I am in a flurry of activity today as I prepare things for Thanksgiving. I am a notorious list maker…to the point of getting panic stricken if I can’t find my current list. It’s as if once I put something on paper… my brain has no clue I ever held the thought in my head. If the list gets misplaced I just wander around aimlessly trying to think of what I need to do next. I have written my lists for the next two days and feel more in control of things now.

I divide my lists into categories, because that is how I think. On top of what I have listed below I will also be filling up my giant thermos with hot water so that the girls can have hot tea throughout the day, and I will make a small crockpot full of hot cider. Both of these things help their asthma.

Lora’s Hot Cider
4 cups of apple cider
2 cups of cranberry juice
2 tablespoons of mulling spice

I heat on high this for an hour or so before we drink it, so that the spices have a chance to blend. After the first hour I turn it to low to keep it warm. Be sure to pour the cider through a sieve to get the mulling spice out of it.

Wednesday

Food

*bake sweet potatoes
*inject turkey(moved to Thursday)
*bake bread and make croûtons
*bake cornbread and make croûtons
*make pumpkin pies

House
Kitchen:
dishes
counters
stove
microwave (moved to Thursday)
floor
finish decorating (moved to Thursday)

Family Room:
de-clutter
vacuum (moved to Thursday)
decorate (moved to Thursday)

Laundry:
wash & fold 3 loads of laundry (finish on Thursday)

Decorations:
Girls make placemats and placecards (moved to Thursday)

Thursday

Food

*Turkey in roaster by 11
*make stock after putting turkey in
*make raisin pies
*rolls on pan to thaw by 12
*make tea
*begin assembling sweet potatoes at 3:30, have them in oven at 4:30
*dressing in oven at 4
*butter beans on at 4
*rolls in oven at 4:40
*make gravy at 4:45

House

*decorate table and have set by 4
*pick up family room and kitchen
*make sure all dishes are washed throughout the day

The girls and I love to shop in thrift stores as it is always like a treasure hunt to us. Sometimes we find really great bargains, and sometimes not. Recently we went to a local resale shop (KCM) and happened to hit upon a great sale on books. The books were priced $1 for hardbacks, and $.50 for paperbacks, and they were buy one get one free. We had a great time searching through the books and came away with some great ones. Here are some pictures from our KCM trip, where we spent $18.50. This was my first attempt at tagging photos, and if it worked, you should be able to hover over the pictures and see the titles of the books.

Besides the books, I also purchased some cloth napkins, a lamp, and a Van Gogh puzzle.

Tonight I took the girls, except Sarah, to our favorite thrift store, Family Thrift. They generally have much better prices than the other stores, and they have a huge selection. The girls were needing some things for cold weather, so that was our goal. We spent more than we normally would, but we bought a couple of more expensive (expensive for us) items. The only downside to thrift store shopping is the sticker shock you get at a regular retail store… or even Wal-Mart. I was able to buy the girls nice pajama pants at the thrift store for $1.91 a pair, and when we saw some at Wal-Mart later, they were $10.

I bought several books with Christmas ideas and recipes tonight. I wouldn’t buy them at normal price, but with the most expensive one being a mere $3.93… who could pass them up. I ended up with 7 books. I also purchased 2 Christmas tins for next to nothing.

I also bought Hannah, Rachel, and Caroline each a robe.

We found some pajama pants for Lindsay, Hannah, Rachel, and Caroline.

We bought Sarah an Eeyore pull-over sweatshirt and a Minnie Mouse t-shirt.

The girls got 15 long sleeve t-shirts.

They also found 8 other tops.

One of our bigger ticket items was a fleece cape for me; it cost $7.50. I had been wanting one for a while, but didn’t want to pay what they are asking in the stores. This was too good a deal to pass up. I like it because it can be both casual and dressy, and you can easily wear it over bulky sweaters.

We found a really nice black trench coat for Lindsay, which was just about a miracle. It is so hard to find clothes for her because she is so tiny, usually wearing a 1. This coat was a 4P, but it fit her nicely. This was our biggest ticket item at $12.50.

So for tonight’s trip we bought:

7 books
3 robes
1 cape
1 trench coat
2 Christmas tins
4 pairs of pajama pants
1 Eeyore sweatshirt
1 Minnie Mouse t-shirt
8 miscellaneous tops
15 long sleeve t-shirts

total spent: $121.50

Friday while at Wal-Mart Lindsay and Caroline and I were looking for something easy for dinner, since Gene was eating downtown before going witnessing.

This is what we found.

It’s boiling away.

We left out pictures of the pasta sauce; most of us had Alfredo sauce.

We found some herb bread on sale and made garlic bread out of it…. YUM!

For dessert we had…..

This weekend I got the same stomach bug that the girls have had, though I seem to be getting over it now. Because of this… my menu has suffered. I hope to get back on track over the next few days. Here’s the plan… hoping it will work out.

Tuesday: Meatloaf, au gratin potatoes, steamed broccoli & cauliflower with cheese, homemade bread

Wednesday: White Bean Chili & Cornbread

Thursday: Baked chicken, corn, scalloped potatoes, & biscuits

Friday: Tortilla Casserole

Saturday: Chicken & Dumplins with biscuits

Drop by Laura’s blog to get in on the menu fun!

We have a stomach bug going through the house, so these plans are tentative. Hopefully it will subside quickly! Have a great week!

Monday: Homemade Beef Soup with French Bread

Tuesday: Brisket, Mashed Potatoes, Corn, Homemade Bread

Wednesday: Open Faced Brisket Sandwiches with Brown Gravy

Thursday: Baked Rosemary Chicken, Balsamic Potatoes, Corn, Butter beans

Friday: Chicken Stir-Fry

Saturday: White Bean Chili and Cornbread

Don’t forget to visit Laura to get some great menu ideas!