30 Days of Thanks - Day 30!

I am participating in the 30 Days of Thanks by BoogieMum. What a great idea for making November a month of thanks instead of just a day!

Wow! Have 30 days really come and gone?

My last post for the 30 Days of Thanks is to be thankful for this opportunity. I have learned (re-learned) that I have a lot of things to be thankful for. Some days it is easier to look at what you don't have (time) and be ungrateful. I have the best husband in the world, three beautiful children, and lots of friends - even if they are 1000 miles away! Everything else is frosting on the cake!

Thanks to BoogieMum for this wonderful event!

30 Days of Thanks - Day 29!

I am participating in the 30 Days of Thanks by BoogieMum. What a great idea for making November a month of thanks instead of just a day!

I am thankful for books. I love books. I love stories. I love newspapers. I love blogs! :) Maybe I should say that I am thankful for the written word. My first grade daughter is just now getting into reading and I absolutely think that a love of reading is one of the best things I can pass on to her. She even wants to go up to her room for some "quiet time" to read once and a while!

I am not sure if I mentioned this before but I am very time-centric. I hate to be late to appointments. Because of that, I am usually early. Before kids, I would always have a book with me so that waiting time was not wasted time. I am better at being on time now instead of early, but books have saved me in more ways than one. It irritates be more than I can possibly say when people are late to meet me somewhere. I used to get really steamed but then, you guessed it, I started bringing a book.

I love to read. I love getting caught up in a good story. That is escapism at its best! It would be nice to have some time to get back into the classics. These days I have focused on light stuff like the Harry Potter series - perhaps a future classic! Really it does not matter the genre of book. If I can get into it, I cannot put it down. When I am into a good book, the book's themes permeate my dreams.

I used to think that maybe I had a book or two in me just waiting to be written. After reading a lot of these blogs I have realized that I am not the writer I thought I was. I can be inspired every once in a while but for the most part, at least at this time in my life, there is very little time to put thought into writing.

For now I will stick to the daily blog and yearly Christmas letter!

Judy Garland Sings Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Wow, I just love this song. It fits my mood right now too. :)

Weight Loss Wednesday!

I lost 4 pounds!

I didn't post all of my food items like I was planning too. In all honesty, I felt too exposed and judged by forces unseen. I wrote it all down for my benefit and it is working.

Here's to a good first week! The first week is always the easiest for me when starting diets and let me tell you that I have started many diets. Ha!

Here's to hoping I finish this one!

30 Days of Thanks - Day 28!

I am participating in the 30 Days of Thanks by BoogieMum. What a great idea for making November a month of thanks instead of just a day!

I am thankful that the Knight is potty training. I know realistically it will be at least another 6 months before he is potty trained during the day, and longer for at night, but I see the light at the end of the diaper changing tunnel. It is actually bittersweet. Getting him out of diapers means I will no longer have a baby in the house. That is hard for me to accept. I know I seem ungrateful because I already have three beautiful, smart, and sweet children. The finality of it all is still hard to accept sometimes. It will be nice to not have to pay for diapers anymore though!

30 Days of Thanks - Day 27!

I am participating in the 30 Days of Thanks by BoogieMum. What a great idea for making November a month of thanks instead of just a day!

I am thankful that in less than a month we will all get into Otis the van and head to Iowa. It has been too long since we have been home - since February for my grandfather's funeral.

I miss everyone.
I miss the easy conversations with people who know me better than I know myself.
I miss that feeling of belonging somewhere, of coming home.
I miss the feeling of actually being missed.
I miss seeing my nieces and nephew.

I am ready to go now!

Give Me 5 Monday!

The 'Give Me Five' Monday meme (sponsored by Becca) is designed to share fun information with each other in a simple short list! Here's how it works. Each week, Becca will put out a random topic from her list of topics and you share 5 answers of your choice on the given topic and link back to her! You can add photos, links or stories or just a simple list of your own of 5 things that relate to the topic as it pertains to you and your life experiences. It doesn't have to be in any order of importance unless otherwise specified.

Give Me Five pet peeves or dislikes associated with shopping.

1) I do not like crowds. I usually do my shopping online or BEFORE Thanksgiving. (I know, I am a freak.)

2) I don't mind spending money if I know the person is going to like the gift. I do mind spending money if it is just a guess.

3) I do not like pushy people. If there is going to be a fight over an item to be purchased, I will walk away. Ick!

4) I do not like shopping with another person. Their opinion usually influences me to not buy what I want to buy and I have to go back! ;)

5) I don't like shopping with my kiddos either. It is difficult to think and get in that gift-buying mindset when they are "helping". I love my kids dearly but I do not like to shop with them!

:) Happy Shopping!

30 Days of Thanks - Day 26!

I am participating in the 30 Days of Thanks by BoogieMum. What a great idea for making November a month of thanks instead of just a day!

I am thankful that we succeeded in taking our family picture this weekend! I order picture Christmas cards through snapfish every year. I get a pretty good deal on them because I am a picture addict and I am a good customer to them! Plus, if you google "snapfish coupon" you can always find some sort of deal!

I regress....

We succeeded in getting the picture taken, and all 5 of us were looking at the camera. The cats were not, but oh well! I like to look back on these pictures from year to year.

I am also thankful that I have kept a copy of our Christmas letter each and every year since I started writing them. I didn't start writing Christmas letters until after Princess was born in 2001, so this year marks the 7th Christmas letter I have written. It is fun to look back and see how we have grown and how we have changed. And I am not just talking about the kids!

I keep a copy of each Christmas letter in my Christmas stocking. Each year, when I hang the stockings, I pull out the old letters. I won't let myself do it until the new letter is done though. I would not want to plagiarize! Ha ha!

Anyway, I am thankful for the year to year memories that the Christmas picture and the Christmas letter provide!

30 Days of Thanks - Day 25!

I am participating in the 30 Days of Thanks by BoogieMum. What a great idea for making November a month of thanks instead of just a day!

Today I am thankful for the beautiful, sunny, cool Fall day we have. It rained all weekend. We had a great Thanksgiving weekend anyway, outside of a few stir-crazy moments.

We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner, just the 5 of us.
We watched Shrek the Third (3 times - how appropriate!).
We assembled our Christmas tree.
We took lots of naps.
We called both sets of grandparents in Iowa.
We took a nice, long walk last night and ran into some neighbors. The kids had fun playing with their friends.

The best part is that we had time together, all 5 of us.

Yes, some of us got on each other's nerves during the 5 day weekend, but for the most part, we had a really, really nice time.

And now it is back to life, back to reality...

But the sun is shining, the groceries are purchased for the week, the boys are napping and my laundry is 1/2 done! I am thankful for that!

30 Days of Thanks - Day 24!

I am participating in the 30 Days of Thanks by BoogieMum. What a great idea for making November a month of thanks instead of just a day!

I am thankful that my Christmas tree is up!

30 Days of Thanks - Day 23!

I am participating in the 30 Days of Thanks by BoogieMum. What a great idea for making November a month of thanks instead of just a day!

I am thankful for all of the addresses in my address book. This is the time of year when I get our Christmas cards ready to be sent out. It is amazing how many cards we send. I think we have done a pretty good job of keeping in touch with friends from college, from our jobs in Iowa, and even friends we have made here in the last 7 years. Life gets crazy when you have small children. Calls should be made but aren't because a little one is having a hard time getting to sleep or because we are simply too exhausted at the end of the day to make the call. That does not mean that friendships are not important because they are. This is such a great time of year to reconnect with old friends and catch up! I am thankful for this opportunity!

30 Days of Thanks - Day 22!

I am participating in the 30 Days of Thanks by BoogieMum. What a great idea for making November a month of thanks instead of just a day!

I am Thankful for TODAY!

30 Days of Thanks - Day 21!

I am participating in the 30 Days of Thanks by BoogieMum. What a great idea for making November a month of thanks instead of just a day!

Today I am thankful that Princess is home from school, all three kids are playing nicely together, and it is nice enough outside to go to the park. It is supposed to rain this afternoon, be nice tomorrow and then rain Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It reminds me a lot of this summer when I had all three kids home and it rained, rained, rained so much!

Today has been a good day so far! Time to round up the kids and head for the park!

Weight Loss Day #2! (Thanksgiving Day!)

Pounds lost to date: 1.5
(The first week usually goes well for me - it is usually the second week that is hard to lose anything.)
Rules

Water
XXXXX

Vitamin
X

Dairy

Today's Food Plan
Thanksgiving Day!

Breakfast
Pancake - 3
Syrup - 4

Actual (DadOf3 made breakfast! Saved a point!):
Eggs - 2
Bacon - 4

Lunch (3:00)
Turkey 3 points
Mashed Potatoes 3 points
Gravy (mix) 1 point
Green Bean Casserole 3 points
Pumpkin Pie - 8 points
Dressing - 0 (I don't like dressing so it is easy to skip this!)

Supper
I think we will be eating so late that we will not want to east supper.

Snack Before Bed
Popcorn - 3 points - with Shrek the Third movie!
Lemonade - 0 (sugar free)

Points Total
Breakfast 6
Lunch 18
Supper 0
Bed Lunch - 3


Activity Points Earned
Pedometer points: ??


Total 28 - within points range

COMMENTS: Holiday so I am glad to be within the points range at all!

Weight Loss Day #1!

Pounds lost to date: 0.0
Rules

Water
X X X X

Vitamin
X

Dairy

Today's Food Plan

Breakfast
Nothing - we had the steak thing planned already and it is thawed. Gotta save the points!
Actual - ate nothing for breakfast. No coffee even.

Lunch
Smart Ones Fettuccine Alfredo (6 points, 300 calories, 6 grams fat, 47 carbs)
Actual - ditto

Supper
Steak (size of my palm) 10 points
Potato 3 points
Butter 3 points
Cheese 3 points
Baby Carrots - 0 points

Points Total
Breakfast 0
Lunch 6
Supper 19


Activity Points Earned
Pedometer points: ??


Total 25 - within points range

COMMENTS: Not exactly a healthy day, but this will get better as time goes by. I stuck to the plan but had a glass of wine with DadOf3 last night to make my points 28.

I've Been Inspired!

Sandy from A Grande Lemon Slice has inspired me! She has identified some things in her life that she does not like and she is taking steps to change these things in 90 days!

I am going to join her in her quest to lose weight! Yeah, it is probably kind of silly to start the day before Thanksgiving, but what the heck! When inspiration hits, you've gotta go with it!

Here's my plan:

1) I am going to dust off my Weight Watchers stuff I used (successfully) before and after Princess was born.

2) I am going to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.

3) I am going to record what I eat on my blog listing points, calories, fat grams, and carbs.

4) I am going to plan what I can eat either the night before or in the morning. I cannot eat until I commit to the day's food plan.

5) I am not going to eat any kid food. No finishing what they leave behind. If they leave it on their plate, it goes in the trash. This is really hard for me.

6) I am going to have a goal of walking 20,000 steps every day. This is a challenge but my pedometer is a big motivator for me. Something about numbers and beating yesterday's "score".

7) Hopefully I will have something to show for this by the time we go home for Christmas.

8) I will reassess in 3 months. It is currently November 21st, so this experiment is going on until February 21st. I will make this a game and see how much weight I can lose in that time.

9) I am going to have "prizes for every 5 pounds lost. Small, non-food prizes. I will brainstorm these.

10) I will go to Lifetime Fitness at every opportunity. This ties into the 20,000 steps per day, but I cannot forget that I have this wonderful place to go to exercise!

11) No, I am not brave enough to list my actual weight. I will instead report on number of pounds lost.

Here we go!

7 Random Thoughts Meme!

I have been tagged by Sandy for a 7 Random Thoughts Meme! I just found Sandy's blog and it is great! Check it out!


1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and or weird things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here we go!

1) I never intentionally leave home without my camera. I have taken thousands of pictures since purchasing my digital camera in January 2005! I try not to be annoying when I take pictures, but I also love to get the perfect shot. Taking pictures comes in really handy this time of year. I have made calendars, memory books for teachers, and purchased mugs with pictures on them.

2) I have abnormally small feet. My father-in-law once teased me that I do not have feet, I have inches! Ha ha! (Love you, Pops!) It is fun to go shopping because the shoes in the 5-6 sizes usually really go on sale. I have to admit that my shoe size has increased about a full size since having kids, a common occurrence from what I have heard. I, for one, am not sad about that!

3) I love to bake and I am happy that my kids are now old enough to eat what I bake! For the longest time it was just DadOf3 and me eating - that is not so good for the waistline (although DadOf3 never seems to gain an ounce!)

4) DadOf3 and I met in a garage! For our wedding, the owners of the garage took a picture of the inside of their garage, framed it, and presented it to us! :) I love that picture!

5) I have been very homesick today and wishing we were traveling to Iowa for Thanksgiving. After Princess got home from school, we heard a knock knock, knock on our door and who should be standing there but a flower delivery person. My sister, bro-in-law, nephew, and parents sent us a very pretty cornucopia flower arrangement! (I included the picture!) I still miss them but I am smiling more than I was!

6) I am going easy on myself for Thanksgiving this year. I bought a fully cooked turkey breast so we will still have the traditional turkey main dish but without the mess and hassle of cooking the whole bird. I cooked a whole turkey last year - I may do this every other year. It is a lot of food for us and three little kids who don't eat much. I am making a pumpkin pie with chocolate on the bottom, green bean casserole, hot rolls, mashed potatoes, and gravy!

7) I have been chomping at the bit to get my Christmas decorations out of the attic!!! I am going to make DadOf3 get them out tomorrow. I will put the tree up and put the lights on it Wednesday night. When the kids wake up on Thanksgiving morning, they can help me decorate it while we are watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade! (Yeah, I'm the only one who is going to watch but it will still be fun!)

Since I just tagged some people for a similar Meme, I am going to tag some people I have never tagged before! Anyone else is welcome to play as well! Please leave me a comment so I know to check out your answers!!

1) SuperMom,

The Sisters (I love reading their interactions with each other!)
2) Pink Morning
3) Gusto Girl
4) Like A Star

5) Mrs. Mandypoo
6) Skittle
7) Mommy Vents

Find Your Wings - Mark Harris

Wow. I will comment on this in my next post. What a powerful song!

30 Days of Thanks - Day 20!

I am participating in the 30 Days of Thanks by BoogieMum. What a great idea for making November a month of thanks instead of just a day!

I am thankful that I take so many pictures of my children. In this digital age, it costs nothing to snap a picture each and every day, and most days I do.

My little kiddos are growing up so very fast, sometimes literally changing from day to day. When you are in the thick of it, it is hard to see these changes, but pictures make time stand still.

I can look at my little Knight back on his 2nd birthday and see how is really is turning into a three year old right before my eyes.

I can look at my little Prince right after the Knight was born and see that he was still a baby himself when, at the time, I thought he was so big!

I can see how my Princess has grown from a precious and beautiful baby girl into a precious and beautiful first grader. When did that happen?

Time flies, but we can catch bits and pieces with the pictures we take along the way!

Give Me 5 Monday!

Well, since I am home from the gym again today due to coughing all night, I decided to try something new. I ran across this new meme over at Becca's Buzz.

Here are Becca's rules, play if you'd like:

"Each week, I will put out a random topic from my list of topics and you share 5 answers of your choice on the given topic and link back here! You can add photos, links or stories or just a simple list of your own of 5 things that relate to the topic as it pertains to you and your life experiences. It doesn't have to be in any order of importance unless otherwise specified."

Give Me Five things you like and/or dislike about your birthday.


1) I love being acknowledged on my birthday with an email, card, or present. If someone takes time out of their busy day to remember me, that makes my day!

2) I cannot say that I like the number of candles on my cake getting higher, but I like it better than the alternative!

3) I like that my three kiddos love to celebrate birthdays. It is simply a day to celebrate in their little eyes and I love that! I love to go all out for them too!

4) I love love love that my mother calls me on every birthday at the exact time I was born. How cool is that? I used to sing to her "Do you remember that day in September...?" (Love you Mom!)

5) I love that I was almost born on my Grandpa's birthday. I missed him by 5 days! We still always celebrated together and I loved every celebration with him!

Play if you would like, and leave me a comment if you do!

30 Days of Thanks - Day 19!

I am participating in the 30 Days of Thanks by BoogieMum. What a great idea for making November a month of thanks instead of just a day!

So, we were sitting down at the table for supper last night and I noticed that my 6 year old daughter was not eating. She was smiling, swishing her hair back behind her shoulders, batting her eye lashes, and in general flirting...with her reflection...in the window opposite her chair.

Yes I had her stop this and start eating her supper, but I was secretly happy that she liked her own reflection. I do not want to raise conceited children, but I do want them to know their own self worth. (And no I am not implying that self worth is all in how you look!)

I am thankful that my children have high self esteem. I am thankful that my kids are confident in themselves. They know no strangers, and while this is a great stressor for me because not everyone out there is nice, I do admire their ability to go up to someone and just say hello. My two older children now know not to do this unless I am with them, and I am working on my youngest, but within their peer group, I can think of no greater asset than having the confidence to say hello or ask if they can join in a game. My kids are confident in themselves and not self conscious.

I am sure their day will come - middle school happens to all of us. But for now, they are comfortable in their own skin.

For this I am very thankful because I believe my children to be the most beautiful, intelligent, and sweet children on the face of the earth! :)

30 Days of Thanks - Day 18!

I am participating in the 30 Days of Thanks by BoogieMum. What a great idea for making November a month of thanks instead of just a day!

I am thankful for this upcoming week. Princess only has school on Monday and Tuesday and then we will have 5 full days will her home! DadOf3 has to work Wednesday too but then we will have him home for 4 full days. It used to make me sad that we never travel on Thanksgiving and usually celebrate with just our little family, but in this life you can either be sad about what you don't have or make the best of what you do have. Since we know we do not travel at Thanksgiving, we can do other things like put up the Christmas tree and decorate for Christmas during the long, long weekend. I can use that time to finish our Christmas letter, get a family portrait taken (with our trusty tri-pod) in front of our fireplace and order Christmas card pictures. Some years I actually have the Christmas cards ready to send by Thanksgiving. Not this year! But our letter is 99% written, and with my handy dandy new duplex printer, printing it will be a snap this year!

30 Days of Thanks - Day 17!

I am participating in the 30 Days of Thanks by BoogieMum. What a great idea for making November a month of thanks instead of just a day!


I am thankful that the Halloween candy is almost gone! The kids have had 2-3 pieces of candy per day since Halloween, and I have said no 1000 times per piece of candy eaten. I am getting a little tired of saying "no!"!

Here are some creative ways I have heard to get rid of Halloween candy:

* Send it to work with Daddy or Mommy
* Sell it to a dentist collecting candy and paying $1 per pound. This particular dentist was then going to send it to soldiers in Iraq.
* Donate it to homeless shelters
* Donate it to a church group collecting extra Halloween candy and giving it to children charities.

I will keep these in mind for next year!

I'm a NERD!

I always knew I was a nerd and now I have proof!

30 Days of Thanks - Day 16!

I am participating in the 30 Days of Thanks by BoogieMum. What a great idea for making November a month of thanks instead of just a day!


I am thankful for antibiotics. My ear infection and bronchitis came back or maybe they never really left. Any which way, I am thankful for living in this modern day and age where there are medications like this to help us.

Get out of bed, Mr. Coffee's dead...

Yesterday my Mr. Coffee started coughing and sputtering. It turned half of the water inside to steam that never actually made it into being coffee. I am bummed! I love coffee. It's what I have for breakfast almost every day. Because of this I could not get the theme song to Cheers out of my head all day. In case you have never heard it, check this out.

Of course the line to the song that is running in my head is not even in this part of the song: Get out of bed Mr. Coffee's dead, the morning's looking bright.....

In the grand scheme of things, this is hardly worth mentioning, but I post the song in the hopes of GETTING IT OUT OF MY HEAD!

Cheers Theme Song - season 7

More about this in the next post.... :)

30 Days of Thanks - Day 15!

I am participating in the 30 Days of Thanks by BoogieMum. What a great idea for making November a month of thanks instead of just a day!

I am thankful that DadOf3 is so handy! Since we have moved into this house, DadOf3 has redone our entire kitchen (including installing a hardwood floor!), remodeled our guest bathroom, made a beautiful oak table with fancy legs, and tore down and rebuilt our deck. DadOf3 enjoys working with his hands after sitting at a desk every day during the week. Now the kids are getting old enough to help him too. He will have a half of day day off work each Friday through the end of the year to finish putting stairs on our new deck.

Here are some pictures of his work:

Taking down the old deck.
Building the new deck one, two, three
I added some kitchen pictures to this post!

30 Days of Thanks - Day 14!

I am participating in the 30 Days of Thanks by BoogieMum. What a great idea for making November a month of thanks instead of just a day!

I am thankful for this blogging community! I feel more connected with real, live people than I have since we moved down here almost 7 years ago! I left a great community of friends back in Iowa and not a day goes by that I don't miss them. It has been so much fun getting to know people like Shana from My Three Wisemans, Mama Zen, Deb from Mom of Three Girls, and KC from Mindless Chatter of a Busy Mom and lots of other people! I read as many blogs as time allows and they never cease to amaze me! There are some amazing women writers out there!

:)

Tagged!

I have been tagged by Mama Zen for a fun Meme. If you have not checked out The Zen of Motherhood, do so immediately! This is one of my very favorite blogs and one of the first ones I check every morning. :)

This one is called 6 Random Things About Me.

1. I have a hearing loss in my left ear due to a botched ear tube surgery when I was in Kindergarten. The a**h*** doctor took it upon himself to remove the ear tube himself rather than let it fall out as most doctors would have done. When he took it out, I am sure that he ripped my eardrum because I now have scarring - thus the hearing loss. I still remember the pain that taking the ear tube out caused. He used no anesthesia or pain medication, and my mother was not even allowed to be in the room with me. A**h****.

2. Because of #1, I taught myself sign language when I was in 1st grade. I remember being sure that I would go completely deaf before I turned 10. I don't think I ever verbalized this fear to anyone. The paper ran an article with the signs for the letters of the alphabet. I would sign the alphabet over and over under the covers of my bed each night before I fell asleep. It was actually kind of cool because my sister learned to sign too. We could have secret conversations right in front of our parents. Ha ha ha!

3. I am very time centric. At any given time during the day, if someone asks me what time it is, I usually can tell them within minutes of the actual time (without looking at my watch!). I am early to everything. If I am "on time", that feels late to me. This is polar opposite to my husband who is in his own time zone most of the time.

4. Although I am considered right handed, I can write with both my right and left hands. This whole thing started because my Dad taught me how to hit a softball left handed. It is actually really fun to be able to do that - it really screws with the pitchers! As a kid, I idolized other kids who were left handed. My daughter is left handed! :)

5. I have been a room parent for Princess for the last two years. I will most likely be a room parent next year for her class as well as the Prince's class. It is cool because you get inside information and access to all of the great picture taking opportunities during the school year!

6. I love blogging. It has been very therapeutic for me. I have always been a diary writer. This is the next best thing - plus I get to use pictures!

Now, I tag......

KC over at the Mindless Chatter of a Busy Mom
Shana over at My Three Wisemans
Mrs. Mandypoo
Deb over at Mom Of Three Girls

Lifetime Fitness Goals Week 10!

I am back to going to lifetime fitness after taking a week off with bronchitis/ear infection! It was a good day!

Monday, November 12, 2007: Princess has the day off from school. Visit Santa, have fun!
Monday Actual:
Visited Santa and had fun!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007: Go to Lifetime Fitness, get groceries,
Tuesday Actual:
Got groceries with the boys (We actually got a car cart and the boys were GOOD!)
Lifetime Fitness: 65 minutes on the tread mill (810 calories, 3.63 miles, 8-10% incline)
Weights (arms, chest, shoulders, legs) X 3
Finished laundry
26,134 steps (11.96 miles, 10 points)
Wednesday, November 14, 2007: Go to Lifetime Fitness, Meet MomOf2Boys at the park for lunch
Wednesday Actual:
Lifetime Fitness: 65 minutes on the tread mill (801 calories, 3.63 miles, 7-10% incline)
Weights (arms, chest, shoulders, legs) X 3
Finished laundry
20,834 steps (9.96 miles, 9 points)
Thursday, November 15, 2007: Go to Lifetime Fitness, go to Princess's Turkey Trot!
Friday, October 12, 2007: Help at Moppetts and finish cleaning for the weekend

30 Days of Thanks - Day 13!

I am participating in the 30 Days of Thanks by BoogieMum. What a great idea for making November a month of thanks instead of just a day!

I am thankful that cooler weather is almost upon us. I have to say, since it is mid-November, I am officially sick of shorts and sandals. I am ready for sweatshirts, jeans, and coats! It will not be long now. At least that is what I keep telling myself. It is going to be 85 today and even warmer tomorrow. Ick!

It was very strange for this former Iowan to take the kids to see Santa yesterday in the heat. I have to say that the kids love the warm weather. I chalk that up to the fact that is all they have ever known. They don't know what they are missing: crisp fall mornings, the trees changing colors, that distinct fall smell - kind of a mix of burning leaves and fresh air. I miss it!

Santa Claus is in town!

As a follow up to my last post....

Santa Claus is in town! He has been hanging out at our local mall since the beginning of the month but there is no way I was facing the mall on a weekend alone with three kids. Princess did not have school today so my trio and I headed to the mall to visit with Jolly Old St. Nick!

The last couple of years, I have had to be in the picture of my kids with Santa because one or other of the boys didn't want to sit still. But this year I FINALLY got a picture of all three kids with Santa and without me in it!

Yes, I am one of those annoying people who is already humming Christmas carols and itching to put up the Christmas tree! :)

This is the 5th year I have had the kids picture taken with Santa.

The first year it was just Princess and a six month old Prince.

The year after it was Princess and 1 1/2 year old Prince. He actually did OK with that one.

A year later, a 2 1/2 year old Prince wanted NOTHING to do with the jolly old elf, but since it was the Knight's first Christmas we had to get a picture taken with Santa so I held the Prince.

The year after that it was the Knight who would have nothing to do with Santa so I was in that picture too.

This year was different! Yippee! Yahoo!

I will post past pictures when I pull my Christmas decorations out in a week and a half or so!! :)