I'm thankful for . . .

. . . a preschool Thanksgiving program.

. . . our little turkey who sings well and sits through the whole program.

. . . a table set for many.

. . . a father who helps his daughter form six dozen rolls.

. . . a fabulous family surrounding a table teeming with toothsome treats.

. . . sweet nieces and nephews.

. . . a family who enjoys impromptu kazoo/tin whistle renditions of "How Firm a Foundation."


. . . a wonderful Thanksgiving day ending in the traditional "candy in the leaves" hunt, replete with fun for child and adult alike.

Mixing things up

Have you ever heard of PlayFoam?

It's kind of funky--little balls of styrofoam that stick to each other and don't ever dry out (supposedly). Clara loves textures, and she really enjoys playing with this stuff. It doesn't stick to your hands at all and can be formed into all sorts of shapes.

However, I never let her mix the colors. This also goes for play-doh. I am vehemently opposed to the unpleasant gray mass that is created whenever play-doh is mixed together, so I only let Clara play with one color at a time. Is that mean of me or what?


Today, I let Clara mix the colors of the PlayFoam. And I mixed them together, too.

It was kind of liberating. But I'm still keeping the play-doh separated . . . I can only go so far.

A birthday and other happenings

Michael turned thirty-one years old. It continues to feel very weird that we are no longer in our "early twenties."

We had lots of yummy food today (on which I overindulged since it was a "break day" from my no-dessert challenge) in celebration, and we also enjoyed a wonderful visit from parents this weekend. Happy birthday, Sweetheart.

Last weekend, we enjoyed a quick visit from Michael's younger brother and his wife, Caleb and Shannyn, and their two cute kids, Clark and Jane. Clara thought Clark was pretty cool and even allowed him to wear her backpack at one point.

There's nothing like having great friends to whom you are also related. Wish we lived closer to our siblings!

Thirteen thoughts for Friday the 13th

1. Don't ever let your child push a puzzle box with screws on the bottom eight feet across your hardwood floor.

2. Don't try to fix previously-mentioned scratches with a magic eraser.

3. Don't bring couscous on a picnic.

4. Don't bring quesadillas on a picnic.

5. You can add yeast to bread dough after it's mixed if you realize you forgot to add it. It will rise and taste fine, although it might not be quite as fluffy.

6. Buying an expensive pair of eyeglasses and then losing it isn't a good idea. Or a set of car keys.

7. You'll regret eating that. You think you won't, but trust me. You will.

8. Hairbows on little girls make the lamest outfit look cute.

9. Mrs. Meyer's Everyday cleaner in geranium smells lovely. I don't know if it cleans better, but it makes me feel better.

10. Low-fat sour cream tastes so much better than fat-free. It's worth the extra calories.

11. Vinegar and water really do work to clean the mirror.

12. Never put an adult-size q-tip in a child's ear.

13. Keep a portable potty in your trunk, even after your child is potty-trained. It really comes in handy.

Halloween continued

In honor of the Halloween season being finally over, Michael and I have shaken hands and committed to having a dessert-free month until Thanksgiving. Well, we are going to take one day off for his birthday. For those of you who know me well, it ain't gonna be easy. But I will prevail!

In the meantime, I shall reminisce.


We actually didn't take Clara trick-or-treating because we'd already gone to the church Halloween festival and gotten gobs of candy. Plus, I was tired of getting her dressed up. Fortunately she was none the wiser.

After Clara had gone to bed, I couldn't resist dumping all her candy out and organizing like I did in the good ole' days. There is something so irresistible and alluring about opening a bag full of candy and smelling that smell. The smell of goodness. And temptation.

At Clara's preschool, they had a little Halloween parade--check out the sweet Scooby Doo costume some kid is wearing.

Princess Clara. She had debated being a vampire, a witch, or a ghost, so I was relieved when princess was the order of the day (especially since we already had the shoes and dress in her dress-up clothes).

The traditional pumpkin carving attempt. I asked Clara what kind of face she wanted and she finally settled on "a surprised face."


By the way, join in on our dessert-free contest if you'd like. We can be strong together.