Non-Traditional Thankful Thursday

Of course we are thankful for the obvious....family, health, friends, jobs, etc. Why not do a non-traditional list? So here it is, with help from Josh, 10 things we are thankful for :)

1. K - My flat-iron! Best invention ever!!

2. J - The Red Challenge Flag - For you non-football lover's this is the flag that allows coaches to challenge calls in the NFL :)

3. K & J - The fact that because we travel on Thanksgiving, we are not expected to bring anything to the feast other than our children and our appetites!!

4. J - Gorilla Glue? I have no idea what it is but it makes Josh very happy!

5. K - Wonder Hangers!! Have you used these things?! A to the mazing!!

6. K & J - Having children that since day 1, have been amazing sleepers!! We always hear the horror stories of people who have toddlers that still don't sleep through the night! We were thankfully blessed with good sleepers! Something I think we sometimes take for granted!

7. K - Sugar Free Redbull

8. J - Tivo

9. K & J - Two Men and a Truck!!

10. K - Last but not least...Josh. Okay, maybe that's a little traditional, but I had to say it! He is my rock, my best-friend, and the best father anyone could ever ask for!

XOXO,

Miller

Ten Things...

That are small (some not) that I am VERY excited about with our new house!

1. Just that! It's a HOUSE! Don't get me wrong, I loved our Villa when we bought it, and it is a decent size...for just the two of us. However, we extended our family a little sooner than planned and we are BUSTING out! The fact that we are moving into an actual HOUSE makes me very happy! I'm sure we will have NO problem filling all that extra square footage!

2. A linen closet! OMG! Not having one has been a nightmare!

3. A covered deck...WITH a ceiling fan!

4. A fourth bedroom! Family and friends no longer have to sleep in the partially finished basement/make-shift bedroom.

5. Dual sinks in the master bath. We currently have the a single sink plus vanity space. I could care less about the vanity space, give me a sink that I don't have to share with Josh and I am a very happy girl.

6. Believe it or not, the fact that we get to do yard work! Maintenance free has been nice over the years, but I am looking forward to learning how to do flowers, bushes, etc.

7. For the first time in my entire life, I will get to park in a garage! The 2.5 car garage will fit both cars AND all the ride-on toys our kids have accumulated over the years :)

8. I asked Josh what he is most looking forward to and he said "the future possibilities of building his dream man-cave" The basement is a HUGE walk-out...currently unfinished.

9. This...

10. Last but not least, from the second I walked in to it, it felt like a home. Not that I don't feel like our house is a home, but I've always had the mindset that we won't be here for a long time, so I haven't let myself fall in love with our current home. When I walked in to this house, I could picture my kiddos growing up in it (unless of course we were fortunate enough to ever be transplanted to KC or Arizona)!

So, here is to moving in the middle of Josh's busiest time at work and in possible sub-zero weather conditions!!

XOXO,

Ten on Thursday...

1. We lost the championship game in darts :( However, it was a great game and came down to the VERY last match!! Can't complain about that!!

2. Josh and I have A LOT going on right now!! It seems like either our lives are pretty uneventful or FULL of events!! No happy medium. Because of this, he has had some trouble sleeping. I gave him some Tylenol pm the other night (something I take on a regular basis) and he was O.U.T!! So funny to see him on it! I probably could have made a youtube video of trying to get him up in the morning. Men are such light weights :) The frustrating part is Josh may not sleep, but it causes me to eat!! NOT GOOD!

3. We attended the auction at Malakai's school last weekend and it was SO much fun. Came home with some goodies and had a great time with great friends!!

4. Our little Oscar is in big trouble with his back and hind legs AGAIN!! He has already had the VERY expensive surgery 4 years ago. It's not really justifiable to do it again seeing as how he 11 years old! It makes me very sad. That dog has been through so much with us. Josh and I got him way back in the day when we were not even dating, just roommates. He was our first baby. I'm sure I've wrote this same thing a few times in the last year, so it seems he has 9 lives. Hopefully he will fight thru it this time as well!

5. With everything going on, one of my besties got some fabulous news and it made me extremely happy!! Yay for good news!!

6. For the first time since school started, Malakai did not get everyone of his good behavior stickers for the week. He got a sad note home today saying he didn't get his sticker because he was not following directions and argumentative with the teacher. Come on people, I need more details. I could hardly talk to him about it because he was absolutely DEVASTATED!! His explanation was nobody would share a ball with him at recess, he got mad (Josh's temper) and was told to go sit on the bench. On his way to the bench, he spotted a ball that was not being played with and in his mind, thought the problem was solved...he had a ball. The teacher thought otherwise (of course, I would have to). We talked about whatever the teacher says, he needs to do, no questions asked. Poor guy didn't even need a punishment, he was beating himself up over it already!!

7. On that same note, we had his parent/teacher conference. I'm not usually one to brag on my kids, but he deserves to be bragged on. The told us he is extremely brilliant (duh!) and he tested the highest in the class (45 kids) on many of the tests. I am so proud of this little guy. If you have known me and Malakai since he was born, you know I have always questioned how he is socially. He is very "Rainmanish." Even though many of you have reassured me, I still worry. They said he is doing great socially, is well liked, and doesn't stick to just one clique, he plays with everyone :) His constructive criticism? He gets so focused on tasks that he doesn't like his thinking to be interrupted. When it is, he responds with a negative tone. "Why are you talking to me? I didn't ask a question! I'm working!" We had a long talk about this tone and hopefully it will have improved by the next time we talk to the teachers :)

8. Christmas is 43 days away!! My shopping is in FULL force!! I LOVE this time of year!! Anyone have any good suggestions for a almost 2 and 5 year old that doesn't involve CRAP filling up my house (not to mention they have plenty of) but yet something they would still get enjoyment out of? I'm all ears!

9. I suck at the blogging every day in November challenge!!

10. I'm jealous that Josh takes better pictures than I do!! He very rarely pics up the camera, but when he does, the pictures are beautiful! WTF?!

XOXO,

My ______ is bigger than your _______!

Ms. Colleen over at Crazy Little Psycho's is doing a Contest!! Whoo Hoo!! I love me a contest :) The challenge? Fill in the blanks of the sentence: My ______ is bigger than your _______! So creative!! I had a few different ideas...my bra is bigger than your bra, my butt is bigger than your butt, my education section of my resume' is bigger than your section (2 bachelor's, 1 masters, and a 2nd one on the way). Then I thought, Hmmmm, I would have to take a picture of these items, and this is a "family" blog!


So, here it is....

The Miller Family Hot Wheels/Monster Truck Collection is BIGGER than Yours!!!

These suckers are stashed ALL around my house (including my car), so I know this isn't all of them, but it's the majority.

XOXO,

I need help!!

Does anyone have any suggestions on organizing a child's clothing?! I have tried everything!! Malakai was so easy...his wardrobe has mostly consisted of polo's, cargo shorts, jeans, and "athletic wear". Leila, on the other hand, has been an extreme challenge!! I have tried several different ways and I still can't seem to get it right! So, I would love to hear how you all organize your children's clothing.

Skirts, tights, hats, shoes, pants, leggings, T's, bloomers, blouses....SO OVERWHELMING! I've tried hanging up dresses, but then it is hard for Josh to find the correct leggings to match. I've tried matching up outfits and putting them in drawers, but that takes up SO much space!!

HELP!! PLEASE!!

XOXO,

Best thing since I last blogged: The rain stopped!!! For now :)

Worst thing since I last blogged: Playing the waiting game, I'll fill you all in soon :) Thanks for the prayers!!

Ten on Tuesday

1. We went to "Trunk or Treat" at Malakai's school last Friday. We didn't get a parking spot this year because we wanted to check it out first since we are newbies. So we just went for the treats. Thank Goodness!! Basically, you pay for a spot, then you decorate it to try and win the "best spot" contest. There were some really awesome and creative ones. Now we know what we are up against to come home with the prize next year :) The kids had a ball! It proved to us, yet again, how different Malakai and Leila are. When he was that age, he could care less about the candy. Leila, on the other hand, wanted every piece to go in her mouth! Thank goodness for the Halloween Witch! If you didn't already see the explanation on Colleen's blog, we set out the candy on Halloween night and she comes and takes it and leaves a nice little toy for the kiddos. She is a HUGE hit in the Miller House!

2. My dad, Lisa, and Kiera are in Disney World right now. This is her like 8th time there in her short life of 5 years. They invite us every time, and I took Malakai once, but we just haven't been able to work it out. I really wish we were there with them right now :(

3. I went up to KC for the day on Saturday. One of my best girlfriends from High School is getting married, so I went up for her shower! Congratulations Alli! I am so happy for you and you guys seem so happy! It's exactly what you deserve!!


4. We had family pictures on Sunday and they went surprisingly well! I can't wait to see the proofs! Believe it or not, this is the FIRST time we have ever had family pics done. I know! Hard to believe since it seems like the kiddos are getting them done monthly :)


5. I'm VERY excited for Friday Night Lights to start back up tomorrow! Such a great show!!


6. Malakai is doing exceptionally well in school! The work he comes home with is amazing! I love to see him grow with all the tasks that are tackled in pre-school. Writing, Reading, Cutting, Coloring. His teachers are amazing, and I love that she communicates with us daily thru their website and tells us what the did each day. This is great because when I pick him up he tells me he is too tired to talk about his day. When I know exactly what he did, I can prompt him and he gets really excited to fill me in :)

7. I'm asking you to keep your fingers crossed for me, and if you pray, please add me to your prayer list :) I will go in to details further, when I have more information, but I'm hoping to have some positive changes in our life real soon!!

8. Even though I don't love the chilly weather, I do love the trees changing this time of year. It truly is beautiful! I think since we are so used to it, we don't take the time we should to appreciate it. I really noticed when we were having our pictures taken. What a beautiful time of year it is!

9. For the eight years I have been with Josh (excluding my time in AZ) we always go to bed watching the sports center highlights. I can talk sports with the best of them because it is drained into my head, over and over again, every night. I have never seen him this depressed over sports, as he is right now! He has a hatred for all sports right now! The Chiefs are sucking, the Yankees are in the World Series, Mizzou is letting him down, KU is winning. The list goes on and on. I kind of feel bad for the guy. He as resorted to watching other things. He new favorite show....Man Caves on DIY! I find it hilarious that he has found a show on one of my favorite channels :)

10. Wish me luck in darts next week, it's the playoffs :)


XOXO,

Pumpkin Patch Paradise!

We FINALLY had a sunny, decent temperature, weekend day this past weekend! I swear, it seems lately the weekends have been filled with cold temperatures and wet grounds!! We jumped on the opportunity to visit the pumpkin patch since we weren't sure if there would be another one in the near future. Guess what? Everyone else had the same idea :) Good thing we got there when they opened at 9am because by the time we left, it was starting to get WILD busy!!

We started the morning with a stop at our favorite donut shop here in town. We love going in there on Sunday morning, getting a table (they only have two) and chowing down on some long johns. Then, it was off to the patch where...

Leila Fell In Love With the Chickens....

Malakai stared at the gears of a tractor, for what seemed like HOURS...

I attempted 534,785 times to get a good picture of them together...

We turned them in to pumpkins...

Had a few more attempts at a picture

Then headed home...

I love family time! This weekend we have our first ever family pictures scheduled. Please pray for one more decent-weathered day!!

XOXO,

Best thing since I last blogged: We took second place in "league play" of darts this session! Playoffs start next week!!

Worst thing since I last blogged: I've had to whip out the good ole "Happiest Toddler on the Block" book for some tips on dealing with Leila. That book works miracles!!