So Many Blessings

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Today was such a good reminder of all that I have to be grateful for. I am so blessed.

 

I have two amazing children! They fill my life with so much love and joy. No matter what stress they may cause or how exhausted they make me - I am so fortunate to be the mom of two sweet and loving kids.

 

 

My babies

 

I am thankful for my two little chefs. Colin helped me on Tuesday and Meli was my helper today. She had so much fun being a "big girl" and making Grandma Liz's corn pudding and sweet potato casserole. She did a very good job. Messy but that is part of the fun.

 

My little helper

Corn pudding

Thanksgiving selfies

I am thankful for being near my family...which is bittersweet, since that means I am so far away from the rest of my family. I miss my B family on the East Coast. Love you all!

Colin all dressed up for Mi-ma and P-pa

I am so, so, so very thankful for my remarkable husband. He does so much for our family and always knows what I need. It is such a wonderful thing to be with someone who knows you so well and wants to just make you happy.

Silly or serious?!? Oops

I love to laugh with him

Today was a perfect day. A perfect reminder of all the love I have surrounding me.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving Begins

Both my brother and mom work on Thanksgiving, so we had an early holiday dinner tonight. We had such a lovely night with family.

Meli picked out her own outfit. She wanted to look "fancy". She had to have a ring, necklace and bracelet.

Colin helped me cook dinner again.

 

Making his cranberry dish, minus the walnuts.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~ 

        The B Family

Getting so Big

 

Our little baby turned 7 last Friday. Oh my...it is so crazy sounding. I actually had a some difficulties with this birthday. I was not expecting it at all, but 7 just sounds like a big kid. I mean a really big kid.

 

We had a great time celebrating our little guy. I just love him so much. His constant talking and kid,s energy (x50) can be extremely tiring...but he is just the sweetest, happiest boy. I love seeing all the joy bursting from him.

 

For his birthday breakfast he requested the treats from Brave (the Disney movie). I have no idea how those came up. He has not even seen that movie in quite a while. I did my best to find something resembling the treats. I did explain how that was a Scottish treat. I think I did OK though. After school, we took a friend of his to see Big Hero 6. Colin had so much fun. It was his friends first time going to a movie. That was neat to see. The movie was so cute. Then we all went to Red Robin for dinner and ice cream sundaes.

He loved that they sang "happy birthday" to him

 

Colin got a free cupcake from the bookstore for his birthday. We have been making a tradition out of this. They get to also pick out a book. I love Colin's book choice this year: a science experiments. He says that he wants to be a scientist,  an inventor to be exact.

 

His book

Colin and I have started our air hockey competition. So far it is 1-0. Colin did score most of my points for me this time, but I was pretty good when I was younger. I even got gold in the girls and silver in boys (our team had no boy to play) at church camp.

 

Colin's tough face

Meli giving Colin birthday cheers

Meli's little sister gift

This weekend we had Colin's party. We just had a couple kids and family over. I think he had a great time celebrating his 7th year.

A Painting Lesson & Wine...Lots of Wine

I had the chance this weekend to go to an art and wine party. You get an art lesson (painting) while you drink wine. What a great combination! I have not painted in forever and had quite a bit of wine...so excuse the painting -but I feel that it is not horrible given I was pretty tipsy. I wish they had a smaller brush. It was hard making the trees thin...and straight! That was not due to the brush though. Everyone did the same painting, which I liked. It made it less stressful not having to be creative. The painter broke the painting down by layers and gave us step by step directions. I will definitely bring doing this again!!!

No More...

I cannot believe I forgot to mention this key milestone that we have come to as parents...we are done with diapers!!!!!!!!! I have been waiting for this day for 7 years. Not for one kid. Technically, Meli still uses pull-ups at night (against her wishes) but I do not think she will have to do that much longer.

We were so fortunate with our potty training. We really did not have any issues. The reason for that could be that we waited until the kids told us they were ready. We were very relaxed about the whole process, honestly, because I just had no interest in forcing it and stressing out about it.

We waited until Colin was three, but he learned very quickly. Meli took a little longer to get interested. At first, I did try to push it more than usual but that was going no where. So, I backed off and a week or so later she asked to wear panties. Then it was pretty quick. She did have a little trouble with number 2, but it was more of an issue knowing when she needed to.

I am so proud of her! This was probably 4 or 5 months ago. It is just so nice not having to pack a bag of items every time we go somewhere.

A Year Worth Celebrating

My 31st year was a pretty fantastic one! I was blessed with the opportunity to stay home with the kids, having more date nights (in a year) with my husband then in our entire marriage, meeting some amazing ladies in our new town, and rediscovering hobbies and finding new ones. I am not thrilled to see the number get higher, but I am excited to see where my 32nd year will take me. Ready for new adventures and perhaps a change to my path's direction. We will see.

 

I had a great week celebrating with family and friends. The day before my birthday, we took the kids to a local ice cream shop. Colin tried black licorice (just all kinds of gross) and Meli had strawberry (my girl of simple tastes).

Then we went home and played family football. It was so much fun. Thankfully we got out when we did because it has been so cold the last few days. I think my birthday was the last semi-warm day. That night we had a family dance party. Will and I kept picking songs from our school dances. The kids actually liked those. I was picking out DMX Party Up in Here (I think that is the name) and Will Smith's Men in Black. Yes, we Colin and I attempted the MIB dance!

 

 

The morning of my birthday, I got to choose breakfast, blueberry muffins and Umpqua Dairy chocolate milk...my fave! I also got a treat of Pumpkin Spice Latte. I have been trying to cut back on buying fancy coffee.  Meli loved the new kids Christmas cup at Dutch Bros.

 

My younger brother and mom took me to a late lunch. Then we went shopping! My brother replaced my slippers. My family had an intervention and made me throw my old ones away. They were so comfortable. I love my new ones though. I had a blast shopping with my brother and mom. I think Greg had fun even if he is not a big shopper.

My brother & I

When I got home, the kids were making me pasta alfredo and sour dough bread. Yumm! They also made me a cherry cheesecake. Meli has had a hard time (since her birthday) understanding not all gifts are for her. We told her my birthday was coming up and she kept asking, "MiMi's too?".  Now she has to deal with Colin's next week. Poor girl. It is so hard at her age to understand. She did not even notice last year and could care less. Now she loves the idea of presents. It was interesting trying to get her to pick out a gift for Colin.

As usual, the kids and Will did a great job finding gifts for me. I am very excited to try out my new Chinese clay pot and to read This is Where I Leave You. Will also got me a guitar books, so that we can learn an instrument together. I am going to learn the guitar and he will learn the bass. He already has can play but wants to learn from the basics.

We got to go on three date meals this weekend. Friday, we went for drinks at a local Mexican restaurant (beers, chips and salsa). On Saturday, we had a breakfast date. I had the best breakfast meal ever! Eggs benedict Florentine. Then we went to dinner last night. We had sushi, Korean BBQ and Asian-pear Mojitos. Seriously, so delish!

 

We had another day of shopping. Will entertained the kids (below) while my mom and I picked out my new sewing machine. So excited!!

 

The Gnome House

I have been semi-obsessed (well possibly totally obsessed) with gnomes for several years now. I just love them. BUT I am apicky  gnome lover. I tend to like more classic looking ones, rather then the cartoony (dare I say "cheesy" ones). I try to control my desire to give my style gnomes a home...otherwise I would have been the Gnome Lady by the time I reached 30. I only have a handful, but I think the ones I have are just perfect. I got a new addition for my birthday...So Meli and I made sure they all had official names this morning. There has been disputes about what we have named them in the past...so here are the introductions.

We have...

Georg, who I got in Germany a few years ago. He is my oldest one since Sebastian 1 and 2 are sadly no longer with us. They met their end at the hands of a 1 year old boy who will remain nameless. I named Georg after (German version of George) the Housing director I worked with in Germany.  It was very fitting because the real Georg smoked like a chimney and this little gnome is a smoker (incense).

 This is my mini garden gnome, Corby O'Neil (short for Corben). Colin named him. He keeps my front porch flowers company. You never know which pot you will find him in. Meli thinks it is funny to move him around.

Excuse the blurry picture. It is cold out there. This is Pippin. Named by Will. I was going for Peppin, but he refused to call him that. Probably due to Lord of the Rings. My dork.

The newest addition is Landers. Christianed by Meli. I gave her the choice between Frederick, Landers and Neville. She thought he looked like a Landers. 

Changing it Up!

Yesterday, Meli and I changed her room around.  It made such a difference space-wise.

 

We have not decorated too much. Mostly, just a few homemade art pieces. I was avoiding it but we decided to let her pick out some posters. Of course, it will be My Little Pony and Disney Princesses. Oh well, it is her room.

Today, we did Colin's. His was harder to make more space, because his bed is so big. I think we managed it though.  They both act like they have new rooms.

 

Meli has been joining me on a few workouts this week. She loves the kickboxing, suicides, and push-ups.

 

Meli has such a cute personality. I love this age. She is so much fun right now. A pain at times...but what kid isn't.

 

 

 

The Leaves are going

 

Yesterday was such a pretty day, we just had to spend it outside. Colin was off due to Veteran's Day...So we went to go play in the fallen leaves.

It is sad to see the last remaining leaves falling from the trees. But I love thinking of the promise of new life to come. The hope that Spring brings. What a beautiful world we live in. Even the dismal can hold the beauty of what is to come. 

The Sneaky Photographer

Mom cooking dinner

 

Colin has a habit of sneaking my phone to take pictures. As annoying as it is to delete 60+ photos, I like that he loves taking pictures. I also like seeing things thru his perspective. He has also figured out how to change the effects on my phone camera.  

 

You never know when he is taking pictures either. Very sneaky. Sometimes he is at a distance (and angle) like above, and sometimes he gets right in your face. Usually he will give you time to smile, thankfully.

 

 

Well hello!

 

 

Our he will get in his own face. He has not learned the best angles yet!

 He may get you while you are cleaning, or while you are enjoying Sunday football and your morning coffee.

Dad using Colin's slippers

 

The picture above he is actually hiding behind the end table. I had no idea he was there.

Mom and her boots

There are times when he will ask to take a picture. Not too often though.

I love fall

The last one I took on my run today. I just thought the leaves were arranged so beautifully. I love this time of year. Plus, I needed a breather. I was crazy today. I did a full weight training workout, a kickboxing class and then ran. My legs are seriously jello right now.