Gingerbread House

Should I spend the day making homemade gingerbread using quality ingredients, making my home smell divine and sprinkling in some love along with the cinnamon?  Will my kids appreciate the time, work and mess I create just for them? They are darling and precious after all.  They love me and tell me they miss me after being apart for a mere hour. 

Decisions, decisions........  I am a seasoned mother after all and  love these kids and would do anything for them, the choice is pretty easy.

One Costco Pre-Built Gingerbread Kit coming Up.

The kids loved this project even more than if it were homemade.  Why?  Because I let them do every last thing themselves.  Now if I had made the home with my own two hands, I would have probably not been able to stand their cute little haphazard decorations and just might have had to take over the whole project so it would have been picture perfect......but I am just guessing.

They were so grateful for such a fun, thoughtful mom that as soon as we were finished they went to the hot tub with their dad and let me clean up all by myself.  Like I said.............precious.

Family

Holidays are just the best reason ever for being with family, baking and eating.  The Wallworks were lucky enough to have the Zamoras and Mitchells come on down for a good ol Southern California Thanksgiving. 

6 miles with hills!!!  Andrew, Ezra and Al Zamora with Glenn, Marie and Ethan who will hopefully join in on the runs in a few years.

Kneading the whole wheat pizza dough

Pumpkin, pear, gorgonzola pizza with carmalized onions, mushrooms and sage.  We also had a few pepperoni, cheese and tomato basil along with ceasar salad.

Aaron and Kyra Mithchell

Lila with Zami.  Brutus wasn't too keen on another (bigger) dog in the house.

Adam Mitchell, Marie Mitchell Wallwork, Lila and Emry

Mitchell girls with Mom

Al Zamora & Lona Mitchell

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Thanksgiving fun to be continued..............

Interesting.....

* I find it annoying that after weeks of wondering where my InStyle subscription is I finally suck it up and waste 30 minutes of my life with their customer service this morning.  Not an hour later after taking Brutus on a walk what is in my mailbox?  Of course.

* I find it useless to tell the girls their drawers are not to be used as a hamper.

 * I find it adorable that Ethan thinks he's famous because his mug is on a coloring sheet.

 *My plant finds it infuriating that the only time I acknowledge it needs water is when it acts like this...

 * I find it great that some Halloween decorations transition perfectly into Thanksgiving decorations.

*I find it amusing that after all the measuring cups I have gone through I love the yellow Tupperware ones that I got for less than a dollar at the goodwill the best.  It makes sense as they are the exact ones I grew up using, same color too!

* I find my children awesome that they are so enamored of reading they will plead with me to read a book that is 600 pages.  Emry gave it 10 out of 10 and Lila gave it 1,000 out of 10. 

*And most of all I find it AMAZING that Glenn can look at this on a Monday.....

........and crank out this by Friday.  

* I find myself extremely lucky!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Lila!!!

      Lila is *8* and as usual the party went on for days.  Her actual birthday went as follows: go to school, have treats brought in by mom.  I chose chocolate & pumpkin loaf because  it seems healthier than cupcakes, but is basically cake w/out frosting so therefore only slightly better.  Get picked up from school in the crazy bday minivan (pics to follow) with an iced vanilla frappachino waiting as apparently that is the new bday tradition.  Cousin Adelys turned them on to this yummy concoction and now every time we pass a Starbucks I hear about it.
     Birthday dinner (baked potatoes and yams with all the fixings.  My mom brought the crumbled bacon that Lila didn't eat because p.s., she's all of a sudden a vegetarian)  Red Velvet cake that Lila requested and Ethan helped me make.  Of course the one time I make a red velvet cake and he is wearing a white T-shirt, par for the course.

 Gifts are opened.  A comfy cozy blanket from mom and dad, pajamas from Grandma and Grandpa, and a barbie swimming pool from Kylee.  Too bad we sold all the barbie paraphernalia at a garage sale.  I guess all the Pollys and pet shops will inherit the pool.

Every bday girl needs 2 cakes of course.

Now moving on to the friends portion of the birthday.  Pretty much the same deal as last year.  A trip to the mall and dinner at Soup Plantation.  

Ears were pierced!!!!!

 

 

Makeup applied

 Lots of fun was had by all.  I heard some of the girls say it was the best birthday party ever.  

Birthday story to end the night.  Love you Lila, Happy Birthday.  And yes that is a life vest, totally normal.

My Favorite Things

 Raindrops on Roses and whiskers on kitten, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens.............. Maria and Oprah aren't the only ones with favorite things, although I would venture to guess my list might just vary slightly from theirs

To see Glenn and the children tackle the never ending list of chores and things to do,  Awesome.  Emry has been cleaning all 4 of the bathrooms for about 2 years now and she does a great job (good thing as bathrooms are my very least favorite job).  Lila can be a worker bee when she wants to, Glenn is obviously in work mode pretty much every waking second of his day and Ethan.................... this is what Ethan did while we were all working-

Sad to say because he's my son, but the boy is straight up lazy.  When asked to put away Leggos (or anything) he acts like I am asking him to move mountains, run across the world or something impossible like that.  Glenn says he's still young, so hopefully he will have a rude awakening in the coming years, or he will just magically change!  Nevertheless, he's precious and definitely one of my favorite things!!!

End of October

 Halloween is of course done and over but being that I am the slowest blogger in the world I am still in Oct. as far as posts go.  I just have to do a quick recap and then it is on to all things Thanksgiving and Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!

These pics were taken at Trunk or Treating where I gave out almost 150 suckers and gummi bears in less than 20 minutes.  Next year I will be better prepared, and with my vehicle as well.  Some of these trunks were so cool.  Pimped out with webs, flashing lights, pumpkins and music, very Halloweeny.

                                          

              



Between the Harvest Festival, our Par-tay, and trunk or treating you would think my kids would be rolling in candy.............you would be wrong.  Here is what we ended up with, and this is from THREE children.

The reason for our lack of candy?  We were inundated with trick or treaters and not only gave away all of our candy, but the kids stash as well.  Since Halloween was on a Sunday our children were not allowed to go out trick or treating, but after all our previous fun they were more than fine with that.  They loved handing out candy and did not mind at all giving away all their loot.

 I was shocked but glad at how freely, even Ethan, loved making all the kids smile.  I said "It really is more blessed to give than to receive", and they all agreed.  I have a feeling their thinking will drastically change as they peruse all the Toys R us and Target flyers that will surely fill our mailbox in the coming weeks.