Pumpkin Patch (2009 & 2010)

The "official" pumpkin patch picture.

I'm trying not to let it get to me that Lola's not even looking at the camera.

Last year it was quite chilly.

This year, not so much.

I swear it feels like this past year flew by so fast.

Ghost Toes

Let me just say: Halloween is not my favorite "holiday." I honestly could skip it altogether. I sure as heck don't ever like to decorate with any of the spooky, typical Halloween fare. Pumpkins are as wild as we get. This year, we barely got that done with all of the house craziness we've been dealing with. (Thank you, Lord, for getting it sold!)

However, I made an exception this year and painted Beezy's toes to look like little ghosts. Gramby had bought her a kit of Halloween glow-in-the-dark polish, so this is what we came up with. She loves her little ghost toes. She told every nurse at the doctor's office about them.

Corn Maize Field Trip

I thought about dragging out this post into two or three days just bc there's so many pics, but ultimately decided to share it all at once. Last week, Lolabee's class went on another field trip, this time to the Corn Maize. This was my first time to visit and I have now added it to my list of annual things to do. She had a blast. I think the pictures speak for themselves. So fun!


That great big smile in the bottom pic is Lolabee riding the schoolbus. That's how every field trip starts out: Giant smile and excited to ride the bus. Every field trip ends with her asleep in my lap. The Duck Race was lots of fun for her; such simple activities, but she loved all of them.


The Corn Box was probably her favorite. She thought it was so cool to rock out in all those corn kernels. I'm still finding kernels in the car and a few in the kitchen. Notice her bling on her left hand. She's super proud of that jewel. She got it in the treasure box at school and has worn it almost everyday since. She even takes the time to wash it separately when washing her hands.

Cow Train; Poppa Bobcat needs to make one of these! While observing her on these field trips, I've noticed she tends to hang out with the boys a little more than the girls. I noticed that she likes to chat and, most times, they seem to find her a little entertaining. I can relate to having lots of guy friends, though. In my teen years, I quickly learned that being friends with the guys was MUCH MUCH MUCH less drama -- especially in a small town. The guys always made me laugh, and they liked to eat my mom's cooking. For now, though, I think it's so fun to see her little personality around all the kids. She's very sweet, likes to laugh, takes direction very well, and is a little shy in some circumstances. I just love her.

The hay ride. I happened to catch Lolabee really telling this little boy something. (bottom pic, middle) He was listening so intently. I wish I knew what in the heck 3-year-olds could be discussing so seriously. Corn Cop made me laugh. Neon green Chucks. Bee's shadow waving.

Hay Hop. Enough said.

The Corn Maize. She'd pretend she was Dora at times, working her way through an adventure. Fascinated by the ears of old corn she'd find. On this trip, I also noticed that, at least at this age, she can be somewhat of a loner. I totally relate to that too! It's not bad by any means; she just was confident enough to explore on her own and still always had fun. That's not to say she never played with the other kids, though. I always want her to be who God created her to be.

Brothers

What was Cal up to while Lola was baking? Just what every brother probably does: He barrels into the kitchen to see what she made. Sister shows him, then tells him they're not ready yet. Brother disappears.


Brother comes back again. This time to see if the cookies are ready to eat yet. Checks the oven. Not done yet. Disappear again.

Run back to the living room to get thrown in the air by Daddy.

I couldn't figure out how to make my camera speed up enough to capture Cal really in action. He gets pretty high. Here, he's actually coming down. (Amanda, you know I'm not digging the throws! I get all clammy-handed watching this stuff. Addie's tosses send me over the edge!)

It was dark outside, all fake lighting inside, doing something super fast, tried different settings -- just couldn't get it to do what I wanted. That's kind of the story of me and my camera's relationship most of the time. I see things in my mind but can't make the camera cooperate. Oh well. And, to top it off, I meant to take a pic of the kids finally eating their cookies. I forgot in my hurry to get a bite too!

I'm wondering if this is sort of what it'll be like when the kids are teenagers. That'd be cute. Hopefully Bee will still enjoy helping in the kitchen. And, something tells me that Cal will always be one to help us eat her creations :)

Cheater pumpkin cookies

Lolabee loves to bake. She loves to help out in the kitchen, period. I bought these cookies to bake simply because they're easy to just open, throw on a pan, and bake. I knew she could do it all by herself. Plus, they are delicious. Granted, in about 2 days they've hardened into disks that could break your teeth, so we have to throw away what's not already eaten.


So, I let her loose, and she was thrilled to be "in charge."

And, as all good bakers know, you must stop halfway through preparing your snacks to make funny faces at your mama.

Every season, I think these little cookies are so cute. I'm intrigued with the way they're able to make the dough with the designs smooshed into the centers. I'd like to watch that Unwrapped on the Food Network. Before & after. Yum!

Thanks Beezy!

Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my 33rd birthday. I could have sworn I was already 33 but after doing the math several times and being assured by family, I really am just now 33. Crazy.

We don't make a big deal about adult birthdays. I'm happy just to eat a homecooked meal and relax. Although a simple, modern flower arrangement would be beautiful, I just can't justify the waste of money. A fancy restaurant would be cool too bc I love food and cooking; but I can't justify blowing a lot of money on a meal. As my great-grandpa used to say, "Anything'll make a turd." LOL He's right! (Sorry if that grosses you out.)

There's never a place I'd rather be than at home with my family, so to me, that's a perfect day.

However, KJ took it upon himself to make arrangements with his parents to watch the kids while we went out for supper. We went to Longhorn for steaks. I love that place. It's quiet and they have asparagus and sweet tea and delicious seafood dip...yum. We usually go there once a year. Afterwards, we went to Lowes to look at carpeting and a new oven bc we SOLD OUR HOUSE this past weekend!!!! The new house we're buying needs a lot of work so we're researching prices for all kinds of new stuff. When we got back home KJ surprised me with this tiny red velvet cake. Even though it was 9:30 at night, we let the kids have some too.

Cake + milk = happy.

Still hungry

This pic was taken the same night that I posted about earlier wherein we were sitting in front of the oven watching our fish bake. I still can't figure out why Cal didn't have anything on but a diaper. That keeps happening around here. The kids fight over who gets to ride inside it. I'm just waiting for one of them to bust off a wheel. And, yep, that's Cal's "smile" again. He will not quit doing that whenever he sees my camera.

Chores (lolabee)

We don't buy pop very often, but when we do have some in the house, it's become Lolabee's chore to stock some cans in the icebox. She's just always done it. At least now she's old enough that she doesn't shake up the cans before she puts them in there. KJ has unknowingly grabbed a couple of those cans and got a nice surprise.

On the days that she uses up all the cans, she likes to make hats with the box.

California Love

KJ calls Cal, "California." Which is funny bc most people go by a shortened version of their first name; he makes Cal's first name longer.

Anyway, on this morning, Cal was just not in a good mood. He wanted me to feed him his yogurt. (Which he HATES if you try to feed him normally.) Then he got mad and wanted to do it himself. Then he wanted me to do it. Then he wanted to do it. The cycle continued. I gave up and decided to just take pics instead. He cried for 10 minutes straight. Bee just sat quietly and ate her yogurt. She'd ask me from time to time if I knew that he was crying. I told her I give up. She said she did too.

Hungry

We were hungry.

HUNGRY.

That's me and the kids.

It's the reflection off of the oven door.

We were literally sitting in front of the oven watching our fish bake.
Lola's even got her oven mitts on and ready for the retrieval.

Did I mention that we were hungry?

Sour Patch Kids

Is it just me, or is there a bit of a resemblance between Cal and this Sour Patch Kid?

Gramby got the kids a bucket of Halloween goodies and inside was a box of Sour Patch Kids. All of the little goodies kept them busy while I was doing laundry. After a bit, I noticed it was unusually quiet so I went to see what was going on. Lolabee and Cal were sitting in the corner of my bedroom in the dark devouring the Sour Patch Kids. They ate the WHOLE BOX except for this one red kid and the four that Cal was squishing in his fists -- which he refused to give up. By the time I was finally able to get them free, they were nothing more than a sticky ball of goop. He was mad. So, so mad. I figured he might as well polish them off except that I didn't want him getting my newly cleaned upholstery all gross and slimy.

I took this pic of him before I noticed the candy. And, looking at it now, I can't really remember why he was running around with no clothes on. Usually the only time he does that is before bed and this was before suppertime. Kinda tacky, I know.

My pumpkins

CRJ & LBJ

Pumpkin Patch

October 2010

Bible Memory Verse (E)

"Every promise from God shall surely come true."

Luke 1:37

Lola's school homework each week is to memorize a Bible verse that corresponds to that week's letter. Amazingly, she has memorized all of them! And she can still tell you ones from earlier in the year. I thought it'd be fun to post them each week. Maybe I'll play catch-up and put letters A-D on here soon. They're simple verses but still such great truths.

I've enjoyed memorizing them along with her.

Sorry, grandparents, no picture today. I have lots on my camera but they haven't made it to the computer yet.

Crixus

Meet the newest member of our family. Meet Crixus. He's not our pup, though. He's my brother's. Lola likes him as long as he's in his crate. Cal wants in the crate. He likes the puppy except for when he jumps up on him and they're eye-to-eye.

Justin, I know this second picture will make you crazy. You're super protective of that dog! I know you hated leaving him in his cage just to keep my kids happy. And, no matter what you think, they were not "stabbing" him as you claimed.

He's so cute. And what a good little dog! He didn't even have an accident while we were there. I was all planned to clean up dog pee while I cleaned the rest of the house -- but nope! He must be a genius to already be getting the hang of potty training. ;)

The Book Bag

Since this past week has been all about reading and books, I figured I'd share this last little post on the topic. It was Bee's turn to bring home The Book Bag from her class. The idea is to fill the bag with your kid's 2-3 favorite books, then return it to school and the teacher will read one of your books during storytime every day. Bee was so excited to participate. It took her all evening to finally make her final decision on which two books to take. She finally narrowed it down to these two. Drumroll, please....

A Penny for Whiffles

Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse

The old Whiffles book is one I bought at a craft show this summer from a used book dealer. There's just something I love about old, vintage books. I think the illustrations are much cuter too. The Cowgirl book was a birthday gift we got her. She loves horses. I was a little surprised she didn't take Pout Pout Fish bc she reads that all the time. (Thanks, Jodi!!!)

Gun show

Would you like tickets to the gun show?

Here's 3-month-old Cal. He was right at 17 pounds and wearing 9 month clothes. By his four-month visit the next month he would weigh in at 19 pounds and move up to size 12-18 month clothes. Ironically, the exact same clothes he wore last September (shorts & t's) he wore this September. LOL He thinned out enough that all his old clothes still fit. He was just so chunky last year that we couldn't fit pants over his thighs and diaper (and belly for that matter) so he had to wear clothes with a much bigger waistband. The clothes didn't even look big on him, they fit him just right. He basically skipped all "new baby" clothes and went straight to the toddler stuff.

He also lost his hair :( He had a good, pretty thick head of hair as a new baby, but it eventually disappeared and came in BLONDE. Never in my life did I picture myself with blonde-haired, blue-eyed kids.

two months old

four months old

School Book Fair

The kids' school is having a book fair this week. I spent several hours on Monday helping them get set up and decorated. The theme is superheroes. I enjoy helping out anytime there's a need for parents to volunteer, it's just an added bonus when it involves getting to get a little crafty. I only did whatever I was told; there was a lady in charge who had everything planned out and organized and she did a great job. Really easy, cute superhero-type decorations.

On Tuesday, moms were invited to "Muffins for Mighty Moms" where we got muffins and juice and then took our kids to shop the book fair before school. Thursday is "Donuts for Super Dads" but I don't think KJ's going to be able to attend bc of work. I love getting to participate in all these cute little activities!

All of the classrooms decorated their doors to go with the hero theme. There were lots of really cute ones! One of Lola's teachers has a relative who is a sniper, so their class's door had lots of pics of those guys. Cal's class's door were books with each kids' face on the body of a book character. LOL It cracked me up! He thought it was unusual I think, bc he kept pointing at it and making an odd face.






Lola loves to read. She can't read on her own, but almost every night at bedtime, she asks if she can read before turning off her lamp to go to sleep. We always allow her to bc she really does sit in bed for a good 10-15 minutes "reading" her books and quietly examining each page. She was excited to learn what a book fair is and that she'd be able to get a book or two. She took it very seriously. Cal, um, not so much. He just wanted to grab books and run around with them. He got a book about the planets; Lola got two cute paperbacks. (I also got her a surprise hardback Olivia book -- totally unlike any Olivia book I've ever seen.)


I realize a book fair may not be that big of a deal to most people, but I love capturing pics of all of my kids' first this or first thats. Plus, it helps me to gain more confidence in my photography skills bc it forces me to break out my camera in places that don't always have the best lighting, etc. I need all the practice I can get. I tend to chicken out a lot, though, bc I don't want people to think I'm weird for taking a close-up of random objects. I try to take pics so that if someone were to flip through my camera, the images would tell a story on their own; they wouldn't need me to explain where we were at, what's going on, etc. I've got a long way to go but am slowly understanding it a little better :)

My Etsy Shop

This week in the middle of the super busiest day in a long time, I got an email notifying me that I had made my first Etsy sale! It was quite a surprise! This girl was in Georgia and had bought the brown recipe box. I was so excited and wanted to get it sent out right away so I packaged it up and headed to the post office. Luckily my mom was here with the kids so I had a chance to ship my box in between the kids' swimming lessons (where I have to be in the water with Cal), helping set up a book fair, low blood sugar, buying snacks for the week for Cal's preschool class, Lola's ballet class, and supper at our new Applebees.

As soon as I sent that shipment off, I headed to Target to get the snacks for Cal's class and while I was there I got another email saying that someone in Colorado had just bought one of the wreaths! WHAT?!? Awesome! So I bought some shipping supplies for that while I was there and headed home. That shipment went out this morning. (Tuesday as I'm writing this.)

I also got a surprise mention from one of my favorite bloggers, Julie, at http://www.joyshope.com/ I was shocked when I got a text and email from friends asking if I'd seen her post. My friend Ashley at Under the Sycamore (www.ashleyannphotography.com/blog) -- my all-time favorite blog-- has a button on her blog for my Etsy store this month as well, so between the two, I'm guessing that's what led to the sales. Fun!!! THANK YOU!

Now I've gotta get some more stuff made to replace them in the shop, as well as try to get the original products I had planned on making completed too. There is just not enough time.... :) Being creative and making things is an ultra-far cry from court reporting. It's like black and white. Everyone that's known me for very long knows that crafting has always been kind of "my" thing, (hello, I'd decorate and cook for my mom's Bunko parties as a high schooler just as an excuse to get to make cute little things!) so it's fun to get to do that and earn a little money on the side. I'm having fun :)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Lola & Mason & chocolate chip cookie pie

The other night we had supper at the Torreses' house. We love those guys! Our kids are all the same age so Lola has a blast playing altogether. Granted, Mason smothered her with a couch pillow and she clotheslined him with a Nerf golf club, but it all made for good times. LOL And Amanda can cook like no other....mmmm......so delicious! Thanks for having us :) Feel free to cook supper and have us over any time!

She cooked a Pioneer Woman recipe and I was in charge of dessert. Because of a crazy week and lack of planning ahead, I forgot to buy ingredients to make a dessert. Fortunately, this pie is my old go-to recipe so I always have these ingredients on hand. It's not fancy, but definitely easy and delicious.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. flour

1 stick butter, melted

2 eggs, beaten

1 t. vanilla

1 c. nuts (I, obviously, always leave this out; nuts = yuck!)

1, 6-oz. package chocolate chips

1 frozen pie crust

In a bowl, stir together all ingredients except for nuts and pie crust. Once combined, stir in chocolate chips and nuts; mix well. Pour into pie shell and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until set in the middle.

She won!!!

Last weekend Gramby and I took the kids to OK Kids Day. Lola visited enough booths that she got entered into a drawing. As it turns out, she won this big horse puzzle! We weren't there when they called her name, but as luck would have it, her dance teacher, Ms. Karri, was there and was able to accept her prize and then she brought it to Lola at dance class the next day. She was so excited!

Here she is before bed. She'd finally completed the puzzle and was able to dress her up. LOL

The Dairy Farm (Lola)

Lola's preschool class took a field trip to a dairy farm in Sperry. This was her first field trip ever. She was so excited to ride a school bus. Lola's class is called the Gray Elephants and all the kids are supposed to wear their class t-shirt on field trips. Being that her's wasn't very feminine, I decided to spruce it up some. On the back of her shirt, I added a flower to the big elephant's ear, and on the front I added a tiny little skirt to one of the elephants as well as a flower on another elephant. Much better! She got lots of compliments. I was going to add a skirt to the big elephant on the back, but was afraid to make her shirt too different from everyone elses.

I noticed after the fact that in almost every group picture I took, there's always at least one kid picking their nose. Gross. I just didn't post the one of Lola picking her nose. Haha!

Needless to say, there was lots of cow manure. Lola's grown up around it and has never seems fazed by it, but after seeing all the other little kids gagging at the smell of it, she decided to get grossed out too. Such a copycat.

She refused to milk a cow. I think every other kid gave it a shot, but she wouldn't touch it.

Giant "refrigerator" of milk. She was impressed by all that milk!

Waiting to head back to Tulsa.....

Once we hit the road, she was out! I remember doing the exact same thing as a kid when riding the bus home. We were usually the last ones to get dropped off out in the country and I remember getting so drowsy on the way. The windows would be open, it'd be quiet....made for good naps after a day in elementary. In fact, I remember our bus driver scolding me for falling asleep on the bus a few times bc I/we would end up slumped down in the seat and he would forget we were still on there.

I feel so lucky to be able to attend these things with my kids. If I were still working, it wouldn't be possible without a lot of schedule shifting and hassle. I'm beginning to see how quickly time flies with the kids, so I never take for granted the time I get with them.