Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Home Sweet Home

Today I finally got home from my 9 day Thanksgiving trip. Man, I HATE being out of touch with my cyber world. =) Since Mark had to stay here for Thanksgiving, my mom talked me into staying a while longer once I got to Boston. So I did. But I was dying to get home by the end. I'm so thankful for my safe trip too. There were a few moments where I was thanking God frantically for keeping me safe--I was driving with some real winners out there.

Anyway, once I get life organized once again, I'll be back to blogging my love of the holidays.

By the way, thanks for backing me up, Gretchen and Abby, as usual. Thanksgiving is never overshadowed by Christmas in my world. And do we have a blog clique? If so, you are totally part of it, Gretchen. I love that you comment now!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Get Your Kicks on Route 66

Last night the Chapman household had a premiere showing of Cars, including popcorn, jammies, and lights out. We all loved it. I was pleasantly surprised, even. I am a Disney freak—I love most Disney movies, especially the Disney/Pixar movies. But I wasn’t as excited about this one because I assumed it was mostly about a nascar type world, and that is a world that just doesn’t interest me in the least. Boy was I wrong! I mean, it had a little to do with car racing, but mostly it was about friendship and Route 66 and that old American way of life—something that I’ve always had a fascination with! I even have a vintage Route 66 sign in my kitchen, and several recordings of the song, “Route 66” (Nat King Cole, etc). It touched on life before Interstates, and how family trips were just as much about the drive, as the destination (a metaphor for our lives, really). I highly recommend this movie, and if you get the chance, watch the 15 minute documentary in the special features about how the movie was inspired. I was extremely touched, and even more so, when right smack in the middle of the movie, James Taylor started singing. Never am I NOT touched when I hear my old pal JT’s voice. I really want to pile the kids in the mini van sometime in the next few years, take a family trip without driving on any highways, and discover America. But that’s the romantic in me—the person who has always loved Americana and should have been born in a different time. I guess discovering America means not using the DVD player to keep the kids content, and that is not something I’m willing to give up at this point in time. Maybe in about 7 or 8 years. =) Anyway, see Cars. It’s fun!

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Around Town

Well, it's that time of year. Everything is changing and becoming magical. Here are some signs of the season I've noticed as I live life around town lately:

--The Glorious Cornucopia of Wonders (also known as Target during the holidays) is more fun than ever
--Huge toy ads come with the Sunday paper
--Turkey sales and baking product sales are in all the ads
--Feeling an exciting hustle and bustle, rather than monotony as people take care of their errands
--Halloween candy in center aisles replaced by candy canes
--Icicle lights lit on a lone house here and there while driving around the city streets
--Some radio stations played Christmas music all weekend long as a preview for December

AND...

--Gingerbread and Peppermint Mocha coffee creamers arrive in grocery stores! Yaay!

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Halloween


Well, here is our Princess and Mr. Incredible. Rory's costume was a no-brainer because she was in a wedding this fall. My mom found a tiara, and she was done. Jake's costume consists of a couple of pieces of felt glued together and pinned to his sweatshirt, a pillowcase for a cape, and a felt mask. (Now for those of you who are Incredibles afficianados, I know they don't wear capes, since it's specifically talked about in the movie, but he looked much more superhero-ish with a cape, so we just went with it.) He LOOOVED being Mr. Incredible. Jake showed Rory how to trick-or-treat, which was fun to watch. They've been wearing their mask and tiara around the house ever since. =)

I can't figure out how to explain to a 4 year old that Halloween is just once a year, because he asks to go trick-or-treating every night now.

I already checked a bunch of Thanksgiving books out of the library, so I guess I'll focus on that now and see if it takes. Did I mention that I love this time of year?