Monday, November 30, 2009

Farm Fun....

Will loves going to the farm and herding the little doggies...but I think what he loves the most is that there are so many things to do there that he doesn't get to do at home.  Not because we won't let him...but because there is just more to do (and to get in to).


Here is just one of the many "fun finds" from our trip over Thanksgiving.  You'll notice that the big boys had just as much fun as our little boy. :)
(Sorry that the lighting is SO BAD...we were in the barn, not known for good lighting)



Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!!


From our favorite lil' turkey and the rest of the gang

[interesting bit of information...did you know a group of turkeys is actually called a rafter, but "gang" is also acceptable??...well now you do :)]

Monday, November 23, 2009

New Socks....

Yesterday we started pulling Christmas decorations out.  Call us crazy, but I have my reasons and so we "decked the halls" yesterday (and will probably continue to next week).  When I finally located opened the box with the stockings in it...Will starting saying "Are those my socks?"  "I need my socks on!".  Before giving me anytime to explain he grabbed he & Ryan's stockings and started putting them on his feet.

He acted quickly and got super frustrated by the satin lining in Ryan's stocking that got stuck to his foot.


They came off about as quickly as they went on -- but it was funny to watch!


After pulling out a Santa; Will looks at him and says "Hi Santa, how are you?"  His recognition of Santa is so funny to us since this is his first year really getting it.
Today as we were listening to Bing & Frank's Christmas CD...he sang "Tigger Bells, Tigger Bells, Tigger Bells all the way"...even after I practiced saying "jingle" with him he said Tigger -- it's a new rendition! :)
I think if we said it once, yesterday, we said it a thousand times...this is SUCH a fun age for kiddos and Christmas!


Thursday, November 19, 2009

A few of my favorite things...

And now I'm channeling Julie Andrews (and flashing back to my 6th grade solo competition) and feeling like bursting into song. ("Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens")  However, this is suppose to be like Oprah's Favorite things (come on you know....the one show where doesn't matter where you stand on the Oprah fence you want to be in her audience)  Well she normally gives her stuff away too and well I'm just not her (not that I wouldn't want to but that's just not the type of blog I'm running over here).  However, I am linking up to this "Favorite Things Party" and it's just fun to see what everyone has on their list (plus it makes you think about those "tried & true" things that you'd have a difficult time parting with)  My list is a combination of stuff I like seasonally and all year round (oh and also in NO particular order...I just can't be that favorite specific)

1.I love this lip balm (I love chap stick in general, but this is for keeps) -- I've used it since college at bedtime and I think that it keeps my lips from chapping and also keeps them really smooth (haven't had any lines show up on them) Not that I'm one to share beauty secrets but I just think it's awesome!

2.  Love this tea!  During the fall/winter when I'm prone to colds I love to sip this hot tea to loosen up all the congestion and feels so good on my throat.  The peachy taste is just yummy (I think tea should be flavored) and makes me think of summer.  Plus drinking hot tea seems like such a mature thing to do - so I'd like to think it gives me some points there. 

3.  During the holidays our family loves listening to this CD and watch the movie.  Transports me to a different time...(like one I never lived in, but I pretend)  Listening to Bing is like a big gulp of crisp winter air -- LOVE it!!

4.  Ryan and I are fans of coffee (there may have been a time in our life that anytime we passed a Starbucks the mister wanted to stop).  So when our coffee maker broke (so proud of it lasting 5 years and 2 moves, and quite possibly being revived at least once) it was a must that a nice coffee maker be purchased to replace it.  I love hearing it grind because I know that only good things will come from it.  The coffee tastes so much fresher and I am NO coffee expert - it's just good!

5.  Love these PJ's for the lil' guy!  They are by Carter's and from Target...they are SO soft and make him so snuggly (even on his worst days).  I've washed them at least a half dozen times and they are still extremely soft.  I think kid's in footie pajamas is so cute!  We like to keep the thermostat low in our house so the full body coverage is good (plus he can't remove socks or pants anything)

6.  These are by far my favorite to wear in the winter.  I've never actually had a pair of my own (although growing up my dad & brother owned several pair and I loved to tromp around in them)  Our 3rd Christmas I bought Ryan a pair and he loves them too...so this year I got myself a pair and they are so warm - but also extremely feminine which is why I've been leary about buying them in the past.  Plus since they are from Target they are very affordable (ya know in case your dog eats them or something)....however if you aren't hip on affordability there are several other places you can find them too.

7.  I love these Goody clips.  Pretty much anything that doesn't leave me with less hair than I started with is great!  I like to wear my hair back when I'm lazy and just let it go crazy curly or perhaps I haven't showered and want to appear that I've done something with myself and hide the bump that was made b/c I slept crooked on my pillow because I think it looks nice when it's curly and half back so these lil' clips are perfect for holding a big wad of hair back and out of your face as well they don't pinch and actually don't feel like they are there -- which is nice.

(I couldn't get a picture of just the clips...apparently the headbands and bobby pins needed a lil' face time - but the clips are on the right)
9.  Apricot Scrub - in the last year I've fallen in love with this face wash -- I'm the type of person who likes the smooth feeling that rough beads and harsh cleaners bring to ones face.  I'm no professional on what is actually good for my skin, but for the time being I'm really digging this


I'm also enjoying this body wash from Sauve...again with the smooth feeling.  In the winter I'm all about shluffing rough dry skin so stuff works perfectly - plus it smells good which is always good when you are trying to get clean :)
10.  I'm no fan of cleaning....trust me or ask my mother.  Anyways -- I guess it's been about a year or so (maybe 2) since these bad boys came out.  But I LOVE them!!  They clean Will's tub amazingly -- he's the only one that uses it and since he only takes baths (recently a lot of bubble baths) it leaves a horrible ring.  These just BUST right though it.  They actually make me enjoy cleaning a lil' bit because you can see them working!
My other favorite cleaning thing are these sticky gel things that go in the toilet. (I know it's gross...but if it keeps me from having to clean my toilet all the time then I'm using it)  After you give your toilet a good scrub just press 1 into the inside of the bowl and everytime you flush it gives your toilet a lil' scrubby scrub.  In a toilet used on a regular basis (or if you have a two year old boy) it is gone in a couple weeks.  So just clean 'er up again and put another one in.


11.  Mulled Cider candles!!  To tell you the truth I've never actually bought the brand I have a picture of (cause I'm cheap frugal).  I like to grab mine up at Wal Mart (for $1, $3, of $5) since ya know they are candles and won't last forever anyway so why spend an arm & a leg on one.  A) I'm a huge fan of candles anyone B) they spell absolutely wonderful!  To me they smell like the holidays (something baking in the oven) so from early (or mid) September through January I have them lit (or better yet on a candle warmer) - I love the way they make my house smell!

My list could probably go on and on...but I'm cutting myself off (you're welcome!) I'm sure Ryan & Will's list would be quite different than mine [I think Will's would go something like: "White'nin MaQueen, Thom-usss, ummm ya-us (yes), milk-shake, choc-wet, Fuzz (Buzz Lightyear), Bevo....LOOK, no.  LOOK!!" - that's about as "on track" as we'd get with him]
So what are some of your favorite things?  Do they vary depending on season or time in your life?  Check out what other's have on their list here...





Tuesday, November 17, 2009

That's just how the cookie crumbles...or doesn't

The other night Ryan and I were struggling with the whole dark before dinner issue - frankly it's putting us in a foul mood (there I said it, so glad that's off my chest).  So to make things more fun, after dinner we decided to make some cookies as a family AND (wait for it....wait for it) bring out Bing & the gang to serenade us with some of our favorite songs from White Christmas (Fentons, I know it's crazy but listening to Christmas music at the beginning of November feels good!!  Oh boy was it fun!)
Will loved pouring in all the different ingredients to make the cookies and gobbling down snacking on a couple chocolate chips while he waited to add them.  Five dozen cookies later and we enjoyed a, late, snack before bedtime.  Ryan also used the opportunity to teach Will the true art and technique of cookie eating....





Sharing Ryan's milk

He would dip every single bite - even the tiniest crumbs (often leaving him to just lick his fingers)

I don't think he'll ever look at a glass of milk the same :)

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Making the most of it...

This weekend was gorgeous!  Sunny warm fall days are hard to beat...well 70+ degrees in mid-November is hard to beat, but extremely welcomed!!  Despite Will & I being a bit congested we took off Saturday morning to Henry Horton State Park with some friends.  We took a nice lil' hike and enjoyed being out in nature, good conversation, and the soft roar of little boys tromping through leaves while being so inquisitive of their surroundings.  Will did an awesome job and only convinced Day-did to carry him a couple times.  He loved walking with David & Stephanie (Stef-fa-fee) and enjoyed chasing his buddy and finding sticks & acorns to carry through the woods. 

We stopped for a couple quick photos and our family was last up...Will was getting a bit silly by that point.  In fact the next 2 pictures he is scooting off the bench and Ryan and I are trying to wrangle him - this is why family pictures are SO difficult!



Will DID NOT like that they were SO far away.  The 8 of us had all been standing on one large rock and we're throwing things into the water.  While photo opts were being made D&S hopped over to another rock to get closer and to well...free up some space (8 people on a rock, 2 of which being under 3 gets a lil' bit crowded).  Will wanted to be with them the whole time and they were VERY sweet to oblige his needs wants.


Today was equally as beautiful and I jumped back into running (after a two week hiatus trying to brush off a head cold) with some fellow MOPS mama's...our goal is the 1/2 marathon in April.  It's so much fun to run with others and have a common goal...and it's a real treat to have such encouraging women on your side.

Hoping to enjoy a few more sunny warm days before it gets back down to normal November weather.  I'm sure Will-man will enjoy getting a few more days of outside play too!

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Just a lil' behind*...

In honor of taking my Halloween decorations down tomorrow (not my fall decorations*...but jack-o-lanterns beware) I wanted to share the pumpkin that Will & Ryan carved this year.  We haven't carved a pumpkin since the year before Will was born (that was 2006!), I guess we were waiting till he could remember or participate or just had our hands full.  Anyways, Will enjoyed helping Ryan for a bit


-- he made a couple decisions regarding the face but wanted NOTHING to do with cleaning it out (he was grossed out)  He did help Ryan make the first cut and loved seeing it lit up, but I think he's still a lil' young to enjoy it with such little involvement.
Here is their creation...
We went for a silly face this year -- we aren't big into spooky faces anyhow and since Will made a lot of the decision it was good to relfect that



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*Maybe you've noticed from the previous pictures but our lil' boy is sport'n some new duds on his BEHIND...


yup we've been only in pull ups for nap/bedtime (without going into TOO much detail - let's just say we've been successful!).  He loves his big boy "un-uh-wares" and the first day he wore at least 4 pair - not b/c of accidents but b/c he wanted to try on all the characters...SO FUNNY!!


** I may be trying to sneak some winter/Christmas decorations in -- I know, I know it's ridiculous but since we won't be hosting any Thanksgiving festivities I thought getting a hard start might be fun...AND it'd be fun to have the decor out for awhile [especially when decorating a new house ;)]