the holidays have officially begun

thanksgiving was celebrated at the ILs' home up in the mountains this year. it was nice to bust out sweaters and uggs and get all snuggly and stuff.

when we got up there, it WAS quite chilly, and it was nice to walk into the house and see this:

and then my tummy growled at the sight of this (yes, enchiladas are always, inexplicably, part of traditional thanksgiving dinner with the wans):

immediately followed by the smell of all this:

the bean got a "happy thanksgiving" present - a cabbage patch doll in her very own stroller, which she was happy to push around the living room. MIL also busted out some toys, including this fun relic (from 1985!). i pulled the string and giggled at the safety-related topics.

"i never cross the street by myself. i always wait for a grown-up to take me."
"never take candy from a stranger. just say "no" and walk away."
"i don't play with electric things. they could hurt me!"
and so on.

and the teen wasn't left out - MIL slipped some cash in her pocket. you can see what she thought of that.

just before we started chowing down:

along with cut-up turkey, green beans, and a taste of sweet potatoes, the bean (with her festive turkey bib on) feasted on her own version of thanksgiving dinner.

i enjoyed my holiday coke and the teen snacked on some olives, just like she used to do when she was six. heh.

afterwards, as she sank down into the couch in a tryptophan-induced coma, the teen perked up considerably at the football game on tv. but not because she particularly enjoys watching grown men dressed in tights and pads, beating each others' asses in frigid temperatures. oh, no. it was the upcoming halftime show that caught her interest and rendered her absolutely useless. behold:

meanwhile, the bean amused herself by "cleaning" the sliding glass door:

the teen has taught her well. when those brothers jonas took the stage at last, she made a beeline for the tv and was absolutely transfixed.

and then the entire house cracked up as she danced along.

the teen was quite proud of her little sister. and you know what tomorrow is, right? of course you do. and you know you can't wait for the recap. let's just hope that everybody's short, and the teen and i will be able to actually see the stage. say a little prayer for my sanity tomorrow at about 5, will ya? kthxbai.

dessert time! i made these peanut blossom cookies, while the hub's gram brought homemade cheesecake with cherry topping, along with pumpkin and french apple pies. this is the BEST cheesecake EVER, and i was happy to see that that dreadful cherry crap was optional. they're always so thoughtful.

the hub's gram cracked us up when she announced that she'd be hitting up jcpenney at 5am the next morning - "i need new underwear DESPERATELY, and i always wait for the day after thanksgiving to buy it. it goes on sale!"

the hub does NOT believe in getting up early for black friday sales. actually, neither do i. i hate big crowds, pushy bitches, long ass lines, and coming to blows over parking spots and the last pink sweater in my - er - someone else's - size. in fact, from now until about mid-january, i'll be avoiding retail stores as much as i possibly can. all my christmas shopping will be done online, and if i do need to enter any brick-and-mortar stores, it'll be during the day when it's less crowded. ah, the joys of being a SAHM.

sooo...thanksgiving? check! now that we've paid our respects to the turkey (um, well, before we ATE him), we've got the green light to commence with the christmas decorating. yee-haw! it's the most wonderful time of the year.