The Thankful Tree

I love Thanksgiving.  It is by far my favorite holiday and not just because you get to eat half a turkey on top of a mountain of mashed potatoes and follow it up with a pumpkin pie sans judgement.  Thanksgiving is the one holiday that is not about what gifts you get, but who you share your life with.  It is a time to be grateful for all of life's blessings and to acknowledge that there is always a reason to be thankful.  There are so many lessons in life to learn and traditions to be passed down from generation to generation, but if nothing else sticks with W, I hope that he learns life is not about possessions, but about possessing gratitude and compassion.

In an effort to show instead of tell in regards to this message W and I made a thankful tree today.  I am sure there have been numerous versions of this in the past, but our version went a little something like this.

I went outside to our front yard and found about 5 sticks within 2 feet of the door.  Then, thanks to my mother's hoarding, I was able to find fall themed decals for our vase.

After attempting to draw some leaves free hand, I stepped outside once more and picked up a leaf to trace.

W was very excited to make his own leaves.  He insisted on drawing his own and spent a great deal of time tracing and adding details to his artwork.

After I finished cutting out all of our leaves, W and I sat down and talked about blessings.  I asked him, "What is a blessing?"  To which he promptly replied, "God." So, I am glad to know that saying our prayers at night is sinking in.  After that though, W wanted to be very clear that he was most thankful for trains.  Engines, freight cars, Thomas and all his friends, train tracks, tunnels, and after reassuring him that we had recognized all the trains he managed to come up with a few other things he appreciates.  A close second on W's list was coffee.  Although, I think he is thankful that coffee exists because it helps to make Mommy a much more pleasant and present person.  I know that is why I am thankful for coffee.

After filling out what we were thankful for, I wrapped the stems of the paper leaves around the twigs and voila, The Thankful Tree.  I chose to write out a few leaves today, but throughout the month, we will add to our tree.  In coming years, I plan to do a leaf a day, so that we can have a daily reminder going into the holidays that there is more to life than what is in the new Toys R' Us add, but seeing as how toddlers do not always have the best attention span I figured it best to get our blessings out on the table from the beginning.

Feel free to stop by and fill out a leaf for our tree, we have extras and we are thankful for all our friends and family, today and always!

Happy Halloween!

Maybe it was the fact that this years Halloween has been the wettest since 1994, but instead of stampeding down the block ringing doorbell after doorbell, we took to the mall streets and scored candy at numerous different store fronts... oddly enough almost none of the children's stores had candy.  Mickey and the crew of pirates had fun shouting ahoy and trick or treat to all that would listen.  We managed to stay dry and still get a sugar high.  Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!

I do not know about you, but trick or treating just is not the same without the crisp fall air and crunch of leaves under your feet, although at least we did not have to cover their costumes with coats.

Twas the Night Before Disney

Twas the night before Disney and all through the house, not a toy was stirring not even Master Moves Mickey Mouse.  The suitcases were lined up in the hallway with care, just waiting for morning and the flight to draw near.  Anticipation filled the air as we crawled into bed with visions of the Magic Kingdom alive in our head.  We cannot wait for our week of fun to begin and I doubt we will ever want to come home again.

Tomorrow we hit the road to Mickey's house and I feel like a kid on Christmas eve.  I am too excited to sleep, because I know that tomorrow when I wake up is going to start one of the most memorable vacations I am ever going to go on.  W is borderline ecstatic.  He has a long list of attractions he would like to see and people he would like to meet, and I just hope that we can accomplish everything and more.

I will do my best to post some photos throughout our journey, but until then, I hope everyone is having fun gearing up for Halloween!

Pardon Our Pumpkins

In the spirit of celebrating all that is Autumn, some friends and I decided to take six kids under three to run through a field of pumpkins and hay.  It was a lovely day and pretty fun outing.  Since we only had one stroller and one wagon it was a little challenging to do everything as a group, but there were no injuries and no one went missing, so that is a victory.

We spent the day at The Center riding the tractor, petting the animals, and corralling the children.  Between the hay barrels and the pumpkin fields, everyone left with hay in their clothing and the desire for a nice long nap.  These are a few of my favorite shots from our adventure.

Thanks so much to everyone that came out today!  W and I had a great time and hopefully we can make this a yearly tradition.  Check out The Center any weekend in October to pick pumpkins and see the animals, or if you have a toddler that loves animals consider The Center's preschool program or junior farmer program.

Bengtson's Bonanza

I feel like one of the great catch 22's of parenthood is that the days can be long, but the weeks fly by.  I am still baffled by the fact that it is mid October already.  I love fall; It is a glorious time of year filled with a crisp air and a colorful back drop.  There are so many different attractions to frequent and we have been trying to cram in as much fun as possible.

A true fall classic is a trip to the pumpkin patch.  We wanted to head out early to beat the rain and ending up making it a two part extravaganza.  We got to see this year's record setting pumpkin, weighing in at 1,546 pounds.

The next stop was the train.  In total, W spent about half his time riding or waiting for his turn to ride.

There were baby animals, gallons of gourds, a pumpkin chucker, giant cow, and what is a visit to the pumpkin patch without a tractor ride down to peruse a field of pumpkins.  

We managed to get W to suffer through a mini photo shoot.   

However, it was not long before he decided he would no longer tolerate the paparazzi, and we ended up with pictures like this...

All in all it was a nice day, Little Man got to pick his pumpkin.  We got to eat kettle corn, and no one got caught in the rain.  As fun as it was to watch W run through the pumpkins or ride the camel, I could not help notice that there was more then just the gloom from the potential storm hanging over us.  Traditions are wonderful and I am glad to be able to pass on some of my childhood traditions to W, but today a part of our Bengtson tradition was missing.  We miss you GG!  I know you were looking down on us today.

Getting Back to Nature

This may come as a shock, but I am not the biggest fan of nature.  Bugs, irregular temperature, severe seasonal allergies are all reasons that I tend to find myself enjoying outings that do not involve being one with the woods.  However, seeing as I have a toddler boy on my hands, I am well aware that bugs, dirt, water, and pretty much the great outdoors are looming in my future.  Instead of turning my toddler into a pansy, I have decided to begrudgingly suffer through embrace the wilderness. 

With fall upon us, it has been the perfect opportunity to stroll around the neighborhood looking for a new park to visit, or a garbage truck in action.  Yesterday I thought we should visit the much talked about Morton Arboretum.  After two Claritin and enough dayquil to drown in, I managed to make it through 3 hours of tree loving fun without so much as a sniffle.  Much to my dismay, it was a lovely time.  We spent a great deal of time in the Backyard Discovery Garden.

It is an area dedicated to kids.  W was sold as soon as he found the waterfall, and the walk-through tunnel was a added bonus.

I was really hoping to be able to walk through all the changing leaves, but we wound up on the conifer walk and as it turns out Evergreen trees have their name for a reason.  I would love to go back with a seasoned visitor to explore more that nature has to offer.