in and of itself, because I get these religiously every fall and have since I was a child. I typically crack a rib with the coughing. It was really nice not to go through this. Both Em and Liv have had some respiratory issues/allergies/asthma and HAVE NOT gotten as sick this year. We attribute this to our bodies producing a heartier immune system because we have gone toxic-free. I know this isn't for everyone, esp if you have a little one with a compromised immune system. Toxic-free does often mean more germs in the house, but it also means your body builds up immunity to those germs. I think one of the worst things Americans ever did was go overboard on antibacterial everything. It really cripples the immune system so our bodies don't know how to fight the bugs naturally. It's not this way in Europe and people are much healthier. (I'm also a big proponent of Raw Milk, but that's another post for another time.)

I'm off to client meetings now. Hope it warms up here a bit. Supposed to be the coldest weekend in 8 months.

Yes Virginia, that's a Christmas Tree

Can you believe it? November 13th and they are assembling the Chicago Christmas tree. Now, in their defense, it is made up of about 200 smaller live trees, and takes 3 cranes to get the lights and ornaments on. I am not sure how tall it is, but I would guess about 5-7 stories. It's really huge. They are also assembling Santa's village and Christikindleland, which is a city holiday outdoor craft mall. There also a vendor that sells mulled wine, which is the reason I go to Christkindleland, but that's just me. Some do go for the holiday crafts. The craft mall opens on the 26th, so everything has to be ready by then. Oh, and they also transform the reflecting pool and fountain (not in this picture) to a giant model train set. (the trains are normal size, but its a HUGE set-up with multiple towns and mountains and people and animals.) That's really the coolest part I think.

I'll be sure to take some more pictures when everything is done. The best is at night when the tree is lit. I should be able to get some good pictures at around 4 pm, because that's when it's getting dark here!

Christmas shopping?...DONE

Believe it or not, I am DONE with Christmas shopping this year. We are really trying to move to an anti-commercial holiday season, and have cut-out sibling gifting this year. We are only doing presents for kids, and my parents. I'm only doing homemade gifts. Hey, I have a Singer and I know how to use it!

Above are SOME of the fleece fabrics I got today for my blankets. I'll be honest, the pink argyle&stripes are MY blanket. (1) Because every girl needs more pink in her life and (2) Because I needed a "test" blanket. These are super-simple blankets. Each has a matching second fabric. The two fabrics are cut out (toddler size and adult throw), and then sewn together on the 4 edges of the rectangle. Then, coordinating satin blanket binding is sewn on the 4 edges. Ta-Da!! Machine-washable double thickness fleece love done!
I even found rainbow binding for the baby blankets. SEW CUTE!

I'll post pictures when I start putting them together. Oh, and because I had coupons and purchased today when blizzard no-pill fleece was 1/2 off, I save a whopping $150 off my purchase!!!!!!!!!!! you gotta love that!