[BillBlueEyes]

Enjoyed the Honk Festival yesterday with DW. People having some serious fun, with good music going non-stop. Bands come from around the country just to march and play.

Discovered a new thing that helped with eating at Honk where there were food stands worthy of a grand country fair. They sold beef brisket sliders for $2 - I was able to get my brisket fix in a small size instead of the full sub sandwich size that's more common.

I entered a contest for a plug in hybrid Ford. I'm waiting for the e-mail letting me know.

[Mudpie]

The "Honk Festival" looks like a good time! Good luck with the car Bill.

My rotisseried turkey was NOT ready on Saturday. In fact the order had gotten lost. Good thing DH and I had no set food agenda for this Thanksgiving. Or guests. So we had Thai food.

We ordered another turkey and got it last night. But it was too late for dinner. We had a frozen pizza instead (I'm trying to empty out all the food before we move ). I'm finding more and more that I no longer want to eat any kind of "processed" food but this was kind of an emergency.

Tonite is turkey night finally! I'm serving it with oven fried potato wedges and roasted beets and carrots. Gravy comes with the turkey so DH can have all of that he wants - I'm not a fan. Should be good!

In house news we hung almost all the curtains yesterday. One set has to go back as they wound up being waaay too short - too bad as they were the black shiny ones.

I originally had my heart set on a "scando-asian" decorating scheme but I think I'm gonna cave and buy a sideboard and hutch from the same store I got the vintage dining set. They are close by and chances are good they will deliver before we move in so there is somewhere for the dishes to go.

We're moving forward!

Dagmar

[alinnell]

Well, my in-laws are back for the season and both kids were home yesterday (but went back home last night). We all had a great time yesterday. Lunch, games all afternoon and a great dinner together on the back patio. I doubt we'll all be together again until Thanksgiving.

Happy belated Thanksgiving to you, Dagmar.

Bill, when I first read Honk Festival I pictured Canada geese!

[Megan1982]

Hi all,

Bermuda was great! It is a lovely country but really I was there for the water. It was so turquoise and clear. I did a double scuba dive one day and it was definitely the highlight of my trip (and probably the reason I'd go back). Mom and I tried to explore our best and figure out Bermudian culture, since the "great shopping" everyone kept telling us to do is neither of our cups of tea. We tried some fish chowder, but I didn't feel like I had a grasp on what Bermuda is all about (or maybe I did). Too much US and British influence, at least where we were. Still it was nice to spend time with my Mom. I probably won't see the family again until Thanksgiving.

I got home late Friday night from my trip to be a single dog mom for the weekend. BF gets home tonight. Saturday I spent the day unpacking, walking the dog, trying to clean up and get things done around the house and for the play. Sunday my friends and I had theatre tickets in the city (Speed the Plow - great show!) and I had an evening play rehearsal of my own. I must be more relaxed though because I've found myself smiling more today, even to my jerky coworker.

Bill, the festival sounds like a lot of fun. Good for you for getting the smaller slider.

Oh no, Dagmar, sorry about your turkey. I'm glad your house re-do/decorating is still moving forward.

Allison, Thanksgiving will be here before we know it. Are you getting used to DS's absence? It was nice you could have a family day. My sis & I went to college so far from home that our visits home were strictly Thanksgiving, Christmas/winter break, and spring break.

[alinnell]

Originally Posted by Megan1982

Allison, Thanksgiving will be here before we know it. Are you getting used to DS's absence? It was nice you could have a family day. My sis & I went to college so far from home that our visits home were strictly Thanksgiving, Christmas/winter break, and spring break.

Glad you had a great time in Bermuda!

I am getting more and more used to DS being gone. It was great to see him and the way he smiled and hugged me when he first saw me (I was in the shower when he arrived) let me know that he really misses me.

The #1 thing that I am having trouble with his absence is milk. He used to drink a ton of milk (well, at least a gallon a week) so I always had it on hand. Now I don't necessarily have it on hand, but then what happens when I need some for a recipe? I did freeze two individual cups, but they would need to be thawed and often I don't think far enough ahead for something like that. I was lamenting to MIL and she suggested Lactaid milk. Wow, who knew? That stuff is "fresh" for 6 weeks. DD uses almond milk but there is something off-putting to me about almond milk (or soy milk).

The other thing I miss not having DS around is help around the house. He always helped me clear the table and load the dishwasher after dinner. DH not so much. It's as if he doesn't know how to rinse and load the dishes. He'll clear and pile it all up on the counter for me to do--regardless of the fact that I'm putting away leftovers, etc. Oh, well.

[paperclippy]

Allison, at the store look at the milk labels and buy the "ultra-pasteurized" milk. It lasts a lot longer. Alternatively you could get dry/powdered milk if you're just using it for recipes.

Megan, glad you had fun in Bermuda!

Bill, one of my friends is in a band that does Honk fest sometimes!

Dagmar, happy belated thanksgiving!

Babies have been kind of a disaster area the past few days. DH is taking them in to the pediatrician today to make sure they don't have an ear infection or anything. Our suspected culprits if it's not their ears are either that they need their reflux medicine dosage adjusted or they're teething, or both. I would just like to get through a day without either me or DH having to put a screaming baby down and leave the room to calm down. Who knew babies were so difficult to take care of? (Oh right, everyone who's ever had a baby. )

[krampus]

Hi maintainers,

I had a nice LONG weekend (my organization has 10 holidays off which include Columbus Day) and a relaxing one, too. Spent some time outdoors each day enjoying the crunchy leaves and perfect temperatures. BF and I had a nice day out on Saturday hiking in Vermont and eating paninis afterward, I spent some quality time with my parents and raked the yard for them Sunday, and I ran lots of errands yesterday and generally enjoyed having the day off.

I feel very puffy round the middle. BF's sister's birthday cake is down to the last slice and I will probably stop feeling puffy once I stop eating cake before bed every night. It has been well worth it - best cake I've ever had. Chocolate cake with raspberries in the middle soaked in Chambord, with homemade whipped cream frosting that probably contains 5 sticks of butter.

Bill - Honk Festival sounds great, I have lots of friends who live/have lived in Boston who attended. Hope that email comes soon!

Mudpie - Thai sounds better than turkey anyhow :P But I'm glad you finally got the turkey!

alinnell - day with the whole family together sounds wonderful. I'm glad everyone was able to enjoy the day! Maybe you can train DH to cover for DS, haha!

Megan - I'm so envious of your Bermuda trip! If I went there I'd make a mad dash for the water and ignore everything else too!

paperclippy - Sorry the babies are testing your patience. I hope they don't have any serious infections or illnesses and are just being contrary for the sake of things.

[paperclippy]

Thanks Krampus, the doctor said they are fine. We did get their reflux medication dosage adjusted so maybe that will help kick in in a couple days. She seemed to think they were just getting themselves overtired and we need to be more forceful about putting them down for naps.

[Shannon in ATL]

Jessica - I'm glad that the babies are good, hope that the increased reflux dosage helps. Babies will wear you flat out.

[Mudpie]

The reality of packing up and moving all the junk we have accumulated over the last 8 years just set in. DH is in crisis mode at work so i think I'm going to be the one doing most of this.

I'm not even going to attempt to figure out what of his is junk/not junk. Just box it all and move it. I will stop panicking once I get a good night's sleep and get the books and other media packed. Once I see that organized pile of boxes stowed in a closet I can be sure that I CAN DO THIS!

I may be MIA for quite awhile for posting but I'll try to lurk as much as I can for the rest of October.

Dagmar (trying to get my mind here)

[Megan1982]

"Is it Friday yet?" Is my only comment on my personal state right now. Well, I'm not sure what relief Friday will bring. As soon as I get one thing crossed off my to-do list, two more added. I'm not going to go to that whining place. It's the usual work frustrations, play duties are pressing, and not getting enough sleep.

Jessica has a much better excuse for being tired and frustrated than me. Jessica, I hope the change in meds helps the girls be less fussy. Is the acid reflux something that happens in all babies or is it related to their being premature? Do you want to split an avocado with me? Hang in there.

Krampus, lots of time with crunchy autumn leaves, BF and family sounds lovely. Getting up to Georgia for a weekend to see the leaves was on my want to do list for this fall, and doesn't look like it will happen. Maybe next year. Enjoy them!

Allison, I second the suggestion for powdered milk. I've used it in baked goods. It lasts forever in the pantry, too. Alternatively one of the organic companies (Horizon?) makes single serving 8 oz containers of milk that are shelf stable and I've seen them sold in many places. My sis & BIL carry them when they travel for my niece.

Shannon, is this week going a little better than last week? I hope so.

Off to finish my coffee and hope it helps. Have a great day everyone.

[Shannon in ATL]

Megan - my DSS had reflux, and he was overdue. He was sent home from daycare 3-4 days a week until we got the reflux medicines sorted out. And I'm ready for Friday, too. So if you get your week moving faster, move mine with it too please.

Dagmar - might be time to toss some of that junk out. LOL We made a rule when we moved that if we hadn't used it in a year and it had no overriding sentimental value it got tossed.

Allison - powdered milk does store forever. Good call for baking if you aren't drinking enough to keep the regular milk.

Krampus - the end of the birthday cake will definitely help with the puffy.

Bill - sending you positive vibes on winning that car. And your festival sounds like fun.

I'm less than 30 days away from my NOLA vacation. I'm not quite to the counting the days place, but I'm close. Lots of things are making me crazy all over.

[paperclippy]

Dagmar, maybe once your move is over you can put DH's misc stuff in a box and let it just sit there until he unpacks it, and then he can sort out what's junk vs not junk on the unpack side.

Shannon, have fun on your vacation!

Megan, any baby can have reflux, but preemies are more prone to it than term babies, esp. before their due date (digestive systems are immature).

The girls slept a little better last night. A little bit of fuss going to bed at 7:30, one very brief fussing episode at 9:00, up to eat at 2:30, and one fussing episode at 4:30, then up at 5:45 and they actually nursed without much fuss. Sad that I consider that a major improvement, but 9:00-2:30 sleep block was great! Previous nights they spaced out their fussing so we didn't get more than 2 consecutive hours of sleep. DH says they have been less pukey today.

Hilarious story for those who don't mind hearing about baby puke...Both girls had been really pukey all day yesterday. They were fussing in the evening and DH took them both on his lap so I could eat some dinner. While he was holding them there, C puked all over his arms, twice. Then A was fussing so leaving C sitting on his lap he picked up A and held her over his head (calms her down a lot)....and she puked all over DH's face, his shirt, and C's head! I had to give C an emergency hair wash. At least DH just cracked up laughing instead of getting angry. At some point it's just so ridiculous you have to laugh, like when both babies are crying and the dog starts howling.

[neurodoc]

Oh Jessica, babies are HARD. The good news is, they grow quickly. Truly the first year is by far the most challenging in terms of your strength and endurance.

[traveling michele]

Jessica-- sorry to laugh at dh's expense but I just had to!

My eldest dd was a twin and I miscarried her twin early in the pregnancy. I often wonder what it would have been like to have had twins, but I know the operative word would have been HARD!