Breakfast

Yes, I do think that coconut bark and coffee is a balanced and nutritious breakfast.....

Thanksgiving 2013

I had lofty expectations of trying to culture "intentional gratitude" this month.
Trying to find all the little things in each day that I am thankful for, and write them down.
I thought if I did this, it would help me really truly embrace this thankfulness "season".

The good news is that I stuck to my goal of jotting things down...for a couple days.
The bad news is that I failed about 4 days into it.

Here's what I got:
I'm thankful for warm clothes from the dryer.
I'm thankful for finding Lego dudes, and not crayons in those warm clothes.
I'm thankful for hearing certain hymns, and being reminded of my grandparents.
I'm thankful for my children's giggles...even when they are not supposed to be laughing.

And that's where I kinda petered out....

But I did ask the kids what they were thankful for this morning.
Their lists were as interesting as ever....

{Brynn}
pets
family
friends
everything in the world
God

{Cannon}
our house
America
Family
God
Friends
Cousins
Mom & Dad
Sisters & Brother
nice world
pets

{Maeve}
God
America
Daddy & Mommy
Brynn, Cannon & Nolan
Treks & Buttercup
Felix (that is dead)
Dash (that is dead)
Family
whole entire world

{Nolan}
going to Papa and Bamas
going to cousins house
milk
orange blankey
going to the park
going to school
going to church


After all that, we had thanksgiving dinner with the family and friends.
We ate, and ate, and ate.
And laughed, and then ate more. 
And the littlest little fell asleep on the floor, and I got to hold him for awhile while he slept.


 
 And the guys busted out their guitars and sang, danced and played for hours. 
 
And it was wonderful.
And reminded me that I am so blessed once again...even if I do forget to be grateful. 

3 a Day

After what seems like {way} too long, we are getting 3 eggs a day.
They are purty...but expensive...

Not sure I'm cut out for this chicken raising thing....

Crashed Out

Maeve and Nolan have a knack for falling asleep wherever they happen to be, if they are tired enough.

It's always funny to me to see them totally crashed out! 

{during story time}

{family movie night}

{family movie night}

{different family movie night}

{just a random afternoon nap} 

{our bed is apparently VERY desirable} 

{aaaand another family movie night} 

Funny Kids

Some house rules:

Art from Cannons writing journal at school

Hi Neighbor!

It was all about Daniel Tiger today for Nolan's birthday.
Stripes, neighborhood scavenger, cheesy songs, and friends.
It doesn't get much better then that if you are 3!

I made a sad copy of the Nutella PanCake that Rich made me for my bday. 
Nolan didn't seem to mind.
I don't think he ate much, considering he had to keep opening gifts....(tough life right?)



 

We had all the family over for his party for lunch, and then just had a fun day as a family.

 I felt a *smidge* bad that we didn't have any friends over to share the day with him, but then I realized that his whole life revolves around his cousins, and family, and that is all he wanted for his birthday, so I let it go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So Happy 3rd Birthday to this little guy whose name means "famous".
~He's famous for making me grit my teeth and giggle at the same time.
~He's famous for being the one that every one else is mad at.
~He's famous for shedding his clothing at the worst possible times.
~But he's also famous for unexpected knee jolting hugs, uncontainable joyous energy, and a laugh that is absolutely contagious.
~And I'm lucky enough to be his mom.

 

36

I turned 36 this year.

Funny thing is that I've been telling people I was 36 for a few months now. 

Say wha?!?! 

I have NO idea what is wrong with me that I can never remember my age. 

I'm trying to use it in sentences lately so that I can remember better. 

"Well you know, now that I'm 36, I can actually do that". Or - 

"Oh, look! There's 36 eggs in 3 dozen ! I'm 36 too!" And - 

"Whoah. For 36 I'm pretty cool". 

(I actually did say that one. But the 7 year old that I was talking to, just responded with a weird descending look and silence) 

Rich made a pancake cake frosted with Nutella for me for breakfast. It's OBVIOUSLY going to be the thing that the kids ask for every year now. 

The kids got me gifts, and the one that everyone else was most excited about was the bag of Cheetos that Nolan picked out for me. 

AND Rich baked me a carrot cake!

FROM SCRATCH!!!

AND he took me out to a really cool winery/restaurant for a suprise bday lunch the next day!! 

He scored MAJOR points for this birthday! 

Papa Time

Papa Bill knows just how to make this guy feel special.

Some one on one {plus Nolan} time in the garage playing thinking games. 

Cannon is one lucky kid!