Pre-Halloween

Today was lots of fun. Joe got to wear his costume to school and had a big party in his class plus a Halloween parade. He was so not into posing for pictures this morning...I'm hoping I can get a lot more tomorrow of him.

Joci got to wear her costume to her little PeeWee Play Class. She was so into posing for pictures...in fact, there for awhile I thought I had a mini Paris Hilton on my hands.

After Jon got home from work we went to buy some pumpkins and then did some carving. Jon always thinks I'm crazy for doing fancy carvings for the kids, but I love it. Joci picked out a Cinderella pumpkin stencil and Joe wanted to do his own design. I was a little nervous with him carving it himself, but I admit, he did a really awesome job. I was pleasantly surprised at his skills.Tomorrow will be a busy day. First we have flag football, then Schnepf Farms, and then it's on to Trick or Treating.

Football Pictures

Some pictures of the kids at the flag football games last Saturday:

Joe, after the ref accidentally elbowed him in the eye:

Run, Baby, run!

Joci and the girls playing with the wagon while they were waiting for the Bear's game to end.

These are the kids that always have to wait for the Bear's game...the coach's kids.

Love this picture of Joe. He was a little upset because the girls were excluding him.

Thinking of Having Kids?

I was cracking up this morning when I read the Joy's Hope blog about a 10 step program people should do before they have kids.

Like her, I LOVE being a Mom, THE Mom to my little ones. But it is, by far, one of the hardest things in life to do, and so to add a little humor and make fun of ourselves, well, I think that is a good thing. Here is her posting. Go visit Joy's blog, it's great and she is a fantastic writer.

Thinking of Having Kids?
Do This 10 Step Program First
Lesson 1
Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...
1. Methods of discipline
2. Lack of patience
3. Appallingly low tolerance levels
4. Allowing their children to run wild
5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.
Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.
Lesson 2
A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...
1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5pm to 10pm carrying a wet bag weighing approx. 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly.
2. At 10pm, put the bag down gently, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
3. Get up at midnight and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1am.
4. Set alarm for 3am.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2am and watch an infomercial.
6. Go to bed at 2:45.
7. Get up at 3am when alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4am.
9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive.)
Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.
Lesson 3
Can you stand the mess children make? To find out...
1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.
2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.
4. Then rub them on the clean walls.
5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.
6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?
Lesson 4
Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.
1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
2. Attempt to put the octopus in the bag so that none of the arms hang out.
Time allowed for this- all morning.
Lesson 5
Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.
1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there.
2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.
3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle Cheerios all over the floor, them smash them with your foot.
4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.
Lesson 6
Go to the grocery store. Take the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goats eat or destroy. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.
Lesson 7
1. Hollow out a melon.
2. Make a small hole in the side.
3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.
4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.
You are now ready to feed a 9 month-old baby.
Lesson 8
Learn the names of every character from all shows on PBS, the Disney Channel and Noggin. Watch nothing else on TV but shows from these channels for at least 5 years. (I know, you're thinking "what is Noggin?") Exactly the point.
Lesson 9
Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.
Lesson 10
Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from lesson 9 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.Read more: http://www.joyshope.com/2009/10/old-skool-week-thinking-of-having-kids.html#ixzz0VFwIf1A9

My Little Girl

How, can, this, be, possible?

I've noticed lately that little Miss Jocelyn seems to be going through a growth spurt. Of course, I noticed when last week and the weather was cooler, yes 80 is cool in Arizona, that Joci's jeans were definitely too short for her to wear for winter. Thank goodness our friend Hannah, at daycare, was growing too and gave us a new crop of jeans. I also noticed when Joci put on her princess dress and it wasn't dragging on the ground anymore, even though it is still way too big in the bodice. I've noticed that she can now reach the faucet better, and looks so long while sleeping in her bed.

So this morning while I was playing our usual game of me telling the kids how much they grew overnight, Joci ran over to our growth chart to show me. Typically, I wouldn't have gone with her, knowing that she couldn't have grown that much, but I was compelled to do so and found that she has grown an inch in four months.

How can that be possible? Should this be allowed? My baby growing way faster than I think should be allowed. It gives me a major case of "Help me, time is moving way to fast!" syndrome.

So I got my sharpie marker and marked her height, telling her at the time how much she really did grow, and I saw how proud she was, making so much progress.

I hate to even think what Joe's height would be if I were to check it today. I think I will wait a little while so I can get over the shock of Jocelyn growing to fast first.

Photo Shoot 10-18-09

A Year of Slow Cooking

Ok. I am a total Foodie. I love food and looking through recipes, watching the Food Network, and thinking about all the wonderful meals I will cook for my family. The problem is, frankly, follow-through. I get overwhelmed so easily, and with the way our lives are right now, making a big dinner is simply not in the cards. Thus, I often look for recipes for slow-cookers, determined that tomorrow I will put on a crock pot with the most scrumpcious dinner cooking in it all day for my family to enjoy when we get home from work, school, and daycare. And...I get busy and forget until I get to work that I forgot to put the crockpot on, and then we eat on the run or out at dinner, wasting the money that I vowed to save.

That is until I found "A Year of Slow Cooking". I. LOVE. THIS. BLOG. Simply AMAZING recipes on this site, and much more than the typical soups, stews, and casseroles that I can come up with. The author of the blog even wrote a book: "Make it Fast, Cook it Slow" by Stephanie O'Dea. You can buy her book here.

My new goal is to really start using the crock pot much, much more. Especially during the week when we are so busy. I think with AYOSC on my side, I might have an easier time with it. Check out this blog and get some really fantastic slow cooker ideas.

I think the first one I am going to try will be the 20-40 clove of garlic chicken. I even have all the ingredients!

Easy Halloween Kid's Craft

This is a really cute and easy Halloween craft that I think I'll be doing with the kids this weekend.

New TV!

Two great new shows that you should watch:
The first is Glee. Yes, I am a Gleek, and you should be too. I love this show. It has everything going for it, campy humor, musical numbers, drama, physical comedy, and 2 different love triangles. The characters are complex and delightfully flawed. The musical numbers are actually fun, and I can say this because typically, I’m not a fan of the musical. The cast and writers on Glee are really talented and it shows. Check out your local listings and give it a shot, it is definitely worth it.
Another great show that I love right now is Sherri. Yes, the Sherri from the View, her show is on Lifetime. Lots of witty and humorous one liners in this one. Sherri is definitely a chick show, though, I would NOT make a man sit through it, but it’s definitely worth setting the DVR to record. This is the kind of show that you have a bowl of ice cream with and can really relate to the lighthearted approach to real world issues. I hope you check this one out too.

I'm Dreaming of a Pretty Laundry Room

I don't remember where I found this picture of this BEAUTIFUL laundry room, so if you know, please tell me so I can give credit where it is due. But, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it. I have been a bit obsessed lately with laundry rooms and wanting to do something with ours, so I have been collecting pictures and ideas and know that someday...my laundry room will be both functional and pretty.

My biggest issue is that our room is TINY. It's also the walk-through to the garage, so there isn't any floor space either. Another problem: most of our clothes get taken off downstairs, so I need a lot of storage baskets for them but no room to put them there. I have a big dowell that goes across the room (literally the width of the washer and dryer) and right above that a hole in the ceiling where someone tried, and failed, to replace the in-ceiling light can. So I need a light fixture that is literally an inch or two thick.

If you have any ideas, please feel free to share them with me.

A Great Idea for Leftover Halloween Candy

One Charming Blog has an awesome idea for her left-over Halloween candy, check it out here, or keep reading below. I'll have to check with the hubby, but this might be a great idea for this year...

"Do you hate leftover Halloween candy as much as I do? I mean, really, do my kids need that much sugar? I read about this idea before I was ever married and I've been using it since my oldest child could understand the concept. The Great Pumpkin comes on Halloween night, takes the candy that kids put out for him, and leaves a present in its place.
Here's the scene. On Halloween night I get my kids dressed up in their costumes, make them eat dinner, and then either my husband or I takes them out trick-or-treating. It's always cold here in October, so they don't stay out too long. My kids walk into the living room, dump their candy onto the floor and check out their loot. I let them eat as much candy as they want. I let them keep all of the non-candy items. And then they willingly put their uneaten candy back into their trick-or-treat bag and put it on the kitchen table. They don't have to do this--it's purely voluntary. But they know that if they leave their candy out, if they can part with the mini sized candy bars and endless rolls of smarties, there will be a cool present waiting for them when they wake up. The Great Pumpkin then comes sometime during the night and takes all of the candy out to the car to be taken to work the next day. Much like Santa, he then leaves a gift for each child.
Why I love this:
1. I don't need all of that candy lying around my house and I certainly don't want my kids to eat it. I know, I sound like the bah-humbug of Halloween. I'm not. All four of my kids get to choose if they want to participate. Every year every single one gives up their candy.
2. I don't have to fight with my kids over getting rid of the candy.
3. I really love Christmas and I love the chance to give my kids a quick present to tide us all over through the holiday season. I know, it's contradictory. I don't care.
I'm posting this early in the month so that you'll have time to think about this, an opportunity to introduce the concept to your kids, and a chance to purchase a Great Pumpkin gift for whoever wants to participate. Let me know if you're going to give it a try."

Cute Candy Corn Wreath...

I am LOVING this cute little candy wreath at Ducks in a Row.

She also has the cutest pillows in the world and if I could make more time I would make them...maybe next year?

Great New Show

For all of you foodies out there you've got to check out The Naughty Kitchen with Chef Blythe Beck. This show is hilarious! First, I love that I can salivate over her naughty food, and at the same time laugh at the antics of her and her crew. Second, I admit, that I am happy to see a big girl having fun and being in the spotlight. Yes, she can be very brash and very brazen, but I like that she has her own voice, even if it is a bit grating (she could give Fran Drescher a run for her money) at times. I hope you all tune in for an episode or two. It's on the Oxygen network and you can find the details, here. The one person I could do without on the show...the restaurant manager. She's condescending and rude most of the time while she can barely conceal her contempt for everyone around her.

This Week

This week my goal is to take our lives back from the madness of being over-busy.

Between football practices and games, school projects and functions, doctor's appointements, and Jon's and mine work schedules, we have been spread so thin, like butter scraped over warm bread.

This week I vow to slow down a bit. I am not going to work as much as I have been pushing myself to do with my current work project going on. I am going to put the blackberry away for the evening, and get some things done with the kids and the house.

Tonight, while I did finish up some work, I also, get this, fixed the upstairs toilet! Yes, Me!!!!! You see the little handle thingy that pulls up the chain to flush the toilet broke. I took the kids to home depot and was told that Grandpa or Daddy should fix it. Nope, I did it! Yes, it was very simple and easy to do, but that is besides the point. I am woman, hear me flush!

And, in the spirit of taking care of myself and my family this week, I made my specialty for breakfast, yes, biscuits and gravy, my ultimate comfort food. I can my favorite breakfast in under 17 minutes. So you may wonder why I am so proud of making something so quickly, well, you see it's one of the only things that I CAN make fast. Jon and I always joke about how long it takes me to make meals. So, for me, 17 minutes is AWESOME, especially when it turns out some of the best B&G you've ever had.

Anyway, here's to my week ahead. A time to slow down a bit and take better care of my family. I hope you all have a wonderful week, too.

Men vs. Women

An example of the difference between Men and Women:

Yesterday I was talking with our babysitter (the very best babysitter in the world!) about some construction that was going to happen at the cross streets closest to our houses when she brought up that they were going to put a Fire Department in just a block away from us. We both agreed that would be awesome. She could take the kids on a field trip and we both thought having them so close would be great if there was an emergency.

Later Jon and I were talking at home about the construction and I told him what our babysitter had told us. Was his first response positive like ours? Heck No! He sarcastically grumbled something like “Great now we’ll have sirens going of all the time”.

So there it is folks. Women = concerned about the safety and wellbeing of our families. Men = concerned that the noise from a siren may drown out the announcer on the tv during his favorite MMA game.

Joe's New Pet

Before you get all upset, Mom, please know that this new pet is absolutely the sweetest and easiest pet to take care of...ever! It doesn't eat, drink, or jump up on guests. It doesn't smell, shed, or poop in your hand.

Joe's new pet is an invisible cricket.

I'm not exactly sure where this new pet came from. It may have sprouted from a book that we read months ago about a boy who caught a cricket only to let him go again so he could hear it's sweet song. Who knows.

What I do know is that we now take along our new pet wherever we go, and I even let Joe take this little guy to school with him, as long as he keeps him in his backpack. Joe's new pet often lets out a little song for me coming from the backseat in the car, and often has to have a place to sleep when it's time for bed.

Sometimes Joe's little cricket disappears for a few days, only to surface a few mornings later, ready to go to school with Joe.

This is one of the very few invisible friends that either Joe or Joci has produced, and those that have come around in the past have quickly disappeared, typically in the same day. But, our little cricket has persisted, and I love it when he sings to me sweet songs that sound peculiarly like my baby boy.