Quick and Easy

I have about a BAZILLION things I should be doing right now instead of blogging, but whatever. I wanted to do a quick post about a quick and easy dinner I did this week after my friend Genay mentioned it on good ol' Facebook.

Green Eggs and Ham!!!

Only we didn't have any ham to fry up, so turkey bacon would have to do. Eli was into the idea and even read the book while I was whipping it up.

The Carson household likes breakfast for dinner...always easy and with a touch of green food coloring to liven it up, it was a no-brainer. Gotta love it when literature inspires food!

Have a wonderful weekend....Now back to that never ending list of things I need to do before heading out of town on a youth group retreat. Pray for the teens and us CORE members leading them, that all will have a meaningful and inspiring experience.

Feeling Like Fall

Finally! We had a perfectly wonderful cold snap last weekend that lasted on into this week. It came just in time for our trip down to Dunedin to see the grandparents and aunts. We spent most of our time outside enjoying the beautiful weather. This of course leads to incredible amounts of picture taking...bear with me during this picture intensive post.

Saturday, we lazed around the house, and then hurried to get ready for the Fall Festival put on by our church down in Dunedin. It is HUGE!

It always impresses me that a church and school can pull off such a huge event and fundraiser. Eli loved everything!

The rides.....

the games....

the prizes...

and of course, the fair food!

His favorite rides seemed to be the Ferris Wheel

and these spinning dragons.

It was great to spend time with Pap Pap and MeeMaw.

They always spoil him just enough. I'm not sure who enjoys the visits more....

It was fun to have Aunt Kate join us at the festival as well....she loves to be silly with Eli...and he, of course, goes right along with it.

Pap Pap is silly too!!

Finally the boy tuckered out enough to head home for a nap.

But as soon as he woke up, it was Gator game time!

I bit my nails and could barely watch as the boys kept their cool and swam in the heated pool (until Eli's lips eventually turned blue...) while the Gators squeaked out a victory against Arkansas.

I'm really hoping that it will be the wake up call we need to succeed in back-to-back championships!!

Sunday was more fall perfect weather, and after church, the boys and I geared up for some more football. Eli's first Tampa Bay Buccaneers game! He was very excited all morning and the excitement continued throughout the game...except for the times he was too overwhelmed to do anything but stare in awe at all that was going on around him. He loved the game...but mostly the pirate and his ship.

I took WAY too many pictures, so I made a slide show of the best. I don't know what it was about the beautiful day and the contrast of the red and black...but I just kept snapping away.

I think we officially wore him out as he took nearly 4 hour naps both Monday and Tuesday this week. I know we are all looking forward to the next time we are all together again. With all the events and excitement of the weekend, our weekends around here will likely pale in comparison.

The Countdown is On!

We are exactly 30 days out from Eli's first trip to Disney World.

He is a little excited...can you tell?

We told Eli last week that we were planning a trip to Disney next month...and so it began:

"Mommy, what day is today?"

"Wednesday."

"Are we going to Disney today?"

"Not today, Eli."

"But, I want to go to Disney!"

"We will...but next month. Not today."

"I want to go today."

....and so on and so on and so on. I decided I would make a countdown paper chain so that Eli could see the days getting closer and understand how many days away the trip is. (And to maybe rein in some of the constant questions about when we are going.)

Today, 30 days out, seemed like a good place to start the countdown. He was excited to see me make and hang the chain yesterday, but was a bit unsure when it came time to tear a link off today. With questioning eyes, he asked me to tear off today's link. I'm sure he'll be ready to do it himself tomorrow!

We are also using the chain to countdown to other exciting events in the coming 30 days. As excited as he is about the Disney trip, he is very much excited about a quick trip to MeMaw and Pap Pap's house this weekend. You know how it goes....

"Mommy, what day is it?"

"Wednesday."

"No, it is Friday!"

"No, baby. Friday is in two days."

"But I want it to be Friday. I wanna go to MeMaw and Pap Pap's house. They have a lotta toys and a chair just the size for me."

I love that he is so excited about visiting his grandparents! We also have a beach trip and Halloween in between now and the trip. The boy has been talking about Halloween for weeks. It only seemed fitting to put these exciting dates on the chain as well.

I know the 30 days will fly by. Can't wait to see our chain get shorter and shorter as it gets closer and closer.
_

Weekend Visitor

Look who came to visit us this weekend!

We were so glad that Aunt Ann came to visit us. It is always nice when company comes. I enjoy playing hostess, and it definitely jump-started some necessary cleaning and decorating. I can finally say that my house almost looks a little ready for fall and Halloween. I've never been big into decorating for seasons, but a little is festive and puts me in a good mood.

The weekend was packed full of with delicious meals (both out and in), coffee sipping (PSL for me, of course!), and good conversation.

In addition to the excitement of a house guest, Eli had the thrill of seeing Playhouse Disney Live on stage. His favorite show all summer long was Little Einsteins, so when we found out they were coming as part of this Playhouse Disney show, we couldn't resist. Aunt Ann was a good sport and tagged along. It was a definite, "You know you're a parent when...." moment.

We had super seats: 7th row on the center aisle. Perfect! So many parents and so many kids. Eli was awestruck most of the show....staring at the stage almost dumbfounded. Daddy treated him to a blinking baton during intermission....just like Leo's from The Little Einsteins. He was thrilled! (In our opinion, the show was not done well, but it was still a lot of fun. We're glad we went!)

Saturday night, Ann helped my family root on the Gators to a victory over LSU. Go Gators!

photo courtesy of Eli

Finally, on Sunday, we had a perfect morning complete with an awesome breakfast, browsing/reading/train playing at the book store, and an outing to the Jr. Museum.

________

Yeah, we couldn't let Ann get away without taking a "bat" picture. Again, we were happy to have her, and we hope she'll come again soon. You are welcome any time.....you know that, right? Eli loved playing with you and misses you already! You know you're in when he adds you to his bedtime prayers.

Again???

Eli was home sick again this week. UGH!!! He woke up Tuesday morning with another fever that stuck around all day and into the night. Fortunately it broke by morning, and we were finally back to school today. So far, Eli has been sick 10 days in the last couple of weeks. Enough is enough. Prayers that my boy is actually better for real this time.

We found a lot of time to read while home all of those days. One of Eli's favorite stories lately is the Gingerbread Man. I made the felt board characters for this one, and it was "love at first listen" for Eli. We have read several versions....


You can now hear Eli run around the house chanting, "Run, run as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!" That is his way of asking us to chase him. And we usually oblige.

Eli is into fairy tales in general right now. I checked out several stand alone tales from the library this past visit as well as a collection or two. He can retell The Gingerbread Man and The 3 Little Pigs.

We have also added reading his new Bible to his nightly routine. Eli picked out this Bible from several choices at the Christian Book Store last month. I was delighted in his choice as I had the same one (only the original edition) when I was a child. I have vivid memories reading the stories with my parents and talking about them. Eli is very interested in the Old Testament stories we have started with. He listens intently, looks at the pictures, and asks questions. We ask him questions as well. So far, he's into it, and that makes us smile.

Our Monster Mash-Up

Eli is extremely excited about Halloween this year. He has had many costume ideas, and we have almost settled on one.

Enjoy our "Mash-Up".... like when we "Elfed" ourselves. Too fun! Just click on the teeny tiny picture below.

Halloween Monster Mash-Up brought to you by Oriental Trading Company.

http://monstermashup.com/b10de8

Mariposas

That's Spanish for "butterflies." Eli's preschool class had a Mariposa Parade today to celebrate the butterflies that came out of their chrysalises this week.

While Eli was home sick on Monday (boo that he missed it!), both the Monarch and the Buckeye butterflies came out of their chrysalises and were ready to be released. The students were excited as they released the butterflies, but wondered where they go. The class then learned about how Monarch butterflies actually migrate to Mexico when the weather gets colder. And when the butterflies get there, the people of Mexico celebrate with a festival and a parade.

So the students made Monarch wings and headbands with antennae and paraded around the school today. They were absolutely adorable.

We are so fortunate that Eli is part of such a great preschool program. They truly foster a love of learning and encourage exploration and discovery through an emergent curriculum. This entire study of butterflies came about because the students were finding so many caterpillars that had fallen out of the tree outside their classroom. The plan was to investigate the garden and creatures of the garden, but when the students became fascinated by the caterpillars and butterflies...the teachers took it and ran with it. We are glad they did!

Eli loves his teachers and all of his friends at school. While home sick, he would tell me, "They need me, Mommy." He is glad to be back but sad he missed the butterflies coming out of their chrysalises.

Eli was so proud when he brought the Monarch caterpillar to school. Too bad he missed seeing it as a butterfly.

And even though he didn't get to be a part of releasing the butterflies, he was still very excited about being a part of the Mariposa Parade today.

....and then he was over it. It was soon after this that he asked me to take off his wings.

Hope you all have a wonderful fall weekend. I am still loving the crisp fall morning weather October has brought with it. (and I am also LOVING my new camera lens...can you see a difference in the photos? I can!....or at least I am tricking myself into seeing the difference.)

Happy Fall, Y'all!
(did i just type y'all? yes i did. as eli would say, "it rhymes!" i'm trying to talk myself into not deleting it. ok...i'm leaving it!)