Ward Halloween Party

M and M(our neighbor) both beautiful princesses! The carnival was a lot of fun and M loves any chance to dress up. Halloween is her favorite Holiday! (She takes after her dad!) It makes me happy seeing how excited she gets. We took our neighbors to the Halloween activity this year and it seemed like all the kids had fun.






B was pretty overwhelmed at the ward party. She just stared at people not quite recognizing them but knowing she knew them somehow! She wouldn't even look at her good friend H until her hood came off and she figured out who the little "cow" really was!















Getting B into her costume was quite the drama...she did not want to wear it. R kept calling it a princess witch costume so she would be more likely to wear it. Once it was on and she got some attention she was okay. She actually got pretty upset whenever her hat fell off!















N, M, M, and B enjoying a quick break to eat a hot dog before heading out for trunk or treating. I think Mormons must be the only ones who trunk or treat? Anyone know for sure? One man made his trunk look like a whales mouth and the candy bowl was a pirate ship in the mouth! He even had fins on his car...pretty creative! Better than my two ghost that glowed and a flying bat!

When Lindsay came over as Miss Piggy M loved it and B couldn't figure it out. Usually B loves Lindsay but she didn't crack a smile until the pig nose came off!

M and K...sweet little girls! Everyone had a good time celebrating and now the countdown is on for Halloween! (Although the countdown has been happening in this house since the beginning of October!)

Sunday Shoes!

So these are my purple shoes...pretty soon I will have every color in the rainbow. I like these shoes but don't wear them a lot. I like that the color is pretty neutral. Every once in awhile it is just fun to have something purple on...especially on your feet!

Fun Day!

Despite not going to our local theme park due to the rain, the girls had a pretty fun day. This morning we painted their "baby" pumpkins with glitter glue. They both loved it. M painted the three tiny pumpkins...one scary, one happy with makeup, and one sad pumpkin. Mommy tried helping B with her pumpkin but in the end gave up artistic control (which is hard for me!) and let B squeeze all kinds of glitter glue all over her pumpkin! Notice B sticking her tongue out...it's something both girls do when concentrating on something! They get it from their dad...he chews his tongue when focusing!



















The finished products!!













Since we didn't go to the theme park we decided to have a movie night. We spread a blanket out on the floor and the girls have yummy treats while watching a movie. Tonight's choice is Night at the Museum. They both actually like it which is kind of surprising for their age. It is a really funny movie! Despite the rain and grey skies we had a fun day together!

Signs of the Season!

Fall is here! I have a love/hate relationship with fall. There is something magical about having the landscape around you change and morph into beautiful colors. It is exciting watching as M prepares for Halloween...her favorite holiday! She gets so excited and we have been counting down the days. I was never much of a Halloween person but am trying to change my ways for the sake of my children! I love the beautiful pumpkins, the little ghosts and goblins. I love the oranges, reds, and yellows of the trees around. I also like the crisp air and bright blue skies of fall. The only thing I don't really like about fall is that I know winter is coming! We have had some beautiful days here lately and I am grateful for the sun. I guess I can learn to appreciate any time of year...as long as the sun is shinning!

Wordless Wednesday

Bus Blues

Today I was getting B ready to go out and pick M up from the bus stop. While I was getting her ready my doorbell rang. I went to the door to find my neighbor, who told me the bus was already there and M was on the bus crying because she wasn't allowed to get off. Our district has a policy that kindergartners can't get off the bus unless a parent is present. I ran out to the bus (no shoes and its been raining!) and apologize to the bus driver. He told me he was a bit early today and not to worry. M was crying and the little neighbor girl was also crying. She was pretty upset about the whole thing and has asked me several times since if I will be at the bus stop when she gets off... everyday. I tried to reassure her that I would but I guess I will just have to make sure I am always watching a bit early for the bus. Such a sad little girl today getting off the bus!

Enviromentally Friendly, Except When it Comes to Bugs

I think I usually do a pretty good job of trying to be environmentally friendly. I have started buying Method cleaning supplies (found at Target) which I actually love. They don't hurt the environment and don't hurt my lungs when I'm scrubbing the bathtub! I recycle...especially plastic since I learned it never breaks down in land fills. I unplug most things when they are not in use and I try to use water wisely. When it comes to killing bugs, especially spiders, in my house, all bets are off. Yesterday there was a huge (to me it was huge) black spider on our kitchen floor. I couldn't get R to kill it since he was already at church. I thought of ignoring it but the thought of it running out and over my foot disgusted me. I decided to suck it up and kill the spider. Of course, I called M and B over for moral support which was pretty funny. They both screamed as I went in for the kill, which didn't make it easier on me! (I think they learned the scream from R...couldn't possibly be me!) I ended up getting about ten paper towels to kill the spider. When I was done with the act I thought of how many paper towels I had just wasted. But come on...who wants to feel the squish of death through the paper towels? Not me. It reminded me of my sister who had a spider on her pillow once and got my brother to kill it. Jared grabbed a Kleenex and Amy replied..."is that big enough?" Jared asked..."is the spider bigger than this?" holding up the Kleenex. O.K., the spider probably wasn't bigger than my paper towel but I don't like the crunch of bugs dying. I will do my best at keeping the earth beautiful but when it comes to killing bugs I will continue to waste paper towels! At least they aren't plastic towels!

Sunday Shoes- Times have changed...Thankfully!

I thought I would post a picture of a pair of shoes from my past! During high school I was a huge Doc Martins shoe fan. I had really cute blue suede mary janes (that were stolen out of my P.E. locker and had to be replaced) a pair of brown and black low cut shoes that tied, and two pair of black mary janes, one with heels for church (my, how times have changed). I always said I wanted to wear white lace boots with my wedding dress some day...so glad my mom talked me out of that one! Thanks mom!!! These bad boys in the picture were a present for high school graduation. I have always loved funky shoes and these fit the bill! I actually think I only wore them three or four times. The soles look brand new. I guess my sense of fashion started to change when I went to college. I kind of agree with my dad now that they sort of look like men's shoes. (not this pair with the flowers but he was never a huge fan of my Doc Martins) It is fun looking at the shoes and remembering who I was but I am sure glad I have evolved. I wonder if I could get some money for these on ebay. I guess someone might like them!

Church With B

Today at church during the sacrament something funny happened. When the bread and water are passed around B always asks for "more bread please." She says it so nicely and I always have to tell her we only get one piece. She usually watches behind her as the bread tray continues down the rows. Today we got the bread and B asks nicely for a second piece once it is gone. For some random reason one of the boys passes the bread from the opposite side of the row not knowing we already had the bread. When I get the bread I hold it and look at him trying to figure out if I should hold it and wait for him to come get it or send it back to him. As I am looking away I feel the tray move. I look down and realize B has grabbed a second serving of bread. Not just a second piece, a second handful. She has about four or five pieces in her little hand before I realize what she has done! I let her keep them since her hands were all over them and she was quite happy with her second serving of bread. By the time the water came around for the second time, I had learned and kept it out of her reach! So much for saying only one piece of bread....at least for today!

Cute B

The past few days B has done a few cute things I thought I would share:

*The other day I had to wake B up from a nap to go somewhere. I walked in and she was sound asleep. I got her up and realized her socks were no longer on her feet but on her hands! I asked her about the socks on her hands and she just smiled really big at me!

*Yesterday I did something to R accidentally and said "Sorry, dear" B then repeated me saying "sorry dear" to daddy!

*Today I asked B if she would like juice and she said, "yup" I said, "say yes please" and she replied "yup please"

*Last night when I checked on B before I went to bed I went to cover her up again and accidentally woke her up. I hurried and left the room but she started to cry. I went back in, gave her her dolly, turned her fish aquarium on and said "night night, love you" In response she stopped crying, said, "night mama, love you, thank you" and went to sweet. As I laid in bed I thought of what a wonderful loving little girl I have!

Don't Kill The Pumpkins!!

Yesterday we went to the pumpkin patch to get some pumpkins. B talked about how she wanted a baby pumpkin and had no interest in the big pumpkins at all. M got on board and wanted baby pumpkins as well. We let them pick out a few little pumpkins to appease them! As we checked out the man helping us told us how to cook the "baby" pumpkins and said they were really good to eat. When we got in the car M said, "I don't want to kill the baby pumpkins." I thought it was pretty funny that she thought we would kill them in order to eat them. Little does she know they are already on their way to dying since they have been picked! I thought it was pretty cute that she had compassion for her little pumpkins!

Wordless Wednesday

Almost a Marathon!

So today I ran 2 1/2 miles. When I was done running R said "Just a little over 24 more miles and that would have been a marathon!" O.K., not quite! We've been talking about the possibility of running a marathon but I have always said the only way I would run one would be in Hawaii. Now that I think about it, maybe I will just go to Hawaii after I run the marathon. Who knows what we'll do! I'm off to get B's pictures taken which always stresses me out! Hopefully I'll be back later to post a few of the fun things we've done the last few days!

I ROCK!

I just finished running three miles and I am awesome! I so didn't want to run today and I did it anyway. Goodie for me!

Sunday Shoes

I think I might need these! I know R, we should discuss needs and wants, but I really feel these might fall into the need category! (At least from my point of view!)

Gas

So this is random but here goes. Today I was going through some old pictures and found this one of R. We took it on our cross country trip when we moved to New York. We stopped at this gas station were gas was over two dollars a gallon! I could not believe it. I was so flabbergasted that I insisted R stand there so I could get a picture to prove that in some middle of nowhere town gas was over two dollars a gallon. I look back on this picture and kind of laugh. Gas here is now $2.91 a gallon and I think that we are doing pretty good. At least it isn't over three dollars a gallon anymore! O how times change!

Wordless Wednesday

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home!!!

We were all excited when R got done with his week long trip to Utah. The girls missed him so much and were so excited/hyper when he got home! Daddy brought everyone presents and the girls were thrilled. Not only did he bring great gifts but cousin Brooke and her parents sent out fun gifts wrapped in beautiful paper. (B especially loved the elmo wrapping paper!) The girls would close their eyes and then daddy would pull out one surprise at a time. They had so much fun!

When the presents were done and dinner was over the first request M had was for daddy to get out the tickle monster! She requests this often! Daddy basically sits on both girls and tickles them until they can't take it. I think it is so funny that they continue to ask for it. I remember being tickle tortured as a child and I hated it!

R bought me a beautiful print on Canvas of this painting by Minverva Teichert! I am so excited and love the painting. It is being shipped to me and then I will get to go have it framed. I love this artist and this is only one of many beautiful paintings! I am so happy to have R home and am grateful for our little family. Being away from each other makes me realize how much I depend on him for support and I am so glad he is back!

Sunday Shoes

Cute...who doesn't like red and black?!!

From the Mouth of a Child!

Today we all went to the ward building to watch the first session of general conference. After it was done we came home for lunch and I was going to stay home with the girls and give B a nap. As R got ready to leave he told M to be a good girl for mommy since he was going back to church. M asked why and he said to go to another session of conference. M asked if it was just for boys and R said no. She wanted to know why she wasn't going if it was for everyone. We asked her if she wanted to go and she said yes. We all packed up quickly and headed back to the church. I'm thankful for a little girl who wants to do what's right at such a young age. I was tired but grateful to hear the second session of conference. Thanks for leading me M!

New Bathroom

BEFORE....

After!! I was inspired by Jessica who has a really beautiful black and white bathroom. I thought I would suprise R while he was out of town this week. I'm still waiting to see if he'll like it! I painted the walls, bought decorations, painted the cabinet, hung curtains, and cleaned! I am pretty happy with the results. I think my little shelf could use something else though. Maybe take the air freshener off the shelf and put a plant. (would it live though?)

My favorite purchase was this soap/lotion holder. I don't like things on counter tops so this is pretty and eliminates one thing on the counter! (Don't look too closely...I put the soap in the lotion part and vice versa...it have been a long day!)

Yummy Corn Bread

This corn bread is super good! I don't really like corn bread that much but love this recipe...maybe because it tastes a bit like cake and I love scraping the bowl and eating the left over batter! Here's the recipe:

2 Cups Bisquick

6 Tbsp. Corn Meal

1 Cup Sugar

Combine in bowl

2 Eggs, slightly beaten

1 Cup Milk

Beat until just blended.

1/2 Cup melted butter (I use salted butter and would not use margarine)

Mix into the preceding. Place in 9 inch square pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 34-40 minutes. Test with toothpick. Makes 12 small servings or one big serving!

I have doubled the recipe and it takes quite awhile to cook. (I think it was just over an hour) The corn bread starts to look brown on the top towards the end but that's ok. It get crusty on the edges and is sooooo good. (And usually I under bake everything but this is great crusty!)

ENJOY!!!

Does this make me look fat?

In high school I was at a friends house when her brother and wife were over. Her brothers wife tried on a pair of pants and came out and asked:



"Do these pants make me look fat?"



He responded..."Pants don't make you look fat, fat makes you look fat."



He was totally serious and I about died! It made me realize the truth in it, but I didn't think I would want someone telling me that! I have always remembered that and it has made me laugh through the years. I guess we can't blame the pants anymore!

ipods vs. walkmans

Okay people...I know ipods are in and all but where is the fun in them? This morning as I ran on my treadmill, with my trusty walkman, I thought this through. Sure having all your favorite songs in one small place is nice but where is the thrill of scrolling through all the radio stations until you find a great song and then being satisfied that yes, you did find some great music to run to? On an ipod you are guaranteed a good song...unless you let some stranger download all your music. It's exciting knowing you get to work out and not being sure of what you will be listening too. It could be great music, it could be mediocre music, or it could just be a bunch of DJ's talking or commercials playing. In the end I love my little Sony Walkman Sport. It has been with me since my freshman year of college (ten years now!) and has served me well. So, I will go on channel surfing and giving myself something to do as I run on my treadmill and stare at the water heater.

(I guess if anyone is offering to buy me an ipod so I can see the difference I would be willing to accept. Just make sure it's a fun color, say, red, orange, or pink...I'm not picky!)

Wordless Wednesday (It's a little too late though!!)

Funny Girls!

Tonight at dinner I had to laugh over a few of the things the girls did!

M said: Mom, I don't like my apple.

I said: M, please don't say that in front of B, because she does what you do, and I want her to continue to like apples.

M replied: But mom, I'm not in front of B...she is in front of me!

Sorry, I reworded the statement for her five year old ears.

When B sat down she was insistent she didn't like the pasta for dinner. After awhile I said B, do not eat your noodles! and guess what...she ate close to the whole plate full! M said something like, "mom, if you don't want her to eat the noodles you shouldn't say that. Every time you tell her not to do something she does it" Someday, M someday you will understand reverse psychology!!

Freaky Weather!!

Thursday before we went out of town we encountered a freak hail storm which delayed our trip for a little while. It hailed so much and we all had fun watching out the windows while it happened. Weird...hail at the end September.

Gymnastic's Hair!

M is supposed to wear her hair up for gymnastics and ballet so we usually put it in piggy tails. B always want to be like her big sister so she gets piggy tails too!

We got a little creative with M's this time and did a bit more than piggies! She was sad her hair didn't curl like B's when it was in pig tails so we did something a bit more interesting. She was happy about the new do!

Today was H's B-day and to celebrate we went apple picking!! A tractor pulled us out to the orchard and all the kids were able to pick six apples! B loved it. She was so proud of her bag of apples, until it got to heavy for her to carry!

Towards the end she realized she could eat the apples! (They weren't cut up and peeled like they are at home, so she was probably a bit confused at first!)

She ended up eating about half the apple before it fell on the floor for a second time and I took it away. That caused a bit of screaming but I figured since it was the concrete which was dirty I wouldn't let her have it back. She had fun and will be excited, I'm sure, when we go back and pick apples as a family!

Exercise

Lately I have been walking with friends, running on my treadmill, or both. I have kept it up for about three weeks now and am pretty happy with myself. I figure I'll start on the exercise and then slowly change my eating habits. Last night I went to bed late and knew I would not feel like getting up and exercising first thing. When N and S called this morning I told them I was just going to run at home. B was sleeping and had a late night and I didn't want to wake her up. The morning dragged on and I really didn't want to run. I finally forced myself to go run because what would I tell my friends when they asked about it?! Thanks to my friends for "inspiring" me to run. I managed a three mile run/walk in 44 minutes...one minute faster than the last time I did it! Some days the thought of exercise is daunting, but once I do it I feel great!