Thanksgiving

thanks·giv·ing:
1 : the act of giving thanks
2 : a prayer expressing gratitude
3 : a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness

I give thanks for my healthy family, happy children, wonderful husband, thoughtful friends, comfortable house and good, secure employment. Thank you God for all that you have given to me and help me to be thankful daily, for all that I have.

Better Days

I have been so uninspired to blog lately. I don't know what it is - being sick, maybe??? We've had the 'crud' and I'm going on a full week of feeling crappy and am afraid I may have a sinus/ear infection. Whatever, I don't have time for this!!! All three girls have been sick in some way or another. Zoe has the cold and finally went to school on Friday. Teagan was throwing up all day Wednesday and now has the cold. Harper waited until Thursday night to start feeling crummy, thus, the last 3 nights have not been restful for either of us.

Let's hope next week has better days for us...

Meat Free Monday

We started doing Meat-Free Monday at our house. It's sort of fun because I get to try new vegetarian recipes (if you have good ones, PLEASE share!!!) and I find that I am way more conscious about what I'm eating.

Why did we do this, you ask??? My hubby, who isn't known for the love of reading books, is totally into David Suzuki's Green Guide, where he talks about Meat-Free Monday's as a way to cut down on carbon emissions.

Check out this link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jun/15/paul-mccartney-meat-free-monday (Even though I'm not a vegetarian, I want the t-shirt Paul's wearing!) We thought it was a fun challenge and a great way to eat less meat as well. My only problem is that I don't think about what to make until Monday morning and then I'm rushing to come up with something that doesn't require 6-8 hours for beans to soak then cook! Oh well, it's still a fun challenge - you should try it!!

So Big

I'm getting so big! I can roll over from my back to my tummy then sometimes back to my side! I make all sorts of jabbering noices and I laugh once in awhile.

I'm 3.5 months old and at the doctor today I weighed 15 pounds 3 ounces and I am 26.75 inches long - I'm off the charts!

Dr. Epstein said I look just like my daddy but a lot like my big sisters too!

All things Fall

We have had such a busy October and I feel like I haven't posted in forever! Life is busy with three girls. I've been trying to do some sewing projects and other things for Christmas, so my creativity has been else-where. I can't believe it is the end of the month and Halloween is this weekend. Some of the things we have done this month are:

• School activities - Zoe had her first homework last week and was so excited! Both Teagan and Zoe had school pictures and we are all waiting to see how cute they turned out! Parent-Teacher conference was today and Zoe is doing great! She is a hard worker and really getting into reading and writing! We are SO proud of her!!


• We visited the pumpkin patch with our friends and neighbors, the Fazio's. The kids had a great time running around in the hay maze and picking just the perfect pumpkin.


• Pear and Apple picking - our friend Shannon and Ryan have a bunch of apple trees that they have been so gracious to share the crop with us! Ryan's grandma had pears that we picked on a very windy, chilly day! I spent 2 days processing pears for fruit leather and baby food. I have to get going on the apples so I can re-stock my freezer with applesauce!

• Deciding on our Halloween costumes - the girls kept changing their minds and both finally decided they wanted to be Kitty Cat's - stay tuned for pictures!


• The 6th Annual Girls Get-Away Weekend - once again, a great time with the women in my family. It is so fun to see the little girls growing up and just getting to relax, eat great food, and enjoy the time with family.

Ok, can you tell these two are related???? My niece, Izabella, is 7 months old and is adorable.

Harper flung her arm over and her thumb did make it into Izabella's mouth! She got the funniest look on her face, as if she knew it wasn't her thumb but she'd suck it anyway!

I love this picture because they are holding hands - I had just set Izabella on the floor next to Harper and grabbing her hand was the first thing they did. I can only hope that they are best buddies growing up!

New Favorite

If you live in the Pacific Northwest, you have to try the new, organic bread from Green Earth Baking. My favorite, by far, is the 15 Grain but the whole wheat is fabulous too. It's hearty, chewy, has great flavor and is great for you! Check out their website too: http://www.greenearthbaking.com/

NO...

I have not given up on blogging. It's just hard to find the time sometimes! Zoe and Teagan both have school in the mornings, I work Tuesday afternoons (and starting this week, some Saturday afternoons), I'm overhauling our diet (which involves more cooking on my part) and I'm forcing myself to get back into the whole walking/running routine. Needless to say, I feel busy and am glad for the time at home because it is giving me great time with my kids and an opportunity to do work on some projects I enjoy (again, not that I find that much time to do some of them!) So, with that, I must go since I have cookies to make, art to paint, a craft desk to clean-up so I can create and some sewing to do. Oh yeah, and nurse a baby, put away the big girls summer clothes and do some laundry!