Henry's Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

On Good Friday, Henry and I decided to color our Easter Eggs while listening to the album, Alma Mater.  This music is a release of modern classical music and features the Choir of the Philharmonic Academy of Rome and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.  The music is very inspiring and perfect for a day like Good Friday; however, I could not tell if the music made Henry extra sad about his egg mis-hap or if he was sincerely sad about it.  You be the judge. 

I'm thankful for...

Red Wine
Long lost hugs
Priests and seminarians
Late night surprise visits
Family, cousins and friends
Napping with Henry in my arms
Carpet Steam Cleaner and the man that operates it
The sound of my husband's silent sleeping breath
Hand me down toys
Plentiful Food
No schedules
Puppy Chow (three batches!)
Laughter
Smiles
Forts

Pumpkin Fun

A couple of fun things to do this holiday:

1. Below is a prayer to say with your family as you carve the family pumpkin:

Pumpkin Prayer

Cut Off The Top:
Lord, open my mind and fill me with
Your wisdom and guidance.

Scoop Out The Yuckies:
Lord, take out all my fussies and frownies
and fill me with your love.

Carve Out The Eyes:
Lord, open my eyes to see all of the beautiful
things You have made.

Carve Out The Nose:
Lord, help me to be a sweet,
sweet fragrance for You.

Carve Out The Mouth:
Lord, help me always speak Your
words of love and kindness.

Place in A Candle:
Lord, let me be a light to others
For You have filled me with Your Light.

Unknown Origin

2. If you have NO desire to get your hands messy with a real pumpkin, here is a virtual PUMPKIN you'll enjoy playing with.

Santa Baby

I have a neighbor who owns a baby boutique in the local mall. Every year she invites Santa to her store for her friends and patrons to enjoy. He is a really GREAT looking Santa, so I thought I should take Henry to meet Santa for the first time. When I entered the store, Santa immediately invited me to bring the baby over for a picture. It had been so long since I had an infant that part of me was afraid that Hank would cry in absolute terror like Gus had the past few years when he saw Santa. But no. My worries were calmed when my angelic Hank just slumped in Santa's arms, cooed and gooed with satisfaction and simply stared at all the commotion around him. Click. Picture taken. Santa baby!!

Holiday Hunt...

OK, yeah, I admit it. I was there. It was me that you saw, fumbling through the bargains and sale items. I was there with all the other ga-billion people shopping on black Friday (that's what they call the shopping day AFTER Thanksgiving). I was there, looking for a good bargain, unique gifts for my loved ones, freebies and anything else that would make the holiday complete. I confess that I love crowds and sales, but most especially sales. Those red tags marking certian items down are just my cup of tea, but it needs to be a particular kind of sign that says: CLEARANCE or 60% off or more to get me to actually stop. It's more of a rolling stop though; where I kind of slow down, take a long look and maybe stop. Now, to be clear, there is another kind of Stop that I participate in and that's when a sign advertises 75%-90% off. Hey, now...that's when we are talking!!! That is when I stop in my tracks, turn and march DI-RECTLY to the items on display. I tell you, those tables are where you can get the best deals...especially if you are willing to store it for half a year or more until it can actually be used!

I admit to having a small closet in my bedroom called the "Christmas closet" where I store all my bargains for the year. You can find kids toys in bulk, after Christmas sale items, seasonal decorations and birthday party favors. It's not just for Christmas stuff as you can tell, but for everything that I buy on sale! In fact, I can't wait to decorate the house this year; I bought some fantastic ornaments last year...we're talking 90% off....and I'll be using them this year and giving some away as teacher gifts.

This is where I LOVE to go for after Christmas SalesMy sister and I visited about 6 of these store between the two of us to check out their after Christmas prices. If you can wait, these items will go down to a really low price. For the best scenario, visit one of their stores and check out their unique selections of gifts. Very sweet stuff. Oh, and good food too!