It’s my favorite kind of Florida December right now–cold enough that I sat down to write this post and had to first run and fetch a pair of socks and a blanket. Translation: sweaters.

Happily counting down the days for holidays, time off for Brett and a nice slowdown.

In the meantime, enjoying…

An accidental sunset

This picture is so representative of what life often feels like during the week. We’re late for ballet because we couldn’t find one of the shoes. And the good tights that don’t have that funky toe seam are in the dirty clothes hamper. And the black required leotard is nowhere to be found. So we scramble and get creative so that we can at least show up–because that’s the most important part. Here we are, showing up, in an old recital outfit with a broken safety-pinned strap. With Dash contorting to get off my hip and Nella pulling at my purse for her Barbie, I hustle Lainey through the parking lot until I notice that showing up a little late means we get to see this gorgeous light we’ve been missing all these months. It spills into the grass lot next to the parking lot, dances across Lainey’s milky skin, and it all comes together–the light, the old leotard, the broken strap, the tights with the wonky seam, the smile, being at the right place at the right time and letting go.

Poop Companion
Nella takes Poop the Barbie everywhere. We forget that her name is funny until someone turns when Lainey says something like, “Mom, Nella won’t share Poop with me” or “Poop’s hair needs to be brushed.”

Shake It Off
I don’t know that a song has ever been played more in our home. I’m well past the usual can’t-take-it-anymore point, but for some reason I can tolerate this one. I like the “Mmmm-hhhmmm.”

Nella likes to dance to it. All day, err day.

Post Preschool Pick-up Ice Cream Dates
…where, surprisingly, Nella and Dash will share a cone without a fight.

Skipping sizes
The fact that Dash wore his first little Christmas jammies last year and can fit into his sister’s, three sizes bigger, this year. He grows like a chia pet.

Hair Tossing







Twinkly Lights
…and how they sneak their way into the pictures

Doll Conversations
…and the very energetic way she makes them interact with each other

One on Each Hip

A Good Open Mouth Run

Trips to the Pet Store

An Early Christmas Present from Grandparents
…and the makeover papers we keep finding around the house.

Plans for much more of this in the coming weeks

This kind of happy.

…and this week on eHow:

This post is sponsored by Blue Apron.

Confession: Occasionally when I cook, I talk to an imaginary camera in my cooking show host voice which is sometimes a British accent, sometimes a sweet southern lady and sometimes a warbly Julia Childs impersonation. Whatever the case, it’s fun. And funny. Especially when you actually videotape your fake segment and send it to your sister and cousins. Also, where are the real life cooking shows? The ones where the cook is scooting open bags of pretzels and crusty bottles out of the way to make room on her counter to chop. The ones where she’s madly stashing lids into random cupboards before the camera starts rolling. “Hang on, let me clean this up. So sorry. Kids had soccer today.” The ones where she opens a drawer to get a spoon and instead pulls out the naked Barbie her two-year-old shoved in there. Or reaches into her vegetable drawer to fetch an onion only to find some slimey grapes and a wrinkled tomato because someone needs to go grocery shopping.

Guess what happened this week? I had the best imaginary cooking show ever. So much, I forgot about the imaginary camera man because I was chopping and simmering and marveling at the beauty of the food and the fact that I had everything I needed! Even fun ingredients like bagoong and bird’s eye chili.

My fake cooking show savior? Our Blue Apron Meal.

For me, Blue Apron is to motherhood and busy family life as luxurious baths are or Saturday mornings at a coffee shop, a babysitter and movie date night or a call to a housekeeping company to come deep clean your home. These aren’t every day spending habits for us, but they are certainly valued gifts that we invest in for our family when things get crazy, we need a break or convenience becomes a higher priority.

What is Blue Apron?  Blue Apron is a meal delivery service that gives you the joy of cooking in your home with all the hard work done for you. You get farm-fresh ingredients delivered to your doorstep in a refrigerated box, and in exactly the right proportions–no trips to the grocery store and no waste from unused ingredients. Recipes are included as well as everything you need to make chef-designed meals.

My cousin’s here from out of town, and we spent the day at one of my dad’s rental properties (hint hint: this service is great for cooking meals in vacation rentals!). We took a Blue Apron meal and had so much fun cooking away from home–sipping wine, listening to Christmas carols, chopping, stirring and enjoying our meal on the patio.

Look at those multi-hued potatoes! Their produce is so fresh and beautiful, and I make it a point to use fancy words to describe their beauty when I’m talking on my fake cooking show.

This photo also works well for another fake show we’re filming, Kitchen Killers. Put the knife down.

We made Beef on Weck Sandwiches with a potato & arugala salad, and they were quick and easy to make and so delicious (more free Blue Apron recipes).

Other favorites–last week’s Shrimp and Mustard Green Laing, a dish inspired by Philippines cuisine. I love anything with chilis and coconut milk, and Brett loved the addition of the greens. We’ll definitely be making this one again.

Blue Apron sends you three meals per week–for two or four people–at $9.99 a person with free shipping, and you can skip or cancel the service at any time. Ingredients are sourced from quality local suppliers and artisans and delivered fresh to your door.

I just introduced Blue Apron to a friend who’s having a cooking date night New Year’s Eve, and she’s ordering Blue Apron for it. Another friend who was looking for a baby gift just ordered a week of Blue Apron meals for a new mom. Point being? Blue Apron makes a great gift for couples, new moms or anyone who loves to cook. (Psssst. Christmas is two weeks away!)

Well this is nice. Thanksgiving Eve Eve–wine and popcorn and Christmas tree lights, and a list of satisfying to-dos for tomorrow. I’ll keep this short because we all have pies to bake, and I’m sure there’s a cordless drill Black Friday sale popping up and competing with this anyway.

Enjoying…

Blue sky with cloud feathers and weather predictions that promise a chilly Thanksgiving–which is a good thing for us once Northerners.

Coming home from school pick-ups and realizing an hour later that we never even made it inside the house. It takes setting Dash down for one tiny second after unstrapping him from the carseat and then, bam. He’s off to the wheeled stuff. We follow along. Outside play is a powerful force.

These two and their popsicle step.

And the beginning of all the magic…

Brett came home from work the other day with a boyish grin and a box tucked under his arm. “Look what I got,” he said, gathering the kids. I knew immediately what it was–the Nutcracker music box he’s been talking about since he saw it in a store last year. The unveiling was special. I’m going with I-hope-we’re-lucky because we left this within Dash’s reach. So far, the mice king is still standing and the ballerinas twirl on. Also, I said the word Christmas in the car today, and Dash piped up from the back seat with “No no, pretty” which made us all laugh.

Alright, there are cranberries to be crushed and kitchens to be cleaned.
If I don’t pop back in before Thursday, to everyone near and far, celebrating and simply observing…Happy Thanksgiving. Hoping you all feel love from those around you and find peace in your purpose. Thankful for community.

Happy Day.

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And congrats to the Pear Tree Greetings $100 gift code winner: Comment # 26, Willis Family: “I love the Evergreen Greeting On Chalkboard card! Hope we win!!” 

Congrats, Willis Family! Please e-mail kellehamptonblog@comcast.net with the subject line PEAR TREE GIVEAWAY WINNER, and we’ll get your gift code to you right away so you can do some fun shopping for your holiday cards!