Photo Story Friday - 7 Year Old Photographer!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Our photographer for this Photo Story Friday is Princess! Keep in mind that she is 7 years old and it was pretty darn dark outside while she was taking pictures!

Here is Princess's first attempt at taking a picture of DadOf3, RR, and me.

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Poor DadOf3 lost his head!

Attempt number 2 - poor RR lost half his face!

RR had to sneeze this time around and he still lost half his head!

SUCCESS!!!

Not too bad for a very dark night!

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Thanks Princess!

Thanksgiving Thursday 13

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are all enjoying your day! I thought it would be appropriate to make my Thursday 13 list of things I am thankful for this year.

1. I am thankful for my family. I feel truly blessed to have my husband and my kids. We have had a great day of playing so far.
2. I am thankful for good health this past year. Our illnesses have been minor so far, and for that I am thankful.
3. I am thankful for my husband and the job that he has. It makes him happy, he is very good at it, and in the economy, those are indeed great blessings.
4. I am thankful that I can continue to stay at home with my children. It is an honor and a priviledge.
5. I am thankful that we have RR here for Thanksgiving this year!
6. I am thankful for our families back in Iowa. Even though we are separated by 1000 miles, they are close in our hearts and we love them all very much.
7. I am thankful for new friends I have made this year. I am so happy to have a friend who is fun to hang out with and who loves my kiddos too.
8. I am thankful that Princess and Prince are doing so well in school this year. And more than that I am thankful that they like school!
9. I am thankful that the Knight and I have had so much one on one time this year. He is a remarkable little guy. He amazes me every day.
10. I am thankful for our kitty pets. They are sweet little animals who put up with a lot of nonsense from our kids.
11. I am thankful for the work we have been able to do on our house the last few years. The deck is DONE except for being sealed!!
12. I am thankful for our expected arrival, and I pray that he will continue to grow big and strong.
13. I am thankful for you, my blogger community. :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

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I hope this day brings you fun times with friends and family!

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My sister and parents sent this beautiful bouquet.

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We wish we were in Iowa with you all today!

Now it's time to decorate for Christmas!

Let the holidays begin!

Wordless Wednesday - Daddy and the Knight have a Special Day!

Spear Painting!

Here is Princess just starting to paint her African Spear! That her first color was pink does not surprise me at all! :)

Princess painted AB's spear too. He and his parents are in China this week! Isn't that exciting?? Notice how she is staying away from pink? She told me that Auden does NOT like pink. Pretty cute!
Here are the finished products! They will get spear tips and feathers once they dry.

This school does a great job of studying other countries. The Prince will be studying about China in December. The coolest part about that is that AB will be coming to speak to his Kindergarten class once his family gets back home in about a week. The Prince is SO excited!

Thanksgiving Pressure getting to you?

Is that Thanksgiving pressure to be perfect getting to you? If so, hop on over to The Zen of Motherhood for a reality check! You won't be sorry!


Happy Thanksgiving!

International Study

Princess's class is studying about Africa this year. Today I am headed to the school to help the kids paint their African Spears! It should be a very fun and creative adventure! Princess is excited that I am going to help out. I just need to be back in time to get DadOf3 to work by 9:00.

Paint like the wind, 2nd Graders! :)

Photo Story Friday - Turkey Trot for Prince and Princess!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Running is something that is near and dear to my heart. I started running in January and it gave me such a sense of accomplishment. I ran my first 5K in April and plan to continue with my running starting in January of this year too.

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That is why I am so happy that Princess and Prince's school encourages running! Every day before the kids can go to the playground for recess, they have to run the track that circles the playground. At first this sounded a little mean - keeping kids away from their swings and slides, but in reality, it is great for them. It helps them run off excess energy and makes teaching in the classroom a whole lot easier!

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Here are some pictures from yesterday's Turkey Trot! The kids get to show off for parents and run around the track. The track is 1/3 of a mile. When the kids hit 3rd grade they have to run it twice. My kids only had to run once. :)

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Of course there had to be Turkey!

My little Prince is ready to race with the Kindergarteners!
Here he is running his little heart out!

Run like the wind, my little man!

No time for pictures! I've got friends to talk to!

Daddy came to cheer on Prince and Princess too! The Knight was so happy to see Daddy!

The Kindergarteners ran first, then First Grade, and then it was Princess's turn to run with the 2nd Graders!

Run, Princess, Run!

Princess ran her fastest!

The finish line was adorned with balloons!

Prince's class had already gone inside or he would be in this shot too. My little Knight is yawning but he did NOT nap yesterday. Too much excitement!

What a fun day! The kids were proud to show off their running ability, and I was very proud of them!

Wordless Wednesday - Grumpy Boy!

REAL music please, Mom!

I was happily singing Christmas carols to my self while driving the boys to pick Princess up from an after school program yesterday. The radio was off and I was just singing.

Then I hear from the back seat:

"Mom, can you turn on some REAL music now?"

Everyone's a critic! Even the 5 year olds!

:)

Give me 5 Monday!

The 'Give Me Five' Monday meme 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 participants share 5 answers of their 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.

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Give Me Five staples on your grocery list besides milk, bread and eggs.

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1) Cereal - the kids eat cereal every morning for breakfast. When they come grocery shopping with me, they each get to pick their favorite kind. We have switched to the big old generic brands of cereal from Target because we go through so much. Cereal is also a snack favorite around here.

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2) Juice - It is like coffe to my children. They need their orange juice in the morning to function. They only get one glass of juice per day because of the high sugar content of juices in general, and they love it!

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3) Uncrustables - these are little peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that are pre-maid. We get the kids up at 6:00 in the morning to catch the bus at 7:00. Between scurrying everyone through breakfast, the bathroom, and getting dressed, these save me lots of time. They are a little more expensive than making my own, but the kids eat them and they help make our morning routine more manageable.

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4) Diet RC Cola - This is the only soda I have been able to find that contains splenda. Not my favorite, but when I need a sweet-fix, this does the trick.

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5) Fruit - fresh bananas, grapes, apples, and canned peaches, pears, and oranges. This is a great and healthy after-school snack for my kids. We love our fruit around here. :)

Time to get measured!

I am so excited to be Matron of Honor in DadOf3's brother's upcoming wedding!! B & B are the neatest couple and we cannot wait to help them celebrate their special day in April!

Princess gets to be a flower girl and the Prince is the Ring Bearer.

Princess and I have an appoinement to get measured this afternoon. It will be nice to get that done!

Photo Story Friday - Farm Field Trip!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

I went on a field trip with the Prince's Kindergarten Class today. It was so much fun!

Here is teh Prince with some of his school buddies!
Here is the Prince getting ready to hear all about farm animals!

My little Prince LOVED the hayride!

The Knight and I did too!

We learned about Ostrich!

This is the first time in about a year I put the Knight in a stroller. I could not carry him if he got tired and it was a good call to bring it. The Prince wanted to push my little Knight everywhere. he did a good job!

The Knight got out of the stroller too. Here is his running around Fairy Wood!

Here is the Prince running around Fairy Wood too.

Time for a snack before heading home!

Time to get back on the bus! The Knight and I followed in Otis the van!

We had a good time but man was I tired when we got home! Time to hit the hay! Ha ha!

Off to the Farm!

I am headed out on a field trip with the Prince today! I am also bringing the Knight so wish me luck! I will post pictures when we get home this afternoon!

Wordless Wednesday - Growing a Beard for a Good Cause (more later)!

(Illegal words: DadOf3 is growing a beard/mustache for a charity event at work. Luckily it is driving him nuts and he shows no signs of wanting to keep it! He is cute clean shaven or scruffy - I just prefer clean shaven!)

Monday Fun!

AB came over to play today! We had loads of fun! His mom had to drive 4 hours to get visas for their family's trip to China in a week and a day, so I offered to watch AB for the day! What an awesome experience for them! AB's dad was sent to China for work and they are meeting him over there.

Here is AB with Miney.

AB with Miney and Princess
AB, Princess, Prince, and the Knight playing outside. It was nice and cool so we spent lots of time running around outside!

More outside pictures!

Aren't they cute??

Their game was "raking the yard" and I didn't even come up with it! :)

All in all it was a super fun day!

Princess is on a Mission!

Princess is on a mission!

She are I are pretty outnumbered here in FamilyOf5Land. We have Dadof3, the Prince, and the Knight who are all boys. The cats are boys too, but since they are not using the toilet, they are not getting blamed for this one!

One of the biggest pitfalls of being girls living within a majority of boys is the Toilet Trap, otherwise know as sitting on the pot when the seat has been left up.

Ick!

DadOf3 is usually innocent. My whining and crabbing at him after such incidents has trained him to put the seat down.

The Prince and the Knight are another story.

Now that the Knight is officially potty trained (for the last 6 months - yippee!) it is time for another round of potty training: Put The Seat Down or Experience the Wrath of your Sister!

She came out of the potty the other day after having experienced the icky bottom bath of doom hopping mad. Luckily I caught her first. We talked about it and worked out a strategy.

We decided together that because I normally provide positive reinforcement as opposed to punishment, that we would continue being positive (although she really wanted to wallup somebody!). So we gathered the little boys together and made them a deal. Each and every time that they go potty and then come back to report that they put the seat down, they get a sticker! Stickers are BIG at our house and should do the trick. I am not, however, above raising the stakes.

Because...ick!

I am just doing my part to make the world a better place!

Boys and Girls

Having a girl and two boys, I am I am often a witness to the differences between boys and girls. Take this morning for example....

The Princess, the Prince, and the Knight were all happily playing together this morning with Tinker Toys - a family favorite right now along with the big legos.

Princess constructed a house that actually looked like a house and designed it to hold some papers so she would not have to carry them around all day. Cute, practical, and with a purpose.

What do the boys make?

"Pewers."

Pewers are gun/sword combinations that you point at your brother and yell "Pew! Pew! Pew!"

Yep, there are differences between boys and girls!

AHV - have fun at Grandma and Grandpa's! We love you!

(Please click here for my Photo Story Friday!)

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AHV - we love you and miss you! Have fun at Grandma and Grandpa's House!

Miney and Moe say HI!!!! WE MISS YOU!!!

Love, Aunt D. :)

Photo Story Friday - the Making of a Jack-O-Lantern!

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Has it really just been a week since it was Halloween? Time sure flies!

Here is our ugly little pumpkin. Remember, it was the last one in town! We were lucky to get him, moldy spots and all!

Here is Princess covering the table with newspaper.

Time to scoop out pumpkin guts! Yummy - NOT! My stomach could just not tolerate the icky pumpkin smell this year. DadOf3 was promoted to head pumpkin carver.
Princess's turn to scoop out some pumpkin goop!

And now it is time for our little Knight to scoop. He was not too impressed!

Princess and DadOf3 plot the Pumpkin Pattern.

3 little helpers and a brave DadOf3 make the first cut.

The three little helpers took a break to watch It's The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. DadOf3 marches on!

DadOf3 makes the final cuts! It looks awesome!

It is a kitty cat on a tree branch!

It looks better in the dark. Great job, Pumpkin Carvers!!!!

The pumpkins on Halloween night! (The Prince decorated the little one in Kindergarten.)