Another Halloween in the books

Well I had hoped to post earlier today, but I woke up to an uninvited guest in my house and have been tending to that mess. That story will be for another post.

Halloween, or should I say Halloween weekend, was a huge success!! My two little munchkins were transformed into a pirate and a wench for three days straight. It was a jam packed weekend that started on Friday for Thomas' school party and ended last night with some good ol' fashion Trick or Treating!!









Seeing all these things through the eyes of kids is absolutely awesome. Watching their eyes light up when they get candy, watching their little legs run from house to house...I absolutely loved it!

It was a great weekend, but I am officially done with Halloween. Ok fine... I am thinking about what great costumes I will have my mom make next year, but don't tell her. HeHe!!

Living in a BUBBLE

Sometimes I feel like we live in a bubble. I sit down to peruse blogland and see what my fellow bloggers are up to and all I see is hats and gloves, rain boots and coats.

Apparently AZ is the only place that has not received the "It is Fall!" message.

Taylor comes out of her room this morning with a skirt and tank top and I say "Sure...why not? It is supposed to be in the 80's today."

Please do not mistake this post for a complaint BECAUSE it is anything but. I do however want to start wearing some of my fall clothes and my new boots. I am just slightly burnt out on flip flops.

One post recap...

Last week was a very busy, but wonderful week with my hubby's family. It felt busy, but to be honest it was pretty laid back and relaxing. Well, except the minor detail that the kids were hyped up from Sunday to Sunday solid. For that I needed my own vacation from their vacation, but enough about that.

The week included a visit to the aquarium, which in my opinion was a total bust. However, I did get some cute pics of the kids and they enjoyed it. So who cares what I think right??



I think the carousal in the mall after the aquarium was more exciting, but what do I know??



We spent quite a bit of time just hanging out at the house and playing outside. Although the temps where still in the high 90's, it felt cooler to my kids and they love that they can be outside again.






We ended the week attending a beautiful wedding. And for the most part my kids behaved themselves almost the whole night. It was nice getting the whole family dressed up for a change.

For a GREAT cause..

I am going to stray completely away from the kids and what's been going on in our lives lately and tell you about something you need to check out.

My mom has an auction on ebay for 100+ greeting cards, all proceeds going to Susan G Komen. All of the cards are handmade and one-of-a-kind. I may be a bit bias, but these cards are AMAZING...oh and you would never have to buy another Hallmark card (well at least not for a really long time).

Updates on our week still to come!!

When is it my turn??

I have been a mom for almost five years and although I have taken vacations with just my hubby or with the whole family...

I HAVE NEVER GOTTEN AWAY BY MYSELF!!

Yes, you guessed it...my hubby is out of town again. This time though it is not so much business as it is pleasure. A long weekend playing golf.

The kids and I manage just fine, but I just keep wondering when I get to jump in the car with some girlfriends and take off for three days???

Maybe someday!!!

A girl can dream right??

I don't have any pics from the last week, but I did edit some pics of the kids swimming two weekends ago at my parents. Thought I would share.

Have a good weekend!!

Soup and Footy Pajamas

When we lived in Washington if the sun came out everyone left work early (or sure wanted too) to soak it in. You just never knew if it would last. I am not lying when I tell you that it is the exact opposite in Arizona. During the hot summer months going to work is 100% OK because being outside is pure hell.

Now please do not think for one minute I am complaining...

Although I am sick of the 100+ degree days (it is October people, it needs to end), I would not trade them for rain ANY day.

People down here think the rain is great!!!

They talk about it like it really is the GREATEST thing. I DO NOT get it???

On that note though, every time the skies turn gray and I can see rain in the distance (and know it is heading my way)...

I want soup and a fire. Maybe a movie and some cuddling on the couch with my munchkins in there footy pajamas. Who by the way think rain is the funniest thing. One rain drop and they instantly think it is cold outside. I would guess during our rainstorm today the temp dropped to 80. And truthfully that is probably way understated.

Since I have no soup and I am opting for "Breakfast for dinner" night. The kids LOVE that!!

A year's supply!!!

Among other things this is one thing that has kept me busy and away from the computer lately.

Applesauce!!!

Lots and lots of applesauce!!







A while back I gave you my recipe and since I have gotten so good, I will just refer you to that post. I now just throw it all together and cross my fingers.

I don't have time for recipes...just kidding!! I rely heavily on recipes, just ask my mom (whom I also rely heavily on)!!

Anywhooooo....

My freezer is stocked and we should be good for a while. The kids and I love us some applesauce!!

A complicated relationship and something serious

If I haven't told you this before (I know I have over 100 times) my little Taylor is stubborn. It is rare that you can convince her to do something that she does not want too. Completely unlike Thomas...who will eventually cave.

Taylor can be outgoing and very friendly...when she wants to be.

She is daddy's girl...when she wants to be, and mommy's girl the rest of the time.

She is Nana's girl...when she wants to be, and papa's girl....

Oh wait...

This is the complicated relationship I was referring to.

Every time papa asks her for a kiss this is the reaction he gets.




What a little pill...don't you think?

But sometimes

When she feels like it.

She can be a his sweet granddaughter!!



The nature of the beast I guess!!

Now, for a little more serious note. I have sat down to right this post a few times and end up deleting it because I haven't been sure about posting to my blog.

A while back I posted some wonderful news that our family was going to be growing by two little feet. Well, it is with a heavy heart that I tell you all a few weeks after finding out I was pregnant, I had a miscarriage. It was quite an emotional roller coaster and nothing I ever imagined would happen to me. After having two very normal pregnancies and two very healthy babies, it came as a huge shock. Besides the enormous amount of emotions I was feeling about everything...I had to tell everyone. It is just not something that easily fits into conversations...Oh by the way....

I wasn't really sure it was something I wanted to post about, but I decided that my blog is my life on paper. I use it to vent in all other aspects of my life, so this should be no different.

For a mom of two busy toddlers, some days blogland is my only door out and for that I love you all!!

Little This...Little That

Today is Wednesday and that means dance class for Taylor. The first two classes she was SOOO excited to go and then BAM...third class and she protests. Of course this mommy is what some would consider a mean mommy and I made her go anyway. After the first five minutes she did fine and that was that.

The following Wednesday again with the protest. This time the protest involved crying and laying on the floor of dance class. I wish I had a photo to share because it made me laugh. After the first five minutes she did fine and that was that.

Are you noticing a pattern here??

Taylor (unlike Thomas) is as stubborn as they come. When this little girl doesn't want to do something you can forget about it. She rarely falls for bribery and gives in ONLY on her own terms.

Today...like the last two classes...started with protests, but to my surprise they didn't last. I asked her if I could take a picture of her in her tutu and somehow this completely distracted her from not wanted to go to class.



And just so you all know... I am not forcing her to go to dance class. If she really didn't want to go I would not make her. She is just a little shy and it always takes her the first few minutes of class to warm up to everyone.

Thursdays and Saturdays are Thomas' soccer days. The only word to describe this....HILARIOUS! A bunch of 4 yr olds running around, rarely aware of which direction they should be running.

Since I work every Saturday I have only made it to one of his games. Although I think one game pretty much sums up the entire season. I have decided Thomas is there mostly for the social aspect of it and could take it or leave it as far as the soccer goes. However, a camera can tell a totally different story. I like the story that these pics tell.



Oh and their Halloween costumes.....



PIRATES!!! Both of them!!!

Another month come and gone...

My weekly routine with the kids seems to be making the time just fly by. Add in all of the things that are "non-computer" related, another month come and gone and what you get is a really bad blogger. The truth is, ever since school started two months ago I have been out of sorts.

My camera has dust people!!!

Yes I said...DUST!!

I keep picking it up and even throwing it in the car with me, but that's where it ends. I never end up actually using it. I started organizing photos the other day...hundreds and hundreds might I say...and realized that this is the first summer that I have taken close to zero pics of the kids. I fear that in the future...far in the future...I will look back and wonder what happened in the summer of 2010 that kept me from taking pictures of the kids. I will wonder what they looked like...what they were doing.

Oh well I guess. Although it is still 105 degrees out, summer is over!

It is time to focus on fall.

So that is what I will do. I told you a while back, so far back you probably don't remember, that I would give you a hint to our Halloween cotume choices this year. So I will do just that...



This is the pattern for Taylor's costume!!! Can you figure out which one she will be?? Thanks to my wonderful mom both of the kids' costumes are finished and just waiting. Halloween can not come fast enough for this mommy!!

Stealing some fun...

So, I have nothing new to report around here. And actually that is quite alright with me. The kids and I plug along all week with our little routine and I have occasional moments of insanity and then I regroup. I spend the weekend trying to soak up any minute I can get of shared parenting and then the week starts all over again. I love it though and wouldn't have it any other way.

With that said...

I was perusing blogs this morning and read my friend Jessica's blog and decided to steal her post today.

Most of my posts are about my kids, but today I am talking all about myself.

25 Things You Do Not Know About Me (well, except my mom and my sis...they know pretty much everything about me)

1. I cannot eat milk duds without popcorn.
2. My absolute favorite color is yellow, but I only own one shirt that is yellow and wear black and white most days.
3. Christmas is my favorite holiday, but since having kids Mother's Day is the day I look forward to the most. My hubby has made everyone so far great!
4. I watch General Hospital...yes the soap opera, religiously. It is my number one on the DVR list.
5. Country music makes me absolutely HAPPY...it can turn my mood around instantly.
6. I despise laundry...everything that has to do with laundry I hate. So, much so that I would hire someone to do it if I could afford to.
7. I love doing the dishes and prefer to do them myself even if my hubby offers to do them.
8. I have never started a BBQ...I get freaked out at the thought of starting it. I have no idea why.
9. I am scared to DEATH of snakes and just the site of one will cause me to have a nightmare the next time I fall asleep.
10. At work my routine is like CLOCK WORK...I am neurotic about it.
11. The only nickname I have ever really had is Miffie...there are only a select few people in my family that still call me that.
12. My favorite movie is Top Gun even though I really do not like Tom Cruise.
13. I think motherhood is the most rewarding thing I have ever done.
14. I laugh at my kids daily.
15. I have the mouth of a trucker and my favorite word is not a very good one.
16. I always have a plan, but never stick to it.
17. I have never packed for a trip earlier than the night before.
18. I strongly dislike local news, but watch NBC Nightly News every night...I love Brian Williams.
19. I dream every night and almost always remember them in the morning. I have often wondered what they mean...if anything.
20. I would love to write a book about motherhood.
21. I once made a list of 50 things I wanted to do in life and #5 was ride a Harley across the country. I laugh every time I read the list. Oh and I have never been on a Harley.
22. If I could own a race horse I would name it "Are you kidding me?"
23. I say "Seriously?" so much that Thomas now says it.
24. It drives me nuts when kids that can talk have pacifiers.
25. When I cry at movies it is usually the "ugly cry"

And there you have it. A little bit more about me that you probably didn't know 5 minutes ago.

Are you ready for some football??

Because we are!!

Officially the 2010/11 NFL season began last Thursday night, but Sunday was really the day that made it official in our house.



Thomas keeps changing his mind as to what team he is backing. This week you can see he was a Seahawk fan...next week though...he will probably be a Cardinals fan. My hubby will not agree with me, but I don't care which team he likes.

Laboring on Labor Day??

Well, our Labor Day was filled with a whole lot more laboring than resting. No complaints here though, I felt pretty good last night when I looked back on what I got accomplished.

Tom and I both worked all weekend, but did a little playing. I took the kids to our friends Chris and Jen's house for some much needed swimming. Well, the kids swam and mom just chatted. Oh and had Jen design an awesome flier for a Breast Cancer fundraiser we are having at work...more on that later...but Jen is great. Tom took Thomas golfing...not just to the driving range either...they actually played 9 holes.

They were sooo cute when they drove by in the cart and when they got home. Sometimes it absolutely amazes me how grown up Thomas can be. I do not like it quite frankly, but more on that later.

I did some much needed cleaning of both my car and my house. I always feel pretty darn good when I get cleaning done. It isn't may favorite thing to do, but it is rewarding when it is done.

And lastly...

I finished two projects. I will be sharing over on TaylorTHIS lately today. Each project I finish makes me smile a little more.

outplay...outwit...OUTLAST

So, I decided to start the VERY dreaded task of POTTY TRAINING!!!

Can I just tell you that I am one pair of underwear away from giving up and it is only day two?

Can I just tell you that it is WAY different with Taylor than it was with Thomas?

Can I just tell you that Taylor thinks it is some sort of game? That every time she has an accident... THAT is when she decides to tell me she has to go potty!! Better late than never...I GUESS

Can I just tell you that she thinks the door needs to be closed and I need to leave her alone while she is trying to go? I am sorry, but when was the last time I got to use the restroom without a dog and two toddlers hanging off of me? She must be taking a page out of my hubbys book...Mr. I need 30 min with no interruptions. Oh don't even get me started, I really could devote an entire post to Moms and Dads and the differences in restroom usage. But I digress

Can I just tell you that Thomas gets more excited when she goes in the toilet than she does?

Oh and one more thing....

Can I just tell you that my mom is tackling potty training tomorrow while I am at work.

Please...Please...Please

NO ACCIDENTS AT NANA's

My Mastercard Commercial

Dance class...$45.00 a month

Tap and Ballet Shoes...$35.00

Leotard, tights and skirt...$28.00

Getting to see Taylor sitting with five other little girls at her first dance class...

PRICELESS!!




Side note...

Thomas was just as excited for Taylor to go to her first dance class as I was. He was a totally supportive big brother. I was a proud mommy at 10am this morning.