What's Up Wednesday

1. Thanksgiving project fun

I loved this little turkey that Ryan made at school. He was so proud of it!  And Ms. Kim is so sweet to give us extra supplies so that Grayson could make his own at home...

I also loved this cookbook that his class put together. 

In his defense, I have never actually made a turkey so I'll let this slide ;) And apparently everyone in his class cooks their turkey in the microwave. 

And this little turkey helped make these cookies! So proud of his work!

2. Thanksgiving Eve

Every year (if we are in town for Thanksgiving) we head over to the Hales house the morning before Thanksgiving to help make centerpieces for the table. We use store bought flowers but also add any "fall" pieces that the kids have found on nature walks...sticks, leaves, pine cones, ect...

I am not so great at flower arrangements so I hung with the kiddos most of the time. Seems right since I probably brought the majority of them :)

Hayden playing a little football

Pretty impressive! These ladies could totally sell these!

Before we headed out we managed to get a group pic of all the kids. You really should have seen all of the moms while trying to snap this picture. There was singing and dancing...oh my!

3. Little Reindeer & Birthdays

The weather in Dallas was h o r r i b l e for the rest of the long weekend. Cold and rainy. blah.

We ended up heading to the mall Saturday morning to burn some energy. 

 Lucky for us they had a Christmas show for the kiddos in one of the main areas. I was able to sneak away and get a little bit of shopping done. 

This girl was wild. She wasn't interested in sitting still...

And we also celebrated a couple of friends birthdays over the weekend. Friday night we went bowling with a high school friend of Kevin's. On Saturday we went out for Megan's birthday. Great time with great friends!

4. Elf Kit

I bought an Elf Kit from a local lady via facebook and although part of me knows this is totally something I could do myself, I really really love have it all done for me. And I don't regret purchasing it. Every year I always start off strong with our elf, but after a few days in and I am already over it. ha! The kids are totally in to Buddy so this is totally worth it. Maybe next year I will get this organized myself....

5. Captain Buddy & North Pole Breakfast

Captain Buddy (formerly just 'Buddy') arrived yesterday.  (Ryan decided he needed a little more to his name, thus Captain was added.) 

 The boys LOVED this. They also were so excited when I read the note that said "Have you checked the mailbox?". It was like a movie...they ran to the front door and when I pulled a letter out they ran it back inside to Kevin screaming that Captain Buddy had sent mail. It was adorable. 

 We had a "North Pole" breakfast to celebrate Captain Buddy's arrival - christmas tree waffles! And mini reindeer and snowman donuts.

And day #2:

The boys loved that Captain Buddy was camping out! And mama loved how easy this was to set up! 

Happy Thanksgiving

 Gobble gobble!

We spent Thanksgiving here in Dallas with Kevin's family. I made these little turkey cinnamon rolls (like last year) for breakfast and we watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Favorite floats:

Ryan: 

Grayson: Paddington Bear

Hayden: She loved the music and would bust a move every once in a while. 

We took a walk up to the park to burn a little energy before Hayden's nap. 

This girl is so happy!

Around 3pm we headed over to the Hales for our Thanksgiving fun.

Happy Thanksgiving from the McDonough/Hale crew!

My sweet hubby :)

Her pants were a little long...kinda like having a little mop on her feet. 

She wants my iphone...

Don't mind Michael...

Tough little boys running around shooting "bad guys"

She thought this American Girl Doll Jeep was a Power Wheel. 

A surprise guest dropped by to hand off the "Tag Your It" trophy. 

These guys cheesing it up for some desert

My sweet little turkey!

And we ended the night with a little Whip Nae Nae and Soulja Boy...of course :)

What's Up Wednesday - Link Up

1. What we're eating this week...

Monday: I wanted to try this Asian Salmon and Spinach Rice recipe that I found on fortheloveofbasil but I didn't have enough time to make the marinade so I just went with my go-to Barefoot Contessa marinade that I make almost weekly. 

Tuesday: Citrus Dill Salmon burgers & Shrimp Diablo Burger from Central Market. We are this with my favorite rice pilaf and roasted broccoli. 

Wednesday: Mix and Match Mama's Mexi Mac n' cheese

Thursday: We are headed to The Hale's house for Thanksgiving. Since there will be 17 adults and 10 kids, it's a potluck event. This year I am bringing this Apple Cranberry Bacon Salad

And a pie. 

Yup.  

A PIE. 

This Dark Chocolate Salted Oreo Caramel Pie

How amazing does this look? 

I can get down with that kind of pie. 

2. What I'm reminiscing about

Thanksgiving last year. Loved spending time with my family down in Houston and will miss them this year, but love that they are close enough we get to see them often. Look how little Hayden was! Ahhhh!!

3. What I'm loving

These GapBody mix and match long sleeve tees are amazing. - they are so soft and comfy. 

I might already have three of them. I love sleeping in long sleeve during the cooler months and these are perfect. 

4. What we've been up to

Besides our little trip down to New Braunfels we have been hanging close to home. Kevin took the boys camping last Friday.  Bryan and Blake joined them too!

I would say they had a blast but Grayson got sick and was 'getting sick' from 8pm to midnight. Needless to say they were exhausted when they got home on Saturday. Other than our daily routines we are just resting up and getting ready for the busy holiday season. 

5. What I'm dreading

As excited as I am to put a Christmas tree up I am kinda dreading the daily battle of keeping Hayden away from it. I have no doubt that she will be interested in all of the sparkly ornaments and any wrapped gifts underneath.  Hopefully this will be our last year of having to toddler proof our tree!

6. What I'm working on

Christmas shopping & wrapping

I have done most of my shopping for the kids and am now working on family & friends.  Our December is pretty busy so I wanted to get all of this our of the way so we could enjoy all of our activities. 

I get super excited about good deals - and I got yesterday on Amazon. Ryan asked for one of these VTech KidiZoom Smartwatches last year and since he didn't get it, he has asked again. It retails for $65, but on Amazon they had them for $32. I bought two for the price of one - Hot Dog!

7. What I'm excited about

Thanksgiving! Hanging out with our friends and family!

8. What I'm watching/reading

The Walking Dead

Scandal

Modern Family, Blackish, Fresh Off the Boat

And I did actually finish my Mindy Kaling book.  Light and easy read. I am hoping to read more this month. 

9. What I'm listening to

I feel like I should be saying Adle's new album. Honestly, every time I hear Hello...I turn the station. Slap me, I know. 

I can appreciate how talented she is but I just have to be in the mood for her. 

When I have the radio on I am always looking for a up-beat song or a good ol' country tune. Something I can sing a long too...even if I don't know all the words. This month I am loving:

Elle Goulding's 'On My Mind'

Blake Shelton 'Gonna'

10. What I'm wearing

I (along with the rest of Dallas) am loving this cooler weather.  My go to outfits are jeans, booties and a sweater. These are a few of my current favorites!  I guess I don't take many pictures of myself so the stock images will have to work. 

Free People 'Moonshine V' Cold Shoulder Sweater

 

Free People 'Ventura' High/Low Thermal Top

Free People 'Beach Cocoon' Cowl Neck Pullover

Apparently I am on a Free People kick! 

11. What I'm doing this weekend

Well, it looks like we are in for a rainy and chilly weekend! Sounds like great weather for pulling out the Christmas decorations, lighting a fire and trimming the tree.  I am so excited because the boys are already asking about when we will decorate. I love how excited they get!

12. What I'm looking forward to next month

I am so excited for all of the fun things we have planned in December. It's going to be busy 

- North Pole Breakfast

- Visiting Santa

- Trains at North Park

-Breakfast with Santa

-School Christmas Concert

-Dallas Children's Parade

- Fair Park Tree Lighting

-Light Up Lakewood

And lot's of fun parties!

- Kevin's work Christmas Party

-The Bells annual Christmas Open House

-Annual Sausage Party

-The Hoard's Annual Mixers & Merriment Party

-Nat's annual Cookie Exchange

-Susanne's Tacky Sweater Party

-The Jackson's annual Christmas Party

13. What else is new

I think I covered most things...

14. What is your favorite Christmas tradition

Growing up most of our traditions were not unique but I know the memories are. We watched Christmas movies, listened to Christmas music, baked cookies, visited santa, decorated the house and trimmed the tree. Decorating the Christmas tree was one of my favorite activities - I loved pulling out all of our special ornaments and hanging them up...and drinking egg nog (which now I have no interest in!)  Another favorite tradition is homemade pizza on Christmas Eve. My dad started this one year and it kinda stuck. Now every year my dad and I are in charge - it's messy but such a fun tradition.