Thanksgiving was quiet and casual. We ate at my parents house along with my sister and neice. My sister wasn't feeling well because she had gone out with her friends the night before and a drunk driver rear ended them. In addition to being very sore from the accident she was also suffering from a hangover. After we ate I climbed into my parents bed with Lindsey to take a nap and my mom followed. We took a nap while the others watched football and the kids played.

Last night my parents watched Lindsey and we went to a indoor black light mini golf course. It was fun but the course was easy. It must have been since I got a hole in one.

Today, I'm cooking a turkey for my family. Kaelyn's favorite part of turkey dinner is the turkey sandwiches with mayo, cranberry sauce and stuffing. We'll be eating in about an hour. Then we are headed to the Sprint Store for a new cell phone. I hope that they don't give me a hard time. The cell phone is in my boss's name and there is a note on the account giving me permission to get a new phone but for some reason these type of things never run smoothly for me.

We woke up to snow this morning! It might snow tomorrow morning too. We plan on lounging around in the morning watching the Macy's Thanksgiving parade while Chad is at the high school football game. Then we'll head over to my parent's house for Thanksgiving dinner.

Chad has been on vacation all week. He wanted to put a new roof on the back porch but the weather didn't cooperate. He also found out yesterday that he is going to be interviewed for a job within the company that he works for. I'm very excited for him. It is at corporate headquarters in the research and development department. It's definitely the type of position that he's been looking for and the opportunities are endless.

Lindsey is starting to talk. She says "Da" when she calls Chad. She calls every animal a dog and she says "hot". That's about it. She climbs on everything! She got on my mother's kitchen table today and grabbed the pepper and made a pepper trail throughout the whole house. Yikes!

Yesterday we decided to go to the tree farm to tag a Christmas tree. We found that our tree farm had decided not to open this season because they didn't have a good crop of trees. By the time that we found another tree farm the sun was already starting to set and it was getting colder. We tagged a tree but it wasn't the usual holiday memory that we look forward to. Instead, we were cold and tired. Lindsey wanted to walk but kept tripping over baby trees. I did get a few nice photos of the girls that could be used for Christmas cards. We decorated our tree with pretty red ribbon so that when we return to pick it up we'll have an easier time finding it.

Today we raked leaves at my grandparent's house. They have a big yard with lots of trees. There were so many leaves but we had a good system going and it didn't take as long as I feared. We raked the leaves onto a huge tarp and dragged them into the woods. Memere kept Lindsey entertained by giving her rides in the utility wagon.

So far the childcare situation is working out better than I could have expected. I had a hard time admitting that I wasn't superwoman. I allowed everyone to think that my working/mothering situation was working perfect when it was actually falling to pieces. I was falling way behind in my work and I felt like I was in my office all the time. I couldn't call customers back until after 3pm when Chad got home to watch Lindsey because she was too loud. I would be up early in the morning to check email. Then I would get the girls ready and Kaelyn to school. I'd come home and try to answer a few emails while keeping Lindsey entertained. Then I would work late into the night to try to get everything completed. I got burnt out. It wasn't fair to me and it wasn't fair to the rest of my family. I was pretty miserable. Tuesday morning I felt very overwhelmed with life and that is when I let out a cry for help. My mom called in sick on Wednesday and I already felt a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I spoke with my boss while he was between flights and I barely needed to get the words out. He said that it was a no brainer. He didn't want to lose me and he was very willing to pay my mom a salary to watch the kids for me. He's a great boss and an even better friend. I realize how very lucky I am.

Oh damn! Blogger ate my post.

It worked! It worked! I barely had to get the words out of my mouth and my boss agreed to pay my childcare expenses. He offered a $$$ amount which is more than my mom had suggested. We're both very happy about this new arrangement.

It's hard to believe that it was snowing on Saturday. The weather has been perfect since Sunday, in the high 60's and sunny. Chad has class last night so couldn't come trick or treating with us. Lindsey wasn't feeling very well so she stayed with Grandma and Grandpa and was very happy seeing kids and passing out candy. Kaelyn and I went trick or treating in my parents' neighborhood and ended up with too much candy. We had fun though.

I'm having trouble balancing work and family life. I wish I could quit but we really need the extra money. Heating bills are likely to double this winter and my check also helps buy Chad's books for college which will benefit us as a family someday. It's nothing new, this is my busy season but Lindsey was a newborn last year and it was much easier. I've been trying to find someone to care for her a couple of days a week but so far I've had no luck. We're working on another solution though. My mom hates her part time job so I'm planning on asking my boss for a raise to help cover the cost of paying my mom to watch Lindsey. It will give her spending money and will be a tremendous help to me. My boss will also benefit because I won't be busy playing catch up all the time and I'll actually be able to sell more product. We'll see. I'm not always the best at putting this eloquently so I hope that it works.