Did you have a nice holiday too?

Chivalrous Love

The knight and his "princesses"

It just so happened that he wore this shirt today. A planned short picnic at the park with our friends proved to be full of adventure. A "lousy dragon" tried to invade the castle and make off with the princesses. Fortunately there was a knight in shining armor there to protect them, scare the lousy dragon away, and wisk his darling princesses off to a feast for kings.

 Sweet chivalrous boy.

November Love!

Have you been keeping busy, too?

Great Grandmothers are wonderful homework helpers

And rocking the ladder & slide in a favorite costume is a fall favorite

A little random drawing

and creative expression.

Did I mention that we are learning to write our name?

As I sat down at the computer tonight I realized that somehow we zipped through October and landed a week into November. With only a little over two weeks left before Thanksgiving  I think it's time to pull out the Holiday meal planner and start with the arts & crafts. I love how each year the hand print turkeys get a little bigger than the last. And the joy of working in the kitchen as the wonderful tradition of letting the children create the dinner placecards takes place nearby.

Do you have a Thanksgiving tradition?

Color Change

Mixing it up


It's amazing what modern children have access to. Games, books, toys, a myriad of items have flooded the market all hoping to find their niche in a billion dollar industry. From toys with images of fine art, beautifully illustrated stories, to computer generated games & ideas or $0.99 rubbish, we have only a little clue as to absolutely everything they come in contact with. Toss in any phone or game App , and you widen the gap between what we had during our childhood & what they have.

Bingo, Memory, Letter & Numbers, iTouch & in-process Dino Sock Puppet

Today at lunch while I finished eating, my son, playing on this , mentioned that he was going to paint his pumpkin orange. Earlier this year we learned about the color wheel so I asked him is he remembered what colors you mix in order to make orange. He confidently replied " Green, blue & red." Slightly confused, I reminded him that red & yellow make orange.  "You're so silly mom! Red, Green & Blue make Orange!" and the kid promptly opened up his app and showed my just how RGB make orange.



Silly Me.

Laundry Love

My littlest one Loves to sort socks. This is great for me as I can always use an extra hand when it comes to laundry. It also is good for him for a couple reasons. First, he is helping, which is something that is important to him. Second, he is doing it himself & third, he is learning to sort. He sorts the socks by who they belong to. Then he sorts through to find the mates. This requires skill as not all black socks are the same.

I wonder how long until he asks to be paid :)

Self Love

Being True to Oneself

One of my fondest memories of the girls would be from ages 3 to 5. The period where dressing themselves with total disregard for any rules of fashion was law in our home. Some of their ensembles would make you squint your face & raise an eyebrow. Our eldest went on a walk one day with her grandfather & came home in this black velvet number adorned with shiny sequins & glitter - along with a matching bolero. This was her self titled "Vegas" dress & she LOVED it. She would pair it with rainboots or tennies and go everywhere in it.Our middle daughter enjoyed LOTS of color, bows & princess attire, but somehow she was always well put together. She still is quite the fashionista.

As our third child, a son, began to reach that dress up age, I was wondering if he too would find a unique combination of articles to wear. To my suprise, he enjoyed wearing full costumes everywhere we went. Dinosaur, Dragon, Woody, Max & most recently, himself. He refuses to let us cut his hair, claiming "It's part of me Mom!" and it has besome quite long and wild - Think Mad Hatter

I am quite proud of how each child has chosen their own path. They mix a little mainstream with a hint of their own personal style & it comes across quite well. They carry it, own it & enjoy it. I Love it.

Foundation Love

As humans we have to grow. We either grow together or apart, there's no standing still.

We have three kids - 13, 9 & 4 and as the mom, it is very rarely that I feel guilty for our weekly date night. Everyone has their needs met throughout the week and mom & dad spending time together is a necessity, not a luxury. They have grown up with us having our time & is just part of our routine. I think they are at the point where they enjoy when we go out. We always come home laughing and refreshed - we are better parents because we are happy and secure. We are creating a solid foundation.

It is a balance. We give our kids everything to make certain they are happy & secure. When we take care of our relationship, we are modeling the importance of tending to the foundation of our family. We are providing the kids with the tools they will need as they become adults entering into their own relationships, and that's not something to feel guilty about.

My parents had "bill day." Who gets excited about paying bills? It wasn't until I was married that I understood why. They would go out to lunch, pay bills, shop & only they know what else. All I know is that no one was allowed to go with them & they came home (late), happy. They were married for 55 years until a sudden passing. They had "their day" for as long as I can remember. Along with unconditional love, it is one of the most important things I learned from them.

The kids are going to grow up and move out & you'll be stuck with your partner so you might as well make certain that they are your best friend from the start. It is much easier to maintain something than to try and fix it once it is broken.