Our unexpected Thanksgiving

Feels silly to report on our Thanksgiving now that December is literally around the corner. Yikes!

I hope you all had a restful and enjoyable time of feasting, football and family (no, I did not try to alliterate that sentence). We sort of did. Matt came down with the stomach flu late Tuesday evening and was hence in no mood for feasting come Thursday. I started to feel queasy Thursday afternoon. So instead of traveling to see family, we were needfully quarantined at home for a quiet sickie Thanksgiving.

Despite the sickies though, we truly had a lovely weekend. We got out the Christmas box and did our holiday decorating. Chloe put ALL the ornaments on the tree for me this year. Usually I'm super gung-ho on tree-trimming but not so much this year with the nausea coming over me. What a blessing that she's miss independent lately!

Unfortunately I missed Black Friday shopping. Nuts! But Chloe and I did some Saturday shopping and picked up a few little things. Did any of you brave the crowds to shop BF? What deals did you score?

We laid around, watched much football and generally hung-out together as a family. It was surprisingly refreshing. And laying around helped me get the Christmas cards addressed and written. Also did some re-organizing of my sewing cabinet to motivate me to get working on my ambitious list of homemade Christmas gifts. Why do I always leave all these projects until the last weeks before Christmas?!?

How was your Thanksgiving and how are you progressing on Christmas preparations?

Thankful?

Today I am seriously questioning my thankfulness. The day is not going at ALL as I planned.

Matt was up several times in the night suffering from a minor stomach-plague. He's been in bed all day. The kids have had several conflicts resulting in spankings, crying and whining. I'm wishing I could have had a few more months before Clive learned the word "mine". Have a major to-do list to accomplish before leaving for MI tomorrow and thus far I've completed a whopping two items on the list. One of which was accompanied by a seriously major crying fit thrown by my darling Chloe. In the public library of all places (the librarians know us by name).

Now that I'm sitting down and have a few moments to reflect I know that I am thankful. During a day like this where everything is going contrary to my plans I am thankful that God's not surprised. He planned this day for me and HE is sustaining me and giving me the strength to not turn into monster mommy.

I'm so thankful for God and His unchanging character and unceasing goodness to me! Regardless of circumstances, I have MUCH to be thankful for. (Not the least of which is a york peppermint patty recently consumed -- why didn't I buy two?!?)

And with that I wish you all a happy happy Thanksgiving!

A fun and easy Thanksgiving project

With Thanksgiving literally around the corner now, we embarked on an easy peasy thankfulness-themed project last week.

I fell in LOVE with this burlap placemat project linked on craftzine's blog and then adapted it slightly to suit our tastes. Pretty much it's a cut rectangle of burlap (no sewing necessary) and it uses a homemade freezer paper stencil to create an image for the kids to paint in the center.

Since we've been talking about and trying to exercise a thankful heart in our home lately (i.e. the cure for whininess) this placemat project was perfect. Around the edges I wrote a reminder verse with a sharpie (it's Psalm 107:1 if you're wondering).

Then I made a stencil out of freezer paper. I'm totally in awe of and in crafting-love with freezer paper. It was incredibly easy and worked super well. Next we got out some paints and sponges and Chloe and Clive dabbed away. (It's seriously an easy enough project for even a little toddler guy like Clive to participate in). Check out the step-by-step tutorial here.

Though the production was fun and easy the BEST part of this placemat project has been practicing thankfulness with Chloe. Every time we eat a meal, Chloe whips out the placemat and before she chows down she tells us something she's thankful for. At first she didn't quite get it. She'd just look around the room and spurt out whatever her gaze fell upon. But now that we've been doing this for several days it's beginning to resonate with her.

And her thankfulness is contagious! Matt and I usually join in and share something we're thankful for too. It's a splendid way to start out a meal.

Now if only I could get her to tote her placemat around to remind her to be thankful in our everyday situations. Like when her brother wants to color with her crayons, when she has to change out of her princess dress and put real clothes on, or just whenever she doesn't get her way. I'm guessing that will be a lifelong lesson. This mommy needs that thankful reminder throughout the day too!

What special Thanksgiving crafts or traditions do you employ to practice thankfulness?

A baby Chloe-ism

Last night Chloe wanted to listen for and try to feel the baby growing in my ever-expanding tummy. She put her head on my belly and quietly expectantly listened.

I asked if she heard anything.

Chloe looked up quizzically and said, in all seriousness, "No, silly mommy! She can't talk yet!"

Chloe then proceeded to say goo-goo ga-ga loudly on my tummy. Presumably the baby understood that. :)

And yes, Chloe is CONVINCED that the baby is a girl. She'll either be very disappointed or elated in another few weeks!

Hope this little Chloe-ism delivers a smile to your face on this dreary fall Friday!

Balance

Now that we own a super fabulous wonderful mini-van (NEVER thought I'd use those words to describe my mom ride) I'm tempted. Tempted to over-schedule and throw the kids in the car and go places.

One of the best things about owning one car for our family was knowing that three days out of 5, me and the kids were forced to be home for lack of wheels.

Though at times being home 3 days was a bit stifling (especially on Wednesdays when Matt also taught an evening class), it was comforting to know we could plan on certain down days. Me and the kids would hang out in our jammies until late morning, get some cleaning and laundry done, and just chill out in general. The kids certainly seem to thrive on at-home time especially after a few busy days of driving.

So, now that I have my own set of wheels I have to decide on our weekly schedule. Originally, I wanted to maintain my 3 days of at home status. Some weeks that doesn't seem possible. Already, this week that plan is botched. I gave into the temptation and took the kids out errand-running on a usual at-home day.

As the holidays loom nearer and the December calendar fills up, I'm wondering how I'm going to maintain this schedule balance. (I know the magic word is "no". My problem isn't merely saying no to things but realizing that oft times it's ME who wants to do a particular activity and it's not in the best interest of the kids. That means I have to be self-less and consider their needs as more important than my own. Ouch.)

My goal is still to be at home for 3 days a week during the busy holiday season. Involving the kids in homemade Christmas gifts and letting them play in their home environment will be activity enough. I'm reminded of the wise words, "A child's work is his play". As I plan activities for us I'm struck by the fact that some activities usually aren't as beneficial to them as just plain old playing or shadowing me in daily tasks.

Of course there's a balance we need to strike for our family. If we were hermits all the time that wouldn't be helpful or healthy either (though my husband wouldn't offer any complaints).

How do you maintain a find the balance between over and under-scheduling?

Chloe and Clive hit the lanes

Thanks to a friend's awesomely fun birthday party today, Chloe and Clive experienced bowling for the first time ever!

Both the kiddos enjoyed it but Chloe more-so since she's older. Once she got the hang of it, she happily bounced out by herself (she insisted on doing it herself) and threw the ball. Loudly. And her tongue came out with the exertion necessary for each throw.

I think we've found a fun family activity for the cold winter months! :)

It's an absolutely gorgeous day here in northeast Ohio. After supper we're hitting a favorite park to enjoy the remaining lovely mild weather of fall.

How did you spend your Saturday?

A problem that sucks

In the last few months Chloe has developed a rather annoying habit.

She sucks.

On her shirts, her fingers, toys, spoons, zippers . . . anything that's nearby when the urge strikes goes into her mouth. Of course, it isn't a constant sucking. I've noticed that she sucks things when she's rather in active. When she's watching a video, riding in the car, or listening to music the sucking begins.

I guess there's nothing inherently wrong with her sucking habit but during this cold/flu season especially I'm more leary of the germs she's imbibing while sucking. And in general it seems like a dirty habit.

I've rebuked her several times and she always stops when I ask. But then I'll find her sucking again later. I'm guessing it's a comforting habit rather than a teething issue since she's old enough to be past all that jazz.

Besides asking her to stop when she's sucking on apparel, my recent strategy is to provide her with a clean sucking apparatus (usually a spoon or a straw). That way at least I know she's not getting any weird germs in her mouth.

Have any of you encountered this? Is it a normal phase for a 4+ year old? If you have seen this before, what strategies did you employ to deal with it?

I'm not stressing out about this. She could certainly have yuckier habits! (And she does. But eating boogers is a pretty normal thing and I'm being a strict booger policeman when I catch her in the act.)

Christmas photo and free cards

No, the picture at left is NOT our 2009 Horn family Christmas photo. It didn't make the cut for obvious reasons.

We usually get the kids' photo taken at a cheapy-cheap portrait place and slide a copy in with each Christmas card we send out. Then I hand-write a quick 2-3 sentence note in each card.

I know that sounds laborious (and believe me, it is when we're talking about 50+ cards) but Christmas correspondence is the only way we connect with extended family and friends. Many of Matt's aunts, uncles, and cousins I've never even met but we've formed a relationship through Christmas cards. There are older ladies in my extended family too that enjoy receiving our cards and pictures each year.

Knowing the immensity of the holiday card project, I had already unpacked my Christmas box and taken out the cards and stationery for this year. (I always buy the next year's stuff during the previous year's after Christmas clearance sales.) I've already crafted a general address list and bought return address labels (check out the swell deal on these at VistaPrint).

To my elated surprise, I came across this deal advertised by Freebies 4 Mom for FREE Christmas photo cards. ABSOLUTELY FREE including shipping!!! Heather, the author of Freebies 4 Mom, will post the free coupon code sometime on Monday.

In anticipation of the free photo card deal, I dressed everyone in coordinating red and green this morning for church. If we're going to get gussied up for a photo shoot, might as well do it when we're already getting dressed up!

Are we the only crazy family that goes through this process of card writing and sending? How many cards/letters do you send out ? Do you opt for a letter or traditional card?

Mini-van mama

As of today we are the owners of a new-to-us mini-van! (And also as of today, I can punctuate that statement with an honestly excited exclamation point!)

Baby numero tres is due in April so we knew our teensy weensy VW Jetta wasn't going to cut it much longer. Hence we began the research into used mini-vans in our extremely limited price range.

I have never been a mini-van gal. I always envisioned our expanding family cruising around in a sleek black Saab or Volvo station wagon or a maybe a fuel-economic red Mazda5.

But alas, a mini-van was the best and most practical choice for our family. So, I must swallow my pride and embrace my new identity as a mini-van mama. :)

Which leads me to a question . . . How many of you drive mini-vans? If you're not a mini-van mama, what wheels do you drive?

The princess and the pirate

I can hardly believe Halloween has come and gone already! Can we seriously be in the midst of November?!? I swear time has sped up now that I have two bambinos to chase after.

We had a smashing (pun intended) good time this year celebrating Halloween! We don't do anything spooky or scary mind you, just plain old innocent dressing-up-and-collecting-candy fun.

Our neighborhood began the candy fest at 6:00 p.m. and we were raring to go. Clive was obviously confused about what was happening but he quickly got the hang of it when he saw candy was involved. :) He then became a non-nonsense pirate and often snatched an extra piece or two at each house.

Chloe was tickled to trick-or-treat with her little girlfriend, Sarah. They were BOTH princesses and looked so cute holding hands and prancing from door to door. Showing the depth (or rather, the lack thereof) of the 4 year old mind, both Sarah and Chloe excitedly compared candy winnings after each house. :)

And Chloe displayed her utter girliness once again by opting NOT to be a pirate (for the past few months we've talked up matching pirate costumes for Chloe & Clive) at the last minute. She sat whimpering at the kitchen table and finally burst out sobbing, "Mommy, I don't want to be a pirate. I want to be something pretty!" So, the cinderella dress-up dress came out and we improvised on accessories. The princess hat consisted of stapled poster board and my wedding veil! It turned out to be a tad bit too tall and needed constant adjusting but it worked. Chloe especially enjoyed decorating the hat princess-style.

Since we were only out for 45 minutes, the kids netted a manageable amount of candy. Our house rule is 1 piece a day (not including mommy and daddy of course).

How were your Halloween festivities this year? What did your kids dress up as?