Turkey Day

 It was a laid back Turkey Day this year--no traveling and we outsourced the bird {gasp}. All working moms really should go ahead and give themselves permission to let the friendly workers at Publix take care of their bird for the big day. Of course, Landon manned up with Miller his sidekick to whip up their famous Fokens' family stuffing. Thanksgiving really wouldn't be complete without our stuffing.

The stomach bug swept through our house the week before Thanksgiving, so Ek sadly had to miss her Thanksgiving feast. Both kiddos suffered from the throw ups at the same time. It about did me in, cleaning up after two vomiting children. I powered through and with a little Gatorade and a whole lot of Culturelle we banished the bug from our house just in time for Thanksgiving. The kiddos gussied up in our pilgrim /Indian paper bag finery for some quick photos while their tummies were feeling good.

Cutest little turkey around:)

Miller's wooden gun added a touch of cuteness to his costume. He insisted. When he wasn't waving it in the air, he was pointing it at me. A wooden gun safety class is in order for this Indian.

Grandmama and Poppy joined us for our feast with all the fixens.

 Miller actually ate a turkey leg this year. This was a big accomplishment after years of turning up his nose at the thought of eating turkey on Thanksgiving.  It really isn't their favorite meal. I just request that there is no complaining at the table. Complaining at Thanksgiving is a real killjoy.

Grandmama made a coconut, pineapple cake-yum!

Instead of a walk off the turkey jaunt around the hood, we opted for a rousing game of hot potato with Eliza Kate's pink playground ball. It quickly turned into dodge ball which had me clambering for my fragile decor:) Adult and kids both broke a sweat. Notice my failing upper tree lights! What's a girl to do with light drama so early in the season?

thanksgiving break

Thanksgiving break was a welcomed reprieve from the busy-ness of being a working mom for the 2 weeks prior to vacation. We were all starting to feel the effects of  #overstressedcrazymom:) I don't tweet, but if I did that would be my hashtag:)

We slept in, hosted a sleepover with bestie Grant, caught a dollar movie in the rain, and ate dinner out almost every night. Eating out is a love language of Miller's. 

I took these Minion sleepover buds to see a matinee of Despicable Me 2. Cute movie & they were kind enough to let the girls tag along on their movie date. Going anywhere with three kiddos in the pouring rain is no easy feat.  Shout out to super moms of three!

It was quite comical jugging all of the popcorn bins, drinks, and winter coats while opening candy in the dark. Eliza Kate threw in a Reese's Pieces candy spill mid movie just to keep my on my toes. There were shifty sitters and musical chair swapping games. I survived, and fun was had by all. There's really nothing else to do when entertaining an extended stay visitor during a downpour.

I took these Minion sleepover buds to see a matinee of Despicable Me 2. Cute movie & they were kind enough to let the girls tag along on their movie date. Going anywhere with three kiddos in the pouring rain is no easy feat.  Shout out to super moms of three!

It was quite comical jugging all of the popcorn bins, drinks, and winter coats while opening candy in the dark. Eliza Kate threw in a Reese's Pieces candy spill mid movie just to keep my on my toes. There were shifty sitters and musical chair swapping games. I survived, and fun was had by all. There's really nothing else to do when entertaining an extended stay visitor during a downpour.

They were BIG time in their Christmas Minion hats. Hysterical giggling at their new look!

 Our neighbor friend G hopped on over for the morning during the break. The little sisters took over the girls' designated house and the boys had a rough housing good time. These two invent the most imaginative games. At one point, they had an organized boy flipping gymnastics game on the bounce house. Our jumpy in the basement is a must have on rainy days.

Another highlight was our first family outing to a local Hibachi restaurant. The kids were a little overwhelmed at the thought of a fiery blaze lit at our table, but they were quickly won over with the entertainment value of the meal.  What six year old boy doesn't get excited over an onion volcano erupting at the dinner table? Since, Miller witnessed  the creation of "coca cola rice", he devoured his chicken and soy sauce as if it was doused in a caffeinated beverage. 

Thankful for a week of rest and togetherness. We used the time for intentional parenting. It's on these off weeks that I noticed how the littles needed a behavior tune up. Between Landon's new job and my surprise temporary teaching job, we welcomed this week with open arms. 

fall cuteness

 I took the opportunity to snap a few quick photos after church on Sunday in the backyard.  I wish I did it more often. Miller is growing taller on me and heaven only knows that his days are numbered that he'll actually hold his sister's hand. He surely knows the way to his momma's heart.

Our quick pose & smile led to more leaf throwing and jumping. Hey, they're only young once--So, I let them play in their Sunday best {sigh} :)

jumping leaves

One of the pleasures of having established oaks in our backyard is the leaves that  pile up in large drifts. Landon and Miller put in a good morning's work on a cold Saturday clearing off our back lawn. The result was hours of fun blowing of steam in the large piles of falling leaves. A simple pleasure-

That created lots of laughs and BIG jumping fun.

Eliza Kate loved to get a running start and shout "Kow-a bung-a" with a leap in the air. I freeze framed that one in my mind's eye. That's what I'm having to do these days, live in the moment as best  as I can while they're in the little years. 

Nothing like a little brother, sister bonding time in the crisp air. It was unseasonably cold. I think we're in for a cold winter.

Ode to the last days of fall--OH, how we've  enjoyed you!

celebrating november

We had quite a few friend parties to attend this month. Eliza Kate's new preschool friends from class and a few long time friends seem to have birthdays in November. Birthday invitations were popping up in our mailbox weekly. Sadly, I didn't cart my camera around to all of the fun. But, I just had to share EK's stage debut. She loved singing "Princess' Love to Have Fun" karaoke style at Ansley's Pop Star Princess party.

All the girls glammed it up in princess attire the day after Halloween. There was lots of girly activities to get involved in. 

Eliza Kate loved adding sprinkles to her very own ice cream treat. Too much cuteness to take in!

 We celebrated Maggie at her Over the Rainbow party. EK loved celebrating her 4th on the Tumblebus that parked on her driveway.

Miller sported a sombrero to ring in Grandmama's birthday:) He's always up for a party!

We had a family birthday outing eating out at "Mexican" {as EK calls it}.  A lit candle chorus was enjoyed over ice cream cake back at our house.  Miller decorated the chandelier with a balloon drop and streamers. The kids love doing special things for the special lady in their lives.
Birthday blessings to our friends & family!

Beauty and the Beast

Here's the official unveiling of Halloween 2013 at the Fokens' house. Beauty and the beast is the brother/sister theme we went with. Only kidding. I'm a big fan of matching costumes in families, but now that Miller is getting older...it really is impossible to please both. Miller really wanted to dress up as the Skylander wii game character, Tree Rex. Isn't the costume ugly? We are slowly graduating from the cutesy boy costumes as he ages. My costume rule is no blood, weapons or violence.  A big pat on the back because he stayed in the parameters of NO SCARY--I told Miller, we celebrate a fun Halloween. 

Remove the mask and you'll find the most handsome of first grade boys right there:) He really did resemble the beast sitting next to Belle. Eliza Kate is right in the heart of the princess age. She loves to twirl, sing ,and dance. Dressing up in jewels and dresses is a daily event. She really couldn't choose just one princess until two weeks before Halloween. I told her we had to finally select one character. I think she chose wisely! We had a dress rehearsal in which mommy was the beast twirling Belle around the family room. 

 With her hair swept up, she's growing up too fast on this momma. Three years old is a magical age.

They were antsy with Halloween anticipation. Our pre treating party was next door, and they loved watching all of the set up with jittery excitement during picture time on our front steps.

We ran next door around 5:30 to find our friends from the hood arriving. Ariel & Rapunzel were waiting with Mardi Gras dress up beads. Oh my, three princesses with dress up beads.

 Grayson was another Skylanders character. These two ran all over the front yards full of imaginative wii game stunts. Jumps, tree climbing, and few confiscated tree limbs were involved. They were truly "in character". 

They played their Skylanders hearts out waiting for the pizza to arrive. 

Our royal girls were enjoying the party--the belles of the ball:) 

They got a little silly too--oh my!

Our trick or treat crew from the hood. I'm loving how EK is curtseying. She kept looking back at Sam on the back row with the scary mask to make sure he was respecting her personal space. 

We love having Grandmama and Poppy come to pass out candy for us every year. They love spending Halloween with us as they don't get trick or treaters on their road. Grandmama sported her bedazzled pumpkin t-shirt. The littles loved their festive shirted Halloween grandmama.

And, they were off! We divided and conquered. The boys sprinted ahead with Mr. Greg. It truly is a sign of the times--I didn't see Miller the rest of the evening until his candy bucket was full and he was begging for water. They ran laps around us in warp speed. Trailblazers of the neighborhood.

We loaded up the royal carriage wagon. Landon pulled the girls from house to house. It's only a two seater, so the polite princesses had to take turns riding. We slowly rolled from house to house. Since the houses are more spread out here, it was an all night event. Our poor daddy coachman got a workout.

Our candy stash took a hit. Although, we purchased way too much candy.

This princess wagon called it a night around 8:00 p.m. She then came home to devour her candy and help our candy crew pass out candy. 

We waited for Tree Rex's homecoming on the front steps. She commented that her costume was itchy so she ditched her ball gown for comfy PJs. Sometimes beauty is uncomfortable.

After our friends made their rounds, we congregated on our driveway to play and watch the teenage crew roll in before turning off the porch lights and calling it a night. It was a wonderful first trick or treating night in our new neighborhood. Happy Halloween to all!

Mrs K's Pumpkin Centers

"Pumpkin Centers in Mrs. K's class" was penciled in on my calendar for a whole month before Halloween. Both Miller and mommy looked at the calendar hanging up with great anticipation for a fun Halloween morning. Mrs. K did all of the set up with decorations she reuses every Halloween. This is her special fall celebration that she plans every year for her techies.  The moms just showed up with donations in hand ready to party:)   She saved all the craziness including wacky hair day for one fell swoop. That's my kind of planning:)

Ms. Nikki, the other room mom snapped the cutest of group pictures. For that, I'm so thankful.  I snagged it from our class Shutterfly share site--couldn't resist.
 During picture time, I was in the janitor's closet filling up a large tub with hose water. It wasn't the best view of me {picture it---bottoms up shuffling my feet  down 2 hallways with sloshing water towards the class:)  It was actually quite hysterical:) Miller demonstrated a feat of first grade strength to his class, by moving the tub towards the tile. That macho, macho little man of mine. Gosh, I love him! 

That Mrs. K is something else. Everytime we leave her classroom, Nikki and I text each other about just how blessed we are to have her this year. She is truly a God send! I snapped a quick picture of the Pumpkin poem writing and tasting center. From pumpkin pie play dough playing, to bumpy gourd descriptions--these techies were busy on Halloween morning.

Here Mrs. K was leading Miller's group through the pumpkin Science experiment center. The techies had to predict if the medium sized pumpkin would sink or float by submerging in into a tub of water. That poor pumpkin was measured and weighed..and rolled:) And, then proudly set back up on my front porch to be carved before Halloween.

Here's my wacky green haired "Trick or Treat" boy {swoon}. What's a party without decorating pumpkin shaped cookies?

This turned out blurry, but it's one of my very favorite memories of our morning together.  Mrs. K turns on music during transition time between the centers. The kids & Mrs. K danced their way to another rotation. How cute is she dancing with her spooky headpiece? And, what a creative way for those wiggly worms to get their sillies out without being disruptive.

I was stationed at the mini pumpkin and gourd Venn diagram center. Oh what fun I had leading the groups through comparing and contrasting gourd attributes. Miller has come a long way sharing me from his preschool days of tears when I'd come in to help.  He's got the whole sharing thing conquered now.

Here's his center partner, A. The techies were so busy that we ran out of time. Our hour flew by with all kinds of pumpkin themed learning activities. Thankful that there are still opportunities to volunteer as he's climbing the grades in elementary school. A big thanks to Mrs. K for a fabulous, fall morning in first.