Turkey Day Pics

We had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving! We spent a wonderful day at my little sister's house. She and her man were superb hosts, and we had so much fun. There was football, music, family, FOOD, fun and a whole lot of love. It was a perfect day and I loved every minute of it.









So how did you spend your Thanksgiving?

Advent Calendars

December is here! That means it's Advent time. One of my favorite memories from childhood holidays is waking up each morning and opening the door on our Advent calendar to find a hidden treat inside and relish the little thrill of excitement at the realization that I was another day closer to Christmas. I love recreating this ritual with my own kids and there is no shortage of ideas for Advent Calendars. You can buy them at most card and gift shops, or even grocery stores or make your own. A google search will pull up loads of options.

One idea I really like though, is one I found on homeschooling.about.com, which offers a new activity each day for advent. You can visit their online advent calendar here. Suite101.com also has another version on their site.

You can visit Holidays.net to learn more about the history of Advent calendars.

I also found a few other fun online versions here, here, and here. As well as an Advent Coloring Book to make from Activity Village.

Plus, here is a sweet one that you can print and make from Jan Brett's site.
Or use Advientos.com to build one with your own photos!

There are many ways to make each day of the holiday season special for kids. You don't have to spend a load of cash on tiny trinkets or be a craft queen. The most important thing is to spend time doing something fun together!

Quotable Sunday

In honor of Black Friday & Cyber Monday, my quotes this week center on shopping! Enjoy :D

Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping. ~Bo Derek

When women are depressed, they eat or go shopping. Men invade another country. It's a whole different way of thinking. ~Elayne Boosler

If men liked shopping, they'd call it research. ~Cynthia Nelms

A consumer is a shopper who is sore about something. ~Harold Coffin

Shopping is a woman thing. It's a contact sport like football. Women enjoy the scrimmage, the noisy crowds, the danger of being trampled to death, and the ecstasy of the purchase. ~Erma Bombeck

The quickest way to know a woman is to go shopping with her. ~Marcelene Cox

I always say shopping is cheaper than a psychiatrist. ~Tammy Faye Bakker

A Christmas shopper's complaint is one of long-standing. ~Author Unknown

People will buy anything that is one to a customer. ~Sinclair Lewis

Buying something on sale is a very special feeling. In fact, the less I pay for something, the more it is worth to me. I have a dress that I paid so little for that I am afraid to wear it. I could spill something on it, and then how would I replace it for that amount of money? ~Rita Rudner

We used to build civilizations. Now we build shopping malls. ~Bill Bryson

I like my money right where I can see it - hanging in my closet. ~From the television show Sex and the City

A bargain is something you can't use at a price you can't resist. ~Franklin P. Jones

For more Quotable Sunday, visit A Daily Dose of Toni.

Christmastime Storybook Giveaway Winner...

Congratulations to Aunt Rene, lucky #10, you won my storybook giveaway! I hope you enjoy your new books!

Friday Photo Flashback

This is a favorite holiday memory of mine. In this picture I am making a gingerbread house with my grandmother (my mom's mom), in the kitchen of the house where I grew up. I miss that house! Check out the colonial wallpaper...nice! I must have been about 5 in the picture, so it would have been 1978. Sweet stuff :)

Thanks for stopping by today! Check out Alicia's Friday Photo Flashback for more retro-fun.

Aloha Friday

Greetings friends! I hope you all had a safe and happy Thanksgiving! We had a great time with family over at my sister's house...and it was fun to be able to relax and do all the cooking :D The best part was watching my kids play with their cousins and listen to old stories of my sisters and I when we were growing up. Lots of great new memories were made and I will cherish them for years.

Now...on to holiday shopping! My question this week:

Who on your list will be most difficult for buy for this year, and are you braving the Black Friday crowds?

A Thousand Words Thursday

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!


For more Thousand Words Thursday stop by Cheaper Than Therapy.

Wordless Wednesday

Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to enter my Christmastime Storybooks Giveaway!
Be sure to stop by these fabulous blogs for more Wednesday fun!
5 Minutes for Mom
7 Clown Circus
Momdot

When the Frost is on the Punkin'

This is a Fall favorite poem of mine. I have fond memories of my father reciting this poem at the Thanksgiving dinner table. I thought it would be fun to share here.

WHEN THE FROST IS ON THE PUNKIN
by James Whitcomb Riley

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,
And you hear the kyouck and the gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,
And the clackin'; of the guineys and the cluckin' of the hens
And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;
O it's then the times a feller is a-feelin' at his best,
With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,
As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock

They's somethin kindo' harty-like about the atmusfere
When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here -
Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossums on the trees
And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees;
But the air's so appetizin'; and the landscape through the haze
Of a crisp and sunny monring of the airly autumn days
Is a pictur' that no painter has the colorin' to mock -
When the frost is on the punkin and fodder's in the shock.

The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn,
And the raspin' of the tangled leaves, as golden as the morn;
The stubble in the furries - kindo' lonesome-like, but still
A preachin' sermons to us of the barns they growed to fill;
The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed;
The hosses in theyr stalls below - the clover overhead! -
O, it sets my hart a-clickin' like the tickin' of a clock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock!

Then your apples all is gethered, and the ones a feller keeps
Is poured around the celler-floor in red and yeller heaps;
And your cider-makin's over, and your wimmern-folks is through
With their mince and apple-butter, and theyr souse and saussage, too!
I don't know how to tell it - but if sich a thing could be
As the Angels wantin' boardin', and they'd call around on me -
I'd want to 'commodate 'em - all the whole-indurin' flock -
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock!

What are your special Thanksgiving traditions?

Thanksgiving Links and Fun Links

Can you believe Thanksgiving is nearly upon us?! How did we arrive here so quickly from Labor Day??? I was just getting used to the idea of Fall and now Christmas is just around the corner! That means planning, shopping, decorating, baking, wrapping, visiting, and of course, homeschooling through it all. I'm excited, and exhausted just thinking about it.

I wanted to share some links I've come across that will be fun to incorporate into the season's activities:

First off some Thanksgiving links for history lessons:

Find Governor William Bradford's 1623 Proclamation here.
The 1676 First Thanksgiving Proclamation here.
George Washington's 1789 Proclamation here.
And Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Proclamation here.
Also be sure to visit Scholastic's Thanksgiving pages for wonderful resources and lesson plan help.
Here are some simple coloring pages:

And some Thanksgiving jokes to make you groan...
1. How do you send a turkey to a faraway friend?
By birdclass mail

2. Why do turkeys gobble?
Because they have bad table manners...

3. Why did the turkey cross the road?
To show that he wasn't chicken!

4. What do turkeys like to eat on Thanksgiving?
Nothing - they are already stuffed.

5. How are a turkey, a donkey, and a monkey the same?
They all have keys.

6.Why is a turkey similar to a ghost?
Because it's a-gobblin'.

7.Why did they let the turkey join the band?
Because it had the drumsticks!

Also, did you know that two famous children's author's have birthdays this week?
P.D. Eastman was born November 25, 1909. Find out more about him here. And Kevin Henkes was born November 27, 1960. Visit his site here.

Quotable Sunday

After spending a fabulous evening with my best friend in the world, I dedicate this week's Quotable Sunday to friendship:

Soul-mates are people who bring out the best in you. They are not perfect but are always perfect for you. ~Author Unknown

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh!" he whispered. "Yes, Piglet?" "Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw. "I just wanted to be sure of you." ~A.A. Milne

Hold a true friend with both your hands. ~Nigerian Proverb

A friend knows the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails. ~Donna Roberts

What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies. ~Aristotle

Friends are kisses blown to us by angels. ~Author Unknown

Remember, we all stumble, every one of us. That's why it's a comfort to go hand in hand. ~Emily Kimbrough

Friends are relatives you make for yourself. ~Eustache Deschamps

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. ~Marcel Proust

The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart. ~Elisabeth Foley
For more Quotable Sunday, visit A Daily Dose of Toni.

Aloha Friday

What's on the top of your holiday wish list this year?

Personally, I have no idea. There isn't anything I'm dying for. I'd love some new clothes, shoes, accessories, etc., I guess. Really, I already got what I wanted...family portraits. :D How about you?

This Day In History: Lincoln Delivers The Gettysburg Address

This Day in History...
On November 19, 1863, at the dedication of a military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln delivers one of the most memorable speeches in American history. In just 272 words, Lincoln brilliantly and movingly reminded a war-weary public why the Union had to fight, and win, the Civil War. Read more from the History Channel here.

If you are interested in researching more, find lessons plans here and here.

A Thousand Words Thursday

For more Thousand Words Thursday stop by Cheaper Than Therapy.

Wordless Wednesday

All I Want For Christmas Is A Pile Of Dirt And A Shovel...





Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to enter my Christmastime Storybooks Giveaway!
Be sure to stop by these fabulous blogs for more Wednesday fun!
5 Minutes for Mom
7 Clown Circus
Momdot

Thanksgiving Activities for Kids

Whether you are looking for homeschooling activities, something to keep the kids busy while you cook (and hubbie watches football) or something fun for the young ones to do at the big holiday feast, these Thanksgiving activities will provide some entertainment to keep little hands busy.

Click here for turkey crafts galore from the Crafty Cow.

The Toymaker.com has games, crafts, napkin rings, place cards and more. Ranging from simple cut and color to intricately designed folding crafts.

Family Fun has a silly Turkey Hats craft, some fun, personalized Pilgrim napkin rings, and pine cone turkeys too.

Also check out this paper cornucopia from Kaboose.com, and lots of free printables.

Plus, Skip To My Lou has some cute ideas for a kid's Thanksgiving table! And Parents.com has 10 adorable thankful crafts.

And, if that doesn't keep them busy, you can teach them to sign Happy Thanksgiving, or even resort to knock-knock jokes ;P

Have fun!

Quotable Sunday

Welcome to this week's edition of Quotable Sunday. My topic this week is parenting. I hope you enjoy my selections as much as I enjoyed choosing them:

You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back. ~William D. Tammeus

Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ~Elizabeth Stone

Always kiss your children goodnight - even if they're already asleep. ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

When you have brought up kids, there are memories you store directly in your tear ducts. ~Robert Brault

Parenthood: That state of being better chaperoned than you were before marriage. ~Marcelene Cox

Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children, and no theories. ~John Wilmot

It would seem that something which means poverty, disorder and violence every single day should be avoided entirely, but the desire to beget children is a natural urge. ~Phyllis Diller

Your children need your presence more than your presents. ~Jesse Jackson

It's not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can't tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself. ~Joyce Maynard

Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you. ~Robert Fulghum

If you have never been hated by your child you have never been a parent. ~Bette Davis

Most of us become parents long before we have stopped being children. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966

If you want children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders. ~Abigail Van Buren

The quickest way for a parent to get a child's attention is to sit down and look comfortable. ~Lane Olinghouse



For more Quotable Sunday, visit A Daily Dose of Toni.