Happy Thanksgiving!

The sounds of Thanksgiving are swirling around me. Someone is vacuuming, someone is cooking, the children are "decorating" for the "party" by strategically placing large pictures of Diego around the house, and the parade is on the television.

As I steal a few moments away, I just wanted to say that on this Thanksgiving I am thankful for YOU! Many thanks to those of you who click over here day after day to read the thoughts I throw out on the Internet. Thanks to those of you who leave comments, who appreciate the posts I write and who take time out of your busy schedule to read about mine.

Happy Thanksgiving, from savethephillipsfamily!

(My family just found me tucked away with the laptop. I am off to enjoy this beautiful day of thanks with those that I love most. Hope you get to do the same.)

Thankful for these smiles

I am terribly thankful for Smile A and Smile B

this Thanksgiving.

(I am also terribly thankful for Smile C which belongs to the husband. However, he would not be a fan of me placing a large photo of his smiling face on my blog)

From feared to favored

Does the kid's table have a bad reputation at your holiday gatherings?

Change that reputation by transforming the kid table from feared to favored in a few easy steps.

Thankful for life's conveniences

Before I became a mother, I would never have imagined the following statement would fall from my mouth (fingers?? keyboard?? life behind a computer is so complex at times):



"I am thankful for a shopping cart."



Yes, a shopping cart. It is no secret that my children do not accompany me when I go to the grocery store for our big twice-a-month excursions. They stay at home with their father, nice and cozy in PJs playing some odd game the three of them created involving a basket of balls and a random assortment of toys. I shop in peace, they all bond, everyone wins.



On occasion I do have to take a child to the store to grab a few things that we need. Often times the child that accompanies me is Miss E, my shopping partner in crime while her brother is at school. Miss E. is quite the shopper and enjoys our excursions.



She has also become quite the shopping cart connoisseur. She knows what type cart each particular store has, if she likes that cart and if I will allow her to ride in said cart (I banned the TV cart over a year ago and somehow we have managed to keep trudging on through life). Her current favorite is the model found at a local Tom Thumb grocery store while her least desirable cart option is found at (gasp...dare I say it) Central Market.



That was until Friday.



Friday the two of us discovered the new cart for kids at our local Wal-Mart. This cart had the bucket seats for two child riders and the standard basket to hold all the goodies. However, the bucket seats seemed to be at the perfect height, rather than too high or too low. The seat was not just a mere sliver of plastic, barely large enough to cover a child's rear end. Instead it was large and comfy. The seats faced forward, allowing Miss E. to be able to take in all the action of the store.



Miss E. was not the only one loving the cart. It maneuvered around turns easily. There was no loud thumping as we walked along, which such kiddie carts often have due to their large size and unbalanced wheels. It felt as if I were casually pushing a light little cart rather than having to focus all my strength into simply getting the thing to move forward as has been the case in the past.

The cart was wonderful, dear reader, and for that I am thankful.

As we exited the store and found our way to the car in the parking lot, it was time to bid our lovely cart farewell. I passed another mom who was attempting to get twin toddlers into the store with minimal issue. I stopped her and told her she needed my shopping cart. I might possibly have uttered the phrase "It will change your life."

What are little convenience are you thankful for today?

Thankful for Life's Imperfections

As the holiday season begins to descend upon us, I am eagerly making our Christmas to-do list. The first item on that list was "Take Christmas Card Photo", which I managed to cross off last weekend.

All mothers know that there are few events more stressful than having children's pictures made. When photographing babies, moms pray that the diaper stands up to is leak guarantee and that all projectile spit-up episodes are reserved for after the session. When dealing with toddlers and preschoolers, moms hope that the promise of a post-picture treat will be just enough to keep the tantrums and tears at bay. Last Saturday morning we dressed the children in their holiday finery and set off for our local botanical gardens in hopes of getting a few decent pictures to splash across our yearly Christmas greeting. A generous friend offered to meet us there and snap off a few photos with her super fancy camera.

There were smiles, there were frowns, there was a bit of disharmony about who would stand where and when. Somehow we managed to get a few pictures that show our family of four, merrily smiling at the camera, looking as if we always sit in a beautiful garden wearing freshly pressed clothes with perky expressions on our faces.

When I send out these cards in a few weeks, I almost wish I could tuck a little note in with the card. The note would say something along the lines of "Don't mistake this picture as an indication that we have it all together over here at casa de phillips. We are a bit of a mess some days.". The truth behind the picture is that Miss E. actually arrived at the gardens only wearing tights, bloomers and shoes because I feared her dress would become wrinkled by the car seat. Isaac had to be bribed with the promise of a package of M&Ms. I fretted around, saying such things as "Don't run (translated to a kid as saying "Don't have fun")" and "Don't you dare get mud on your clothes."

Although our picture conveys a perfect little family, tied together in a perfect little bow, we are not such a clique image on a daily basis (or on an hourly basis). Today, following along in my sharing of things I am thankful for, I am thankful for imperfections. I am thankful that all though our Christmas card might portray a cookie-cutter family, I know that 72 pictures out of the 139 taken involved Miss E. scowling at the camera. I am thankful that I know that the pictures showing a brother and sister enjoying a walk in the woods on a pretty fall morning were really the result of a mother anxiously begging them to just hold hands and smile (which they never did). I am thankful that the four of us simply did not wake up looking as we do on that Christmas card. Rather than was rushing around to get everyone dressed, there was parental reminders of "Please put on your Buzz Lightyear underw*ar now before I cancel Christmas", and there was fussing about what was served at Breakfast that morning.

As we all focus on things that we are thankful for this week, take time to be thankful for life's imperfections. Know that behind other people's Christmas card smiles is a bit of frustration, a touch of heartache and a tad of stress. That does not make them bad or worse off than you, it simply makes them human. Be thankful for life's imperfections and embrace them. Things would be pretty boring otherwise.

About those 72 pictures of a scowling Miss E....well, one day they will find their moment to shine in Miss E's wedding video.

Thankful for Moleskin

With Thanksgiving only a week away, I thought I would take the next seven days to share things I am thankful for...some whimsical, others sentimental and others perhaps a bit deep (perhaps...I do discuss a lot of frivolous things here at savethephillipsfamily and I don't want to get too serious and scare people away).





Today I shall share something a bit whimsical that I am terribly thankful for, something that has become almost a fifth limb for me. It is my moleskin notebook.




I am a writer. I have been writing for a long time, about various topics and issues. I once attempted to write a "novel" on a family road trip when I was in middle school. (I guess I should also say that I am a dork as well as a writer).



Now that I write on a regular basis, I needed something to house all my ideas. A place where I could jot down a few thoughts, flesh out some topic ideas, and make notes of future topics. My moleskin notebook is just the place to house such thoughts. I am constantly reaching for it, writing down a note or an idea before it escapes my brain. It is filled with various shades of ink and random little scraps of thought.



If someone were to stumble across my moleskin notebook, they might think they have found the journal of a very confused, very odd individual who has the inability to complete a sentence or form a coherent thought. All though it is a bit of a mess, it is my mess and it keeps my writing focused and flowing.



So today I am thankful for my moleskin notebook.

(and for the fact that the novel I penned in fifth grade likely resides in the city dump where no one can ever read it)

What are you thankful for today?

***

Yesterday I talked about teaching gratitude to children over here and over here (yes, articles do get recycled and rewritten). When you click over here, notice my new profile picture courtesy of Paige Pearson Photography!

Encouraging a love of reading in young children

Wednesday mornings are my date times with this handsome little boy. Although his sister has been around for almost 2 1/2 years now, I still remember when it was just Isaac and me paling around everyday together. It is nice to have one morning a week to spend alone with my little guy.

This morning the two of us dropped E. off at school and then made our plan of attack. I told him the things that needed to be accomplished (a bit of cleaning at home and running the car through the car wash) and then we settled on the fun things we wanted to do together. We opted to make a run to the library, hoping to find the latest in the Magic Tree House series and sit in on storytime.

After our time at the library was over, I suggested a stop by the local resale shop so we could browse the used book section for a few minutes. This request was met with great enthusiasm from the boy in the backseat. While in the store I peered over at my blond hair boy, sitting criss-cross applesauce on the floor with a mound of books around him, and smiled. He was engrossed in the pages of a book and did not even notice that his mama was gazing at him (he likely would have asked me to stop if he had caught such an exchange). I love that he already loves books and reading. His reading skills are getting quite good and he manages to surprise us daily with the words and sentences he can read (unfortunately, he is also starting to be able to figure out what Tobe and I are spelling to each other when we do not want the children to know what we are talking about).

The other day a fellow mama asked me how to encourage a love of reading in children, especially those who might be a bit hesitant to stop and sit quietly with a good book. Below are a few tips and tricks that can encourage reluctant readers.

1. Let them see you reading. Children have to learn that reading is fun and enjoyable. Don't save personal reading for late at night when children are in bed. Take time during the day to sit down with a good book or a fun magazine when the kids are present. Tell them about what you are reading and why reading that particular book is exciting to you. They are more likely to be excited if they see your enthusiasm.

2. Find books that match their interest. If your kid loves trains, find a variety of books about trains (both fiction and non-fiction). Although I love to read, I would really struggle to sit down with a 400 page novel about electronics. Such a topic does not interest me. However, I am more than will to sit down with a 400 page mystery novel.

3. Point out the written word in everyday life. Some kids are hesitant to read simply because they think they cannot. Build their confidence by asking them to read familiar signs, such as the one outside favorite fast food restaurants or retail stores. When children realize they can read things out in the everyday world, they are a bit more enthusiastic about sitting down to read a book.

4. Read daily. Tobe and I read to both kids on a daily basis, several times a day. This is a special bonding time and a time to share a good story together. We read to them as a group and individually. A while back we started reading chapter books to Isaac. He really loves this time and we have worked through various series together.

I wrote an article about this topic a few months ago, which includes some more tips and tricks.

How do you encourage a love of reading in young children?

Thankful for Thanksgiving books

If you have ever visited casa de phillips, you know that we are book people around here. Walk into the living room and one of the first things you will notice is a bookshelf stuffed with children's books. Enter any room of the house and you will discover even more books. Go to our local public library and you most likely will see us there.

We love books.

I especially love holiday books for children. I have two large tubs filled with children's books about various holidays. At each holiday, I dig through my buckets and pull out the appropriate books for us to enjoy.

There are some really good children's books about Thanksgiving. Head over here and read about a few in particular that we love.