Bits of Thanksgiving

We had a busy couple of days for Thanksgiving this year, Jordan had to work, so the kids and I went down to visit him at the station.  We could only stay for a couple hours because my next stop was my mom's.  Other families stopped by as well, so it was a busy station, and unfortunately Jordan went on 2 calls while we where there.  After that I headed straight to my mom's, she hosted Thanksgiving for our family and our dear friends the Carter's spent the day with us as well.  It was perfect because both our groups were on the smaller size and we were both missing members of the family

 
 The day after Thanksgiving we spent with Jordan's family.  While the meal was being prepared we got pretty creative with entertainment for the kids.  The rope lowering activity was rigged up by daddy and her mission was to collect a rock and a stick before she could be raised back up, she wanted to do it over and over of course.  And who knew that sweeping a back porch could be so entertaining?  Our holidays are definitely different these days, the kiddos provide lots of extra craziness, and I must admit that it wiped me out by then end of them.  But they also provide so much joy and lots of fun.  I am looking forward to jumping into Christmas festivities now, once I recuperate that is ;)

Mom's 50th Birthday Bash!

My mom turned 50 on 11/11/11!  How cool is that?!  She wanted to do something big and special for her day, and she decided on a ladies night out to go to dinner downtown at Buca Di Beppo and see Mixtape at the Horton Grand Theater.  The best part was that we were transported in a SUV limo.

 We all had so much fun, we took a scenic route to get to downtown, stopping off in Seaport Village for a photo op, we grooved to some music, drank champagne, and toasted our favorite stories of my mom.  We sat at the Pope table in Buca and it was such a fun room.  Sitting at a large round table, no one feels excluded, and the acoustics are such that you can hear the person across from you clearly, even if they are speaking low.  The last activity of the night was seeing the show Mixtape, which is a musical revue of the greatest hits of the 80's.  It was hilarious and so entertaining.  We were all laughing so hard as we remembered the silliness and crazy fashion trends of the 80's.  It brought back many forgotten memories like mullets, crimped hair, Michael Jackson, Footloose, and when my mom, sister and I used to work out in silly spandex outfits to Jane Fonda videos.  The night could not have gone ANY better, it was such a fun crowd and most importantly my mom had a blast.  Happy Birthday Mom, I love you so much, you are the best!!!

Halloween

This is a bit belated, but we had a very fun Halloween this year with the kids! In the morning we went over to Grammy's school. My mother-in-law is the Director of the Ramona Lutheran Preschool, and they were having a trunk or treat, she invited Clara to come along as a "perspective" student. Grammy announced to the class that she had something to share, and she took Clara up with her to the front and introduced her. Clara wasn't shy at all, it was really cute (she also introduced Coleton of course). We even stayed for a little of craft time. In the evening we took Clara out Trick-or-Treating with my sister and Jon and Ella. Grammy stayed behind with Coleton to pass out candy, we hear he was a hit with the trick-or-treaters in his pumpkin costume! We actually went pretty far, and Clara was such a trooper. She wanted to walk the whole way all by herself, and she wanted to carry her candy bucket all by herself. We would try to offer to hold it, especially when it got so heavy that it was dragging on the ground, and she would not have it! It was so cute, she will do anything for candy! We had one little miss hap along the way, when the adults weren't paying too much attention at one door, Clara was holding onto the handle, and when they opened their door, she flew inside, fell on the floor and her candy spilled everywhere. Ooops! I can just imaging how surprised they were to have a cupcake come crashing inside! She was a little upset until they offered her candy, and then she was all better ;) These sorts of holidays just get more and more fun when you have kids old enough to enjoy them!

My idea...

...of a perfect day. First and foremost, is Jordan being home. He works 24 hour shifts (sometimes 48 and 72 hour shifts as well), but then he will be home for many full days. This last Saturday, Jordan got home just in time for some Whole wheat brown sugar banana bread pancakes (whew, mouthful?) sausage and scrambled eggs. Then he took Clara up to help him in the garden while I put Coleton down for a nap, then I...cleaned the kitchen, started the first of four loads of laundry, De-cluttered, swept, vacuumed, and cleaned up all the bedrooms. We hung out with the kids before putting them both down for naps, I showered and got ready for the day. Then we all got out to enjoy the beautiful fall air and went on a hike. We went to the Barnett Ranch Open Space Preserve, just 10 minutes from us, and it was gorgeous, and perfect for a family hike. We came home and I cooked Black Bean & Quinoa burritos (absolutely delicious) and had my mother in law over for dinner. Then she put the kids to bed while we headed out to see a movie. We saw Courageous, it was a great movie, with a great message, but also a tear-jerker! That movie will rip at your heart strings if you are a parent!! It doesn't get any better than that! (A huge thank you to the blog world for recipe inspirations!)

This & that...

Here are some random pictures from the last couple of weeks. I am a huge fan of Instagram, it's a great way to spice up the pictures taken with your iphone and share them. It's also super handy to take quick pictures here and there when you don't have your camera.

Beach time with friends!!

Carving pumpkins, neither of our kids wanted anything to do with the goo...go figure!

Bacon & Egg toast cups, cutest breakfast ever...thanks to Pinterest & Martha Stewart!

One big event that has happened in the last 2 weeks is that we have potty trained Clara! It's funny because she was SO ready to be potty trained it was embarrassing, but I don't think I was ready for her to be potty trained. I don't like being at the mercy of her bladder, I liked being able to change her diaper when it was convenient for me, I know that seems lame, but with a baby to tend to, it was just easier. So we are both learning a new way of life, and thankfully she picked it up really quickly. I feel like you don't hear a lot about potty training, and I had no idea what to expect. We did a 3 day method, that called for constant attention to your child, teaching them to tell you when they need to go, and it was a cold turkey method (more on that later). It would have been pretty comical to watch Jordan and I get down on Clara's level, and act uber uber excited when we told her she was going to be wearing big girl panties and not diapers because she's a big girl. Or to have our voices drip with excitement when she made it to the potty. If we could only see us now!! We are still working on making it a new habit, because she will forget to tell us if she gets too preoccupied. Let me just say that I am not a fan of potty training though. Like I said, the method required a complete removal of diapers or anything resembling them. And night time hasn't always gone smoothly. She is a thirsty girl (she gets it from me) and I feel bad not allowing her to have water for hours before going to bed. Sometimes I check on her a couple times a night and ask her if she needs to go, which kinda works. But then as a result of this she hasn't been getting as good of sleep or taking as long of naps, which really affects her behavior. I'm debating using some pull ups at night if it doesn't improve. It's been frustrating at times, like when I am driving down Wild Cat and she says she has to go potty, the only option was the gas station. So holding Coleton in his carrier, and her hand, I make my way into the gas station bathroom and attempt to hold her over the toilet. Craziness, and I hate public restrooms! Well, I just had to vent and I know I am being a bit dramatic. What do you all think about potty training? Any words of advice or encouragement, because sometimes I feel like it has turned my world upside down.

Pumpkin Patch & 6 Months!

 We went to the Mountain Valley Ranch in Ramona, it is really cute and has lots to do for the kids.  They supply wagons for the little ones to ride in, and to cart your pumpkins around.  There is a huge corn maze, a corn shooter, and lots of animals.  It was the perfect chilly fall day (our weather can't make up it's mind around here) and we had fun running around and exploring.  This has definitely become one of our many fall family traditions!

 

  

  

 

Coleton also turned 6 months old on the 20th.  He is really starting to get around, mostly by rolling, but he can get up on all fours and will probably be crawling soon.  He is 19lbs 13.5 oz (90%) and 28" (95%) long.  He had a random health concern this past month, he had a UTI, which is strange for a baby to have.  It went away quickly with antibiotics, but they wanted to do further testing to make sure the urine wasn't flowing back up into his kidneys.  We had the test today, and everything came back normal, thankfully!  Other than that, he is extremely healthy and happy and growing so quickly!  We have started rice cereal and other foods will not be long off.  We just love this sweet little man to pieces!

Fall Festival!!

 Jeannine and I hosted our first annual fall festival yesterday!! It was a huge success and a fun time was had by all.  We had homemade chili, cornbread, and root beer.  The games included a leaf pile candy hunt, pumpkin popping, apple bobbing, donut eating contest, pin the face on the pumpkin, cake walk and pumpkin and face painting. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We even had a quick photo booth for our guests as they arrived!   

 

 

 

It was so much fun, we definitely have to try to do it every year. If you weren't able to make it, we missed you and hopefully we'll see you next year, it'll be even better!