Whirlwind week ~ and much to be thankful for

It has been a crazy couple of weeks! The holidays are officially upon us, and life just reached a whole new level of busy. Ha! I'm sure all of you know what I'm talking about.

Last Monday, I went to Houston for the day, and met with my client whom I have not seen since before Wesley was born. We had lunch and I enjoyed catching up on everything I missed while out on maternity leave. My mother-in-law took the day off work and watched the kiddos for me, which of course, she did not mind. They may be a handful, but they are a sweet handful, and apparently their grandparents cannot get enough of them.

Tuesday, Ryleigh had her Thanksgiving feast at school, (which I did not remember until after I put them to bed Monday night~ gotta love late night grocery store runs!) Her portion of the "feast" was cubed cheese and dessert. Haha. Don't you love how 2-year-olds consider cheese feast-worthy? While Ryleigh was at school, I took Wesley for his 2-month well baby checkup and vaccines. He weighed 9 pounds 12 ounces and measured 22.25 inches long, putting him in the 10th percent for weight and 25th percent for length. Still a little guy, but growing on schedule. He did pretty well with the shots, and it was not as traumatic for me this time, having gone through it with Ryleigh before. Not to mention the fact that Wesley has been poked more than his sister ever was as a baby, so I'm getting good at holding him while some poor nurse has to stick him with a needle. Sad, but true.

Here is our little man at 2 months. I want to try and take his picture beside the teddy bear every month, and watch how he grows this year. We'll see how long I keep it up.

Wednesday, I did some work, though had a hard time getting much done considering everyone took the day off. So, instead, I went to town on my house. Cleaning. You know the kind I'm talking about; deep cleaning the carpets, washing base boards, changing every sheet...I kind of went a little OCD on it actually. I think the only time I sat down was to feed Wesley. I was moving! Jesse came home that evening and asked me if I was going to the event at his club, and I just looked at him. I was still in my pajamas for crying out loud! Dirty, tired, and not in the mood to socialize. So, he volunteered to take Ryleigh with him, so at least she was out of the house and I could focus, finish, and relax.

Apparently, they had a mini bonfire at the club, including practicing some of the yells with one of the A&M yell leaders. Jesse said it was a lot of fun, and Ryleigh talked non-stop for days about going to the "fire with Daddy."

Thursday, we hosted our first Thanksgiving. Jesse's parents drove up Wednesday night and then one of his brothers' family came up Thursday. I was slightly nervous about hosting Thanksgiving, but it ended up being fine. No massive spread or anything special, but it was a good meal, and everyone left full. Turkey, dressing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy, croissants & rolls, and tons of pie for dessert.

I think Eli and Ryleigh were just thankful to not have to sit where the grownups could make sure they ate...

And Wesley was thankful that he got VIP seating in RaRa's lap.

After dinner, Jeremy and Gina headed back home, and Jesse's parents watched Ryleigh and Wesley so that I could go to the A&M vs Texas football game with Jesse. I haven't been to a game since the night before Wesley was born, so I was excited to go, though nervous about how Jesse would handle it. (He tends to get a little to passionate about Aggie football...) On top of that, the tickets were in the alumni section on the student side, which meant we had to stand. My feet hurt before we ever went, from cleaning all day Wednesday and cooking on Thursday. It was a long time on my feet, but the game was worth it. The Aggies played GREAT, and though we lost the game, we looked good and were definitely not pounded on. So, all in all, a great day.

Friday, I did NOT engage in Black Friday craziness. I find that the older I get, the more claustrophobic I feel in crowds. I feel myself getting anxious and impatient just thinking about all the crowds during the holiday shopping rush. Not my idea of fun.

Instead, my good friend Shelley was in town visiting her family, and graciously took some time to meet me for lunch. Not only that, but it was her birthday!! I was very excited to see her and catch up, and as usual, we had a good time and excellent conversation.

Shelley finally got to meet Ryleigh and loved on Mr.Wesley (holding him so Mommy could eat~ what a great friend!). Ryleigh is not so great with the restaurant scene, but she behaved herself for the most part. Shelley took this cute picture of us...probably the only picture I have of the two of us both looking and smiling at the camera. Thanks, Shelley!

Saturday and Sunday were fairly low key. Movies, books, and naps occupied most of my time.

Monday, I had to go into Houston again. My boss of the past five years was retiring, and I had helped organize a retirement lunch party for him. At the last minute, Jesse decided he wanted to come with me and go look at a few trucks he had seen online. When he started working for his company, they gave him a company SUV, a Nissan Armada. It is big, but not really practical for his purposes at work. Anyway, the lease on the Armada is up in two weeks (mid-Dec), and we would be left to look for a new car. So, we have been looking at used trucks, comparing to new trucks, and trying to figure out what we were going to do once the lease was up.

Those of you who have read my blog for awhile might remember that as of January 2009, we became debt free, after paying off my new car and all our school loans. It is a great feeling, and at that time, Jesse swore we would never again be in debt (aside from a house mortgage).

So, when he found this used truck with the right price, he jumped on it. We went to look at it, took it for a test drive, and an hour later drove off the lot with a new truck.


It is an older model (2004) with slightly higher mileage than we originally wanted. However, the inside, the outside, under the hood, under the car...all of it was immaculate. Not a single scratch or ding, implying that the driver took great care of it. Carfax came back clean. And the truck was decked out. My husband is normally a cautious and logical man, but give him a shiny piece of chrome on a big maroon truck, and it does not take much for him to be sold. :)

It is Wednesday, and I have been knee deep in work (and laundry!) the past two days. Things are busy, but I'm slowly getting back in my groove.

Now if only I could get a full night of sleep to balance out these full days....