sibling love. {a month of thanks}

Well, it's been a little nonstop in the Collins house since last week, so I missed a bunch of {month of thanks} entries. Ah well, I'll sum up the weekend in a little bit. For today, enjoy my two sweet kiddos having fun together.

Day 15: I am SO thankful to have two kids close in age like this (1 day away from 2 years apart) They are an absolute blast and I love watching their bond form!

day 9 & 10 {a month of thanks}

Day 9. Sometimes I lament the fact that I drink too much Diet Coke (always 1 a day, sometimes 2) and that I need to cut back, but this week, during Daylight Savings time adjustment at our house? I AM SO THANKFUL FOR IT.

Natalie Dee says it better than I ever could. This is ME, ha!

As for Day 9, today I am thankful for amazing opportunities presenting themselves to me lately. I'll expand more on this soon, but I'll just say 2011 is looking to be a great year for me!

day 8 {a month of thanks}

Day 8. Today, I'm thankful for this amazing redhead:

Ha, you thought it was going to be one of my kids, right!? ;) No, but seriously, Conan's triumphant return to television tonight made me SO happy! He is honestly the only man other than my husband who can have me laughing so hard I can barely breathe - and he didn't disappoint tonight. Josh and I were just about dying of laughter a couple times! I'm so glad he's back on TV! Team Coco!

day 7 {a month of thanks}

Day 7. Today I'm thankful for warm, sunny days in November that allow me to take a certain little sweetie pie to the park (and to practice using some of the new-to-me settings on my new camera!) The park was lovely, the camera practice, not so much. But practice makes perfect, right? So I'll keep practicing!

day 6 {a month of thanks}

Day 6. I am very thankful for dates with my husband. We've always had a tendency to forget to make time for them, so last month on our anniversary, we made a commitment to go on at least one a month (special thanks to our lovely sitter, Auntie Kiki, for committing to the 'sitting'!) The past few dates we've been on have been so special, and not because we did the most wonderfully romantic things, but simply because we're just alone together! It's so refreshing to get a moment to chat without having to talk loudly over a toddler, and eat with both hands free. I can't believe we let dates fall by the wayside, because it's evident to me now that they are crucial to our foundation and strength as a couple. When we have that opportunity to connect outside the house, it's like we've recharged our "couples battery," I love it!

{a month of thanks}

I was skimming a few blogs today and saw something I liked - a blogger was giving thanks daily in a "month of thanks" series. I love that idea! I am constantly listing off things I'm thankful for in my head, but it's rare that I get a chance to write them down. So, five days into the month where Americans focus on giving thanks (oh my gosh, Thanksgiving Day is right around the corner!) I myself have decided to do a little "month of thanks" feature. Some days you'll get just text, some days you may get a picture, too. Sometimes there will be explanations, and other days, it will speak for itself. Maybe I can even get the husband to join along for a couple days!

I'll just catch up on days 1-5 right now, then hopefully post daily or nearly daily for the rest of the month.

Day 1. I'm thankful for my new camera, which is challenging me to my tech core as I try to learn how to use it.

Day 2. I'm thankful for suckers & lollipops, which have been occasionally helping me get through long, necessary shopping trips with a feisty 2.5 year old.

Day 3. I'm thankful for my long, thick hair, which has taken me a looooong time to grow out. It's so pretty and worth the long effort it took to get here!

Day 4. Consequently, I am also thankful for hair-binders and cute ponytails, because if the baby pulls on my hair once more I just may scream!!!!

Day 5. I'm thankful for Izzy's Ice Cream in St. Paul for introducing me to the most amazing ice cream I have ever tasted - salted caramel ice cream. It's the kind of treat that, after you take a bite, you close your eyes and pause to savor the flavor of the most perfect combination of sweet & salty, but you look sort of silly doing it so your husband makes fun of you. Oh well. It's just THAT good.

What are you giving thanks for today?

happy halloween (yesterday!)

Just had to share some cute photos of the kids' Halloween costumes! I did end up making Maia's tutu & painted her broomstick black - the rest of her costume I found for super cheap at various stores. For Kieran's costume, I made the hat, beard, belt & added felt mushrooms to some shoes I found at a consignment shop for a $1. I was able to come in under $30 for both costumes, which is pretty good! I could have done better but I decided that Maia had to have a GIANT tutu, I guess. Ha, oh well. Enjoy the pictures!!

Spinning around in her tutu. Some passersby told her she had a cute skirt, but she loudly exclaimed "it's not a skirt, it's a TUTU!"

"See my broom?"




Sitting up all by himself!










Out trick-or-treating


Family picture in front of the old Hollywood Theater in our neighborhood. It's been vacant for years...spooooky! ;)