i was going to post about an hour ago, when the kids had just fallen asleep, but then yoshi came home and reminded me that i couldn't find the keys to the car.

oh man, that feeling? sucks.

i had told him earlier in the evening, when i called him to see when he was coming home, that i couldn't find the keys and suspected that the kids had done something to them. i was really stressed, though, and couldn't even think about looking for them (though i did, a bit.) (neither sasha nor hiro took naps today, and tommy only got about 30 minutes in this morning. well, just at noon. anyway, that meant melt-down central here at our house, with each kid going off about every other minute or so. one reason i called yoshi in desperation....but that also meant that they were all asleep by 8:20. thank goodness!) we spent nearly an hour looking for those damn keys. i had taken them off sasha earlier in the day, and i put them in their regular spot (in a bowl, in the genkan) but (and i can only guess it was sasha) someone took them again, and they were gone. if you know me, then you know that i'm rather forgetful and i couldn't remember if i put them away, or if i had put them somewhere at the time i took them off sasha and then couldn't remember. after searching high and low downstairs, and starting to panic that the kids had lost them outside, i remembered that they had also been up and down the stairs and had played a bit in their room. so, i went up there and after a little search, i found them! HUGE sigh of relief, i can tell you.

so, anyway, yesterday i put on a turkey/thanksgiving dinner for friends. i am trying to start some teaching from home, and at the moment am concentrating on adult students. mainly a 'have a coffee and cake over casual conversation', as described by mee a bee. my best student, a close neighbor, has been so lovely these past few months that i offered to make a turkey for one of our 'lessons' and we both invited friends. in spite of all the work (seriously, cleaning my house is practically a marathon. cooking thanksgiving dinner is a breeze in comparison!!) it was so nice and so much fun with good friends and lively conversation! i am glad to say that i am thankful for friends this year! i invited kuri and pinglet, and our friend K and her daughter, and the kids got along really well. thank you so much for coming over and enjoying dinner with us! if you're interested, i made: roasted turkey with stuffing, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, steamed broccoli and pumpkin pie. already made foods were: bread rolls and cranberry jelly. it was all pretty good, though i say it myself. K brought a scrumptious hand made cake, and kuri brought little ice creams for the kids. fabulous!

i only took a couple of pictures of the turkey, and haven't uploaded them yet, so sadly, once again, no pictures of thanksgiving this year! sorry!