Fourth day of thanks

1. Inspired friends who unknowingly give me a break when I'm about to break.
2. Working at Piper's school from time to time.
3. Pepsi - period.
4. Comfy sweaters
5. Early bedtime for me

I am thankful for...

1. Audio files of General Conference.  I can listen to them while I do dishes, fold laundry, cook, etc.  I feel uplifted and edified when I can listen to them over again.
2. Target's toy catalogue - there's way too much I would love to buy for my kids but I think we're gonna stick with simple and cheap this year.
3. A generally cheerful attitude in our home today.  There were tantrums and grumpy faces but they were mostly dissolved using laughter and tickles.
4. Homemade lasagna recipe from Barefoot Contessa (the kids call her the cooking lady).  I use regular sausage, not turkey sausage but it is still a winner every time, something about the fennel seed in the sausage and the tang of the goat cheese.  I break this recipe into two batches and frequently give away the other batch.
5. Reliving memories associated with an old childhood tree.  The roots of my parent's star pine in their front yard were damaging the concrete and plumbing so it had to be cut down.  That tree is older than me and my old home is hardly recognizable without it.  I loved that tree.

Thank you - Day 2

1. Clean floors
2. Kit-kat bars
3. "New Girl" - Zooey Deschanel is such fun.
4. Reader's Digest
5. Great baby news for a good friend

Bring on the gratitude attitude - Day 1

It's November!  That means it's the time of year when I post five things a day that I'm grateful for.  Are you in?  What are you grateful for today?  

Today I'm grateful for...

• Limited bickering between the kids.  One of my least favorite jobs as a mom is to referee the arguments in the house.  I did my best today not to add to the rising volume level.
• With Simon sick I have an excuse to blow off anything I don't have to do.  This means that I can stay home and focus on our house and family.  I don't like him being sick but I am grateful for the extra cuddles and the home time.
• Halloween is over.  I love, love Halloween but I was happy to take down the Halloween decorations today.  The anticipation for Halloween was long and drawn out so I was done with it before it even happened.
• Easy lunches and dinners.  You'll find this a theme this month.  Anything to make meals easier around is here always appreciated.
• Getting around to finally folding loads and loads of laundry while watching a craptastic movie (Reality Bites - people liked this movie, really?!).  I had an old-fashioned FP, as my mom would say (that would be a Folding Party for those uninitiated few).

Simon's silly sayings

Lately Simon has had just an explosion of vocabulary.  He makes us laugh almost daily by the crazy things he says or repeats.  Here's a smattering of his choicest sayings.

• (when cuddling with me in bed in the morning) Simon: Mom, you hair look nice.

• (while pretending a stepstool is a skateboard) Simon: Check this out.

• Get on board! (This one comes from Rick who's trying to teach Simon to say, "Get on board, Horowitz!" who is a guy at work.)

• Other funny words thanks to Rick and my mom: Lamborghini, Cucamonga (pronounced "Cookoomunga") and Absolutely!

April

Our friends Chet and Sharee came to visit and brought their two cute boys with them.  All the kids were fast friends.

At the Natural History Museum

I love the look on her face in this photo.

Simon at Piper's school picnic before spring break.  It was a hot, hot afternoon.

3-legged race with Dad

Piper with friends from preschool

Looking pretty

Simon wearing Piper's robot "costume"

Easter morning

This was the best picture I could get of them on Easter, with Piper wearing her dress-up earrings and Simon wearing Piper's headband.

Our first Dodger game as a family (and Simon's first baseball game)

More of March