Traditions

Just a few pictures from Thanksgiving.  Not many, we didn't do much other than sit and eat.  Ingrid was all alone at the kids' table because Otis napped through dinner.  She looked sort of lonely but we honestly didn't have any room for her at the big table!  Cody kept her company, and was well rewarded for his service...

 The day after Thanksgiving was all about making the chain.  When I was growing up, the day after Thanksgiving meant my mom would sit us down with paper, scissors, and markers and we made our paper chain.  Each link represents one day until Christmas, and each morning we would take turns ripping off a link.  This year was the first year we did this with Ingrid and Otis and they seem to love the idea!  Ingrid helped me tape the paper together and both kids love to go and look at how many more days there are until Christmas!

 My brother sent me a nearly identical picture of his kids by their paper chain right after we made this!  I love traditions that last.

 

And what was Otis doing all this time?  Sitting around with a fever, snotting everywhere.  That poor kid just gets a cold and it gets worse and worse and just lingers.  Ingrid was sniffly for a few days and Otis has been full on sick for over a week.  Blah.  Poor kid.

 

 

Mr. Gobbler Day

Yesterday Ingrid drew a picture of a turkey and labeled it Mr. Gobbler.  (Actually it was Mr. Goobler but she had tried so hard to write her own letters I couldn't really tell her she'd misspelled it.)  So today, this day of Thanksgiving, shall be hereby named Mr. Gobbler day. 

We have a turkey in the oven, we had homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast, the kids are watching the Macy's parade with Brendan, and I am about to finish up some napkins that will adorn our table later today. 

Wanna see what the kids and I will look like come dinner time? 

Yep, just like that...

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!

Night Driving

Last weekend we went to Michigan to celebrate my neice's tenth birthday.  It was a crazy time of night driving, as we left on a Friday night and came home on a Sunday  night.  Instead of sleeping peacefully, the kids were up most of the four hour drive and went kind of bonkers from sitting in the car too long.  Blah.

But the trip was fun, they love to see their cousins.  I like to see my mom and sister.  It was gorgeous out and we got to spend lots of time outside. 

We even went to Tunnel Park, which is a lovely park on Lake Michigan that has a big huge sand dune.  And going right through the dune is a tunnel, hence the name.  I have memories from when I was little running through the tunnel screaming at the top of my lungs to hear it echo!  It was fun to see my kids do that, too!

 Our sleep was all off and everyone took amazing naps!  Otis in the stroller after a walk with Grandma, and Brendan and Ingrid passed out on the couch.  All that fresh air and chasing balls with cousins really wears you out.

 

Family Photos

My friend Melanie's husband is an amazing photographer, so I asked if he would take a family shot we could use for our holiday cards.  And also, Brendan has been begging for a picture to put in his office at work and I have none to give him.  The last family picture we have that looks good is from when Otis was 3mo old.  Yesterday was bright and sunny, so we met Jack and his family at an old train trestle in the Third Ward.  It was the perfect urban backdrop for some fun family pictures!

 Pretty cool, huh??  I love having talented friends!!  Go visit his site here. 

Local News

Usually I stay away from local news, where you hear nothing but stories of gunshots, house fires, corrupt policemen, etc.  BUT!  Yesterday one of the local morning programs was at The Waxwing, where I sell my stuff!  I was not part of the interview but the guy behind Plushzilla was, and his stuff is right next to mine, so you could sort of see my bibs in the background.  I am so proud to be a part of that little shop, they are really doing well and it has helped me get my goods out there and make some money.  I was just really excited to see local news focus more on a positive in the community for once!

Check it out here!

The Cowpokes

Not even October 31st and I'm already Halloweened out.  Last night was Ingrid's school Halloween dance.  So...costume time #1.

 This morning we went with our neighbors/best friends to the zoo, where they were having a Halloween event with Trick or Treat stations and carved pumpkins all over the zoo.  It was fun, but COLD.  So we threw on our winter coats and realized you couldn't even tell the kids were dressed up.  Hmmm.  Costume time #2 was a bust.

Thanks to Jennifer from Oliver's Forest for lending us this amazing vintage Health Tex western shirt!!

 We had a few hours between the zoo and our neighborhood trick or treating, so I came up with a plan to keep them warm and show their costumes.  Which involved many layers of shirts and fleece jackets under their cowboy shirts. And remembering I had a cute vintage Wrangler jean jacket for Otis!  I'm glad I saw it hanging up!  Finally, costume time #3 seemed to work right!

I made Ingrid wear the only pair of tights she owns, which are orange.  She cried that she was going to look like a chicken!

 That was the only picture I think I got of Otis wearing his hat.  For someone who runs around screaming "AT ON! AT ON!" and grabbing everyone's hats, he was not impressed with his cowboy hat.  Oh well, with the bandana on he still looked like a cowboy. 

But now we are exhausted from running around all day and eating too much candy.  Tomorrow there are more festivities, but I don't think I can handle a costume time #4.  I'm done.

 

A Freakishly Warm Day

We have had rain and cold for awhile now, but the past couple days were WARM!  It felt good to go out without sweatshirts and coats and bundling up.  We took advantage of the nice weather by going to the park with friends while Ingrid was in school yesterday.

 Today we are back to cold and wet.  And of course right in time for Trick or Treating.  The kids are going as cowboys.  And then Ingrid is yelling in my ear "NO, mama!  I'm the SHERRIFF!!" in case I should forget who's in charge.

iPad Photos

My camera card is full and I've been too lazy to go get another one.  My mom was just asking for more pictures, and these were all I could find.  Silly kids.  Silly mama. 



Falls Past

Ingrid as a baby. Awww.

Ingrid as a toddler.  Sweet.

Me with Otis in my belly.  (Hard to imagine he was born a few short weeks after this!)

Otis a smiley little redhead.

My kids.

Fall is my favorite!

Quick and Easy Breakfast

Now that Ingrid is in school and we have to be out the door at 7:30am, breakfast has become something of a hassle.  I want to feed Ingrid a healthy breakfast, but it has to be quick, as she isn't ready to eat until about fifteen minutes before we leave.  Try as I might, she just isn't interested in food until 7am, no matter what time she gets up.  So, off to pinterest I went, looking for breakfast ideas.  I found some good ones, and this weekend I made a couple.

The first were these amazing Blueberry Coconut Pecan Breakfast Cookies. 

I did have to go to the store to get a couple ingredients, but I will for sure make these again, so it wasn't too much of an inconvenience.  Most of the stuff I had on hand. 

1.5 c oats
1 c coconut flakes
1 Tbs flaxmeal
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c chopped pecans
1/2 c dried blueberries (we used blueberry craisins)
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 c warmed coconut oil
1 Tbs agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla



All that mixed up together made a mushy batter that I patted into heart shaped cookie cutters, placed on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 for 25min. and you get a whole lot of healthy cookies that are perfect for a quick breakfast!  Ingrid is unsure how she feels about them.  She loved the idea of having a cookie for breakfast but then didn't really eat too much of it.  I, however, crammed about five in my mouth!  I love these!

The other recipe I tried was Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars.  These are super easy and have ingredients I pretty much always have on hand. 

1.5 c oats
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/4 c. creamy peanut butter

Mix dry ingredients, then add wet ingredients.  Mush banana and pb go in at the end.  Spread in a greased 8x8 pan and cook at 350 for 20 minutes.  We just made these today and they are so good!  Just a hint of banana and peanut butter, neither one really jumps out as too strong, which can sometimes be the case.  They are a bit mushy, we couldn't really eat these as bars we could hold, we had to use forks, perhaps I didn't bake them long enough?  But they tasted really good and were a hit with both kids!

There are a couple more I want to try, but for now these two are good to have on hand!  They definitely make me feel better giving this to Ingrid before school rather than a frozen waffle, which is what she usually asks for.  Do you have any favorite breakfast ideas that are quick and kid friendly?