the beginning of december

jude loves pushing everything around as a walker

it's the cutest

 noah went on an overnight campout 

we missed him but he had fun

 trader joe's

eleanor said she was a mom, just like me, because of her cart

 i love the boxwood wreaths at trader joe's 

they often last until spring

 i don't think michael is done with the lights but he's well on his way

i love that he does it every year

 sweet little santa baby

with his crossed feet and a death grip on the remote when i tried to take it away

 olive found a vent to warm up on before school

 sometimes i have to write things down so i don't forget all the little times i have to remember things

 i started running again this week

now that the weaning process is over, i am realizing i'll never be pregnant or breastfeed again 

and it feel....

amazing! 

i'm pretty happy to have my body to myself for the first time in 12+ years

 i love watching eleanor do ballet

 i made sugar cookies while the kids were at school so we could decorate them for FHE

 first they painted dollar store ornaments 

 and then we decorated cookies

 it was fun until everyone had a little too much sugar and i was exhausted after doing so much 

 when we went to washington for thanksgiving we lost henry's blanket

and i couldn't think of where

until one night it hit me (definitely inspiration)

it was in my parents hide a bed in their couch and it had fallen all the way in

so i hadn't noticed it while putting the couch back together in the dark the next morning

we were so happy my parents found it and mailed it to us

 so happy to be reunited

 michael is working on a merry Christmas sign for the roof

 he surprised me with flowers on morning this week

so sweet

 jude's face has been looking BAD

i can't wait for his allergy test next week

hopefully we find some answers

 at least he's still happy most of the time

 the other day jude was being SO fussy and kids were fighting and eleanor looked at me

and said, "being a mom is tricky, huh? six kids. one mom" 

and since then she's told me she only wants two or three kids :)

 noah and i both read the book wonder and went and saw it at the theater together

it was so nice to spend some one on one time with him

he even held my hand during the movie 

 the girls asked me to drive them to school one day this week because it was so foggy

so i did and then i sat and watched eleanor play on the playground until the bell rang

she is all about chasing the boys these days

 hazel's whiteboard

 after noah, eleanor and henry helped me make potato soup for dinner last night

 i accidentally burnt it and we ended up with pizza....oh well

we're getting excited for Christmas and a busy month ahead of us