Gratitude

Gratitude for homemade Pumpkin Pie (thank you Celia!)
Gratitude for two beautiful amazing little children.

We finally got our Thankfulness Tree up and running! We are going to add a couple leaves of what we are thankful for each day until Thanksgiving.

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. ~Thornton Wilder

Friends & Family, May your Sunday be: Blessed & Beautiful!

Little Things

Happy Saturday! I wanted to share with you, a little journal type book that I have been making. I had gotten the idea from a book written by scrapbooker/life artist -Ali Edwards. I made this book 4x6. The covers are made from chipboard, covered with patterned paper. The binding is binder rings. The inside includes A-Z index dividers.

The basic concept of this book is to be a place to collect the little things that matter. The details of our lives. The simple things. Memories and tidbits. Scraps & Odds and Ends. I haven't gotten very far with my book yet, but I wanted to show you a few of my pages. Additional to whats shown to give you an idea of what can be included: scraps of papers, notes, receipts, recipes, postcards, lists, tags, labels..doodles, journaling, pictures, anything you can think of! Just punch some holes and add it to the book.

This is an ongoing project. My book sits right on my desk, next to my computer. I don't have much in it yet, but already it is so fun to look through! It serves as a reminder of the little, simple, yet important things. It's kind of an encyclopedia of an ordinary life! I love this concept, so I wanted to share!

This is a drawing that Isabelle made for me. I cut it down to size and added it under the A section for art. It makes me smile.

This is a photo of my friend Sally. I put her under S for sally, but she could just as easily go under F for friend/friendship!

This is a picture of a popcorn snack that I found one day in the dollhouse. This makes me smile because it makes me think of the mischievousness and fun of Ben. I placed this under U for unexpected discoveries!

This is a treat bag from the kids trick or treating this year. It was such a joy to share this experience with them. When I think about them in their costumes and wandering up to the doors and running to the next with such excitement....it brings nothing but a happiness to my heart.

So anyway, these are examples of some of things that you could include! The possibilities are endless! Anything goes! I hope you give it a try!

Stories

"There are thousands of thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up the pen and writes."

- William Makepeace Thackeray

So I am super excited to be taking part in an online class. It is offered by Jessicasprague.com. It is kind of a a combination of a scrapbooking/journaling type project. Mostly, what it is is creating a special binder/system that will help one remember, gather and capture the stories of their life. There are many "sparks" to help you think and write about your Roots, Family & Self.

In Other Notes: It is Veterans Day. No School for Isabelle and No work for Noah. I have some errands planned for today and I think that Noah and Ben might spend some alone time together (in which I am grateful for...hehe) as it might make my tasks a smidge more managable.

Already today, Ben has fed his waffles to the dog and has hit everyone in the family with a plush Gnome that he is swinging around by the hat. Isabelle has a cold, I hope it goes away promptly. I guess I better go plan my menu for grocery shopping...

November

No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees,

No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds - November!

~Thomas Hood

The photo is an early morning view out of my front window. The family still sleeps, so I steal a few quiet moments. My mind is cluttered with overwhelming thoughts of tasks at hand and recent and future events. Although part of my soul feels somewhat sad and lost, there is an excitement of opportunity and possibility that fills my heart. Life and Paths are forever changing. There is no comfort in this, yet there is. I think of failures and hurts, but I also think of successes and joy. This journey is hard and winding and long, it is weeping yet it is wonderful. One step at a time, we'll get there. I believe that Today may be beautiful.

She's got a way

She's got a way about her and everywhere she goes,

a million dreams of love surround her, everywhere.

- billy joel

My girl. Yes, she is a little odd at times....but who isn't? Isabelle is really into making things out of paper lately. Here we see a pair of paper seeing eye glasses that she constructed. The other day she made paper slippers and wore those all around. Every day she says, " I've got an idea of something! I need paper, scissors and a stapler. " O.k. kid go for it. Also, lately she is noting many word associations and such. Like the most recent observation only moments ago: "I know what rhymes with Jeep! Sheep! Sheep rhymes with Jeep! " Please note there is no ouch on her forehead, but she assures me that there is a band aid requirement. o.k. Who am I to argue?

p.s. It's snowing!

Talking Turkey

I did not make this crafty turkey...but I might! I just started gathering some ideas to do with the kids for the Thanksgiving season. I've already made us watch Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving Special to get us in the mode. It makes me sad that I see nothing but Christmas in the stores and commericals. Maybe that is what makes Thanksgiving just a little more special....that it is not totally commerialized or stressful or of high requirement/obligation /expectations etc. It is simply a comforting and peaceful time....maybe the calm before the storm....haha Anyway - I will defintely be making a tree with paper leaves in which we write what we are thankful / and what we give or do for - Or a gratitude box/basket of some sort. Don't know what else yet.

- Short Reports -
Weather - here has been amazing. I can't believe we have t-shirts on and windows open. (It looks like that has changed though as it looks quite windy and cloudy out this morning)
Teacher Conference Yesterday - Isabelle is doing Excellent. We are so proud of her! Math is her struggle (just like her mom) -But she is always eager to learn, listen and get involved, oh and she is a wonderful socialite.
House/Moving - We may have some news to share soon!

The Ghouls Are Still Out

My sister in law (little red ridinghood) had a spooky shindig at her abode on the fine evening of the 1st.

Here are a few of the costumed party guests:

Bat Girl, Woodland Fairy, Little Red, Pirate, Vampire

(although I enjoyed my costume, it didn't come together as well when I hot glued it together in the hotel room as I had earlier envisioned in my head that it would. I didnt get enough leaves and vines on...I was in a TIME WARP and had to fly quickly. Plus later my Wings often hooked me into a chair or doorway or they hit people in the head. Also my glitter and foliage left traces of magic behind where-ever I went. Just a side note to share with my readers so that you can decide those factors when considering to be a fairy or not.)

I promised the WOLF that he would "make the blog".

I must admit, his costume was my favorite of the event!

Thanks for gHosting such a FANGtastic party you guys!

In other notes:

Noah and I celebrated our 11 year wedding anniversary on Nov. 1st. We spent a night away (from the kids) in a beautiful hotel. I fell in love...with the BED! It was amazing. Heavenly Simmons pillowtop, etc. I have a dream, it is to get this bed. We slept wonderful. I never wanted to leave it. The comfort was like a cloud.

The weather has been quite nice lately. Yesterday I think was 75 at once point. Weird.

Isabelle got to vote in school and she told me she voted for: Vock OMama. I asked her why she choose him to support and she answered: I don't know, because I saw him on t.v.

Speaking of Voting, I will leave you with a few fun Election Day quotes!

An election is coming. Universal peace is declared and the foxes have a sincere interest in prolonging the lives of the poultry. ~T.S. EliotThe politicians were talking themselves red, white and blue in the face. ~Clare Boothe Luce

A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won't cross the street to vote in a national election. ~Bill Vaughan

Politicians are like diapers. They both need changing regularly and for the same reason. ~Author UnknownHell, I never vote for anybody, I always vote against. ~W.C. Fields

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America? ~Author Unknown

A politician should have three hats. One for throwing into the ring, one for talking through, and one for pulling rabbits out of if elected. ~Carl Sandburg

Any American who is prepared to run for president should automatically, by definition, be disqualified from ever doing so. ~Gore Vidal

When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I'm beginning to believe it. ~Clarence Darrow

George Washington is the only president who didn't blame the previous administration for his troubles. ~Author Unknown

Halloween - Part 3

Most of the time, Isabelle was way ahead of Ben on the Journey.
Maybe because Ben really liked to linger and hold conversations with the homeowners...and try to cute his way to some additional candy.
The night grew on and the goblins got tired and so did their parents...so we decided to call it: done. We went home and made Pizza and Checked out the loot! The kids were thrilled to find that someone gave them a bag of cheetos! Soon it was time to clean off the sticky faces and hands and shove the youngins off to slumber.... I asked Isabelle what her favorite part of Halloween was this year and she told me that it was when I came to school to help with the games at her class party (I almost cried, I was really expecting her to say the Cheetos or something along those lines). She also shared with me, "Guess what mom, I got big news! Now I like ALL the colors in the rainbow! Every color!" (In my mind, this had nothing to do with anything related...but maybe it did). Goodnight.

Halloween Part Deuce

The Enchanting evening Continues...

Halloween Part 1

Our Halloween actually started out as a NiGhTmaRe! I had a lot on my agenda, was up very early, got the kids ready to drop Isabelle off at school, so Ben and I could run some errands (I had to finish getting ready for Isabelle's class party that would be after lunch)....and we are all set to go....and I can't find my keys! This has never happened to me before...in which I couldn't find them within 30 seconds. I searched EVERYWHERE. I had the kids searching. I panicked that they might have got thrown away...or lost in the leaves or under the couch.....I checked all my bags twice....3x , checked the car....finally after about 30 minutes of searching I sat down... I prayed and I thought...and I had a dash of hope that maybe somehow my keys wound up in my bible study bag (the only bag that I had the day before that I had not searched), I dashed upstairs and heard that familiar rattle as I lifted the bag, thank you! Called the school, announced that Isabelle would be a tad late.....(25 minutes late to be exact by the time we finally made it to school). Then...Isabelle didn't want to walk in school by herself because she did not see anyone else around....so she was scared and ran back to the car, so I had to get ben out too, we walked her inside and then ben didn't want to leave the school, he ran the other way (away from me)...I had to tackle him , apprehend him...and escort him to the exit, when I placed him down on the ground, he made a quick turn around, screamed and darted for the door to enter again....and as you could imagine...Ben was just as fun in the grocery store when he did not want to sit in the cart or walk, he wanted me to hold him..........

But the day got better from there! I absolutely LOVED helping with Isabelle's class party. What a privilege it was to spend time with these amazing kids and create a little fun together.
This is pre- official trick or treating. Isabelle is protecting herself as Ben had just hit her in the tummy with his cat bucket. He was playing kung-fo chicken. He was in quite the wild mood once he got his cosutme on. The weather was unseasonably warm! I know in my car it was 73 at one point during the day!

Here they are making up.

This is part of a huge display of the first house we stopped at this year. The kids were scared, yet wanted to go up to everything and check it out. And so, the evening begins!

I'm sorry, but I just love this costume. I had to take a picture of this guy! This "burger king" king just brings a smile to my face. Halloween is so fun!

PuMpKiN gUtS

This last weekend was so busy with fun activities and things that I wanted to share, that I had to break up my posts in 3 parts! This is the final segmant. As part of our fun weekend with some family visiting we decided to conduct a mini simple Fall Festivus type event (just a fancy name for getting together, eating, laughing and making a mess). Sometimes we refer to these events as: FestivSKI's. Anyway........... here are a few things to share:

We told some scary (maybe more like silly) stories around the campfire (well around the little votive candle). Don't ever tell stories about the Great Humpty Dumpty or you may cause a relative to leave the room in distress. (hehe)

We decided for the evening meal to make a tour de homemade soups! I don't know if a tour de has to be 3 but we had 2 super grand soups and a salad so does that count? This is a baked potato soup and a chipolte chicken tortilla soup. Excellente and so fun!

We ran out of time and energy on Saturday night, so Sunday morning the Festivus gang got together to carve some Pumpkins! There were pumpkin seeds and guts flying everywhere! Ben kept saying: Yuk as he spooned out his little pumpkns insides! So, I decided we needed a nice photograph of the pumpkin carvers and their prize pumpkins. So here they are in take #5, still trying to get situatued.

Here they are at take #27 (jk). The offical photo.

Isabelle, AUnt MaRy, BeN, Aunt ElaiNe & Cousin StaCy.

Thank you everyone for such a great Autumn weekend!

T&T continued..

After we told Ben he could be a "duck" he decided that maybe he could put the costume on for the park event. There was a little more refusal but, tired - he finally gave in to the powers that be.

The Chicken even got to ride the merry go round one last time before it is closed for the season.

Little Red Riding hood and the Chicken joined forces for a little tractor pull ride.

The park district asked to take the kids picture, at the same time - I snapped one too...

The little chicken was such a hit at this event.

Ben's favorite part of this event was the dressed up dogs. We had to pry him away from them at one point. Isabelle's favorite part was looking at the other kids costumes. Yay and we get to do it all again this upcoming weekend! I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get red sucker off of Ben's fur, but somehow I have managed. After all this practice, we are now set to trick or treat at houses!

Downtown T&T

Best Witches! There was Trick or Treating downtown on this lovely Autumn Saturday. Great Aunt Mary, Aunt Elaine and Cousin Stacy were visiting. So we decided to kick off the Halloween season by taking the kids to go visit Grandpa Paul and Celia at their store and to go get some SwEEt LoOt!
Isabelle decided, after finding out that her Aunt Irene was going to be LiTTle rEd RiDinG HoOd, that she wanted to be as well. So sorry folks, no Annie with vampire teeth this year. She told me that she will be that next Halloween.

We had 3 costume options for Benjamin. A Chicken, A Monkey or an Astronaut, well - he refused all 3. He keep Yelling NO!!!! Coat!!! Coat!! Coat!! So we let him where his coat. Some battles, just cannot be fought.

Here are the goblins testing the goods. Next....we are off to the Dairy Union for Lunch, home for a NaP and then out again...to the Park for some more TRick oR tReatInG! Will a costumed Ben join us this round? I think so.....

Parking It.

Sister & Brother - like Peas & Carrots (for the moment)

October gave a party;The leaves by hundreds came -The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,And leaves of every name.The Sunshine spread a carpet,And everything was grand,Miss Weather led the dancing,Professor Wind the band.~George Cooper, "October's Party"
Ben getting stuck in something he can't get his way out of.
A Monkey On the Monkey Bars!
A pause in the play as Isabelle decides her next move.
And finally...a very upset little boy. Why do you ask? Because, Benjamin was quite distraught over discovering that the Merry-Go-Round was CLOSED! How dare they? Empty. Gate locked. No music. No movement. No rides. This was a very traumatic experience. Ben ran around looking for an opening inside, only to discover that there was no way in. Then his little fingers grasped around the fence links. He rattled the closure and wailed a distressed cry of saddness and disappointment...and disbelief...throw some rage in there as well. I had to pry him away from the scene and redirect his thoughts to something else...perhaps the sand buckets...yes - they will do...they are no amusement horse ride, but they will serve as some kind of distraction from this current woe.

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This last Saturday, the kids and I had some alone time (as Noah was Chopping Wood) so, we stopped by the park for a lovely little outing. It is nothing but smiling faces and excitement as we enter the park. It is always hard to leave the park. On this day, I lead them away like puppies, dangling a treat (cheese and pretzel Combos) in front of their noses....it worked swimingly. We were able to make a quiet and clear exit from the park. We were completly out of there before they even realized that they were tricked. Hey - a Trick and a Treat! (lame, I know).

Harvest Moon

Halloween Projects! O.k. these projects are not finished yet, but I could not wait to share them! One is a jar filled with ghost peeps and candy, one is a treat bag that I made out of one 8 1/2 x 11 piece of cardstock and the third is a binder/chipboard album I am working on to put our Halloween pictures in this year. If anyone would like the instructions/steps for the jar or bag, please email me, I would be happy to share! I am excited because I think they will make great little gifts!
This was our dinner last night: Sausage & Tomato Rigatoni. A first time recipe for me. It's from kraftfoods.com. It was easy, and good! I recommend giving it a try sometime!
Here it is the famous TOY catalog. The first in our mailbox this season. Isabelle snached it up immediately and started circling things with a big red marker. Things she didn't even know what they were! Things that were pink. Things she thought Ben might like. SHe said she X'd out things she doesn't want. WEll , I just found one x in the entire catalog. It was on a little tikes truck that Ben already has. She even has riffle guns circled....so that's interesting. Of course we already have to start up the Santa questions for the year....how does he make all the toys? does he buy some of the toys, how does he know what I want? remember when he got me the wizard of oz music? how did he know? how does he remember how to get back to my house? .....
I took this picture the other night, because I was shocked by it's yellow/orangishness. I believe it to be a HARVEST MOON.

Here Isabelle sports a spider HaT that she made at school. She wore it for two days straight, she was so happy and proud of it. She even let Ben wear it (which is amazing). Speaking of Spiders, the actual ones in my house will finally go with the season's decor. yeah.

In other news: I spoke too soon regarding Ben's potty training, we have taken a back step, as he currently has NO interest in this subject. I remember Isabelle did the same thing for awhile. So, I am not going to push it, just keep suggesting it and see if it kicks back into gear again, because honestly, he was doing so great! He really understands the concept well. He even started with a little routine of his own....book, toliet paper, etc. We made a small addition to our apple crack snack from a few days ago. We discovered that Isabelle likes peanutbutter on the cracker instead of cheese. SO theres yet another option. When recently discussing jewerly with Isabelle, I learned something new. If it is not gold jewerly, it is: "SILVERWARE". There has been a request change (or should I say addition) to Isabelle's costume this year. She is going as little orphan annie and she is super excited, but she did ask me yesterday, if she could - please, please, please get some vampire teeth to go with her costume. Annie with Vampire teeth...should be interesting. Can't say shes not my daughter, that's for sure. I am remembering back to when I was snow white with a head injury.......

Kisses & Crack

These first two pictures were taken by my friend Sally. She made cookies and placed these festive gems in the middle! Now I will be on the search for these beautiful little autumish candy corn kiss chocolates! HOw fun & how YUm!

This photo is of an easy after-school snack that I recently discovered (on Kraft foods.com) and tried for the first time this afternoon. They were a total hit among the taste-testers (Isabelle, Ben and myself). They are called: Apple & Cheese Snacks but, I have renamed them: APPLE CRACKS cuz I think it sounds cooler.

You need: 24 RITZ Crackers (we made 12 so I cut ingred. requirement in 1/2)
6 KRAFT 2% Milk Singles, cut into quarters
12 thin apple slices, cut into quarters
ground cinnamon
Make It
TOP crackers with Singles and apples.
SPRINKLE with cinnamon.
Kitchens Tips
Serving Suggestion
Serve with an 8-oz. glass of fat-free milk or fruit juice.
Serve It Hot
Assemble as directed; place on microwaveable plate. Microwave on HIGH 20 sec. or until Singles are slightly melted.

Today is one of those dreary rainy days in which I wish I could have worn my pajamas all day, in fact I think I might put them on now. Today I tried to get Isabelle to wear an orange halloween shirt and she wouldn't wear it because this summer while we were doing a bonfire and she was asking about coyotes, I told her that coyotes like to eat little girls that wear orange (she was wearing orange). Today I took Ben to storytime at the library. He didnt want to sit for the stories but he did enjoy the snack and craft! Tonight I will be making Tater Topped Casserole for the evening meal. Signing off for now! Keep warm, well & dry!