heading north!

My Thanksgiving weekend started off this morning with a special pie baking morning with my mom.  She makes the yummiest pies and her crust is so delicious that I knew I had to bake something with her before we headed to my in-laws for Fox Family Turkey Day.  As we're chatting and skyping with my sister (remember she's in Italy?), my mom is just whipping together the crust ingredients and rolling out the dough like it is no big deal.  First of all, I can't get the ingredients to mix well.  I try, but it always turns into crumbles instead of a big dough ball.  I'm dough dumb.  Seriously.  I put together the pumpkin pie ingredients and we pop it in the oven.  We even added a few "leaves" on top to make it look festive.  Since I've been married I've spent almost all of my Thanksgivings away from my parents.  Even though I absolutely love spending the holiday with my hubbie's side, I miss her and the "comfort" of the Thanksgiving that she puts on.  I have the fondest memories of waking up to the sound of my parents both in the kitchen getting the turkey going.  My dad chops the bread for the homemade stuffing.  My mom does the pies and all the other "trimmings".  The parade is on in the background.  The house smells yummy.  It's just a fun fond memory I have of being a kid.  I felt like I got a little piece of that today by spending a few baking hours with her before I leave.  I'm so grateful for little special moments like that.  It kind of goes along with my slow down post.  Enjoying the small moments of life that happen sometimes so fast that we don't appreciate them.

With that all said, I also am so so excited to be hopping in the swagger wagon and heading north to new hampshire in about three hours or so.  The kids cannot wait to see "Grana and Poppy" and frankly, either can I!  This week (ok, pathetically it's only Wednesday!) has been so long.  I just cannot wait to leave our (extremely messy!) house behind and be a visitor in someone else's house.  My MIL is one of those amazing types that makes you feel "taken care of" every time you are at her house.  When I first started spending time with her I used to feel like I couldn't do anything to help out but I realized that she loves to take care of people.  I try and help as much as possible but she always has things in organized or done beforehand.  She's always prepared with food in the house, meal ideas, wine to drink, things to do, magazines to read, walks to be taken.  Her motto of doing things simply is so incredibly comforting because I can't seem to pull that off in my every day life.  I feel like I complicate everything I do.  So being up there makes me feel much less complicated because life just feels simpler around my in-laws.  I'm rambling, but the point is:  I'm MEGA excited for Thanksgiving at my in-laws.  I cannot wait to see them.  I cannot wait to relax in N.H. together.  I am so excited that it's snowing up there.  I am so excited my hubby has four days in a row with us.  I cannot wait for our annual Thanksgiving weekend 1st ski!  There is so much to be excited about this coming weekend!  Ok, with that said, I NEED to fold the laundry, and pack, and make my sweet potato casserole, and shower, and fold laundry...yeah, said that twice because there is THAT much to fold!

Happy Thanksgiving!!