Brown Eyed Kiddos

We got our first real snow of the year yesterday! Even though, Jonathan was pretty bummed that he still had to go to school the snow makes the Christmas tree and lights just a bit more magical! Jasmine was unsure of the snow at first. She definitely was curious and wanted to be outside, but that was about the extent of her curiosity.

The boys absolutely LOVE the snow! They enjoy playing in it, having snowball fights with one another, and creating snow angels! I’m sure Jasmine will be joining in the fun in no time.

We are supposed to be getting a few more snow storms over the course of the next few days so the kiddos will have plenty of opportunities to get to play in the snow. We will be sipping hot chocolate by the Christmas tree after the adventures of getting the kiddos in and out of their snow gear a hundred times! I don’t know about you, but getting three kiddos bundled up is quite the task! The boys are determined to make a snowman this Winter. We have yet to create a good one, but I think this will be our year!

Jonathan’s hat and scarf / Jonathan’s boots / Jasmine’s Coat

Stay warm and have a great weekend!

Our Thanksgiving this year was very memorable! We had my Mom and Grandma come up and celebrate with us. My Grandma turned 90 in May and each year we get to enjoy another Holiday with her I feel so thankful. Also, extremely thankful for my Mom for being an amazing caregiver!

Thanksgiving is a time for family, food, and reflection. We create side dishes that our Mom’s, Grandma’s, and Great Grandma’s made. It’s one meal that takes all day to prepare (even though we skipped making a Turkey this year because nobody wanted to get sick with the salmonella outbreak and little information was being provided) and cook, but is soooo worth it! As a child, I have vivid memories of being with my sisters and watching our Mom and Grandma cook while listening to Frank Sinatra. Now, that it’s my turn and being a mother I hope my kiddos will remember Thanksgiving Day as they watch me in the kitchen and cherish these moments!

Thanksgiving Day we always try to watch the Macy’s Day parade. The boys love to see all of their favorite characters as giant inflatables! We have Christmas music on in the background, appetizers out, and usually a game of some sort being played while we are waiting for a dish to finish up cooking. My husband had to work so we waited for him to get home before we dug into the food! I never can get any pre photos of our meal because usually one of the boys or Jasmine is crying that they are starving and the timing is off.

All in all, we had a great time and I am so extremely thankful for my husband, kids, and family! Now onto the most festive time of the year!

Thankful placemats sold-out from Target similar here / Jasmine’s dress and tights

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

This past weekend started off with my husband and I replaced the garbage disposal that took us ALL day on Friday! We realized there was a leak under the kitchen sink so we dismantled the sink and after troubleshooting, we came to the conclusion we needed a new garbage disposal. Let me just say that is something I do not wish to do again for a LONG time!

So once I had a working sink and cleaned the kitchen I was feeling much better about heading into the weekend. I don’t know about you, but having a non-working sink and a hot mess in the kitchen makes everything feel off!

The boys found some pressed leaves we had placed in a book a few weeks prior and we decided to make a little leaf art out of them. They turned out so cute! All you need is leaves, popsicle sticks, googly eyes, and Elmer’s glue. You can really get creative if you have other supplies on hand. Maybe some different colored noodles, sequences, and even sticks to make arms or legs. Really your preference but we kept it pretty simple.

We were able to get outside for a bit as well on Saturday. The weather was so gorgeous! I was cleaning up from Halloween (since we haven’t even started in the backyard), but we are supposed to get some rain over Thanksgiving so I wanted to put our outdoor chair cushions in storage etc. Jordan and Jasmine found dirt to play in and were filling a bucket up and dumping it out countless times. Jonathan started out on his scooter but ended gathering leaves in the backyard. Sunday, Jonathan had a soccer game and we ended our weekend just relaxing.

We will be prepping for Thanksgiving for the next few days, staying in pajamas, eating all the yummy comfort foods and enjoying this beautiful time of the year! Happy Thanksgiving week!!!

Wow, I am still trying to figure out where September and October went, anyone else??!! This time of year really can get away from you or at least it did from me. We had a very active month of October and it still has yet to slow down. I am always relieved once November hits because Thanksgiving is right around the corner and Christmas. The Holidays certainly come alive when you have little kiddos.

We have been neglecting to pick up our leaves because we are still knee deep in Halloween, but my husband purchased a leaf blower that he was pretty excited about using. He wasted no time and I thought an unnecessary purchase, but to my surprise, he was able to get to leaves I didn’t even know existed! So, all in all, I saw the advantage of it and my husband had a good time.

The boys waited for their Dad to get a pretty big pile and they were jumping and throwing leaves everywhere. Jasmine was a spectator at first, but quickly joined in on the fun! Jumping into leaves wasn’t on our Fall Bucket List this year, but it should definitely be a must. The sun was out, the air was crisp, and the glow and light at this time of year I could just marvel in. With the time change the other weekend it makes the morning an evening light perfection! I am still trying to adjust though, this time around has affected me a bit longer than past years. I’m so ready to put the kiddos to bed at like 7:00 and myself sometimes too. We will adjust I suppose.

This week includes more doctor and dentist appointments, haircuts, and hopefully, Halloween put to bed so we can start thinking and planning to make yummy pumpkin pies, turkey, and all the sides. I sure do love Thanksgiving, there is so much to be grateful for!!!

I hope you are enjoying November so far!

Halloween 8.0 was one for the books! We had such a fun Halloween night. This will be our 8th year creating a Haunted House for trick-or-treaters to walk through. My husband does such an amazing job and is really a one-man operation. I help out when I can, but he is the driving force. This year was clown theme and he did such a great job. We had different sections in our front yard (aliens, toxic zombies, etc), but the backyard was all clowns. Here is a video my husband took on Halloween night,

The kiddos were so excited to go trick or treating and I am always so excited to take them. I love getting them dressed and heading out the door with their sacks waiting to be filled. Below are pictures of our Haunted House and the kiddos.

We are still in a Halloween coma it feels like. Tons of clean up, Halloween candy still around, but it will slowly be put away and we will be counting down the days until next year’s Haunt!

I hope you had a great Halloween!

We recently got to celebrate Jordan’s 4th Birthday. We just stayed at home and the night before his Birthday his big brother stayed up late with me to decorate the house. Jonathan made him a Happy Birthday sign that I hung up, we blew up balloons, and set his presents up so he could open them right away. I loved how Jonathan wanted to help and how he wanted to do something special for his little brother, it warms my heart and I hope that brotherhood lasts forever!

Jordan is so full of life and adventure right now. He absolutely loves his big brother and little sister. He is such a great helper and will run to Jasmine’s side if he hears her crying. He adores Jonathan and wants to do and be just like him. He is kind-hearted, caring, funny, and loves to have a good time. He really enjoys any arts and crafts that we do. He loves to go to the park and library. He says “me three” if he wants something that his brother asks for. He loves to dress up like Captain America or Iron Man and save the day. I could go on and on about this little guy. He really is so special and I am so lucky to be his Mom.

Happy Birthday sweet boy! We love you so much.

Our weather has been absolutely gorgeous lately so we try to walk as much as possible. After we walked Jonathan to school on our walk back home I asked Jordan if he wanted to do a scavenger hunt. He asked, “An Easter egg hunt?” I explained it was similar to an Easter egg hunt and gave him the Fall Scavenger hunt paper to look at. I found it on Pinterest (there are so many great options, you can search or customize them to what you know you have in your neighborhood etc.) I printed off this one. I grabbed a brown paper bag before we left the house so he could put all of his goodies in there.

His bag was full in no time! He had trouble finding a few of the items, but he would remember quickly where there were pine trees in our neighborhood and say, “Oh, Mom we need to go this way to get a pinecone.” I was pretty impressed with his ability to remember where certain things were.

After Jordan collected all of his goodies and we made it home we wanted to soak up more of our gorgeous Fall weather. Jasmine and Jordan played on our front grass (since there is a Halloween explosion in our backyard) and picked up leaves. I told Jordan to gather as many leaves as possible so that we can press them and do a fun leaf craft later. The leaves are so vibrant right now that a leaf craft is definitely in order!

Scavenger hunts are such a fun activity! It gets everyone outdoors and looking at nature a bit closer.I hope my kiddos will remember to take in how beautiful our changing seasons are.

Happy Friday!!!