Thanksgiving for us stretched from the Tuesday before, when G's parents arrived, until yesterday when they flew back home.  We had a wonderful, tasty week.  We had 12 for dinner (G's parents, my sister Nancy, G's cousin Brent and his family, and us) which was just right.  Placecards/favors from here. 

Thanks to your fantastic meal suggestions, we also ate very well the rest of the week, including Robin's award winning chili, her crockpot chicken (thanks again Robin), Ina Garten's Five Cheese Penne, my mom's Taco Soup, a baked potato bar, and, I have to admit, lots of Rhodes rolls (bread making still makes me too nervous when it's high stakes).  All big hits! It was so fun and satisfying to host loved ones and have a happy chaos in our house.

And also nice this morning to recover.  Admittedly, there were some casualties:

Lauren's glasses (RIP), crunched by Louie

our clothes dryer, which died on the first day

and...Sam's lungs

(This weekend Sam was diagnosed with pneumonia and asthma, most likely related to his flu a few weeks ago. The poor boy needs to complain a little more...we had no idea he wasn't doing well until he complained it hurt to breathe on Sunday morning. He's feeling much better today and, on the bright side, imagine how amazing he'll feel when he's back to full lung capacity.)

I've been in denial about the calendar.  December? Already? Okay, bring it on.