A Day of Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving for the first time in over a decade at my parent's house. It was so nice to be home for the holidays. We started the day early watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade while we waited for my sister, niece and brother-in-law to arrive for lunch. The meal was so yummy, and I ate until I was beyond STUFFED. We spent the rest of the day relaxing (ummm....napping) and enjoying each others company. We had big plans to head out at midnight to hit the first of the Black Friday sales, but once we entered the parking lot our hopes were quickly dashed. I have never seen such long lines in my entire life!!! After standing a few minutes in line, we quickly decided that no "doorbuster sales" were worth standing out in the cold weather waiting with that huge mass of people. It was fun running into some of my old friends during my brief time I was there. We decided to head back home to cuddle up under our big comforter and watch a movie instead....with a big plate of left-overs and a piece of pecan pie to keep us company:)





Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving:)

Disclaimer: Although my brother-in-law is not pictured in any of the above photos (he arrived a few minutes after the "shoot"), he does exist and was in attendance at our family Thanksgiving. I promised my sister I would photoshop him into a few of the photos, but my skills were not up to par on that one;)

Over the River and Through the Woods...

We're back!!! My apologies for being MIA since last week, but we were out of town visiting my hubby's family for an early Thanksgiving weekend. As blogger's rules dictate, I did not want to annouce our vacation plans to all the blog reading want-to-be cat burglars out there;) Seriously, talk about an invitation to come on by the crib because we obviously won't be home for days. This was Britton's first visit to his Papa John and Nana's house, and it was a wonderful weekend full of great food, family, and of course, football. The trip to  their home in the north Georgia mountains is always a beautiful, scenic drive on the rolling back roads of Georgia. I always love leaving the interstate and driving down the two-lane road enjoying all the sights that we so often miss these days when we are speeding down the interstate in a hurry to get to our destination. The fall colors were AMAZING!!!

My sweet mother-in-law had a wonderful lunch waiting for us when we arrived. My MIL is a fabulous southern cook and made my very favorite dish that I request every time we visit...her famous chicken and dumplings. My in-laws pamper us from the minute we walk in the door, and it is always a treat to visit. They always insist that we stay in the master suite when we come. I love their plush king-size bed that is so ultra comfortable that I just want to curl up and snooze for hours. I always get to sleep in extra late on our visits. Bubba gets up early and joins his parents for a big breakfast. My hubby is one breakfast loving fella and since my idea of fixing Bubba breakfast is tossing him a box of Special K, he especially savors these meals of mama's french toast and all the fried bacon he can consume. I think this is a special time that he gets to spend one on one with his mommy and daddy, and I get to sleep in late. It's a win-win situation for everybody:)
On Friday evening, we headed to Bubba's favorite pizza parlor to have dinner with the entire family. It's a haunt that he and his brothers have visited for years, and Schroeder's makes the yummiest pizza and fried mushrooms. We were joined by Bubba's two older brothers, sister-in-law, and our two teenage nephews.

Saturday was another day full of family time and football. Baby Britton enjoyed being the center of attention and all that extra loving relished on him all day long. He's the newest grandbaby after 15 years, and the first nephew for his Uncle "Ja" and Aunt Sheila. He is definitely the little prince of this family.


Daddy, Britton and Uncle Johnny...notice the brotherly resemblance?!?


My mother-in-law made a huge Thanksgiving meal complete with all our family favorites. Unfortunately, the Georgia game was on during lunch, so the boys hurried through the meal and headed back to the den to watch television leaving us girls and my nephew to savor the rest of our meal alone. This is one testosterone filled football loving family with three sons and three grandsons, so us lady folks have learned to just go with the flow during football season;) The Bulldogs played Kentucky and pulled out a tough victory. Georgia was thus crowned champions of the SEC East. We are now headed to the SEC Championship in Atlanta on December the 4th:)

Luckily, Bubba and I made a midnight snack of all the leftovers and enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner twice. Everybody knows that Thanksgiving dinner is even better the second time around...especially when enjoyed curled up in bed and watching a funny Adam Sandler flick with our sweet boy slumbering between us. 

Britton is so lucky to have two sets of wonderful grandparents that love him to pieces. I know Britton will not remember his first Thanksgiving visit to see his grandparents, but this will be just the beginning of many special trips to Papa John and Nana's house for many years to come.


Britton and his Papa John



Ten on Tuesday (Our Thanksgiving Traditions)

1.) Macy's Thanksgiving Parade: For as long as I can remember I have enjoyed watching this annual parade in my pjs on Thanksgiving morning. It's a perfect start to a day of non-stop activities. I hope that we have a little time to cuddle in bed and watch at least the first half of the parade before I have to jump up and get a move on. Nowadays, I usually catch glimpses of the parade between shuffling dishes in and out of the oven and trips to the bathroom to put the finishing touches on my makeup and hair.

Source: google.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

2.) My Squash Casserole: This has been a family favorite for years and is always one of the first dishes to disappear. I've tried many incarnations of this recipe over the years, but have finally decided that Paula Deen's version is my favorite and has been my go to recipe for the past few years with a few of my own tweaks here and there.

Source: pauladeen.com via Virginia on Pinterest

3.) My Sister's Deviled Eggs and "Green Stuff": The deviled eggs need no explanation, but the "Green Stuff" (aka Watergate Salad) probably has left you a bit perplexed and probably does not sound all that appetizing. Nevertheless, it is pretty tasty and simple to whip up: Jello Pistachio pudding, Cool Whip, mini marshmallows, pecans and pineapple. It's considered a salad but sweet enough to be a dessert.

Source: kraftrecipes.com via Michelle on Pinterest

4.) Naps: The tryptophan of the turkey combined with several glasses of wine and we are all ready retreat into the den for a post-meal cat nap.

5.) Board Games: We are a competitive, game loving family and always crack out a few board games later in the day after everyone has recovered from our food induced coma. Family favorites include: Scattergories, Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit. I hold the title of undefeated champion all ALL board games for the past decade and don't expect to lose my title anytime soon:)

6.) Left-overs: This is my favorite part of the whole day. Everybody knows casseroles taste better the second time around, and I've worked up quite an appetite after winning all those games.

7.) Movie night: After everything has quieted down, it's now time to pop in a flick, and everybody cuddles up in their favorite chair. We always pick kid-friendly movies that even the adults can enjoy. It's also the perfect time to dig into dessert and coffee.

8.) Black Friday: Waking up way before the crack of dawn, not showering, and heading out to face the masses in attire that is only a slight step up from my pajamas...FUN TIMES!!! Capping off our shopping adventure with an early breakfast and then heading home to nap away the rest of the afternoon.

9.) The Christmas decorations come out, and we decorate the main tree together. I also have Bubba's "Georgia Tree" to decorate, but I save that for the following week.

10.) The Christmas season has officially begun:)

Dig In, Football Fans

Although the end of football season will be here quicker than I'd like, this is actually my favorite time of the entire season. All the best games have yet to be played: Georgia vs. Auburn, Alabama vs. Auburn, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, the SEC Championship, all the bowl games, the National Championship and then the Super Bowl. Putting on a great spread for each game is of the upmost importance at my house, so I've taken to the web to discover some great new recipes to serve on Saturdays. Bubba must have the remote in one hand and something good to eat in the other at all times and only leaves the couch for bathroom breaks on football Saturdays;) Luckily, Britton seems to enjoy football as much as his Daddy does and will lounge in his lap for hours. Bubba has all the intentions of cultivating Britton into a future quarterback or kicker. Bubba was a place kicker in college and definitely has the skills to teach our little boy to be one heck of a kicker someday. Mommy thinks she prefers a kicker to a quarterback anyway. I sure don't want any of those big, tough linebackers sacking my sweet boy. On second thought, maybe Britton would rather play a non-contact sport. Perhaps golf or swimming...you never hear of serious injuries occuring in either of those sports:)

I found some delicious dishes on my recipe search and here are a few of the yummy snacks I want to try over the next couple of weeks:

Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip

Source: letsdishrecipes.blogspot.com via Virginia on Pinterest

Greek Salad Pinwheels

Source: tablespoon.com via Virginia on Pinterest

Swiss Bacon Dip

Source: letsdishrecipes.blogspot.com via Virginia on Pinterest

The Pioneer Woman's Mini Meatball Sliders

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Virginia on Pinterest

Pizza Dip

Source: closetcooking.com via Virginia on Pinterest

Happy eating, y'all:)

A Month of Thanksgiving

The year 2011 has given me more to be thankful for than ever before. I have a beautiful, healthy son, a wonderful ten year marriage that continues to survive and thrive, and an extended family that continues to grow and surround me with love and support. While I can be thankful on the inside, I want to somehow express that gratitude on the outside. So I've decided for the next 30 days to embrace the month of Thanksgiving and hopefully make a little difference for those people that were not as fortunate in 2011.
I have so many ideas of what I would like to do, and I'll be lucky if I accomplish most of what is on this list. I'm going to call it my "Spreading the Thanks To-Do List".....

• Gather all the coats and sweaters (hats, scarves, and gloves) that we no longer wear and donate them to a local mission project
• Spend the entire month gathering loose change/dollars and instead of putting them in Britton's piggy bank collect them for our Toys for Tots fund so that we can use all that money in December to purchase gifts for children in need
• Pass on the love...pay for the person behind me in the drive-thru at the Starbuck's. Maybe that anonymous act of kindness will brighten a stranger's day just a little bit:)
• Clean out my pantry and donate a box to The Atlanta Community Food Bank
• Why not pick up a few extra cans of soup, veggies, fruit, etc. everytime I go to the grocery store to put in my donation box for the food bank
• The simplest thing I can do is to remember to say a genuine "Thank you" to those around me and acknowledge what they have done. Everybody deserves to feel affirmed and appreciated, especially my hubby who does so many sweet things for Britton and me every single day and deserves an extra hug or kiss for his effort. 
• Gather items off my local animal shelter's wish list and make up a care package. Some of the items they need don't cost a thing: old newspapers, empty paper towel and toilet paper rolls, plastic bags and old towels. I've always donated money to the Humane Society, but this is a tangible gift for the doggies and kitties.

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.  ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

* I would love to hear any ideas or traditons that you and your family have for giving thanks during the season.