Project 365 - Day 330

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Happy Birthday to me. I got a wonderful surprise from my friend Myla yesterday. She dropped off some flowers and a very nice card. I got lots of nice birthday wishes from friends via email. Thanksgiving was a small get together this year. Just our family of five, my brother's family of three, my parents and my grandparents. Laura helped me cook, the kids played, we deep fried the turkey (I know it sounds weird but it is really good!), Laura had one of every dessert (four different things) and I got my coconut cake.

I guess I was being a pretty big baby about this cake thing. It is not my dream to have to share my birthday with Thanksgiving every year (although it is not on the actual day but every four years). I mean who would choose to have your birthday on a holiday? I know I don't have it as bad as Christmas but it is sometimes a bummer - NOT THIS YEAR. I felt very special and very loved. The kids were great. Mike got the Pioneer Woman cookbook I have been wanting. My parents got me a new laptop for my back to school adventure beginning in January. My Grandma sent me some mad money that I used to get a new bedspread I have been wanting and just couldn't justify spending household money on.

But I should get back to the cake. I love this cake and the store doesn't make it anymore unless you special order it and then it is like five or six layers and huge and I don't need or want a cake that big. Dad wanted pumpkin parfaits for dessert, Mike, Joey and Jovanni are chocolate pie guys, my mom wanted pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting so I said enough was enough, we are not having birthday cake but I still kept thinking and apparently talking about it. I even made comments that day about how I at least wanted to make the cupcakes look cute because I didn't have a cake. I should have noticed the smirk on my mom's face. So as I was trying to clean up the kids were putting candles on the cake and totally surprised me. The bakery ended up making a smaller version so now I won't feel too bad for eating it.

All in all it was a very special day. My dad is babysitting all three kids while my mom and I head out to Black Friday shopping. Mike even went shopping with me on Thanksgiving night to Michael's for the super early sneak peek sale and I got scrapbooking organization cubes to make a desk so I don't have to take over the living room anymore.

I am so thankful for so many things. I am thankful that Mike works so I can stay at home with my children. I am thankful for my children for making me a mommy and teaching me things I can only learn from them. I am thankful for my parents for far too many reasons to mention. I am thankful for my friends for being supportive and loving in good times and rougher times. I live a truly blessed life and am thankful for every day.

Project 365 - Day 329

So Noah had his second first haircut. I took him in for a trim in October and saved all the hair from that experience but this was quite different. He was in the chair with the smock on and he went ballistic as soon as she started. He really needed to cut the fluff off and start looking like a boy (per Mike and my Dad). Anyway, the toy and sucker didn't work. The poor girl had to just barrel through and I had to hold him and his little face in my hands so she could finish. Not even Nathan could make him happy. As soon as we took the smock off he smiled and giggled and went back to playing. He just looks so different to me now. He will be all spiffy for Thanksgiving and I hope to get a good Christmas card picture of the kids but because that is what I am planning it it probably won't happen. I am sure the outtakes will be good.

Project 365 - Day 328

He finally did it! He finally found Papa's nose. We are busy cooking and prepping for Thanksgiving and my parents stayed to eat dinner with us and as he was helping Noah eat the question "Where is Papa's nose?" was finally answered! We have been working on this for quite some time. I think my dad almost fell out of his chair. It was quite an exciting time!

Project 365 - Day 327

I just can't believe the way they sleep sometimes. It almost looks like he is sitting with his legs crossed. And I don't know why I am so fasinated with taking pictures of them sleeping. I just love to see it and record it. I guess it is that adults don't sleep in wierd contorted positions and I just have to catch this phase while I can.

Project 365 - Day 326

Here they are. My boys. Noah just absolutely adores Nathan. He wants to do whatever big brother is doing. Nathan pulled him on for a ride on the plasma car. They went all around chasing me and giggling all the while. I hope this love and bond will continue always.

Project 365 - Day 325

It was camp out in Mommy and Daddy's room. The kids are constantly asking to have a sleep over in our room so tonight I set them up. They were so excited - even Noah got in on the action although he slept in his crib. The night went pretty well and they slept soundly. Is this the trick to getting them not to crawl into bed with me? I might be onto something. Now if I could just get them to be in their own beds. I have to say that I am not minding so much anymore because I keep reminding myself there will be a day when they don't want me and I should soak all of these moments up.

Project 365 - Day 324

Today Laura announced that she wanted to wear a skirt with tights. I jumped at the chance to take her picture. She never wants to wear a skirt or dress. I thought she looked so bright and cheery. I just wish the little photo shoot went better. Oh well, all of the shots certainly capture her personality and that is what it is all about - not some picture perfect pose and smile. I will treasure her smile and sparkle in her eyes always.

Project 365 - Day 323

Curse this book. No really I mean it, curse this book. Nathan picked this from the school library because it had his name in the title. Seems simple enough. The picture on the front didn't send up any flares for me either. Do you see where I am going with this? I bet not. So it is story time and Nathan and I are all snuggled up to start reading. So the short version is they are two best friends and Nathan dies and leaves his friend to think about how to go on each day and what he would do if Nathan were here. Boy, oh boy that is not the conversation or bedtime story I had in mind when I crawled into bed. Nathan and I both had a good cry and talked a lot that night. I so love his sweet soul and the depth to which he feels. I love learning about each of my children in these moments. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to experience them and be with them every day.

Project 365 - Day 322

Nathan's soccer season is officially over. All he cared about was going to the party and getting a trophy. The trophy is a big deal when you are six. I volunteered to make cupcakes and my attempt at green grass frosting was a disaster. I bought a special tip that is supposed to make 'grass' or 'hair' but what was not included is the know how to be able to make the frosting actually look like grass or hair. Ugh, I need lessons from Dusti and Annie. Nathan requested a soccer ball with a foot kicking the ball so I thought green grass frosting would look rather appropriate. Anyway, no one really cared how lame my grass looked but the adults were no takers on the gosh darn things. I think the green frosting scared them off or something - don't they know I made the frosting from scratch? It wasn't like it was some tub or can stuff to shy away from. Now I get to take home about 25 cupcakes because I can't seem to go anywhere without there 'being enough'. You see when I calculated the number of players, parents and siblings we were at 50 people. So since the parents didn't partake in the cupcake eating I am stuck with green frosted cupcakes for my two kids to eat all week. Oh well, at least Mike can enjoy them too since I made them egg free.

Project 365 - Day 321

I love fall. I love fall like no other season. I love the change in the air, the smell and the look of everything around me. I love jeans and sweaters and boots and scarfs and hats and gloves and jackets. I love the crunch of leaves and the sound of rain. I love the food of fall. Soups, soups and more soups. I am now a soup junkie (thank you Mike). There have been some giant leaves blowing into the backyard lately and I just wanted to capture a sign of fall.

Project 365 - Day 320

This is the crew. The weather is a little colder but we are still able to be outside around here. In this scene Nathan is Batman, Laura is Robin (do you see how proud she is to be the sidekick?) and Noah is Nightwing (is that even a character?) and they are speeding along in the bat mobile. They crack me up. They are very serious and detailed about the pretend play and I just love to watch it.

Project 365 - Day 319

Flowers in bloom. I love flowers in bloom. I am so glad these bloom more than once a year. Even though it is getting colder outside the kids still play in the backyard almost every day. We are all enjoying the freedom of playing and just being outside. I hope to plant lots more colorful flowers in the spring and in the meantime I will enjoy these.

Project 365 - Day 318

The kids were relentless about my mom's birthday this year. They kept saying she needed a party. We didn't get to celebrate my mom's birthday on her birthday because she was sick so this was 10 days later and the kids were in party planning mode all week so we had to shop for blowouts and party hats and Laura even found her a birthday necklace. They came up with this present idea a while ago. They wanted to give her a pot and put some flowers in it and put a spoon in it so she can scoop the love out. I know are you just dying at how cute they are? So they punched out paper flowers and found just the right colored popsicle sticks to coordinate with each one. I asked them things they love about her and the list was just priceless:

She gives good hugs

She has a nice house

She reads to us

She plays games with us

She lets us watch movies

She takes us for walks

She lets us spend the night

She sings twinkle twinkle little star

She has a nice smile

She takes good care of herself

They had such fun sticking all of them in and want her to display it in her house. I tried to just let them do it all and it was hard for me but I know it means more that they did it than anything so I love the way it turned out. It was a great night.

Project 365 - Day 317

The Bobcat Badge. Tonight was the Cub Scout Den meeting and Nathan's den earned their Bobcat badge. This is the first and most important badge for these little guys. He had been practicing and reciting his cub scout motto and was really looking forward to the "ceremony". Apparently they paint their faces and each paint and mark means something significant and even the parents get painted. Something about paw prints. I must sit down with Mike and go over this so when I try and scrapbook it I have the details. I wanted it to be an extra special night for him because I know how much he was looking forward to it so I made cupcakes. More specifically I just printed up some boy scout related pics and stuck them on some paper and stuck them in the cupcakes. He was thrilled and felt very special and I was happy to do it for him.

Project 365 - Day 316

Here is my little crew from yesterday getting the mail. They love to go get the mail. They have to follow the ritual. Laura carries the key, Nathan puts the key in and turns the key and reaches up and hands mail to Laura. They both carry mail (and drop it along the way) and Laura gets to carry the key back. It is all very specific and very routine. Noah just gets to tag along running after them and it is a highlight of the day.

Project 365 - Day 315

It's Noah the cowboy! My children love to play dress-up. Noah has quickly followed in big brother and sister's footsteps. Here is another new thing he has picked up. He loves to put the hat on and strut around the house.

Project 365 - Day 314

I am a really lucky girl. I have really wonderfully supportive parents who help me out. A LOT. My dad comes over on Tuesday mornings to watch Laura and Noah while I work in Nathan's classroom and I try to make sure my dishes are done but most of the time they are not and he does them. Today I came home to a sparkling clean sink. He is the greatest. I hate scouring the sink. I hate the smell of bleach and he knows it. It may seem like a small thing but it is a HUGE thing to me. Thanks Dad!

Project 365 - Day 313

There are many things that make me happy - most of them are simple. This photo makes me happy. I love the colors. I love the patterns. I love the feel of the material. I love the way it looks just stacked up like that. I love the thoughts that enter my head of all the wonderful things I want to make with all of this yummy material. I wish I could buy it all!

Project 365 - Day 312

I think I should just give up on any notion of a Christmas card this year. I don't think it will be possible to get all three of them looking in the same direction and making even a quasi normal looking face. This is just one of about 50 pictures of the three of them I tried to get at our annual trip to Apple Hill. The kids (including Mike) wholly look forward to the caramel apples. Laura tried a new version this year (surprised at which one lured her??!!) and Noah seems to really like caramel stuck on his teeth.

Project 365 - Day 311

I am overwhelmed, excited, emotional, happy, sad and probably everything inbetween with all of Noah's changes lately. It just seems that every day he is learning and growing and changing right before my eyes. He loves to play peek-a-boo and gives us quite a show at dinner time. I love how he "peeks" just a little bit. I love this boy and just wish he would slow down so I can soak up every single second of this time. I am so blessed to have this life and time with him.

Project 365 - Day 310

Yet another new thing for Noah. This one can get quite loud. He goes into the cabinet and gets these little sauce cups and proceeds to carry them around the house, bang them on the floor and make the most ear piercing loud sound on my distressed coffee table. It is a good thing is it distressed. Hey, maybe I can hire him out to some furniture shops to distress their tables. People would pay extra for an expert distresser right??

Project 365 - Day 309

So this is Laura's idea of breakfast. A Rice Krispie Treat, Frosted Animal Cookies and baby food puffs. I swear this girl has a sweet tooth like no other. She is just so matter of fact about the sweets thing too that makes it so funny. She totally thinks this is a breakfast she should have. She totally believes she should have dessert after each and every meal and snack she has too. She wakes up wanting sugar. I guess I had better start saving for dental work now.

Project 365 - Day 308

The Yankees are back on top - where they belong! They have won the World Series. What a great way to start in a new stadium. There is so much history and Yankee lore to reveal in. This has made us all feel 100% again.

Project 365 - Day 307

This is yet another new thing for Noah. He will "pose" for the camera with a huge squinty eyed grin and clap for himself.

Please let me make this disclaimer now because as I am posting I am cringing that these horrible quality photos are going up. Since the great hard drive crash I have not been able to reload Photoshop or any of my actions to help my pictures look half way decent. I have major picture (art) envy. All of my friends and the blogs I follow have these wonderfully beautiful artfully perfect photos and I am posting this blurry, underexposed, weird composition mess of a photo. I am just trying to live each day as best as I can and still keep up with this Project 365 thing. I do feel that I will treasure this project someday even if the photos are not artfully beautiful. Someday I will get it together and be able to take better pictures. I know it is in there I just have to get a better camera and get some understanding of f/stops, ISOs and all those other fun manual settings. Okay, I think I am done cleansing. I know totally ridiculous but hey it is my blog and I don't think anyone reads this anymore anyway so it is still my online journal that my dad enjoys reading every day and bugs me for daily updates.