Is it really free time if you have a million projects on the board waiting to be done? Wade and I are pretty good at taking time off and doing random activities. Wade likes anything that’s a challenge or he hasn’t done before – which is great when I don’t want to figure something out or have a random house problem. Even better is when it is someone else’s problem – then he is really interested and challenged. Read here for how Wade spent last night.
Wade and I spent most of yesterday in the car (with a full trailer) hoping to get home before the snow hit. The first time we checked the weather the predictions were 1-3 inches, but they were quickly increased to 6-10. We made it to Chicago before we saw any precipitation and that was only rain. The snow started falling as we entered Milwaukee – giving us just enough time to unload the trailer and return it to U-Haul.
I woke up this morning to a winter wonderland. I can’t seem to find any reliable source telling exactly how much snow is on the ground – the range seems to be 4-10 inches. Wade was out early shoveling snow (you got it, we haven’t bought a snow blower yet), but our neighbor, Nick, offered his. Thank goodness – it still took Wade 45 minutes to get his car out!
My mom was hosting a “Sip and See” for Suzy and her new baby Graham this afternoon. Suzy and I were in high school together and mom and Joyce, Suzy’s mom, have become good friends in recent years. We kicked the boys and dogs out of the house and had a fun afternoon of snacks, gifts, and baby talk.
After the Sip and See, I ran out to Wade’s Granny and Papa’s for a last good-bye. Then Mom, Melissa, Chris, Wade, and I ventured downtown to try a new restaurant. Who would have thought Paducah would have a Brazilian steak house? It didn’t quite rank up there with Fogo de Chao in Atlanta, but it was a fun experience.
Wade couldn’t sleep and got bored around 7 am. He decided to brave the mall and see if he could get any good deals. I slept peacefully unaware until 8:30 and then enjoyed a day of visiting with old friends.
I have been playing phone tag with one of my good friends from GaTech, Bill, for the last couple months. When he called, I was so excited to finally have time to chat. He surprised me with a visit instead of a phone conversation. He was driving to St. Louis with his brother and sister-in-law from Lebanon, TN and saw the signs for Paducah. They stopped by mom’s house and we had a great, but short, visit.
Bill hadn’t been gone very long when Kate, one of my best friends from high school, arrived with her family. Kate’s girls are getting so big! Taylor is 3.5 and Anna just turned 1.
If only Kate lived a little closer, Florida is a long way from Wisconsin.
Wade and I arrived in Paducah (with trailer in tow) late last night. We woke up this morning ready for turkey. My mom and her sister, Aunt Beverly, alternate hosting the big meal and this year was my mom’s year. The table was full with the normal fair of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, layer salad, rolls, cooked apples, and ham. But we always have to have Grandma’s macaroni and cheese. My grandma hasn’t made it the last few years and last time it didn’t taste quite right so this year I was in charge (recipe below). Wade was drafted to carve the turkey and discovered the fun of an electric knife. Below he is showing my sister, Melissa, how fun it is:
After lunch and a nice nap, we went to visit Wade’s family. They were just about ready for turkey sandwiches and Wade’s sister, Emily, was making a pie. Wade and Madison did a little clean up with the beaters:
Grandma’s Macaroni and Cheese:
2 cups macaroni
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
18-20 slices of American cheese
Sauce – in heavy saucepan melt butter. Add flour over low heat – mix until smooth. Gradually add milk, salt, and white pepper. Then start adding the cheese slices a few at a time. Stir until the cheese melts and the sauce thickens.
Macaroni – cook the macaroni for 9 minutes in boiling water and then pour cold water over.
Mix the Macaroni and Sauce in a square pan (double recipe for a 9×13) and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
You can add buttered bread crumbs on top.
I think we are going to run out of friends willing to help us sometime soon. Tonight we called in the young couples from church to get some assistance re-creating the mattress-over-the-balcony that was performed in April. The mattresses have to come out of the nursery to make room for a crib. We don’t have a crib yet, but we are taking a trip to KY, which is where the mattresses are going to be stored. I was hoping they would fit in the basement, but the darn turn in the stairs prevents that. Thank goodness Wade had already decided we needed a trailer.
Thanks to Heidi, Amy, and Nate!!
Wade and I spent the evening decorating the tree. Normally Wade can put up all the lights (yucky job), but not this year. I managed to get the lights up as he finished stringing popcorn. Now we just need some presents under the tree!
To continue our tradition of watching a movie trilogy while decorating for Christmas, we picked the Terminator movies (very much Christmas movies, right?).
I woke up this morning and there was real snow on the ground!! I don’t think it will last very long, but I don’t care. I just have to get my lazy dog out of bed so she can play with me.
On a side note: I now understand Target’s color coded labels for prescription medicines. Wade and I both are usually healthy and rarely have any kind of prescription bottle around the house. I have had my own bottle for a couple of months (prenatal vitamins) and Wade has had some pain pills due to his knee. I woke up this morning and quickly realized my bottle of vitamins was missing, but Wade’s pain medication was still on the counter. I called him and sure enough he had grabbed the wrong bottle on his way out the door. This really isn’t a big deal for me – I can take my vitamins anytime. Poor Wade had to come back home at lunch because he needed some pain killers.
Wade and I always seem to end up in crazy situations. I think hunting for a tree was more than Wade’s knee could take. He spent most of Saturday in pain and decided to completely stay off of it today. (We are hoping he didn’t re-injure it, and he is going to try to see a doctor on Monday.) He decided the only useful thing he could do was string popcorn. Madison never left his side – hoping for a missed piece or two.
The problem with all of this is our tree is still on top of my car. We decided we needed reinforcements and Kyle and Christin came to the rescue. Did I mention we also bought a really big tree?
Wade and I had big plans for today. We wanted to cut down our own Christmas tree! We had a little trouble finding a Christmas Tree Farm open before Thanksgiving, but Wade persevered. Because there are so few people before Christmas, the place doesn’t run the big wagon for everyone. Instead they give you a little cart (like a dolley) to bring your tree in on. This would normally be fine, but Wade’s knee is still pretty weak and I’m not quite as strong as I normally am. Needless to say I am sure we were quite a site. We did find the perfect tree and after much laughing and pulling and pushing we got it home. We also decided to leave it on top of the car for the night because we were both too tired to bring it inside.
I made a quick run to the grocery store and then started cooking. Amber and Nick, from across the street, had invited us over for their annual Friendsgiving. We had a great time, ate lots of yummy food, and met a ton of people. It turns out Wade does like green beans – when I cook them the way mom does. Grandma’s macaroni and cheese was a huge hit and I ate way too many servings of it myself. Wade’s knee has really been bothering him this weekend so we had to leave on the early side so he could stretch out and take some drugs.