Thanksgiving

The second trip was to Beaver Falls, PA for Thanksgiving. For the first few years of our marriage, I felt bad coming to Thanksgiving dinner and not contributing anything. Then I noticed that the pumpkin pies were always store-bought. Aha! Something I love to make and I wouldn't be stepping on anyone's toes! This realization came at about the time that I graduated from university and didn't have classes going up until the day before, and I could actually come early to make them there. For three out of the last four years, I have contributed the pies. (Last year we missed because Helen was a month from being born and I didn't want to chance the trip.) Every year, we are surprised when we are also expected to contribute the whipped cream. Duh!

This year, I made six pumpkin pies, two with half the sugar (by accident, forgot to double to sugar part of the recipe), which delighted a brother- and sister-in-law who are on a low sugar diet. There are those in the family who actually don't like pumpkin pie, so we also bought an apple pie from Costco. Mark's aunt and uncle brought a pecan pie and some fruitcake, so we had a delightful spread of desserts. The rest of the table was no less stellar, with turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, ham, green beans, cranberry sauce and rolls. Irene was thrilled with the ham, and Helen gobbled up turkey.

My favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner is always the dressing, the mashed potatoes, and the gravy. If I have seconds of anything, that's what I have. Seconds are always my downfall. I've been working very hard since I had children to curb my desire to overeat good food. One full plate of food is enough to satisfy my hunger, and having seconds for me usually means eating to fullness/stuffedness. I still nearly always have seconds at Thanksgiving, and this year was no exception. I'm not talking about denying myself certain foods here. I've already eaten a fair portion and thoroughly enjoyed it. My diet theory for myself is eating all of the foods I want to eat, but only eating until I'm no longer hungry rather than eating until I feel full. If I have to ask myself if I should or not, then I shouldn't have more. Trouble is, I know that, so I didn't ask myself. LOL.

Again, a good trip. Helen was a bit fussy at times on the way home, and nearly started crying about 10 minutes from home, but hey, we can stand crying for 10 minutes! Irene was sick on Wednesday, so I didn't get much done, but thankfully, I had made the pies on Tuesday, so there wasn't anything I HAD to do. I pretty much knew that she was sick when she woke up crying in the morning. She then went back to sleep and slept until 1:45pm! It was just a low fever, no throwing up or anything, all day. Helen also slept very late, but she wasn't sick. Irene got to watch four episodes of Blue's Clues over and over and over and over and... She doesn't watch Blue's Clues normally, but she really enjoyed it, and after a Veggie Tales break, she went back to Blue's Clues. Actually, she doesn't sit in front of the TV normally. Her illness couldn't have come on a better day. That was the only day that we didn't really do anything. God even works out illnesses!

Sunday, we heard an excellent sermon on loving and helping our fellow man, messiness and all. Mark's parents' pastor also talked about being real ourselves, and not showing off a plastic, perfect exterior, but showing the messiness inside so that those around us can help where they are strong and we can help them where we are stronger. After all, we owe our strength to God, and He is glorified when we share His strength. It was very convicting to me, because I tend to not want to get involved with others when they are messy, nor do I want others to know that I am less than perfect. I am not perfect. I am lazy. I am selfish. I eat too much. I don't want to put myself out for others. I get angry when my children aren't perfect either. Yet though I do all these things, God loves me and has forgiven me and helps me overcome them..

Toronto

This is turning into a more of a travel blog than anything else! Yes, I have had two trips since the last post. I think they each deserve a post of their own, so after posting approximately monthly, there will be TWO new posts in ONE day.

The first was a trip to Toronto by train with Helen. I wanted to go, but couldn't see myself driving there without adult company and two children. As it turned out, the train wasn't terribly expensive...for one person. To take Irene would have been half again as much. Helen was free, of course. Unbelievably, we received our passports in less than three weeks, without getting them expedited, so we got to use them for the first time. There was quite a backlog over the summer and passports were taking up to 12 weeks to come in rather than the normal 4-6 weeks. We didn't really need passports this time, because we were crossing the border by car, and birth certificates are sufficient up until sometime in January, 2008.

Irene stayed with my family, and cried when I left (but was soon her happy self again, I was later told). I reminded myself as I drove away to treasure these moments because it won't be long before she doesn't miss me at all when she's away from home. Mark dropped us off at the train station in Windsor the next morning before work. We had a nice four hour ride on the train, two hours of which Helen slept in my arms. That was also time that I treasured, as I don't often get to just sit with Helen, totally focused on her. We had a great time with my very good friend of over 20 years and her new husband. I was reminded how much easier one baby is than even one toddler/preschooler. I'm sure that they will get easier again someday. (10? 12? 16? 18? 25?) Train travel was so much nicer than car travel. No traffic to worry about. Predictable stops. No need to stop to nurse. But then, I had to pack as little as possible to fit everything into one small suitcase. I couldn't take anything extra along. I had to struggle with the stroller and carseat. All in all, I would travel by train again, but if I take Irene too, I'll need money to tip for all the help I'll need.

Teething and Travel

Ahhhhh. *happy sigh* Our most recent trip went beautifully...both ways. Helen was happy/sleeping the entire time. Granted, it wasn't as long of a trip. Helen has a tooth!!! The tooth came through the day we left, so maybe that's why it was a happy trip?

It's a scary thing to have a baby. Especially a crawling baby who puts everything in her mouth. Take Sunday, for instance. We were going to leave after church, so the car needed to be packed beforehand. Mark was busy, so I was trying to keep an eye on the kids and pack the car at the same time. Not exactly possible to keep a close eye on a busy baby. So we went to church, I nursed her during the service, and she took a short nap after nursing. She was drooling like crazy, but I figured she was just cutting another tooth. After the service, a dear lady was admiring Helen, and asked what she had in her mouth. She tapped Helen's cheek, and said there was definitely something hard in there. No way! How could I have missed this? She normally gags or makes some other noise that lets me know there is something in there even if I didn't see it go in. I dutifully checked her mouth, and there was a metal button, like the kind you would find on a pair of jeans with flap pockets! One of my nieces had lost the buttons off her jeans the day before, and had apparently not put them up in a safe place. She had that button in her mouth for AT LEAST an hour and a half. God is so good! He kept her from choking on it, so it was much less scary than it could have been!