Thanksgiving review

I know it is a couple days late, but my always-on-top-of-things sister-in-law (wow, that's a lot of hyphens!) sent me some pictures of Thanksgiving with the Schaefer/Van Zee clan that I wanted to share.

Not a bad picture considering it was done with a timer and 4 kids under the age of 6. Notice Will attempting to escape and Carla holding on for dear life. It is also a pretty good guess that I am talking - imagine that!

The kiddos with their meal. Teagan had eaten at another Thanksgiving an hour before, hence the plate with a roll and jello!

Will really needs to grow up fast so Tate isn't outnumbered anymore!

This kid is a total hamball! But we are loving every minute!

Aunt Lindsay (you know, the cool one) let the kids "jump" on her bed for quite awhile. Us parents just sat downstairs thinking "just you wait Lindsay, just you wait!"

The crew. All four are mobile. All four have attitudes. And all four get away with murder when their Grandma Schaefer is around! What else could they ask for?

Kate and Tate. Yes, the names do get mixed up sometimes. Especially when the are both being yelled at by their parents at the same time, but they have both learned to run, and run fast!!

This will be the last post on this lovely Give Thanks background, so enjoy it one last time. Tomorrow starts the Christmas posts and up first is some of my decorating - or at least my attempts at decorating!

Another Black Friday conquered!

Actually 2 naps, but I love this day so it was all worth it!

My sister and I headed for Iowa City around 4:30 this morning and it

turned out to be one of the more productive Black Fridays yet.

I actually bought gifts this year instead of just stuff that I wanted for myself.

Can't tell what I got - that would tip some of you off about gifts, but here is

where we went.

This was after I got back to town at 9. I have been wanting net lighting for

our front yard and they had them on sale. Your welcome honey!!

I really did get to take 2 naps today. During my first one the kids did some work on the computer. Actually playing some games on Disney.com.

This was family nap time after lunch. For some reason Teagan thought she needed to set up camp in the hallway. She actually slept there, but Tate couldn't handle it so,

he tested out a big kid bed. He did really well and stayed in it even after he woke up. I guess it's about time to make the switch. It means my baby is growing up and a lot of nights spent putting a stubborn two year old back in his bed!!

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

An entertaining weekend

Whew!! What a weekend!

It all started with our family night out to Play House Disney. The kids had a blast!

I love that they had Mickey, Minnie and the crew. Its nice that my kids get to enjoy some of the charcters I did when I was little.

This is pretty much how Tate watched the entire show. He was in a trance!

All the characters spent time together on the stage.

And the main reason we went!

Gotta love Handy Manny!! After getting to bed late we all got up to head our seperate ways Saturday. Brad went to the game with our friend Ryan (Go Hawks!!) and Tate and I took Teagan to her last basketball "camp".

Check out that form!

Then it was off to breakfast with Santa. It was a fundraiser for the new daycare center in town. Notice anyone missing from this picture?

Tate chose to make his Christmas list by himself at home. Not a fan of Santa right now. And yes, that is his sister's pink headband. He tends to walk around the house with them on. He will even put it on my and ask,"You feel pretty Mommy?" How can you say no to that?

And now for the entertainment I was most looking forward to. Brad had the game. The kids had Mickey Mouse and Santa. And I had this...(do you hear a choir of angels singing? I do!)

All I can say is AMAZING! Pretty much all I could have asked for. Plus I got to watch it with 4 of my favorite girls, who are also obsessed! What more could a girl want? Oh yeah, this -

Hello boys! How many of you non-Twilight people want to go see the movie now? Worth every penny! Have a great week!

The Big Freeze, Stunts, Elves and Disney. What a week!

I spent the day home with Teagan (a mini flu-bug, but I think it is gone!) I decided to make some meals ahead and freeze them.

The top 2 are my favorites: tater-tot casserole and hamburger casserole. I could seriously eat the entire thing in one sitting! The bag is some cheesy ham and potatoes. I found the recipe on a blog I follow http://mealplanningmommies.blogspot.com/2009/03/freezer-wednesday-sarahs-cheesy-ham-and.html. It was easy and sounded good. Guess we'll see!

Did your mom every say "This is why I don't have nice things!"? Now I get it.

This is Tater jumping off my laundry basket. You might think: "So, thats not a big deal." But a couple minutes earlier it was all of my throw pillows and my couch. And earlier this week it was a fork to my kitchen table and one of Teagan's bath toys lost its head. I totally get my mom and can wait for my dream furniture - unless of course it has a life-time warranty against markers, snot, jumping, and Cheez-Its!

My friend Hayley talked about their house elf Marvin earlier this week. I think that we have one too, and I didn't even have to order it.

That sneaky elf loves to knock off my towels and not hang them back up. Crazy!

This is his favorite little trick. He uses the last of the toilet paper and thinks its funny to leave the new roll right there on the floor! Wow that elf is crafty - he knows exactly what gets me!

In happier news - I won a blog giveaway!! I was so sticking excited I could hardly contain myself!! I won some Halloween items that my friend Janelle was giving away over on her blog.
http://thefarmerswifeiniowa.blogspot.com/2009/11/i-am-horrible-blogger-giveaway.html Check it out if you haven't yet. She has some ADORABLE stuff! Wish I could be that creative!

Thanks Janelle!

LAST, BUT NOT LEAST...

This is our family destination tomorrow night.

The kids are so excited, almost as much as me!

I love this stuff. Will share pictures this weekend!

GO HAWKS!!!

Passing It On

I forget how much I miss living on the farm. I think harvest is one of the reasons I really love fall. I remember jumping in one of the tractors, trucks, or combine with anyone who would give me a ride. I also remember still being in high school and coming home from practice and seeing my Grandpa outside unloading corn. I would grab a couple pops and head down and sit with him. He would always share some of the goodies left over from Grandma in his lunch and we would talk about the day.

Even though my kids don't get to experience that daily like I did we still want them to remember where I came from and what my family does. We took them out to a field where my Dad, brother, uncles, and cousins were working today.

Everybody got a ride in the combine. Looks like a full house, huh? Combines are so much bigger inside than they used to be. For those of you who grew up on a farm there is no more need for squishing yourself on the floor against the door or window! They have an extra seat for the rider. Kids now-a-days just don't know what they are missing.

I love the sounds and the smells of being out in the field. Nothing like it!

This beauty is about as old as I am. I can't tell you how many miles I have riden in it taking loads of corn to the Co-op or hogs to the hog buying station. It was even stolen from my parent's farm once and we still got her back!

Today made me think about other traditions we are chosing to hand down to our kids. The biggest one...

the Hawks, of course!! Tough loss yesterday, but they couldn't have made a better showing.

Here's to the next generation of Hawk fans!

No, not your own pumpkins or apples. Tonight was pick your own supper. I don't know if you had these when you were a kid, but at our house it was usually Sunday night and it usually consisted of something like this-

This was the choice of my kids tonight. A wholesome, nutritious meal? Probably not, but really is it any worse than a microwave meal? I think not. So, while my kids were eating this and

Tate was doing this. I started a new project. That is why I love pick your own supper night!

By the way, Tate is totally in the stage where he talks to the shows when they ask a question. I love it!! He learned all about sloths tonight. Thanks Diego!

I found this at Gordman's for $3 last week. I have been wanting a votive holder for the winter season, so...

I added some paint. I am thinking some silver tissue paper, Mod Podge, some silver lettering, and I will have a candle holder for my TV stand. We'll see.

In case you are looking for a little extra to add to a gift package or just something for yourself. These are less than $4 at Kohls right now. I didn't see every letter, but they still had a lot left. Super cute! Definitely my deal of the day!!

Still getting tricks and treats!

Put out some of my "fall" stuff including this kitchen towel. I wish it could be fall all year!

Now for the tricks:

The kids "helped" rake leaves earlier this week and really enjoyed laying in them and running through the piles!

Tate thinks this is a funny trick to pull on me after I put him to bed. At least the diaper stays on!

That is a double blessing because he has been pooping in bed almost every night for the past 3 weeks! To make matters worse we run a humidifier in there for his stuffy nose. And we farm kids all know what happens when you mix hot, humid air with poop - disgusting!

This is what Teagan's desk looked like again. I think I blogged about this only a couple months ago. What is a mom to do when her kid brings home at least 5 pieces of homework every night and that kid doesn't want to throw any away?
The mom throws it away when the kid is at school! Hey - you do what ya gotta do!

Now for the treats:

Target has their "Halloween" candy on sale for 50% off. That means these beauties were only $1.49. Sa-weet!!

I found this fall garland hanging all by its lonesome with the clearance stuff (75% off decor - I know, awesome!). Of course it had no tag. I asked a employee what I should do. He said I should take it to the check out and make an offer - seriously? So, I did. My bargain for the day $4!! I really needed something to take the place of my Halloween decorations here. Love it!!

This guy was there too. His price - $2.50! Did I need him? No. Did I get him? Of course! I can't pass up a deal like that!

I also picked up a couple of these for $.50. You can never have too many fun cups for the kids!

The worse part about getting great deals after the season is you have to put them away until next year. But I look at it like opening a present!!

And yes - that is a power ranger outfit for Tate next year. I am hoping he at least knows who they are and will think its cool. For $4.99 - he WILL think it is cool!

Last, but not least.

Teagan has had to move up another size in jeans so that she isn't wearing "highwaters" to school everyday. That means she is in a size 7! I personally think that is ridiculus, but luckily Target has jeans that are slims and have an adjustable waist.

They are on sale for $7 right now. If you have the same problem with your girlie-girl I highly recommend trying them. And at that price I am less likely to have a stroke when she comes home with holes in them!

Sorry about the length of the blog - I just got so excited about my Target trip!!

And if you notice the layout is weird - sorry. I have no idea why it did this. I am far from being a tech-savy person! Have a great Friday everyone!