Confessions

This is Jonathan's favorite Christmas song. Not sure why, and yes, he knows what it's about.

Watching him jam out to it may or may not be my favorite thing about Christmas time 😂

https://youtu.be/OP8BUmfH7eY

It's The Little Things

There is nothing quite as attractive as a man washing out pull-ups ;)

I love him.  

Winter Wonderland

It snowed here last weekend. I was headed out of town to visit some friends in Delaware, but I got some great pictures of the snow on my way out. I love that Virginia gets snow, its good snow, and it doesn't last forever. I hate when the snow gets all black and slushy. Its better for it to melt first. James was so excited that he ran out in his bare feet to get a bowl of snow...if you look closely, you can see little toe prints lol!

Hubby put Christmas lights up in my room :)

The snow looks pretty through the windows :)

The Reason We Decided To Stay In Aylett, Virginia

Most of you know that we moved here after my mom died, but it was supposed to be temporary. We were selling our house, but we didn't know where we wanted to live. We ultimately ended up staying here, because of the AMAZING educational opportunities for James. He goes to school at the Sarah Dooley Center for Autism at St. Joseph's Villa: http://www.sarahdooleycenter.org/. They have been SO good for him, and he loves going to school there.

Yesterday was their annual holiday show. All the kids get to go up and sing, dance, play instruments, display their talents, and have a good time. It makes me cry every year. This year was no exception. James even went up this year, despite the family curse of stage fright ;)

The video is even cuter :) And to prove my theory of the family curse, check out this video of James singing Jingle Bells a few weeks ago :)

8 Crazy Nights

Today is the first day of Hanukkah. 

We have been celebrating it for a couple years now, ever since I did the DNA test and confirmed that my great-grandfather was indeed Jewish. Genetically I'm 9% Jewish :) 

I want my children to know where they came from, even if we aren't religiously Jewish. This is Frank Aronade, my great-grandfather. Apparently, he and my great-grandmother divorced in 1933, and it was quite messy, so my grandma didn't really know him growing up. 

Today, in memory of my heritage, we watched "Fiddler On The Roof". For dinner we made doughgarts, which is an old family recipe. Doughgarts isn't it's real name, but along the line somewhere, somebody couldn't pronounce the real name, and now nobody knows what it really was. Plus, we've changed the recipe a bit, because it took forever to make...it was a bit like potato cheese dumplings, if I'm remembering right. Anyway, it's delicious :)

Finals Week Has Got Me Like

Christmas Time...Is Here

The Tree is up!

Masterfully Rigged

Calvin installed a VCR for me the other day so that James can continue to watch his Bear In The Big Blue House VHS tapes. After he got it all set up, he was explaining to me how it all works now, and as he was talking I realized how funny our entertainment setup is. The TV has no sound, so it's hooked up to the sound bar, the sound bar is plugged into an adapter so that you can switch the sound between the DVD player and the Roku, the VCR needed it's own adapter because it gets audio from the 1st adapter and video from the 2nd adapter, (can't remember why), and of course, nothing has a working remote anymore :) So in case you needed a laugh today, you're welcome!

Traditions!

One of our new favorite activities is to visit the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens in Richmond. We took the boys last night, and it was Amazing, as usual. They had a Chinese New Year theme in the lobby, which Calvin was excited about, along with a barbershop quartet, which was most enjoyable. We have a membership so we can go year-round. It's affordable, and tax deductible :) It's such a beautiful, peaceful venue and James Loves going there, and it's especially magical at Christmas when they do the Gardenfest Of Lights :) These are pictures from when we visited last year. Last night, James walked us around the gardens for almost 2 hours before deciding he was ready to go home. That's a win for us!

 http://www.lewisginter.org/visit/events/dominion-gardenfest-of-lights/
https://youtu.be/tvEwzy8SYw8

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

One of our holiday traditions involves watching movies appropriate to the season.
We always watch 2 specific episodes from my favorite TV shows, the Thanksgiving episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Pangs": http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0533469/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY7hWPSbbw0, and the Thanksgiving episode of Gilmore Girls, "A Deep Fried Korean Thanksgiving": http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0588112/, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKIYYRArDUA
But, last Thanksgiving we discovered this '90's gem, called "Dutch": http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101786/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUFzngANOUQ, and Jack just fell in love with it. Oh, and it's not as inappropriate as the trailer makes it out to be ;)

Feel free to check them out, or, come over and watch them with us :)

Pandora Love

I know it's only Thanksgiving, but I'm one of those people who loves Christmas so much that I start listening to festive holiday tunes as soon as Halloween is over. I feel like Thanksgiving is all about gratitude, which leads nicely into Christmas. So, today I'm sharing my favorite Pandora station with you. It's called Indie Holidays Radio.
You're welcome :)

https://www.pandora.com/station/play/646333805967019714

My Favorite Fall Food

This is what's for dinner tonight....it's amazingly delicious and you Need to try it.
Also, you need to use lite coconut milk instead of regular milk, leave out the flour, and use panko bread crumbs instead of regular bread crumbs. Yummmmm.....

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/butternut-mac-and-cheese/

Baby Steps

Each one of us has our own evolution of life, and each one of us goes through different tests which are unique and challenging. But certain things are common. And we do learn things from each other's experience. On a spiritual journey, we all have the same destination. 
-A. R. Rahman

I'm Back!

Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it. 
-Greg Anderson