Soul really wanted her turn to share a joke, so this one is for any little Star Wars geeks out there (or cookie lovers too!).

Get the print out here for other little ones who love jokes. More kid jokes here.

We’re super excited that we’re now being able to enjoy some of our first citrus of the season! We have a number of varieties of citrus, and the ones that are ready for harvest now are the Page mandarins and the Kishu mandarins. True went out into our garden and picked a big basket full of them. The basket is from here; it’s perfect for fruit picking in our garden (it gets many uses as seen here and in this video). The Page have a balance of tart/sweet, are the size of a small orange, and the skin holds uncharacteristically tight to the flesh (might be better for juicing). The Kishus, on the other hand, are sweet, are about the size of a golf ball (on average), and have the characteristic, loose, “zipper” skin. Citrus season is… the most wonderful time of the year!

This election was a great learning opportunity to dive into studying the government, the voting process, political parties, and how to critically evaluate the candidates. True and Brave definitely understood the process and were eagerly anticipating the results all evening. There will be one more presidential election before one of our girls gets to vote. True turns 18 the year of a presidential election, so that will no doubt be an exciting time for her, and we will be excited to have 3 Bratchers able to exercise their right to vote.

On Monday night, the girls planned out all their red, white, and blue outfits for Election Day. Their choices were so silly and cute. The girls were very excited about our mock election, and they have plans to keep “playing” election. They’ve already lined up their dolls and softies who are going to put in their vote too. I love looking at our last mock election and comparing it to the pictures of the girls now. True and Brave were such babies and now they’re big girls.

Not sure what else to say about the election except that I’m dumbfounded. It’s definitely not what I expected. No matter who you voted for, it is a privilege to use your voice and vote, and I hope my girls understand that. I’m thankful to live in a country where I have an opportunity to do so.

We have been reading about the voting process and the electoral college, so we are conducting our own mock election today at home (the joys of homeschooling!). You can see the mock election we did 4 years go here. Today is definitely an important day for our country, and it certainly is a privilege to vote.

We’ve been talking with the girls about the candidates and the different issues each one stands for. The girls drew each candidate (True did Clinton and Brave did Trump), and we created this election ballot just for today’s festivities. If you want to join in our mock election fun, you can download to print out your own ballot here. I wonder what the results will be in our home…

The birthday tradition is breakfast in bed for the celebrant with whatever it is they request. Well, I wanted my usual cup of milk, with 1 scoop or protein and peanut butter powder, plus 1 tablespoon of chia seeds. It may sound boring, but it’s my favorite breakfast. Along with my simple breakfast, my family gave me a couple other little treats. They gave me a box full of kid made jewelry (rings and yarn necklaces), along with chocolates to snack on while I spent my day in bed, and Wicked on vinyl. I think my favorite was how they decorated the box!

My only birthday request, besides my specific dinner requests, was to spend a couple days in bed doing nothing. Ben was home to take care of the girls and everything else, so I got caught up on some shows and read a book. I was also able to work on some hand-sewing projects. I love (and appreciate) having a couple days to do nothing. I’m always in go-mode, so it’s nice to stop and take a day off sometimes.

Before lunch, the girls came in my bedroom to surprise me with a show. It was complete with props, outfit changes, memorized poems, choreography, big bundles of cuteness, and a lot of laughs. It was the best “Happy Birthday Mommy Show” ever!

When we started dating, Ben gave me this “1000 Things I love About You” book, with the intent to keep writing in it throughout our entire lives. He redid the whole book a few years back into this antique French journal, so for my birthday, he added more sweet things into it. We are up to reason #55, so he still has a long while to go until a thousand, but Lord willing, we have a long life, so there’s plenty of time. He fills this in on random days, not just birthdays, but he was a little behind (maybe really behind), so he got caught up for my 35th birthday.

To spoil me even more, the girls gave me more handmade gifts… a little paper box to hold my nail polish, a personalized notebook, and a homesewn bag. It was a pretty simple and laid-back birthday, just like I requested, and it was the best way to usher in my 35th year of life!

This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…

Don’t forget to tune in here for Thrive Moms online conference (it’s free!) at 11am CST, but they will be streaming again on Monday, Nov. 7th from 7-10pm CST.

I’m not a party thrower, but this tablescape makes me want to throw one.

How cool is this cardboard playhouse?!

If you’re looking for some pretty jewelry for gifts, check out Lumafina. The shop is having a massive sale (it ends today!) and I ordered these earrings!

Thankful for a restful past few days just relaxing in bed, and being pampered by Ben and the girls.

These furry pom pom shoes and glitter heel boot are fun shoes for fall.

We’re starting to prep our Thanksgiving menu and the girls are excited to start decorating the house.

I love sweet stories like this couple.

I’ve been so encouraged by the girls and how they help care for our home.

Enjoy the weekend! I’ll be working on some creative projects while I watch the Thrive Moms Awaken Retreat.