A sure-fire way to tell you're an adult...

In our household, if not for Ryan, there's a good chance Jaylinne and I would starve. Literally. Ryan cooks 90% of the meals in our house. I'm not exactly what you would call a "chef." Although I have mastered the art of macaroni and cheese, that's about as far into the world of cooking as I have delved.

I haven't figured out what it is about the Sanders family that makes them good cooks, but from my experience I've learned one thing: if your a Sanders, you can make a mean dinner.

For Thanksgiving, I was asked to bring a salad. Easy enough, right? I thought so too...but then the panic set in. A salad?! I can't just bring a bag of pre-mixed salad over for Thanksgiving dinner!?! Let me rephrase that: I can't just bring a bag of pre-mixed salad over for Thanksgiving dinner...and keep my dignity. So I threw some lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, radishes and avocado together in a bowl and there you have it. A salad. Since then, I thought I could do more. Ryan does so much for us, and he deserved a break. I'm clearly looking to expand my cooking skills beyond that of pop tarts and quesadillas. So tonight, I thought I would take a stab at making Ryan and Jaylinne dinner. I decided to make seasoned, grilled chicken with diced, garlic-ranch red potatoes and corn. Not bad for a newbie, eh?

So. What's a sure-fire way to tell you're an adult, you ask? Well that's a very good question. As far as I can tell, there are several different factors in determining exactly how far up on the adult scale you land. But in my mind, the level of your adulthood is in direct correlation to the type of plates you use at dinner time. Would you look at that! Real plates. Not even paper! My mother will be so proud ;)

Oh! We even made an extra plate for my dad to eat after we pick him up from the airport tonight. A pretty good day all around :) So to all you aspiring chefs out there, if you have any recipes you swear by, send them my way!

A picture really IS worth a thousand words...

Our Thankgiving break!

Jaylinne had a dentist appointment on Wednesday. I don't want to brag or anything (of course I do!) but the phrase, "Perfect teeth" was actually used. And not just by Ryan and I, the dentist too! 

On Thanksgiving day, we went over to Mike and Juliet's house to eat. We. Got. STUFFED! Mike is an amazing cook, and we had a great time with family! Later on, the Packs and Shaun and Deej came over and we watched some movies. A perfect way to spend Thanksgiving.

 Family movie nights are the best! Jaylinne gets so excited when we have popcorn, AND she gets to pick the movie!

I held out for as long as I could, but the day after Thanksgiving we put up our Christmas tree! And just so we're clear, when I say, "I held out," what I really mean is Ryan wouldn't let me ;)

With all that was going on, we somehow managed to squeeze in a trip to the aquarium!

Not for the squeamish...

Well family and friends, I'm afraid this post will be one of despair. As Ryan and I were laying on the couch watching tv, Jaylinne was in our room laying down watching Gnomeo and Juliet. (For the 5th time...TODAY!) From the couch we can hear laughter, and on occasion, even some snorting betwixt the giggles. Then we hear something very unfamiliar- silence. Followed very closely by sobbing. Hearing this, Ryan jumped up off the couch in one very swift, very cat- like motion before I could even muster up enough energy to sit up. Once in there I expected to hear from him a scream of sorts. Not so much. Instead, what did I hear you ask? A chuckle. A chuckle?! The nerve! Once in the room I quickly began scanning the scene for bumps, bruises, and dare I even think it- blood. I saw nothing! Except, that is, for real tears. REAL tears?! This had to be serious. And serious it was. Ladies and gentleman, you might want to take a seat for this one...





Jaylinne has broken her funny bone. Do you see her gaping wound?! Yeah, us either ;) When questioned about how it happened, we were able to determine she bumped it on our bed, and it was NOT funny. The horror! Once the tears passed, we discovered that she will, in fact, pull through. For those of you who think the life of a toddler is a breeze, I have one four year old who will strongly disagree ;)

On a lighter note, Jaylinne got to bring home her class picture today! Who's that ravishing little girl on the bottom row, second in from the left? Oh that's just the prettiest girl in the world! Eat your heart out, Gerber baby :) Todd, that suave fellow you read about in the last post, is on the bottom row, second one in from the right. Shiloh, and her blond, pig-tailed hair, is on the top row next to Mrs. Buhler. What a fun bunch!

Girls just wanna have FUN!

When I went to pick up Jaylinne from school today, her BFF Shiloh got to come over to our house and play! Her mom had left her carseat at school with her so I could just bring them both home with me when I picked J up. While walking out to the car, in the midst of all the hair twirling and girlish squealing, Jaylinne said she had some important news to tell me. "Todd gave me a ring today!? It's my wedding ring!" And with that gem, she had my full attention. As a mother, I fully expected to face obstacles such as this throughout her lifetime. I was just hoping she would be out of preschool and thinking seriously about kindergarten before she made any life changing decisions ;) Anyhow, this Todd character has somehow captured the attention of my Sweet Pea, and apparently those feelings have been reciprocated. Looks like I might need Ryan on full alert for this one! Looks like he's pullin' out all the stops! Well played, Todd. You sly-boots, you :) These are the jewels Todd so lovingly bestowed upon Jaylinne.



Once all the excitement from the impending nuptials died down, it was time to do some serious playing. I thought the ladies could use some fuel in their little tanks, so as they ran to her bedroom, I went to the kitchen to whip up some apple slices. (Why yes, yes I HAVE thought about being a chef! Ha!) Somehow, in the 45 seconds I had my back turned, there was a mild tornado that touched down on Jaylinne's dress up closet in her room! I was up to my waist in sequence, lace and tool! Was I mad? No! I was impressed! How did they do that?! And how could I not be moderately amused with these crazies smiling back at me?!



Needless to say, we had a day that was packed full of activities, wrapped in fun! Now it's time to sit back, relax, and watch RSL silence those Sounders! Right now we have our sights set on the western conference, but that's just a stepping stone to the MLS cup! SLTID!