Elle's Imaginary Friend

My 3 year old (nearly 4) has an imaginary friend... or two... Before we came to Florida this was the friend she talked about raccoons with, the friend she had "circle time" with and taught how to do things like sit quiet, write her letters or clean her room, etc...
There were a few times it got a little confusing when Elle actually BECAME the imaginary friend who had an imaginary friend named "Elle"... (did you catch that?) Yes, when I would speak to my daughter, "Elle, what do you want for lunch?" She would say- "no, no mom, I am NOT Elle, I am Tootsie (or whatever the pretend name was for the day), thhhaaaaat's Elle." (with a point to the blank space beside her). "oh, I see" I would say...
Well, now... Elle's friends and dolls speak "Spanish" and she interprets for them... it is histerical! She'll throw and "uno" or a "dose" or "dainata" in the string of absolute jiberish and it's "spanish". Too funny... she LOVES to correct me when I pretend to "understand" what they are asking for... who knew the world of imaginary friends was so confusing?! I really hope we meet some families here soon so she can have some REAL friends. =)

History of Thanksgiving

Elle and I took this rainy day without or van (they towed it! accidentally...) to start to learn about the history of Thanksgiving. Maybe it's just me but I have a real void of that knowledge other than the photo images that are marketed of Indians sitting with pilgrims at a big table loaded with food with a boat in the background that says "Mayflower" on the side.
I thought I would share what we learned and if anyone else has anything to add please do! I have a new found passion to learn about the holidays our family celebrates and to educate our children on the real heart of what they stand for.
I got this information from about 5 different websites and then sort of put in my own words... http://www.history.com/ was the main site used.

After 66 days on a boat 102 passengers came over from Plymouth, England in September 1620. They first landed in Cape Cod-far north of their intended target, the mouth of the Hudson River. They mainly stayed on the boat (the Mayflower) all winter and were quite exposed to the elements and come spring, only half of them were still alive.
Upon moving ashore in the early spring they were greeted by and Abenaki Indian who spoke English. He came back days later with another Native American, Squanto, a member of the Pawtuxet tribe who had been kidnapped by an English sea captain and sold into slavery before escaping to London and returning to his homeland on an exploratory expedition. Squanto taught the pilgrims (who were desperately weakened by illness and malnutrition and lack of knowledge of the new territory) how to cultivate corn, extract sap from maple trees, catch fish and avoid poisonous plants and insects. He also assisted them with an alliance with the local Wampanoag tribe.
In the fall of 1621 Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory harvest, including the Wampanoag Indians. The event lasted 3 days. Turkey may or may not have been served. It is more likely that lobster, seal and swans were on the menu... certainly no pies with the depletion of the pilgrims supplies since the earlier fall season.
During the American Revolution Continental Congress designated one or more Thanksgiving days/year. In 1789 George Washington issued the first Thanksgiving proclamation by the national government of the United States. In it he called Americans to express their gratitude for the happy conclusion to the country's war of Independence and successful ratification of the US Constitution.
John Adams and James Madison did similar during their presidencies.
Other facts:
In 1817 New York was the first state to officially celebrate the holiday.
Sarah Josepha Hale- author of "Mary had a Little Lamb"- was credited as one of the most individuals responsible for making Thanksgiving a national holiday.
Ben Franklin wrote in a letter to his daughter that he was disappointed that the national bird was not chosen to be a turkey- as he had hoped- and was to be a bald eagle. He wrote of the eagles "bad moral character".
Thanksgiving is celebrated on the 2nd Monday in October in Canada.
And lastly... the heaviest turkey ever raised was 86 pounds!!! Jeepers! =)

Have a wonderful November. May it be full of thanksgivings and shared times with family and friends. I encourage you all to create a new tradition this year for yourself/your family.

veggie-speghetti

I love my new cast iron skillet! I made this for dinner in it last night. I have never made speghetti like this before but really liked it, so I thought I'd share. Here's what I used:

1 lb ground beef

1 Cup of sweet corn

1 Cup of diced green pepper

1 Cup of diced orange pepper

1 Cup of  sliced mushrooms

1 1/2 Cup of diced celery

1 jar of roasted garlic speghetti sauce

1/4 Cup of Sugar (I always put sugar in my speghetti...yumm...)

This is enough for about 6 adults, so adjust accordingly. I browned the meat first and then threw everything else in and cooked for about 15 minutes. The veggies were still real crunchy (which I like). You could cook those separate for a little bit if you wanted them softer. Or you could keep it on the oven on low for an hour or so and that would soften them. (Michael didn't get home for dinner until almost 2 hours after he thought so it simmered on the stove for him for a LONG time and his veggies were softer). So just cook your noodles and drain them, pour some of this on, add some parmasean  cheese and woo-la! =) It was really easy, pretty fast and a really good way to get a lot of veggie's in. I would have added black Olives too if I had had any. And I thought about carrots too, (didn't have any) maybe grated?... next time... Enjoy!

Braclet

Elle made me this braclet. She is really in to tying knots these days.

I got her a bunch of craft stuff when we first got down here. She has been making all kinds of things.

I maybe should have re-thought buying the bells.... she certainly knew where I was all day. =)