Our Thankful Tree and a Funny.

We put together our Thankful Tree late last week. We did it just in time for Thanksgiving, which means just in time to take it down a day later to decorate our house for Christmas! Ahh, this is my life! However, the boys enjoyed this project and they happily continue to add leaves (on their own!) everyday. That being said, next year my procrastination will go out the window and I will strive to put this together in early November. I talked about making a Thankful Tree similar to this one and I was all set out to make my own leaves with scrapbook paper until I found these cute and free printable leaves.  

So, the boys and I went for it and created our very first Thankful Tree!

Jackers has added three Owen leaves over the last week. In related news, at school, Jack and his classmates made a Thankful Book in which each child created a page by drawing/writing/coloring what they are thankful for. Jack drew a picture of his brother and wrote Owen real big at the top. What a sweetie he is!!

Now O-Bubs can't write yet and he can't really draw, but that doesn't stop him from adding leaves describing what he's thankful for.

I'm pretty sure this leaf says "Mommy" (wink, wink!).

I'm loving this idea and it definitely will be a tradition in the Myers home. Making this Thankful Tree and talking about what being thankful means with my little boys sure puts life into perspective. Life gets busy and stressful while there are also moments sprinkled in when we each are reminded of how precious life can be. Creating this tree helped put us in the holiday spirit while giving us a small moment (with each added leaf) to remind ourselves of what really matters.

And now for a small funny...

Jack was playing/coloring in a Christmas coloring/activity book this afternoon. One page in the book was dedicated to making a list or writing a letter to Santa Claus. Jack decided he would rather write all of our names on this list and he did so in scribble cursive (you know, how we wrote cursive as children before we knew what cursive really was). He then showed me his work and said, "See Mommy, I wrote all of our names". I then responded with, "Jaaaack, you know how to write all of our names correctly and that is not it". Well then Jack fired back with, "But Mommy, that is how you sign your name on that thing at Target". True Jack...true!

I'm a sucker...

for adorable winter hats

and my boys wearing these adorable winter hats!

That's all!

My Owen

Today, my Owen.....

• is just about one month shy of turning 3 years-old
• absolutely loves to eat Mac & Cheese, Cheddar Bunnies, Raisins, Craisins, apples and cauliflower
• says "I no know", which means "I don't know"
• also says "Anything" instead of "Nothing". For example, if I ask him, "Owen, what are you doing in your room so quietly", he will say, "Anything, Momma".
• loves our dogs, especially Max
• loves anything Captain America and has been telling us for months that all he wants for Christmas is a Captain America squishy (we have yet to figure out what the heck this is?)
• asks where Jackers is first thing when he wakes up in the morning and after his afternoon nap
• loves to talk on the phone...he will call any family members and chat away
• has been singing Hakuna Matata all.the.time since he saw Lion King for the first time about a month ago
• played in the snow (our first for the season) for the first time today, never complained once about being cold (which for the past 2 years, he always had) and loved every minute of it

• got his first fat-lip today when his brother accidentally kicked him in the mouth after Owen accidentally broke his snowman. Pat and I are still unsure of what happened exactly? 
• is still in love with his three lovies...nookie, blankie and binkie-boo
• enjoys being to read to at night and his favorites are those we sing to him (Hush Little Baby, Puff, the Magic Dragon and Somewhere Over the Rainbow).
• loves when Pat blow-dries his hair after his bath

 

and is still his Momma's baby!

Wednesday List

1. I was going to do this post last night, but then Pinterest was on the fritz. You may be thinking, "this girl is dang crazy about that Pinterest". And I will say to you, "yes I know, I am!" Anyway, due to the fritz I was unable to reach some of the information I wanted to blog about! Pinterest = All Nicole's Bookmarks

2.  I may have also been sidetracked by a rather good episode of GLEE. This season has been lacking that "umph" that kept me coming back for more each week the first couple of seasons. Last night's episode, Mash-Up Madness (take two songs and combine them) was not great by any means, but the mash-ups are fun and hard to resist. This was my favorite due to the fact that Adele is the music I sing real loud and off-tune to by myself I turn up real loud in my car when I'm sans children.

3. Pot roast, a staple at the dinner table in the fall and winter has been on my list of recipes to make for about one month. Finally, this past Monday I made a classic version of pot roast using this new recipe.  Now go make yourself some pot roast...you will love it! Also, there are a bunch of great recipes on this blog, especially this one for cranberry cake with butter cream sauce. My mom makes this same exact recipe and it's deeelish!

4. Pat took the past two days off for vacation (a staycation) and it has been wonderful having him home mid-week! The first day was family fun day and it involved exercising, playing, napping and going to see the movie Puss in Boots. This was the first time our little family of four went to a movie all together. Owen sat on Pat's lap and ate popcorn the entire time while Jack sat on my lap. Side note, he never once asked to use the bathroom (a huge, huge accomplishment for him). The second day (today), the boys both had school so Pat and I used this as a day to just be together. We went out to breakfast, walked a hot-lap at Target and bought Christmas lights for our house (we always seem to leave them behind...see #8), got adjusted at the chiropractor together, prepped our yard for the winter and hung up the Christmas lights. I'm sad these days are over as they always go by so fast (when I'm having fun), but I'm so happy to have had them.

5. I have wanted to make a piece of art using reclaimed wood or pallets for so long. I can see something like this hanging above our bed...love it so!

(Source)

This and This are pretty great too!

6. I ate a big bowl of Lucky Charms tonight. I feel very guilty about this decision.

7. 

Owen: Jack, you my brother, right?

     Jack: Yes, I'm your brother, Owen.

Owen: I love you Jackers.

Jack: I love you too.

8. I'm so glad I read this post about the idea of the present family. On a daily basis, being present, living in the moment and truly cherishing the small things with my boys is always an internal struggle that I battle. Mostly why I do this silly little blog is to remember what they boys did, what they said, what they wore on a particular day. But, in all the busy-ness we call life, it's always good to have a reminder to stop and play choo-choos a little longer.

9. As of a few days ago, XM channel 17 is officially the holiday station. The boys quickly caught onto this and so they request it every car ride. It's fun for now, but I'm sure by the second week in December is will have lost its luster with the adults in the car. I can listen to Dominic The Donkey only so many times before going completely bonkers!

On a related note,  Jack is currently obsessed with the Taylor Swift version of Last Christmas. He knows just the button to push on the holiday music kiosk at Target. He pushes this button over and over again and sings real loud to the small clip of Last Christmas without a care in the world as to who is watching or listening to him. It's truly precious as I'm sure in a year from now he might not be so carefree. I hope so though!

10. And last, but certainly not least, I was able to visit Sara, one of my best friends over the weekend. She recently moved with her cute little family to Fargo, ND for her husband's job. Weeks ago, she had her second baby...this cutie patootie! We had some great girl-time and baby snuggling time....wish this happened more often! I miss them already : (

Tuesday Ten

1. Right now I am listening to the boys giggle while they play a game they made up all by themselves. Love these moments!

2. Also, right now I have homemade pizzas cooking in the oven. I make my homemade pizza with Garlic Naan Bread as they are absolutely delicious this way. I have been on a Naan Bread kick for about the past year. It is great for dips or sandwiches as well!

3. Pat has wanted to purchase himself a four-wheeler since we moved into our house. Did you know there are many ways in which a four-wheeler can benefit your life? Well there are many (many!) ways! He almost has me convinced that having a four-wheeler is really a need as opposed to a want (can you hear my sarcasm?). And after a day of playing on one, it has now seeped into his blood. Uh-oh!

4. The boys and I did a fall art project together a few weeks ago. I had originally found the idea here. The project was super easy as it involved three simple tools... paper, paint and q-tips. The results comparison sure does make me smile!

5. We are about 80% done with the redo of our breakfast nook table and chairs. Here's a sneak peak...

6. We had a girls weekend at my house. My mom, her three sisters and each of their (only) daughters came to spend two days chatting, eating and shopping. We haven't been able to coordinate a weekend like this in almost ten years. I value and cherish my relationships with these women so incredibly much. We had such a great time that I am sure this will now be an annual or even bi-annual event.

My cousins and I are standing in front of our mothers. Is it not crazy how much we look just like them!?

7. It was a hard day at the office for O-bubs....the Children's Museum office.

Today was one of the best times I have had at the Children's Museum with my boys. It just happened to be one of those days when all factors fell into place perfectly, which made for f-u-n!

8. I know it's early, but I found this cute and free Christmas printable today on pinterest.

9. The boys and I will be making a Thankful Tree similar to this one sometime this week. I love the idea of adding to it at our leisure or as a family from now through Thanksgiving. What a great tradition!

10. Every Wednesday, Jack's preschool class has a "Mystery Reader" and this past week just happened to be his assigned day. The idea behind this is that each student will get a day when someone special to him/her comes as a surprise to read to the class. Jack's mystery reader, who he guessed immediately upon hearing his voice behind the curtain, read the oldie, but goodie, classic book Ferdinand. It just happens to be one of Pat's favorite books from his childhood.

This says it all!

Nicole Myers via Design With Life

Gosh, I hope they do!!

Fall Cousin Time.

Halloween 2011...all I got!

We Pat and I carved pumpkins.

We went trick or treating with friends and loaded up on candy..way too much candy! Jack and his buddy Chase ran at turbo speed to every house while Owen lagged behind eating the piece of candy he received from the previous house. They loved every minute of this!

The boys were on a sugar-high the entire next day which drove me crazy and led to activities shown in the picture below.

A game called how long of a block train can we possibly make if we use all of the blocks that we have in this house?

In an effort to rid this house of Halloween candy before I went completely bonkers from the asking for candy coupled with the affects of candy in my children, I made a deal with the boys. This deal was as follows, they could pick out any toy they wanted at Target as long as they were willing to give up all their candy. It worked (and they actually chose one bigger toy to share..impressive) and I am so happy to say that we have been on a happy sugar detox ever since. We sent all of our candy to a new home called Pat's work except for a few Reece's PB cups that I may have hidden away in the freezer.

That's all I got from Halloween 2011...to next year!

A New Baby!

There is a new, sweet and delicious smelling baby in our family. My brother Andy and his wife Kady welcomed their third bambino into the world last week. Her name is Tauli (pronounced Tall-ee) and she a precious addition to this family! My mom and the boys and I hightailed it down to Milwaukee to meet Tauli shortly after she was born. My mom and I snuggled the baby while Jack and Owen ran around the hospital room like two little puppies (in between giving their new baby cousin a few loves). 

I also snapped a bunch of photos as I couldn't resist!

You can find similar headbands like Tauli is wearing at this cute store!

Yawning!

Ahh, such sweetness!