October Festivities

This past weekend, Jer was on-call, and to our delight, he didn't get called in once. Which, means no money, BUT, it did mean that we had the most fabulous weekend of the year. In fact, it has been the ONLY weekend of the year that we were all home together. Jer and I are still saying to each other how wonderful it was.

First, Saturday morning we went VERY SHORT NOTICE to the pumpkin patch with the kids. There was a wagon ride, great weather, lots of kids, pumpkins and smiles all around.

Then home for naps.

Next, we went outside to rake leaves, play in them, and then go for a walk.

Auntie Lynn came over for a yummy dinner that I ACTUALLY MADE, and offered to stay to babysit so Jer and I could go to the local Haunted House. After waiting in line for over an hour, we went in. I went first, and screamed my little toosh off and almost pooped my pants. It was hysterical!

Sunday, we planned a Pumpkin carving party.

All kinds of friends and family came over to carve the pumpkins we had picked up at the pumpkin patch. We ordered pizzas, and then lit the pumpkins at sunset.

We all had such a great time. Spending time together as a family is something that we definitely DO NOT take for granted, since we have so little of it.

Carter wants, Carter gets

Nice work, Greg!

The wrath of Carter

Since Isabelle has to play with all of Carter's old baby toys, she will be playing with the John Deere tractor, the barn, and the dinosaurs.

Along with the shape sorter, the blocks, the shakers and the ring stacker thing. Unfortunately, Carter thinks that all of the toys are HIS. Which makes sense to a toddler who has been the ONLY one to EVER play with these toys. (with an occasional friend here and there that would come visit)

Carter is not getting the whole concept of sharing. He will instantly start to whine and rip toys out of Isabelle's hands (and mouth) like a vicious raptor. It doesn't help that he is getting into the Terrible Two's, and will throw himself face first on the floor in a heartbeat.

I may have to give in an buy Isabelle a few toys of her OWN. Bright pink ones. With polka dots. And dresses. I'm thinking that maybe if I bought some 'My Little Pony's' or 'Barbie', Carter will back off. As long as it's not a CAR for Barbie.

If I can't teach Carter to share, how will I ever teach him to go potty on the potty???

Now I'm scared.

It's time for FALL!

Carter loves to help. Last night, he helped me set the table. I gave him 3 plates, and he put them at their places. Then the forks, and the glasses, and 3 napkins. And he is drinking out of a REAL cup at dinner now, instead of the usual sippy cup. He is growing up right before my very eyes!!!

My favorite season is definitely upon us.

FALL.

I love it.

I love the cool breeze, I love the crisp air, I love the colors of the leaves, and the leaves blowing around in the streets. I love the temperature, and I even love the cold, cloudy days that make you happy to be at home with your family, all cozy warm in your jammies. I love fall scents, like pumpkin, and apple pie and cinnamon. And I love wearing pants, a t-shirt, and a light jacket, all made of cotton. Heck, I don't even mind wearing mittens! I love sweatshirts, and flannel sheets. I love lots of blankets on the bed, and fleece and watching t.v. in bed on a cold night. And ooh, my morning coffee is SO much better when there is a chill in the air!

Now that Jer has finished the porch, he will start working on getting the 2nd coat of white paint on the fence we put in last fall. We ran out of time before winter hit, and never got the last coat on. So, it was left for this year. Hopefully we'll have some time before the snow falls to get it done.

PORCH BEFORE AND AFTER:

And as for me and my rockin new hair cut and color, you'll just have to wait for the pics.

End of Vacation

My vacation time is quickly coming to a screeching halt. This afternoon, I have to to to work for a whole 4.5 hours. And then, I have tomorrow off. YAY!!!! I must comment, that working 1/2 day on Mondays, and having Tuesdays off, and then working 10 hours W-F, has really been working to my advantage lately.

Jer has had almost all of last week off, ironically. He's been on-call, however, no one has been calling! Which is good, because he's been working on the house, but not good, because he'll get a small paycheck. In any case, I think the time off has been a blessing for both Jer, and myself.

In this time off, we have done many things. We have graduated Isabelle from her small Rubbermaid tote bathtub, to the extra-long under the bed storage container. She is getting so big, and, as you know, I have no bathtub.

BUT, WE ARE GETTING A NEW PORCH AS WE SPEAK. Who cares about finishing the bathroom. Let's start a NEWER MORE EXCITING project. We are sick of working on the bathroom, anyway. **notice how I can put words into my husbands mouth**

Carter has been moved out of his old car seats, and into his 'big boy' car seat. Which, I don't t think he even likes. We went to visit some college friends of mine, which was a 30 minute drive.

Both ways there and back, at some point, Carter had gotten himself all worked up and was throwing a temper-tantrum for 10 minutes. I'm not sure if it was related to him being uncomfortable in the seat, or something else, but it was not fun. So, no long trips in the car anymore for us!

Since Carter's moved up in the world of car seats, so has Isabelle.

She sits on her own (finally, at 8.5 months), and claps her hands with excitement. She started flapping her arms like a bird...one day I'm positive she's fly away. Overall, she's happy, happy happy. ALWAYS HAPPY. The only times she'll cry, is when she's tired or hurt. She is a perfect little angel, and we are so lucky to have her.

Carter, in the meantime, has become obsessed over videos. He LOVES Nemo, Elmo, Madagascar, and Monsters Inc.

He is talking like such a big boy, too. This weekend alone, he had many new words: Shrek, back, airplane, and help. I am so proud of him.

I've been shopping on eBay for winter clothes for Carter. I got 6 pairs of our favorite brand of pants for $2.00/pair.

That includes shipping. WHAT A DEAL!! I can't even get them that cheap at the 2nd hand store!

So, with such a bargain, I decided I could afford to buy myself a new pair of shoes. YAY!

And tomorrow, I'm getting my hair cut. Short. Very short. I've decided that it's not worth irritation that my hair causes me. I'll just chop it off, and it will be gone. Then I can't complain that it is on my neck, shoulders, and it its HOT and all that hair makes my neck sweat. So, this is what I'm thinking:

I attempted to make apple crisp yesterday. The idea was inspired by Lisa. Now, we all know I hate the kitchen. This was not the first time I've make apple crisp. I happened to remember that it was a very easy thing to do. So, I thought Jer would be so proud if he came home to the smell of apple pie, and a big, fat, yummy pan of apple crisp. I went out to the apple trees, picked my apples, peeled, cut, measured and did everything I was supposed to. BUT, you know, cooking OR baking is not my thing, so something had to go wrong. It was all my fault, and I admit it. First, I put my 4 cups of cut up apples into an 8X11 pan, rather than an 8X8 pan. Second, I melted the butter completely instead of softening it, so my topping turned into balls instead of crumbles. And third, I put in the nutmeg because the recipe called for it. My mother later told me that she always leaves it out. I agreed. What I ended up with is a thin layer of cooked apples, with blobs of chewy stuff on top, that tasted like NUTMEG.

EWWWW!!!!!

Oh, whatever. There are worse things in life than not being able to cook. Or bake.

At least I'm good at shopping.

The Ultimate Mom In A Nutshell

Moms are wonderful people that often do not get the credit they deserve.
Much of the time, our job is not the most glamorous. There is lots of cleaning, lots of delegating, lots of preparing, lots of getting ready, lots of repeating, lots of repeating, lots of repeating the same thing over and over and over, lots of "no", lots of "lets go", and lots of "I love you".

But, no one has said it better than this woman. Forgive me, I have no idea who she is. But she's hilarious!!! You must all see what she has to "say".