Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Thanksgiving Flu

It's a bummer when your kids are sick for the holidays. Katelyn had a crazy high fever of 104.3 for several days (11) combined with stomach flu, sore throat, cough, and aches. It was very sad. Sarah and Abby of course followed suit and it made for a very homebound November. Katelyn was feeling better for Thanksgiving so we took her up to the big feast at my parent's house. When we got there she was happy for about 10 minutes and then went in on my mom's bed and said, "Mommy I miss Sarah." So we visited for just a few minutes and then I took her down to our second feast. Colleen didn't have any little ones so we thought it was okay to have our sickies at the meal. It was fun to be around all our family for such a special holiday.

Quiet moments with my reading partner

A view of the lethargic. Katelyn woke up in the middle of the night panicked, "there are rice krispies in my bed." Yep and on the wall, carpet, her hair...poor, poor girls. I think I averaged four laundry loads a day for a couple weeks there.

Pilgrims and Indians

Sarah admiring her big sister

A glimpse of the party at my parent's where Katelyn was missing Sarah

Saturday, November 13, 2010

DIY Thanksgiving Placemats

Whenever I compare my envisioned craft idea and it's lackluster fruition, I am left disappointed and I promise myself I wont go through all that work again without help. So when these placemats ended up working out I was thrilled! I hope you can appreciate them but feel free to make them cuter with buttons and ribbons, etc.
Here's the story:
I was reading in my Better Homes and Gardens magazine and saw a cute construction paper turkey placemat idea. I thought hmmm...that sounds fun. So I cut a couple of feathers for the girls to decorate with glitter and markers and started to make the bodies. Somewhere in the process I thought it would be cute to use scrapbook paper visuals for the feathers where each one could represent something we are thankful for. Then after assembling them I didn't want them to be ruined after one meal so I headed over to Kinko's and had them laminated (they were too big to use my laminator...).
Here is the result:

An example of discussion during dinner:
wheat=I am thankful we can harvest what we plant in our garden.
missionary= I am thankful we have freedom of religion and can share our beliefs with those around us.
soccer=I am thankful we have healthy bodies and can play sports.
marriage= I am thankful to be sealed to Nathan and I was able to choose my husband.
tiger pride= I am thankful for public education (school mascot).
disney sledding scene=I am thankful for 4 seasons and childhood fantasy.
The table view

(I made 5 but didn't put names on them so we can have more options)
It really has been fun to talk about the feathers while we are eating! Feel free to make some for your family as well.
Sorry I didn't post a shot of the plate on the placemat but it fits the center belly and the head, feet, and feathers poke around the edges of the plate.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Abby Sitting Up!

Way to go Abby! 6 months old and she's sitting pretty. She is attempting to push up to crawl but it's still pretty early yet. I can't believe how fast she's growing up!

It's always so sad to take down fun decorations but...the pumpkins were rotting

and the window displays are falling, and the ghosts were drenched in the rain

not to mention my children losing their clothes

but they sure are sweet!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Leaves!!!

We spent a day at Grandma's House jumping in the leaves:


Don't you just love Rosy (the kitten)



Thursday, November 4, 2010

Dinosaur Park with the Preschool

Katelyn's Preschool took a fieldtrip to Dinosaur Park. I was excited to take Katelyn and Sarah for the day and leave Abby with Nate for some bonding time. When it was time to leave Sarah wanted Daddy time too but apparantly it only lasted about 5 minutes. She cried the entire 2 hours we were gone and was so beside herself that I took her solo and joined Katelyn's afternoon crowd at the park. It was actually a fun day and we ended with reading How does a dinosaur say goodnight? for bedtime. Fun day!
Katelyn Sliding and Crafting

Sarah w/ Miles Feeding the Ducks, Sliding, and Crafting

Abby's Daddy Day

Monday, November 1, 2010

Trick or Treat

Post Ward Halloween Carnival (Abby was Minnie Mouse)

Swinging off Some of the Sugar

Sweet Abby-Sitting up on her own

Group Shot-Ariel's and Ladybug

Trick or Treat

The Two Ariels

Abby as a ladybug

Sunset