Day 6 - Last Minute Blatherings

Day 6 - gah! It's 10:30 pm and I have yet to blog about anything today! I was heading up to bed when I realized it, so here I sit to jot something quick down so I can honor my challenge of blogging every.single.day. Hopefully tomorrow will be more interesting than this.

Let's see - what can I blather about...

Dinner:

Pot Roast (my fav!)
roasted baby carrots & onions
mashed potatoes
rolls

I'm sure I smelled delightful at my Social Committee meeting tonight. The pot roast has been in the oven since 3:00 this afternoon. I probably smelled like a walking Sunday Dinner on my clothes and hair. Sort of like when you eat at a Mexican place and you come out smelling like stinky armpits or dirty feet from those spices permeating the air.

At our meeting tonight, we discussed our neighborhood luminary night. We organize 2,000 glowing bags for this event. It's on 12/9 this year. It's a ton of work - but it's so pretty when it's all set up. Crossing fingers for good weather again.

Too tired to think about tomorrow right now, so I'll stop here and hope to have more time tomorrow to blog. Gosh, it's only been 6 days and this really IS a challenge. 24 more days of this? Oy!

Day 5 - The Loss

Final Score: 24 - 20

So I took some time to mourn The Loss, and figured I'd better open the blinds and let the sunshine in to shake my blues. I can't mope all day, though I want to. But it's time to brush the dust off and remember it was just a game. Boy that's hard. The only thing that helps it feel a little better, is knowing that I was not alone in my sorrow. Every Colts fan across the nation felt the same way when the Colts were not able to stop the Patriots right before the 2-minute warning. To watch Tom Brady kneel and run out the clock was painful. How does one literally feel the wind get knocked out of them without being physically touched? That was the feeling. Precisely. If you listened closely outside after the game, you could hear the sound of Taps coming out from every chimney in Indiana. Am I being overly dramatic? Good - because I'm still sulking. As an avid fan, you invest so much feeling into the whole experience. You consider it your Team. Yours alone. Every fan thinks that. It's my team. You stop to get gas - you're surrounded by fans in jerseys at the pumps beside you. You buy a soda or a pack of gum - and discuss your team with the check-out clerk. You waste so much time at work talking about the 'what ifs' with your collegues. You go anywhere - the mall, the movies, to dine, for a walk - and you're a part of IT. It gives everyone, from every walk of life, a common topic and united front to rally over. And then the media hypes it beyond what you could ever imagine, and suddenly you can't help but get sucked into the vortex of the intense excitement and anxiety of it all. So you see, how could we not be gasping for our breath at 7:15 last night? And still today...

Nahant, MA. Boston, MA. Ottawa, Ontario Canada. Zionsville, IN. Gloucester, MA. Indianapolis, IN. That was the order of telephone calls received before, during and after The Game. My good friend back East shook my virtual hand and said Good Luck. And I know she meant it. One of my uncles called to ask me if I like mustard or ketchup on my Horseburgers. And he meant it. My great aunt all the way in Canada, who admittedly doesn't know a thing about sports, called to say (with such excitement) that she couldn't believe we were up 6 points (She doesn't know that's how much 1 touchdown is worth. I think she was thinking in terms of hockey scores or baseball, in which that WOULD be a huge lead!). Both sets of our parents called - one to ask jokingly if we were watching any football, and the other to say her ulcer can't take that kind of nail-biting tv viewing. And my Dad just had to add his dig that he was only 3 points off from correctly predicting the final score and winner of the game. Bah! Lastly, another Pat's fan uncle called to say that our Colts should not have done so much premature celebrating around the field before the game was actually over.

They are Ruthless! And heartless! But I hold no hard feelings.

I guess we'll just have to see you in the playoffs, cheaters...

Day 4 - Colts vs. Patriots game

I can not concentrate long enough to blog about anything right now. So I'll leave you with this, and will return later... enjoy the game.

Go Colts!

Day 3 - Bunco, weather, Boiled Dinner

Day 3 - It's 5:00 and it's the first time I've had to sit at the computer and blog today. I may even have to do it in pieces and publish it tonight when the house is a bit more quiet. We'll see how this goes!

Last night was my Ladies' Bunco Night here in my neighborhood. Bunco is a game of dice, played in rounds. I won't bore you with rules, but if you want more detail you can click here. Anywho - we (The Girls) in my 'hood get together the first Friday of each month and play this game together. There's usually anywhere between 10-22 of us, and we take turns hosting. To quote what I found written about Bunco - "What is Bunco really? Well, it is a social event. A party! It's a blast! We get together once a month, leaving the cares and worries behind, and leaving the kids with their fathers or baby-sitters. We fall off our diets, snacking on M&Ms, hot dips, cold dips, or anything else we can get our hands on. We have heavy hor'dourves and seconds on dessert. We drink our favorite spritzer, Chardonnay, or Drink-of-the-night, and we talk. We talk about our kids. About the neighborhood. About our husbands, our jobs, their jobs, TV shows, current events, and anything else that might tickle our fancy. Oh yeah, and we play a silly, mindless dice game with wild abandon, hoping to take home a few more bucks than we arrived with (it's $5 for us)." This is exactly what I would have said in my own words!

I left last night with $30 in winnings for the highest score (set by the hostess). Last month I won $60 for the lowest score (set by the hostess also). Cool. But I won't brag anymore. Because the last time I was on a winning streak, I bragged. Big time. And then it took me almost a year to win again. Karma.

Today was a beautiful sunny day - high only got to around 55 degrees so it was a good day to throw open my windows and get some dusting and cleaning done. I am going to take down all my Halloween decorations this week, as I'm eager to get it back into the attic and prepare for the days leading up to decorating for Christmas. I will do that full swing the week of Thanksgiving. I host an ornament exchange at my house on the first Saturday in December, so I want things decorated in time for that. And it comes up pretty quickly once November arrives. In fact, we just signed our contract to have our Christmas lights installed on our house on November 17th. Here's what last year's lights looked like.

Tomorrow's the big game. Did you know? Instead of making Clam Chowdah (yes, meant to sound like a Boston accent), I decided to whip up a New England boiled dinner this afternoon. It smells awesome!! I feel like I'm at Nana & Papa's house with the rest of the family. My parents are on their way over to enjoy it with us for supper. YUM! I'm still going to wear my Colts Blue though...

Here's my recipe:
Cook time: 3hrs
Prep time: 15 min for peeling veggies
Yields: 6-8 servings

1 Smoked Picnic Shoulder (approx 10 lbs)
1.5 small peeled whole potatoes per person
1-2 lg cabbage heads, quartered
2 Med. whole onions, peeled
1-2 turnip (optional)
#1.5 of carrots peeled, whole

In large stock pot, cover with water 2" above ham. Add 2 bay leaves and boil for a total of 3 hours. Turnip can cook with this since it takes the longest.
Add carrots to the pot 1.5 hrs before eating
Add cabbage & potatoes to the pot 45-1 hr before eating

Drain, cut up ham and serve on a large platter with lots of butter, mustard & vinegar on the side to taste. Some crusty french bread and Enjoy!

*Note: If your pot is not large enough to cook the vegetables & ham together, the ham can be taken out when it's done and covered for an hour with foil until ready to eat. You can then throw all your veggies in the water and cook them up. You really can't mess this up. So Simple!

Day 2 - sickbay, pictures, pumpkin carving & Halloween costumes

Day 2 - I'll start with an update from Sick Bay #1....

Here's an update on Carter from the couch. I decided to keep him home again today because last night before bed he said his ear really hurt. He came out of his bathroom saying he thinks his medicine is dripping from his ear (from this afternoon I thought?)... I look at him and it's blood! Running out of his ear! Ack! So I try to get the panic off my face, catch it with a tissue and tell him to finish getting his pajamas on and meet me downstairs. This gave me enough time to contact his Dr. and ask if this is normal to have blood coming out of his ear after an ear infection diagnosis. Thankfully, it is sometimes, but not without consequences. He has a ruptured eardrum. The pressure from the infection caused that, but the relief came pretty quickly for him. We need to keep water out of it and not put any numbing drops in. Supposedly, it's supposed to heal on it's own. One side effect is that he is temporarily hard of hearing in that ear. So I have to endure the constant "huh?", "what Mommy?", "huh?". I won't visit the worst-case scenario sites on the internet just yet though. Ok, who are we kidding - of course I already visited those worst-case scenario websites of a ruptured eardrum! I should have my medical degree from the school of Google. We'll all just have to be patient. He woke up this morning with some blood on his pillow and it started to drain "stuff" again a little while ago. He says it hurts when he presses on it. I told him how to make the pain stop - don't press on it! Grrrrrr, kids. But, he's doing well despite his pain. He washed down his breakfast cocktail of Amoxicillin and Motrin like a trooper. Amazing what a couple of hours of pain reliever will do to a child. I've had to tell him, oh about 100 times already to quit jumping around and stop coughing on his sister. I may need to strap him to the couch until it wears off. But it's an 8 hour dose so it will be a while. You can tell he's better by the grin on his face when I took his picture this morning. Take notice he's got on his lucky Colts pajamas. 54 hours and counting until kickoff.

**For those unfamiliar with 'how stuff works' on a blog, you can click on the pictures to view them larger, and you can also click on the bold underlined words for more info. Remember to hit your "back" button to return to the original blog page**.

So here's what else I woke up to this morning. This child is ALWAYS smiling. How could you resist that cute little face and those bright eyes saying, "Good morning world! Come to me!". I've decided I'm going to try and take a couple pictures to post each day with my daily log here. This one was obviously too cute to pass up. I usually hear her on the monitior 'talking' to her stuffed animals. I start walking down the hallway saying "Ooooliviaaaa wheeeeere aaaaare youuu?" and then she immediately pulls herself to a stand to greet me and I tell her, "Good morning, sunshine!" I open her blinds and off we head downstairs to start the day. Most days I'm able to get up with Carter and get him on the bus before she even wakes up. It's nice to get a little 1-on-1 time with him before school. But today he got to greet her with me - he's so cute the way he talks to her too. He calls her "my baby" and "sweet girl". I love it.

Ok, so now I'll let you into our world of Halloween preparations!

My parents and I started an annual tradition when they moved out here 7 yrs ago, of carving pumpkins on the 30th for display on Halloween night. I have them over for dinner, usually chilli but this year I made tacos. Then after dinner, we set up the kitchen to prepare for our carving adventures. Mom supplies all the different pattern books and carving tools, and I get the pumpkins for us. We all dislike the scraping out of the 'guts' inside so it's pretty funny to see how quickly we all want that part over and get washed up. This year, my brother PJ joined us and carved one too. It was his first time and he did a really cool skeleton design. It was pretty advanced for a first timer with all it's intricate cut-out spots. It was a fun evening and one that we all look forward to every fall. I can't believe I didn't get more shots of the family carving! This one will have tell the story!

Here's the final result! From top L-R the carvers were Carter and I did the scary face, Tom did the witch profile holding the pumpkin, Mom did the witch on a broom, PJ did the skull and Dad did the goofy face. It's always cool to see how the patterns transform into these sculptures. They look their best once darkness falls and the candle inside makes them glow. We all went outside to admire our hard work when the last pumpkin was finished.

We scattered them around the front landscape to display on Halloween night. They were a hit!

On Halloween, Grandma and Grandpa stopped by to see the kids in their costumes before the festivities began. They came bearing favorite treats - a cute halloween cellophane bag full of candy corn & plain mini-chocolate bars for Carter, and a cellophane bag full of Gerber Star puffs (apple cinnamon flavor!) for Olivia. They both loved it!

Trick or treating was from 6-9 in our town and the doorbell began to ring right on the 6 o'clock dot! This has been my costume for the past 2 years. I used to be a the wicked witch mask from OZ, but decided to change to something else for a while. This year, instead of answering the door in this costume, I stood still on my front porch near the door. The kids couldn't tell if I was real or a statue. It was so much fun scaring them when they got closer - that's how I like Halloween! Tom took Carter around the 'hood and returned back in just an hour. Carter had filled up his pumpkin and declared he was ready to go home and sort. And eat. So they did their ritual of dumping out the candy and choosing which piece of sugar was going to be the first to touch his just-had-his-teeth-cleaned-the-day-before-halloween mouth. I'm sure it was something ooey and gooey and sticky.

Here's Olivia the Ladybug just looking cute. We did not take her around because the neighbors all trick or treated at our house and got to see her anyway. And she has a pretty good cold right now, so keeping her in was the better decision. Isn't she too cute though?

And of course, a picture with his loot! I've adopted my sister-in-law's way of how to handle the candy eating. Eat 'til you puke, kids! This eliminates the begging, hounding, whining and sneaking of said candy. I pretty much allow him to eat as much candy, and whenever so that A) it is gone much faster, and B) he gets sick of it in a hurry. Not feeling 100% the past couple of days has slowed down this process. But it's starting to kick into gear now. He's already had 3 pkgs of snack sized M&Ms, 5 rolls of Smarties, a Tootsie Pop and some candy corn. It's 10:30 in the morning. I thought it was the Motrin kicking in - on second thought, I might be on to something. But don't worry, he had breakfast...remember?

National Blog Posting Month

Ok... deep breath in..... and let it out....

I'm going to attempt to partake in NaBloPoMo07. Which means, I am jumping in feet first with the rest of the willing participants of the Blogger World, and committing to making a blog entry every single day during the month of November. Be prepared for some not-so-interesting stuff to be written here this month. It will be a challenge! I have been going back and forth about participating in this since I'm new to blogging. But I didn't have to look far for my inspiration! And my kids are pretty tired of listening to me, so I'll just resort to moving my fingers 100 mph on the keyboard instead! Bear with me... let's begin!

So today I actually have a couple of topics I can choose from. I don't know whether to write about them all, or save some up for the other days. Hmmm, I guess I'll just write the thoughts that are on the tip of my tongue...er, fingers.

First things first - my poor baby boy has a gnarly ear infection. We found this out this morning when he woke me up crying because his ear hurt. I got him seen at the Dr. at 8:30 this morning. They gave him some numbing drops in his ear and a script for Amoxicillin for the next 10 days. He's home from school today (they have 1/2 day today and tomorrow anyway) and is moaning in the family room. Now, before I go any further, let me just make note of a few things to protect the innocent (me). He's been fed (homemade chocolate chip banana bread). Watered (sugar free pink lemonade). Drugged up with the pink stuff (antibiotic). Drugged up with the orange stuff (Motrin). Sprinkled with the ear stuff (numbing drops). No fever (thank goodness). And I have been cuddling with him (by request) in the big fluffy chair in our family room, and allowing him to cough his nasty germs into my face when he forgets to cover his mouth fast enough. I feel like I need to wear a spit shield like one needs in the presence of former Steelers coach, Bill Cowher. Nurse/Mommy Duties have been fulfilled... for the moment.

Here's where my story changes. Now don't go looking up the number for child protective services. Or call his Grandmothers. What I am about to say may not be suitable for the weak at heart. Here it goes..... I warned you. I (gulp) have no patience for sick people! THERE! I said IT! I don't, I really don't. My limit is short on how much whining and moaning I can take when someone is sick. I'm not just talking about my kids, I mean ANYone. This gene must have mutated when it got to me, because my own mother was very attentive when any of us kids were sick. She still is even now that we're older. My husband is very "motherly" in this way too. I'm not saying that I am neglecting my sickly children - reread above if you need a refresher. I just admit that I am not a good nurse. Tom will tell you that too. Because he's had to have me as his nurse when he is not feeling well. I stink at it. I know he secretly wishes I'd taken Nurse 101 class from his mom. I have to hide the phone when he's sick so he doesn't call her to come cuddle him in the big fluffy chair in the family room. (kidding)

I'm thinking maybe this is a guy-thing. With the exception of my Mom because she is an admitted moaner when she is not feeling well (this drives me nuts and she knows it). But she'll agree I'm sure, that it does seem to point more to whiny men. She's had to take care of my Dad when he's not feeling well (and I've seen it, it's not pretty!) and moaning. He likes to wrap himself in his robe and 'sweat it out'. Ugg! Just as long as he can do it out of my eyesight, then everyone will be fine. But I no longer live with them, so it's not my problem. I'm digressing again. I have my own house full of bodies that need a warm, compassionate Nurse. I'm lukewarm. Tepid others might call it. Ok ok, I have been known to even get a little cold. If it's something really serious, you can scratch out this whole post and there would be a different kind of nurse present. That would be Momma Bear Nurse. I know I've got HER in me, watch out.....but I'm talking run-of-the-mill sickies in this post, people! Maybe there are some that might read this and think, 'wow- what a wretch!'. Well be glad I'm not your nurse. I do know that there are some that feel exactly the same way as I do (names have been withheld to protect the innocent. Your secret is safe with me, Melissa!). So I know that I'm not alone when I openly complain about my eyes hurting from all the rolling they have been doing when I once again here "Mommy!"

Maybe it's because when I'm sick, I'm the type of person that just wants to be left alone. Don't talk to me. Don't touch me. Don't look at me. In fact, just quit breathing near me and no one gets hurt. And I think, why can't everyone be like that? Why do some people need the constant presence of another person when they are not feeling 100%? Your legs aren't broken - get your own drink! There's blankets on the couch - quit saying you're cold! Enough already! I want to make it clear that these words never come out of my mouth, but they are dancing around in my head at times. Listen, I do have compassion and I don't like it when people are not feeling well. I want them to get better. I want my baby's ear to not hurt today - I wish I could wave my magic Mommy Wand and make it instantly stop. But I can't. I can only give him what the doctor ordered and a little TLC. And that to a child, is exactly what will make it 'all better'. In fact, the latest report coming from Sick Bay #1 is that the Motrin has kicked in and his ear is not hurting right now. What a relief. For both of us...

A quick FYI...

I changed clothes today. Blog clothes. My title page has changed headings with the help of a little tweaking from a nerdy family member. I used 'nerdy' in the most endearing way of course! Everyone needs a computer nerd in the mix. I'm lucky that way. I have a couple to set me straight. I also wanted to mention that you can now read my blatherings directly on the following websites. No pen and paper required to remember the once too-long URL!

http://www.morethanjustcorn.com/
For us regular internet folks.

http://www.morethanjustcorn.net/
To be used when in conversation with nerds and geeks alike.

http://www.morethanjustcorn.org/
To be used when I'm at the latest PTA or non-profit gig.


Special thanks to my Uncle John & Aunt Mary!

Now back to our regularly scheduled chaos....click here for the previous post

What are you doing on Sunday afternoon?

I don’t know if you’ve heard or not, but there’s a pretty exciting NFL game happening this Sunday. I have butterflies in my stomach. I’m fairly sure that most of America has butterflies in their stomach about this game. Even if you’re not a sports fan, you’ve probably heard about it, and your tummy will be fluttering soon enough so don’t worry. How could you not know? You can’t turn on the TV news without hearing about it. I think it’s on just about every US city’s front page of their newspaper. I’m talking about the Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots. Here. On our home turf. Sunday. Ugh! The sound of being punched in the stomach when I say “Ugh!” is a mixed emotion. First, excitement. Of course! It’s the anticipation of the countdown. Giddy with the thought our reigning 2006 Super Bowl Champs having an 8-0 record at the end of the game. Then, the sinking sensation of the butterflies dive bombing creeps up because we are playing our arch rival. Not only have we somehow made these two teams each other’s nemesis – but The Patriots are my former Home Team. And they are good. Good enough to have an already 8-0 record. They are still the Home Team of the rest of my family. It throws a wrench in our family cheering section. It does give us all a good topic to tease each other about though. But on Sunday, somebody has to lose.

On any other Sunday, I’m allowed without getting the evil-eye of my Indiana friends and family, to root for my former home team. My husband Tom even lovingly overlooks the tad of drool that I get when I watch Tom Brady for 60 minutes of game time (that equates to about 3 hours, but 60 minutes sounds less threatening don’t you think?). If Sandra Bullock were in pads and a helmet, I would return the favor by turning the other way for him. We’re fair like that. He should be flattered that the Other Man in my life is a “Tom” too. This is a face only a mother could love. And I... am a mother! But I digress…

Sunday, I will be wearing Blue. Colts Blue. I’m sure I can find a jersey in this house to wear. We have a few to choose from. Will I choose Marvin or Manning? Decisions, decisions! The hardest decision will be for our son Carter. He has a few jerseys, and it’s always a long thought process for him about who’s number he’s going to wear each Sunday. He meticulously lays them all out on the floor. Presses them softly to smooth the numbers, and arranges them in an order that only his little mind can wrap around. This Sunday, it will be even more difficult for him, because mixed up in his sea of Colts Blue, is the lone too-small-now navy & silver #12 Patriots jersey. He loves Brady. Carter’s favorite player changes every weekend, and so he may even choose his #12 to wear. But I don’t know if he’ll be allowed in the family room to watch the game if he is not in Colts Blue attire. So we will discourage him from choosing his Brady jersey on Sunday, and encourage him to choose from his #4, #87, #88, or #18. I will probably push heavily for my Other Other Man,
Adam Vinatieri’s jersey – because it’s a good compromise. He was once the long-time kicker for the NE Patriots, and has since been welcomed with open arms to our Indianapolis Colts team. He’s one of ‘us’ now. It’s the best of both worlds in terms of jersey decisions for Sunday. And our family harmony. Because their #4, is now our #4. Carter got to meet him and shake his hand a couple months ago at our town fall festival. He was standing in line behind us with his children waiting to ride the Sizzler. I noticed him immediately and did the old nonchalant hurried wide-eyed whisper to Tom, “psssst -Adam-Vinatieri-is-standing-right-HERE”. So he turned around and introduced himself and Carter got to meet him. He was dressed in some casual shorts, sandals, a polo-type shirt and wore his Boston Red Sox cap. (Not that I noticed or anything.) Carter told Adam that he has his #4 jersey, and Adam raised his eyebrows in surprise and said “You do? – wow, thanks!”. It was very fun and exciting, and Carter told everyone he knows about his chance meeting with Adam Vinatieri at the fair. So cute. Both of them.

Speaking of meeting players, Tom was lucky enough to be invited to a dinner and game-watching night with Peyton Manning, Bob Sanders, and Dwight Freeney in early October. Carter probably would have needed resuscitation if he was present. I’ll put some pictures below, depicting a day in the life of a Colts Fan around this house. Sunday will be difficult to watch. I can’t help but root for the Patriots when they play. But this time, I have to be faithful to my 13-year new Home Team. I will wear Blue. Colts Blue.

But, does anyone have a good recipe for Clam Chowdah? We will need to eat while the game is on, you know ….


Carter and Tom before a game....

Carter modeling our newly acquired kicker's jersey...

Here's a sample of how Carter decides on which jersey to wear on Sundays...

Some proof that there are two different color Blues that we do sport on the weekends...sadly, I could not locate a more recent photo of him in his now-too-small #12


And proof that his Colts-bleeding father still loves him even if he is cheering on the enemy!

***Edited to add this picture that my uncle reminded me of! The kids in their Patriots gear sent from the Heart of PatriotLand - care of John & Mary. His loving rebuttal posted here... John's Site

Lastly... Tom's evening with some Colts players...

Miscellaneous Blatherings

Today's topics:
Grandparents Day at school
Misc. cuteness
A visit to 1st grade music class
Halloween preview

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GRANDPARENT'S DAY!
A few weeks ago, Carter's school had a special day that all the Grandparents could come in for an assembly of sorts, put on by the 1st graders. The children sang some songs, asked questions and served a snack of lemonade and cookies! All grandparents were accounted for on Carter's behalf, and it was noted that he had the most guests that day. He's a lucky kid to have his 'Special Spoilers' living so close. I cherish my own fond memories of growing up with mine close by to share these special occasions with too. Here are some photos from the day! Grampy (my dad) is missing from these photos because he is behind the lens.

Here's Carter standing in front of his locker in the hall outside his classroom.

This is a note on his desk for his grandparents to read. He also made each person a cute little bookmark to take home.

His teacher is Mrs. Smith - she's the one standing in front with the black/white top. Miss Mobley is his instructional assistant - she's in the black top standing on the left.
And finally, three of his four grandparents for a special snapshot!
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MISC. CUTENESS

Grammy & Grampy stopped by to say hello at our house after grandparents day. We waited for Carter's bus to arrive, and in the meantime got some cute pictures of Olivia and Gram.

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A VISIT TO 1ST GRADE MUSIC CLASS

I had the opportunity to visit Carter's music class one afternoon last week. I was filled with warm fuzzies as I watched all of the children participate with such enthusiasm! Ms. Hampton had such a captive audience with her students, and they had a ball echoing her, learning to count and read beats, dancing and playing a few instruments. Carter gets so excited when it's music class day. I beam when he wants to sing new songs to me that he has learned, and he's pretty sure he wants to learn to play every.single.instrument!

Here's my Music Man!

Preparing to play the Glockenspiel

Do si do!

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HALLOWEEN PREVIEW!

Our neighborhood annual S'mores & Hayride event was this evening. We walked down to the cul-de-sac where all the kids and their families were gathered around the bonfires. We enjoyed some hot cocoa, s'mores and the perfect chilly autumn evening for a hayride! Kiddos were in their costumes, so of course I had to snap some photos before we left. Enjoy the Halloween preview!

Presenting..... Mr. Incredible!

...And the cutest Ladybug ever!

Here's my little spookers!

STATS: 9 - 21 - 28 3/4

Happy 9 month (9 mo, 14 days) birthday, Olivia!
You weigh 21 pounds...
You are 28 and three-quarter inches long...

You are sitting, speed crawling, finding every nook and cranny not babyproofed, & pulling yourself up to a stand. You can clap your hands, point to objects you know in books, say "teddy", (TD) "dadda" (da-da), "kitty" (k-eeee), use sign language for more, hat, kitty, bird, all-done. You have tried all the pureed fruits and veggies and have started to self-feed pieces of Gerber brand carrots, green beans, pears, apples, peaches and Stars. You like yogurt, oatmeal and popsicles that Grampy sneaks you. You are growing out of your clothes faster than I can restock them. Size 12 months is the new size you are fashioning now. My heart is sad when I put all your smaller clothes in storage bins. Doesn't seem possible that you have reached these milestones already. Weren't you just born?

I don't have your head circumference written down, but Dr. W says it's growing perfectly - so that's all that matters. I can tell you though, it's shaped just like mine was; round and bald! Mine is still very round, but far from bald. Some day, you will have hair my sweets! In fact, I just found some pictures of myself labeled 8 months old, sitting in a highchair that I'm sure is not even CLOSE to be considered "code" these days. Some shiny metal doo-dad covered in lead paint that was probably all the rage fashionably speaking, 34 years ago. I have to say, we look exactly alike at this age. Carter was quite confused when he saw it. He is having a hard time learning that I was once a baby - he can't quite figure that one out. To him I'm just Mom - couldn't possibly have been a baby, or little girl. Kinda cute, isn't it?

So today Olivia had to get shots. I hate those appointments. She hates those appointments. The silver lining to it though, was that I thought she had to get 4 shots. Turns out she only needed 1, then I opted for the flu shot for her also, so she only had 2 pokes. I asked to see the package that the shots came in so that I could verify that there was no (widely controversial) Thimerosal preservative used in either. She did say that the flu shot for 3+ does still contain it, but is available without. I never vaccinated Carter with the flu shot, so this is new to me with Olivia. She has to get another one after 30 days. At her 12 month appointment, she'll get her 3 other shots. Ugg... just the thought makes my tummy turn. It would be foolish not to vaccinate though, so I have to roll with it.

I snapped some pictures of the Queen today after her 9 month appointment. I bought her this really cute hat at Target this week and think she looks delicious in it! So I had to include the new winter accessory in her photo shoot! Maybe if I make her wear it every day, she will become used to it being on her head by the time she actually needs to wear it outside. She's at the age that wants no part of a bib, socks or hat. Frankly, she'd prefer no clothes either, but I don't want to clean the carpets after accidents she might have in the buff. I'd get a puppy if I were up for that challenge. I'm not. I want a poop-free zone. So we'll keep her clothes on, and continue to visit the Humane Society to get our fix.

Here she is!

Fall... what's that?

NINETY. Yep, nine-zero. That's what the temperature was on Saturday, and Sunday. And again, today.... The pool has been closed since September 17. It is supposed to be Fall. Now, I think it's hot when it's 80 degrees. I know it's hot when it's 90. But even more so, do you know how I know it was hot this weekend? Well, because my Mother-in-law was hot. Dare I say it out loud? She. Was. Hot ! You will rarely hear her say it's hot. She prefers the windows open instead of the air conditioning in the summer. She's happy as a clam in the wide open golf course in July. And she's got the beautiful bronzed skin to prove it. Not me. I prefer pasty-white. Those that know me well, know that I am always hot. I am even hot in the winter. I rarely wear a coat, even. So there's no surprise that when it's 90 out, I'm complaining that it's hot! My mother-in-law however, is my polar opposite. (Love you, Judy!) I've been told one could hang meat in my home because of the central air conditioning settings. We joke to each other about our opposite internal body thermostats. Now, I'm not just picking on her, because others get a chill in our home as well. In fact, my husband does too. But he's from the same gene pool that my MIL (we'll shorten this mother-in-law to an acronym) was blessed with. So an occasional "Brrrr!" from him doesn't surprise me. So we compromise. He wears a sweatshirt.

Anyway - so we had our annual trip to the Stonycreek Farm with my in-laws this weekend. We love this excursion. We look forward to it every year. But you never know what weather you're going to get in Indiana in October. So we've braved The Farm to get our pumpkins in the cloudy, raw October chill, to the nasty, sticky October heat over the last 6 years. We all agreed that this year was by far the hottest we've faced at The Farm. When the van came to a stop and we slid open the doors to get out, it felt just like when you open an oven to check on a pie. Ew. There's something oddly wrong with this picture in my mind of how the trip to The Farm, in October, is supposed to go. It didn't include sunblock which I slathered on both unwilling kids before we left. It didn't include wrestling with Olivia to keep a sun-hat on before we left (she won). It didn't include shorts and t-shirts. It didn't include having to run from the bees. I had the cutest Fall outfits picked out for the kids to wear while snapping my annual Pumpkin Patch photos. I was daydreaming about a crisp day, a slight breeze, the gentle warmth of the sun to keep my mother-in-law from freezing. It didn't happen.

None of it went as I had thought it would. It was better. The pumpkin crop was bursting with all the best colors, shapes and sizes. The hayride to the Patch was the perfect blend of parents and kids smiling and laughing at the lumpy-bumpy ride. The sun was shining, and there was no mud (a plus for sure!). Carter got to use the sling shot to send some pumpkins into the pond. Climb in a bouncy house. Go in a 'haunted house' with his Dad. Swing and slide on the playground. Ride the train 2 times. Choose a pumpkin for himself and his sister. He ate their fresh cooked Kettle Corn and enjoyed a giant cup of fresh-squeezed lemonade. And we got to delight in Olivia's first trip to The Patch and see her touch the pumpkins. There's something special about seeing your kids laugh and smile, and experience all the things we so often take for granted because we're 'grown ups.' It's nice to have an annual outing with family and have a little fun with the kids. Even if the straw from the hayride sticks to your skin all day because of the humidity. It's worth it. We had a great time - and it helped to know that for once, I was not the only one complaining that it was hot. My mother-in-law and I were soul sisters that day. We were One with the miserable heat. Misery loves company, they say.... it was perfect.


On to the photos!

Cub Scouts, & Bugs & Dirt - oh my!

So I've officially been sucked into the world of blogging. Not that I think my writing is at all interesting and you should all check here daily for some profound reading.... but I send enough pictures out to friends and family of our mundane happenings, that this actually started to make sense. Bear with me and my typos, here we go!

Camping. The dictionary says this:
A place where tents, huts, or other temporary shelters are set up, as by soldiers, nomads, or travelers.

Tents, check. Huts, heck no. Temporary shelter - thank goodness! If I had to pick from this list, I would say I was a soldier this weekend. Yes, a soldier. #4 in the dictionary says this about a soldier: a person who contends or serves in any cause. I went camping with the cubscouts. I served. The Cause. And I hope it doesn't happen again soon, because my body is going to need a good year to recover from the lumps and bumps of the 42-degree ground that I had to sleep on. Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration (the year for my recovering body, that is) but my mind doesn't think so. It will remember. For a long, long time. A woman's mind never forgets.

I think I could be a camper - as long as I could sleep in a hotel at night. I could handle all the other stuff up until that point. The set-up. The hiking. The fire. The cooking. The cleaning. (yes, cleaning, I didn't want a dirty tent and someone about 4 ft. tall kept going inside with muddy shoes... grrr!) The bugs. Ok, some bugs. But I think I sprayed myself with enough Deep Woods Off that I could have repelled small woodland animals in addition to the bugs, so it wasn't so bad actually! But, the sleeping part - not so much. Why didn't someone mention that the New Age Camper now brings along an air matress? Not me. I had the kind of gear that Real Men, (or women!) use. A sleeping bag and the earth. I know, I know. Don't gasp in horror. I'm a rookie! But this rookie learned a valuable lesson for the next time I am a Soldier. For the Cause. Next time I will be prepared - I promise. How, you ask? Because it will be Tom's turn to camp for the Cause.

Now for some pictures of my Tiger Cub in action!

Here's Carter taking a break for lunch. He was tired out from watching me set up the tent and get settled.

Here's a shot of Carter and Henry. And Henry's dad, Kurt. Kurt is our Den Leader!

Here's a shot from our hike. Ever use a walking stick? Me either, but the boys sure enjoyed shuffling through the poison ivy to find the perfect size for them. Do you know what walking sticks become when the hike is over? No, not firewood. Weapons! Gotta love boys... Here's a few shots from the activities we did. Sack races, tug-of-war, and shooting potatoes from this really cool home-made potato launcher thing. Just add hairspray and push the igniter and BOOM! Into space (or the woods) it went. This sort of 'sport' makes a Mom nervous. Boys don't quite hear when someone yells 'step back!' They think it's more fun to see if they can look down the barrel of the launcher if the potato hasn't come out yet.... I had my fingers on the 911 button on my phone just in case.





Finally, after a long day, Carter asked to go to bed at 8:15 pm after S'mores and fireside stories. He got into his Patriots fleece pajamas and knit hat and agreed to sit outside for another 15 minutes. We listened to a few more knock-knock jokes being told as well as a 7 yr old can tell 'em and then turned in. The other kids stayed outside our tent around the fire for about 2 more hours. I think I checked my cell phone clock every 10 minutes until it was time to leave the next morning. My little man slept like a log though. At least one of us did.