I Feel Awful... All full, I Mean

Does anyone else eat so much on Thanksgiving that they might as well stick a string up your ass & add you to the parade in New York? Good LOOOOOOORD. Between my in-laws' fiesta at Stella's, as well as my mom's, I have eaten enough turkey, potatoes, greenbeans, mashed potatoes, stuffing, bread, pumpkin pie and various jello/fruit/yam concoction-thingy-ma-jingys to last me at least.... two days.

Highlite of Stella's? Coming home (not that her dinner wasn't a blast... it was) and driving Nick through the Calabasas Commons. Rich shopping centers have their share of pretentious Valley elitists, but they also have the most fabulous Xmas trees. It was like Disneyland - nothing out of place except my hair. Some people might balk at the over-the-topness of this consumer extravaganza, but it made Nick happier than a sale at Fred Siegal, so I just sucked it all up. Well, I sucked as much up as I had room for, after all the aforementioned food.

Highlite of my mom's? Leaving Nick for the night to crash with Grandma. I adore my son, but it was so wonderful to go home and just relax with James. Sophie crashed in the car, so we both ebayed side by side, the epitomy of modern romance. "I love you, but I will not touch you. If you want to communicate, even if I'm sitting next to you, shoot me an email for a quicker response. Or grunt. But email beeps are preferred.").

After an hour I reluctantly turned off my machine to turn on my husband. This entailed taking the very sexy tutorial of his favorite computer game. I really do deserve an Oprah nomination for "Most Devoted Wife" for doing this. It took all my willpower to read the words across the screen and ignore the online guide, a stoned looking accountant type in the upper left screen who, in between ordering directions, looked like some cult member who was about to ask me to shroud myself in purple and down cianide. After a half hour (29 minutes too long) I now know how to right click "Settlers", left click them to various spots on the map (based on turns left, indicated on the lower left boxy deal), build a hut, masonry or farm, create a scout (which makes all foreign lands friendly, as opposed to "we're going to kill you with our spears and angry bullls").

I figure if I can build a wonder, triple my population and conquer some heathen nation under my warrior name - Mama P (of course) - James can navigate his way through a Nordstroms sale with me one day. Though truthfully, I think the roaming savages of his game are more civilized than some of these princesses at Topanga Plaza. I mean, get your head cut off with a sickle or your eyes scratched out with acrylics? It's a tough call.

(Pictured: My kids... decked out in their finest holiday wear. I actually had a brown and orange vest for Nick, but nothing matching for Sophie. And given I now have seven - I kid you not - holiday dresses/outfits for the little diva hanging in her closet, I thought I'd have her display the first course early.