So much to be thankful for...

Happy Thanksgiving~
We spent our Thanksgiving surrounded by family- a perfect day. We spent the morning at home playing games and being silly. Chutes and Ladders is a family favorite these days. It’s not a normal day if we don’t play it at least 6 times. This year was the year to have dinner with my side of the family. My Aunt Marlys and Uncle Chris were having dinner in Dexter at 5:00. Since we weren’t eating until later we decided we wouldn’t be too rushed to stop by Michele and Tony’s house for a short visit. We stayed about an hour and then went to Dexter.Erin and her family were in town this year. We were so excited to see them. It was also nice that both of my grandma’s were there. When we got there Jackson and Aubrin were very excited to hand out all of the Thanksgiving jewelry they made. They made both great grandmas a necklace, grandma a bracelet and Aunt Erin a bracelet. Everyone loved their gifts. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins and will all of the games in the basement. Jackson especially liked playing air hockey. I loved seeing my sister and catching up in person with her. It was a big day for Aubrin. She left the house with no diaper and didn’t have one accident all day!!!! We were so proud of our big girl. When we got home that night, the kids got in their PJ’s and we read Elf on a Shelf. Jackson remembers Harry the elf from last year. Harry’s job is to watch the kids every day and then when they go to bed he reports back to Santa to let him know if they are making good choices and using their manners. It’s such an exciting time of year!

The Potty Box

Our little sunshine has been ready to be potty trained for a while now. Between her being stubborn and my lack of commitment it just hasn’t happened. Aubrin started going on the potty this summer, but the excitement of it wore off for her. Now she will stand in the living room and say, “I am going to pee in my diaper right now…okay you can change me now.” What a little stinker she is. This is when I decided to introduce the potty box. The potty box is a small pink box filled with fabulous treasures that I thought Aubrin would love. In order to get a treasure form the box she had to sit on the potty and go. No rewards for trying anymore. The other day I decided we were not going to leave the house and she was going to wear big girl underwear all day. I was fully prepared for a messy day. I had 6 pairs of underwear, 6 pairs of pants and 6 pairs of sock on the kitchen counter ready for each time she had an accident. To my surprise she only had one accident. I think she was pretty excited to pick out prizes. She even told us when she had to go. Over the next couple days it went great. Then I got a call from Sheila at work telling me that Aubrin had an accident. When I got home I asked Aubrin why she had an accident and she said, “Well, there were not prizes in the potty box.” That’s my girl! So I filled up the potty box one final time. So far so good!

A visit from the Halloween Fairy

I love Halloween! I love seeing my kids get excited about the decorations in the house, their costumes and all of the Halloween festivities. The one thing I don't like is all of the candy. Or I should say, I don't like all of the candy for Jackson and Aubrin. I'm not against them having a piece here and there, but not daily and not a whole Halloween bag full.
A few years ago the Halloween Fairy started coming to our house. The night after Halloween Jackson and Aubrin each get to pick out five pieces of candy to keep. They spread their candy out on the living room floor and carefully make their choices. Before going to bed, they put their bags of Halloween candy on the counter. While they are sleeping the Halloween Fairy visits our house. When the kids wake up, their candy is gone, but special gifts are left in its place.
Both the kids were very excited to wake up and see what the fairy left them. The fairy left Jackson a Buzz Lightyear jet pack and wings along with the new Toy Story 3 movie. The fairy left Aubrin a Cinderella ballerina and a Color Wonder princess book. The kids were excited about their new treasures and I was happy that all of the candy was gone. It's a happy ending for all.

Mothers Cake

Every so often Jackson will do something and it makes me smile because it reminds me so much of myself. The other day it was clear to me that he is for sure my child. I remember spending hours in the kitchen preparing "delicious" drinks for my family to try. I would mix any condiment I could find in the refrigerator with Kool-aid and make everyone try it.
For a couple of months Jackson has been telling me about making a mothers cake. He wasn't sure what was in it, but he seemed very confident that it would be great. On Tuesday night I gave in and we made the mothers cake. Ingredients needed:
1. Flour
2. Sugar
3. Water
4. 2 Eggs
5. Sprinkles
6. Grapes- they will melt and turn into juice

Jackson let Aubrin help add the ingredients. He was very serious while making this and kept measuring different amounts. He then got a pie tin and poured it in. We put it in the oven and let it bake for 40 minutes on 350 degrees. Jackson and Aubrin both watched it cook through the oven window. He kept asking if we were so excited to eat it. I asked him where he learned about this kind of cake and he said, "Grandma Olenech told me about it." I told him that I was going to call grandma and thank her for such a great recipe and he said, " Oh, don't call her. She wouldn't be happy if I told her secret." Once the cake was done we let it cool and cut a slice for each family member. We all sat down at the table and took a bite. Jackson stopped chewing and said, "This is gross. Next time we should make a cake out of a box." We all took a little bit and agreed that it was not very yummy.
The cake was not very good, but the effort was priceless.

Pigs and Pumkins

A few weeks ago when we visited the farm, Mari told us that Gordon the pig loves to eat pumpkins. Jackson and Aubrin did not forget about that. After trick or treating Jackson asked us about taking our pumpkins to the farm. Monday morning Todd called Mari and she said to come over for feeding time. When we got to the farm we took our pumpkins down to the barn to feed Gordon. He loved them. It was amazing how quickly he ate them. The kids also had a chance to feed the horses, goats, rabbits and ducks. Jackson and Aubrin spent most of their time chasing the kittens around the barn. Jackson was very proud that he was able to pick them up all by himself. By the time we were leaving, Aubrin was feeling brave enough to feed Goatboy. Again, feeling very proud of herself. We love that Aubrin and Jackson are able to have these hands on experiences with animals.