Snowy

Well, Snowy our elf is up to his usual shenanigans. The kids love him. Apparently, they both made things for Santa that they asked snowy to bring to the North Pole. Mommy failure...I have forgotten about it 2 nights in a row. I told them that they might need to leave Snowy a bag so he can carry his notes and crafts. Oops!!

Monopoly

Well, savannah desperately wanted to try playing monopoly, so we gave it a try. Well, this little real estate mogul was channeling her inner grandpa Rooney. She bought up everything that came her way, and somehow managed to always pass go to collect $200 before she went bankrupt. We never made it to the end of the game (because it takes hours!), but she managed to buy houses and rack up quite a fortune.

Now...if only Mommy had the patience to play the entire game out for her....

Glorious

Savannah does not remember trying pomegranate seeds before. So, I bought one, she helped me pick the seeds out, ate one - ate a whole handful - and declared "these little beauties are glorious"! I agree, girlie. Glad she is trying new things, unlike her brother. Mr. Picky pants.

Crazy hair

Guess what day it is at school today...

Crazy hair day!!

All I want for Christmas...

Savannah has been snaggletooth tooth lately...with one front tooth barely hanging on, and another one loose. Last night I told her "that thing is coming out tomorrow". What do you know...it fell out first thing this morning!  She was singing "all I want for Christmas is my one front tooth" :-)

Thankful tree

Today, I am posting this with thoughts of my Grandma Rooney in my heart. Gram is in ICU right now, on life support. 

Many of my blog posts are prompted by thinking that there are some family and friends who check our blog regularly - and Gram is one of them. I sometimes think of people logging onto our blog and hoping to see something new, only to be disappointed my the same old pictures because I haven't gotten around to posting something. So, today I am posting this for Gram, even though she can't see it right now.

Yesterday, savannah wanted to do a craft with me. I thought about handprint turkeys and toilet paper roll Indians. But, I decided on a "thankful tree".  

To be honest, there are many times that I feel like I could be a much better mom than I am. And, I would guess this is true for all moms. We are hard on ourselves because we want what is best for our families and our kids...but there's only so much of us to go around. But, now and then I feel good about the job I do as "mom". 

As we cut out and colored our thankful tree, I talked to the kids about how thanksgiving is all about being aware of the things we are thankful for.  We each jotted down something on a leaf - family - our health - our home.  Later that day, I walked outside and found the kids writing  and drawing the things they are thankful for in chalk on the driveway - without my prompting. We got silly - Gage said he is thankful for cinnamon and toast and his teacher. I said I was thankful for hot sauce and wine. Savannah said she was thankful for flowers - sunshine - and rain. 

It was one of those moments when I felt like the messages I send as a mom actually take hold with them and that I am a pretty good mom.

Today, as I was hurrying the kids to get ready for school, I realized they had taken a break to write on the thankful tree. Today, Gage is thankful for our cats and savannah for family. They scolded me for not writing my thankful leaf for the day. Not soon after, I got a phone call about Gram. 

So, today I am thankful for Gram. I am thankful for all the time I have had with her - the many hours I spent in the garden with her learning how to pinch back plants, how to tell a weed from a seedling, and how to divide a clump. I am thankful for her independent spirit - her tendency to speak her mind - her bottomless energy - her sense of family - her little touch of crazy - and that she made thousands of memories for me and my kids. So, today I am thankful for Gram - and I am hopeful that her fighting spirit will prevail because we have more memories to make.

Beach

Things have been very busy around here. So, we looked at the schedule and realized that we had an opening to squeeze in a beach trip. This is the BEST time of year to go. The weather is warm, the water is warm, and the beach is empty. We were able to get a house right on the beach......there is nothing better than watching the kids play in the sand at the bottom of the stairs while you sip wine on the deck and watch dolphins play in the waves. Just beautiful...

 

 It never fails...Gage is always on a quest to catch a seagull...

 We brought our babysitter (Adam's doctoral student) Jess with us...she does so much for us!

 I got a new camera for my birthday...and this was the perfect chance to test it out...

 I love this one...

 And this one....

 And this one..I couldn't decide which one I liked best, so I posted the all!

 Both kiddos got a little kite flying in one morning...

 Hard to believe that Adam's hat almost fits Gage!  That big head...is why I still pee my pants every time I laugh or sneeze ;-)

 No trip to Gulf Shores is complete without a stop at the Hangout, where we always stop to see our mermaid first!

 And take the obligatory hangout photo!

 They are growing up too fast!

 A little "we're so excited to be at the beach" dance

 A great family photo :-)

 

 We found "bird island" one morning :-)

 Sandbars are the best...

 Love this one too...

 a few shots around our house

 

 

 Feeding seagulls from our deck

 Here's Gage...heading out to our little beach spot...with a virgin strawberry daquiri in his hand :-)

 Catching sand crabs. I don't have a photo..but one night Savannah and I went out at night with our headlamps on and caught crabs -- a whole bucket of them!!! At least 25. It was so much fun :-)

 Our "sidewalk" :-)

 

 

 Cocktails on the deck

 Love it...

 Little feet :-)

Fall :-)

Fall is here.  Some days are warm and sunny, some are chilly! We seem to be collecting a lot of pumpkins this year!

 Halloween just wouldn't be the same without our witch. So funny to think that Gage used to be scared of her!

 Posing with the pumpkins

 Crazy eyeball man!

 Riding bikes...

 Or, more specifically, riding bikes with the sole intent of making skidmarks on the driveway!

 Still nice enough to be outside swinging!

 And playing in our spider-infested playset!

  Craft season is about to get into full swing.  Here are our mummy toilet paper rolls :-)

And our spooky "lipstick" ghosts!