Well I did it, I finally did it and booked myself a vacation for one on the beach!

*Necessary pause for whatever reaction you chose to have at this statement.* Ok, back to me people....

That's right, I'm going to be completely boring and take a long weekend, enjoy a hotel on a beach, and read books while lying in the sun. Not many people would understand the appeal of a solo vacation. Even I thought I'd never travel alone again after my semester abroad in Mexico. (Which was with a group, so while I didn't know anybody at the time I still wasn't really alone.) But then I had children, and a husband that is an avid sportsman which has him gone fishing and hunting every season it seems.

I love that my husband has hobbies he enjoys and that get him out of the house even if it usually leaves me home alone with two kids. I love that I have two beautiful children that are good at heart even if they do test my patience more times then I'd like. What I don't love is how little time I get to spend on myself, and when I do get time to myself I'm usually trying to cram in time to spend with someone I love and haven't seen in a while.

What does that all mean? That I get very little alone time. So this year, for my birthday, I will be doing just that, alone time. I've got the Harry Potter series and I plan to sit on the beach and reread the whole series from start to finish. See? I told you I was going to be boring.

Of course, the bonus to this solo vacation is that if I decide not to read the whole series, I don't have to, because I only have myself to answer to. I'm going to let myself decide what it wants to do. Well, as long as it entails sitting in the sand on the ocean. I mean, that's the best part after all!

And a side note to those I love that live far away and I have chosen not to visit on this expedition:
It's too cold over my birthday for me to visit you and to guarantee I can sit in my swimsuit in warm weather. I totally did the research on all the important areas before deciding on my local (which yes is not mentioned on purpose - some surprises can wait). Sorry San Diego, Boston, and Phoenix; I love you all dearly but February is a cold month to visit for swimsuit weather!

I was so excited when we got to the lake and I saw that my mom had brought out old blocks. I haven't seen them in years but I can remember building with them like it was yesterday! Naturally I had to use them for practice as I'm trying to hone in my camera skills for better picture taking. (I have a long way to go but it's fun trying.)

This just makes me happy. Even if there are tons of different things I'd like to do differently on the picture, the fact that it makes me happy is all that really matters! Another great thing? Photo editing has improved drastically with technology. So many fun ideas are in my head on what I can do with this picture. I do have to find a way to fit it into my home, it needs to be framed, it makes me that happy!

Isn't she beautiful? I told you so!

Thanksgiving was great this year! Not only did we get to celebrate with 4 generations in my family, but we also welcomed a new cousin as my cousin Brookey and her husband, Dana, welcomed Eva Veronica that evening at 7:07pm weighing in at 7lbs 1oz and she was 20 inches long. We were so excited to hear the news! I do have a picture she sent but I can't get the picture from my phone to my email for some reason. I promise to post a picture soon though, she is just gorgeous!

Prior to dinner, there was time spent watching football, and spying on the lake to see if anyone was braving the very, very thin ice for fishing. I swear, had one person been on the ice, my dad and Dusty would have been out there too!

It was an especially awesome Thanksgiving because both our kids were able to eat the food, and they did great!

Our Thanksgiving party from left to right: Daddy, Bopa, Uncle Tom, Grandma, GG John and Auntie. (I was sitting next to her.)

After all the delicious food we once again congregated for some football and naps.

Last was dessert, and I think it was a winner with the kids!

Thanks Mom for all your hard work on dinner, it was excellent as always!

Today I am thankful for:

• My Husband
• My Children
• My Family
• My Husband's Family (who are also my family)
• My Friends
• A home that we feel safe in
• Love

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

This morning I went and woke Rory up and we cuddled, laughed at ourselves in the mirror, pushed lots of buttons on her radio and then got dressed. After we got dressed I said, "Lets go wake up your brother" and she instantly squealed and then pulled me along by my hands as her feet were moving far too fast for her little body to support herself.

We get into Max's room and Rory is squealing and grunting as she is trying to crawl into Max's bed which is just a little bit too high for her still. Max rolls over to see her then shoves his head into his pillow to take a couple more seconds to wake up. I sit down across his room, picking out his outfit for the day. I look over to see Max has turned his head to look at Rory.

He reaches up and puts his hand on the top of her head. Then he very gently pulls her head close to his as he moves close to hers. I hold my breath, not certain what is to come, only to see him give her the gentlest kiss on the lips and then to lay his head back down.Rory continues to squeal in delight and grunt in frustration at her inability to get up into bed with Max.

That moment brought tears to my eyes then, and telling it now makes them appear once more. I am so, so thankful that I caught that loving, generous, kind moment between my two children. Thank you Lord!

It was a crazy weekend! It was just the kids and myself as Dusty was out of town which means lots of people invited us to join them which was great, but by Sunday evening I was looking forward to Monday and resuming our regular lives.

Friday evening we had dinner with my mom, Reb, and baby Jane while Auntie was bartending. Max did not want to eat, he wanted to help Auntie serve up drinks! Eventually he settled down though, just in time for Rory to get restless. It was still a nice night out as it was fun to see Reb and Jane, even if Jane slept almost the whole time.

Saturday the kids and I visited the doctor's office and loaded up with their flu shots and Max finished catching up with his immunizations. Then we went to Grandma's house to play.

After the kids' naps we loaded up again and went to Throwback's for Brayden's 1st birthday. He looked as cute as could be and the kids had fun with their balloons, harmonicas, and the police car/ball pit that was there. Brayden seemed to enjoy his birthday cake!

We returned to Grandma's after the party where we had popcorn and movie night and then once the kids were in bed I got busy finishing the quilt I started over 3 years ago. Mom was a great help and even did most of the hidden stitching for me as I could not get a grasp on it. (In my defense, it was 11pm at that point.) But I did finish it and it now sits in Rory's crib with her. I am so happy it's done and it's the perfect size for her crib too!

Sunday morning we stopped and visited with my Grandpa (GG Bill) at his new apartment. The kids had fun playing in the window looking at all the traffic below while Grandpa got a good laugh at how wild they really were.

Sunday evening wrapped up with dinner at Grammy and Dido's! (and Auntie Rosie too.) I mean, how could I possibly turn down an invite for some delicious lamb? We were forced to eat and run since the kids were pretty exhausted at this point. Needless to say we were all in bed early and thankfully everyone slept without interruptions.

Thanks to everyone that filled up our busy weekend. And thank you to all of those I had to turn down because we were so busy. It's nice to know so many people are willing to help out when I'm a solo parent. But with that said...

Ahhh, Monday, I never thought I'd be so happy to see you!

I'm an organizer, I know that has been stated and shown numerous times. I've been really excited to show you two projects we've done but haven't really found a way to fit it in, so today, I'm just making it fit in!

First, about 2 years ago now, we finished our basement. A huge undertaking that was made infinitely easier by the fact that A) my husband is amazing and quite the handyman and B) we know and love a lot of people in the trades so we were able to work out some amazing deals for the things we (Dusty) didn't know how to do. One project that I spent the majority of the time with though was our closet. I really wanted a walk in closet that would be able to hold most of our clothes since we had previously been living out of the two closets upstairs. This meant I needed a closet organization system, and as we all know, that isn't cheap. But I had Dusty! And Menards! 

Isn't it beautiful?

Oh and that gigantic mirror? Yeah, freecycle.org. You should really think about hitting it up. Uncle Randy made the frame for it so that was really cheap. Can you imagine how much that would have cost had I bought it? That was our finishing touch on the closet. It's complete now and I couldn't be more happy. Especially since I spent weeks figuring out the layout that would work and after all this time, we still have room to grow!

Once it felt complete? I had to move onto a new project. Our house originally had just a closet in the entryway and shortly after we moved in Dusty converted that small closet into a mudroom and laundry room. (It involved taking some room out of our garage, but it was a weird layout so it worked without affecting our ability to park both cars.) It worked really well for us, and then we had children. I wanted to be proactive and find a way to get all the kids clothes in spots that they can keep organized. So we made use out of an old coat rack and some old shelving from one of the closets. We also utilized the space behind our door to store out of season or rarely worn shoes.

Now Max and Rory have their own little area to place all their stuff!  

I have to show off the cute baskets I picked up at Lowes. I had to move the chalkboards which required needles, thread and a hot glue gun so they'd fit on the rack. After all that hard work how could I not show them off?

So if you were bored with this post I apologize, but I'm really proud of these. Plus then I get to brag about my husband since none of these would have been reality had it not been for his hard work. I may have done the planning but he certainly put in the time to make them reality!

Are you ready to fall in love with my high strung, controlling, lovable little man?

We have had a bedtime ritual for a while now. It starts with potty, teeth brushing, and 2 bedtime stories. I tuck him in and then I give him a kiss good night, shut off the light, and pretend to go out the door to have Max yell "Big kiss!" I then turn around and go back in and make a big deep noise and we exchange big kisses and then I'm out the door reminding him I'll see him in the morning.

Lately? Max has been trying to extend the amount of time his bedtime ritual goes. He takes his time going potty, spends a lot of time examining and brushing his teeth, and he's developed an indecisiveness with picking out his 2 bedtime stories. Yeah, he's getting far too witty for a two year old! I'm not usually a sucker for them but he's got me on the one.

Now when I tuck him in, give him his kiss and go out the door? He first asks for "Big kiss!" Then he started asking for "Little kiss." I had to oblige him! I mean he's learning his opposites and that deserves a reward right? But now? Now he's added "Fishy kiss!" That's right people, I now have to kiss him to bed four times every night starting with a normal kiss, then go in for slobbery one, then a tiny little peck and lastly, squishing my lips up into the fishy shape.

And Max? He's just the sweetest boy in the whole world that could do no wrong during those last couple minutes every night. I mean, how can I be mad at such an innocent little request? Even if it does make me out to be the fool...

Well it's started, my children are fighting. Before it used to be that Max would take Rory's toy or food, Rory would scream and cry, and then we'd rectify the situation and it'd all be good. Now? Not so much.

Max still takes Rory's things, or takes toys that he identifies as his own and doesn't think Rory should have. Rory? She still screams and cries, but she is also hitting and spitting! And Max isn't much better. He's gotten a lot more protective of his toys and if Rory has a death grip, he's sure to slap her on the top of her head.

Take this weekend. Rory grabbed a book off the floor that Max had been looking at until he got up to get a drink of water. When he saw her with his book, he ran over and tried to take it. Rory screamed and hung on to it with quite the grip until Max swatted her on the top of the head. The good news is that I finally did not laugh at this recent development, as we all know I'm prone to doing, and instead sent him to his room, consoled Rory and then sat down and had a good giggle!

Then last night Rory decided to start asserting her own little attitude. I was getting her in her pajamas on her bed and she didn't want to stop playing. First she hits my face. When I told her "no" she stuck out her tongue and spit at me! Then Max took her toy and she started swatting at him which in turn led to him laughing and swatting her back. The problem? Rory started giggling and the next thing you know they are hitting each other and laughing as if it is a game.

Seriously people? We've got problems! And if my past is any indication, this can only get worse. Ugh!

Saturday morning, before visiting Santa, I decided it was time to change all the batteries in the smoke detectors. (One had recently died and we had procrastinated on changing all the batteries out - and here you thought I was organized.) Well the tallest one gave me quite a fight so I had to call in extra help!

And so you know, Dusty insisted on wearing my slippers because the metal rungs on the ladder were cold from it being outside. He's not as tough as he likes to pretend to be!

Signs of a good day:

 Snowman made next to a play set.

Yard all torn up by a Daddy and his golf cart.

Snow piled up at the bottom of a slide.

What happens when you rely on Dusty to take pictures while you play outside with your children.

It really isn't a bad picture, it's just that he had the setting wrong on the camera so all my pictures are overly bright and everyone is sort of washed out in the snow. But this one? It works. So we'll enjoy this one and smile at our gorgeous morning out in the snow.

Saturday we woke up to a snowstorm!

We also decided that since this isn't unusual weather, we were not going to cancel our plans. We loaded up, joined the other crazies on the road, and made it to the mall in one piece - to see Santa Clause! When we got there we joined the other 6 families in what was called "Breakfast with Santa". I had no idea that was going on and it was great. We got food to feed our crabby kids (the car ride wasn't pleasant for anyone) while they got to watch and interact with Santa before sitting with him for their picture. Look at how well the picture turned out.

They used jingle bells to get the kids' attention. They certainly worked at having the kids look in the right direction, but since both of the kids are currently infatuated with musical instruments there was no getting them to smile while watching the jingle bells. Oh well, I think it still turned out pretty gosh darn cute!

This morning was a bit of a silly morning and thankfully I was quick enough to write down some of the funny comments that were made because of it. You should know first, that Max started wearing big boy underwear yesterday at daycare. It was a spur of the moment decision and he was dry from 9am until 4:30pm, including staying dry throughout his nap. Of course, once he went outside that changed, but it's a work in progress.

So yesterday we went home and put together a little care package for daycare including lots of extra pants and Max picked out what undies he wanted to bring with. Then at dinner he shared with Grandma, Bopa, Auntie and Ta-Ta about his new big boy undies. (He was in a pull-up for dinner, I was not dealing with that on top of late bedtimes!)

This morning he woke up and got extremely excited about his underwear and was just all around in a goofy, silly, highly energetic mood. I, was not fully awake. Upon helping him get his underwear on I wanted to try to stress the importance of telling an adult when he has to go potty. Instead, what came out was, "You don't want to piss...er...I mean you don't want to get your robot wet, OK?" Yes, I am such a classy Mom at 6am in the morning!

After getting our undies on we went downstairs to bounce around on Mommy and Daddy's bed while Daddy attempted to sleep. (At least Rory slept in this morning, someone had to!) So we're all sitting around being goofy and I decide I want to update my Facebook status and share my excellent morning discussion with Max. Max, seeing the picture of Dusty and I that I have on my profile page, gets all excited to point us out.

After he points to me I say, "Am I a good looking girl or what Max?" To which Max replies, "What Mama!" He was far too excited about his answer for me to be upset that he had just insulted me.

Then Max points at Daddy and says, "Daddy, you smiling!" and Dusty's smartypants reply? "I was happy that day."

Oh, what a lovely, goofy morning with our very talkative, highly energetic, little man. Tomorrow, he better let us sleep in!

I know and love a lot of veterans, and I just wanted to make sure to put out my "Thank you!" for protecting my freedom. 

Obviously that had to be first today. In other news, here's two pictures of my children being naughty last night.

Do you think it's a good idea to have a 13 month old that can hardly walk, climbing onto of her table? I think not!

And what about Max. Don't you think that if you decide to make this big mess you should have to help clean it up? Apparently he thought not!

And here you thought it was all sunshine and roses in our household! (Although really, it is, just as many times as it's not.)

I always feel guilty when I skip a day on my blog, but yesterday was just not a good day. Also? I don't have anymore cute pictures to share, we're all caught up and it's only Wednesday! Can you believe that? So you'll just have to enjoy yourself with some of my stories.

1. Now that Max is 2.5 years old, he has decided to lose the ability to control himself in his anger. What this means is, Max will seek you out if you've made him upset and hit you. Oh, aren't I so lucky? I realize this is developmentally normal, and we are working with him on appropriate ways to handle his anger, but it does make for some funny stories too! Sunday morning Dusty had to leave us and help out his family at the farm. We were all sitting enjoying our breakfast and then Dusty got up to leave. When I explained to Max that Daddy had to go Max became very upset. So you'd think he'd be mad at Dusty right? Nope, apparently Max hasn't heard the saying "Don't shoot the messenger." He climbed out of his chair crying and headed my way and I assumed he needed a hug. So imagine my surprise when he hits me and says "No Mommy!" Thanks a lot for that one Daddy!
2. As I stated before, it took Max a little while to take his nap in his new big boy bed on Saturday. The first time I walked into his room I found him in bed, sitting up, with more books than his bed could hold, and the lights on. I calmly explained that he could only have 2 books in bed at a time and the light has to remain off during nap time. Shortly after I left Max comes running out to me all proud to report that "Rory broke it!" and handed me a ripped book. I couldn't help it, I busted out laughing! Where in the world did he come up with the idea that it would be ok to come out of his room and show me a broken book while he is supposed to be napping? Since when did Rory become his scape goat? And why was he so proud to report that Rory broke it? Such a silly, naughty, little man!
3. Rory has developed the sign and pout. If you're a regular follower on my blog, you'll remember all the times Max would guilt people into giving him something by signing "more" and getting all pouty faced. Well, apparently that is in our genes because Rory has developed this ability! And not only that, but those dimples man, they really work to her benefit! The other day, I'm trying to get the kids to join me by the front door and get their shoes and coats on so we could leave. I look up to see Rory sitting at the top of the stairs with big eyes, a fat lower lip pushed out, and she's signing "more" meaning she is hungry. Now how can I starve my poor little baby? Sure enough, she suckered me into getting both her and Max a granola bar for the car ride. That sneaky little girl!
4. Lately, Rory has shown a real dislike at the fact that she cannot talk to me like Max can. While in the car, Max and I were talking and Rory got really upset. As soon as I started asking her questions she calmed down immediately and got this satisfied little look on her face. It didn't matter that she couldn't answer, she just wanted me to carry on a conversation with her like I had been with Max! She's also been making all sorts of weird noises when I'm talking, I'm pretty sure she thinks she's carrying on her end of the conversation. Now she just has to learn its rude to talk when others are talking and to wait her turn.

Hopefully you enjoyed these as much as I did. It's funny just thinking about them now, even if at the time they were not so funny. They definitely keep me on my toes!

This weekend was very exciting for both Max and Rory!

We converted Max's crib into a toddler bed on Friday night. We had evening plans so we quick did it before heading out the door, so don't mind the kids in their winter coats. The kids had fun helping Daddy with the drill, and that bar only fell Dusty's his head twice before he finally moved it into place!

The mattress was too irresistible not to climb and jump all over.

Ladies and gentleman, a happy little man.

So far nights have been great. We do hear him moving around a little bit but when we check on him later in the evening he is sleeping soundly in his bed. There just may be a few extra toys that weren't there when we kissed him goodnight. He's only had one nap in there so far, it took 45 minutes and three visits from me before he finally stayed in bed without turning the lights on and playing, but I suspect it will get easier with time. Such a big boy now!

Miss Lorelei decided that this weekend was her weekend to be the star and has been moving around on her feet a lot more!

Max waited until 14 months and then he pretty much decided to walk where ever he went. Rory, at 13 months, has decided to practice using her feet but will still crawl or even "walk" on all fours quite a bit. I'm guessing as the week progresses we'll see her crawling less and less as she gets more confident on her two feet. Such a big girl now!

Dusty and I are now parents to two walking toddlers. God help us!

I don't want to get anyone's hopes up but Rory appears to have dropped the laziness and has been attempting to walk a lot more this week! We keep catching her standing up on her own or pushing off of things. If we stand in front of her and encourage her she will usually take a few steps to us before either falling or getting swooped into excited hugs!

Max has even gotten in on this and has been getting in front of Rory and giving her his hands to grab onto. Yesterday Max went over to Rory and gave her a hug while she was standing up and it was one of the greatest moments EVER. Of course the camera was not near by for me to capture forever. (I'm so glad I keep this blog so I can remember all my mental photographs and videos.)

It's so exciting! I can't help but get my hopes up that she'll be walking exclusively soon!

Sometimes, Max and Rory overwhelm me, yesterday was one of those days. Dusty wasn't home all evening so Mama was in charge, and since it was only me I did what I always do and made myself 800,000,000 plans to complete before going to bed that night.

Didn't I just say that I set myself up for failure when I plan? Yeah, I need to work on that. Anyway...

Rory had woken up with hives on her arms and legs that morning. This is a semi-regular occurance right now. We're pretty sure we've tracked it down to putting OxyClean in her wash on a couple occasions. As we work to get all her clothes rewashed, sometimes multiple times, she's occasionally woken up with hives. I sent her on her way after putting all her special lotions on her that morning, figuring she'd be good as new when I picked her up. But of course that isn't what happened. She ended up needing an outfit change at daycare and since the clothes they have there are clothes I brought a while ago, I never even thought of them; so of course they haven't been rewashed. So the poor girl had hives all over her back and butt.

Yes I took pictures, no I won't post them. I don't feel like explaining to the police that sharing pictures of my daughter's hived behind is not sharing child pornography. Thanks a lot Bin Laden!* 

So I get the kids fed (With one of my pre-prepared frozen meals, I'm so glad all that work has paid off!) and then I load them in the tub so we can scrub Rory down. Naturally I'm not paying attention and Max brings the goat milk soap into the tub and it gets extremely sudsy in there. I end up searching around looking for the lost soap since the water is all murky now and getting splashed as I hover. The kids are thrilled at this new game, "See who can get Mama the most wet". I'll be putting that bar of soap up high from here on out! (Thanks for the stupid soap Becca! hehehe)

We play games, sing songs, blow bubbles...OK, I'm totally lying. I am stressed out at this point thinking of all the things I still want to get done, trying to dry off, and not loose my cool on Max while explaining that the water has to stay in the tub. I did grab the camera and get some cute naked bathtub pics but won't be posting for reasons stated above. Oh, and another thing. Why can't there be enough room in my bathroom for a nice recliner? I spend way too much time in there between baths and taking Max to the potty; sitting on the toilet is so uncomfortable and extremely trashy sounding when saying/writing it!

After our baths, I get the kids all dressed, which entails covering Rory in all her special lotions and Max of course needs lotion too then. I take the kids to the living room where we start cleaning up. Right before I finish I hear Max say "Rory fall down stairs" and then I hear "thump...thumpthumpthumpthumpclunk". I bolt down the stairs to see Rory sprawled out on the ground wailing at the top of her lungs. I attempt to calm her down before she gets herself too worked up. It didn't work and sure enough she does just what she did the last time she took a good spill and vomits from crying so hard. I, being every so crafty and prepared, have my hand outstretched and catch it all! 

So I go into the bathroom and dump the contents into the toilet and turn to examine the damage on Rory. In that instant she vomits some more. This time? I wasn't prepared. It ends up all over her, the floor, and even a little on my sweater. (Why am I always wearing a sweater when this happens?!) The worst part? WE WERE RIGHT NEXT TO THE TOILET! Why I didn't think to turn her and have her maybe make it into the toilet instead of everywhere else I'll never know.

Now I'm really stressed, cursing Dusty under my breath, trying to keep Max from going near the vomit on the floor, trying to get Rory cleaned up enough to bring her to the bathtub. Yeah, it was really fun. After about 20 minutes I have Rory cleaned up, I'm in my undershirt, and we're all rocking in the comfy reclining chair (that's too big for my bathroom) reading a book and giving Rory her neb for the evening.

Thankfully, the kids went to bed easily after all of that. I spent the rest of the evening, doing laundry, cleaning up vomit, picking up the house and making apple sauce. Oh, don't feel too bad for me. I also spent a GLORIOUS hour reading a book and soaking in my gigantic bathtub. And when I got out? I was a new woman. One that can share this story and laugh, one that doesn't kill her husband the minute he walks in the door but instead laughs at his funny stories from his evening out, one that smiles thinking about how she once again gets to claim being the "Puke and Rally" Mom. I have also gained a little insight and will make sure Dusty is the one to console Rory the next time she takes a big spill. IT IS HIS TURN! 

*Please excuse me, for I absolutely could not stop myself from stealing a line from The Hangover. We watched it a lot recently and it was just too perfect in this situation. If you haven't seen the movie, I apologizing for how insensitive that line seems, and you need to go out and rent it so you understand my humor here.

Saturday was supposed to be our low-key day as we didn't have any plans until dinner time. The kids slept in, which was great, but it threw a wrench into our (ok...my) perfectly oiled plan for the day. So instead we ended up loading up port-a-cribs, overnight bags, costumes and ran a bunch of errands as fast as we could so we could make it to the farm in time for the kid's naps so they could wake up and we'd be at the party on time!

Me and my planning, it's always setting myself up for failure! We got there and I setup the kids in a back bedroom while Dusty took them out to look at the cows. (There was no bringing Max into the house without seeing them first, no way Jose!) Then we tucked them in and left them alone. 45 minutes later I hear Max yelling clear as day, which is weird because I shouldn't. I go check and he's got the bedroom door open and is yelling "Hi Daddy!"

-Wait, didn't you say you packed the port-a-cribs? What do you mean he had the door open?

Well, we did have Max in the port-a-crib, but apparently he has learned to climb out! So instead of the kids sleeping, like I had thought, Max had entertained Rory while she bounced around in her port-a-crib. I couldn't even be mad, I just laughed, it was actually pretty cute. I finally got Rory settled back down and Dusty attempted to put Max back to bed in a different bedroom. We're pretty sure he did go to sleep for a short period of time but within the hour he was downstairs waiting for someone to find him. Little stinker escaping from his bed!

Rory woke up in time to start greeting the rest of the guests and the evening went pretty well. Since Max didn't really nap he was in a bit of a mood but it was mostly manageable so I can't complain. Plus, dinner was too delicious to stay stressed out on a crabby child. Jeff and Cyd made turkey, potatoes, broccoli, stuffing, sweet potatoes, and gravy - can you stop yourself from drooling?! I thought I took a lot of pictures on my camera, but on later inspection I really only took a few and the majority of them are of the small children. So I'm guessing all those other pictures I see in my head were the pictures I took on Cyd's camera for her. So you'll just have to enjoy pictures of the cute kids enjoying cupcakes as those are the pictures I have!

Thank you for an excellent dinner Auntie Cyd and Uncle Jeff! I know we were full when we left, and it certainly helped having all that food in our bellies before our crazy Halloween party that night!

Oh? And also? We'll be transitioning Max to a big boy bed this weekend. I really hope he stays in his bed and we all get to sleep. I don't think I'm really ready for this, I've been enjoying sleeping in the last few weekends!

To carry on the costume sharing, I have to show off The Hangover crew!

Dusty is Stu, Randy is Alan, and I'm Mr. Chow. We had a fun time at the bar watching Good for Gary play and getting our dance on! (OK, maybe the boys didn't dance much, and I was a bit too hot in my outfit to really shake it, but I still danced dang it!) Besides, just getting a night out with my husband and with friends is priceless!

We left after the first set, as I wasn't feeling the greatest and we were really tired after spending the day at the farm. (That post to come...) After we left we got a phone call telling us that Randy won the Halloween contest, which was a $300 prize! Of course, he had to give props to Carlos, I mean, he did all the work!

Here's Randy on stage being announced as the winner!

We had a really great night with everyone. For a last minute plan I think we pulled our costumes together pretty well too! Oh, I didn't mention that? Yeah, Friday night we decided we would join them and the event was on Saturday night. We had about 2 hours to put together our costumes on Saturday because of all our other plans. I'm pretty proud!

(Thanks Shelly for the pictures!)

We had a crazy weekend! The kids were up late every night, so they are sleeping in today with Daddy. Hopefully they remember to sing him the "Happy Birthday" song! (Happy Birthday Daddy!)

I'm going to be jumping all over this week, because I'm sure everyone wants to see the Halloween pictures first, which was Sunday. So without further ado, my Princess and my Frog...

We started out at Bopa and Grandma's so they could practice their Trick or Treating. I quick ran in the house so I could get a first person view - I'm so crafty like that. Don't worry, my mom was doing the same thing inside so you know where I get it from!

After stopping at Bopa and Grandma's we headed over to Auntie Katie's and Uncle Andrew's so the kids could trick or treat with Lyla. Apparently Lyla was not into wearing her costume earlier this week but with Max and Rory all excited to get dressed up Lyla was quick to run around and show off her halo and wings!

Dusty and Andrew loaded the kids up and off they went in search of the best candy around. (Brent and Molly spoiled them quite a bit from my understanding!)

It was another successful Halloween. Thank you Katie and Andrew for letting us hang out in your 'hood!