In our house, the level of excitment over Halloween is definitely on par with Christmas. So much so, that the kids have the opportunity to wear their costumes no less than four times this year. At their ages, they don't NEED to trick-or-treat that many times, but c'mon nothing about Halloween is a need. Plus, our Minnie Mouse and monkey sure do look adorable.
We kicked off our Halloween festivities with our annual trek to "Boo at the Zoo. (Photos here). While it was a bit windy, the kids had a ball. Multiple trick-or-treating stands, a carousel ride, haunted pirate ship and a camel ride. We love Boo at the Zoo. It's a good reason to visit the animals and it gives the kids the opportunity to wear their costumes again. On Thursday, they will trick-or-treat at my work, and then on Friday they will go around the Federal Building before we hit the neighborhood. I can only imagine how much candy we will have!
Our little Minnie is so excited. She has the trick-or-treating part down, but we are still working on the whole waiting in line. Thinking that she takes after her mother!
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
My Happy Boy
Let me start by saying, I HATE house painting. All right, I don't hate it. I am just ready to be done with it. The sad part is I am not the one doing the painting. Mike has lived the past four, I think, weekends on a ladder slaving away on this undertaking. I am starting to see a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel.
The house is looking quite good, but I want my husband back and I want some family time. I can't believe I am going to admit this, but I also would like time to clean my house. That is I want to clean my house without trying to entertain, feed and chase after two kids. Our house is a disaster and Mike and I are too tired at the end these long days to really care, so please no unannounced visits! While we would love to see our friends' sweet faces, I am willing to bet you wouldn't make it past the front door. It is a sad state of affairs and I have standards, not high ones, but standards nonetheless.
Enough about house painting! I came to the blog to write about sweet, sweet Sam. The boy is now 6 months. SIX MONTHS. Seriously, I have no idea how that happened. He is absolutely precious and so darn adorable. There is no general consensus on who he looks more like. Some neighbors say he looks just like Mike. A few comment that he looks more like his Uncle Scotty than his dad (ummm...okay). A few of my friends think he bears such a strong resemblance to his sister. Sam's doctor thinks he is a spitting image of me. As mom, I say he looks like Sam.
As for the boy, he is doing fabulous. He is a happy little man. He did wonderfully at his 6-month well visit. He weighed 18 lbs. 13 oz. He is long, but I can't remember his specific length. I remember he was in the 90 percentile for height and in the high 70s for weight. The doc was quite pleased with his progress and believes he is on track developmentally. I can't ask for anything more.
He endured his shots. E was a protective older sister. Once he started to cry after the first prick, she jumped down from the chair where she was reading a book and started caressing his belly. She tried to reassure him that it would be okay. Yet, this was the same girl that when asked about Sam by the pediatrician, she quietly answered, "he's good." It only took one more question before Ella blurted out, "He pulls my hair sometimes and it hurts." Such a sweet sister!
Sticking to the subject of Sam, he has one pearly white. It took FOREVER to pop through, but it is finally here and luckily without too much drama. The boy is so close to sitting up completely unassisted. He can manage for a few minutes before he tumbles over. He also is an inch worm and a mover. If laying on his back, the boy will dig in his heels and scoot away. It's too cute. His primary preferred method for moving is rolling in every direction. I give it a month before the child is mobile. He is already rocking on all fours. Too early for me son! We are in for some serious trouble!
While his general disposition is one of utter happiness, we did discover that Sam isn't so crazy about the bath tub. For convenience sake, Sam has taken a shower with dad ever since he had good head and neck control. We decided he needed some bath time exposure. The kid hated it. Listening to him shriek broke me heart. He screamed until I lifted him out of the tub. He must have a love of the water, so more baths are in his future. Sorry kid.
Overall, he is just positively adorable. That sweet smile melts me.
The house is looking quite good, but I want my husband back and I want some family time. I can't believe I am going to admit this, but I also would like time to clean my house. That is I want to clean my house without trying to entertain, feed and chase after two kids. Our house is a disaster and Mike and I are too tired at the end these long days to really care, so please no unannounced visits! While we would love to see our friends' sweet faces, I am willing to bet you wouldn't make it past the front door. It is a sad state of affairs and I have standards, not high ones, but standards nonetheless.
Enough about house painting! I came to the blog to write about sweet, sweet Sam. The boy is now 6 months. SIX MONTHS. Seriously, I have no idea how that happened. He is absolutely precious and so darn adorable. There is no general consensus on who he looks more like. Some neighbors say he looks just like Mike. A few comment that he looks more like his Uncle Scotty than his dad (ummm...okay). A few of my friends think he bears such a strong resemblance to his sister. Sam's doctor thinks he is a spitting image of me. As mom, I say he looks like Sam.
As for the boy, he is doing fabulous. He is a happy little man. He did wonderfully at his 6-month well visit. He weighed 18 lbs. 13 oz. He is long, but I can't remember his specific length. I remember he was in the 90 percentile for height and in the high 70s for weight. The doc was quite pleased with his progress and believes he is on track developmentally. I can't ask for anything more.
He endured his shots. E was a protective older sister. Once he started to cry after the first prick, she jumped down from the chair where she was reading a book and started caressing his belly. She tried to reassure him that it would be okay. Yet, this was the same girl that when asked about Sam by the pediatrician, she quietly answered, "he's good." It only took one more question before Ella blurted out, "He pulls my hair sometimes and it hurts." Such a sweet sister!
Sticking to the subject of Sam, he has one pearly white. It took FOREVER to pop through, but it is finally here and luckily without too much drama. The boy is so close to sitting up completely unassisted. He can manage for a few minutes before he tumbles over. He also is an inch worm and a mover. If laying on his back, the boy will dig in his heels and scoot away. It's too cute. His primary preferred method for moving is rolling in every direction. I give it a month before the child is mobile. He is already rocking on all fours. Too early for me son! We are in for some serious trouble!
While his general disposition is one of utter happiness, we did discover that Sam isn't so crazy about the bath tub. For convenience sake, Sam has taken a shower with dad ever since he had good head and neck control. We decided he needed some bath time exposure. The kid hated it. Listening to him shriek broke me heart. He screamed until I lifted him out of the tub. He must have a love of the water, so more baths are in his future. Sorry kid.
Overall, he is just positively adorable. That sweet smile melts me.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Silly Siblings
I have been trying to take a picture that captures how much my crazy kids adore each other. I haven't quite yet, but this one comes close.
Life as usually is busy, so no time to blog. Mike is spending the weekend painting, and I have been playing with the kiddos. Payton is hanging out with us today, and after lunch, we are off to the pumpkin patch. It should be interesting as I will be completely outnumbered, but Payton and Ella have promised that they will stay together. Wish me luck.
Life as usually is busy, so no time to blog. Mike is spending the weekend painting, and I have been playing with the kiddos. Payton is hanging out with us today, and after lunch, we are off to the pumpkin patch. It should be interesting as I will be completely outnumbered, but Payton and Ella have promised that they will stay together. Wish me luck.
Monday, October 06, 2008
House Painting
Not done yet with the house painting. When we stopped yesterday, three sides of the house had two quality base coats. We have yet to touch the trim and the back of the house is a mess. Some day soon this will be completed. While I was happy to take a break from painting and resume my work life, I cannot yet see light at the end of the tunnel. Mike plans to resume his role as a house painter this Saturday. I hope he is able to make some great strides while I am keeping the little ones entertained and out of his way.
During this experience, I attempted to tackle my severe fear of ladders. I did spend some quality time on a sturdy extension ladder, and I was quite pleased with myself for stepping out of my box (as Mike says). However, it was a 10-foot step ladder that gave me my first panic attack. I can't recall what prompted me to absolutely freak out, but I started shaking and severely sweating. I found myself frozen in fear. Luckily, my hubby was around to coax me down.
I have decided that much like being a waitress, this is a task that every homeowner should undertake at least once in their life. Once this is completed, I have no plans to ever do it again!
During this experience, I attempted to tackle my severe fear of ladders. I did spend some quality time on a sturdy extension ladder, and I was quite pleased with myself for stepping out of my box (as Mike says). However, it was a 10-foot step ladder that gave me my first panic attack. I can't recall what prompted me to absolutely freak out, but I started shaking and severely sweating. I found myself frozen in fear. Luckily, my hubby was around to coax me down.
I have decided that much like being a waitress, this is a task that every homeowner should undertake at least once in their life. Once this is completed, I have no plans to ever do it again!
Saturday, October 04, 2008
Racing Hot Couple
Aren't we cute with our Fanview headsets and our big smiles? See we really had a good time. This picture was fairly early in the race and you can already start to tell I am starting to ROAST.
Money Pit
Has it really been over a week since I blogged? Goodness, so much life has transpired since last Friday. Where to start?
First, I experienced my first NASCAR race last Sunday. I never had any real desire to go. I never thought you would ever find me at a race. However, I am always up for new adventures. I surprised myself by how much fun I had and by how much junk and alcohol I consumed in one day. (I haven't started drinking that early in the day since maybe Homecoming in college). Let's add sun to the list of items I overindulged. I came home one fried lobster. While I enjoyed the race and the entire atmosphere, what I did enjoy the most was how absolutely giddy Mikey was to have me there. He was so cute all day exclaiming how happy he was that I came along with him. I loved making him that happy.
I'll let Mike blog more about the actual race. Since he may never do that, I'll give a brief synopsis: beautiful weather, tailgating, tasty burgers, lots of beer and junk food, loud and fast cars, no major wrecks but a last-ditch gutsy finish by Mike's favorite driver, the 99 car driven by Carl Edwards who left it all on on the track in his attempt to pass the leader on the final turn. Unfortunately, it did not pay off with first place but did give the crowd a spectacular finish. Enough of my shoddy attempt at a sports recap.
House painting has been the other major adventure for us this past week. Mike and I took a break from our jobs, but trust me it hasn't been much of a vacation. We decided to tackle painting the exterior of our house. Oh vey! It has been so much more of an undertaking that we ever realized it would be. However, I think it certainly is one of those life experiences everyone should have. I know once the house is completely painted, we will see our home not that house we purchased. While we have made great strides to change the interior of the house, this is the first extensive exterior project for the house.
We are taking the house from a dreary, drab grey to an earthy green. This transformation has been significantly slowed down by the massive amounts of wood rot, some unexpected. Yesterday, we made the decision to sacrifice a window which was beyond
saving. Eventually, this project will be completed. Reinforcements are hopefully arriving today. With Mike and his dad being consumed with wood rot repair, I have been the primary worker bee applying paint to the house. If it continues, we may never get this house done. Thinking positively.
Neither Mike or I can say enough about Larry's help. I am sure when we offered his assistance, he did not anticipate driving to this work site for 8 straight days and many weekend days prior to this week. We are definitely at a loss for how to express our appreciation. Mike joking offered to repay him with a third grandchild. Um, that didn't get cleared by me!
I know one way I can help is by ending this post and getting outside for another great day of painting.
First, I experienced my first NASCAR race last Sunday. I never had any real desire to go. I never thought you would ever find me at a race. However, I am always up for new adventures. I surprised myself by how much fun I had and by how much junk and alcohol I consumed in one day. (I haven't started drinking that early in the day since maybe Homecoming in college). Let's add sun to the list of items I overindulged. I came home one fried lobster. While I enjoyed the race and the entire atmosphere, what I did enjoy the most was how absolutely giddy Mikey was to have me there. He was so cute all day exclaiming how happy he was that I came along with him. I loved making him that happy.
I'll let Mike blog more about the actual race. Since he may never do that, I'll give a brief synopsis: beautiful weather, tailgating, tasty burgers, lots of beer and junk food, loud and fast cars, no major wrecks but a last-ditch gutsy finish by Mike's favorite driver, the 99 car driven by Carl Edwards who left it all on on the track in his attempt to pass the leader on the final turn. Unfortunately, it did not pay off with first place but did give the crowd a spectacular finish. Enough of my shoddy attempt at a sports recap.
House painting has been the other major adventure for us this past week. Mike and I took a break from our jobs, but trust me it hasn't been much of a vacation. We decided to tackle painting the exterior of our house. Oh vey! It has been so much more of an undertaking that we ever realized it would be. However, I think it certainly is one of those life experiences everyone should have. I know once the house is completely painted, we will see our home not that house we purchased. While we have made great strides to change the interior of the house, this is the first extensive exterior project for the house.
We are taking the house from a dreary, drab grey to an earthy green. This transformation has been significantly slowed down by the massive amounts of wood rot, some unexpected. Yesterday, we made the decision to sacrifice a window which was beyond
saving. Eventually, this project will be completed. Reinforcements are hopefully arriving today. With Mike and his dad being consumed with wood rot repair, I have been the primary worker bee applying paint to the house. If it continues, we may never get this house done. Thinking positively.
Neither Mike or I can say enough about Larry's help. I am sure when we offered his assistance, he did not anticipate driving to this work site for 8 straight days and many weekend days prior to this week. We are definitely at a loss for how to express our appreciation. Mike joking offered to repay him with a third grandchild. Um, that didn't get cleared by me!
I know one way I can help is by ending this post and getting outside for another great day of painting.
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