Our Thanksgiving Day

On Thanksgiving Day we were homebodies. Our family celebrations were happening Saturday and Sunday- so Thursday we decided to keep it lowkey and just enjoy a pajama day! I got up and looked out the back windows to see the first heavy frost had arrived. So pretty and serene!


Then I opened the blind in the kitchen and was greeted with THIS! Gorgeous! The picture just doesn't do it justice- the trees GLOWED gold, red and orange from the backing of the morning sun. And smelling fresh brewed coffee while gazing on this, standing in my robe and jammies--just icing on the cake!

Made oatmeal with raisins for breakfast. And cocoa for the kidlets.

We let Daddy sleep in and we took our oatmeal downstairs to watch the MACY's parade! The photo looks like a shot from Poltergeist with that glowing white screen- but I assure you- it was all Broadway music, marching bands and giant floating characters! The kids loved it.

Here's a shot of the rolls I made for our Thanksgiving dinner with Robert's side of the family on Saturday. YUM!

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving!

"For each new morning with its light, For rest and shelter of the night, For health and food, for love and friends, For everything Thy goodness sends. "
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy Thanksgiving!
xoxo
~S

Slippin' outta the Slackin.

I've updated my "crafty" blog- BellaCarte Designs. I'm going to try and post a little more consistently. No more slackadasical...i hope!
Take a peek by clicking on the link on my sidebar!
xoxo
~S

Here's the 'do all curly-like.
Because all TWO of you living long-distance that read this just HAD to see it. ;)

You like??
I really, really do. A lovely change.
Here's what we had going on this week!

• Matthew gave himself a shiner at church somehow. Rough housing with his friends after AWANA's and he now has a very bruised, scraped area around his right eye and ear. And he doesn't recall exactly what he hit...hmmm. I think *I* would remember, don't you?



• Thursday we had our first Annual Homeschool Thanksgiving Feast. It was great fun to see the kids in their handcrafted Pilgrim and Indian garb. We had a very well balanced menu of corn, green beans, goldfish crackers, jello, apples, cookies, candy and apple juice! lol. Mac 'n cheese showed up a little later to round it out more but it was pretty funny. To the parents. The kids thought it "rocked". At least that's what we gathered in between war cries, gobbles and giggles. We followed the feast up with a viewing of Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving.

• Friday we had a field trip to go see a production of "The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe" at a local playhouse. It was wonderful to see my kidlets respond so positively to the experience. Matthew said it was better than the movie, which shocked me. I knew Josie would love it- she's our little performer. But I feared Matthew would be disinterested. Not the case AT ALL. I think I see MANY more trips to the theatre in our future.
  
  
  

That's all for now! Hope you're all having a great weekend!

xoxo

~S

Ahhhhh....

This is my idea of holiday prep! Nestled under a newfound vintage quilt, freshly laundered and smelling wonderful. But you only get a wiff of it now and then because the aroma of my Cinnamon Dolce Latte is wafting throughout the room! Top it off with a slice of gingerbread with cream cheese frosting, a few new holiday issue mags and one of these handy-dandy lapwarmers we picked up for a song...free!


Meet Max.
Josie and Matthew felt it was the PERFECT name for him, so there you go.
He's fluffy & LOVES to cuddle.. and is gradually warming to the exuberance of the pugster. They'll be curled up napping together before long, I'm sure!

And...no hair pics. Sorry.
I know! I know!
I'll post them soon! But today was just uh....NOT the day.
My kidlets put me through the wringer today and I *LOOKED* like it!
So be kind. Be forgiving. Be patient.
Tomorrow perhaps???

I'm home from my homeschool mom's meeting and had like..6 cups (small cups, but still..cups)of coffee. Not just regular coffee but Shari's ROBUST blend. oohlala! Considering that we met at 9pm and left there around 11...and I'm feeling wired...this isn't a good thing. So I thought I'd catch up on some blog reading, get things ready for tomorrow..etc.etc.

What I've done so far: Catch up on some blog reading. And it's officially "tomorrow", as of 9 minutes ago- and I'm not ready at all.

Moving on.(denial that it's officially "tomorrow" and nothing is prepped)
Have I told you how much I enjoy THIS BLOG???? Hilarious, gorgeous photography and apparently, a fabulous cook. Did I mention she's hilarious?? When I need a good, guilty, gut-busting-laugh, I know I can just scroll through her entries and do so. Love it. Go check her out- you'll want to bake from scratch tonite. AND go buy an insanely expensive camera and be JUST LIKE HER. It's wicked talent, I'm tellin' ya!


I'm already stewing over what the kids will wear for Christmas holiday stuff. I think the stewing began when I saw this! I just imagined Josie's head on this outfit and instantly knew it must be this or something very much like it. She'll think it divinely Eloise-ish and I'll be thrilled as well- it's adorable and classy.



Cute, yes??

And Matthew--just don't know yet. Still looking. Plus, he'll just throw it on and ask if he can "go get on the computer now" anyway...lol.

New subject: Our whole family is desperately craving a cat to cuddle with. An indoor/outdoor- cuddle in your lap- cat. And I want him/her to look just like THIS!



SOOOOO sweet! SOOOOO cute! It's quickly moving up from we WANT to we NEED...

One last random thing. That I want (apparently I have a case of the "gimmes" tonite!)

Fun, retro-vibe Paint by Number kit. This one has several scenes including the Eiffel tower. Would LOVE to do this!!

Alright- I'm off to bed. I'm SOOOOO going to be sorry in a few hours. When it's time to let the dog out. When it's time to get up with the hubster. When it's time to start school. oy.... I'm feeling it already.

Ooooh, SO busy!!
Hope you are all well and enjoying this gorgeous Fall season.
The crispness in the air, the vivid colors of turning leaves, cuddling under quilts with your kidlets, some coffee and a good book read aloud... I *do* love Fall!

I'm in the midst of a LOVELY weekend and decided to post something here to let you know I'm alive and kicking! When I say LOVELY I mean it- it's a weekend of "me" stuff that I sorely need right now. Good-for-the-soul type stuff. Thursday evening I went to the Holiday Soiree at POET'S GARDEN with my bestest-buddy Jocelyn. We had a great time--very nice to meander amongst beautiful holiday decor and glean ideas and absorb the "mood" to take home with you! I had a gift certificate I'd been saving for this special occasion and was able to buy a few fun little things~ a great little jumpstart to decorating for Christmas!

>

On Friday I dropped Matthew off at HIS bestest-buddy's house for a playdate and then surprised Josie with a Mommy&Me afternoon at the hair salon! She *LOVED* it and said we should be doing this everyDAY! lol. We both got our hair cut rather short and AHHHHH! How liberating! I should've done it LONG ago. Josie looks like a little French girl- with a classic little chin length bob. VERY Eloise/Madeline-esque, which thrills her beyond words! We were going to originally go for something more mod/angular with it cut/cropped shorter in back and angled to a longer length in front, but I thought that was a bit too mature for a little girl- and I'm glad we went with this more classic cut. It suits her beautifully.

These pics just show her cut in process- not finished and polished! I'll post that soon. But just look at that smile on her face in the second picture!

Mine is similar..but different. I'm terrible with describing these things so I'll just post a pic soon. Suffice it to say- I love it and have NO regrets!

ANYway- moving on- Friday evening I had my monthly scrapbook night at church. What a nice night of fellowship, encouragement and creativity! It was JUST what I needed. Here are a few pages I made...I love 'em!

The photos look pretty dark here but much better in person. There's a fourth page in progress- just needs some finishing touches. So I didn't do too shabby! Especially considering how much talking we did!

Today Robert made us all breakfast, and although my house smells like a giant smoked sausage factory- it was WORTH IT! YUM! Matthew and Robert are out getting M's hair cut and then we're meeting up with the Stroup family for lunch and to see the BEE MOVIE together. Tomorrow is church and then my nephew's birthday party in Portland. He's getting SO big- I can't believe it. It'll be great to hang out with them for a while- we don't get together as much as we used to.. our lives have become busy and just different, with children and day-to-day "stuff"!! Isn't it crazy how that happens?! Anywho- looking forward to being with my sis and her brood tomorrow!

Keep an eye out for another post with fun hair pics soon!

xoxo

~S