That Little Turkey...

When I picked Noah up from school yesterday, he had a construction paper turkey hat wrapped around his head along with all of the other kids who were filing out the door.

"Cool hat, buddy! I love it!"

"Eh...", he says as he pulls it off as he climbs into the car.

Then he unzips his backpack to show me the construction paper headdress he made - "I earned SEVEN feathers!" he announces proudly as he puts the hat on. (We had been practicing his address, phone number, along with a list of other things he could do to earn feathers at school.)

"Wow! That is awesome, Noah! That's a lot of feathers! I'll take a picture of you with your hat on when we get home."

"NO WAY!" he says emphatically.

"But buddy, your hat is so cool!"

"Uh-uh," he says again.

"Aw, come on...for Mommy? You look so cute."

"No way," he says again.

I even resorted to fake crying thinking that he would think it was funny and cave in.

Nope.

So, alas, I have no cute Kindergarten Thanksgiving hat picture to share.

My boy is his father's son - that is for sure.


*Need a last minute Thanksgiving treat? Click on over to Teach It Simple for one of our family favorites - chocolate-covered marshmallow pilgrim hats!

Enough With the Germs Already...

Seriously. We are going on a month and a half.

Noah...Pat...then Abby...now me...

and now Noah has started coughing again. ugh.

I am pumping the kids (and myself) with extra Vitamin C and Omega 3s with fish oil which, according to the doctor, will help boost the immune system and keep this junk from coming back. 

We're heading to my mom's for Thanksgiving and then riding back with them to Chicago to see my new baby niece for the first time so we CANNOT be sick!

Have I mentioned how excited I am to snuggle this new baby?

So excited...and so are the kids. They can't wait to see their cousins.

And we get to spend my birthday with my mom, brother, and sister-in-law too. Can anyone say "ice cream cake"?

The kids are missing three extra days of school, but getting a free ride out there and then only $99 per ticket home? How could I pass that up?

So, yeah. We can't be sick.

Noah has finished his amoxicillin, and Abby seems a lot better so it's down to me.

Here's hoping the antibiotics kick this bronchitis to the curb and this is the end of it....

at least until after New Year's.

Really Loved This - "Moments That Matter Most"

"Moments are the molecules that make up eternity" - Neil A. Maxwell

...such a sweet reminder of how important it is to invest time in the things that really matter.

"Teach It Simple" & a Super Cute Gratitude Mascot!

So I've been trying to post a fun idea featured on my new "teach it simple" blog each Tuesday - aka "Teach It Simple Tuesday" (catchy, right?) - but I missed it! Dag-nab-it! Sick kids, time change, sleep deprivation, piles of laundry, watching too many episodes of Parenthood on Netflix...I've got all kinds of excuses. I could have waited until next week - as I am sure no one would have noticed - but this little "gratitude mascot" created by my friend, Jenny, is too cute not to share...

The kids are still debating on whether we are making a  "Thankful Turkey" or a "Thankful Tree", so I am thinking we will be making one of each and then add to them for the rest of the month. Why not?  I am a huge fan of any activity that helps instill a gratitude attitude in my kiddos.

Click on over to read Jen's post and share your Thanksgiving ideas too!

This Made Me All Goosebumpy...

I know I've said it before, and I'll say it again - This gal's music is amazing. Truly inspired lyrics and melodies...and this song is now one of my favorites. Hilary Weeks' newest CD came out last week, and I just watched this video that was released along with it so I had to share...(You may recognize Stephanie Nielsen from the NieNie Dialogues, and the African woman, Mariama Kallon, has an incredible story of triumph as well. Unimaginable. I've heard her speak twice at Time Out for Women. Awesome.)



Each of us could hold up one of those signs. We all have personal struggles. This song is such a beautiful reminder that we can endure any trial that comes our way and even be made stronger with the help of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. 

Like I said...goosebumps.

Photo Story Friday & The Best Halloween Surprise Ever!!!

Little did the kids know as they set off for their first round of snowy trick-or-treating dressed as "Rocky" from Disney's "Shake It Up" - an iffy choice for mama since it's a bit grown-upish but after seeing the "collection" at Target that's all she talked about - and your friendly neighborhood Spiderman - yup, I caved a got him a real costume this year (He was all about those muscles!)...

that Daddy was on his way back from the train station with a disguised guest! I told the kids that when Dad called we were going to head back to the house to warm up and answer the door for trick-or-treaters until he got there, and then we'd go out for round two. Abby and Noah had absolutely no idea that this character would be ringing the doorbell...

The picture doesn't do it justice. I did get it on video - it was hilarious!  Abby recognized Uncle Michael's glasses right away and started giggling like crazy - "That looks like Michael!"  to which I played dumb. "You think so? He does kind of, doesn't he? That's so funny..." Noah didn't have a clue why we were inviting this random "Mario" into our house until everyone started laughing and Pat said, "That's where I went, buddy. I went to pick Michael up at the train station!"

Ooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!! 

The kids were beyond excited, especially when "Mario" told them that he'd be staying for a few days! We hadn't seen him since August so it was an AWESOME surprise! The whole thing was my little bro's idea - what a cool uncle, huh?  Even at 18 years old, when he could be hanging out with friends or whatever, he loves spending time with the kids. It's no wonder that they think the sun rises and sets with him. And, of course, Noah wants to be just like Uncle Michael. After he left yesterday (sniffle...sniffle), we had to run by Wal-Mart, and, sure enough, Noah spotted the "Super Mario" costume (luckily, it was half off)...

"Mom, can I get it? Please, Mom! Please?????????"

Really...how could I resist? 

Noah put it on when we got home so I took a picture of "Mario Jr." with my phone and sent it to Michael while he was still on the train.

"HAHAHAHAHA AWESOME!" he texted back.

Noah is definitely a little Michael - such a crack up. I love it.






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