SING ALONG

Mags: "Christmas Carols are the greatest songs ever made. Even when I don't know all the words, I just sing 'jingle jingle jingle' and you can't even tell I'm makin' it up."

A FISHY SITUATION

Mags: "This dinner is...ummm...what's that word? Oh, yeah. SCRUMPTIOUS! This dinner is scrumptious!"

So, hey. Guess what? It's November. How in the name of jellybeans did that happen? And, it's not just November, but a week away from Thanksgiving. Who has a turkey I could borrow? Kidding. We're excited to celebrate by eating ourselves into a coma with some of our funny extended family. Honestly, I can't wait to get cooking and fill the house with a multitude of delicious aromas. 

In fact, I haven't cooked in a while. This new schedule of ours leaves me coming home after Chris and the kids. So, the cooking torch was passed to him. (All the fire alarms in the house just breathed sighs of relief.) Enter Chris. This man o' mine is a resourceful fellow. He completes all tasks effectively and efficiently. No muss, no fuss. He didn't bat an eye at having this new chore of soothing our savage beasts with tasty nourishment. It can be a tough task. The kids don't let you get away with too much fancy food (like rice pilaf or quinoa). 

Needless to say he took on that battle of food wills head on. He's been making some easy and flavorful dishes over the past few months. 

I have to note one company in particular that has made it past the kid test time and time again; Gorton's. No matter what type or flavor we serve up from Gorton's...the kids gobble it down. And let's be honest, who doesn't trust the Gorton's Fisherman? 

Here are five WICKED GOOD reasons for you to dive in and try their product: 

1. He looks JUST like my Uncle Tim. In fact, I think we have the kids convinced it IS Uncle Tim on the box. Okay, fine, maybe not Mags, but DEFINITELY Tucker. He fell for it hook, line and sinker. <---See what I did there?

2. Their campaign speaks my language. Literally. I'm from Bahston and so are they! See? 

3. Their abundant variety of tasty seafood products are always a crowd pleaser in this house. And, also, their products for dinner always result in our kids making it into the "Clean Plate Club." Check it out!

4. Over the past three months of crazy schedule changes and big adjustments in our house, they provided us with some no stress, little mess, great tasting food to eat.

5. You can find them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and of course on their site, Gorton's, where they offer coupons. What are you waiting for? Print some off and try them yourself! You won't be disappointed.

Thanks, Gorton's. And thanks, Chris, for all you do!

What's the Plan?

Me: "How does it feel to be six?"

Mags: "Pretty good. So far it's all going according to plan."

This Post Brought to you by the Number 6

Mags to me: WAIT. A. SECOND. You like baby orange slices TOO? It's like I don't even KNOW you!


There's a meme going around Facebook where you are given a number and then, you tell that many unknown facts about yourself.  Since it's Mags' sixth birthday today, I'm going to tell you SIX lesser known things about her. 


1. Mags slept the first six weeks of her life away. In fact, she slept so much, that I called the doctor on multiple occasions to make sure it was normal. 

2. She can sing the words to a song after hearing it only a few times.

3. Her favorite vegetable is spinach.

4. She can reenact, in great detail,  every single moment of her day from start to finish.

5. Before she was her verbose self, Mags used baby sign a lot. This lead her gymnastics teacher to think that she was deaf for the first two sessions of classes.

6. When she gets really excited, she'll do a little shimmy and shake with her bottom. It pretty much is THE cutest thing I've ever seen. 

See for yourself.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY (BIG) GIRL! 

BRING ON NUMBER 6! 

If you haven't already read it, check out Mags' three part birth story. 

The Contraction that Started it All: Part 1

The Contraction that Started it All: Part 2

The Contraction that Started it All: Part 3

An Early Morning Conversation with Mags

Me: "I'm going to vacuum under the table real quick. Could you please help me by pulling the chairs out?"
Mags: "Sure."
Me: "Thanks." (vacuum starts up with a roar)
Mags: "WAIT! WAIT! MAMA!"
Me: (shuts off vacuum) "What? What's the matter?"
Mags: "If you vacuum under here, how will I remember what I ate all week? See? There's my Honey Nut Cheerios. There's my taco. Right there is my toaster strudel and there's Daddy's stir fry he made." 
Me: "You could take a picture with the iPad of the smorgasbord under here."
Mags: "Great idea. Hold on one moment, my dearest Mama."
Me: (waits)
Mags: (returns with iPad, aims it under the table) "OH! What's that? RIGHT THERE!" (pointing) 
Me: "I don't know, it's all looks disgusting to me."
Mags: "Well, I don't know what THAT piece is, but I'm pretty sure I didn't like that one." (snaps picture) 
Me: "All set?"
Mags: "Yep. Done capturing some memories."
Me: "That picture is definitely not going to show and tell."

Anybody else have a four day pile up of food under their table? It looks like a few unassuming crumbs at first, and then...dun dun dun!  They coagulate to form the dreaded "FOOD BUNNIES." Much like their cousins, the "DUST BUNNIES," they can take over the floor under a dinner table in a matter of days. 

I've even heard of a dangerous new hybrid of "HOUSE BUNNIES." I think it may be an urban legend...much like spiders nesting in a person's hair. Supposedly, these bottom floor dwellers join forces to form a dust/food bunny hybrid under your fridge and stove. Keep your eyes out, people. And approach with caution. 

HAPPY FRIDAY! 

The Urban Dictionary: Furbish Edition

Tuck: "You know what I'm putting on my Christmas list?"
Me: "Legos?"
Tuck: "Yep...AND a Furby BOOM!"

Me: *mumbles* "What did I ever do to you except spend 6 weeks on bedrest and 3 days in labor and 3 hours of pushing and..."

Tuck: "What?"

Me: "Huh? Oh...I was just saying that's furbtastic, honey!"

FURBISH DICTIONARY
What Furby is really saying

FURBISH   PHRASES	ENGLISH   PHRASES
a-loh/doo?	Play with me. Play with me! PLAY! WITH! ME!
Dah/doo-ay	It's 3AM. Who wants an adrenaline rush?
Dah/lee-koo/koo-/wah!	My batteries never say die.
Hey/boo/loo-loo	The joke is on YOU!
Kah/may-may/u-nye	I love to wake your sleeping child.
Doo-moh/may-lah/kah	Shaking me will just make me angry!
May-tah/kah	You won't like me when I'm angry!
Kay/mee-mee/a-tah	Potty mouth.
Dah/a-loh/nah/bah	Sunset or sunrise...I'm flexible.
nee-tye/kah	Gizmo is cu-kah!
Dah/noh-lah	I will not be ignored!
Kah/mee-mee/noo-loo/wah	I'm very happy to annoy you.
Kah/toh-loo/may-tah	I see you with that screw driver.
Wee-tee/kah/way-loh	It's a Phillips head screw. SUCKAH!

These Monkeys are too Hip to be Square

Me: "Mags, may I take your monkey with me to New Orleans?"
Mags: "No way, Mama!"
Me: "I promise I'll bring her back in one piece."
Mags: "I trust you. But no."
Me: "I was going to take some..."
Mags: "Mama. No means no."
Me: "Okay, okay. No monkey."
Mags: "You know what we could do instead? Maybe we could FaceTime with her!"

It didn't take long for her to become a loved member of the "Nighty Night" society. She had all the makings of a star.  Her heart of gold and glitzy nature fit her new community perfectly. She had been waiting  for this moment where she found somewhere to settle in and feel at home. Finally, that time had come. With her guitar by her side, Star Harmonkey finally felt complete.

Who would want to leave that kind of community behind? 

Not Star, that's for sure.

But, Ima Bananerd, who came along for the ride from Planet Sock Monkey was another story. She had a thirst for knowledge with a streak of independence that couldn't be ignored. She was smart, sassy...and just a little bit clumsy. True to her nerdy form, she was matched perfectly with none other...than a Physics teacher. 

Like Ima, the physics teacher (we'll call her Mel) had a very spunky friend who lived far away and, as luck would have it, she was going to vist her the very weekend Ima arrived. And, even though Ima had just traveled all the way from Planet Sock Monkey, she snapped her suspenders, grabbed her backpack and her Phyics book and jumped into the open suitcase She never said no to learning something new. 

Ima passed the time traveling by listening to her Sock Monkey friend, M.O.N.K's, newest rap CD. She promised him she'd write a review of each of his songs. 

Before she knew it, the suitcase unzipped and Ima was greeted by not one, but TWO Patch Product friends. Magenta Beetsch and ANOTHER Star Harmonkey, also sent from Planet Sock Monkey , were ready to go when she arrived. The connection to these two was immediate. Star, being characteristically sweet, and Magenta, having a heart of gold and a funky style to boot, made her feel right at home. Being in a new city, Ima was anxious to write down her observations and collect some data for her research on city life. 

Throughout the next four days she traveled by car, bus, airplane and 

Street Car.

She ate native cheeses and developed a love for a delicious fried 

dough treat called Beignets. 

Ima also went on a spooky ghost tour. And perhaps a little more scary than ghosts, she tried a Lucky hot dog from a cart on the street. That was more her zombie Sock Monkey friend, Eaton Dedd's style, but when in Rome...

The whirlwind trip left her head spinning. Even though she was sad to leave her friends behind, she knew she would be able to FaceTime and text.  That, and she had a lot of fun memories to look back on and share. As her Sock Monkey friend, Long Sock Silver says, "We'll be seein' yaaaarrrr again real soon." 

Want to win one of these trendsetting little friends for the little monkey in your life? Michele and I are each giving one away right here. Our two lucky winners will get to choose from the six limited edition friends listed above. (More monkeys are coming soon to Planet Sock Monkey.) 

Entries will be accepted until the end of Monday, November 11, 2013. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

THE REAL LIFECYCLE OF A JACK-O-LANTERN

Mags: "Our pumpkins are a sad, sad sight. But, look! They're still delicious to squirrels."