A month of thankfulness...

I don't usually participate in this sort of thing, but I saw this on a blogging site yesterday and it caught my eye because it's not your typical "What am I thankful for today" for however many days there are until Thanksgiving - by giving a different prompt every day it challenged me to really start thinking. So I will take this as my challenge (much in the blogshpere right now about different writing challenges so this is my way of participating) and post my answer everyday.

A Blessing

I have been blessed with many many things...some obvious, some not so obvious. An interesting thing that I have been blessed with over the past year - I have been allowed to see the true character of many people in my life. I was honestly shown who my true friends and family were, in great, wonderful, unexpected ways, and also in hurtful unkind ways. That is not something that everyone gets to experience and I believe I am richer for it.

 

Now here are some fun photos from the rest of October (and from last night!) that I just can't help but

share...

Very serious for a little girl in a pumpkin patch...

 

My little ham...

 

 

A sea of orange beauties...

 

Daddy and a not so happy at the moment pumpkin...

 

 

I love this picture (which is not easy to say for me!)

 

A fall birthday...

This is a long time coming due to a missing, then non-working camera cable...but here we go finally!

 

Baby girl's first birthday party - obviously having a baby to celebrate in the month of October is going to be wonderful...for me at least, maybe not for her eventually. So I had to have a fall themed party - what else? And it was actually pretty stress free - I mean, the house is already decorated for fall/halloween, so I just had to add some things here and there...

 

Easy decoration - tissue paper pom poms

A book for guests to sign

The welcome wagon...

 

Caramel apple party favors - easy and delicious

More easy tissue paper pom poms...I think they are a little classier than balloons right?

 

Crafts to keep Jack and his friends occupied for a bit

The birthday girl...still deciding that she could crawl faster than walk at that point...although that has started to change this past week.

 

 

Marshmellow fondant leaves - this recipe is soooo easy and doesn't taste that bad!

 

Birthday girl could not understand why everyone was singing to and staring at her at that point

Hmmm, this feels interesting...

But I don't think I will actually taste it for a while...

  

The boys are over celebrating a one year old girl....

Family shot...Happy first birthday to my baby girl - I eagerly look forward to many more with you.

 

Decorations...

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." - George Eliot
 

I was getting out my Halloween decorations today and realized I hadn't seen my things in TWO years, not just one. That amazed me, and saddened me, and at the same time filled me with joy because I get to see them again and I was overjoyed - I'm not kidding, I adore my Halloween decorations. I love Halloween and fall - I LOVE them. I stopped and thought about where I was last year right now and also realized that last year, today, was my last A/C chemo. I was heavily pregnant and bald, too big and tired to even attempt decorating or celebrating my season, and waiting - worried - about what is now this teething, extremely loud, hilarious, beautiful and healthy little monster - the one who has smile at times that is simultaneously hysterical and the epitome of pure bliss.

 

 

So as I went through my multitude of Halloween boxes in the garage and found forgotten treasures, I was able to look back at the past year and remember where I was - which is a feat considering my short term memory is still shot - and see how far we have all come, and breathe it all in, and smile like my girl.

Busy busy

I try to never be busy - I don't like going out, I don't party, I don't even really "hang out"...but some weekends everything converges and jeez! I am pooped out. But I had to give a quick homage to the impending wonderfulness that is fall...I won't put this up until at least September, but damn it felt good to make it. It looks like a warm sweater to me... my fall yarn wreath!

 

 

I found this yummy yarn, sort of a greyish brownish with black flecks in it. I love it. Then I took a bunch of cookie cutters that I hardly ever use and made maple and oak leaves and acorns. Layered those and then made a moose - my fave animal - out of a cookie cutter I have never used from Ikea. Yes, I love to bake, yes, I hoard cookie cuttters - however I really don't like making cookies, especially roll out cookies, they are a pain in my ass...therefore, lots of cookie cutters that I now am repurposing!

 

 

 

 I did the foam in the middle trick to make it stand out, but not quite a easy as doing a million circles for the Mickey ears... hence, no close up of the atrocity. But it looks decent from afar. Voila...it resides in my hall closet for now, awaiting its breakthrough to the door. I love love love fall, but even I'm not crazy enough to put up a faall wreath in the middle of August.