Sunday, October 23, 2011

Kids Say The Darndest Things 2010

One of my favorite things that we do around here at the Russ house is the quote board where we write down the funny things the kids say. We are a little behind in getting last year's posted, but it is still great.

To read the quotes you can zoom in and out on the image below. Just click the image (not the little box in the corner) with your mouse or roll your scroll wheel, or you can use the buttons at the bottom. To see different parts, you can just drag around with the little hand, or you can drag the blue box around in the upper left corner.

Don't forget to leave us a comment and tell us what your favorites are!



In case you wanted to check out our past funniness... 2007, 2008, 2009

Also, Johnny wanted to send a shout out to Casey for hooking us up with a hosting space!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Home Maker

At the beginning of the new school year I had to fill out a lot of forms to get the kids enrolled in their new schools. We moved (again) recently and as I have been trying to get settled (again) I keep thinking about something I filled out on all those forms. There is a spot where you are required to fill in your profession…

As I filled out those forms with the word “homemaker” I was struck with the meaning of those words and I haven’t been able to get them out of my head in the months that have followed. I am a home maker. I make this home. Whatever I want it to be, that is what I make of it.

I thought of the book by Jane Clayson Johnson titled “I am a mother.” It is one of my VERY favorite books and I find her so inspiring (you should read it and reread it and give it away as gifts!!). One of the stories she tells is about being at a dinner party shortly after she had become a mother. Everyone was introducing themselves and time after time as the women stood up to introduce themselves they made excuses or seemed embarrassed and said things similar to “I don’t have a real job, I’m just a mother.” Jane talks about how she was so proud and happy to be a mother that she wanted to stand up and shout “I AM a mother”. She was previously a co-host on the CBS Early show (among many other things) but being a mother is her greatest accomplishment. It is an incredibly powerful book and her message has really stuck with me.

I am a mother and I am a homemaker.

As I have been setting up house in this new place I have been thinking about this responsibility and this “job” of mine. It is such an encompassing responsibility. It is so much more than just cleaning the house (though cleaning the house is a HUGE part of it). The furniture is where I put it and the pictures on the walls are where I hung them. 



My home is literally what I make it.

I am the example that they follow. I am the one they look to when they are scared and sad. The food I make is the stuff that helps their little bodies to grow. The songs I sing help them fall asleep at night and the words they hear echoing through their little ears as they go to school or drift off to sleep are going to be mine…

No pressure… no big deal…

We have a picture frame I bought before I had kids. I am sure I was thinking of my own mom when I bought it but now it has a picture of me and Lila in it. The words say “Our house is warm inside, because you've made it so. Everything says love to me, no matter where I go.”



I want that warmth in my home. That is the kind of home I want to make.

Zack just came in and said “Mommy, I need you…” There is no sweeter sound to me, no “job” I’d rather have than this.
  
Guess I better get back to “work!”

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Witch hat is Witch?

I told the kids we were going to do a Halloween craft today. They were totally excited… like screaming and jumping up and down excited. Then they asked me if we could do a countdown to Halloween like we did a countdown to Easter. I said no (because I am busy and tired and apparently I am NO fun…).
Then I felt bad.
So guess what we are doing for the next 12 days…
Thirteen Spooky Days till Halloween. Coincidence… yes. Spooky… definitely!!
The craft that had them jumping and screaming today was Witch Hats. (So easy that it made me think I can come up with 12 more Halloween crafts…)
I got the idea from something I had pinned a few weeks ago. (Please tell me you all know about pinterest… my husband even has his own account now!!)  It is WAY cuter than mine, but I just didn’t feel like food coloring the icing so we had white and the kids didn’t care AT ALL!! Keepin’ it simple, folks!!

You need Hershey’s kisses, Keebler Fudge cookies, and some icing (colored if you want to be cool.) Also, a tip… have a bowl for the kids to put their kiss wrappers in. It will definitely save you from picking up little pieces of foil off your floor.
I’m sure there is a “right” way to get that icing on your kiss, but we went for the easy way.
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I gave all the kids a cookie and a Hershey’s kiss and as I was getting the icing ready (I stuck it in the microwave for a few seconds so it would be easier to dip…) I looked over and asked Alex where his treats were…
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Witch hats. Totally yummy. Totally fun. And so easy it’s scary!
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Saturday, October 1, 2011

Hauntings Past

On November 1st Zack started planning his Halloween costume for the next year. He’s gone through lots of choices. Avatar, Ninja, Cowboy… who knows what he will come up with. As it is looming closer he is really getting excited and as we have been talking about it, I realized I never posted pictures of last year’s spooky fun. So… in case you need some super awesome costume inspiration, I give you…

Halloween Russ Style 2010

All Abby wanted to be was a butterfly. Lucky for her (or for me, really) Lila’s costume from a few years ago fit perfectly!!

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Lila decided she wanted to be a princess. (She is wearing the tiara I wore for my wedding)

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Here she is in her school parade with her Connecticut best friend “The Tooth Fairy” Daniella. (Don’t worry Kay… you’re still the Boston best friend!!)

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Alex the Lion showed up as well. He perfected his ROAR when his trainer tried to make him wear his mane.

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As soon as Zack saw this “SQUAT” team costume he was IN LOVE.

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And you can’t be on the SQUAT team without a criminals to bring in.

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Just be careful not to let your man get away!!

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Johnny’s sporting a REAL prison jumpsuit. His tattoo sleeves are incredibly real looking and he loves them. He wore this outfit to our church Halloween party (where no one knew us yet) and I think people thought that he really had tattoos all over his arms. One of our new friends was so impressed with them that he went to the party store THAT NIGHT and got himself some tattoo arms. They are awesome!

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Happy Halloween Everyone!! (just a weeeee bit late!!)

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