Adventures in La La Land

1. We had a lovely Thanksgiving with Justin's family.  Justin's mom has the gift of hospitality, making these beautiful tablescapes I can only dream of. Not to mention her cooking ability! I stuck with what I knew for my contribution this year: thaw, rise, and bake rolls. 😂 The food was all amazing, but I could hardly eat everything on my plate. I wanted to go back for more stuffing, but I'm so afraid of upsetting my stomach that I held back. I really think that's why I've lost weight this year - all the times I hold back from eating when I previously would've. I guess eating less really does help you lose weight. Who woulda thunk it?  We had a two-game Wizard tournament that I won, then we moved on to dessert. I enjoyed a decadent piece of pumpkin pie with copious amounts of whipped cream. Lena created her own dessert: a plate of whipped cream with fruit.  Don't mind her evil face. She's an odd duck . . . 2. I've been doing "Black Friday"

1. Levi came down with some kind of sickness last weekend: fever, body aches, cough that inevitably led to puking. He ended up missing two days of school because the fever lingered and he was so miserable. On Monday, I shuffled him between his Uncle Jesse and my parents. But on Tuesday I didn't have anyone to watch him, so I called in to Once Upon for the first time. The next day, one of my coworkers said, "When I saw your name crossed off the schedule I thought they called you off, and I thought 'that's the worst person to get rid of!'" Aww, they like me! I'm still not sure I'm the best at everything, but I'm trying, and I show up on time and have a good attitude. Really the bar is quite low. Hopefully I won't have to keep calling in because of sick kids, though. That'll lower their opinion of me right quick! 2. Of course Levi missing two days of school meant he had two days' worth of work to catch up on. And I remembered why I don'

Let's see if I can come up with more than I did last week . . . 1. Lena and Levi had dentist appointments on Tuesday. Neither of them had cavities, which always continues to amaze me. Lena at least brushes her teeth. But then there's Levi . . . 2. Monday night we had parent-teacher conferences. Levi's teacher said he's smart but lazy (in much nicer terms), and he struggles with being respectful and staying on task. Ugh. She also said he's very good at making persuasive arguments and she can see him excelling as a lawyer someday. Lol. Lena's teacher said she wants to adopt her and bring her home. 😂 3. We didn't have school on Friday, and Nova had a half day, so we met up with the cousins to pack shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child . Niki's actually on vacation, but we used her house since it has the best space. Haha. We lay all of our purchases out on the counter, then let the kids make their way down the line to fill their boxes. Lena, especially, l