Ice, Ice Baby!

We are in the middle of our first ice storm of the fall/winter season. It started yesterday with a steady drizzle which turned into sleet which turned into thick ice. Ice that coated trees, sidewalks, bushes, outdoor furniture--everything! 

Lots of trees are losing limbs and many people in Oklahoma City are without power. It's a mess around here.

Thankfully, at our house, we still have power and heat. In fact, we have a fire going, and our Christmas tree up. We are cozy, warm, safe and looking forward to watching the big Bedlam football game later tonight. It's the biggest football day in our state when The University of Oklahoma plays Oklahoma State University. And a Big 12 Championship is on the line too! Everyone declares a side for this game. We are all OU and Boomer Sooner in this house, by the way.

The tree is up!

And the stockings are hung.

Our icy Bradford Pear tree

Anyone want to jump?

Frozen berries

Fence accumulation

Ready to cheer on the Sooners!

Happy Thanksgiving 2015

The Galloway Girls (and the rest of us too) wish you a very happy Thanksgiving!

We celebrated at home, just the five of us. It was mellow and calm and delicious. Look at this feast! 

The crown jewel of the feast is the cornbread dressing--a family recipe passed down from Mike's Granny Lucy. It must be made in a cast iron skillet and this year is was perfection. 

Tomorrow we start decorating for Christmas, but today we have so much to be thankful for!

Sort-of Sick Day

Last week Lucas was sort-of sick. 

Moms, you know the scenario-- snotty nose, cough, tired eyes from several nights of restless sleep, but no fever (unless 99 degrees counts for something), no vomit, no major red flags that require a stay home day from school. It's one of those times where "mom instincts" kick in. You just know your baby needs a day off to rest and recover. And that's the kind of day Lucas and I had.

He wasn't sick enough to just lay pathetically on the couch, so I let him guide our plans for the day. What did my boy want to do?

We started with games. If playing games is a love language, it's at the top of this little guy's list. We worked our way through his favorites: Spot It, Connect 4, Checkers, Jenga, Crazy 8's, and Chutes & Ladders. He is a tough competitor!

Next, he wanted to "bake a cake." I rummaged through my pantry and found this Red Velvet cake mix. Perfect. He loves to help me in the kitchen. Cracking eggs is a special skill he has mastered. And don't get me started on stirring. He can stir and mix with the best of them. 

Later, after the cake cooled, we made cream cheese frosting to complete our baking experience. 

Next up was coloring. When he was a toddler, he was too busy to sit down and draw. But this year in particular, he has found a real love of art. He enjoys creating, drawing and coloring, and will sit still for long periods of time to focus on his work. The top photo is a mother/son collaboration featuring Mike reaching up for a napkin before digging into a giant ice cream sundae. The bottom work was a guided activity--I told him to draw a scene where everything has "normal colors." Then draw the same scene where everything has "not normal colors." 

At this point, Mom needed a break and we needed some lunch, so it was movie time. He vegged out on the couch and watched Turbo while I got our lunch ready and straightened up the house a bit. 

After the movie he wanted to do a science experiment. I went with a super easy one. Pour milk into a pie plate. Add four drops of food coloring. Add a drop of dish washing liquid, then use a toothpick or straw to swirl the colors around. It makes a cool tie-dyed effect. 

He had a good time predicting what would happen next,talking about color mixing, warm vs. cool colors...it was simple, but he enjoyed it. 

Like staring at a lava lamp, it was hard to look away.

Next up--books. This is Mom's favorite and Lucas loves it too. He's reading now (simple stories), so he likes to try to point out words he knows or read a sentence or two. Current faves: the Teacher from the Black Lagoon series, Frances the Badger books, and Mister Muster. 

We had so much fun just the two of us!

And this eventually happened shortly after his sisters came home. 

Later that evening, we were snuggling on the couch and he randomly told me, "I enjoy loving you, Mom."

Heart. Burst.

I sure love this kid. And I'm happy to report he is feeling much better. :)

Halloween 2015

There was a lot of drama leading up to this year's costume choices. I'll spare you the details, but it involved scouring the Internet, not ordering in time, one costume way too big, a full day of searching local stores for accessories, and many theme changes. With that being said, I'm happy with what we ended up with. May I present the Galloway kids of 2015: Cleopatra, Darth Vader and Katniss Everdeen.

Ready to stop taking pictures and start knocking on doors! 

Hannah as Cleopatra--this was her fourth choice for a costume, but she rocked it. 

Leah is obsessed with The Hunger Games right now. She has read the first two books and we let her watch the first movie. She gets it. She can handle it. We are ok with that. Katniss is her hero.

Darth Vader in action. This was a hand-me-down costume from a friend. The new red power ranger costume we had purchased turned out to be about four sizes too big.  We will save it for next year. Bummer.

Lucas and his buddy Houston.

Hannah, India, Leah and Adilee.

Our neighbors really got into the decorating this year!

Lucas and James

Beautiful Halloween sunset

Toward the end we were all cold and tired, but like any good parent I kept snapping pictures and making my kids pose. 

Another festive neighborhood yard. This came complete with the Ghostbusters theme song playing on repeat.

We came home and sorted through our spoils. And we all ate a few (Leah gave me a Heath bar! Woot!!). The kids' friends India and James spent the night and as tradition states in our home we must watch the Disney cartoon version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. It's narrated by Bing Crosby and retells the Washington Irvington story so well for a young audience. It's just a little spooky, but mostly fun. We love it.

Later, after all five kids were put to bed, someone in our neighborhood started shooting off Halloween colored fireworks! They were loud, big and lasted for quite awhile! Oh my! A new tradition?! I suppose we will have to wait until next year to find out.

Happy Halloween!!