Some things I love

Last night, (or early this morning depending on how you want to look at it) Kendle woke me up because she had another nightmare. This usually happens at least 3-4 times a week. I know, I know mom, just getting paid back for my childhood leaps through the dark onto your bed. So I walk her back to her room, tuck her in, and am turning to leave when she says "blow me kisses mom". Let me explain a little bit here-
Our nightly bed-time ritual is that we read, say prayers, give each other a kiss, and then I blow her a kiss at the door so that she can catch it and stick it under her pillow to have good dreams. My daughter is very systematic and everything has to be just so, (hmm, don't know where she gets that from). Kendle remembers EVERYTHING, so if for example she happens to fall asleep on the couch and you put her in bed without this ritual, when she wakes up in the middle of the night she freaks out that she didn't get her kisses!

OK, so back to the story. Turning to leave she asks me to blow her a kiss. So I do, she catches it and sticks it under her pillow, and I can see her little mind at work. "What do you need?" I asked her, (almost falling asleep leaning against the door frame mind you) and she says that I better blow her some extra kisses to save underneath her pillow in case she has another bad dream, and then I won't have to come back in her room again. What a great idea! Why hadn't I thought of that? I guess it worked because she didn't wake up another time and slept on till morning. I love that my daughter thinks her mother's kisses are magical and strong enough to keep the bad dreams away and protect her while she sleeps.

I love that she ran up to me and gave me a big hug when I picked her up from kindergarten today. Those surprises are getting few and far between.

I love that Morgan is so happy to see me when he wakes up in the morning, and lays there cooing and talking while I drag myself out of bed. I love that he laughs at my silly faces and jokes while I get him dressed.

I love that my husband is getting my cupboard door fixed for me today and picking up a new cell phone charger for me since I can't find my old one. He really is a pretty thoughtful guy, when he gets around to thinking about being thoughtful. :)

I love that today is just a boring Tuesday, nowhere I have to be or anything important I have to do. Love it.

FHE GAME NIGHT

For our family home evening activity tonight we decided to play Monopoly. Last Christmas, someone bought us the deluxe edition and we have never used it, so it was a good time to break it in. I haven't played this game in years and years. At first we thought it would be a little complex for Kendle to keep up with, being only 5 after all, but boy did she catch on in a heart beat. She was a little real estate tycoon in no time flat. Every time a property came available she would snatch it up, or outbid someone else for it. Pretty soon she had almost as many houses on the board as Riley. Then there's myself, who managed to land on Riley and Kendle's properties over and over again, and be sent to jail one too many times. Even Morgan wanted to get in on the action, so I held him on my lap so he could crinkle up all of my money, much to Riley's dismay, (it's just pretend I had to remind him). We finally had to cut the game short because it was past Kendle's bedtime, but we were having so much fun we could have played for at least another hour or so. She ended up with a very substantial amount of money at the end; clearly the winner. It was so enjoyable to sit together and share some laughs and poke fun at each other's mishaps. No tantrums, no crying, just laid back quality togetherness. I love my fun little family.

Custer's never let's me down

Yesterday was just one of those near perfect days. In the afternoon, my mother and my sister accompanied me to the Custer's Christmas bizarre at the TRAC. My mother and I go every year and it is always fun to see all of the crafts and Christmas items on display. It jump-starts the Holidays for me to hear the Christmas music playing and smell the wonderful smells. I always find something really cute for my home, and this year was no exception. I've been searching for that perfect little black table, and low and behold yesterday was my lucky day.
















Isn't it cute? What a steal, I couldn't believe it. Not only is it an exact fit for the little corner in my kitchen, but it looks like it was made to pair with my black shelf that hangs above it.

This table from a store would have been at least twice as much as what I got it for, so I couldn't have been happier. After leaving Custer's, we drove to the Country Mercantile to shop some more. They have a ton of Christmas decor and ornaments on display, and of course the yummiest selection of goodies for miles around. It took us a long time to get out of there because there were so many neat things to look at. It was hard for me to not come out of there with an armful of sweets, but I did come away with some clever stocking stuffers and these cute ornaments:

By this time we had really worked up an appetite, so we headed back to town and stopped at Cousins for dinner. We visited and took our time, and it was so relaxing to not have to rush around. My super husband had told me to take our time and go do whatever we wanted for however long we wanted. He really is a great guy (especially during hunting season when he knows he needs to butter me up) and takes good care of the children while I'm gone. Funny story I have to insert here- Since he was going hunting this morning he loaded the kids up in the car to go scout some birds. Kendle loves to go on these little adventures with dad. Then he was planning on taking them to Walmart because he needed to buy some more contact solution. Well, they drive out to the fields and he smells a dirty diaper in process. So he had to head back home and unload the kids to change Morgan. By that time, he lost his motivation to head to Walmart. I just had to laugh when he was telling me this after I got home, because isn't that so typical of when you are trying to go anywhere with a baby? Oh, the life of a mom.

Anywho, it was the best day I've had in a long time and I realized I need to do more things like this with my mom and the rest of the girls in my family. This time of year makes me want to be around my family as much as I can. We ended the day with lots of goodies, good ideas for future crafts, and some great memories.

Trunk-or-Treating and the Pumpkin Patch

Last night we attended our ward Trunk-or-Treat. I was so glad it was on Halloween this year and that we didn't have to dress the kids up two different times. There were a ton of people there and Kendle got quite the haul of candy. My mother drove up from Oregon and came with us, and we had a fun time. Here are the children before we left:

Morgan looking oh so scary as a little skeleton.

Kendle made a cute fairy and she was most excited about the sparkly makeup she got to wear, even though she didn't like the process of putting it on. I love how Morgan's facial expression in this picture is like, "stay away from me fairy and no one gets hurt".

We left the Trunk-or-Treat around 7:30, and then hit a few houses in our neighborhood on the way home. The people on our block were very nice. One older fellow gave Kendle a handful of candy bars and another house gave her candy and an awesome skeleton pencil, so I think she was pretty pleased with her grand total by the time we headed home.

Also, on Monday I went with Kendle's kindergarten class to the pumpkin patch. It was pretty fun and chaotic and messy, and all of the things field trips usually are. It was interesting to see Kendle's interactions with the other children in her class and watch her pick out a pumpkin.

Yep, that's a keeper!

They also let the children run through the hay bale maze, pet some animals, and climb to the top of the hay pyramid. At the very end, they were given a snack and then gathered their pumpkins up to take home.

This picture cracked me up. Her teacher was giving them instructions on how to stand in line while they were waiting to get back on the bus. This is classic Kendle for ya.

I'm glad I decided to go and share this memory with her. Did we have fun?

As Kendle would say, "that's a positive!"