get the kids involved!

Let the kids make the place-cards for Thanksgiving dinner! My boys loved the idea...and I think they look cute!

Make the actual place-cards HERE. You might need an account with them...but they turn out cute. You can upload each persons photo onto the card! Let the kids create Lego masterpieces then set the card on them!

If your main Thanksgiving dinner table is too fancy for the idea...it would be a cute idea for the kids table!

~have a Very Happy Thanksgiving!

MMMmmm...

K...seriously...I'm not the biggest Pumpkin fan. I love the scent but just not the actual pie. (i know it's probably un-American...shh..don't tell anyone!) This bread however is delicious...I think it is a wonderful balance...not too pumpkiny...just right! It is also super easy (except M-cat...do not attempt...over 5 ingredients!) The recipe makes a lot too, so it is perfect for giving to friends or neighbors for gifts...while still getting to keep a loaf for yourself to eat! It will make 3 full size loaves...but when I make this recipe I make 16 mini loaves and 1 large loaf out of the batter. Your house will smell delicious!
*I l♥ve pecans in it too...but everyone is not a fan of nuts...so I make the recipe as above, pour batter into some of my pans, then mix in 1 cup of pecans to the rest of the batter. That way I have some loaves with pecans and some without! and...everyone is happy!

**I have also made this recipe by substituting all of the eggs for 4 very ripe mashed bananas...it turned out great!

not out of a can!

Make some home-made Pumpkin Puree that can be used in many Autumn recipes! Including a delicious Pumpkin-Spice Bread recipe that I will be sharing with you tomorrow!
Not only will you know exactly what is in your Pumpkin-Puree (only pumpkins!) but your house will smell delicious! Just like one of those Pumpkin scented candles...only the real thing!

if laughter is the best medicine...

...then here are excerpts of what I've been medicating myself with this week:

~I can hear my heart beeping!

~You'll see I don't do much around here...except make it ALL possible.

~That is a professional beard.

~You're like a bull in a Chinese restaurant!

~That is a drivers license picture that will land you on the terrorist watch list!

I know...i know...I told you I was incredibly busy with random projects here at home and needed to step away form my computer for a second. Which is true...but I have some wonderful things to be thankful for, so I must list them, then back to crossing things off my to-do list!

~I am SO thankful for my wonderful cousin. (basically THE best cousin in the whole world) You can click over to her blog here, yep it's Martha, and she rocks! The UPS man brought me a fun filled package this week. How fun is it to get a package for no reason at all except to tell you that you were on her mind! I love it! Especially the awesome contents: a Wallflower plug-in scent thingy...which smells delicious! a cute pad of paper (I'm a little bit of a paper connoisseur...ok it's an obsession) AND the best thing ever...a stamp custom made with my name on it! Yeah...all of you that have common names...you don't have any idea what a big deal it is to have something personalized...and not just your initial...your whole name!!! I LOVE it! Thank you Martha!

~MMMmmm...we are thankful that Lisa brought us a yummy jar of her homemade apple-butter! Not only is the apple-butter delicious but the labels she made for the jar are the cutest! She said her recipe was simple and easy...I'm going over to her house tomorrow...so I'll see what I can do about getting her to spill the details on the how-to!

~I'm thankful for quicker than expected oil-changes and tune-ups! I had braced myself for a few hours of reading magazines and basically wasting time while the truck was getting the regular stuff looked over...and to my surprise i got a call on my cell phone only minutes after I had ordered my Starbucks...informing me that my truck was going thru the car-wash and should be ready in moments! Wow! Now what do I do with my time!

~ Thankful that the above mentioned oil-change was so fast because it allowed me to be home to receive the call from Nox's nurse at school...letting me know he had a tummy-ache. Which is not something he says often. So I'm thankful I was able to buzz right on over to his school, pick up my flushed face four year old, and snuggle down on the couch with some Tom & Jerry re-runs.

My life might be busy and filled with a never-ending to-do list...BUT it's my life...and I LOVE it!

thru the eyes of a 4 year old...

Nox's pre-school is participating in the National PTA Arts Competition called The Reflections Program. He created an entry for Photography. The theme for this years program was understanding the concept of "Beauty." So his photos had to represent What beauty was to him. He had a Blast walking around our neighborhood with my Sony DSLR-A300 around his neck snapping photos. I just had to make sure the strap was secure around his neck so this project did not end up costing us hundreds of dollars! ;) Mission accomplished! He got some great shots...don't ya think?!
...on another note...I have seriously 15 different projects in front of me that I HAVE to finish! So please accept my apologies if I do not get around to your blogs in the next few days. For the sake of my own sanity and the harmony in my home...I need to get these things done! I am a much happier person to live with when my projects are complete and cleaned up off the table! So please bear with me...I have lots of time set aside to blog-surf coming up here next week! Love you guys...and can't wait to catch up!

in no particular order...

~ I was able to snag a babysitter so that S and I could head into Manhattan and watch the Pacquiao vs. Cotto fight at a friends apartment. It was a great time...but...on the train into the city we sat in front of some loud-talkers. Let me tell you what we overheard one of them telling the other:
"I can't believe I have eff-ing H1N1 in me right now!"
yep...seriously...I stopped breathing, used my hair as a protective filtering device as I told S as calmly as I could, "we need to change seats...QUICK!"

~ since we were in the city to watch the fight...that is what we did...but it just seemed kind-a wrong to me when we were back at Penn Station boarding the train and I didn't have one single shopping bag! Wrong, wrong...and Sad.

~ E stayed the night at a friends house on Saturday night. So it was just Nox at home. On Sunday morning I was reminded as to why I have two kids...So that the older one can turn on the TV and pour a bowl of cereal for the younger one without me having to get out of bed.

~ am I the only one who gets anxiety when giving a gift card? I am always so stressed out that the gift card I bought will not have been "loaded" correctly. Then the person I gave the gift card to will try to use it and there will be no money on it...No this has never happened to me...but i am ALWAYS worried it will. I mean...would that person even tell me if that happened or would they think I was just giving away gift cards with no balances as gifts...how embarrassing that would be. If it was someone I knew well...I could laugh about it...but what if it was not a close friend? Is it just me or does anyone else ever stress about stuff like this?

~ I consider myself a fantastic pretty good cook...but why is that when ever I make a grilled cheese sandwich I can sit and stare at it for minutes...and it will always be "just-not-quite-done" BUT the second I walk away really quick to do something it burns?

~ Why have they not yet invented this feature?: Lets say for instance I forgot to set my DVR to record The Real Housewives of Orange County...why can I not have a friend send her recording from her DVR to my DVR so then I can proceed to watch said show? Our DVR's should come equipped with their own sort of e-mail address...then we can forward shows off to friends who spaced-out!

so...i guess there are others who love to be Random...and it happens on Tuesday...so I'm gonna hook you up with a link so you can check them all out...have fun! {thanks Mimi!}

happy Monday to you!

Just wanted to share a little something that brings sunshine and smiles into our day...we can all use that on a Monday. Right?! Nox has a new favorite song...and I'm happy to say it is one i love too. We try to only let Nox watch Noggin (which is now the new Nick Jr.) around our house. That children's channel does not have commercials which I prefer for a 4 year old! At his age commercials are basically the equivalent to an adult listing to a Led Zeppelin record backwards. ;)

Instead of advertising commercials between shows they play little learning games and songs. We have a few of our favorite. Whenever this song begins Nox calls for me kindly yells for me. He loves me to hold him and dance with him while we sing this song together. I think it is a needed break in my day too! ...and honestly I love catching him singing this song while he is playing or waiting for the school bus. It brings a smile to my face and I hope it does the same to you this morning!

Sooo...

Woke up this Friday the 13th morning...

our power went off at 8am...

my black (well...OK...charcoal) cat walked in front of me...

are you the Superstitious type?

would you suggest i just crawl back into bed and wait the day out... ;)

{the power came back on just a few minutes ago...I guess I'll take that as a sign I have to go to the gym anyways...}

museum fun!

Since there was no school on Wednesday we took the opportunity to meet up with some friends and enjoy the day at the local Children's Museum! Lisa and her adorable boy met us there and we had a fun time!

Seriously...little Jake is SO cute! E and Nox L♥VE him! They could not stop talking about how much of a cutie he was! In fact I'm thinking we might not be able to get together again...because now my boys are asking me for a little brother of their own. (come to think of it...sure makes that puppy they are asking for Christmas sound a little more doable!) Hmmm...or maybe that means we should get together even more often...so they can get their "little-brother" Fix! ;)

this week I am thankful for crafts...they make me happy.

I'm thankful for the news that cold rainy weather is heading our way...to me that just means lots of snuggling on the couch, yummy homemade soups, family movie marathons, fire-place crackling, fresh hot pop-corn weather! Can't get much better than that!

I'm thankful for chats with a great friend...even if the conversation does end up making me miss Vegas.

wanna add your own thoughts to the list?

a BIG thank you...

to all of our Veterans! I am so thankful for all of our Military men & women. Your time and devotion to Our Country is much appreciated. I am thankful for you today & Everyday!
Thanks!

~Battery Park, NYC...Statue Of Liberty in the background. The date on the picture is wrong...it is Sept. 2007

{comments off}

in no particular order...

~I think smokers should have to attend their own separate gym. It makes me sick when a smoker gets on the elliptical next to me. Even though they are not smoking at that exact moment...their clothes stink and once they start to sweat the disgusting smell of cigarette smoke seeps out of their pores. It makes me sick.

~ While on the subject of smokers...Sean thinks they should not be able to light-up immediately after they exit the train...there is a long walk way that each passenger must walk along until you reach the ramp to exit to the road level...many smokers light-up as soon as they step off the train...forcing all the passengers that are walking behind them to inhale their smoke...because there is NO way to avoid it. You're basically trapped.

~ OK, last smoking pet-peeve...I promise. Can't stand it when smokers flick their cigarette butts out of their car windows onto the road! Why don't they get ticketed for littering?

~ Since I've been living on the East Coast some things have become much more clear to me...for instance: I know understand a lot more Beastie Boys references in their lyrics. I've sang along to the songs for years, cranked to high levels and know every word. ...but now I actually know what I've been singing. Like: "we went to White Castle and we got thrown out" or "White Castle fries only come in one size" and "I chill at White Castle 'cause it's the best, But I'm fly at Fat Burger when I'm way out west" Yes, I've seen the cult-new-age-hippie-movie of the 2004 generation movie Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle...but just never made the connection really. White Castle is huge here on the East Coast....um...just like Fat Burger "way out West" ;)

~ Honestly I NEVER knew this until I lived in Manhattan:
Deli is short for the word Delicatessen.
Here in Manhattan every single "deli", sandwich shoppe, or small family owned grocery store has a sign out side that reads "Delicatessen". I had no idea Deli was an abbreviation! ha!

~ THIS story made me cry over the weekend.

~ I finally got all my Halloween decorations put away this weekend. Even though I like them up...i also like to put them away...i feel like the front of my house looks more organized.

~ I bought the boys some stylish snow-boots from Payless Shoes. They are having their Buy One Get One 1/2 off deal. They are actually pretty cool...they're Air-Walks. Sean laughed at me though...it's a little out of character for me to be shopping there.

~ Nox is obsessed with Cornucopias. So I bought him one at Michael's. He is so proud of his "Horn of plenty, filled with his corn, teeny-tiny pumpkins and lovely leaves", as he says! ;)

~ I'm honestly starting to freak out...by this time of the year I am usually all done with my Christmas cards. In previous years they would be all done and ready to be sent out right after Thanksgiving. This year we are having our family pictures taken at our friends house in West Virgina when we visit for Thanksgiving. I am more than excited about it!...it only means that I don't get to start putting the cards together until after Thanksgiving...that stress me out just a bit!

Pre-K up-date:

Journaling Nox's experiences thru his 2nd month of Pre-K:

~is singing God Bless America (possible the cutest thing ever!)

~Recited the book 5 Little Pumpkins almost verbatim...and i loved every word!

~asked for a whole apple in his lunch (not slices)...because "Jeffrey" has a whole apple!

~writing all the letters in his name...the "s" is usually backwards ;)

~was SO happy to see me at his school helping out with his book-fair.

~introduced to new letters in the letter family: "Ms.W" who loves "Words, Weather, Watermelon & Worms" & "Ms.P" who has "Pointy Patches"

~So excited to meet Real Firefighters at school...here is what he learned:
their breathing equipment might be loud...don't be scared
they are there to help!
if you see smoke...get low.
if you have fire on you...Stop, Drop & Roll.
received a fun coloring book...with (and i think his favorite part) a coupon for a free cheeseburger!
received a Red Firefighter Hat!

~talks about "Nicolette" all.the.time (i am still trying to figure out who this girl is...i think she rides his bus)

~missed out on Pajama Day...because his teacher did not send us a note home...i felt so bad...even though it was not my fault. =(

~his teacher let him hold "Mr.N" since the other kids had their stuffed animals...and he had none.

~learned how pumpkins grow.

~sings the numbers in Spanish....up to 7.

~came home with a craft that goes along with "5 little monkeys jumping on the bed"

~marched as a little spider in the Literacy Parade.

~Asked me, "When will Oliver be arriving?" (that cracked me up!)

~had his first play-date after school with his friend Oliver.

~learning sign-language.

worth a try?

As I was organizing the info for my Analytics post (if you need to understand what that is, please click HERE)...I got to thinking. If the things I type can lead random people to my blog...maybe if I type some important "key-words" into a blog post...I might lead someone I'm actually looking for to me! What if I can connect with my birth-Mother or birth-Father by Google accidentally leading them to me! If there is any chance they type in certain words into their computer on any given day and it leads them to my blog...how amazing would that be! I've read stories that have even crazier plot lines...so who knows...I think it is definitely worth a shot. So here goes:

I'm looking for someone who gave up a newborn baby girl for adoption on May 15, 1978 in Baltimore, Maryland. The adoption was handled thru LDS Social Services.

now I guess I'll just wait and see if I get any promising leads...(hehehe..."promising-leads" always makes me think of the movie The Big Lebowski...When The Dude asks about finding the person who stole his car, "When will you find these guys? I mean, do you have any promising leads?" and the Cop says, "Leads, yeah. I'll just check with the boys down at the crime lab, they've assigned four more detectives working on the case....got us working in shifts!"...come on...some of you have to know what I'm talking about!)

{if you happen to be the person looking for a daughter you gave up for adoption on May 15, 1978 in Baltimore, MD...my e-mail contact information is on my profile page...I'd love to hear from you!}

{ps...if you are Troy Dunn or if Troy Dunn is in your Ward...you can absolutely pass my information on to him! I could use all the help I can get!...thanks!}

...i'm not sure why...but i'm in sort of a funky mood...it IS Thursday though so I will forget about the funkiness for a few minutes and focus on what I am thankful for...here goes:

~ thankful there is not much on my schedule today that requires much effort from me. Already went to the gym...so i can check that off. The only other thing i have to do is bring E to football practice tonight and pick him up...which only requires me to drive for about a minute each way...I don't even have to get out of the truck. Basically i only need to take a shower and get myself presentable for the day sometime between now and oh..say...2:30pm. I'm thankful for that.

~ i'm definitely thankful for my bloggy friend JAM...i won THIS in a contest she had a little while back and the UPS man brought it by this week. When the box arrived Nox was thankful that the packing included the "GOOD" bubbles for popping (you know the BIG ones you can step on and they are Loud?...yeah those ones!) I am loving the product so far...I'll let you know more after I've used it for a little while!

~ soooo thankful i just found THIS website! I'm in love with all the Vegan food items they sell! i have been looking Everywhere for the Egg-replacer (egg substitute) for my baking (mashed up bananas and applesauce does NOT work in all recipes) and I found it here! I'm loving this site! ...and they sale gift certificates! (hint, hint if anyone is reading this and looking for Christmas ideas for me!)

...really...that's all i got right now at this second. Hope your Thursday has more energy than mine.

{...i went to my cousins blog...sifted thru her archives and dug up this Autumnrific logo...so thanks Martha...and then I saw that Tiburon has the same one on her blog today...so I'm thinking maybe Martha got it from her? I don't know...anyways...thanks to friends and family who don't mind me using their artwork. See...another "thankful"...and i thought i was done!}

my blogerality~

I like to think that my blog has a personality. I think that its personality is similar to my own real life personality. Now it was not always that way. When i very first started blogging my blog was filled with stories and pictures of my life...but the format itself was very generic. It did not really reflect ME. That was really due to the fact that I was new to blogging and really didn't know how to do much of the "computery" or "technically" types of thingys! Over the course of the past year or so I've learned a lot about this wonderful life I live here in Blog-land! I've adopted things that I love, tweaked things that seem to be "me" and dropped things that I just don't love. At the moment...I'm pretty happy and proud of what my blog has become...it suits me.

We all read lots of blogs and I'm sure we can agree not all blogs are perfect fits for each of us...right?! Just like people IRL...we are not BFF's with everyone. Some people we just click with whether it be IRL or in our computer! There have been some blogs that just don't really interest me...so I just don't go back...nothing personal...just different personalities I guess. Same as I might not agree or be captivated with every single post on every single blog that i read...but that does not mean I don't enjoy the rest of the content. If I come back to your blog then there is at least something i find interesting...your humor, stories i can relate to, cute ideas, take on life, yummy recipes, real life honesty, real stories from real moms, heck i even read some blogs just because i love their lay-out!

Which brings me to some things I can't stand on blogs...which is the reason I'm writing this...because I think some of us don't even know our blogs have these little quirks that cause some annoyance to some people. Do all my blogger friends that have their comments set-up with WORD VERIFICATION actually know it is on their blog?? It drives me crazy! I totally understand having this feature if you have a blog that gets lots of commercial traffic...but us regular ol' bloggers do not need it! You can change your settings! Hey, for those of you who choose to have word-verification...can you please tell me why?!! I'm just interested to know.

Also...I LOVE the POP-UP comment window! {insert Happy-Dance for Pop-up window comments!} Do the bloggers that don't have pop-up comment windows know that they don't? I suggest everyone leave themselves a comment on their own blog right now so we can see what our setting really are! These things don't keep me aways from blogs I really like...but they do make me wonder sometimes if the author even knows! On some blogs that don't have pop-up window comments it is difficult to leave a comment and then click back to read more posts on their blogs.

Another topic that brings a smile to my face is Blog Awards! I think they are a great concept...I feel honored when my fellow bloggers think of me...flattered even! I love that someone thinks highly enough of me to pass an award on to me. But...i have to tell you every time I see blog awards they bring a smile to my face for a completely different reason...they remind me of one of my favorite movies...Office Space. Have any of you ever seen that movie? In that movie Jennifer Aniston is a waitress at a restaurant called Chotchkie's. At this restaurant they are required to wear buttons on their uniforms...they call them "flare"...and Jennifer Aniston's character hates them! The restaurant has a minimum number of "flare" that are required...and that is what she wears...no more! I laugh because I feel like Blog awards are the "Flare" of the Blog-world. So that is why I just can't bring myself to putting them on my side-bar. It cracks me up...maybe it's just me. (i would L♥ve to insert the title to the Geto Boys song that is on the movies sound-track right here...but I'm really not sure how many people would get that...so I better not!)

Maybe there is something on my blog that drives you silly! (or something you love?) Go ahead you can let me know...I might not have even known about it myself! Or...it might be something that I love...in which case I can't promise I'll change it...that will just have to be something we agree to disagree on..."K?!" See just like two really good friends IRL!

...and hey...what is the blogging etiquette on letting a fellow blogger know there might be an easier way for them to have their blog formatted? Is there a polite way of letting them know...or is it something you just don't worry about. I'm sure Cherie will let me know the answer to this one...she's Queen of all things considered bloggy etiquette. ;)

For those of you that know me In Real Life (IRL)...do you think my blog represents my personality correctly? Do you like my Blogerality?...hehehe!

my analytics~

So...last time I posted my analytics some of you had no idea what I was talking about. So I'm gonna try to explain it a little better...OK?

You guys all use Google Search from time to time...right?! Me, I think I use it hourly...how did we know anything before Google? Well anyways...when you type something into Google search...those are your "key-words" that the search is looking for...trying to bring up the most specific information that pertains to your topic. What Google thinks you might be looking for with the words you have entered. We all know sometimes it hits right on what you wanted...sometimes you have to pick and choose thru the choices...right?!

Well...Google Analytics is site that among other things tracks the "key-words" that people enter when they "google". You can hook this site up to your blog and then you are able to see the "Key-Words" that direct people to your blog! Some key-words make complete sense...some are funny...some are just down right hilarious. It basically means that you probably have typed the "key-words" somewhere in your blog in the past...but sometimes the combination of the words are really interesting. Some of the Key-words are just funny to imagine that someone really "googled" them...for any reason in particular!

so there you have it....that is what Google Analytics is....Now...my post here on my blog is a summery of all the Key-Words that were tracked on MY Google Analytics...the words in Large BOLD print are actual words that someone in the world "googled" and it led them to MY Blog...EXACTLY how they typed them...NO editing at all!!! The words that follow the BOLD text are just my take and thoughts on the key-words. There...I hope it makes much more sense to you! If you set up google analytics on your blog you can track the same info...do it...it's fun and free. So here are the words that led people to my blog over the past month:

purchase malibu rum giveaway tank top ~ i got one for free!...how much will you give me for it?

what would you do to our society ~ really...i get to be in charge? oh...you guys are gonna l♥ve this!

virginia madsen ~ so I've heard i look similar to her...

popular football cadence ~ again...sorry to disappoint you...not gonna find that answer here.

oh how i wonder what she's doing now cadence ~ i knew someone was thinking about me...and I'm fine...thanks for asking!

food that looks like footballs ~ hope it tastes better than footballs...

how to spice up leftovers ~ yes, you will find that answer here!

kado email ~ ok...that's kinda scary...who is asking?

kid questionaires ~ they can give you a really good laugh!

lisa brown+blog+cadence ~ now I'm off to "google" lisa brown....

football cadence ~ again...sorry...maybe I should post one just because?

megyn kelly pregnant huge boobs ~ ...you write about how HOT you think Megyn Kelly is one time...and look at the hits you get!

bff kado ~ if you had to "google" to find out if you are my bff...then I'd have to say you're probably not...sorry.

blogspot he is so adorable in his new glasses ~ yep...he sure is!

cadence and i wonder what she's doing now as we work all day ~ um...no i don't...I don't care what she's doing now...

cadence missing the 5th ~ I've been told I'm missing Lots of things but the 5th was never one of them...now that is just one more thing to worry about...

dislike alice in wonderland ~ I absolutely do...and it has EVERYTHING to do with those scary "little-people" in the movie! take them out...and I'd totally watch the movie!

easy explanation of a perfect cadence ~ I'm sure we all know there is absolutely no easy explanation of a perfect cadence...but how smart of you to start with my blog! ;)

er fractured cast ~ check, check, and check!

everywhere we go cadence march words ~ here how about this one:
Birdy, Birdy in the sky
Birdy, Birdy in the sky
dropped some white stuff in my eye
dropped some white stuff in my eye
I am man so I don't cry
I am man so I don't cry
but I'm sure glad that cows don't fly
but I'm sure glad that cows don't fly

4 year old bent his pinky bone playing ~ oh...ouch!

'this is our life your missing out ~ well...really if you wanna get technical...YOU'RE missing out.

"pediatric opthamologist in nyc named steve" ~ i know a great one...but his name is not Steve.

missing the one you love ~ again with this one? Too many people are missing the one they love...and trying to find comfort here at my blog...hope you found it...I really just feel unqualified to help them.

see...that was fun...huh?! You all understand now...right?!

Weekend re-cap ~ Halloween style!

Our festive weekend celebration started on Friday with Nox's Pre-K Literacy Parade! This parade is an annual tradition at his school. Each class creates a costume that goes along with a book they have been reading...Nox's class was reading Eric Carle's The Very Busy Spider. Their school is located right next to our High School so the High School band even comes over and leads the parade around the parking lot! It is such an exciting time for the little pre-schoolers! They feel SO proud of their costumes and love marching! When Nox got home he told me that one of the High School students that was holding a flag in the band told him, "Hey, little spider, give me a hi-5!" Nox thought that was pretty Cool!!!
I had a little play-date planned for after school. Nox had one of his buddies come over...they made crafts:

We made Flubber and even watched the movie Flubber! I wanted to get the old 1961 Disney classic movie...but Netflix did not have it (i guess it was called The Absent Minded Professor...i was looking for the wrong title!)...so we watched the 1997 re-made version instead. The boys loved it! Especially since we had just made our very own Flubber! (thanks to Kimert for the how-to) E also had a couple friends over after school...but i have been informed that since he is now 10 years old I'm no longer allowed to call it a "play-date"...it is just referred to as "having friends over" or "hanging-out"! Well they thought the Flubber was so cool they wanted to make a batch too...so they made a purple batch! I didn't get pictures of that...i was to busy keeping Nox out of their way. It was super easy and fun to make! It was actually a good way to use up all the bottles of Elmer's glue I have accumulated over the years! When the older boys made theirs they added more glue and Borax and the consistency came out less slimy. Both batches were a Hit!

Here the boys are all dressed up for trick-or-treating. Nox wanted to be a Ghost Buster and begged E to be one with him. E is the best big brother ever so of course he went along with it...for about 25 minutes...until he saw all his friends in "much-cooler" costumes. So E took Nox down the street to a few houses and when he got home Sean had put together a COOL costume for him to change into. So E became a Motorcycle Racer and went out with a group of his friends (and their moms) to load up on treats all around the neighborhood! I took Nox out and we had SO much fun. He is really the perfect trick-or-treating age! 4 year olds are old enough to totally enjoy every second! He was smiling from ear to ear as we walked around. Then after he had quite a bit of candy he decided it was time to go home and get cozy...i love that kid! Sean stayed home and handed out treats to all the kiddos!


So...seriously...the evening of Halloween was a little crazy here. After the boys were done trick-or-treating we were all relaxing and enjoying the evening. Nox was lounging on the couch watching a Wubbzy movie and Sean, E and I were all watching the movie Alien. (yes...i sit thru movies like that to make my boys happy!) so anyways...if you've ever seen the movie...the part had just happened when they are exploring what they think is a distress call on another planet...this one scientist has just found a large "egg" and looks closer...and of course something jumps out at him and attaches to his space-helmet...well 5 seconds later our power goes out...complete darkness...on Halloween night! What are the odds! Well, it was a little windy and we find out 1/2 of our neighborhood was out of power because of a power-line that was down at the end of the street. So since it was dark...we ended up hanging out with our neighbors on our front porch for a few hours. We were getting concerned because the Yankees game was set to begin and none of us had power! Then it started lightly raining so we all went in, the kids got tucked in since there was not much else to do. Then S wanted to call our power company to see how much longer they estimated that our power would be out. I had just found their phone number, S had dialed it, he hit "send"...and NO Joke...that exact second the power came back on! Hilarious Huh! So no big deal...had a fun Halloween, enjoyed the evening with friends and caught the Yankees game! Fun!

This week has turned out to be a little crazy. Between volunteering my time at Nox's school book fair, guitar practices, appointments, E's rained-out make-up football game (which they won! 27-6) and all of the other daily life activities...I feel like I have been busy!...and the week is not even over yet...

This week the whole family is getting in on Thankful Thursday...we have much to be thankful for...starting with special deliveries from the mail man!

Nox and E were thrilled when a special box came addressed to them yesterday! Nox got home from school first and of course wanted to open it right away! He did open the box...but was SO good to leave it all how he found it until E got home and they could enjoy the contents together! (ok...maybe he had one fun-size Snickers bar while waiting...) Uncle Craig and Aunt Anah are the best! (of course that is a direct quote from the boys!) Anah...you have out-done yourself! I love all the details on the cute box! Sean saw the box and said, "Whoa, looks like Anah got her craft on! She must be reading lots of blogs." (because of course reading blogs brings out the craftiness in each of us...I'm guessing?)Look at the smiles on these boys faces:

We are Thankful for great Friends...like Craig & Anah!

Nox is thankful his Mommy has super fabulous Bloggy friends...who are crafty and have fun giveaways! Nox scored himself this super cute Halloween pumpkin t-shirt made by Kimert! (if you wanna whip one up yourself before Halloween go check out her blog...she has a tutorial HERE) It is really adorable and fits him perfect! He put it on as soon as he opened it...and wanted to wear it for school the next day! He got lots of compliments on this cute T!


~I am thankful for Starbucks Hot Apple Cider...it is really what pulled me thru the freezing cold football game on Tuesday night...the love I have for that son of mine!...the 25% of me that wanted to run back to my truck, turn the heat on full blast and watch the game from my parked warm Jeep was detoured by the warmth and yummyness coming from that steaming cup of goodness...once the beverage was gone...I'm sure my brain was frozen and not thinking clearly because I stayed on the sidelines and froze the rest of the game! (of course the warmth of motherly love radiated throughout me...lol) Thoroughly enjoying myself because they pulled out a win!

~...I'm thankful for heaters in vehicles...that warm right up and defrost my frozen toes!

~ We are thankful for how hard S works to provide for our family. His turn for being "on-call" starts this weekend. I know he is not thrilled about that...but he does it anyways...and we love him!

~ I'm thankful for all the sweet comments my bloggy friends leave me...you guys brighten my day! Thanks!

What about you? Feeling thankful for anything this last Thursday in October?