Day 334: Spirit of our Home

This cute little cardboard house happens to be a part of one of our favorite family home evening lessons. A friend of mine asked for pictures of it, so she could reproduce them for preschool.  It happens to be the only thing I took a picture of all day, so here you go.  I'm finally done with November a whole month late!!!!!

Disclaimer/ Question

First order of business--

A Disclaimer:    Sometimes (okay fine.  ALWAYS) my humor is goofy and understood only by women about 5'4" with heavily freckled arms.  

The Unaltered Truth:  In conjunction with that disclaimer, I want to inform you that my fridge really was broken again (for the second year in a row right before Thanksgiving) and while seemingly suspicious in timing, I am fully aware that democrats are not responsible for Sears' poor quality issues.   When I referred to a "vast left-winged conspiracy" theory I was merely referring to the left-winged dodo birds Sears hires to manufacture their products.   (no offense meant to any dodo birds who may be reading this)

And certainly I would never ever allow one of my own children to express their gratitude in such a sarcastic manner as them saying that they're grateful for "stuff as awesome as me", when clearly it should have read "stuff as awesome as my mom".    I do not tolerate sarcasm in the slightest measure in our household and have already grounded him for 3 weeks for his lapse in judgment on that one.

  Truly it was the most stupendous Thanksgiving ever and there was nothing average about it (even my cooking debacles were spectacular).  Our guests were fun, good-looking, and witty, our fridge was working again,  my nephew was the cutest little pilgrim boy ever, and the Chinet made clean-up a snap.
It was A-W-E-S-O-M-E!  (this paragraph is serious)

Now for the question...

Yay or nay.  Do you think these inflatable yard decorations are obnoxious?

PS That is not my house and they do not have cutesy little names like Frosty, Pete the Polar Bear, and Blizzard.  

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Day 333: Letterboxing on a Beautiful Day

About 3 years ago we discovered letterboxing as a fun family activity.  We've loved exploring new trails while we get fresh air and exercise, although we haven't had the chance to do it as much lately as we like to.

Today was such a beautiful day we thought we'd give it a try again and take Rocky with us. .

It was a lovely park surrounding a nature center and we thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon of exploring.

Adam has always been one of the most eager letterboxers of the bunch.  He's always the one most excited to get in there and find the boxes.

Day 332: A Peek at the Decorations

Now that it's light outside I thought I'd give you a little tour of our decorations this Christmas.  We were a little late putting on the angel, so here's Emma getting a little boost from Daddy while she puts it into place.

These outdoor inflatables were a mere five bucks or so last year after Christmas.  I thought they were a little gaudy, but the kids (including big kid Glen)  absolutely loved them.

This four foot high wreath is another "baby" of Glen's.  He came home with it from Michael's several years ago, so proud of himself and his amazing find.  I actually love it too!

Dear Friends,

To my very loyal, tolerant blog friends,

It has come to my attention that I have let you down these past few days.  Instead of humorous essays filled with wry observations about our modern Thanksgiving holiday and great photos of my botched cooking adventures, you got a big fat nothing instead. 

I have lots of good excuses, like the fact that my Sears fridge was broken AGAIN (it's a conspiracy I say, a  left-winged evil conspiracy) and I haven't had more than 5 hours of sleep in weeks, but then that's just kind of boring stuff I always complain about, so instead I'll tell you that it was due to the fact that I've had major writing block and have been far too busy making embroidered name placards for all of our Thanksgiving guests (to go along with the personalized cardigans I hand knitted for everyone) that there wasn't a spare moment to sit down at the computer.

 So now you know why I have let you down, I'm going to let you down again.

  Although it could be argued that it is always the case, today, in particular, I have absolutely nothing witty or observant to say

Our Thanksgiving was, on the whole, pretty average.  I know you're not supposed to say that, but it's true.  We had absolutely no family squabbles over whose turn to pray it was nor any yelling matches about whose pie was better.  Not a single person insulted my cooking skills when I overcooked the roasted vegetables, oversalted the croutons, and in a moment of true desperation resorted to Stove Top stuffing instead of homemade.  Instead our friends and family were all nice and gracious and totally helpful. 

They all put up with  an averagely good dinner (my fault, not theirs) on Chinet plates.  We all overate an abnormally average amount and sat around and engaged in obtusely average conversations about cute kids, the weather, food, BYU sports, and Bangladeshi politics.

And then as per our tradition we discussed with the kids some of the things that we're grateful for...

(actual responses) family, Legos, friends, food, scriptures, Jesus, church, trees, losing teeth, grass, temple, books, Facebook, toys, tv, sports, and "stuff as awesome as me" (can you guess which child wrote that?) 

So there you have it.  I'm sorry I've let you down the last few days and I'm even sorrier that I burdened you with my late night attempt at saving the day.

Hope you had a wonderfully average Thanksgiving too!
Love,
L

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Day 331: Decorating the Tree

As per one of our family's traditions, today (the day after Thanksgiving) we have decorated our house for Christmas.  The kids had a fabulous time helping me put the ornaments on the tree and Glen eagerly decked out the outside of our house too.

Day 330: Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with a house full of family and friends (Our family, Matt, Karey, Lincoln, AnnaLisa, Katya, Leeza, McKenzie).  It was pretty laid back and we ate much later in the day than usual due to AnnaLisa's work schedule. 

Day 329: Making Way for More

Today was spent making way in our garage for our new cheap bare bones refrigerator, which will hopefully be a good back-up for all the times our kitchen fridge breaks (at least once or twice a year).  We don't want to replace the kitchen fridge yet, because we hope to replace all the appliances in a few years and we'd like them all to match. 

Day 328: Madly in Love

Ellie is totally and completely in love with Rocky now and has actually informed us that she hopes to marry him one day.   We hope she finds someone a lot more qualified than a pug/beagle mix, but we're happy for the companionship he provides to her during the day. 

Day 327: Bruce's Chili

Tonight we made Bruce Nielson's famous chili for dinner.  It was as good as we remembered and guaranteed to become a regular part of our winter menus!  The kids fought over the little wienie sausages! 

Three for Three...

I remember when Cami was a toddler, some older, wiser mother told me that there would come a day when Cami would cut her own hair.  That it was inevitable.  Every girl does it sometime.  It's some combination of being fascinated with scissors, playing pretend, and interest in their own appearance.   I listened intently, but naively believed that only careless mothers would ever leave children unattended around scissors. 

Haha!  It wasn't but a couple of years later when the day came that I became that careless mother.  I remember gasping horror when I found a long lock of Cami's blond hair on the floor.  I begrudgingly took her into the hair salon to get 6 or 7 inches lopped off and swore it would never happen again.

A few years later, on a hot summer day Emma's hair was making her "sweaty" and getting in her face, so she lopped it off.  Right at the scalp in the front.  There was no need to take her to the hair salon, since there was nothing left to cut.  (Sound like any famous movie scenes you've seen?)

Well, as you've probably guessed by now, we've recently completed the circle and made it 3 for 3 deal with Ellie joining in the "fun". 

And out of all three of my girls, Ellie was by far the maddest at the consequences. She cried when I even mentioned having to cut her hair to even it out. 

 And when I actually did it tonight, yikes, we saw a whole new side of Ellie.  Apparently she was quite attached to her hair....except for that one lock in the front.

And now that we've got that girly rite of passage out of the way, I guess I get to be the older, wiser mother who gets to dish out advice to everyone. 

My tidbit for the day:  All girls cut their own hair. 

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Day 326: Self-Grooming

Ellie cut off a big hunk of her own hair a few days ago, so tonight we got out the hair-cutting shears to even it all out.  She was NOT happy at all! 

Day 325: New Moon

No middle of the night movie tickets for us.  9:00pm was late enough for us. 

PS  We loved the movie!

Day 324: Preschool Thanksgiving Party

First things first,  I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO tired of this Project 365.  If it weren't so close to the end of the year there is no possible way I would finish it.

Today was the preschool's Thanksgiving celebration at the church.  Everyone brought a dish to share ( I made Fresh Fettuccine with Roasted Chicken and Spinach) and the kids just ran and played together...

Ellie likes this co-op preschool as much as I do! 

 

Day 323: Gratitude at Preschool

Today at preschool we learned all about gratitude and Thanksgiving.   We reviewed the story of the Pilgrims and how the first Thanksgiving came to be.  They seemed to remember it perfectly!  

Then we went outside and gathered our own bountiful harvest---these carrots from our garden.  Once again the kids were thrilled!  

They were completely enraptured by this Thanksgiving sticker scenes from OTC and spent a good 20-25 minutes laboring over them.  I actually ended up having to pry them away after a while. 

Then we made this harvest blessing mix where each child contributed their own part.

Then we made these little gratitude trees.  The kids were so cute and loved talking about what gratitude was and what they were grateful for.

Another fun day at preschool and now I'm done until February!

Houston, We Have a Problem...

Actual papers I found hidden on the shelves in one of my children's rooms: 

Translation (sic): 
Work work work is all you ever asked me to do.
I'm not your maid I'm your daughter. 
For once in my life I want to be treated nicly by anybody in this world?
I never in my life have been fed or treated like a normal girl would be treated.
For once in my life I want to be treated like a normal girl?


Your making me mad inside my head but I never express it.
You know you have other kids why can't they help me.
I think you will make me blow.


Work work work is all you ever made me do.
I never even get a break.
I think at least I should sleep on something other than a straw mattress with sheets?
Work work work WORK!

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After Glen and I started researching child therapists, reevaluated our chore plan, and wondered what made her think her  mattress was made out of straw I noticed this inscription on the other side....

Translation: 

My Songbook

(songs that maids would sing in movies about work mostly)

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Fie on you Cinderella...

A new princess is in town.

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Day 322: Beautiful Cello Music

With Cami's entrance into middle school has arrived the much more frequent practicing of the cello and we LOVE every second of it!!!

Day 321: Pilgrims at Preschool

Today at preschool we learned all about Pilgrims.  I was amazed at how much the kids just "ate" up all this information.  As I was telling them a little flannel board story about the Pilgrims they were completely enraptured and were later easily able to retell the story back to me. 

We went on a ride on the Mayflower and went searching for a land where we could worship God they way we wanted. 

We painted little turkeys starting with their own footprints

and later made little turkeys out of apples. 

Once again, it was days like today that remind me why I do this preschool thing year after year after year. 

Day 320: Cute Little Turkey Treats

For our FHE treat tonight we made these cute little turkey cupcakes.  The kids thought they were fun and adorable and consumed far too much sugar in the process!

Good-bye Old Friend...

    For so many years my church bag has weighed about as much as my youngest child.  Diapers, wet wipes, crayons, books, snacks, toys, and stray socks were stuffed into every nook and cranny  and heaven help the person who actually had to dig for some stray object.  Dried cheese sticks, crumbs, melted crayon remnants, and tampons that had fallen out of the wrappers were there to assault anyone who dared delve beyond the top layer.

Finally sometime last year I realized that  the hideous red Jansport backpack I'd carried to church for years was ready to retire and without diapers, wipes, snacks, or lesson manuals to tote around I was ready for something cute, sassy, and completely crumb free....

I got to take something CUTE to church and after 13+ years of utilitarian, boy was I happy! 

Alas, as luck would have it,  my glee was short-lived.  It took one week into my latest calling as the nursery leader to realize that there was no way my nursery paraphernalia was not going to fit into cute anything. 

Good-bye old friend, it was nice knowing you.  I'm onto bigger and bulkier things now....

Certainly far from cute and already too over-stuffed....

but well worth it for my 25 new best friends! 

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Day 319: New Best Friends

With my new calling as nursery leader I am quickly discovering that I have twenty five little cuties waving and smiling at me during sacrament meeting.  I've never felt so popular!

Day 318: Phew!

We spent the day dismantling Emma's closet and throwing away a good 80% of what was in there.  In the process we found this note and were seriously FREAKED out by contents...

Then we saw the other side.....

Phew!

Confession of the Guilty

since somehow my crude photoshopping skills have managed to fool even my own father.