Thanksgiving 2011

Since the children outnumbered the adults, it made sense to make our thanksgiving dinner very kid friendly, and have lots of activities to keep them busy while all the adults were busy in the kitchen.  First, they made the cranberry sauce;

My Nephew Isaac tastes the cranberries.

Then the children decorate the table, which is covered in paper.  They color and write what they are thankful for.  The adults do too.  It is a beautiful table cloth.

Children helped with every aspect.  By this time, they were also running around crazy, totally falling apart.

Busy busy with turkey and gravy, the last things to be ready.

Then, the meal.  Mary made corn spoon bread, sweet potatoes, sweet potato biscuits (gluten free), gravy (gluten free), and apple pie, Wade did the turkey and cornbread and sausage stuffing, I did the mashed potatoes, green beans, sauteed beet greens, and cranberry sauce (with the kids).  Matt and the kids helped a lot, were always in the kitchen to offer a hand.  It was a group effort, and lots of laughter, and some tantrums.   The children chose to tell what they were grateful for.  Elias said he was grateful for the constitution, the big bang, life, and death, because without death, the planet would not be able to continue. Isn't he interesting?!

I wonder where we will all be next year.

dear santa

dear Santa

i know you are busy, and may not have caught something my son, Elias said earlier this week. i just wanted to report him.

he was not behaving, and i reminded him that you were watching, and here is what he said;

me- Elias, you better be nice, Santa is watching!

E-i don't care, he's not even real

me- don't let him hear you say that

E- mom, he cant hear me, he doesn't care!

me- he just crossed you off his list!

E-mom, i was HORRIBLE last year, and i still got everything i wanted.

OK? did you get it? he was horrible, and you still brought him everything he wanted? no wonder he is doubting ( i say doubting, because he still wrote you a letter) this year, i think you should bring him coal. maybe then he would get the message and stop pouting and crying.

Elves Fair

the two smaller boys and i went to the Elves Fair at the Waldorf school today. It is always a beautiful display, but this year was even more beautiful than before. it could be that this was the first year is did not have to work at the fair, since i am no longer an employee or parent at the school, or it could have been the perfect weather, or it could have really been better this year than before. in any case, the whole school was decorated with ribbons, painted silks, and banners. the outside was set up with yummy food, a jump rope making station, archery, jousting, Jacobs ladder, and at certain times, the children would preform dances they had been learning.

a teacher spins wool in the classroom, and later, she knits it.

face painting

good friends reunited

inside the school, there was candle making, wand weaving, paper making, and all kinds of other crafts for the children and parents to do. there was also a small store where local crafts were sold. it was really fun.