A Time to Give Thanks

I am in love with Thanksgiving. It is by far my favorite of all holidays. After all, I do have a lot to be thankful for. And I love playing the role of holiday hostess for this one particular holiday.

I remember Thanksgiving day with my family each year as a child. We never had to travel far to get to Nana & Papa's house. Papa would let us play with his cool gadgets (e.g. calculators and clock pens), they always had an adequate stock of pink or multicolor marshmallows for my sister and I, and there was always a mountain of delicious food (even if the picky eater in me didn't agree at the time). We would say our prayers before dinner was served, and most importantly- I knew as a child that Thanksgiving was a day for giving thanks.

Today, it seems like we, as a society, are missing the mark on Thanksgiving. And that is not the lesson I hope my children learn. The commercials I remember of joyful families gathered around a perfectly set table showcasing a succulent turkey are being taken over by ads of Black Friday specials and stores opening early- on Thanksgiving day no less- to beat the Black Friday rush. How sad!!! Is Thanksgiving a day we should be thankful for material items we can score at Black Friday prices?? No! It is a day we should spend with family and friends to be thankful for the ones we love and to cherish the blessings in our lives.

Black Friday has simply gone too far. I never particularly 'enjoyed' waking up early to score a few deals on the big ticket items Jon and I wanted for Christmas, but somehow I set my alarm to 5 a.m., bit the bullet, and did it for a few years. This year I will not be participating. I would like to spend the day enjoying my children, then having them pushed and shoved by shoppers hoping to score the cheapest BluRay players or the latest toys. Saving a couple of dollars is not worth my sanity.

I would like my children to have similar Thanksgiving memories that I had years ago. It scares me a bit that my kids are growing up in a generation where Thanksgiving seems to be more of an afterthought then an actual holiday. But I know as long as we keep on with our family traditions, we will instill wonderful memories for them to recollect upon (and hopefully continue) when they have families of their own.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday filled with love, laughter, and lots of food :)

xoxo
Christina

Kaylee's performing at her Pre-School Thanksgiving Pow-Wow

Tee-Pee

Kaylee and her classmates in front of the wonderful (and multi-cultural) Thanksgiving feast the parents and teachers prepared.

Kaylee's contribution- homemade German apple strudel.

The children enjoying their Thanksgiving meals.

Halloween 2011

After two years experience of trick-or-treating, Jon and I have learned a thing or two about Halloween with children. First, you must come prepared for potential toddlers meltdowns. Secondly, you must come prepared to enjoy it yourself. I decided that to keep the kids happy, we should bring the green wagon (and a few toys) in case one (or both) became tired from all that walking. To keep myself in the game, I decided upon flats and a comfy sweater. And Jon decided to keep his spirits up by raiding the beer fridge on his way out.

The kids both took solid 3 hour naps, so I knew we were in for a successful night. The girls had the best time trick-or-treating, and Madison, who was dressed as a fairy, surprisingly walked majority of our neighborhood in her cute little fairy booties. Kaylee, of course, went as the princess of her choice, Sleeping Beauty.

    Kaylee told Madison she could fly now that she was equipped with fairy wings.

The headband didn't make it past this picture. But how cute is that?!

Princess Kaylee

Headed out to meet up with our neighbors

3 Princesses and a Frog :)

The girls eagerly set out on their candy conquering mission. Madison got her technique down early on- she would linger in each doorway after the older girls ran off with their fun size candy bars, prompting each homeowner to give her up to five times as much candy as the older ones. And if a particular candy distributor didn't voluntarily offer up more goods, she would just take it upon herself and pick a few more pieces from their stash. Smart girl- using that 1 year old charm.

As for the homes that didn't answer, Madison left her own treat of smudges and fingerprints, while the older girls carefully thought of specific reasons (taking a nap, still at work making money, taking a bubble bath, etc) for the lack of acknowledgement. It was all very amusing!

Madi is determined to get an answer.

All in all, we had an enjoyable Halloween. The girls were so wiped out from trick-or-treating, they went to sleep without even asking for a piece of candy. Five days later, Kaylee still hasn't asked for a single piece. And just like all the other parents out there, Jon and I rewarded ourselves with several items from the kids' candy baskets, and because we let Kaylee be the official "candy giver-outer," we were able to get rid of all 500 pieces of candy we purchased to less than 100 trick-or-treaters.

We hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!!