Curly Locks

Check out Liam's curly hair. 

These photos were taken not long after he had a bath. That's when his hair is the curliest. He gets his curls from his dad. 

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Liam is fascinated with my spice drawer, especially with the little box of bouillon cubes. He has even been seen putting a couple of cubes into a car and pushing them around the kitchen floor or hiding them in Daddy's shoe. 

Christmas Traditions

I feel like I've been in a blogging rut lately. I started this blog a little over a year ago and I was getting afraid that I would end up repeating myself and I can only post so many pics of the kids before that gets boring. Then I got an E-mail from Erica the other day about some facts she learned about Christmas stockings while at her local museum. That's when I decided to do a series of posts on Christmas traditions. There are so many of them that we take for granted. It's always nice to know why we celebrate the way we do and where these traditions come from. 

Christmas Stockings

The history of the Christmas stocking dates back almost 2000 years with a widower and his three daughters. They were very poor and the girls would never marry without a dowry and would likely become prostitutes. One evening after the girls washed their stockings and hung them up to dry, they all went to bed. A traveller to the region by the name of Nicholas of Myra, heard of the family's sufferings and decided to help the young girls by leaving them each a bag of gold. Whether he threw the bags down the chimney or through the window is unknown, but however he did it, the bags landed in the girls' stockings.  News of the anonymous gifts quickly spread and soon others were leaving their stockings out by the fire in hopes that they too would receive gifts. 

Many traditions include leaving gifts in the stockings that stimulate the five senses:

     1. something to eat

     2. something that makes noise

     3. something that is visually pleasing, like jewelry or crayons

     4. something to touch, like a soft toy

     5. something with a distinct smell, like perfume or bubble bath

Poll Results

Here are your votes for your favourite Thanksgiving food:

     1 vote turkey

     1 vote stuffing

     2 votes mashed potatoes with gravy

     2 votes yams/sweet potatoes

     2 votes pumpkin pie

My vote was for mashed potatoes with gravy. I could skip everything else and just eat that for Thanksgiving. When I was a kid, Mum would make Yorkshire pudding for Thanksgiving and they have a natural little dip at the top that perfectly holds a big spoonful of gravy. Yum! It's all about the gravy. The rest of it is only a means of getting the gravy into your mouth. 

Check out my new poll. Actually, it's kind of  a trivia question. No cheating!

No Easy Quote

You've all seen the quotes to the left that I periodically change.  I love quotes and trying to find just the right one to add that reflects a mood or to coincide with a blog post is no easy task, trust me.  I'm trying to find a quote for Thanksgiving (which is tomorrow here in the States, for my Canadian readers) and I have found a few that set the tone for how I feel and a few that have made me guffaw out loud. (Thankfully I haven't woken anyone up since it's 6:20 am and I've already been awake for almost three hours.) So, instead of picking just one, here are a few that I really liked. Which is your favourite?

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.  

~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day.  

~Robert Caspar Lintner

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thanksgiving comes to us out of the prehistoric dimness, universal to all ages and all faiths. At whatever straws we must grasp, there is always a time for gratitude and new beginnings.             

~J. Robert Moskin

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.  

~Thornton Wilder

Thanksgiving is America's national chow-down feast, the one occasion each year when gluttony becomes a patriotic duty.  

~Michael Dresser

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues. 

~Cicero

The thing I'm most thankful for right now is elastic waistbands.  

~Author Unknown

May your stuffing be tasty

May your turkey plump,

May your potatoes and gravy

Have nary a lump.

May your yams be delicious

And your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off your thighs!

~Author Unknown

I love Thanksgiving turkey.  It's the only time in Los Angeles that you see natural breasts.           

~Arnold Schwarzenegger

Poll Results

Thanks to all of you who participated in my poll. Here is how you voted for your favourite Harrison Ford character.

5 votes Han Solo

3 votes Indiana Jones

1 vote Det. Capt John Book (Witness)

1 vote Harrison Ford? Yuck!

So I cheated and made two choices - one for Indiana Jones and one for Han Solo. Although I've enjoyed all of his roles, the swashbuckling ladies' man characters are my favourite.  Not to mention that when those movies came out I was very young and hero worship was so much easier before the rose-coloured glasses come off with adulthood. And, let's face it, he has aged VERY well. He is as good to look at today as he was when he was going in hyper-drive in the Millennium Falcon or finding Marian in her bar in Nepal. 

Check out my new poll! 

Thanks for Playing

Thanks to Lise and Terhi for answering my question "Have you ever had a crush on a teacher?" Since there was only two of you and Amanda is getting something for being "Commenter of the Year" I decided to send something to all three of you. Of course, I can't just give anything. It has to be made by me. So here it is, your gifts from me:

Now that the leaves have all fallen off the trees, here is a leaf garland to add some colour to your homes. I put them in the mail this morning so they should arrive shortly.

Liam's First Haircut

I finally broke down and cut Liam's hair. Actually, I just trimmed his bangs. They were so long and they reached down passed his nose. I just cut them enough to keep them out of his eyes. I didn't touch his little curls in the back. They are just too cute to cut. 

BEFORE

(looking at cousin Morgan's new books during a sleepover)

AFTER

(with his new obsession - the phone)

There isn't a huge difference. It's just that now he can see all the time. And we get a better view of his sweet little face.