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Do you all see a theme here? The month of November is very birthday-heavy in our family. We celebrated my birthday two weeks ago, Spence’s birthday last weekend, and Gibbs’s birthday (a little early) this weekend (not to mention my dad and my mother-in-law who also have birthdays this month)! Phew. Cake, much?

But before we get to more parties, how about we take a quick look at some of the pics that I pulled off of my phone from the week? It’s time to catch up!

Monday was sunny, beautiful, and 60 degrees. Not exactly typical mid-November weather, but I’ll take it!

After dropping the boys off at school, Spence and I met Lorae for a walk. Best way to exercise…while socializing!

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Later that afternoon we joined Aunt Barbara for another walk, as well as a birthday present exchange for Spence.

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BUS!!!

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And when I was practically falling asleep at the wheel mid-afternoon, I grabbed a new Iced Snickerdoodle Macchiato from Dunkin Donuts. I had the pumpkin macchiato not long ago and I found it a bit too sweet for my taste, so this time I requested only one pump of sweetener. It was perfect!!

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Since Casey doesn’t have school on Tuesdays, I dragged my two younger guys to the grocery store in the morning to pick up the ingredients for these Pilgrim Hat Cookies.

{Look at Spencer trying to sneak away from the cart while I’m checking out…that boy is Mischief!}

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When his preschool teacher asked me if I could make the cookies for the school feast this week, I figured we were up for the challenge…and I enlisted Casey’s help!

He was in charge of dipping the marshmallows in chocolate after lunch (NOT a clean activity, by the way)…

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and the end result looked at least somewhat like a hat…kind of? Sort of? Whatever…Casey was very pleased with his handy work!

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After a Wednesday morning walk with Mollie, Spence and I picked Casey up from school at noon and headed over to the primary school for a Thanksgiving Feast with Gibbs!

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Gibbs wanted nothing to do with the school cafeteria food (and actually insisted that I pack his lunch), but the rest of us thought it was fine!

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Afternoon stop at Yoder’s for a visit with the animals, some playground time with friends, and edible necessities like homemade Cookies & Cream ice cream, turkey, and zucchini bread!

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Rainy Thursday trip to Costco…

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and puddle play once the rain stopped!

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And while Keith may roll his eyes, the boys and I have already had some fun getting in the holiday spirit…

{We love Little Critter books…}

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{A quick stop in CVS resulted in a couple of light-up, music-playing churches that Casey and Spencer just HAD.TO.HAVE. for their bedrooms}

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{and we’ve been listening to The Polar Express book-on-tape in the car, and watching the movie on repeat at home. It’s one of Spencer’s favorites this year!}

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Oh, and here’s a quick, easy, and healthy dinner idea!! On Thursday night I made my Smothered Baked Chicken and served it with some Italian-seasoned quinoa and frozen broccoli that I steamed in the microwave. The boys loved it!

On Friday morning Spence and I made a quick trip to Target, where he added a new bus to his collection, before heading back to the preschool to join Casey and his friends for their Thanksgiving Feast.

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I was running low on coffee, so I was excited to see that Target had some of my seasonal favorites back in stock (plus some of Spencer’s favorite fruit pouches)!

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Legos with Gibbs in the afternoon…they’re teaching him early!

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Keith and I stayed up late on Friday night watching the movie San Andreas. Have you seen it? Oh my gosh…it was too real for my liking — the stuff nightmares are made of! But I’ll give them credit — it held our attention and entertained us the entire time…

Oh! And before I forget…I’m currently burning this…

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and this is the nail polish that has been sitting on my kitchen counter all week…and that I still haven’t found the time to use…

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Yesterday we had a few of Gibbs’s friends over to celebrate his 6th birthday. He felt very strongly about his cake, so he decorated it himself!

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Spence tried to sneak a bite before the party!

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The kids had a great time, and fortunately the weather cooperated so that we could spend the bulk of the afternoon outdoors.

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{Hanging with the big kids is tough work!}

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I’m headed to the grocery store this morning, and then I’ll be doing some cooking this afternoon. I’m making a shrimp casserole for supper later, some ginger oatmeal cookies to take with us to Thanksgiving at my parents’ house, some Chicken and Mushroom Casserole to have on hand for dinner this week (using up some leftover chicken), and some Slow Cooker Oatmeal Raisin Baked Apples to reheat for easy snacks. I’m also planning to make a couple of these Orange Baked Chickens for dinner later this week. If you haven’t tried them yet, I highly recommend the recipe! 🙂

Have a great week ahead and a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!!

blair

Hey, I’m Blair!

Welcome to my farmhouse kitchen in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Inspired by local traditions and seasonal fare, you’ll find plenty of easy, comforting recipes that bring your family together around the table. It’s down-home, country-style cooking!

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Square overhead shot of hands serving a chicken pot pie recipe with biscuits
Overhead image of a bowl of chili mac on a dinner table with cornbread
Hands serving a platter of sheet pan sausage and potatoes

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  1. What an exciting week you have had. I thought Spencer was keeping an eye on you as he tried to sneak away? You can see by his face that he know you have his number. Like Gibbs, Dd would have nothing to do with the cafeteria food. I so looked forward to not making school lunches but that was not happening. Casey & the Thanksgiving Feast brought back memories, thank you. I would like the Shrimp Casserole recipe if I may?

    1. Yes, life is never dull around here, Jeanette! 🙂

      I took some pictures of the shrimp casserole yesterday because it turned out GREAT! I will share the recipe on the blog in the coming weeks…stay tuned! 🙂

      1. Loved the Birthday Cake. I have never found a shrimp casserole recipe that fits this family yet. Look forward to yours.