Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Thanksgiving North of Orlando and South of Jacksonville





Thanksgiving in Florida is like this: We have seen a bald eagle; we saw herons fly over the lake and got up-close-and-personal with one in Alligator Alley; and we witnessed 16,000 lizards scampering. Oh, and weird white spiders. I have been to Target 43 times and I go to the supermarket every day to wander in awe up and down the mammoth aisles. These stores have frozen food sections bigger than the entire food stores I shop in in the city. I bought a Paula Dean magazine because she seems to be all the rage down here, but I can't get past how every recipe calls for a stick of butter or a vat of oil. She has a recipe for a peanut butter trifle that is insane. Does she have special medical health secret? Because I don't know how it is possible to live on the PD diet and not clog arteries, gain 50 pounds or reduce energy reserves within two weeks.

The girls are having the best time and are reveling in all the space they have to roam in. The are sleeping well, in cribs side-by-side. After every nap and in the morning we notice that all the toys, pacifiers and blankets have somehow moved over to Avery's crib. We are not sure if Avery is using her power of persuasion or if Madeline is offering them. Avery can now moo, woof, meow, hiss and brrr (like an elephant). Madeline makes these sounds as often. Most interesting is that Avery also barks Christmas carols. She learned this from her stuffed dog that barks Christmas songs.

Both girls have become obsessed with balloons. Both are trying to repeat words we say. Their biggest "first" this week has been a trip to Santa. We forked over $24.99 or $19.99 or $22. 99 for two 5 by 7s that I could have taken myself. Tis the season to spend money ridiculously I guess. I'll post that picture tomorrow.

I am lugging back to New York several purchases, including five pounds of fondant, flannel polar bear pajamas, Christmas underwear, monkey pajamas for the girls and a cookie sheet. Everything down here is so much cheaper. And it is 10 times easier to shop when you have a Nana and the other mom with you.

Nicole and I managed to go out to eat alone one night (i had a wedge and rosemary chicken) and tonight we braved the cold to go down to Alligator Creek or whatever it is called so I could practice taking pictures with my tripod. I am trying to really really learn aperture really really hard.

Does anyone have any insight into Mad Men? Is it worth buying on iTunes?

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy Turkey Day, girl! Hope you all have a great one! I am also interested in whether Mad Men is good or not. Have you guys watched The Wire? Battlestar Galactica? Both great.

K J and the kids said...

I'm glad you are having such a great time.
Can't wait to see the Santa picture :)

Anonymous said...

Happy Thanksgiving to you! I think Nicole's family may live near where my family does. Oh central Florida, don't you just love the space?

As for Mad Men, I am a true addict. It is the best show ever. And I am a harsh critic. Trust me, it is so good you will want to watch the whole series in one sitting. And you'll want to take up smoking because they make it look so cool :)

Jeannine

Anonymous said...

waving at you from my house.
Hope you all have a mellow and wonderful holiday down here.

& that photo is STUNNING! You are doing something right.

Also- YES to Mad Men. The first season will blow your mind with awesomeness.

Briar said...

I am in the minority - couldn't make it through the first season of Mad Men. The smoking grossed me out which is saying something because I usually miss smoking when I see it. But the misogyny is what got to me. It is certainly historically accurate but I just couldn't take it. Wes was annoyed by all the characters and we gave up.

Lynnbug said...

Being from the south I can tell you that Paula Dean thinks deep frying makes everything better. Also, the more butter the better it is. Try some of her recipes and remember anything is okay in moderation. She is truly a southern cook. More like Grandma used to make!

Anonymous said...

Lurker here, I had an idea for you. You have probably thought of this. For all I know someone else probably suggested it. But since it popped into my head. I have found that having the help of a babysitter feels totally different when you work alongside her, as opposed to leave your kids with her. You could hire a babysitter to accompany you to CMOM, Natural History, etc. One afternoon a week, say, to start. Then you could do the outings you're longing to do without having to make the babysitter leap of faith. And you might find that after some period of time you would start to trust the person enough to leave. My other idea is those backpacks with leashes attached. I see lots of parents of twins with those and the stigma seems to be much lessened due to (1) the cuteness of the backpacks and (2) twins!

BrooklynGirl said...

I'm another Mad Men fan--it took me awhile to get into it, but I'm really missing it now that the season is over.

And I also vote for Battlestar Galactica (especially the first 2 seasons) if you haven't seen that already.

Motel Manager said...

Mad Men is fab -- I am an aficionado. Season one is greatly entertaining, and season two is nicely bleak. It's all very imaginative and engrossing.

Your girls are so grown up now! Wow!