my sentiments exactly!

I have been on a bit of a soap box lately. I am totally frustrated with the skipping over of Thanksgiving which totally offends me since it is my FAVORITE holiday. I have absolutely forbidden the playing of Christmas music in my presence until the day after Thanksgiving, at the earliest. I am not shopping for Christmas gifts until Black Friday, and I won't allow my kids to bug me about what they want for Christmas yet. I want to celebrate Thanksgiving. The holiday without commercialism or strings attached. The holiday where we get to hang out together, not scurry about BUYING stuff that none of us need. The holiday where the colors of the season are really all the decoration you need! I mean, seriously, who wants to see the Halloween decorations swept away and replaced with Christmas on November 1st, if not sooner? It bugs me. I went to Target looking for something cute and Thanksgiving-ish or even fall-ish for my table, and guess what? Nada, nothing, zilch. Aisles and aisles of tacky Christmas decor, though. No shortage of that. UGH! I left feeling so disgusted.

And then, as I walked through the door to Nordstrom yesterday, I saw a sign that said something to the effect of: "Here at Nordstrom we believe in celebrating one holiday at a time. We won't be decking our halls until November 27. We hope you enjoy this season with your families. From our family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving." My heart sang for joy (which, let's face it, it often does at Nordstrom). Just another reason to love you, my dear Nordys. We'll see you on Black Friday!

a grateful book review...

This is is my book recommendation of the month. I love it, love it, love it. If you come to my house for Thanksgiving, you can sit at my feet, and I will read it to you...

A very dear friend gave it to me many years ago for my birthday, and each year at this time I read it a million times: to myself, to my kids, to just about anyone who will listen.

It's about a girl who calls a family meeting to tell her parents that they need to be more ambitious and make more money. Her parents tell her that, actually, they are rich. Then, they proceed to do an accounting, on paper, of all of their possessions. They place a monetary value on things like the ability to work outdoors, how much their children are worth to them, and the nights they get to sleep under the stars.

Here's an excerpt...

and now my paper says four million and sixty thousand dollars--and we haven't even started counting actual cash. To tell the truth, the cash part doesn't seem to matter anymore. I suggest it shouldn't even be on a list of our kind of riches.

It just tugs at my heart every time I read it! Top it all off with gorgeous illustrations! Run out and get it soon! (you could use your Border's Rewards coupon!!!)

my birthday...

It was my birthday on Saturday, and since I have an aversion to photos of myself, I will share a story my dear mother shared with me about my birth....

My mom's water broke in the middle of the night while she was asleep (that must run in the family). She woke my dad up, and they took my older brother to the neighbor in the trailer park where we lived. It was 5 AM and he already had a drink in his hand.

I'm so glad that my brother survived the day with the drunk while my mom popped me out.

I never knew I lived in a trailer park. My mom called me trailer trash when she told me this tale. Oh, the sweet tales of our birth....

And then there's the one about where I got my name...

say what?

Max asked me to help him build a "huge oval train track" today, to which I replied, "sure, just let me finish blowdrying my hair." He left the room and then came back a few minutes later and said, "Mom, this is your last warning. I need you to build that train track right now."

Is that what I sound like?

a spooky Halloween.........

We had so much fun this Halloween, I can hardly keep up with it all! I think I need to make a separate post altogether with all of the pumpkin farms we visited! This is hands down my favorite time of the year (you can HAVE Christmas!). Some of these pics are terrible, my camera was on a funky setting, but you get the idea....it was a blast!

not supposed to use your hands on the donut on a string game, little butterfly!

my boys!

carving!

trunk or treat goods...

the little conductor!

madame butterfly

the itsy bitsy spider!

aye matey!

my birthday boy!

We started the day with pumpkin pancakes for my little punkin!

(Dad had to help blow...in our "blowing out the candles" trial runs Ian got too close and singed his hair!

Ian loved all of his new presents (the kids "helped" him unwrap)

another birthday candle on his pumpkin cake (is there a theme here?)

he really enjoyed diving in!

I can't believe my baby is one! I wish all of my whining would make time slow down!

Happy FIRST Birthday to the sweetest little PUNKIN! We love you, Ian!