30 Days of Thankfulness

For the past few Novembers I've joined with others and have shared one thing I've been thankful for every day of the month. November is a SUPER busy month for us but I'll do my best to stay on top of this.
Today, Day 1, I'm thankful for my cameras. They help me capture priceless moments and share them with family that doesn't live close by. Being behind a camera lens also helps me to unwind, relieve stress, be creative, get away from the world for awhile.
This afternoon I had to go out of town to run an errand for Rob. I was excited about the little road trip because of the scenery. But when P decided NOT to take a nap I no longer had the energy to focus too much on photography. I took my Dad's camera along to snap a few shots, but when looking at what I captured I realized that my lack of enthusiasm was on display in the pictures. None of them are "Wow!" pictures but that's to be expected sometimes. Here are the few that I thought were okay.....

Blessed Beyond Measure

I went to bed feeling blessed and woke up feeling even more blessed. I feel blessed for many reasons but the 2 that are consuming my thoughts today are our son and "wealth". You know, people tell me I'm a good mom and I appreciate the compliment. But quite honestly, I'm just being the kind of mom my mom was to me and my brother. The compliments that mean the most are when people mention how well behaved P is or how friendly he is. Today he received both compliments. I met with our former school secretary about a cancer fundraiser that I'll be putting on to help local kids with cancer. While there she was amazed at how much P had grown since she'd last seen him. She was also amazed at how well he behaved while she and I were talking and how affectionate he was with her. At gymnastics, he did pretty good and even had his coach and me in stitches during the trampoline workout. She commented on his fun personality. At the grocery store the clerk secretly pushed the conveyor belt button, making P think he had done it. She was getting a kick out of his enthusiasm and mentioned that he had a fun personality as well. Hearing all these things made me feel even more blessed. Yes, the twos and threes are hard but lately we've had many more good days than bad. He makes me laugh several times a day and we thoroughly enjoy hanging out together.
The other reason I'm feeling blessed is because we, as individuals and as a family, have so much. We don't need anything and there are very few things we want for. When the holiday season approaches I realize how much we have compared to others. We have a nice house in a beautiful area, a healthy family, good food on the table, newer cars, more clothes than we know what to do with.... I understand that people in our community and all around the world aren't as blessed. That's why I like to "adopt" people around the holidays. To me, Christmas is not about getting but giving. If P never receives another Christmas present, but learns the importance of giving back I will be happy. We are donating most of his Halloween candy to troops overseas. We are also participating in Operation Christmas Child where we give to a child in another part of the world that doesn't have much. Depending on the troop status, we may send a box to a soldier for Christmas or we may adopt a local child through my school to provide for. To me, this is way more important than the presents with my name on them under the tree Christmas morning. If you have a little extra to give and would like to adopt a child or soldier for Christmas, please let me know and I'd be happy to make that happen. Feeling blessed is a good thing. Doing something about it is even better!

And the Winner Is..............

Thomas the Train!!!!

I made P's costume this year and have been stressing about it nonstop because he didn't seem to like it. I figured out that it was too heavy for him so last night I tore it apart and tried to make it lighter. When I realized I couldn't do that I pieced it back together the best I could and went back to Square One. This morning, while eating breakfast, I spotted the neighbor's wagon. It turned out to be the perfect (well, almost but I'll get to that) solution! After he realized he didn't have to carry it on his shoulders, P loved his costume and talked about it all day!

We got to VC, ready for the parade this evening. I thought I had parked close to the registration area but after starting up the hill I realized we were further away than I would've liked. Checking the time, I decided to pick up the pace. If you've been to our little town you know that it's uneven to say the least. Unfortunately, the unevenness and lack of time caused my little train to derail. He fell out of the wagon and scratched up his face a bit. It scared him more than anything and I thought he wouldn't get back in the wagon. But, like a trooper, he did. When we got to the registration area I realized that his costume was all messed up. Luckily there was a stapler that a lady let me borrow so I "bandaged" up the train to the best of my ability.

My hard work and P's personality won us 1st place in the costume parade! He blew his whistle all the way to the front and let everyone know he was Thomas. He looked absolutely adorable and I was so incredibly proud of him!! After the parade we did his favorite part....getting suckers. He trick or treated at some of the local businesses and got enough candy to feed an army (which is great because that's what we're going to do with most of his candy- send it to troops overseas). Once we had tons of candy he asked to go see the local train. It was the least I could do so that's where we ended the night.

It was a lot of fun for the both of us. He made me one proud mama all the way around! It was indeed a very Happy Halloween!!

Fall Pictures

Since I already blogged earlier today, this one will mainly be pictures. Several bighorn sheep were supposed to be released this morning but P and I couldn't find them. Instead we saw a dirtbike competition and followed a train for quite awhile. After church we enjoyed the beautiful Fall weather by taking a walk and looking at the ducks and geese. Here are some pictures from our time together....

Fun Day All Around

I have long since learned that if P has fun he'll talk about something for days. Well, I have a feeling that I'll be hearing about yesterday for days! The morning started with us meeting up with some friends at Scheels, where the boys played and the mamas caught up on life. Then we went over to the park and had a picnic, enjoying the beautiful Fall weather. After P's nap I carved his pumpkin. I asked if he wanted a Curious George pumpkin or a Thomas pumpkin. After much going back and forth he finally decided on a Curious George pumpkin. He didn't help with it but he liked to come check on my progress every 5-10 minutes. He was very excited when it was done but the best part for him was the candle inside the pumpkin. When I lit it he kept saying, "George on fire!". We got cleaned up and got in our costumes for our neighborhood Halloween parties. I dropped P off and made my way-as the Real Housewives of the Highlands-to my party. I didn't stay long because it was way past P's bedtime. But the time I was there was fun and I know P had a great time at his party. He was covered in orange from eating chips and he kept talking about his buddy, Eddie, and the movie they watched. Even this morning when he first woke up he said, "Fun Eddie". I'm sure I'll be hearing a lot more as the day goes on!

Although you can't get the full effect in the picture my costume consisted of dark circles under my eyes, food in my hair, food stains on my shirt, the local poison control phone number in my pocket as well as a diaper and puzzle piece in other pockets. Topped off with 2 mismatched shoes. It wasn't elaborate but I was comfortable and people laughed when I told them what I was.

Animal Lover

P has loved ALL animals since he was a little tyke. I think he knew more animal sounds than words for a long time. Well, yesterday I had to go to Petsmart to get Ruby some new dog food. I was going to do it while P was in school but figured that's one errand he'd really like to do with me. I was right! We got there and checked out the fish. Then he heard the birds and got all excited. We watched the birds "play" for a long time before he discovered the cats at the back of the store. I am not a cat fan but P loves them. So I take any chance I can show them to him without actually having to own one. He could've watched the cats sleeping until the store closed. But I finally pulled him away to get what we had come for. P asked if he could get Ruby a toy. He decided on a monkey only to change his mind at the register and get an elephant instead (That's his latest animal obsession). He was so excited to give it to her and it hurt his feelings that she didn't want anything to do with it. He continues to find it, carry it over to her and lay it down by her. Eventually she'll realize it's hers and play with it. I love how he loves animals so much!

Halloween Mayhem

As I write this, I can hear P in his room, playing. It's past his bedtime but I knew tonight would be a challenge. Why, you ask? Because this evening we went to 2 Halloween events.
Ever since he woke up this morning, P has been talking about wearing his costume and getting a sucker. But when it came time to go to school he flat out refused to wear any of his costumes (Yes, he has more than one!). I had told him that if he wore his costume to school he'd get a treat (That was my understanding from his teachers). He was bummed, to say the least, when we found out I was wrong! I picked him up early from school and told him if he took a good nap we'd go to our church's trunk or treat and get candy. I think he didn't really believe me after he didn't get a sucker-or any treat-at school but he played along. Lucky for him because the first thing he was given when we got to the trunk or treat was a sucker! He was so excited and proudly held it up for everyone to see. After playing a few games I talked him in to wearing his costume so he could get more candy. He'd go to each car that was giving out candy and said, "Trick or treat. Sucker!". It worked because that boy has more suckers than he'll probably be able to eat. He already ate 3 for dinner and had 1 for dessert. Hence the reason he's not going to bed.
From there we went to his school for their Harvest Festival. It was fun but super crowded. P tried to wear his Thomas costume that I made him but he was having trouble moving around. So we took it off and he wore his signature cowboy hat instead (although he now calls it his bull hat). His favorite part of the Harvest Festival was the bouncy house with the slide that his teachers were manning. I believe that he would've gone down it all night had I let him. But, alas, I told him it was time to go. I was so proud of him, how well he listened and how he acted like a big boy all the way around.
Tomorrow we'll continue the Halloween festivities by carving one of his many pumpkins, going to a neighborhood Halloween party and eating a sucker or two.