Things That I Am Thankful For…..

As the More is More Mom®, I’m all about…..more giving thanks! This week, I was especially thankful for my eight hour, round trip, road trip on Tuesday to snag Nick for Thanksgiving break (I’d gladly walk over hot coals to be with him). Wrigley was “Wrigley excited” when we got to campus and after much badgering (from me….who is the grown up here?), Nick finally relented and allowed Wrigley to take the grand tour of his dorm and check out his digs. The scent of smelly boys was, apparently, spectacular!

There was a lot of fun to squeeze into a few short days.

I’m thankful that over his 19 years, Nick has developed rich and rewarding friendships. He made a bee-line for B-Dub’s (aka…Buffalo Wild Wings) to meet up with his high school pals. Wednesday was devoted to a brother/sister outing with Nick’s oldest friend, Miguel, and his kid sister, Mrs. McGoobles (who happens to be one of Amanda’s nearest and dearest’s), with the evening reserved for a visit with Chuck’s parents; pasta and looking at family pictures. It was perfect.

I’m thankful that while dragging a teenager out of bed in the morning is never an easy task (particularly on a holiday), Nick was remarkably agreeable in joining me and my girlfriends for our Turkey Trot. There’s nothing quite like starting the day with a 5 mile run! The rest of our morning was spent over breakfast and the most recent episodes from our favorite TV program, Modern Family. Thank God for the DVR! Later, we stuffed ourselves with turkey and all the fixin’s with my family. We were especially thankful that Wrigley managed not to swipe a single item off the dinner table. Not because he was good, but because he was on a very short leash (we of little faith).

 I’m thankful for moments spent with my best gal. As it turns out, Amanda is sometimes her mother’s daughter. We rolled out of bed at 3am to hit the Black Friday sales with a trip to the outlet mall. There were people EVERYWHERE! The wait to get into the Coach store alone was an hour and twenty minutes, at four in the morning. Talk about shop ‘til you drop!

I am thankful for the world’s greatest mom and most generous step-father. In celebration of George’s 70^th birthday, it was my pleasure to do the cooking as they entertained 40 friends and family in their home. We feasted on shrimp cocktail, crab bisque soup, smoked salmon and caramelized onion dip, steak crostini’s, chicken Caesar salad spears and gourmet pizza. The most touching part of the night was when Nick and Amanda spoke about their Boppa and lead the crowd in a rousing rendition of Cole Porter’s You’re the Top!

I’m thankful that the five of us had part of a quiet day together Sunday morning. We watched old family movies, snuggled with Wrigley and had lunch together before we loaded Nick and his laundry back into the car, headed for College Town, USA.

I’m thankful that Chuck took one for the team by attacking the round trip road trip, because there is little worse than leaving Nick behind at school.

However, I’m most thankful that we’ll all be together again in a few short weeks for Christmas!

More time together, more Modern Family marathons, more turkey with all of the fixin’s, more reasons for Thanksgiving……

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3 for 3…Movies that Rock; Moneyball, 50/50 and The Ides of March!

As the More is More Mom®, I’m all about……more successful movie going experiences! Three consecutive weeks, three fantastic motion pictures; when does that ever happen? We should have played the lottery.

You know, for me, the best thing about hitting the Cineplex is the coming attractions. I love everything about the movies, especially looking forward to what’s to come. Chuck really likes the popcorn. However, we both agreed there were more than a few winner’s in the bunch;

• The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo After I realized that this summer’s Cowboys versus Aliens was actually about cowboys versus aliens, I wasn’t too terribly hyped about Daniel Craig, but I have to admit I’m totally psyched to see him as Mikael “Kalle” Blomqvist. We read Stieg Larsson’s trilogy in book club and he is simply an amazing story teller. This is so going to rock!

• Anonymous To quote Cole Porter, “Brush up your Shakespeare/Start quoting him now/Brush up your Shakespeare/and the women you will wow….” This movie begs the question; was it William Shakespeare or Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, who was the real Bard?

• J. Edgar Wherever he is, the real J. Edgar Hoover must be tickled pink to be portrayed by the beautiful Leonardo DiCaprio. I’m a sucker for a bio-pic (I watch Gary Busey in the Buddy Holly Story every time it’s on cable) and this one looks riveting.

 • Contraband While I’m customarily a fan of the romantic comedy, the occasional action adventure flick calls my name (Lethal Weapon and Die Hard I, II, III and IV). Mark Wahlberg plays a reformed smuggler; just when he thought he was out, they pulled him back in (wait; that was The Godfather). Contraband actually looks pretty good, lot’s of twists, turns, action and one of my favorite character actors, Giovanni Ribisi.

Our super streak began while we were visiting Nick for Parent’s Weekend when we saw Moneyball. We are a baseball loving family. Nick and I are forever marveling at baseball statistics; the first time that a squirrel has been on the field in two consecutive post season games since 1920 (Nick texted me that one as soon as he heard it on ESPN at 2 in the morning). Brad Pitt was actually great as Billy Beane, the notorious Oakland A’s manager who assembled a team based on statistics, rather than notoriety. It couldn’t be more timely for those of us Cub’s fans, as Theo Epstein is said to be coming to Chicago……

Next, while Amanda was at a surprise 16th birthday party, Chuck and I snuck over to the movie theater to see 50/50. One doesn’t normally laugh out loud at movies where the main character has cancer, but there were some side splitting moments amongst the tears. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (I know him from Angels in the Outfield fame) was delightful as a young man who finds out he has cancer. Shockingly, Seth Rogen, whom I like, but is normally a total moron, was a tender, sweet and supportive friend. We were emotionally exhausted, but we really liked 50/50.

Then, this past Friday night, we had just enough time to squeeze in The Ides of March. I adore George Clooney (though sometimes I can do without his politics), and I actually think he is a very talented filmmaker (have you ever seen Confessions of a Dangerous Mind? It was brilliant!). In his latest picture, he plays a Governor running for President, but the star of the film is really Ryan Gosling. Seriously, I’ve never even heard of this guy until this summer, but I guess that’s because I’m not a fan of The Notebook. We saw him in Crazy, Stupid, Love, where he played a similar character; very cool and extremely slick. The Ides of March was a fascinating glimpse into the world of politics. On the cusp of another election, it was rather timely.

We’ve had such good luck with these 3 movies, we’re banking on the 4th.

More popcorn, more coming attractions, more matinees, more going to the movies…..

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