Being Thankful

I always love reading what the boys put they are "Thankful for". Their comments are always amusing to me and this years comments from Holden were so sweet that I had to share. Holden Thanks God for: "My brother, My Mom and Dad, My family, God & Jesus,and last but oh so amusing, My fish that died." I am not sure if this is a hint that he wants another fish or if he is thankful that Ice Cream and Ninja died? As I have always said Holden will keep us guessing. Wonder what Rylan is thankful for? Hopefully we will find out tomorrow at school and will have to share.

"Happy Friendsgiving"

This month was my month to host potluck. But instead of having just the usual potluck, moms and kids, we decided to include the husbands and have a Thanksgiving themed potluck. I was in charge of the turkey, (which this was my first 20 lbs turkey to cook. I've made smaller ones before but I was a little nervous with a big one), rolls, and appetizers then the girls divided up the rest. Just like Thanksgiving Day. Which by the way, I did not take a picture of my turkey because I forgot with all the little ones running around, but it sure was a beauty and tasted just as good as it looked!

I made little crafts, coloring pages, and treats for the kids table so they would have something to do besides running around.

As you all know having 10 kids running around while you eat is not exactly fun. We thought it would be best to feed the kids first and then let them watch a movie while we ate. It worked out great! The kids loved the movie and we all had fun socializing, telling stories and laughing. We even passed around "What are you thankful for" cards for everyone and tried to match them up with the person. There were some great comments. And just like Thanksgiving Day it was chaotic, loud, but lots and lots of fun. We renamed our November Potluck to "Friendsgiving". Not only are we thankful for our health, family, and friends but we are thankful to share this time together with lots of laughs and stories that I am sure will bring smiles to our faces for years to come. Happy Friendsgiving to you all!

Twilight Party

The Twilight Saga continues.... I have to admit I had only seen two of the movies when my friend Robyn sent out an email that she was having a party for the "Breaking Dawn"movie. My potluck girls decided to catch up, so for the past couple of weeks we have gotten together to watch the movies leading up to the big premiere. Now most of you may know, but the premiere for the movie was at MIDNIGHT! I can barely stay awake begin with but to watch a movie at midnight, I was not sure I was going to last. However, I did not want to miss a party and what a party it was. Robyn went all out with candles everywhere, fun drinks, food and Mr. Twilight himself Edward. Lots of pre-movie laughs and finally this crazy group of moms made it to the midnight movie, which by the way we brought the median age of the movie goers way up, there where teenagers everywhere! All 16 theaters were sold out. Crazy I know. The movie was good even though I will admit to dozing a bit but the company was even better.

The return of Clark Griswold

I read an article once that Maya Angelou wrote that said, "You can tell a lot about a person character by the way they handle three things: a rainy day, lost luggage and tangled Christmas tree lights." I think we might need to add hanging Christmas lights to the list after this weekend.

I have said this several times and I will say it again, the weather from November until April here is cold, rainy, snowy, the list could go on and on. But let's just say the weather here during these months is less than desirable. After a couple of snow flurries this week, the weekend actually turned out not to be so bad. I told Kevin we should take advantage of this time and go ahead and put up the Christmas lights. To which he said, "What Christmas lights?" Funny how his memory is fading in his old age. I reminded him that after Christmas last year he bought new outside lights. The shocked look on his face added to the fact that he really did not remember this purchase. When I opened the container that held these lights his reaction was priceless. I pulled out 12 boxes of outside icicle lights, in which Kevin said, and I am quoting, "What in the hell was I thinking!" HA! Being the wonderful wife that I am, I explained where I wanted everything to go and told him to get to work. Our roof line is very tall so he had to use the extension ladder to place several of the lights but when I saw this....
I knew we were in trouble. Yep, that is Kevin on the roof! Did I mention that he is afraid of heights? Ahh, the return of Clark Griswold. I was just waiting for him to come sliding down the roof just like in Christmas Vacation but thankfully after this one section on the roof he swore he was not getting back up there. I think he also told me, once again I am quoting, "The house did not need to look like Southern Living, we were not in South." Isn't he sweet! Lucky for me, everything left to have hang is reachable by the ladder. Lets just keep our fingers crossed that once we plug everything in, it all lights up! Otherwise Clark will turn into the Grinch. I guess Maya Angelou was correct in saying to can tell alot about someones character by how they react to tangled Christmas lights but in this case I guess his character or love for that matter is what shows. I mean really, he did face his fears and climbed on the roof just to hang lights for us. I suppose he must love us after all. Or perhaps his memory is getting the best of him once again. Either way our house will be lit up and festive for the holidays.

Turkey, Turkey and a Quote

The time between Halloween and Thanksgiving seems to go by so quickly and I always seem to never have enough time to get all the crafts, fun foods and activities done that I want to do with the kids. With that said, we started our projects this week. We made turkey pops. First the kids dipped the rice krispie treat in chocolate, added the feathers, the face and there you have it, turkey pops. Just look at those tail feathers.Next we made turkeys out of a paper towel roll. First, I traced their hands,we cut the hands out and finally after an little glue, googly eyes, and makers, we have turkeys.
Our next two projects involved paint, which is always means a mess. First, I painted their hands brown, then they added some clouds, water, and what do we have...The Mayflower. Next, I painted their hands brown again and they picked out the colors for their fingers. Add some googly eyes and we made hand turkeys. I just love these!!

My little artist with their finished projects!
I came across a quote this week that I've heard many times but really tried to remember it this week. Especially every time the boys changed out of their costumes 20 times, or when we were all cooking together and most certainly when we were doing our projects and making a mess. The quote is, "Please excuse the mess, my children are making memories." Perfect reminder for me this week that they boys are only young once and the mess can always be cleaned up but these times together are precious. Now, I do not think I could live with a constant mess but these temporary messes that produce these smiles I think I can handle.

Achievements and Celebrations

Holden's school teaches in a classical method. Which means he learns the alphabet phonetically and not just on sight. Such as the letter A has four different sounds (a, a, ah, ah) B has one (b), C has two (k, s) and so forth. Daily Holden and I have gone over these flash cards, which he corrected me for not saying the correct sounds. He is already smarter than me. How did this happen! Yesterday, each child was called back individually to recite the sounds for all 26 letters. Holden recited all 26 letters phonograms with no assistance! He was so proud!

As a reward they had a "Letter Naming Party" where they made crowns and decorated cookies with lots of icing and sprinkles. I know this sounds like such a meaningless party but if you could hear the excitement when each child tells you about the certificate they received and then you would know this was more than a meaningless party but rather a celebration of their achievements and hard work.

Last Flag Football Game

Saturday was Holden's last game of Upward Flag Football season. It was rather cold but it did not stop Team Lightning or Rylan for that matter! They were running, pulling flags, and cheering each other on. I believe our first season of Flag Football was a hit. Holden learned several plays, how to properly catch a football, he learned some football terminology, but most of all had a great time! And honestly isn't that all that really matters.

Grandparents Day at School

Friday Holden's school held their annual Grandparents Day at school. Kevin's parents, Dad-Daddy & Grammy, came just for this special day. They really make a big deal of this day. They had breakfast, choirs were singing, instruments playing, and several performances from the students. Now this day was only for grandparents, so these are the only few pictures I have... Holden and his grandparents walking into school, posing for a couple of pictures, the brochures, and Holden's art work. I tried to get Dad-Daddy to take my camera but no such luck! What I did hear was "The morning was wonderful" Hmm, they leave out alot of details if you ask me! Oh, well! Everyone was all smiles at pick-up so I will take their word for it.