Happy Thanksgiving!

With all the work that goes into the holidays I sometimes have to stop and remember what the true meaning of these holidays. We get so caught up in the hustle and bustle and tend to forget. I know I do. I'm so guilty of trying to get everything perfect, the food, the house, the presents, the wrapping, the Christmas cards and pictures, etc. Sometime I need a timeout and take a breather. But that is the obsessive compulsiveness in me. I have vowed to not let it get to me this year. That is why I started my Christmas decorating early, LOL :-)

Now first and foremost I am so sad at the events that have taken place in India today. I work for predominantly Indian company and I hope and pray that each and every i2ers and their families are safe!

I have so much to be thankful for (not in any particular order):

1. My husband Jerry. I couldnt ask for a better husband. He is a great dad, works hard so we can go to Disneyland this Christmas.

2. My 2 children Bianca and Matthew. I cannot imagine my life without them.

3. My job. I know I complain about it a a lot, but I have it so good. I've been there 11 years. I work from home most of the time. I love the people I work with and they are the reason I've stayed so long. (It's definitely not the pay!)

4. My family - I am thankful I have my family and that they are close (well most of the time I like having them close by). Jerry's family is spread out on each coast and I know it is hard for him and I take it for granted sometime that mine are just a mile away.

5. I am thankful I live in the United States of America!

6. I am thankful we are all healthy!

7. I am thanful for my awesome neighbors!

8. Friends. I am thankful we have such great friends that we can count on especially the girls who I can call to go to happy hour when I need hard liquor!

I'm sure I'll think of some more and I'll post some pictures of the festivities tomorrow. We are cooking 3 turkeys! One roasted and 2 fried. This is for 22 people and everybody complains there is never enough leftovers for sandwiches so we made an extra turkey!

November Fun

I have not posted much this month. It's been busy. Earlier this month we went to my parent's lake house in East Texas for the weekend. The kids had a blast. Bianca drove the golf cart all over the place. I must say she is a pretty good driver! Matthew just loved the "woods" and building the fire and making smores. We took Sonny with us and he loved swimming in the lake!




Last weekend Jerry did a guy trip to Chicago and to see Notre Dame game in Southbend Indiana courtesty of Honeywell. The kids and I stayed home, did some Christmas shopping and had a nonstop Christmas move marathon on Saturday. Sunday we did our shopping for Thanksgiving. We have 20+ people coming to our house this year again.






I got my trees up this week I'll do the rest of the decorating after Thanksgiving. The trees are time consuming and I'm glad to have them done. I must say though I have totally rubbed off on my son. He LOVES Christmas (and all holidays) Some day he is going drive his wife insane. I cannot tell you how many times he has watched Frosty, Rudolph, Charlie Brown, and Grinch this last week. He actually wanted to join hands and sing a song around the Christmas tree last night after watching Grinch. Between Matthew and me we will drive Jerry crazy for the next month. He can't wait to help dad put the outside decorations up!

December is going to be BUSY! We have so many event coming up. Jerry's Birthday December 5, i2 Christmas party on 6th and my SIL 30th Birthday on 7th. The following weekend is Jerry's graduation so his whole family will be here for the entire weekend. The following weekend we have the Anuual Petruska Christmas Party which we look forward to each year. Some time in there I have to find time to finish Christmas shopping, wrap presents, make cookies with my grandmother and pack for our trip. We leave Christmas Day for California and Disneyland through New years!

Trick or Treat!

I love Halloween it is probably my 2nd favorite holiday next to Christmas. We let Matthew play hooky from school yesterday to go with Jerry to the Southwest Airlines trick or treat party at Love Field. Jerry works for Honeywell but works onsite at SWA so gets to participate in all of the fun SWA events. They actually have one floor of cubicles turned into a haunted house. Jerry said it freaked him out a bit but he was a trooper. Here are some pics of him at Jerry's work yesterday.

Oh and by the way, he insisted on being a friendly ghost. We found this costume online and he loved it. We got so many compliments on his "old school" costume yesterday. He thought he was scary but everybody else thought he was adorable!




I was a little bummed that we could not do the i2 Halloween party this year but it was just logistically impossible. Bianca had a test so I could not pull her out early. By the time she got out of school, got ready, drove to i2 offices in Dallas we just would not have enough time to make it back this way to the Halloween party at my granny's retirement home. Instead I worked from home and made Halloween dinner of Chili, cornbread casserole and pumpkin dump cake. I had to make sure they had a good dinner before consuming the massive amounts junk the rest of the night, LOL.

At 6 we headed to my Granny's retirement home for trick or treating. Bianca won first prize in the kids costume contest and Granny won first prize in the resident costume contest. Both were thrilled!



Next we headed home for our neighborhood trick or treat festivities with the neighbors. Our neighborhood was so packed with kids by the time we got back we had alot of catching up to do!




I love that Halloween was not on school night. After we were done trick or treating the kids played outside with the neighbors until 10:30. Here is Jerry being silly wearing Matthew's costume :-)



So today I started packing away the Halloween decorations and getting out the Thanksgiving decorations. Matthew was so excited this morning saying it's time for Christmas, LOL! He is so his mother's son, but I told him we had to have Thanksgiving first. He said he does not like Turkey so he just wants to move to Christmas now. I would if my husband would not totally kill me. We have Thanksgiving at our house this year again for 25 people so I cannot have Christmas decorations up! I've thought about putting up one of the trees early (just the tree though nothing else) I've already started Christmas shopping and I've bought some Christmas ornaments already but Jerry has no idea :-)