I have received information and materials from Johnson & Johnson Consumer, Inc., McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division. The opinions stated are my own. This is a sponsored post. This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #WinOverWinter #CollectiveBias

Up until 5 years ago, I had absolutely no Thanksgiving Traditions of my own. No grandma’s pumpkin pie recipe to put a twist on, no after-turkey game day rituals to prep for, no hand-me-down stretchy pants to stay warm in. Yup, I was Thanksgiving-traditionless!

You see, I didn’t grow up celebrating Thanksgiving. So, when a college friend asked me to spend my first Thanksgiving with her and her family in Ohio, I was thrilled – and fascinated! First there was her aunt’s twist on her grandma’s pumpkin pie, then there was the after-turkey game of “pile-up” followed by caroling in snowy driveways in hand-me-down warm, stretchy pants! Even though my first ever pumpkin pie was almost squeezed out of me in that human-pile-up, and, I needed MOTRIN^® IB after all the times I fell down in those snowy driveways, I decided I was going to live off of other people’s Thanksgiving traditions for eva!

At least… that was until five years ago…

You see, around five years ago on Thanksgiving eve, I, quite unconsciously, gave birth to my own Thanksgiving Tradition. Yes, five years ago, on Thanksgiving eve I began planning and scheming …about what color I was going to paint my kitchen! And, thus it began. Every year since, every Thanksgiving eve, I have found myself gathering together paint and brushes, masking off baseboards, taking switch plates off and …painting.

Last year, I painted my high-ceilinged family room. This year, I painted my daughter’s nook-and-crannied, bathroom. While I’m prepping, I psych myself into painting the whole house. I think my head think’s am in my 20s. But…every year after I’ve finished one room, my body reminds me that my 20s are long, long gone! I pull out my winter toolkit stocked with Extra Strength TYLENOL^® and MOTRIN^® IB from Target to help ease my achy joints and muscles, and set brushes and paint aside – until the following Thanksgiving eve! Is it just me and my old self or does the cold really make “the ouches” more pronounced?

Over these past five years, part of my Thanksgiving-Tradition of painting also includes my post-painting breakfast! Usually it is an indulgent one – like these Pumpkin Pie Waffles! These are not my usual low-sugar, butter-free waffles. These are loaded with brown sugar, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, full fat coconut milk, eggs and butter! Pretty much all the elements of pumpkin pie. Of course, I had to throw in some ground up quick oats and protein-packed chia seeds to give these a bit of a nutritional kick – and help with recovery. While these waffles are indulgent ones, they are still lactose-free and gluten-free provided you use certified GF oats!

[Tweet “Pumpkin Pie Waffles #AD #WinOverWinter @Target @Tylenol @MotrinCA”]

So, this 2016, what were some of your favorite Thanksgiving traditions?
And – does, your winter toolkit happen to have Extra Strength TYLENOL^® and MOTRIN^® IB in it for when “the ouches” hit?