catch the moment: week forty-eight

Posted on December 4, 2014December 4, 2014 by mommyinthemidwest

A few more words about our Thanksgiving weekend can be found in the previous post, but it’s also the main theme as it blends into the Christmas season in this week’s Catch the Moment 365 post. I’m linking up with Mindi, Sarah, and Stephanie once again this week. We had a very relaxed and enjoyable long holiday weekend. Looking forward to a couple more long holiday weekends at the end of this month!

330/365 – Wednesday, November 26th. A good friend of mine asked me to take a few pictures of her sons and a few weeks earlier, we planned this date after work. I was super nervous and expecting the worst. Unfortunately, it was 30 degrees and we were all freezing. I was able to get a few cute pictures like the one below, but our session was definitely cut short by all of us being a little cold, crabby, and uncooperative. Luckily we were able to get together again later in the weekend and I got a few more we liked.

331/365 – Thursday, November 27th: Thanksgiving Day. I spent most of the day cooking and cleaning before Ryan’s parents arrived with these lovely flowers. I didn’t take many pictures at all (but you can see a couple more in the previous post if you are interested).

332/365 – (Black) Friday, November 28th: We aren’t big Black Friday shoppers, but we did go to the mall around 2pm to let the boys pick out their ornaments to put on the tree that we were getting prepared to decorate. Dexter chose a very random fish ornament and Theo selected a pizza ornament….okay, whatever you say guys! I snapped the picture below when we sat down for a snack break. I offered this kid ice cream and he requests yogurt.

333/365 – Saturday, November 29th: I was enjoying a clean house with a sparkling tree, nostalgic hand-painted decorations, and the scent of a candle burning in the afternoon.

334/365 – Sunday, November 30th: We broke out the Lego Santa’s Workshop set we’d been saving until after the house was decorated for Christmas. Needless to say, the boys were thrilled. This set was a lot of fun to build and we want to get more pieces to add to the village!

335/365 – Monday, December 1st: On the way home from work.

336/365 – Tuesday, December 2nd: Prepared with a cup of water, a bowl of popcorn, and sleeping bags on the floor – we camped out past their bedtime on a school night to watch the Toy Story that Time Forgot Christmas special. The boys loved it! I mostly played Tsum Tsum.

So that was our long Thanksgiving weekend in a nutshell. It was pretty great overall! I am loving the clean house and decorations everywhere. My favorite picture this week has to be little Mr. P on day 330 – what a sweet little mischievous face! Which one do you like best?

xo,

~C~

catch the moment: week forty-seven

Gallery posted on November 26, 2014November 26, 2014 by mommyinthemidwest

I didn’t plan on having a “brothers” theme (or any theme) this week, but as I’m looking through my photos, I see it. These little boys really are best friends. They want to be together, even when we are at home. They get sick of each other, but it never lasts more than 5 minutes. They fight over a toy at least once a day. Eventually, their arguments will last longer and their words will hurt deeper. Despite the inevitable conflicts, I hope they’ll always look forward to spending time together, always be best friends, and always remain involved in each other’s lives.

Linking up with Mindi, Sarah, and Stephanie for week 47 of Catch the Moment 365. Mindi will continue to host the link-up and Facebook support group page in 2015 if anyone else is interested in the challenge. You don’t have to have a blog; you can share on instagram or facebook if you’d rather. Come on…

323/365 – Wednesday, November 19th. Late night photo grab on my part – they have had this Melissa & Doug Make-a-Meal Sticker Pad for 2 years and only played with it once. Until this night…then then next three consecutive nights. They were cooking up all sorts of interesting meals. It’s a cute (and cheap ~$5) Christmas idea if you’re trying to think of one for your fake food loving, sticker obsessed little one.

324/365 – Thursday, November 20th: This picture is terribly grainy as it was still dark outside and therefore inside as well…but as the boys were eating breakfast, I told them to finish up while I picked out their clothes. I walked out of the room and Theo called out for me. “Hey mom! Make sure you pick out something really cute.” I laughed and did my best…for Theo, looking fancy means wearing a button up with jeans and tennis shoes instead of a t-shirt. Hey, that’s how we roll. P.S. Dexter calls “button up” shirts “buttoning shirts.” And he calls footie pajamas “zipping pajamas.” I call him “cute.”

325/365 – Friday, November 21st: Another super grainy shot – sue me. Just eating some fruit snacks on the counter; nothing out of the ordinary around here.

326/365 – Saturday, November 22nd: My cousin Kara came for the day Saturday with her little cousin, J. We had fun going to see Big Hero 6 and then crafting and playing at home. The boys love both of these gals and having sleepovers at our house. Story time in the library before bed…everyone was able to find something they wanted to read.

327/365 – Sunday, November 23rd: Dexter was feeling yucky and puny all day. Complaining that his stomach hurt and just not interested in playing. He’s also had a junky, croupy sounding cough and random fevers that come for an hour and then go away for 24. We’re fever free for over 24 hours now so hopefully he’s on the mend. I thought it was super sweet that Theo snuggled right up next to him since Dexter didn’t want to leave the couch.

328/365 – Monday, November 24th: Typical scene on my way home from work on a very windy, wintery afternoon.

329/365 – Tuesday, November 25th: Bath night!

329 (bath night) is my favorite photo this week, but I really love the closeness between brothers that I see in four of the other photos! Which is your favorite this week, hmm?

xo,

~C~

Catch the Moment: week forty-six

Gallery posted on November 19, 2014 by mommyinthemidwest

I slid my memory card into the computer as I began working on this post, not quite sure what to expect. I knew I had taken a picture every day, but many of them were rushed and felt uninspired. I’m surprisingly pleased – not necessarily with the quality of the photos, but that they really do capture the little moments of our lives for the past 7 days. That’s what the project is all about. As it nears the end, I am getting really excited to compile all 365 photos from 2014 into a little memory book for our family. A millisecond of each day of this year to bring us back to that moment in time, even years from now.

Linking up with Sarah, Mindi, and Stephanie for week 46 of Catch the Moment 365.

316/365 – Wednesday, November 12th: The boys’ cousin, Spencer, sent them a Lego advent calendar. I tried explaining to them that we couldn’t open any of the little tabs until the first of December but they didn’t want to hear that. We made a deal. They each got to choose one character and agreed that there would be noooo issues on the days that they found those little windows empty come December….time will tell if they hold up their end of the bargain.

317/365 – Thursday, November 13th: Date night for moms in the Maple Room. This time I got to visit Dexter’s class while Ryan spent time in the Oak Room with Theo. Dexter truly loves every water job and was proud to show me how to clean the windows with a spray bottle and squeegee. Several times. Or several dozen times. Whatever.

318/365 – Friday, November 14th: We traveled down to East Tennessee to celebrate an early Thanksgiving with my family. These three littlest grandchildren sure enjoyed their frozen yogurt (and playing in the kids’ corner!) at our friends’ new Froyoz store.

319/365 – Saturday, November 15th: Thanksgiving, but not really. My sister and her family are going on vacation the week of Thanksgiving so we headed down a couple weeks early to visit and celebrate. I celebrated all weekend long by eating no less than 4 slices of this heavenly peanut butter pie with perfectly beautiful, light, fluffy meringue – made with love by my very own mama. These are the best pies in the world…she could sell them and makes millions. And probably hates it when I request them – that meringue sure is fussy. Seconds after the picture was taken, we mangled it into an unrecognizable disastrous mess, but it sure was delicious.

320/365 – Sunday, November 16th: I guess we’d never taken the boys to a Red Lobster before. I’m thinking we would have remembered how fascinated they were by the live lobsters in the tank. After lunch, we ended our short trip to Tennessee and headed back home.

321/365 – Monday, November 17th: I get to work extra early on the days Theo and Dexter don’t go to school to make up for getting in later on the days they do. This day I was even earlier than usual and it is always eerie, being the only one in the building, hallways still dark. And yes, that’s snow! Our first accumulating (barely, but still an inch or so) snow of the season…about a month earlier than I’d prefer.

322/365 – Tuesday, November 18th: Theo wanted me to photograph his latest creation. He just thinks these things up…what’s neat & interesting (to us) is that his creations are always symmetrical. My favorite photo this week has to be sweet little Penelope’s face on Day 318. What’s yours?

xo,

~C~