Gratitude

'Tis the season for reflecting upon all the things we have to be grateful for. I found that I was grateful for so many things that it was difficult to keep the list short, I am grateful for that.

I am thankful for my Husband. He has been such an important part of my life. He has been the love of my life for 21 of my 33 years. I have very few memories that do not include him or his influence. I am thankful for all the memories we share. I am thankful that he is nice. Even in situations that would send the rest of us over the edge, he is patient and polite. I'm thankful he is compassionate. He hates to hurt anyones feelings. I'm thankful he is such a good dad. He has a way of balancing out the situation. If I am angry, he is calm-if I'm too tired, he disciplines. He is a wonderful example to his boys. He shows them the importance of being a good man, husband and father by treating me with respect, loving me, never speaking negatively about me in front of them, respecting his parents and in-laws, by working hard and by being an equal partner in parenting them. I'm thankful for his big smile. I'm thankful for the pride he takes in his family, work and home. I'm thankful he still loves me after all these years.

I am thankful for my kids. Every once in a while when I have a chance to step back and reflect-I realize they are everything I ever dreamed them to be. I'm so grateful to have such good boys. Of course, I think they are incredibly handsome, but beyond that I am proud that they are smart, thoughtful, polite, funny and healthy. I am thankful for the love, energy, laughter and noise they fill our home and hearts with. They are my greatest joy.

I am thankful for our family. We have wonderful people who surround us with endless and unconditional love and support. We have the only grandchildren on each side of our families. This leaves us incredibly spoiled with love, toys and our families precious time. I am grateful that my boys have all 4 grandparents who adore them and whom they adore. They have an uncle and aunt who will wrestle and play for hours. All of them add to our lives and our children's lives in such positive ways.

I am so grateful for my parents and their retirement. This truly is a luxury for me. I am so spoiled. My mom often times takes my laundry home, cleans my house, or has a warm meal waiting when I get home. I joke it is the best thing that ever happened to ME, although it is no joke. They care for my boys while I work part-time. Knowing that your kids are not only taken care of but loved is a tremendous gift. Just the other day, Cole made mention of the fact that I "do not work." He said that I just stay home so I can pick up him and Cy from school. At first I was a little offended to think he might think that I don't do anything, but the more I thought about it the more I was touched by the conversation. He doesn't see Granny and Papa as babysitters but as an important part of his week. That felt like a million bucks, you working moms know what I mean.

I am thankful for my brother and his happiness. I love him dearly.

I am thankful to Norm and Parlene who treat me as one of their own. Who volunteer to take the boys whenever we need them to and are always there for us. For Melanie who is always offering kind words and a big hug.

I am lucky enough to have known and loved all of my grandparents. I have aunts, uncles and cousins who I count among my best friends. I married into an awesome extended family who are so much fun to be around and who are so good to us.

I am thankful for good friends. I have wonderful, thoughtful friends who are a ton of fun. They have a great way of rallying around whenever someone needs it. I am grateful to have a best friend who always has time to listen, never judges, whom my humor is never lost on, who lets me cry when having a bad day and who always crack me up. Women need best friends, their presence is vital to our sanity. I am thankful for Tara.

Health. I cry when my kids get the flu. I thank my lucky stars for their 10 fingers and 10 toes. A sick family member or friend will quickly remind us what is important in life.

Happiness. So many things to be happy about.

A roof over my head. I complain far too often about wanting a new house. I want more space and new this and new that. But I am grateful to have a home filled with love, happy memories and for having a well manicured lawn (thanks Noli).

A job. Particularly this year when so many do not have one, I am grateful that Nolan and I both have gainful employment.

Lastly I am thankful for DVR, smothered burritos, spanx, flats, Johnson & Johnson gentle gum care dental floss, hcg, smooth elbows, US weekly, occasional nights of uninterrupted sleep, day after Thanksgiving sales and the turkey dinner that I will eat tomorrow.

I hope you have many things to be thankful this year. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Oh, Bring us some carrot pudding!?!

I'm finding the older I get, the more I long for the past and for tradition. Growing up, my Grandma Mary was an excellent cook and one of her specialties was Carrot Pudding. It was a Thanksgiving staple. I talked my mom into helping me make it for the first time. She did most of the work, I'm fighting off a cold and my head is in the clouds today. Cole was being a big helper pushing the buttons on the processor and covering his ears, no loud noises for that one. Anyway, I have always loved carrot pudding but making it may have turned me off. The ingredients are just not right. See photo for grossness.






Here we are with our finished product. I have money on my kids unwillingness to try any. We are spending Thanksgiving with Nolan's family this year. We each have our own things we "require" for holiday meals, so I thought I would contribute part of our tradition.
Needless to say we did cook a batch and despite the random ingredients and less than desirable appearance it was DELICIOUS. Thanks for the help mom and Grandma- who translated her recipe from her memory to paper.


If anyone is interested in trying it here's the recipe, it's actually very easy:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. flour, 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. soda, 1 c. sugar, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, 1/2 C. brown sugar,(dry ingredients - mix in large bowl, set to side).
Use processor to chop 1 C. of each: carrots, potatoes, apples. add 1 small jar of crushed pineapple, 1 C. chopped pecans and 1 stick of butter.
Stir all ingredients together.
The you can either, bottle and steam for 3 to 4 hours or cover in the microwave and cook for about 5 minutes. Fluff with fork and serve with rum sauce poured over the top. Hmmm! Good.

Cole is at that age where I find Nolan or myself saying 5 times a day, "That Coley." Depending on his behavior that day, it may be a good or bad statement. Regardless, he's just funny. After nap on Friday, he was running around in his undies and of course tried to go outside like that. I reminded him he would need to get dressed first. This is what he came out with. The striped shirt was already on. The coat, shark swim shorts and the shoes that are on the wrong feet were all provided by Cole. I have to admit, I never would've let Cy go out like this. I guess you relax more with your second, so out he went. Besides-he was very proud of himself.

Adventures in Babysitting

I talked Tara into letting me watch Olivia while the rest of the family went to Disney on Ice. The boys were so excited to have her. Cole was irritated by the fact that she cannot walk, but loved it when she showed her "happy face." Cy was a great helper.

Look how cute she is. I really have never seen a baby who is as well behaved as she is. She cries ONLY when she is hungry. This was all forgein to me. My babies loved to cry.

Look at these squeezable legs.

Sunday we went to Maile's baptism. She is a gorgeous baby and looked so pretty in her dress. She was an absolute angel during her big day. Kanani was nice enough to have us over after for delicious breakfast and visiting.

Happy Halloween

The day finally arrived. I love Halloween and was so excited to get going. We started at Cy's Parade at School. Cole decided to wear an old Halloween costume of Cy's that I had brought up to play dress up, promising he would wear his cowboy costume for treat or treating.

School Parade

Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue

Yeah, first school parade. Indy looked awesome.

Class Party

Nolan, Papa Norm, Cole and I went to help out at Cy's Class party. There was Bingo, cookie decorating and an arts and crafts project.

He's got a BINGO!!

Cole helped call Cy's lucky Number.

Let's Go Get Some Candy

Remember that promise I mentioned that Cole made earlier about wearing his cowboy costume trick or treating, not so. I had to call Nolan to see if it was a battle worth having. Cole is as hard headed as his mom. I decided, with some encouragement from Nolan, that he should get to be whatever he wants for Halloween.


Making a haul.

Waiting for Trick or Treaters at our door.

Ode to Grandma Marge

My Grandma Marge always had a stuffed monster in her front yard for Halloween. His name was Herman and he was a halloween staple in their little town. He sat in a lawn chair in the front yard of their home to scare the kids. It is such a fond memory, that I decided to make my own "Herman" this year. We bought overalls at Savers for him to wear that say "Gerald", but he's always Herman to me. Happy Birthday Grandma!