Well, I don’t know about you- but I usually love the first day of snow and then dread it as the winter goes on. Having time at home with the kids though- today was pure joy. I got to actually enjoy a whole day out in the beautiful white snow thinking about how lucky I was to be with them. The snow was falling in amazing giant flakes and it was actually pretty warm. We rigged up an old sled I found in the back of the garage and put a handle on it and off we went. I’m not sure if it was the pleasure of enjoying time with the girls or just that it was really unseasonably warm but we lasted a good couple of hours out there. Even as a kid, I don’t ever remember lasting that long (except the year my brother and I made a really cool igloo and tried to live in it). After that it was HOT chocolate and a tube of BenGay on the aching bones.

I’ll never forget the look on my kids faces- pure joy. I wish I took a picture of my own. You would have seen pure joy there too.

Hard to believe how quickly time flies! Ryan just had her 6th Birthday party. We held it at Sunshine Crafts and it was really cool because the kids painted plaster pieces using glow in the dark paint. Lots of fun. Ryan is pumped because she has 2 loose teeth that should come out any day now (eeeek I hate when they wiggle!!). By the way, what is the going rate for a tooth these days? I asked her and I was cracking up when she said “well the pacifier fairy gave me 6 bucks”. lol. I will definitely let you know when the tooth fairy makes her entry at our house. EXPECT it to be big…. momma is good friends with the tooth fairy and I love a big entrance!!

Other than that- just getting ready for Thanksgiving. What are you up to for the holiday? My mother in law, Bunny, is coming in from Philly and we are all really excited. Should be a ton of fun. I’m actually going online after this to find a fun game to play at the Thanksgiving dinner table. I love playing games before we start dinner. The one we have ALWAYS done every year is have each person write down 3 things they are thankful for but it can’t be friends or family. Then one person reads each one out loud and we try to guess who wrote it. It’s always pretty fun and inevitably someone writes something worth making fun of the rest of the dinner! If you have any other cool stuff to do definitely pass it along and I can post it!

As long as we are talking about Thanksgiving, I just wanted to tell you how thankful I am for YOU. Your support, emails, shout outs, visits to my house, etc. are all appreciated (lol). I am thankful for your never ending display of affection and continued support. I can’t tell you how great I think you are and how it always makes me feel when I get your incredibly supportive notes.  I wish you and your family an incredibly wonderful holiday filled with laughter and good wishes. There are so many great things to be thankful for. All my best and I’ll post holiday pictures as soon as we can!!

Well, we finally did it! I want to introduce to you the brand new addition to the family- His name is PHILLY! My husband is from Philadelphia  so the name came to the kids quickly. He is a Brussels Griffon mix and he just stole our hearts. We surprised Ryan, our 6 year old, with the puppy on her birthday. She has been asking, begging, asking, begging for a dog for the last year or so. She happens to be one of those very gentle, kind hearted, 6 year olds who understand how to be with animals. To be honest,  I was really just going to surprise her with a kitty (Casey our current cat is 17!). But when my husband and I saw this puppy – it was ALL OVER!  In fact, Scott just called and asked how his “son” was. The good news is- I think Casey is liking him too. All’s good. Just another step in the circle of life.

Napa was beyond AWESOME. I did get you the bottle of wine you asked for. We just have to get together and drink it. Although, to be honest, I’m going to need a liver transplant after all that wine! WOW!! When you leave that place you are just dying for a beer. LOL! The funny thing was how many Chicagoans we bumped into. The whole town must have needed a drink at the same time. lol.

Other then that- just enjoying the time to sleep late. I’m just taking one of those rare opportunities in life to breathe it all in. It’s been a gift and I refuse to leave that package unopened.