Thanksgiving Week

So, the week of Thanksgiving was a bit crazy. The prior Sunday I spent time with my brother and sister-in-law, watching the Steelers play and enjoying my mama's famous chicken and dumplings (well, I just ate the dumplings since I don't eat meat). I worked Monday and Tuesday at both jobs, then had Wednesday off. That day was spent running around doing some errands and taking B to the airport so he could spend the holiday with his GF. Then I went to mom's to spend five wonderful days with my family. I love my oldest brother, I really do, but he can be an handful. Thank goodness my niece came home to save me. She actually came home Wednesday, which was earlier than she had planned, and didn't tell her parents she was coming SO THEY WOULDN'T CONTINUALLY CALL HER. They are something else. Anyway, when she got in Wednesday, all of us girls went grocery shopping at Trader Joe's. Then we bought some wine and a few other groceries at Giant Eagle, then went home to watch The DaVinci Code. We got up early Thanksgiving morning to cook - I baked pies, mom prepped the turkey, Sissy made stuffing and I made most everything else from veggies to 'cheesy rice.' My middle bro and his brood, including his newly engaged 22-year-old daughter and her fiancee, came to dinner about 5 o'clock and we had a lovely time. It was strange to not have my youngest bro's family there, but they had dinner at their own house this year because my sis-in-law, Honey, has older parents and she wanted to make it easier on them. Then Sissy's brother and his wife came over later and we played cards until after midnight. Friday I went to work at BB&B from noon to six, then came back to mom's to just hang out with her while they went to Sissy's niece's house. Paubie and I watched Memoirs of a Geisha that night, which was very good. Saturday I had to be at work early, then afterwards we hung out with my youngest bro and his wife at mom's then Paubie and I shopped for a bit before going to a wine-tasting party at her cousin's. I left them to go to my friend Shannon's birthday party, then got back to mom's around 4am. Sunday the girls left for Baltimore, and bro and I hung out together the rest of the day, watching football mainly. I spent the night there because he was leaving Monday morning, then I left and picked up B from the airport and went to work. All in all it was a whirlwind week, kind of bittersweet because they aren't coming home for Christmas, but I am very happy I have my family around me when I do.