Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is tomorrow... and here is my wish.

Let our lives be full of both THANKS and GIVING.

It's the perfect lead-in to Christmas and the holiday season, so here we go! Make it count and savor the moments of the season. Let your heart be full of gratitude and let's be thankful.

via

Winter is here...

Well... it's officially winter in Wisconsin. Ugh. Here we go. The temps have been frigid and blustery for a couple weeks now and snow is covering the ground. My favorite time of the year... NOT. I will say though that I am very much looking forward to decorating our tree and snuggling indoors by the fire. In fact, it's just about time for me to pull out my sun lamp (luckily we're heading to Florida for some fun in the sun for a few days)!! We typically decorate our house the day after Thanksgiving, but I will say that I'm tempted by and have contemplated the idea of decorating early! Early, you say? I know. I know. Crazy. I won't but I am tempted. Do you??

Here is something that I DO look forward to... 2015!! It's time to Christmas shop and if you're looking for a great stocking stuffer or gift for a sister, friend, mom, aunt, cousin or daughter, might you consider a 2015 Monthly Planner? I shared an update here, but you can learn more on the Planner page here.

Stay warm and cozy fellow cold weather dwellers. :)

Image via. Doesn't this house look so inviting and cozy? Reminds me a smidge of the house from The Holiday!

Our Favorite Books

In time for the holidays and snuggly cold weather, I thought I'd share our favorite bedtime books! We LOVE reading and I'm a sucker for buying new books. Here are a few we're loving lately...

PRESS HERE by Herve Tullet

SPOON by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

THE DAY THE CRAYONS QUIT by Drew Daywalt

Other popular requests at our house include:

• Any Golden Books, our favorites are The Perfect Picnic and The Jolly Barnyard
• The "If you Give..." book series like If you Give a Moose a Muffin, etc.
• Classic early reader books like Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
• Paging through activity books like Brain Games for Kids: Toddler Time or Brain Quest
• Younger kiddos love the "That's Not My..." book series by Usborne Touchy Feely
• Teary titles like On the Night you were Born and Love You Forever

Question for you, dear reader: What are your childhood favorites? Which titles do your kids ask for over and over?

Scotch & Ink!

I have some super exciting news to share with you today. A few weeks ago Mr. Evans launched his own new blog called "Scotch & Ink"... yay!! If you haven't read it (and subscribed!) already, you NEED to do so. Even if you're a woman (his site is tailored to his peers - young business men who want MORE), there is so much to take from it! He has such a passion for personal development, success, leadership and getting more out of life. I'm so proud of him and can't wait to see what's in store next. He has some BIG ideas!!

Also, be sure to read his About page to get more insight into what he (well, "we" really) is all about. Yay for Scotch & Ink!

Here are a few images that he's used on his site that anchor his posts:

P.S. Have you subscribed to Scotch & Ink and/or Rhubarb & Linen?? Did you know it's as easy as entering your email in the right hand sidebar? Once you confirm you'll automatically get our posts delivered right to your inbox. How easy is that?

Baby Food for Mae

Mae recently started eating purees or "Stage 1 Baby Food"... yippee! I made up a big batch last week and it was incredibly quick, easy, tasty and inexpensive.

I blogged about this extensively when I made Nina's baby food. If you missed it then, here are the links to those past posts:

Stage 1 Baby Food - single ingredient purees

Stage 2 Baby Food - combo purees

Also, here's my all time favorite book on the subject - Start Fresh by Tyler Florence!

Princess Ballerina Dance Class

Nina recently finished up a Princess Ballerina Dance Class at our local YMCA. Luckily, her friend Nora participated as well. Those two sure enjoy each other's company (and giggling and miscellaneous shenanigans)! :) Let's just say when the 6-week class was finished Nina asked... can we do swimming class now? I think she'll be like her daddy!

Mae - 6 Months

Mae has now been part of our family for 6 months now! Yay!! She's been developing a ton lately as well. Her hobbies include eating, peacefully dozing off, sitting up, rolling over a ton, playing with her rattles and paper, and giggling at her daddy and sister Nina.

We love you Mae Frances! :)

Lately...

I've been posting most of these photos to Instagram lately, but I thought I'd share some random iPhone pics from lately. As usual, it's a random smattering of bits of our life! :)

First up, Nina has been practicing and finally put her first ponytail into my hair. I think her face shows her excitement! :)

We're headed to Florida in a few weeks. My parents just returned from their condo and brought home some sand and seashells for Nina. We put them in a mason jar for a little project!

Mae is now sitting up on her own, which is awesome! She loves loves loves to see everything. She also loves loves loves her toes and can often be found munching away. This pic is blurry but I had to capture it!

Mae had already taken to "Circus Baby" - our family tradition. Can you believe how happy she looks? :)

Haha... I mean seriously. She made me take this picture if I remember correctly!

Our sweet little Mae honey. She melts my heart. What a beauty she is! And isn't her headband the cutest? My cousin Dana handmade it!!

Nina was invited to her very first birthday party by a boy from her Montessori school. It was a 3 year old party with pizza and bowling (with bumpers and a dinosaur ramp to help propel the ball). Nina and one other kiddo from her daycare were invited, which made me so proud (and emotional honestly... how can I have a little girl who gets invited to birthday parties... and by a boy!!)... She's a good little friend. Caring, happy, a good helper, thoughtful. Oh, Nina. Love you.