Embracing Life

I published this post earlier this autumn season.  I thought it was only fitting to re-post as we draw closer to Thanksgiving.  I was reminded of how great my life is when I drove past the local homeless shelter this morning and saw kids and parents standing in the cold, waiting for the school bus.   Imagine driving past a park one chilly November morning as you are headed to drop your kids off at school.  The sun is just bursting out of the clouds, and the cold frost twinkles on the grass. You pass a park and see a minivan. It's side door is open, and overflowing with open boxes and bags of clothes.  Two small children play on the swings in school uniforms, as a woman picks up the picnic table and walks to the garbage can with the remains of breakfast. A man walks out of the park bathroom with a pile of clothes in his arms. You think to yourself how odd it is to see a family at a park at this time of morning.... especially on such a cold mo...

This week I'm writing about all things Thanksgiving!  To start things off right, I would like to welcome Kendra Thornton to Embracing Chaos. Check her out on Twitter when you are done reading about her Thanksgiving traditions! My favorite time of year is coming up soon: Thanksgiving! With all the leaves falling and crisp air-cooling the neighborhood, the Thornton household is a whole bunch of family visitors this year in Chicago of friends and family! Thanksgiving and its symbolism of gratitude make me thankful about my immediate and extended family and I can hardly wait to have everyone here to celebrate it. With all of our guests coming to Chicago, I need to come up with simple recipes that the kids and I can cook together without too much of a mess. I'm sticking with fast recipes that incorporate either desserts or appetizers. Because I don't have many recipes to choose from at home, I've been searching through Pinterest for ideas . The pictures help m...

Being a working mom is hard.   Getting the kids out the door to school on time,  while trying to make sure you are not late to work is even harder.  Almost impossible.    Actually quite inconceivable these days.    Let's face it, it's just not happening. We have a routine in the morning.  In fact, I created a colorful chart with words and pictures for the kids to see.  They do well... sort of.  Despite our routine, there is a lot of arguing and crying and screaming that goes on during the wee hours of the morning at my house. Apparently putting on a uniform that your mother has laid out for you the night before is quite tough.  Today's arguments revolved around Christmas socks and long sleeve black shirts.  Neither are school approved.  But five-year olds don't care. Finally the crying/screaming/arguing has stopped.   Everyone is dressed.   Everyone is happily watching tv...

Boy lost his first tooth last night.   He is the last one in his class to do so,  and he's been waiting and waiting for this moment!  He was so excited!  I kept hearing "This is so cool!"  from the bathroom where he watched  his mouth bleed for about 5 minutes. ;) We had received a special tooth container  so he carefully put his tooth in it last night  and placed it under his pillow.  This morning, he was stoked to find  a gold dollar coin from the Tooth Fairy! Happiness is sharing in your oldest son's excitement.