Chloe's First Boo!

Halloween Past

Here are some of my favorite pictures of Halloweens past!
Evan's First Boo 2005

Halloween 2006

Halloween 2007 My "Big Dinosaur"

We Heart Halloween!

We love Halloween around here. It's a big deal in our neighborhood. Kids come from all over the city to trick or treat here. (Fun, but also expensive, don't expect the good candy at our house). I always had such a great time on Halloween and it's so fun to see my kids enjoying it as well. We've been doing some Halloween activities in anticipation for the big night! More pictures of Halloween fun to follow of course.

Evan's Jack-O-Lantern
Chloe's First Artwork (Idea totally stollen from The Whites)

Pumpkin Carvin'

Spooky Stories

Prayer Request

My uncle, Ray, is having his foot amputated today due to complications from an infection. He is a very active husband, father, and grandfather among other things. He has been living with diabetes since childhood and a couple of years ago he was near kidney failure, but was able to have a kidney and pancreas transplant which cured both his kidney failure and diabetes. He developed an infection in his foot that is common to transplant patients. His vascular system in his foot was damaged and could not carry the necessary blood and oxygen there to fight the infection. This is devastating for him and his family of course. Please surround them with prayer today and as he faces an extremely long recovery and rehabilitation.

Fall Photos

Aaahhhh!

I don't know if they read my post yesterday and decided I needed help, or if they just truly wanted to spend some time with their grandson today, but Granddaddy came to get Evan this morning around 10:00 to have some fun. Evan ran to the door and didn't even look back as he shouted "Bye!". I was slightly offended, but I guess he was ready for something new. Whatever the reason, God bless them. Chloe went down for a nap and is still asleep 2 hours later, amazing what not having Evan in the house will do for her sleeping habits. And I CLEANED my house! Aaaaahhhh! I feel so much better. It's amazing how truly WONDERFUL a clean house can make you feel. I feel renewed. Now if I could just shower, I'd have a brand new outlook on life :).


We even cleaned our toy closet, I mean playroom (Evan just drags his toys from this room to the family room).

Alright, I'll admit, I didn't get the upstairs cleaned, but really the kids only sleep up there, how dirty can it be?

Thanks, Mom and Lynn. Now that my house is clean, I'll even invite you over for some lasagna tonight!

let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.Hebrews 10:21-23 (in Context) Hebrews 10 (Whole Chapter)

Sass, Sass, and More Sass!

The Case of the Missing Door Stopper

A conversation with Evan recently:

Mom: Evan, where is the door stopper from the wall?

Evan: I can't tell you.

Mom: Yes,tell me.

Evan: You won't be mad?

Mom: No, I won't (praying it's not something I'll be mad about).

Evan: You'll give it back to me?

Mom: No, I'm going to put it back on the wall.

Evan: Then don't even think about it again!

A little while later:

Mom: Evan, where is the door stopper off the wall?

Evan: I said, don't talk about that anymore!

Mom: I need to know where it is.

Evan: I'll let you know when I'm done and it's your turn.

This morning:

Mom: Evan, I need to know where the door stopper is now.

Evan: Oh, it's in my turtle injun truck! Woopsy! I forgot to tell you!

Last Chance Library

On Tuesday, we went to Story Time at the library. We had a great time listening to Mr. Will tell his stories. I let Evan play on the playground outside the library when we were done. When it was time to go he cheerfully said "ok" and raced me to the car, jumped in and buckled himself in his carseat. Oh wait, that was the dream I had last night :). When it was time to go he of course refused. First he tried negotiation.

Evan: "Just one more slide!"

Mom: Ok, one more slide.

Evan: "How about two?"

Mom: Nope, just one.

Evan: "How about three?" (going the wrong way buddy)

Mom: Nope, just one.

Evan: "How about this many?" (holding his thumb down with his other hand, so 4 fingers are showing)

Mom: Evan, you could have had 5 slides in the amount of time you've argued with me about this.

Evan: I can have 5 slides?!

Then he moved on to outright defiance, climbing up in the playground equipment where I couldn't get to him. My next tactic included veiled threats: "Evan, if you don't come now you won't get to play next time. If you don't leave when mommy tells you it's time, then we don't play next time." Evan countered with distraction... (from the top of the playground equipment)

Evan:"You mean I can't play when we come back last week."

Mom: You mean next week.

Evan: You mean, I can't play then either? (Have you ever seen the movie Chicken Little, he uses this tactic in convos with his dad, and then says, "What were we talking about?" I feel this way frequently when talking with Evan.)

Mom: (Sigh) Nope, you are never playing again if you don't come down right now!

Finally, I resorted to my fall back tactic which had been so successful in the grocery store lately :). I said, "It's time to go." and I started walking away. He climbed down and came a little closer and then I heard:

"MOM! I TOLD YOU I WAS STILL PLAYING! NOW I'M NOT GOING TO WARN YOU ABOUT THIS AGAIN!"

I kept walking and he did finally follow me after yelling at me first several more times. I'm sure the other mommies at the playground were glad to see us leave before he could rub off on their angels. Hey, at least there was no crying, screaming, or diet cokes rolling across the floor this time. I'll consider it a victory.

Frank's in Time Out

For anyone who does not have a 3 year old obsessed with Disney's CARS movie, Frank is a big tractor of some sort (combine, maybe? not sure) who chases Lightning McQueen and Mater when they are "tractor tippin" in the pasture.

This is a toy version of Frank (which we have not been able to find in stores, hmm Christmas idea).

Sidetrack I also found this game, def. a Christmas present idea. Shh!

Anyway, we do not have a "real" Frank so this is our version of him (photographed by Evan).

So, Evan had Frank in the floor the other day (really out of character for our house, we usually have all of our toys picked up...

But I guess we missed one that day.) So, Evan was playing around with his turtle ninjas and stepped on Frank and hurt his foot. He howled for a few minutes and then he said,

"I guess maybe Frank needs to stay in the barn so he won't hurt me anymore."

Well, Frank, I certainly hope you learned your lesson and won't be lying around under Evan's feet anymore.

For your enjoyment, some pictures of tractor tipping:

And just for fun, not because they are related to this post in anyway, here are some cutie pictures of Chloe.

And for anyone paying close attention, yes, that would be my 4 month old watching tv in the picture of the messy room. The AAP wasn't really serious when they recommend no screen time for children under two were they? What can I say? We are a big tv family, just check our DVR. Oh well, I'm breastfeeding, hasn't research shown that breastfeeding counteracts the harmful effects of tv? I believe it will, it will cure or prevent just about anything, and it makes baby smarter (while simultaneously making mom dumber). After Evan's 3 year well child visit, Matthew said, "Well, we only lied on one question... how much screen time does your child get a day. We should have answered about 25 hours a day."

Oops! She Did It Again!

Ok, I know it sounds like I'm never actually looking at my child, but I guess with two it's harder to have my eyes on her at all times. So, the other day Chloe was on the floor playing. She rolled over from her back to her tummy and was just laying there looking all around. I was happy because she was really lifting her chest off the ground. I went back to the game I was playing with Evan. The next thing I knew I heard a small thud. I looked back at Chloe and there she was on her back again! So, she rolled from tummy to back and I missed it, too! When I saw what she had done I immediately started clapping and cheering and Evan did, too. Either we scared her to death or rolling on over did (I'm thinking it was the rolling because she had a super confused look on her face) but she crumpled that face up and stuck that little lip out and started bawling! It was SO cute, LOL.

Bring the Rain

I sat down last night after putting the kids to bed to do some of my schoolwork (I'm currently getting my Masters degree and I was crazy to do it right now!). Anyway, I cannot sit down at the computer without checking to see if anyone had updated their blogs yet, honestly, my fingers just click on it, I can't help it. Of course some had, so that started it. I will admit that I have become kind of obsessed with blogs lately. I love to read about what other people are doing. My dad and I have always enjoyed "people watching", like just sitting on a bench in a crowded place and observing the people that go by and this is another way to do that. My dad was looking at our blog one day and he said, you have a section called "Friends and Family", but none of those people are the friends I've heard you talk the most about. That's because my very closest five friends didn't have a blog at the time. Amanda finally jumped on the blog bandwagon, but I'm still waiting for the others (hint, hint!). Anyway, I explained to him that these were people I work with or used to work with (who are also some of my closest friends), people I went to high school with that I "found", and even some old acquaintances that I'd lost touch with that I "found" through others' blogs. For a long time, I felt kind of funny, like I was spying (or lurking as they say in the online world) when I would discover someone's blog by a link from someone elses'. I would go to their blog from my "friend's" blog, but it got to where I just couldn't keep up with where to find everyone's, LOL. Then I realized that lots of people read other people's blogs, even people they don't know at all. So, my friends list has grown and even though I don't talk to many of the people on the list on a regular basis anymore, I still consider them to be friends and I'm interested in learning about all the good things in their lives. But, last night I came across a couple of blogs (while reading the blogs of people I don't know) that really touched me. I don't know these people so I didn't feel right posting them under "friends", but I wanted to post them on my site for two reasons: 1) So that I can easily keep up with them and read them and 2) So that other people who read my blog might be inspired by them, comforted by them, and/or will pray for them. So you will see a new heading on my blog called "Other Blogs". The two blogs I've listed there, I've listed because they were meaningful to me.

So, after stumbling across the Bring the Rain blog, I ended up staying up until 12:30 reading it and did not get any homework done at all. I actually have looked at that blog before and I thought, really nice blog, pretty layout, author is a good writer, but didn't notice what it is really about. Last night, the first post was about The National Day of Remembrance for Pregnancy and Infant Loss (October 15). Of course this was dear to my heart due to the three miscarriages I have had. Then it hit me what this blog really was about and I went back and read from the beginning. What an amazing woman this mother is! Her faith is unbelievable and so inspirational. On her post about October 15, she asked for people to post a comment if they had lost a baby and she had over 2000 comments as of this morning! That is heart stopping. I know in my own circle of family and friends many have been touched by this heartbreak. So, I just wanted to explain where this blog came from and that I do not know this person, but I am inspired by her.

A couple of my close friends have suffered losses since mine. At the time of my losses I couldn't figure out God's purpose in them, but now I know that if nothing else, they have made me a more compassionate person. The reach and scope of the Bring the Rain blog is a testament that every person has a purpose from God, no matter how brief their presence on Earth may be and that is a comfort to me. After reading the blog, I went into my bedroom and just stood and stared at my baby girl sleeping soundly. I ended up picking her up (I know, I know, never disturb a sleeping baby and she did open her eyes and look at me like what are you doing? But she went right back to sleep) and just laying her in the bed with me. I laid there for about an hour just watching her sleep, listening to her breathe, and smelling her baby smell and thanking God over and over again for bringing me through my storm and placing her in my arms.

It's Brown Sheet Day!

We had our first frost last night. We woke up this morning with a pretty frost on the ground and a COLD house! Our heat kicked on for the first time this season and the smell immediately makes me feel all cozy because it reminds me of the holidays. I looked at the five day outlook and it looks like it's going to be pretty cool for a while especially at night, so I decided it was time for flannel sheets. I put Evan's brown ones on his bed right before his nap, when he saw me get them out he said, "Yay! It's brown sheet day!". This completely cracked me up because I remember last year when I put them on his bed. It was the night before his Halloween party at school. He really threw a fit when I put them on. He did not want brown sheets, he wanted white sheets. He cried and cried. The next morning when I went to get him up for school, I said "Guess what today is?" (meaning the Halloween party). He immediately sat up and his face lit up as he said, "Is it white sheet day?" I'm glad he likes them better this year.

Curious Minds Want to Know...

Is there anything you'd like to tell God thank you for tonight? "Thank you, God for creating the beautiful world." And is there anything you'd like to ask God to help you with? "Well, he could help me find my little turtle ninja, Mikey, that I play in the bathtub with." Amen.

"Mommy, how does God help us?" Well, he watches over us from Heaven and protects us and provides the things we need to be happy. "But, how does he protect us? Does he fight bad guys?" Well, not exactly.... "But does he live on a cloud?" Well, kind of, I guess..."Does he live in a castle?" I'm not sure..."Is God a giant?" Well, he's bigger than we are..."I believe God is a giant who lives in a castle on a cloud and fights bad guys." Ok, I believe you are right. I don't guess I ever really realized exactly how hard it is to explain God to someone with no background knowledge. Any Sunday School teachers out there? HELP! LOL.

A Message for Grammy and Grumpy

Thank you for the surprise, Grammy and Grumpy..... sorry, but it's not good enough... we need you to come for a visit soon!

Rolling!

Chloe is getting better, but she is still sneaky about it! This was a few days ago...

Get a Clue!

Ok, grocery store layout designer people, get a clue! Yes, I know you stick all that candy, goldfish, animal crackers, juice boxes, gatorade, etc right at the ends of the aisles that mommies will be shopping down for a cruel and devious reason.... to make the little urchins riding in their buggies start pitching a fit for them and for the embarrassed, stressed out to the max, sleep-deprived, mothers to give in and buy them for them if they will only shut up! However, your plan does not work with me... see I do not buy things for my child when they whine and cry and throw tantrums and so what results is that not only do you not sell that junk to me, but I'm pretty sure you lose several other customers who do not want to hear my kid screaming all over the store and give up to go home!

Can you tell I've been grocery shopping today? Have I mentioned I hate grocery shopping with Evan in tow? In fact, Matthew usually goes for us so that we can avoid scenes like this, but today we were out of milk as of breakfast and we had to have it before naptime so off we went...

It started out ok. He asked for several things.... stuffed animals that were in the produce section for some unknown reason (I said nope, they are not on the list and he was ok with this), some sort of really sweet and gooey looking breakfast bars (a little more whining), some marshmellows in the baking aisle (I gave in on those because he likes them as a treat and they are not that BAD for you). But by the time we got to the meat aisle he was entering whining mode (I WANNA go home! Are we done yet?). When we got to the dairly aisle he spotted the Trix yogurt, unfortunately I had a coupon for Yoplait kids (better known as Dora yogurt). This is when meltdown mode began... I want TRIX YOGURT!! The bad thing was that I had a coupon at home for Trix yogurt, but for whatever reason grabbed the other coupon instead. Oh well, he did eventually get over it. Then he wanted Kraft cheese slices instead of the kind of cheese I was buying. I WANT THAT CHEESE! I was trying to explain to him that we had that at home, but I could feel my blood pressure rising and I was starting to sweat. We made it on around the store, but he spotted some cookies in the bakery section and started up again. I just needed one more thing... some diet coke. But when we got to the diet cokes I realized I had no where to put them. The bottom of the buggy was full of milk and water and the top of the buggy was full of everything else. That just left one place.. in the car beside the kid whining for cookies. Well, as you have probably already figured out, he did not want them beside him. I told him, so sorry, but they had to sit with him. He promptly pushed them out of the buggy where they bounced across the floor. I was shocked, my mouth fell open and I'm positive the thermostat was kicked up to about 95 degrees. I bent down and told him quietly, but VERY firmly that I had no where else to put the drinks and they must sit with him. I had not even stood all the way up when they went bouncing across the floor again. Once again, I bent down and told him that if he did not stop then I was putting his marshmellows back. I started to put the drinks in again and once again he pushed them out. I'll be honest I was furious. The marshmellows went back on the shelf. Screaming ensued. I tried to put the drinks back in again and he was yelling and screaming and kicking at the cokes, pushing them away. I was literally two seconds from beginning to swat blindly into the car in the hopes of spanking something, but I happened to glance up to see the pharmacy staff watching the whole scene as well as several shoppers. I told him to get out NOW (quietly). He got out (already covering his behind) and saying "What's going to happen to me?" (I SWEAR I do not beat my child, I hardly ever even spank him and never in public, but I guess he realized that this was serious).

I just calmly put the cokes in the car, and pushed the buggy away. He immediately realized what was happening and began SCREAMING. MY FEET ARE TIRED! I kept walking. I did not look back. He was really out of control, he was actually hoarse he was screaming so loudly, but to my delight I did notice the screams following me. I did not turn around. I could tell by sound that he was following me so I wasn't worried. I walked right into the pharmacy section and calmly got his allergy medicine off the shelf. He continued to follow me SCREAMING at the top of his lungs that his feet were tired and he could not walk and he wanted his marshmellows. I walked to the vitamin section and looked all over for stupid Tri-visol which the pediatrician insists Chloe needs so she doesn't get rickets, can't find it. The screamer is still following me. I move up to the pharmacy window waiting to talk to the pharmacist. A lady finishes her prescriptions and turns around and looks me dead in the eye. I feel my face get red, but I just smile and say "Excuse us." She says, "You are GOOD." I smile, but I don't feel good. My insides are literally shaking I'm so angry and embarrassed. I ask the pharmacist about the vitamins, they don't have them. Evan is still crying that his feet are tired. I turn around and tell him that he can get back in the car, but the drinks have to ride beside him. While trying to catch his breath, he tells me that he wants them to ride on the other side of the car, to which I can't help but smile a little. Ok, I can give up that much control. In he climbs, sniffling away, but I think it's finally over.

We proceed to the checkout where what is there right beside where we have no choice but to wait in line? A HUGE candy display with every type of candy you can imagine and worst of all a whole side is full of Tic Tacs (his absolute favorite). He immediately starts in wanting tic tacs. I tell him, I am absolutely under no circumstances buying him anything after the way he has acted. Again, more screaming and crying the entire time I'm checking out. And by screaming and crying, I mean you could literally hear this kid all over the ENTIRE store. The sweet grandfatherly man bagging my groceries does not even ask if I want help out with my bags, he just starts pushing the buggy out. I never let them help me out with my bags because 1) I usually have so much junk in my car, I'm embarrassed for them to see it, and 2) they are always elderly and I feel much more capable then them to lug all my heavy stuff into the car. Today, I didn't protest. I gladly let him help me. I took Evan's hand, still not looking at him and off we went. Well, as we head out of the store we have to pass all the blasted candy machines, as if there is not enough candy for sale INSIDE the store! He runs over to the dog bone machine which for some unknown reason is his favorite. I tell him no. He goes limp with me still holding his hand, screaming at the top of his lungs! Once again, I let go of his hand and walk out the door. He follows me. I take his hand once we are outside and we get to the car. I tell the nice bag man to just throw all of it on top of the stroller, pom poms, beating sticks, hat, and dirty diaper in the back of the van. It will not hurt it at all :). I then put Evan in the car. He is back to the sniffling stage and then says, "Can I have some marshmellows on the way home?". My heart sinks. I tell him, we did not buy the marshmellows because you threw a fit. The fit that follows I'm positive can be heard all over the parking lot. In fact, I know it can, because as I'm trying to buckle him in, several kind passerbyers feel the need to point out to me that "Boy, he's sure throwing a fit!". REALLY? I was wondering what that was.

Anyway, I finally get him buckled in and get Chloe in her seat (in case you're wondering, she was calmly riding in the Baby Bjorn through all of this and never made a sound). Get in the drivers seat and drive away. It's a good 3/4 of the way home before he calms down. But, as I'm driving home, I'm thinking you were GOOD. You handled that really well. You stayed calm. You didn't give in. You managed to finish your grocery shopping. You survived. I then said a little prayer of thanks, because I've been praying for help on dealing with Evan, for patience and guidance and all those good things. As I finish my silent prayer, I hear Chloe laughing out loud. I look in the mirror and she is cackling at Evan. Apparently she found the situation funny. My heart lightened. I was actually feeling pretty good about myself.

Then I got home and upacked the groceries and realized... I bought whole coffee beans and did not grind them (we do not have a grinder). And that allergy medicine I calmly picked up it turned out to be some sort of hive control medicine for children age 6 and up not Evan's Zyrtec. And we are in fact out of Kraft cheese slices. And I'm pretty sure I'm going to have some REALLY flat diet coke. Oh well, it's a start.

By naptime Evan was sweet as can be. He was so loving and cuddly. He told me, "he just didn't like all that shopping." I told him, "I could tell."

4 Months Old

Chloe is 4 months old today! I can't believe she is growing so fast. Honestly, I don't know where the time goes. She had her 4 month checkup today and her stats were:

Weight: 13 pounds 12 ounces (55%)

Length: 24 1/4 inches (52%)

Head: 39.8 cm (21% little head)

She had to have her little toe pricked for some sort of blood check which was fine. She had her second dose of the oral rota virus vaccine and then three shots (the same vax as last time, 2nd doses of them all). Poor baby, it was a rough day! She was not happy by the time it was over. She even tuned up to cry when she say the receptionist as I was making her next appointment. I guess she thought she was going to stick her, too. She was all smiles for Dr. Blevins though. She seems to love him just as much as Evan does (and us, too). He has the perfect personality for a pediatrician. Evan brought a rubber spider to scare him with today, but decided after his flu shot (ouch :() that he'd rather wait in the waiting room with grandmother. I don't think he wanted to take any chances by being in the room when the next round of shots came in. He did scare the receptionist and all the nurses got a good laugh when he quietly laid it up in her window. She jumped a mile when she looked up. Little did we know she has a phobia of rubber spiders (glad Evan could entertain the office).

Both kiddos are feeling a little puny tonight. I don't think a single word has come out of Evan's mouth yet that was not whining, but I guess I can't blame them. They deserve some extra loving tonight.

I Think We Are In Trouble...

Who knew 3 year olds could be so sassy! Sometimes I don't know if Evan is 3 or 13. He has gotten quite sassy lately and kind of full of himself as well. For example, the other night my mom was watching the kids while Matthew and I went to dinner. Evan had been eating a snack and my mom kept asking him where it was. Finally he answered her by saying, "GrandMOTHER, it is in the living room now I don't want to hear one more word!" He is also growing a conscience. He knows when he is doing something we would disapprove of and he feels guilty if he does something wrong (and gets caught), but along with that knowledge of right and wrong comes sneakiness. As you know, Matthew and I are both teachers... of middle school kids... and yet you'd be surprised how many parents will come in and say "My child would never do such and such". Our favorite is, "My child has never lied to me." Parents out there, please never say this. I promise that the majority of teachers do not just sit around making up stories about your little angels. Think back to when they were three and doing things like this...

Evan wants a bird as a pet, like from the pet store. Mommy says no way, Jose. Birds are gross (in my opinion), carry diseases (in my mind), messy (I am not cleaning up after one more thing), loud, and they live a REALLY long time. But, at least once a week Evan asks for one and pleads and cries. After one such episode last week, he got Matthew off by himself and said, "Let's go to the pet store without mommy and when she's not looking we'll buy a birdie!" Good try, but luckily daddy is smart enough to know that mommy would eventually notice the new member of our family. I caught him using this trick again the other night... "Dad, come on, please, please, please can I have a popsicle, Mommy's not here."

Evan is also into everything! He was such a good little two year old, honestly. He never really made any huge messes or got into anything dangerous or anything. He was very content with his boundaries and his toys and he never really pushed it. All of a sudden, he knows no boundaries. He rifles through drawers and cabinets and ends up with things we didn't even know we had. He then takes these things and hides them in various places. Lucky for us, right now he can't keep a secret and so he ends up telling us that he has found something but he can't tell us what it is because we will be "angry" and say no and take it away. We know then we'd better start looking. The other day, this "treasure" was Chloe's rectal thermometer... eww gross, I know, we do use covers, so it's not that bad, but still. We still haven't found it. I sure hope she doesn't get sick anytime soon. Today he found a paperweight in the kitchen drawer that is super cute, has a place to put a picture of the kids. I swear I have never seen it before. I have no idea where it came from. It is now in the decorative box we have in our living room which is his "treasure box". The only way I was allowed to see that treasure was if I promised not to be angry first and not to speak. "Mom, don't say any words or you can't look."

Ok, the real trouble is that we pretty much don't know what to do with him! As I said before, he was such a good little two year old... three years old hit us like a ton of bricks. The tantrums, the sassiness, the sneakiness, the crankiness... half the time we don't know whether to laugh or cry. We need to "train him up right", but sometimes he's so darn funny! I guess we'll figure it out, but right now the score is Evan- about a billion... Frazzled Mom and Dad-Zip.

Prettiest Pumpkins in the Patch!

We went to Autumn Acres to visit the farm and pumpkin patch on Friday. It was a lot of fun. Matthew and Evan hit the corn maze first thing while I nursed Chloe in the car. Evan called me on the phone and said, "Help! I'm lost", LOL. They didn't go too far in, but they did find a little baby bunny that had escaped from Bunny Village. Evan had a blast playing on the playgrounds, petting the animals, and of course going on the hayride out to the pumpkin patch and choosing his pumpkin. Chloe was a trooper and all the jiggling on the hayride put her right out!