Thanksgivukkah

Having gone out of town the past two Thanksgivings, I declared to my family that we will be hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year. Thanksgiving also fell on the first day of Hanukkah. We were extremely blessed this year to celebrate the holidays with both sides of our family. We had potato and leek soup, the traditional Thanksgiving turkey, a rib roast, kale salad, cranberry relish, mashed potatoes, traditional Hanukkah latkes, dinner rolls, green beans, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and Hanukkah themed sugar cookies. After dinner, we lit our menorah, sang Hanukkah songs and played a very rousing game of spin the dreidel.

With so many people, we had to rent tables and chairs and move the couch

The kid table

The spread

Lighting the candles

Hanukkah presents!

Happy Hanukkah

Felt menorah

Big winner of all the gelt

Getting better at spinning the dreidel

Caleb's turn

Hanukkah presents

Grizzly Greatness

Every Friday Caleb's school has a morning assembly. They have school wide announcements and give out awards. I usually try to go but have missed a couple. I'm so glad I didn't miss today's assembly because Caleb got a  Grizzly Greatness award! Way to go Caleb!

Turkey Tango

The kinders got together and performed The Turkey Tango. So adorable.

AYSO

Our first time participating in AYSO. Our first practice was a bit chaotic. And truth be told our team seemed to always be a bit unorganized. Caleb always looked forward to going to practice and scrimmaging. Watching a "match" between a bunch of 5-6 year olds is amusing and fun; sometimes even heartbreaking. One time a boy on the opposing team was really frustrated and ran off the field. Sometimes during practice boys would be low on energy and just sit on the sidelines. Sometimes they didn't know which goal they were defending and go in the wrong direction and oops may score a goal for the other team. In the end Caleb enjoyed playing and participating and thus a good experience for him. Go Green Dragons!

Incentive

We've come to a point where the boys were playing games on the iPad WAAAAYYYY too much. We instituted no iPad Mondays/Thursdays but for the other days of the week we devised an earn/reward system. "Good Job Tickets" are earned by doing things like putting their dishes in the sink, putting dirty clothes in the laundry and for Caleb getting dressed himself and for Lucas going to the bathroom by himself. We were also at a point where they wanted to buy new apps or items for an app all the time. So now they are able to earn $1 for doing chores like cleaning the kitchen table and putting away their clean clothes. Thus far the use of the iPad has gone down. And they even pooled their money together to buy some fire item for the Plants vs Zombies game. I'm not sure where Caleb got the idea of pooling money together with Lucas. I just hope it's about sharing and working together toward a common goal rather than manipulating or taking advantage of his younger brother.I'm not sure how long this system will keep going but for now it's working.

The 40 Club

And just like that I'm 40. I still feel way younger than forty sounds. I normally don't like being in the spotlight but since it was such a big milestone I wanted to do something special. I reserved a room at The Sea in Palo Alto and invited close friends and family. As a friend put it... it was like a mini wedding. I had a fantastic time celebrating with people near and dear to my heart.

Appropriate bottle to share with fellow middle sisters as we got ready for the evening. Thanks J!

"mom" friends

The best picture I have of the whole room

Parents, sisters, and bro-in-laws

cousins and high school friends

Father-in-law and his girlfriend

  

The Chais

The Arbolantes

The Millers

The MacLennans

Sewing

So it's been about a year since I took my first sewing class and got a sewing machine. In this past year I've made quite a number of things to build my sewing skills. There have been numerous bags, our family pajamas, and household items. I've even made a few gifts (baby blankets, crayon rolls, superhero cape, art notebook). Someone asked me "When do you find time to sew?" I find myself doing a lot of sewing after the boys are asleep as a way for me to unwind from the day. It's a creative outlet for me and I find it enjoyable to learn a new skill.

sewing machine cover

wristlet

placemat I used for C's Big 5 birthday party

pencil pouch party favor for C's bday party

insulated lunch bag

placemat for L's Pirate 3rd bday party