A very "As Seen on TV" Christmas theme

Each year my mom's side of the family picks a theme for our Christmas party.  We have used themes such as toys, red,white, and blue, international, and the year you were born.

This year it is "As Seen on TV" and how fun was it to shop for our gifts.  You can literally find these gifts now at every single store and our local mall as an entire store dedicated for just these items.


Who wouldn't want some of these gems...

Baby comfy nose

Booty Pop

Lighted ear wax remover

Hanging closet safe

Deluxe Sauna Suit

These are just a few options...go to this site NOW.  It is hilarious.

Friends

Sunday night after a busy weekend of celebrating Thanksgiving, decorating the house, a doctor visit for Brendan, and watching the big game (next year Buckeyes!)...

Brendan and Lila played together.  For an hour.  There was no fighting, yelling, screaming, or tears.  They played with an afghan and spun around in circles only to fall onto the floor and giggle.  They ran up and down the hallway.  They went into Brendan's room and had a party (where Brendan told us later they jumped on his bed..that is why they were laughing so hard).  Brendan sat with Lila and "read" her books.  They looked at a  nature book and he told her about the different birds. 


Did I get my camera out to take pictures?  No.  I took just one with my cell phone.  Brendan and Lila super excited to be looking at the nature book.

Jason and I sat on the couch and wondered how long this "phase" would last.  We are trying not to be too optimistic about their new friendship and our new relaxation time.

This morning when Lila got up Brendan said, "Lila do you want to have a party in my room?  Mommy she is my friend."  Of course Lila responds with "No!" and hurt poor Brendan's feelings.  She needs to have food before she plays.  We will see how they play once he gets home from school today.

Pumpkin bird feeder

I found this idea while I was searching for a mini pie recipe for Brendan.  Random, I know.  We love making homemade bird feeders and we had a pie pumpkin that was getting a little old.  We improvised on the directions because we did not have wooden dowels or wire.  We used sticks from our stick pile and Christmas yarn:)

1. Cut top off and scoop out goop and seeds

                                                

2.  Go outside and find sticks

3. Use a knife and cut slits to slide sticks into pumpkin so they make an "x" for birds to sit on

(forgot to take picture...oops)

4. Add bird seed of choice

5. Tie yarn around sticks to hang from your desired location. 

6.  Find a spot to hang and wait for birds!

 7.  Finally a bird! 

I had to stalk this feeder to get a picture of a bird sitting at it.  The little chickadees love it.  They just don't sit still long enough for a picture.  I happened to walk out onto our sun porch and found this cardinal snacking away!  Brendan is still holding out for a blue jay to actually sit on the pumpkin.  He'd be the happiest boy in the world if that happened!

Thankful

I am very thankful for this day.  It was spent with family, food (lots!), football, and laughs.  It was perfect and filling.  Just how this day should be spent. 

I hope your day was full of thanks as well.

Happy Thanksgiving!

First kindergarten conference (bragging about Brendan)

Tonight we attended Brendan's first conference at school.  He has the sweetest teacher and I knew we would get lots of feedback on his first couple months of school.  However I was not prepared for all the kind words she had to say about him:)

We received his report card last week and he scored all 3's (satisfactory progress) and some 4's (above satisfactory progress).  She wrote a paragraph about how well he is doing and he is great at math.  He has adjusted beautifully to school and is eager to go each day.

So when she told us that she usually doesn't give out 4's so early in the year and he is testing above grade level in several areas...I was SO proud.  She said that he is very smart in all areas and math especially.  He loves numbers, patterns, calendar, and counting.  They were assessed to write 1-12 and he wrote to 40+ before she had to stop him for the end of the day.  He knows upper/lowercase letters, all the sounds, and most of the sight words fluently.  He will be starting a math enrichment program next week with the students who tested above grade level to be challenged further.  He is reading level 2 books now (mostly sight words with a picture showing what the words say) and she has no doubt that he will be moving to level 3 books soon.

He has great stamina throughout the day and doesn't tire (big surprise! He never sits down at home!) and just wants to learn.  He helps his friends with their work when he has finished his and is a great listener.  His favorite times at school are choice time, lunch, and recess.  She told us how refreshing it is to have a student like Brendan who is so eager to learn.

His goals for the next marking period are to keep challenging him in math and learn the rest of the sight words.  She will then introduce him to the first grade list.

Brendan I am so proud of you!  I hope you continue to grow and learn and always have a love for school.

Exploring

A couple weekends ago we were blessed with a gorgeous fall weekend and the Lions were on bye.  This meant we could leave our house (drag Jason and Brendan away from football) for an afternoon nature walk.  Brendan picked the West Bloomfield Nature Preserve because of the high concentration of great blue herons.  We learned over the summer that the great blue heron is the symbol of West Bloomfield and the rookery hosts approx. 100 nests. 

The path is always busy with walkers, runners, and bikers and this weekend was no exception.  We had to park along the road because the small parking lot was full. 

We let Lila wander on her own with no stroller.  I think she loved it:)  The kids had a race along one of the boardwalks and we laughed because they both ran with their tongue hanging out.

I think Lila stopped every two feet to try and pick up more "Leebs! Da-Dee!"  Then she would run to Jason and give him yet another leaf. 

Brendan tried his hardest to catch one of the many falling leaves and when he got upset because he couldn't get one...this happened!

It fell right into his arms!  He was so happy:)

The kids had a screaming contest on the way to the lookout. 

Brendan and Jason spotted some mallard ducks in the pond.  They must have been enjoying the weather too!

 Of course he had to help his sister see her favorite bird!

We also got a few pictures just for fun...

Thank you Mother Nature for this lovely fall day (and the Lions for not playing on this Sunday!)

Best idea ever

Thank you to my mom and pinterest for this genius idea...

Amazing! Must try now!

image from www.squawkfox.com

I used my mom's advice and tweaked the recipe a little using 1/4 cup kernels and set the microwave for 2 minutes.  Mine popped perfectly with the full two minutes while my mom had to stop hers early.  Just depends on your microwave.  This was the perfect treat for our family movie night as Brendan and I each had our own bag.  He chose to have his popcorn plain and I added a touch of butter and Parmesan cheese to mine.

It tasted just as good as air-popped (which is my favorite way to pop) with the convenience of using your microwave and minimal clean up (the mug I used to melt the butter).  It is so much cheaper which is why I never buy microwave popcorn anyway.  Just brown lunch bag and bag of kernels!

Enjoy.

World Prematurity Awareness Day

Today, November 17th, is World Prematurity Awareness Day.

This is my preemie.  Our son Brendan.  He entered the world unexpectedly early at 30 weeks.  He is now a healthy almost 6 year old and in kindergarten.

One out of every eight babies will be born too soon.  Chances are you know someone who has had a baby born before 37 weeks.  These families may spend countless hours in a NICU or neonatal intensive care unit.  Sadly, some of these parents will come home with empty arms as their babies grow wings. 

So today please say a prayer for all those babies that are born too soon and click here if you would like more information about the March of Dimes.

We could have had a craft show...

We had a pretty impressive "swag table" for our annual girls weekend.

I found this image via pinterest and thought it was perfect for our theme, Mamas and Margaritas

http://thegreenbeanscrafterole.blogspot.com/2011/04/socko-de-mayo.html

Our creations (all goodies found at the Dollar Tree!)

My aunt surprised us with a little something...

a redneck wine glass with a chalkboard base!  She even adorned them with our names.  It is such a fun glass.

Then my sister in law surprised us with these...

Lighted wine bottles!  She's been collecting wine bottles and hoarding strings of lights to create these for all the girls!  This was a bottle I gave her and she just sprayed it with a clear frosted paint and then made different bead designs for each bottle.  I love this so much!

My cousins brought delicious cake pops

Seriously...so good.  I think I ate half of them!

We joked that we could have been at a craft show with all our gifts for one another.  Guess we have a theme for another year!

The girls

My aunt (or my second mother) is very special to me.  I grew up watching her and my mom have such a close and special relationship.  We are lucky to have the type of family where we aren't just moms, sisters, aunts, nieces, daughters, and cousins

We are friends.

This weekend I am lucky enough to be spending time with my aunt, mom, sisters, and cousins.  We are doing nothing but eating, drinking, and laughing.  We tell funny stories about our lives and our past.  We talk about our kids and the goofy things they do.  It is our girls only time.  Time when we don't have to worry about the our everyday life.  We get to unwind and relax. 

It happens one weekend each year.  My mom and my aunt showed us girls the importance of family from an early age and now that we are all grown...we are the best of friends.

Love you guys!

My dad

Today I am honoring my father.  He was a very proud Marine who served his country in Vietnam.  I only ever heard bits and pieces about his time as a Marine and Vietnam. 

He lost his battle with small-cell lung cancer on March 31, 2004.  He was 56.

The only times I can recall him telling me about Vietnam were on a couple of occasions. 

The first being when we were out shopping for my mom's Christmas gifts.  We were at Uno's in Birch Run and I just asked out of curiosity about his time as a Marine.  He quickly told me he was there in 1969 for awhile and then his brother went over there later and he (his brother) was in the Army.

The second being when he had already been diagnosed with cancer and had only a little time left.  He was angry and frustrated and told us he should have just died in Vietnam.  He was the leader of his battalion and lead his men into battle.  He talked about how he watched them die right beside him yet he got out.  He made it home. 

I treasure these stories.  This is a part of his history. 

Brendan loves the American flag just like his Grandpa Paul

God bless all the veterans (past, present, and future).  Thank you for your dedication to our country and for keeping us safe.

The fun "new" Lila

It has happened...

Lila is in the nosharinggimmeitismineandnotyours stage.  Everything is "Eye-ya's".  Even if you are holding it, eating it, reading it, talking on it, or looking at it.  She will march herself up to you and proclaim it as her own. 

My phone.  She thinks it is "Eye-ya's."

My hot coffee.  Hers.  My breakfast. Hers. My book. Hers.

Then when you don't give into her and say "It is mommy's" that is when the claws come out.  I have been slapped, bite, and now scratched by her because I would not give her what I had.  Lila has become very familiar with the time out corner.

She scratched my neck this morning because I turned the Cat in the Hat off for two minutes to watch a special on organ donation on the Today show.  Then she took my phone when I was talking to my mom and declared it "Eye-ya's" and had a conversation with her about Dora.

Her other new favorite word is NO and no is usually followed by "No Eye-ya's" for any of the above.  This happened a lot yesterday when my friend and her three kids stopped over.  Every toy they touched was followed by "No Eye-ya's!"

Not even going to call it the terrible twos because I know what happens after two when they turn three (horrible threes) and then four (horrific fours).  Five has been much easier (thank you kindergarten!)  She is just asserting herself and knows what she wants:)  Plus it is funnier the second time around and especially when she does this to Brendan.

Check and Check!

Over the weekend, Brendan was excited because we were able to start checking some more activities off the bucket list.

First up was decorating and carving pumpkins!  Lila painted her pumpkin while Brendan was at school.  She had so much fun "exploring" the paint.

We carved our pumpkins a couple days later (and after a grouchy Lila went night-night).  I was most excited about the oh-so-delicious pumpkin seeds and Brendan was excited about carving.  He helped me get lots of seeds while Jason cleaned out his pumpkin.  He drew his own face and I helped him carve it out.  He also helped draw my jack-o-lantern face.

Second check was Trick or Treating!  We went to a local church (where our friends attend and Brendan's old preschool) and participated in "Trunk or Treat."  It is such a fun event and there were around 400 people this year!  The kids decorated a bag for collecting treats, walked around the parking lot for trunk or treat, had donuts and cider, and Brendan and Jason went through the haunted tunnel.  Lila was excited to see her best buddy, "Dew".  She stalked him the whole time!

On Halloween, I helped out at Brendan's school for his class party.  They had SO many yummy treats and a fun parade that we ran out of time for the activities/craft!  All the kids in his class are so sweet and his teacher is wonderful.

Last on our list was our neighborhood Trick or Treat.  My mom came over to pass out our candy and we met up with our friends for a few houses.  Brendan was on a mission and would run to any house with a light on and Lila took a slower approach and scored a few extra pieces of candy for being so sweet. 

About halfway through, Brendan declared his legs were tired and we made our way home.  He helped pass the candy out and made sure to tell the kids, "Only one piece!  Only one piece!"  Lila made her way back to our neighbors for a little visit.

We are all exhausted today (at least I am!) and are spending the day relaxing and eating some yummy treats.