Thankful Thursday

  I've always considered myself a fairly optimistic person. You know, glass half full and all that jazz. But occasionally, even I get the feeling that things are just not going my way. Medical bills piling up, a sink full of dirty dishes, mountains of laundry, and toys that never seem to make it back to the the toy box. My days are often so busy that I can't remember the last time I actually sat done and did nothing. It's at times like this, that I start looking for the positive in every thing I do. The things that I am thankful for.

  Huge medical bills remind me that I am a cancer SURVIVOR! Without them, I wouldn't be able to say that. Dirty dishes in the sink mean that we have food in our bellies. Mountains of laundry show me that we are blessed to have clothes on our backs, and toys all over the floor, well that is my favorite. Those toys are a reminder of how lucky I am to have a house full of STRONG and HEALTHY kids! I am quite blessed!

So, today I am thankful for a lot of things! Here are just a few:

• The fall leaves that blanket my front yard.

• My girls' pumpkin creations.

•  My sweet Stella and her free spirited way of always wanting to wear her shoes on the wrong feet.

 So tell me, what are you thankful for today?

High on Fall

 ***Saturday***

Once again Mother Nature has dipped her paint brush in all of my favorite colors and painted the perfect portrait. Fall is here and I couldn't be happier! We added and checked off a new event to our fall bucket list, thanks to the Girl Scouts, a train ride through some beautiful fall foliage.

It was the first time we had taken the train ride, but it certainly will not be the last! The kids found excitement in the simplest things. Having their tickets punched brought out giggles from all and let’s not forget the thrill of using the bathroom on a moving train. Now that was a big deal. trust me!

Stella clutched her ticket like it was a $100 bill and she made sure she showed it to everyone.










Needless to say, it was a pleasure to spend the day with this fabulous group of girls.

  

 ***Sunday***

My favorite fall activity is our annual picnic in the mountains.
I missed it last year because I was sick.
I was bummed.
I was not going to miss it this year.

As usual, Poppy made too much food. To be more specific, too much baked beans. (although they were delicious)

The theme of the day...

Leaves, Leaves, Leaves!

We had a great day and we came home with only one pair of wet shoes this year. A record for sure.

There really is nothing
 that makes
 me happier than  this...

Happy Fall!

Bad Things {Wordless Wednesday}

A Few of Her Favorite Things {Muffin Tin Monday}

Today is Monday and Mondays are made for Muffin Tin Meals! The truth is, I've been slacking in the muffin tin meal making department. :( However, my girls love them and so do I, so we are back on MTM wagon! On Friday, I surprised my big girls with a muffin tin meal in their lunch boxes. It was a big hit, but I forgot to take a picture of it before sending them off to school. I just put some silicone muffin cups in a plastic sandwich container, added the food, and put the lid on top. It worked beautifully for the perfect muffin tin on the go. I'm sure we'll be making many more of those!

Today, I made Stella a tin with a few of her favorite things.

She had Goldfish crackers, applesauce, a Minnie Mouse pb&j sandwich, gummie snacks, tomatoes, and yogurt with rainbow sprinkles (because everything is better with rainbow sprinkles). As usual it was a winner and she ate everything!

Check out some more Muffin Tin Meals here:

Frank and Jack

Paper plates are one of my favorite materials to use when making crafts with toddlers. They make a sturdy surface to paint and glue on and we always have some hanging around. 

For "Frank", Stella painted the plate green and I cut the top to make his flat head. I then put some glue on for Stella to add the eyes and other parts that I cut from construction paper. Easy peasy!

"Jack" was made the same way only this time, I let Stella use a glue stick to attach the face. I don't often let her use a glue stick because sometimes, she likes to use it as lipstick. But, this time she DIDN'T glue her lips together.