That's how I roll, Toilet Bowl!!!

So, sweet little dear one decided it would be a good idea to take his sister's *brand new* shampoo, toothpaste, bathroom hand soap, and toilet paper (this is why we never have any soap out on the counter in that bathroom...it's usually out of reach! but not today!!!)  and decorate the toilet lid, seat, and floor beneath.  I forgot to snap a before pic of the mess...but sweet little dear one was armed with a Pampered Chef scraper (those things are good for more than scraping stonewear) the Windex and some old rags....and he went to work.  I was not about to let him get away with this.  Imagine the entire lid smeared with this concoction of sticky mess (toothpaste, shampoo, hand soap) *sigh - as I think about how I JUST bought them* topped with random hanging bits of toilet paper!  Oh no he didn't!  Oh, yes he DID!  Well, instead of getting mad and doing it myself, as I wanted to....I made him do it.  And was pleasantly surprised by what a good job he did.  He enjoyed cleaning the bathroom so much, I think I may just put him on permanent duty.  That's how I roll, Toilet Bowl!!!

Mack-a-doodle Went To Town Riding on a Llama....

When it comes to field trips, I think I love them just as much as the kids do!  There's this really cool farm not too far from Mack's school, and they have the cutest animals there.  This year I am FINALLY getting to do some field trips, and I'm so excited!  With my crew, up until this year I've always had at least one little one at home, and the schools don't allow younger siblings to tag along, so I haven't gotten to be the chaperone as much as I've wanted to.  But this year everything changed because Little One started pre-school.  :o)   Here are some of the cute pictures I got while there.  The llama was nice enough to let every kid sit on his back for a minute!  Poor thing!

I found out that I enjoy feeding cows.  Maybe I should live on a farm!  This cow had the longest tongue!  We were feeding the cow corn tortillas and she LOVED them!  It was like a cookie to her.  Did you know that cow's tongues are really very rough?  I always envisioned them as being soft like a dog.  OK...not that I really envisioned a cow's tongue...but they seem like soft tongued creatures to me.  Who knew?  Not me, I guess.  Now you see why I love these field trips so much...because I learn things like the texture of a cow's tongue.  You gotta keep learning, even if it is about cow's tongues.  I say the 
minute you stop learning, is the minute you stop living.  (really living)  

 I took a picture of this old wagon.  It's over 100 yrs old.  I can just imagine the farmers our great grand parent's ages who used this wagon!  So cool!

Veteran's Day...What is a veteran & honor? (Out of the mouths of Babes!)

A bit of history for you....Veteran's Day, originally known as Armistice Day was originally set on Nov. 11, 1918 to mark the end of WWI.  **NOTE**my Grammie was just about 2 yrs old at that time!!!  (Armistice by definition means temporary suspension of hostilities by agreement between the opponents, or truce).  In 1938 legislation was passed and November 11 was dedicated to the cause of world peace and this legal holiday was designated to honor Veterans of WWI.    Nearly two decades passed and we had fought in WWII & The Korean War, so in 1954 they amended the act of 1938 by striking out the word Armistice and replacing it with the word Veterans.  On June 1, 1954, November 11 became a day to honor Veterans of all wars.

So, I thought it would be interesting to interview my four children (ages, 5,6,10 & 13) to see just what they thought Veteran's Day meant.  The answers I got were quite humorous, and it went a little something like this:
(ps--now they know WHAT Veteran's Day is and WHY we celebrate it.)

The kid interview:
Question #1 So do you know what it means to be a Veteran?
Mack - Spring Break (what?  I don't know where he was going with that)
Steph- A veteranerian
Lauren-Someone who's in the military
Allie-Someone in the armed forces

OK, so the answers keep getting better with age **whew!**  There is hope for my  kids!  Steph's answers was priceless though...I was liking where this was going.

So, I explained to them about the different branches of the military and what they do, and told them that a Veteran is anyone of those men or women who have served our country. 

Question #2  What is honor?
Mack- saying you can come in
Steph-to help somebody
Lauren-to thank or praise someone
Allie-recognize, tell them good job, appreciate

I then took a moment to explain how we honor people.  We honor someone when it's their birthday by celebrating them and we make them a cake and sing Happy Birthday, etc...  Then I talked about honoring your parents (gotta get that in wherever I can....teachable moments, people!)  I said that obeying the first time  and talking respectfully are ways to honor your parents.  I felt I could get off on a tangent here, so I decided to stay on topic! 

Question #3  How could you show honor to a Veteran?
Mack- (bear with me here...I wrote it as he said it...so it's a little hard to follow at times) It's their birthday and you just 'appreciation' someone....it means they are really really really happy because they did that stuff for appreciation. (that's a 5 yr old talking here.)  You have to pledge them to do it, when they died you have to do something really special for them like when Great Grammie Joy died we prayed for her.  (he remembers us praying for her when she was sick!  Wow!)  The guys at war have to kill the bad guys so our country won't die. We pledge to the ones that we love.  (he rattled all that off in about 10 seconds flat!)
Steph-  To pray for them and pledge to the flag, and being good to others
Lauren- You can celebrate what a good job they did, say thank you for serving in the war and thank you for fighting for our country's freedom.
Allie- I would thank them for their service, and for putting their life on the line for all of us.

Well there you have it folks!  My kids now understand what it means to be a Veteran.  Since Rick and I are not in the military they don't see it first hand like so many other military families, I  really wanted to drive home to them exactly what it is that they do for us.  (Even I cannot totally understand what it must really be like to have your husband deploy for a year! I'm such a wimp, I get sad over a few days!)  We have military family members who are actually deployed at the moment (a shout out to Carlos, Erika & family!) and who are serving overseas (shout out to James, PattyAnn, and family!) And I have many friends who are in the military, or their spouse (or both...shout out to Tracey & Billy & family!) and I wanted to take a moment to honor all of them and all of the others who put their lives on the line for all of us.  We love you and we honor you today and every day!  Thank you for your dedication and service!

Here are a few interesting facts in case you wondered or not:

• The shortest war on record took place in 1896 when Zanzibar surrendered to Britain after 38 minutes.

• The longest was the so-called 100-years war between Britain and France. It actually lasted 116 years, ending in 1453.

• Since 1495, no 25-year period has been without war.

Fall

During Fall, there's a new excitement in the air. I can remember as a teenager always loving Fall because there were football games to attend, and I could cozy up in my boyfriends over-sized sweat shirt or jacket. The air was cold and crisp which meant you could sit extra close "because it was cold" outside.

I still get that excited feeling to this day, and I still love how the cooler weather brings out the best in your snuggle partner!

Another favorite of mine (probably my favorite holiday) is Thanksgiving! This year I want to start some new traditions that we can do year after year with our family. I want something that our kids will look back on and remember how they enjoyed whatever it was.

You're probably wondering if I have any ideas.....Well, as a matter of fact, I do!
1. Decorate the Tree after we eat - This would require some planning on my part to be sure we pulled this off, but I think it could be done. I would have to be sure all the decorations and lights were out the night before, ready to go...and Rick would have to help me get the tree up and situated awaiting it's decorations.
I think instead of everyone being glued to the TV watching football (sorry football fans) we could be interacting as a family with the game in the background (as opposed to the foreground!) You get together to see EACH OTHER ...you can watch football any day. I think Holiday music playing from the iPod docking station would be a nice added touch as well. I wouldn't mind the confusion of music and football all together...I'm flexible!
2. Attitude of Gratitude - This one is good, and we've done it before. Let each family member know they need to come to the table with their top 3 things they are thankful for (other than basics like food, shelter,etc...). Things that really matter most to that person should be shared at the table with all to hear...this could open up some good conversation as well as give others who may not see you too often a glimpse into your soul. Also, it really makes you search your soul for what matters most to you and think about your priorities.
3. Phone a far-away relative - We have a cousin living in Germany (serving our country...Thank you James!), a grandma out of state, some other cousins and relatives out of state who would like a phone call. Since we will have a lot of folks at our house, we will call them and let everyone say hello!
4. Favorite Dish - This one I know exactly what to make! Do you have that special dish that just makes your holiday? Without it, it just isn't Thanksgiving? Make that dish in honor of your loved one who always made it, or in honor of someone who can't be with you this year. I'm sure they'd be thrilled to know that their contribution to years gone by meant so much to you!
5. Say cheese! - And I'm not talking cake this time....Take a picture of the group and send a copy to each guest, so that they have something to remember the special day. I'm always grateful for the group picture we took that last Thanksgiving we had my Dad in Nov. 2002! Little did we know we would suddenly lose him just 4 weeks later!

I am looking for more great ideas...so if you have some long time favorites, I would LOVE to hear them. Please follow my blog and add your comments!