Thanksgiving- Winterfest - Playdates

Last night I got inspired after making dinner that actually got gobbled up for once! (chicken tikka masala, roasted potatoes & salad and then after that was done I cooked for a good 4 hours. I made apple/carrot muffins sweetened with pineapple juice, banana muffins, apple sauce, a turkey (which michael did most of) and dun da da dunnnnnn breakfast calzones with shredded carrots, yellow squash, potatoes, onions, sausage, tomatoes, bell peppers!

I asked the boys which muffins they liked better, the apple or bannana ones and they both decided on apple and then I explained to them I was so happy they liked them because the muffins I make are healthy compared to most of the ones we can get at the store. Sweet heart Lee exclaimed, "Yours are even better tasting than those ones from the store!"

When Rylan is about to tattle on Lee (which we have been trying to teach the boys to reserve only for serious issues) and changes his mind  he says "Mom (or Dad)!" and after we answer, "Yes?" he thinks for a minute then instead and says, "I love you!" haha pretty cute!


On Sunday the 29th we had my good friend Isabelle over (bridesmaid) and her daughter Juliette (flower girl) we went to the Kirkland Winterfest in downtown Kirkland together. The kids got to go sledding on a man made little hill of snow, drink some hot apple cider, play a few games to win some candy canes and take pictures with ladies dressed up like the characters of the movie Frozen. Then they came over to our place for dinner. Last month when we were watching the wedding video we noticed how Rylan just stared at Juliette so much when she walked down the aisle and Lee noticed too and said, "and Juliette is just looking at Rylan the whole time..." Michael asked the boys if they have a crush on Juliette and they both said they did! Whatever that means at this age...it's cute to see how much Lee tries to impress her! He even tried to read a book to show off to her. That is a big deal because he has been pretty resistant to reading and doing homework at home. Rylan was too afraid to try the sledding and didn't care to take a picture with the princesses but we did convince him to do some games that he loved getting a prize for!

Last week Lee brought home a bunch of writing he had done at school. We had a great time reading it. He drew pictures about things that happened and wrote a bit about the pictures so Michael came up with a wonderful idea, (that I am pretty sure made me fall in love with him all over again)  to make the boys each a Movie Log and Videogame Log so that after they watch the movie on our family movie night they can draw a picture from it and write a bit about it as well as when they get to play videogames. What an awesome way to make Movies and Videogames educational! Michael made the logs for them all fancy with their names and a cool picture on the cover. The first movie they got to enter into the log was Big Hero 6 which we actually got to watch in the theater! It was our first time going to a movie theater all together as a family and the movie was reeeeally good, ( I might have cried just a little bit)! The only way we were able to afford it is because Michael is a lego-car building master and during a team building meeting her won the lego car race and got movie tickets as a prize!

Here we are outside of the theater after watching Big Hero 6!

Thanksgiving this year was great! The whole day before we went to dinner the boys and I worked on making turkey hats and thankful placemats for everyone out of construction paper (there were 12 people so we were busy for a bit) while listening to silly kid Thanksgiving music. They got really into it. Especially Lee, he loves doing any thing that has to do with art! He actually randomly told me he loves me a few times while we were creating  which doesn't usually happen. Usually he just says it after I say it or when he is leaving or going to bed! Michael made us a yummy breakfast and he worked on making the "perfect" biscuits from scratch. We also made some homemade french bread with fresh rosemary together that was a hit. Some of the sweet things the boys wrote they were thankful placemats were: Home, Family, Video games, Smiles, Hugs, Kisses, Brothers, Teachers, Books, Parent Date Day, Movie Night, friends, our fish, our cat.  The boys wanted to dress up fancy so they wore button up shirts and their neck ties from the wedding with some tie bars I made (of course!) Lee wanted to wear his little black blazer too. They looked adorable! The biscuits Michael made turned out great and all the food was reeeeeally delicious! We ended up spending the night at my parents and the kids were surprisingly well behaved even though we let them stay up almost until 12!

 Turkey Hats

Thankful placemats

The day before Thanksgiving the boys had a half day so we met up with my friend Tina in seattle  for lunch. Then went to her house to wake up and play with her 3 year old Oliver and (not even a year old) baby Liam. Their house is awesome. They have an amazing little kitchen for Oliver in their kitchen that includes a little table and dishes so he can pretend cook while his parents are cooking (his dad is a professional chef so he cooks a lot). And downstairs in the basement they actually have a swing and a rope to climb and rings to hold onto as well as big tables covered with butcher paper to color on! The boys had so much and did a really good job figuring out how to play nicely with a 3 year old that knows nothing about video games! Lee actually told him he was going to miss him as he was leaving! And Tina is a wonderful mom. Every time I am around her I am inspired to be a better mom. She just has an "understanding"or a "way" about her that connects with kids. Rylan who normally is very aloof especially to adults warmed up to Tina and was actually talking to her more than Lee! I couldn't believe it! I don't think I have ever heard him talk to another adult like that except for me. He actually came back inside after walking partially out to go home to blurt out, "I am learning to speak spanish in school!" haha I thought it was amazing that he felt the need to tell her that!

One of the days during break they decided to play dress-up and act silly!

That pretty decal on the wall was given to us off our wedding registry! It says "Every love story is beautiful but ours is my favorite" Michael took that blue photograph when he was in Tahoe and put it on canvas and the yellow painting my Great Aunt Kay painted of me when I was a little girl running on the beach! The couches we scored off of a very cool group called Buy Nothing Kirkland. It is a gifting group where no one is allowed to buy or sell or trade anything. Just gift things they no longer need! We will be trying to teach the boys about giving to people who need things more than they do this month by having them give away some of their toys that they don't play with much anymore on that site. I have met a lot of wonderful people through the group and it is so nice to have the support of neighbors and to feel good about helping strangers by passing on things to them that we already have and don't use as much as they would!

Making individual pizzas with dough Michael homemade with the Kitchenaid mixer we got for a wedding present!