The Safari

As a thank-you for watching her cat while on vacation, Natalie invited me and the kids to a safari at her house! The pictures are a little out of order but when we first got there, there was a big tent set up in the living room with animal coloring pages for the kids while me and Nat finished up lunch.
Then we had a picnic on the floor and Hannah hid animals around the house that we then gathered and brought back to the base camp.

Sweet Henry being adorable.

Then the kids made animal shaped cookies and frosted them.

Taking a well deserved rest at Base camp. Thanks Nat!

Walking off the feast

The day after Thanksgiving we ate at my parent's house and then went for a good walk (ride, for some). Hannah and Jacob are at a really good stage together where they both can play make-believe and Jacob is verbal enough to be able to communicate about it. Which makes for two happy play mates and a very happy mom.

The Fomby Family

This isn't a very good picture but in the other one I took Hannah looked bored and my dad looked mad.

New tradition

I decided to start a tradition of buying a new game each Thanksgiving because I love playing games. I wanted to get a grown-up game too but decided to wait until after Christmas for that as the one I was interested in was rather pricey. I picked operation. Jacob looks like he is practicing ballet but he would throw himself on the floor every time someone hit the edge of the game.
Hannah and Jeff

Pretty sure that using your fingers is cheating. I don't know the last time I played operation but my motor skills have come a long way since then because I was rocking that game!

Happy Thanksgiving

I am feeling a little lazy after our big lunch so no pictures for right now but wanted to post some happenings this morning. I was sleeping in and Jeff had turned on the Macy's parade for the kids to watch. when the energizer bunny float came on Hannah says: "You sure don't see that everyday!" Sure don't kiddo. Where do they hear this stuff? I don't talk like that! Do I? It makes me think of an old geezer with suspenders.

We brought down the little christmas trees for the kids' rooms and let them decorate them this morning (well, Jacob's is little but Hannah's is actually a scrawny 5 footer). Jacob put about two ornaments on his and Hannah's was so decked out it toppled and she had to remove some. Oh yeah, I just remembered a funny one. Hannah is such a girly girl and her two favorite book characters are Angelina ballerina and Fancy Nancy (a little girl who likes to make everything fancy). Hannah will dress up and accessorize and say "Fancy Nancy would like this outfit," etc. etc. The other day Hannah got home from school and said
"I need to Fancy-Nancy-up!" Didn't think that could be made into a verb.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

My new favorite thing: Ta-da lists

This is not my list featured above. Mine is way cooler. I found this site that lets you make lists for free and I am in OCD heaven. I love that you can make seperate lists and it has little boxes on the side for you to check them off which then moves them to the bottom of your list without a box and in a smaller font. I love that I can use the laptop on the counter and look at it throughout the day. I love that I will never again have scraps of paper with scrawled to do lists hidden throughout my house and purse. I love that it is called Ta Da and not To Do. I love that with one click I can see what I wanted to change in my bedroom, or what the next thing we need to do to for house maintainance is, or what my next step for emergency preparedness is.

The joy I get out of this has confirmed for Jeff that I am crazy. What is even funnier is the site http://cdo.tadalist.com/lists is called cdo.tadalist. CDO is OCD only in alaphabetical order, as it should be. (Jeff really loved that joke as he thought it applied to me)

Something may very well be wrong with me but I am not alone!

More on the balloon animals

Doesn't he just look so excited!

Doesn't she look fascinated!

I think it goes without saying that Jeff is the more fun one in our house. My role was made more apparent two sundays ago when Hannah was sick and Jeff was going to stay home from church with her. We don't watch t.v. or movies on Sunday but when the kids are sick we make an exception. Jeff told Hannah that she could watch a movie but Hannah kept saying: "But what will Mom say, shouldn't we ask Mom first, etc. etc." Which makes Jeff fume especially since we show a united front with the kids - i.e. Your dad and I both give the same answers. She finally relaxes a little and chills out on the sofa with Jeff and some movies.
Three hours later she hears me pull into the driveway and jumps up to look out the door, then darts back to the t.v. and turns it off

Jeff: Hannah, what are you doing?

Hannah: I am just done! Frantically opens the dvd player and pulls out the dvd

Jeff again: Hannah, why are you taking out the dvd?

Hannah: I am just done watching! Quickly puts the dvd back in the case and puts it away in the drawer. -a little side note, they never do that when they are done.

Oh what a tangled web we weave.

And apparently I am THE BOSS. Or maybe just the mean one. hmmm.

Friends

Here is a not very great picture of Katy, my great friend, who works a lot, talks to me about being a more responsible consumer and to be more green, causes me to reseach what the heck she is blogging about ( Friedrich Neitzshe and P. G. Wodehouse lunching in the after life, come again?), gives me hope (Iran has a "if we decide to make nice" plan for tourism on the backburner- cool), makes me laugh, is a great mom, and is now living very close to me! Unfortunately for the second attribute of working a lot we don't get to hang out as much as I would like but this day we made it to the zoo with our boys.

Jacob likes Reuben and is sharing his Banana nut cheerios with him as we are riding the tram. The weather was beautiful and it was such a fun day.