Monday, December 20, 2010

Christmas Books

Every year we pull out our boxes of Christmas books to read throughout the holidays. We typically read one a night (sometimes more). The books are starting to get a little young for A so we may have to get a few more during the post-holiday sales! Some years I pick 24 books and wrap them individually. We then pick from a basket every night to read before bedtime. This year, we've just grabbed our favorites as we've wanted to read them.  Here is such a few of our favorites this year:

These little Golden books are perfect for the little ones to listen to older siblings read from! This Twas The Night Before Christmas is not our main one...but we are using this copy until Amis old enough not to tear the pages!


This fun group are mainly Am favorites right now. He loves Bear and Mickey, as well as all the Disney characters. If You Take A Mouse To The Movies is a classic.

This group is books based on the songs. The kids love to sing along when either I or A reads them.

This one is our favorite this year. It's a beautiful book filled with information about the Big Man. Included are recipes, maps, little pull out letters, etc.  Check out the colors!!:



These last two pictures feature books mainly loved by A. The book of poems and short stories, as well as the Best Christmas Pageant Ever, are books A reads alone before bedtime. The Christmas Treasury is my absolute favorite. It's filled with a wonderful story about a mouse family, as well as recipes, poems, traditions, etc.

I've purchased most of these books at yard sales, library sales and thrift stores. A few I've purchased at bookstores throughout the years. I think we could fill an entire bookshelf or more with just holiday books! It's our speciality!

Friday, December 17, 2010

Merry and Bright

I haven't been blogging. Why?

I've been doing a lot of this:


And visiting this residence:


And seeing things like this:


Details to come!!!!!! Merry Christmas!


Friday, November 12, 2010

Happy Veteran's Day!

November 11:

Today I'm so very,very thankful to all the veterans of this great country. Without their bravery, strength and courage, America would not be the land of liberty or the home of the free. A very special thank you to my personal favorite veteran, my Dad. Love you Dad!

Sneak Peak!

November 10:

I'm thankful for being blessed with a family that loves the holiday season just as much as I do!!! You see, in this household, we believe you can be thankful AND have Christmas decorations in your house in November. I'll give you a little hint as to what we did this week...more pictures to come soon!
November 9:



I'm thankful for this little baby face in the morning. His eyes are always a little puffy, he always is sporting a little crustiness and his breathe isn't exactly delicious. BUT his little smiling face in the morning can make any early wake-up pleasant. He's extra snugly, extra smiley and extra yummy in the morning.

Game Night!

November 8:




I'm so very thankful we have family game night pretty often! Am is still a little too young to enjoy the board games, but he'll get his fair share of them soon enough! A usually picks out a few games; and before long, we're giggling and having a good time. Our current favorites are Hedbanz, Trouble Star Wars Edition, Clue Jr and Scrabble. Sometimes we break out the Wii for family game night, but most often it's board games..we have a closet full of 'em! What games do your family enjoy?

Just call me Tyler Durden!

November 7:

  I'm thankful for Ikea! It's one of my favorite stores, and the low prices allow us to furnish our house with some fun and functional items! The kids LOOOOVE going there. They try out all the rooms and insist on lying on each bed, relaxing on every couch and playing with every single toy. It's worth going there just for the Swedish meatballs and lingonberry sauce, too!

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Kitchen Love

November 6:

Today I am thankful for my kitchen. I decided to make baked potato soup, homemade butter rolls and cinnamon rolls for dinner tonight. It's so chilly out (real feel of 38 tonight!!!! ) that a warm soup was in order. And what's a warm soup without a good bread? And what's a nice warm dinner without a yummy warm dessert? So, while I was measuring ingredients, preheating the oven and pouring milk into little cups for the kids...I realized how very thankful I am for my kitchen. A kitchen full of food waiting to be turned into deliciousness. A kitchen stocked with the basics, along with appliances, tools and equipment needed to keep this family of four well fed and nourished. I often take for granted that I have all this available to me (how often we've gotten take out or eaten at a restaurant, oy!). Today I am very,very thankful for cooking skills, a kitchen and plenty of food to feed my family.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Jammies

Today I am thankful for cool, Autumn weather in Central Florida. But even more than that, I'm thankful for being blessed to have warm, comfy pajamas for my babies. It hit me like a ton of bricks, as I was changing my toddler into his footy jammies tonight. I wonder how many mothers out there don't have warm clothes for their babies? How many mothers will cry themselves to sleep tonight because they know their babies are cold, and there is nothing they can do about it? How many babies will shiver and freeze tonight on the streets or even in their own homes? It makes me so sad, I can barely breathe.





Please excuse the cheese crackers in his hair and on his face. :)

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Thankful

I'm sure you've seen the "What I'm thankful for.." status updates around the interwebs lately..and I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and post here daily. I'll try to include recent photos and such as well!

I'm going to backtrack a little since it's November 4:

Nov 1: I'm thankful for a very fun Halloween with the kids and my family.
Nov 2: I'm thankful we live so close to WDW and can go in a moment's notice.
Nov 3: I'm thankful for a loving, thoughtful husband.
Nov 4: I'm thankful for hot cocoa, snugly blankets and candles on this rainy, chilly(er) night.

Friday, August 6, 2010

This Moment


This Moment. A Friday ritual. A single photo-no words-capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. This Moment inspired by Soulemama.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Weekending

Our weekends aren't like everyone else's weekends. They are always mid-week, which makes it so much more fun (IMHO). Everything is less crowded this way, and it makes things so much more enjoyable.

Lately, we've been going going going on our weekends. We've visited as many beaches as we could, had fun at theme parks and swam to our hearts content. Our summer has been fabulous and full of life! For a change of pace though, and because it is much too hot to do much, we decided to take it easy this past weekend. We hung around the house, discovering and enjoying quiet moments at home. I had forgotten how much I enjoy just relaxing with the boys, playing until our hearts content, watching movies and eating yummy home cooked meals.

Of course, we did venture out a little! The weekend started off with a quick trip to Ikea. Ok, not so quick trip...but how can you not spend hours here? I can't visit Ikea without a sampling of Swedish meatballs and lingonberry juice! The boys pretty much made themselves at home. They tested each and every bedroom and living room setup. Need proof?

We spent the rest of the day watching action-packed movies and doing little projects around the house.  Aidan played with the fake food we bought at Ikea, pretending to run a grocery store; and then made pretend dinner for everyone. Big brother "helped" him out, and I caught him smiling and laughing with his little brother. So sweet.I can't wait to get Aidan a little toddler-friendly, wooden kitchen set! I know he'll love it!

Opportunities arose for long bubble baths and relaxing in the tub. Is anyone else addicted to these sweet smelling baby products like I am?


Is there anything more scrumptious than a baby after a bath? (I know he's not a baby anymore, but he is MY baby!) The little wrinkled toes after bath time is so darn cute!

We were treated by an extra special dinner, made by the 9 year old completely by himself (ok, I did help him drain the grease, drain the pasta and provided him with a recipe). He was so proud, and so were we!! It was probably the best tasting pasta with meat sauce I've ever had! And he even delivered it to the table, restaurant style. :)


For dessert, I whipped up some cupcakes;  and then we decorated them as spaghetti and meatballs. It was fun, and they turned out really cute! Check 'em out!



I can't believe the weekend flew by so quickly! Soon it will be time for school to start again. Speaking of which, we received a big package of books, games and DVDs I ordered for homeschooling this year. There is still more to be bought, but it was nice to get a large amount purchased and shipped already! I can't wait to dig through it all and get started on projects!

And so, another glorious weekend ends. Can't wait to see what next weekend brings!!!! There is still a few more weeks of summer left, so we have to take advantage and live it up!!! Stay tuned!

Around The World in 5 Hours


Our adventures started in the future!!!!

Where water flew through the air!

And toddlers caught sight of their favorite mouse!

But then, we travelled through many countries, taking in the culture and food! Oh, the food!

And finally, then the sun set and it was time to drive home.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Life's A Beach

I live for moments when I can look around me, and all I see and hear is pure bliss. Children laughing, waves lapping at the shore, grandparents enjoying the little ones, feet in the sand and sun on our backs. Moments when I can look around and think "this is what life is all about."




Siesta Key was full of these moments.


And when the sun finally set, setting the shoreline on fire, I could only think one thing:

Life is bliss.

Friday, July 23, 2010

This Moment




This Moment:
A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.