For this week’s Photo Hunt theme of bird(s), I’ve chosen this photograph taken earlier this year at one of the local beaches here in the Tampa bay area.  It was a gorgeous, breezy day and we had fun watching the poor seagulls try and land in the wind.

So, yesterday didn’t go entirely as planned.

The munchkin and I woke up sick and spend the day in a veritable fog.  Unable to do too much of anything, all my boyz really did come together and help prepare our feast . . . albeit with me shouting directions!

The hubby, after insisting on going for a two hour bike ride first thing in the morning, cooked the turkey and gravy and got to unclog the kitchen sink on account of it getting a bit choked up with the vegetable peelings.  Yes, I know — time for a compost, but in Florida we have to worry about snakes and other nasty critters.

Anyway, my oldest made the crumble and grumbled and my middle son prepared the Brussel sprouts, sweet potato casserole and set the table.  I got to prepare the other fixings coz I’m a bit of a control freak like that.

When it was all ready, we sat down together and all said what we were thankful for.  Family and each other was top of the list!!  The littlest man whispered ever so sweetly to me, “I’m thankful for you, mummy!”

The meal was delicious and we were all soon as stuffed as the poor turkey had been!

Yes, even though the little guy and I were sick, he still managed a bit of mashed potatoes, bread and a chicken nugget or two and I had a full plate as well as a glass or two of Korbel . . . strictly for medicinal purposes, ye know.

The last time I cooked for Turkey Day, it was my oldest son’s first Thanksgiving . . . thirteen years ago.

We had just moved in to our new home and I insisted on cooking and having everybody over.   I was so excited and gleefully planned the menu for weeks, buying the drinks and food in and setting the dinner table days before.

The menu was a salmon salad for starter, turkey with fixings for main course, pumpkin pie for dessert followed by cheese and crackers . . . the perfect ending to any feast in our family.  Cooking for so many was hard work.  I slogged my guts out over the hot stove and made everything from scratch and if I remember rightly, everything was delicious.

Maybe the guests tell a different story!

My mum and her husband were there.  I could tell she was just itching to jump in and help me with my hint-of-orange turkey gravy, but she didn’t.  And, truth be told, I was so happy for her to just sit back and enjoy a meal as opposed to her cherished role of always being the one cooking.

My sister had just started dating her future husband and had brought the poor unsuspecting man as her date.  We were all on our best behaviour, which if you knew my family and our crude humour was very hard for us.  The new couple were so cute together. .  the stolen glances . . .and the infamous “oh no, I won’t eat carrots if he won’t” statement.

My oldest brother rarely celebrates a holiday with us so he wasn’t there to partake in the feast, but my other brother and SIL were and I remember them lavishing praise on me for an outstanding meal. They knew how stressed out I was about achieving the perfect meal.

My new neighbor and her family popped over to visit and complemented me on the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen.  She didn’t try anything though as she had her own feast to take care of.

As excited as I was about cooking the family dinner, I was equally exhausted . . . new baby, new house . . . what on earth was I thinking?  I soon handed the reigns back to my mother and she has cooked the Thanksgiving dinner every year since.

But, this one is different for us.

No Grandma to cook for us . . . she’s holidaying in Scotland.

No aunts and uncles to make fun of . . . they are all either out of the country or going to their in-laws.

Just us.

We’ll watch the parade, play board games and get all dressed up.

The menu will be fab, but of a slightly smaller affair.  And, we’re all pitching in to help prepare it.

There will be no starter because we always fill up on that . . . we’re just going to dive right in to the turkey and fixings.  My middle son has requested sweet potato casserole as one of the sides so I shall be attempting that and hoping it comes out according to Tyler Florence’s recipe.

Thanks goodness, he didn’t request that awful green bean casserole dish that poor Expat Mum dissed on her blog, Pond Parleys.

For dessert, I’m making an apple and mixed berry crumble with fresh whipped cream and of course, will be putting out cheese and crackers as usual.

When we’re all too stuffed to move, I’ll pop in a family movie for us all to watch.

Celebrating on this smaller scale really makes me thankful for my family.  And, I mean really.  Those who are near and dear, far and wide . . . I love, cherish and miss you all.

Happy Thanksgiving one and all . . . .where ever you may be this year.

Giving thanks every day for my beautiful, crazy boyz . . .

Please head on over to my sister’s blog where she is hosting an awesome giveaway to raise awareness about National Epilepsy Awareness Month.

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I love quotes.

I simply can’t get enough of them.

Great quotes, funny quotes, inspirational quotes, sad quotes, happy quotes.

Well, it seems so too does the principal of my boys’ school for its hallways and rooms are adorned with them.

Last night, we were at the school for the annual PTSA Reflections awards ceremony that my middle son had entered a poem into.  The night had started off a little rough.  With the hubby working late as usual and Grandma still in Scotland, it was up to me to get all three boys plus myself there.  It was bed-time for the little one and true to his usual evening schedule he had a naughty half-hour . . . during the ceremony . . . before collapsing in my arms.

The ceremony came to a close and as we were leaving through the large, blue industrial-strength double doors, a quote painted above the door frame made me stop and smile.

What have you done today to make you feel proud? — Heather Small.

I hugged my sleeping toddler in tight and cast a knowing glance at my middle son.

I couldn’t have been prouder of him and I know he was too.  His mannerisms and the way he was holding himself suggested just that — his chest was puffed out a little more than usual and he was beaming!

His poem had just taken first place in the intermediate literature category and is now going on to represent his school in the county-wide competition.

My middle son is truly a beautiful poet.  The words he chooses are so sweet and descriptive, funny and full of life!

BEAUTY IS . . .

Beauty is . . .

Seeing a breathtaking countryside dotted with white sheep that look like clouds in a green sky.

Beauty is . . .

Tasting a delicious chocolate lava cake that melts in my mouth.

Beauty is . . .

Feeling the wind slipping through my hair and gliding along.

Beauty is

Catching the scent of freshly baked bread as I walk in to town.

Beauty is . . .

Hearing the sound of trickling water falling from above on to the pebbles in the stream below.

Beauty is . . .

In everything.

And, I am so very proud.

Last week, the British annual charity event BBC Children in Need kicked off with an all-star line-up of rock and pop’s finest, to take part in Children in Need Rocks at the Royal Albert Hall, organized by none other than Gary Barlow of Take That.

I was so lucky I got to hear all about this fab concert from friends’ emails, Facebook status updates and Twitter feeds.  Ch’invite peeps!

Anyway, thanks to You Tube, I was able to see. . .  not all, but a lot . . . of it.

One of the performances I loved was the Snow Patrol/Cheryl Cole duet.

Goosebumps!

Have a listen.  It’s fab.

I find the map and draw a straight line
Over rivers, farms, and state lines
The distance from ‘A’ to where you’d be
It’s only finger-lengths that I see
I touch the place where I’d find your face
My finger in creases of distant dark places

I hang my coat up in the first bar
There is no peace that I’ve found so far
The laughter penetrates my silence
As drunken men find flaws in science

Their words mostly noises
Ghosts with just voices
Your words in my memory
Are like music to me

I’m miles from where you are,
I lay down on the cold ground
I, I pray that something picks me up
And sets me down in your warm arms

After I have travelled so far
We’d set the fire to the third bar
We’d share each other like an island
Until exhausted, close our eyelids
And dreaming, pick up from
The last place we left off
Your soft skin is weeping
A joy you can’t keep in

I’m miles from where you are,
I lay down on the cold ground
And I, I pray that something picks me up
and sets me down in your warm arms

I’m miles from where you are,
I lay down on the cold ground
and I, I pray that something picks me up
and sets me down in your warm arms

I think we all need a lesson in humility.

Mine came the other morning.

I had woken up to a messy kitchen — dirty dishes in the sink, caked on food on my stove top and crumbs all over the counters and dining room table.  If there is one thing I hate worse than laundry, it is a dirty kitchen.  I won’t go to bed with it like that unless I am sick . . . which is exactly what I was and I had been assured it would all be taken care of.

Obviously, this was not the case, but worse than the messy disaster was the fact that there were ants marching across my kitchen counter.  Yes, ants!  Marching one by one like they were practicing for the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade.

I freaked, had a temper tantrum and the shit hit the fan.

The hubby quickly left for work with no apology . . . leaving me banging about . . . cleaning up a dirty kitchen and splatting ants.

I calmed down . . . kind of . . . finished cleaning and settled in to my first cup of java for the day.  Then, I remembered my oldest son had an early morning dental appointment.

A quick calculation and I realised I had no time to shower, so reached blindly in to my closet and picked out an outfit that I literally threw on as I was running out the door with two of my kids in tow . . . my sister agreed to take my middle son to school.

We arrived at the dentist with only minutes before my son’s appointment, but I relaxed as soon as we settled in to the waiting room.  My kids love their dentist’s waiting room — it has a huge fish tank right in the middle of it full of clown fish a la Finding Nemo.  Once they called my oldest son back, my little one decided he needed to be up and down, up and down . . . as you do when you are a three-year-old bundle of energy.  We had about an hour to go before his big brother’s treatments were done so we went back to visit with his dental hygienest, chatted with some of the other staff, popped in to the restroom, read books and watched the fish swim by.  When he did finally sit still and I could take a breather, I looked down at my blouse and thought . . .  something’s not quite right here.  At first I thought the pattern didn’t look the same and wondered if it had been ruined at the cleaners.

Then, it dawned on me and horrified, shamed and red-faced I ran with my munchkin back to the restroom . . .

. . . to put my blouse on the right way round.

I had been sitting in that bloody dentist office with my blouse inside out, tags and seams to the world!  Honestly!!

I think we all need a lesson in humility.

Next time, I’ll leave the mess (and ants) and spend more time on ME!

FYI — The apology did come . . .  eventually.

Better late than never with my WW . . . right?

I chaperoned my middle son’s field trip to Tampa’s Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) a couple of weeks ago where we had a great time.

The kids got to see and participate in many fascinating science exhibits including lying on a bed of nails, learning about weather, and dissecting some unmentionables. We also got to see an IMAX movie in the amazing Dome theatre — the kids all got a treat out of being perched up high, but us grown-ups were a bit wary!!  MOSI makes for a great day out for the family — I’ve not yet taken the little one but I think he is now old enough to thoroughly enjoy it as much as his brothers.

Here is a photograph of my son and his friend braving the wind tunnel.  You can tell this was the kids’ favorite exhibit, right?

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Can’t believe it’s Tuesday again . . . all ready!!   It comes around fast it does, so here goes my random thoughts . . .

• My mum flew out to Edinburgh last week and will be there for Thanksgiving . . . living it up with her family . . . and I’m so happy for her.  But, the boys and I will really miss her.  Thanksgiving is always such a special holiday for us.  It’s the start of the official holiday season, the parade, the football, the turkey and trimmings, the sales and our homemade thankful tree.  *sigh*  It’s going to be especially hard for my boys this year as they are used to that big family dinner sharing it with their Grandma and my brother and sis-in-law, who are now back living in the UK.  My sister who has always done the turkey day with her in-laws has invited us to share the day with them and we may just take her up on that or will simply create our own memories of the day . . . just the five of us.  We were even talking about going down to Sanibel Island for a few days.  We’ll see.
• I really must get a start on the holiday shopping . . . we pretty much know what Santa is bringing the boys.  I’m still unsure about what to get my mum, but she is insisting she only wants something homemade, recycled or consumable?  I’m thinking about purchasing her a loo through the Oxfam charity . . . . I know my mum’s sense of humor and I know she’ll love it, but I also think I’ll surprise her with a day out somewhere very Christmassy.
• What do I get for the hubby for Christmas?
• Anybody got their decorations out yet?  I’m itching to do it, but will wait till December.  I do have my Christmas CDs blasting away in the van though!!
• Just in case you didn’t know . . . I heart Christmas!
• My friends and I do a Christmas ornament exchange every year and I have seen the one I am purchasing this year.  Can’t wait . . . I just know whomever gets it will love it!
• So, the hubby has an I-phone that he has very cleverly downloaded a few toddler applications to keep the little one occupied when we are out somewhere.  One such application is where he has to recognize an animal by touching it . . . the i-phone will prompt him to do so by saying “touch the [insert animal.]“  Well, one day the hubby was walking in to a meeting at work when he somehow must have activated the application . . . as he went to sit down all that could be heard coming from his front trouser pocket was “touch the worm!”  I laughed when he told me and reassured him that every office needs a resident pervert, right?!  Anyway, he was rather embarrassed and quickly explained himself by . . . err . . . exposing the application to all!
• I’m getting my hair done today!  Can you see my happy dance?  I have to take the wee man along with me though as my baby-sitter is half way round the world!  How very dare she?  Must remember his bag of tricks to keep him occupied.  He actually usually naps when I have to take him . . . I think it must be something about the sound of the hair dryers lulling him to sleep.
• I’m adoring these cool evenings and mornings here in Florida, however, it’s still bizarre to me that it doesn’t stay that same round-a-bout temperature all day.  If you wrap up warmly in the morning because say it’s only in the 50’s, you can better believe that by the early afternoon, you’ll be sweating buckets and wishing you were in shorts and t-shirt coz it’s like up to the 80’s.  Yeah . . . it happens to me all the time.
• Just to get you in the mood, here is a clip I found of Mock the Week’s Christmas 2008 special  . . very funny British show by the way. 

And, that’s all I got.  If you have some random thoughts, feel free to journal it out and link up at The Un Mom.

For this week’s MM, I’ve chosen Not Ready to Make Nice by the Dixie Chicks . . . just because.

Enjoy!

Forgive, sounds good
Forget, I’m not sure I could
They say time heals everything
But I’m still waiting

I’m through with doubt
There’s nothing left for me to figure out
I’ve paid a price
And I’ll keep paying

I’m not ready to make nice
I’m not ready to back down
I’m still mad as hell and I don’t have time
To go round and round and round

It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could
Cause I’m mad as hell, can’t bring myself
To do what it is you think I should

I know you said
Can’t you just get over it??
It turned my whole world around
And I kinda like it

I made my bed and I sleep like a baby
With no regrets and I don’t mind sayin’
It’s a sad, sad story when a mother will teach her
Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger

And how in the world can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they’d write me a letter sayin’ that I better
Shut up and sing or my life will be over

I’m not ready to make nice
I’m not ready to back down
I’m still mad as hell and I don’t have time
To go round and round and round

It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could
Cause I’m mad as hell, can’t bring myself
To do what it is you think I should

I’m not ready to make nice
I’m not ready to back down
I’m still mad as hell and I don’t have time
To go round and round and round

It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could
Cause I’m mad as hell, can’t bring myself
To do what it is you think I should
What it is you think I should

Forgive, sounds good
Forget, I’m not sure I could
They say time heals everything
But I’m still waiting