Embracing Life

My sister invited Keira and I to head into Chicago to see the Marshall Field Macy's Christmas displays and visit the American Girl Doll Store. The thing is... Keira didn't have her AG doll yet.  Santa wasn't bringing Saige until December 25.  So Mommy called in a favor, and St. Nick dropped her off on December 6! The boys' gift and Keira's doll Yesterday, my sister, niece, Keira, and I drove into the city.  I hate driving in Chicago. But we had a blast! It started snowing right about the time we got there, and the snowy roads made for a loooonnnngggg drive home, but we girls had a fantastic time! Lexi, Julie, Keira and Saige Stopped for a quick snack After lunch at Macy's on State Street The great tree in the Walnut Room Walking back to the car Keira picked up a couple of goodies at the AG store, and Mommy bought herself a new purse as an early birthday present at Macy's.... All in all, it was a wonderful day!!!

Today I'm linking up with The Happiness Project over at Leigh vs. Laundry . The kids had off most of last week for "turkey break".  My work is always closed Wednesday-Friday (a fact my husband somehow was clueless about but we won't talk about that....)   It was a great five day break from work and school.  I got to pretend I was a stay-at-home-mommy, and we did a lot of fun things, in between spending Thanksgiving with my side of the family at my uncle's house. Watching the Thanksgiving Day parade (Aunt Diana and her horse, Quest, rode in it!) Thanksgiving fun Decorating the tree Playing with the swords of destiny and our mermaid crowns, rather than posing nicely for a picture Rounding out the weekend with pizza and Christmas shows on Disney, Jr., then snuggling on the couch as a family!

  Keira, my sweet little girl, is deathly afraid of the elf on the shelf.   Read about it here: The (Evil) Elf on the Shelf So last year, I found a stuffed polar bear that used to be my grandma's. I don't know where she got it, but it was in her curio cabinet, and I asked my mom if I could have it. I figured a polar bear was a lot less menacing than an elf.  The experience went pretty well, Keira loved Peppermint, as long as he doesn't move around too much AND because he can't go upstairs. (I called Santa and specifically made this request.) With Thanksgiving break last week,  Peppermint the Polar Bear made his grand entrance,  and brought along 3 baby polar bears to keep an extra special eye on the kids.   Because the babies are so small, Keira is ok with keeping hers in her room.   (And apparently in my work bag, because that's where I found one this morning!

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.