Sick-giving

Phil had nine - that's right: nine - days off school over the holiday, and we (Phil, Gabe and I) spent the bulk of that time stuck at home  feeling pretty crappy.  It's not like we would have been venturing too far from home anyway, but it would have been nice to... well, not be sick.

Because we didn't want to rain (or, should I say: cough:)) on anyone's Thanksgiving day parade, we made the event strictly a family affair and had our feast at home. Just the 4 of us. And it was soooo nice! We all slept in. No obligations. No deadlines. We ate exactly what we wanted (turkey, funeral potatoes, a fun drink, and white chocolate raspberry cheesecake - not as good as you might think) when we wanted. And, we got to stay in our pjs most of the day.

I was adamant about taking some pictures of everyone. So, we did. But, it was pretty cold outside, and we only got a few.

Gabe thought that a dryer sheet was an appropriate prop for a family picture, and brought it outside to wave around.

He first rubbed Rubi's head with the dryer sheet, and then we convinced him to use his hands instead.

As is my typical photo-taking fashion, my eyes were closed for more than half of the pictures. In my defense, Rubi and I were matching.

Don't you just want to squish her face?

It didn't take long for the turkey to get to Rubi...

Baby Rubi

I know I'll never get any pictures posted here if I try to come up with some clever commentary for the in-between photos, so, I'll just let you all gaze upon Rubi and her glory, born November 5th, weighing in at 8 lbs 1 oz, and measuring 21.5 inches. She is the sweetest baby, and we are so grateful that she's here.

Serious Shopper

We've been frequenting old Walmart quite regularly lately. For three purposes:

1) I've lost the meal-making/planning steam, so every day around 4:00 I finally decide what to make for dinner, and realize that we don't have the stuff to make it.

2) There's a snake living outside our duplex.  A big one. It's been spotted twice: once by me, another time by a friend stopping by. Yeah, I screamed. And freaked out. And, I'm now reluctant to let Gabe outside. At all. So, aside from our outings to the park and the library, Walmart is the place to go.

3) Treats. I can't get enough of them.  You would think Halloween should have done us all in.  But, no. Here we are (mostly me), snarfing down every last drop of brownie batter while the real deal bakes in the oven.