Lincoln Plays Zingo!

Lincoln's Sentences

Lincoln had finally started putting two words together on his own without prompting! This is big news folks.

A few mornings ago, he came into our room, and said to me, "Daddy sleep?"

And just now, he discovered a sticky glob on his cheek (candy? booger?), and as he grabbed at it, said "What's it?"

I know there have been a few more instances this week. His vocabulary has grown very large, and we are very excited about this latest development!

Important Updates

It's time for an update on my monthly goals so far for 2015, to help keep myself accountable.

But first, a digression.

I love blogging. I blog for myself, mostly. I order a book version of my blog, one for each year, and my family and I love reading those books. Recently, thanks to my smart phone, I post more frequently on Intagram and Facebook. But those venues don't allow me to document my life in a way that is quite as meaningful as this blog. So I keep it going, even if the blogging-craze has mellowed a bit in the world.

When I look back over the years here on "Meg's Life," the number of times I posted during any given time period reflects what was going on in my life.

2008: 93 posts. 2009: 108 posts. Those were great years.

2010: 88 posts. Not so great. Our son Riley died that year, and I forced myself to do fun things with the family and then blog about it, knowing that I would regret empty holes in my memory books the way I regretted not being in more photos with the Riley during the 10 weeks he was with us. So that number could have been much, much worse.

2011: 102 posts. 2012: 96 posts. Great years. Lincoln was born in April of 2011, and heaven help me: I can't stop taking pictures of that boy. He is officially our final child, and we are relishing his smallness while it lasts.

2013: 59 posts. 2014: 52. Sigh. What happened? We moved in the spring of 2013. But it has been a GREAT move for us! And I have such an amazing life. Chad's job transfer has been awesome, the kids have wonderful schools, we love our house and our friends at church. But I had been struggling emotionally, feeling like I was slogging through mud each day, going through the motions. Not able to take pleasure in the things I love. Cranky and tired, yelling at the kids.

I finally faced what I had been trying to deny for two years. The symptoms were there. Sadness. Loss of interest in activities. Low energy. Problems sleeping. Anger and irritability. It wasn't surprising when my doctor visit in January resulted in a diagnosis of depressive disorder. I hadn't wanted to face the shame of resorting to medication to solve my emotional problems. I was a strong, capable, driven woman. But I was at an end. I started taking medication. Despite the doctor's caveat that I probably wouldn't experience a miraculous change, it has pretty much been just that. I am still getting used to feeling good. Menial tasks are suddenly surmountable. The dirty dishes and sticky floor no longer make me cry. Routine life setbacks don't crush me. Chad doesn't come home to find me in bed, watching 13 Going on 30, surrounded by candy wrappers and popcorn kernels. Mason's behavior at school has dramatically improved (his teacher said to me, "Whatever you're doing, keep it up!"). Our home life is so much more peaceful. Chad and I are closer than ever.

I wasn't sure if this would be something I'd mention on this blog. Wasn't this topic too personal, too sensitive? But then, I didn't have a problem sharing the news when I began allergy shots. Or started taking medication for migraines. No one balks when a diabetic mentions their need for insulin. So I'm sharing: I take medication for my own body's imbalance.

Not everyone understands. Only those closest to me have known how much I've privately struggled. And I don't know if a person can truly understand depression or anxiety unless they've lived it, or have seen a loved one go through it. There will still be people who will assert that when depression hits, a pep talk, good nutrition, and getting out of the house will solve the problem. There is still a stigma (a friend actually used that word right after I had confided in her that I had started taking medication... grrr). But it's getting better. And I'm hoping that some day it will become just as acceptable to talk about depression as high blood pressure.

Whew.

Okay, so now for the updates on this year's goals!

Year-Long goals:
1: Read 15,600 pages (so far: 10 books and 3,646 pages)
2: Blog at least once a week (This hasn't happened. This is only my 5th post so far this year. I did, however, fill in some serious blanks from September to December of last year.)

January: "Be Healthy"
3: Find a dermatologist and schedule an appointment (Done. Clean bill of health.)
4: Exercise 5 times a week (Didn't happen in January, but I knocked it out of the park in February, thanks to free classes taught by local friends. Monday: Weights, Tuesday: Bootcamp, Wednesday: Dancercize, Thursday: Kickboxing, Friday: Zumba)
5: Lights out every day at 9pm (I did it, but it didn't help my sleep as much as I'd hoped. Since being on my new meds, and adding a melatonin pill at night, I've been sleeping much better since February)
6: Eat 3 servings of veggies a day (I think I did pretty well at this one. I've been using My Fitness Pal to keep track of diet and exercise.)

February: "Be Loving"
7: Complete the Dating Divas love calendar (I didn't quite complete every day, but came pretty close. Chad caught on after only a few days of cute notes and texts.)
8: Sight-see with Jaime (This one, sadly, didn't happen. But I won't give up hope!)
9: Speak quietly, with love (I did pretty well. February was freaking awesome.)

March: "Economize"
10: Stick to a budget (I need to buckle back down on this one. Our vacation last week threw me off a bit.)
11: Rotate and replenish food storage (I have orders in the works for Emergency Essentials, the church cannery, and one for buckets of white wheat from Utah (hopefully our Queen Creek group meets the quota!)

So, that is the official life update.

And, as someone wise once said, "Everything is awesome."

Mason Turns 7!

Lately Mason is all about Lego Marvel. Especially Spiderman.
So, naturally, I made a Spiderman cake for birthday #7.

We had a small party with just the family, as Mason opted for "big present" over "big party" this year. I'm always relieved when the kids make that choice. He got the Lego and Bey Blades sets he chose himself.

Mason is a brilliant, active boy with natural abilities at many things (sports, math, reading, singing, piano, soccer, etc). He loves spending quality time with his mom. It can be difficult to get his attention when he is hyper-focused on an activity, and he has trouble with impulse-control, but we certainly love him, and know that these qualities will be used for good when he learns to channel them. He frequently doodles Super Mario Brothers characters on the back of his class work, and has recently informed me that when he grows up, he is going to invent web that he can shoot out like silly string then swing on. His obsessions change periodically, but Mario, Lego, and Star Wars are always front-runners.

Mason's 7th Birthday Interview:

What is your favorite color? blue

What is your favorite toy? Mario K'nex

What is your favorite TV show? Super Mario Bros

What is your favorite movie? Star Wars

What is your favorite thing to wear? Mario Shirt

What is your favorite animal? I don't have a favorite animal

What is your favorite song? The Mario theme song

What is your favorite book? Lego Chima book

Who is your best friend? Jordan

What is your favorite drink? root beer

What is your favorite food? bean burrito

What is your favorite breakfast? Frosted Mini Wheats

What is your favorite game? Super Mario Bros 3D World

What is your favorite thing to do? play video games

Where is your favorite place to go? Legoland

What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

What makes you laugh? a girl body with a man's head

What do you do really well? math

What are you afraid of? the dark

What do you love to learn about? math

What do you want to be when you grow up? an inventor

If you had one wish, what would it be? to have, like, Mario powers 

(Last year's interview here)

January Hijinks

1: I just had to document how cute my chalkboard header was for the New Year. Cute chalkboard = happiness.
2: I have gotten back into making my nails cute. Santa brought me some nail polish for Christmas, and I love it. Plus, when my nails are done, I'm much less likely to chew on my cuticles, which is a very disgusting and persistent habit of mine.
3 and 4: We pass this field almost every day, and I finally decided to stop and let the kids look at the cotton up close. It's crazy to think that this fluff somehow becomes the clothes on our backs.
5: My nursing cover Etsy shop continues to be slow, yet successful. Usually the orders come in threes or fours (I'm not sure how Etsy works, but there must be some sort of search result priority rotation). On this day, I sent out a custom order (left), and my best-seller (right).
6: Trek is coming! Chad and I went to the kickoff meeting, and though we are not supposed to publicize the fact that we will be a Ma and Pa (otherwise the youth will all be desperately hoping to be in our family, and will be tragically disappointed when they can't all be), I figured I'm safe expressing our excitement here. (I think people read my blog, but I've been neglecting it lately, so the only person who reads it now is Jaime, because I texted her to tell her to read my new posts.) So ANYWAY, we are excited! I haven't started sewing yet, but I did purchase some pink calico, so, yeah.
7: Bree cashed in some tickets for a trip to Baskin Robbins one evening. I was happy to go with her, because their Snickers ice cream is epic.
8: I have a sweet connection for free advance screening movie tickets, and I invited Heather to go with me to see Spare Parts. A great inspirational story about teenagers from a local Arizona school.
9: Another delicious lunch with my Amateur Chef friends! Moroccan salmon with rice, and Raspberry Ribbon Pie for dessert. Mmm. Isn't Christie awesome for providing us each with our own pies to take home?!
10: This is what I get for leaving the last slice of chocolate cake on the counter unguarded. I thought it was hilarious that he served it up into a bowl before eating it. This mess wasn't as bad as when he got into the peanut butter jar a few days before that.
11: We got a couple days of drizzle in January. Like, constant drizzle, which is so rare for us. I just gave in to the frizz.
12: I'd been lying on the couch with a migraine one day, and I didn't even realize Lincoln was in the kitchen. Suddenly there he was next to me. He had gotten into the donuts, eaten two on a plate at the table, then brought me my own. Smart boy, on so many levels.

Bree's latest "infatuation"

Bree received quite a few Ever After High dolls for Christmas, which she was really excited about. They each came with their own short story (tidbits from the book series), and she has absorbed it all. The other night as I was tucking her in, she confided in me:

"I don't know what's come over me...it's Hunter Huntsman. He's like my dream come true. He's strong, brave, good with animals."

33 Things in my 33rd Year (or my Happiness Project)

For 2015, my 33rd year on earth, I'm taking a page from Gretchen Rubin's The Happiness Project. I separated my 33 goals into months of the year, each month having a theme. I'm hoping this will keep me focused and on track, rather than letting the year get away without me like it has lately...

Two of my goals will go all year long:
1: Read 15,600 pages (about 52 books, averaging 300 pages each)
2: Blog at least once a week (to avoid becoming months behind)

And here are the rest of the goals:

January: "Be Healthy"
3: Find a dermatologist and schedule an appointment (skin cancer runs in the family)
4: Exercise 5 times a week
5: Lights out every day at 9pm
6: Eat 3 servings of veggies a day

February: "Be Loving"
7: Complete the Dating Divas love calendar
8: Sight-see with Jaime (hopefully to a place we've never been)
9: Speak quietly, with love

March: "Economize"
10: Stick to a budget
11: Rotate and replenish food storage (learn how to use it all!)

April: "Sew a Home"
12: Make a curtain to act as an office "door"
13: Finish my Mt.-Everest-sized pile of sewing/mending projects
14: Fix living room curtains (kids destroy everything)
15: Cover entry bench cushion with cute fabric


May: "Cultivate Talents"
16: Finish a blog book
17: Sing every day with voice lesson CDs
18: Learn a new cooking method

June: "Make Memories"
19: Go camping with the family
20: Scan and digitize old photos

July: "Introspect"
21: Journal at least weekly. Real, meaningful journaling. This could be part of blog posts or not, depending on the nature of entries.
22: Spend 15 minutes a day on actual scripture study

August: "Friendship"
23: Coordinate a girls' night
24: Deepen a friendship

September: "Family First"
25: Print photos for Bree's photo collage frame in her room
26: Make a Family Home Evening board
27: Turn off all electronic devices for 24 hours

October: "Have Fun"
28: Do projects with kids, especially ones they come up with on their own
29: Host a Choctober party

November: "Be Grateful"
30: Keep a daily gratitude journal from November 1st until Thanksgiving
31: Listen to good music every day (trash on the radio while driving kids to school doesn't count)

December: "Give"
32: Plan an anniversary surprise for Chad
33: Don't buy myself gifts for Christmas :)

Yes, the months at the beginning of the year are a little more goal-heavy. That was intentional. And I'm allowing myself flexibility if I want to work ahead (or behind).

Ringing in the "New Year"

We are not night owls at our house. I am in bed by 9pm every night. So instead of ringing in the actual New Year, or even New York's New Year, I queued up London's recorded celebration. Lame? Maybe. Functional? Of course.

Silly String. Donuts. Sparkling grape juice. Music and fireworks on the TV. That's how we do New Year's.

20 of My 32 Things: Not Bad

I didn't give up on the idea of accomplishing my 32 Things list in 2014, but I didn't let it depress me when it became obvious that I wasn't going to make it. And 2015 is a new year.
 
Completed:

• Go hiking with the family (San Tan Mountain Regional Park) 
• Go camping with the family (in Payson; Lincoln got a wicked burn on his hand) 
• Family vacation to Washington state  
• Go on a date with Chad to somewhere new (Olive Mill for wood-fired pizza al fresco)  
• Volunteer in Mason's kindergarten class 
• Organize a play-date just for Lincoln (Owen came over for "swimming" in the blow-up pool) 
• Donate blood  (I actually attempted 3 times, but was rejected twice: once for a high pulse, and once because I was on antibiotics)
• Read the Book of Mormon  
• Update the RS email directory (back when I was still the ward RS secretary)
• Know all the sisters in my ward by name (I came pretty darn close, though there are still some I've never seen) 
• Display family photos in the house (the beloved collage-frame has since been broken by a toy thrown off the balcony)
• Plant something (herbs in pots on the kitchen window sill totally count) 
• Make a chalkboard message wall in the kitchen (done, though I still need to patch the nail holes)
• Decorate with a thrift store find (I found a cute fake herb-looking plant at a yard sale. I painted the pot yellow, and it looks cute on my kitchen island)
• Furnish the loft with more light (Chad and his dad installed a ceiling fan and light, both of which were sorely needed)
• Make bread pudding like the kind served at Famous Dave's
• Make a tablecloth for the kitchen table (I totally made one, but have never used it, because I used a thick, cheap vinyl that I can't get the wrinkles out of)
• Sew or refashion an article of clothing (I have altered several cheap men's t-shirts from Walmart to have a more feminine fit and neckline)
• Read a biography (Mary Poppins, She Wrote: The Life of P.L. Travers. It was terrible.)
• Take pictures every day for one week (easily accomplished during our vacation to Washington)

Not Completed:

• Redecorate Bree's Barbie house with her (the plain white one she got from Santa two years ago)
• Make a Family Home Evening assignment board (so I'm not the only one giving the lessons) 
• Go to the temple at least 8 times (I've been twice so far...and almost made it two more times.)
• Repair my living room curtains
• Reupholster the couch in the loft (one of its arms used to be just threadbare...now there are chunks of foam missing)
• Can butter    
• Do 20 real pushups with good form 
• Stay at or under my goal weight for a month
• Read 52 books
• Read War and Peace (I only got about a fifth of the way through...I think I might give up on this one) 
• Publish my 2012 blog book (barely started) 
• Scan and digitize my bin of old photos

Goal Categories: (at least I didn't completely neglect any categories)
Wife/Mother
Spirituality/Service
Homemaker
Individual
Blogger/Historian

More December Highlights

1: Bree got hit square in the face during her soccer game on the 6th, but kept right on playing. When I complimented her on it, she said, "A few tears were shed, but eh, I'm fine."
2: Candy making day! Caramel nut clusters, toffee, brittle, truffles, oh my.
3: The first casualty of the season. I was feeling so proud of myself for getting some early wrapping done. The next morning, Chad's gifts were open and strewn across the floor. Lincoln!
4: I started a Mary Kay page on Facebook. I've been trying to widen my client base, and it's been fun to post about makeup and skin care tips! This post was about applying sparkle eye shadow.
5: The latest version of the kids' chore list is up on the chalkboard. Because they can't seem to remember the basics, and I'm tired of sounding like a broken record. Their allowance depends on how many check marks they have, so hopefully they'll stay motivated.
6: Phineas and Ferb Christmas episode. Dark house and twinkle lights. Love it.
7: Pinterest success! Buckeye Brownie Cookies. Uh-MAZING.
8: At the ward Christmas party with my friend Reyna. I made her put on some of my red lipstick, cuz that's the kind of friend I am.
9 and 10: Chad and I celebrated our 13-year anniversary with a night at a resort. We ate out, saw a movie, and generally enjoyed quiet one-on-one time. I finally got to experience the magic that is a movie theater recliner seat. Yes, it is as awesome as I imagined it would be. We watched Interstellar...movie was weird, but I had a great time anyway.
11: How does she do it all? The baking, Christmas wrapping, running kids around, all the while looking fabulous? This is how. Plenty of crap gets left undone. Thank goodness for Chad, otherwise we'd have no clean laundry either.
12: We went to walk around the Loop of Lights this year. A nearby neighborhood goes all out with Christmas lights. This was the Cinderella house. One insane house has millions of lights, all programmed with music. It was awesome.

1: I helped out in Bree's classroom for their Christmas party! I taught the kids how to make 3D snowflakes. She loves having me there.
2 and 3: Bree and Mason both played their final games of soccer, and received their medals! They stuck it out, played hard and with good attitudes, and we're so proud of them.
4: My mom took Bree and I for some much-needed pre-Christmas pedicures. Toes need to be ready for Christmas too.
5: As Emmit from the Lego Movie would say, "Follow the instructions." So we are sorting all of Mason's legos. Building anything is impossible unless we do.
6: Bree loves helping out in the kitchen. Grandma let her pierce the apple-blueberry pie before it went in the oven.
7: I THINK Santa brought us enough DVDs...maybe...
8: Mason and Bree went shopping with their Christmas money from Grandma and Grandpa Wallace. Bree chose a CD and Ever After High dolls, and Mason chose Legos, of course.
9: Lincoln saw Grandma wearing her glasses to work a puzzle, so he went over to the end table where extra glasses are kept, and put these on. I am dying from the cuteness.
10: Copycat Famous Dave's Bread Pudding. Enough said.
11: We got a record-breaking number of Christmas cards this year. Seeing them fill up the chalkboard made me happy. Does this mean we're getting more popular?
12: This might have been Bree's last visit to Smaland at IKEA. Sad.

#21: Famous Dave's Bread Pudding

With the year almost gone, I set out to accomplish one last VERY important goal. I needed to attempt to make Famous Dave's bread pudding. On our first visit to Famous Dave's (delicious BBQ) we were treated to a complimentary dessert: bread pudding. I haven't been exposed to a lot of bread pudding in my life, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Well, this dessert blew me away. The only trouble is, by the time you finish your delicious dinner, you don't have any room left for dessert. So I decided to try to recreate this dish at home. I found a copycat recipe online, complete with Plantation praline sauce. I was pretty sure our kids would not be interested in eating it, so I saved the recipe for a time when we'd be together with other adults who would appreciate the dessert. Today, hanging out at my parents house, I finally put the recipe to the test. And we all agree that it is a huge success.

BREAD PUDDING:

1 loaf cinnamon swirl bread (I used Cinnabon brand, since that's all I could find)

2/3 cup golden raisins (I omitted these)

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 cups milk

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup vanilla extract

8 eggs (beaten)

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1. Coat bottom and sides of 13-by-9-inch baking pan heavily with butter.
2. Tear bread into 1-inch pieces. Mix with raisins in bowl. Lay bread mixture evenly in prepared dish, turning crust side down, as this tends to burn easily.
3. In bowl, whisk sugar, milk, whipping cream, vanilla, eggs and cinnamon until blended. Pour over bread mixture.
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
5. Place baking dish in larger 4-inch deep baking pan. Add water to reach halfway up side of dish. Bake in preheated oven 1 hour, or until all liquid is absorbed and custard-like.
6. Remove from water bath. Let stand 20 minutes.

PRALINE SAUCE (I cut this in half and it was plenty, but you may want extra on hand for ice cream, etc., because it is freakin' delicious)

3 lbs. light brown sugar (about 3 1/4 cups packed)

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 1/2 cups sour cream

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In small saucepan, heat 1/2 cup of the butter until melted.
2. Add pecans and mix well. Bring to a boil.
3. Cook until pecans begin to change color. Mixture will foam up.
4. Add remaining 1/2 cup cubed butter and mix well. (This will cool pecan mixture and stop the cooking process.) Remove from heat.
5. In a separate, large saucepan, combine brown sugar, whipping cream and cinnamon and mix well.
6. Cook over low heat until blended, stirring constantly. Increase heat and cook until mixture comes to 230 degrees on a candy thermometer (temperature is crucial to final consistency of sauce).
7. Stir in pecan mixture. Remove from heat.
8. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix well.

Christmas Morning

It was our first Christmas morning in this house, and it was perfect. It was stress-free, work-free, and we were all healthy. That's all I ever want, really... Except for maybe a Bissell Symphony. I really did want that. It has changed my life.

There were tons of Legos for Mason, tons of Ever After High dolls for Bree, and Lincoln LOVES his "smart phone" toy.

Then there was the winding down of Christmas morning. A magical time. Cocoa, homemade orange rolls, and Lego building, of course.

Temple Lights

The Christmas Lights at the Mesa Temple are, without a doubt, the most amazing free Christmas display in the state. They get more breathtaking every year.

The Trump Card

Me, "Get off the table Lincoln."
Lincoln, "Why?"
"Because that's the rule."
"Why? "
"Because rules are to keep us happy and safe."
"Why?"
"Because that's what God wants."
*grunt*
I think he figured I had him there.

Amateur Chef: Moroccan Style

Today's "Amateur Chef" recipe was a masterpiece! Bastilla is a Moroccan dish with chicken, eggs, almonds, and cinnamon in a phyllo crust. So fun, and I felt like I was eating dessert! Thank you to Heavenly's hubbie for the tutorial!

1: Layer phyllo dough in pie crust, sprinkle with cinnamon almond mixture.

2: Alternately layer chicken/egg mixture and cinnamon/almond mixture.

3: Fold phyllo over top, trimming as necessary. Brush with melted butter.

4: Bake until golden, flipping half-way to brown both side.

5: Sprinkle with powdered sugar, and use a stencil to sprinkle cinnamon in a design.

6: Slice and serve!

Bass Pro Christmas...Again

I swore we'd never come back. Bass Pro Shops are getting too busy now that everyone has caught on to the beauty of free Santa photos inside a winter wonderland of free fun. But, here we are again. Call us cheap. Call it a tradition. Whatever. At any rate, I stood in an atrocious line while the kids roamed the store with Chad. Bree took the time to write a letter to Santa, while Mason reminded me that he had already mailed four letters, so he was good. Lincoln rode the carousel for the first time. I think he had fun, though it was difficult to tell by his expression. And the atmosphere is pretty cool. And if I'm completely honest, we'll probably be back next year.

Mason's Latest

On our way home from school yesterday:
Mason: "Mom, I met a girl today who I want to be my girlfriend someday."
Me: "Oh yeah? What's she like?"
Mason: "She's, like, in 6th grade. She's SO beautiful. She has blond hair."
Me: "Is blond hair your favorite?"
Mason: "Yeah! She's the most beautifulest girl in the whole world....well, except for you Mom."

Also, on a completely unrelated note, I have grossly underestimated the rate at which my children would lose their sweaters and hoodies. We're not even officially into winter yet. Heaven forbid it dips below 50 degrees here...THEN they'll be sorry.

Christmas At Our House

I gave the kids free reign on decorating the tree this year, and only intervened when the tree started to sag in places from too many ornaments in one place. The placement drives Chad crazy (my wonderful OCD husband), but I am surprisingly okay with it. And I finally agreed that we should add some blue ornaments this year, and I don't know why I resisted so long. It's gorgeous. AndI love how the entry way looks, all welcoming and Christmasy. And the Christmas Village fits perfectly on the "mantle" Chad built for me.

Photos taken November 24th and 25th.

 And our elves impressed us this year. They are so helpful!

November Tidbits

1: The season of letters to Santa has begun. Mason got off to an early start. On the list: Cloud Cuckoo Palace, Bad Cop's Pursuit, Zoomer Dino, Millennium Falcon, Toxikita's Toxic Meltdown. All Legos except for the Dino.
2: November 8th was the first game of the soccer season for Mason and Bree. A perfect time of year for being outside.
3: I tested a new cupcake recipe in honor Thanksgiving: Sweet Potato Marshmallow. They turned out delicious, though I couldn't really taste the sweet potato. Which was actually fine by me.
4: Soccer practice under a gorgeous Arizona sunset. My pictures never do it justice.
5 and 6: Chad has been looking forward to the Reptile Expo for months. I went with him, and we made a day of it. I thought it was hilarious that they were selling reptiles in tupperware. I'm not sure what I expected...
7: Chad and I got new smartphones! Thanks to a great deal because of his job, we got a great monthly price, and awesome phones for free. This was my first selfie with the new phone. Everything about my LG2 makes my old "smart" phone look like a joke. I can't believe I used that thing for a whole year.
8: The kids' soccer league is Christian-based, and they say a prayer before every game.
9: I don't know if all bearded dragons are as weird as Ash. She rests in the strangest positions.
10: Ever since discovering Legendary Doughnuts on our trip to Washington this year, I have been trying to find somewhere that sells doughsants (half doughnut, half croissant) like theirs. I was so excited to snag this at Dunkin, but was hugely disappointed. Nothing like that crispy, buttery, chewy croissant-like doughnut from my memories. But I will not stop searching.
11: I have a couple friends that sell Jamberry nail wraps. This design was actually for kids, but it was too cute for me to pass up.
12: Mason and my dad spent most of Thanksgiving day playing video games. Mason was, of course, in heaven.

Thanksgiving Tradition

I has become a tradition for our family to take pictures together on Thanksgiving. Just in time for sending out Christmas cards. They are, in fact, the only pictures I took on Thanksgiving. I blame the 85-degree weather. It's just unnatural. But the photos turned out cute.

Happy Thanksgiving! 2014