Thanksgiving Countdown & No Babies Allowed

We are getting ready for Thanksgiving around here. Hattie and I made this during M.E.'s naptime this morning:

Mommy & Daddy Pilgrim and two baby Indians. Hattie is obsessed with cutting and gluing right now. Good quite activity for Sissy's naptime!

We are going to Sean's family's house for Thanksgiving this year. I am making his favorite chocolate pie (the easy peasy one on the back of the Instant Jello Pudding box), and I am also making these pumpkin pie bites, and of course green bean casserole because no Thanksgiving is complete without green bean casserole!

And in other news, Hattie taped this on her door the other day:

She let us all know that it says, "No babies allowed." She keeps her door shut all the time. Poor Mary Ellen. Having them share a room in a few years sure is going to be..........FUN! :/ My sister and I use to split our room in half and claim a side when we were mad at each other. Having a sibling teaches children so much about sharing and compromising, but sharing a room goes above and beyond getting kids ready for things like college roommates and spouses! I'm sure they'll appreciate the big picture when it comes time to share a room ;)!

I probably won't be back on here before Thanksgiving, so I hope you all have a blessed one with family and friends and good food!

Hattie's Thanksgiving Feast

Hattie had a lovely Thanksgiving prayer service and feast at school today. It started with prayers and songs in the church.

The kids were all so cute! Hattie sang her heart out. She is one of 14 in a class of mostly girls. There are only 4 boys. Her teacher has been there since like forever, so some of the moms and I have speculated that she picked her class that way because she's up there in age, and boys (at this age.....or any age, really) have a tendency to act more like this:

:)
I'm not saying boys are harder! They just seem to have more energy at this age. I know I have my work cut out for me in about 10 years, though, and little P's mom won't have a clue about mean girls and gossip that hurts and all of the fun drama that comes with having teenage girls. Aye, me!

After all of the presentations, we went over to Servant Hall and had ourselves a little pilgrim and indian feast. Hattie was the cutest indian in the room :)!

It was a feast of cheese, gold fish, carrots, celery, oranges, and bugles - remember those? I hadn't had bugles in forever! I remember putting them on all of my fingers and pretending they were long nails and then eating them off one at a time when I was little. Bugles are the underestimated chip, I think. They were good! Then we washed it down with apple juice. Not exactly my beverage of choice, but there were lots of content 3 and 4 year olds in the room with non-watered down Motts apple juice - the good stuff! It was a grand feast :).

Sweet Potato Fries

1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes , peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
1/4 cup olive oil (I use less, probably more like 2 tbsp)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
Preheat oven to 425°. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil coated with cooking spray.

Spread the sweet potato strips out onto the baking sheet in a single layer, coat with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and spices, turning them over to evenly coat on all sides with oil and spices.

Bake for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes with spatula. (I cook mine about 20-25 minutes, turning every 7-8 minutes. Otherwise they are almost burnt and the kids won't eat them like that. Maybe it's just my oven, though?!) Serve warm.

They are SO GOOD! We love them with ketchup.

Seriously?!?!

Could she look any more Irish? Maybe if she had a pint in her hand, huh :)?!? I mean, I know she's wearing green in this picture and she definitely holds an Irish first and last name, but when I see pictures of Sissy bear, I still can't believe how Irish she looks. Those blue eyes, that pale skin, that strawberry blonde hair, it all just baffles me! Hattie came out looking exactly like I thought she would. Mary Ellen, not at all. And I love that they look so different from each other. I find that things that I never dressed Hattie in, I put on Mary Ellen all the time because different colors compliment their looks. Hopefully this means they will never fight over clothes!!!! It will be easy. I'll just say, "Now, Mary Ellen, you should just let Hattie wear that red shirt because you know, red really isn't your color. You look absolutely beautiful in blue. It shows off your eyes better." Then she'll agree and go off and find a blue shirt to wear, right?!?! Right. :)

And in other shocking news, Miss Hattie Ruth is taking a much needed nap, a nap that she hasn't taken in days and days and days, which is why it's much needed. I have always been pro naps, but I never really realized how vital they are to my sanity. It's been rough. So when she wakes up, she gets to indulge in all of the bribes I've been bribing her with for days and days to get her to nap. These bribes include but are not limited to: Sprite, Halloween candy, and watching Tinkerbell. I know. But desperate times call for desperate measures!

And seriously, could the day be any more beautiful! I think I've fallen for fall...........