I don't know if I'll be able to put any gifts under our tree. I wouldn't want to disrupt the sleep of their royal highnesses.
They pretty much live under there. Especially Cozy. It's so sweet to see them all curled up together under the sparkly lights.
For Saint Nicholas' Feast Day. I chuckle over the fact that Caleb put out a sandal. He is a true California boy!
You get egg cartons that look like this.
Almost too pretty to break into...
No wonder she loves it so much!
There's a party in her tummy..so yummy...so yummy.
Even those who sport mullets, enjoy a good bowl of soup. No mullets were harmed in the making of this blog post.
Actually the end was yesterday but I made it through with around 40 posts for the month of November. I am going to stick with it best I can and keep on posting. :)
Post the 4th photo in the 4th album in your computer. I tag everyone who blogs and reads my blog.
Here is mine...
Because my Scentsy order arrived!
The scary part is that that is only MY order. The fun part is it was almost all FREE! I love FREE! I was shocked at how much hostess credit I ended up getting. Everything smells wonderful and I am a big Scentsy fan now.
People have many valid reasons for loving Thanksgiving. For me, my favorite part is cooking with my kids. I realized today that that is my favorite part when I noticed that I had only taken pictures of us cooking and none of the actual festivities as they unfolded. Dinner was nice, everything was yummy and bellyaches ensued from over eating. Best of all there are leftovers for tomorrows lunch.
Cooking is something I enjoy very much so passing that love on to my kids is just a natural thing. I don't believe any child is too young to help cook. (Even my newborns 'helped' by hanging out in a baby carrier). Any kid can help stir and pour if you are willing to put up with a little mess. Caleb and Ginny really took an interest in helping with the meal prep, I had a ball watching them and taking pictures. The older girls did their part as well as I have mentioned in past posts. AJ was the only one left out of the cooking this time and I am not even sure how that happened. I do know that he cooked us a fabulous lunch of homemade Egg Drop Soup the other day while we were busy pie baking and so he left his little mark on our culinary hearts in that way.
The first thing the little ones made was cornbread. Cornbread must always be made in a cast iron skillet here. It's the way cornbread was MEANT to be!
Even the littlest chef was in the kitchen.
Everyone loves to get in on the pouring.
Pouring is all well and good but be very careful when you stir!
I love it when Miss Actually gets put in her place by Little Miss Bossypants.
All ready to pop in the oven. Smoke alarms at the ready!
Glorious!
What a proud boy! And I am a proud mama let me tell you!
We must have another look. I wish it were Smellernet...seriously.
Mike always loves Green Bean Casserole at Thanksgiving. It's not something I grew up with but he misses it if we don't have it. Caleb volunteered to make that as well. Ginny was done cooking at this point and ran off to demuck the splatter from her hair. Jillian was off terrorizing the cats most likely.
Dumping everything in is the most fun of all.
Over all, a great couple days of cooking with my brood. Tomorrow is our annual NO BUY day. We love Black Friday! Christmas movies, decorating and homemade cocoa. Ahhh..the good life!
The kids and I have been cooking all day.
Here are the pies all finished (pumpkin by Gabby and Apple by Maddy, cutouts on the Apple pie by Caleb). Also in the pic, cranberry sauce getting going.
And after it's been cooking away.
Tomorrow I make the Mashed Potaotes and the green beans and Ginny and Caleb will make the cornbread. Here is a link to last years cooking and what the finished cranberry sauce looks like.
I urge you all to make your own cranberry sauce and ditch that nasty canned stuff. This only takes a couple of minutes and a very few ingredients.
Reflecting on being thankful is always easier with a little visual. We keep this poster in the kitchen and the kids are free to write on it as the Spirit moves them. It gives me a chuckle to see the things they are thankful for at any given time. Caleb's doodles are so funny, I wonder what things he meant to write? I also love the little note at the top 'for my self'. A little self confidence is a great thing!
Another funny one "For the lock on my door."After reading a blog post about lancing devices of the past I thought I'd search out some myself as part of my Thankful month. I am so thankful that Gabby was diagnosed in a time where there are so many advances, making living with Diabetes easier for her. It was while doing this search that I came across this little number and I cannot stop laughing. I do not know what is more pathetic? The fact that it looks like a robot from a 1950's sci-fi flick or the typos that run rampant in the description.
Gotta run right out and get one of those!
The picture that caused me to shudder to the point of nearly losing my lunch..and also prompted this blog entry was this guy.
I can't even imagine having to use that lancet launcher to prick Gabby's little finger and I tip my hat to all the people that had to use one.
Insulin pumps have also come a LONG LONG way. People who know Gabby have seen her little pump the size of a pager (What's A Pager? she asked me when I tried to explain the size it would be.) I don't think she would ever have been able to tote around this gadget circa 1978. Never mind that we would never have been able to afford one.
Insulin Pumps did improve with the times but they still weren't as great as what we have now. Here is one that was at least pocket size...sort of.
So today I am thankful for the advances in medicine and for what we have to look forward to.
Things like the Flex pump.
Constant Glucose Monitoring
The 'Ping"!
Lancet Devices that do not look like torture devices!
Awhile back I began a habit of playing a c.d. of lullabies for Jillian and Caleb when they went down for bed or naps. Jillian was struggling to settle to sleep, she is a busy girl and needs to have her mind occupied up until the minute she drifts off. My solution to hours of shuttling her back to bed was a c.d. called Celtic Lullabies by Eden's Bridge.
I love this album so much, it is easily the most soothing of music. Jillian calls it her 'sounds' and it's the first thing she asks for when we lie her down to bed. Interestingly there is a specific song that seems to be the one that allows her to drift off and I think she listens for it, waiting for it to come on so she can finally shut down for her rest.
When this song comes on she always stops wiggling and I can see her lying there listening.
They are still as luscious as they ever were.
Being a free spirit in a world where I really need to be super organized is not easy! I like to throw everyone in the car and go on a crazy spontaneous adventure. I want to be fun and silly and never get caught up in the adultness of life when i can avoid it.
I am a crafty gal and I have far too many hobbies for a mom of 6. Just don't be too hard on me if you come over and there are dishes in the sink.
Master manipulator of everyone in this family, Jillian knows how to get what she wants! Still a happy little girl she is always chattering away about this and that and best of all, making sense! She has decided of her own accord at the wee age of 17 months to begin using the potty, another excersize in manipulation.
He may not be perfect but he's perfect for me. Mike is definitely my other half, the perfect compliment to my quirks and habits. He is one of the friendliest guys I have ever known, he can have a conversation with anyone at any time, he is just so approachable. I love that man!
Nothing has changed, Maddy is still hiding behind a book much of the day. But in those times when she isn't she is a joy and a blessing to my heart. Caring to a fault, she is always considerate of the feelings of others and puts people ahead of herself.
Gabby is my hero! She lives every day to the fullest despite carrying the burden of diabetes with her 24/7. She is a ball of cheer and good humor, she defines the word spunky.
Still the boy with the most caring heart in the world, AJ runs on endless energy. He has the knack for asking you questions you have to go and look up. Such as "Mom, why do the blue electrical charges stop when they hit sand?" Umm....hang on one second while I check google.
Genevieve is like our wise Solomon. Zany and silly most of the time, she will randomly spout off a kernel of wisdom that stops us all in our tracks. Fully transitioning from one of the littles to the "big" kids has not been much of a stretch for her. 
In the throes of the transitional 3-4 year age, Caleb can go from hot to cold in seconds. Generally the funniest little merry prankster, we are working on emotions and controlling them with limited success these days.
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