Goodbye, Bob

It was a rough morning in our house today. Dylan's beloved frog, Bob, died overnight.


Dylan found him this morning, and spent over an hour crying. The crying has stopped, but he keeps telling me how much he misses Bob. My heart was breaking for him today.

To be honest, I'm upset too. I didn't want Bob at first, but he turned out to be a really cute pet. I loved watching him, and I'm sad that he's gone. It happened so suddenly. He has been acting completely normal, and I had no idea anything was wrong.

Dylan loved Bob, and spent so much time holding him and talking to him. He's so sad, and I wish I could take his pain away.

Bob was loved and will be missed!

A Date With Wolverine

Dylan's Pre-K Halloween party was today!

The first thing he said when he opened his eyes this morning was, "Mommy, I am so excited for my Halloween Party today!"

I helped plan the party, and was volunteering, so Lexie spent the morning with my sister and nephew, Brady. From what I understand, they had a great morning together, which included an impromptu dance party in the living room, and lots of marshmallows and Oreos! ;)

After dropping Lexie off, Dylan and I went home to get ready for his party.


The kids had so much fun, and looked adorable in their costumes!

They decorated mini pumpkins with foam stickers, then played pumpkin bowling, pin the wart on the witch, and pass the pumpkin.

I helped with the pumpkin bowling, and let me tell you something: Watch out for wayward pumpkins! Those kids play HARD!

It was so cute to see Dylan interact with his friends.


He especially likes the girls!


The kids had yummy Halloween cupcakes after Game/Activity time. Then, they wound down with a book and a song before picking up their adorable bags filled with crafts and Halloween goodies, and heading home!

It was a great party!

Dylan was so excited after his party that he wore his costume to pick up Lexie, go to Petsmart, and go to the bank, where he and Lexie were given huge treat bags filled snacks and toys!

Judging by the smile on his face, I think Dylan's first Pre-K party day was a success!

ABC's of Me

I saw this on several blogs, and figured I'd give it a shot!

A - Age: 29
B - Bed size: King! Can't handle anything smaller!
C - Chore you hate: Everything but laundry!
D - Dog's name: Pepe and Bailey
E - Essential start your day item: Contacts...can't see without them!
F - Favorite color: Pastel pink, baby blue, or white. Pink/brown or blue/brown combos.
G - Gold or Silver: Silver
H - Height: 5'6"
I - Instruments you play: Flute
J - Job title: Mom, Stalkerazzi...I stalk my kids, family, and friends with my camera! ;)
K - Kid(s): Dylan and Alexandria
L - Living arrangements: With my husband, kids, 2 dogs, 2 cats, a fish, a frog, and 2 hermit crabs. I wish my horse lived with us!
M - Mom's name: Arlene
N - Nicknames: Stef
O - Overnight hospital: Preterm labor stay, two stays after the births of my babies
P - Pet Peeve(s): I'm annoyed easily. I'll save you from the list, but my biggest one is bad drivers!
Q - Quote from a movie: Don't really have one!
R - Right or left handed: Right
S - Siblings: 6 sisters and 1 brother...Kelly, Pamela, Sharilyn, Gregory, Gretchen, Andrea, and Jennifer.
T - Time you wake up: Anywhere from 7:15-8:30
U - Underwear: Thong, tha-thong, thong, thong
V - Vegetable you dislike: Brussel sprouts, onions, radishes, and hot peppers!
W - Workout style: Run several miles/day, 5 days/week. Yoga or Pilates when I get a chance.
X - X-rays you've had: Chest and ankle
Y - Yesterday's best moments: Making cookies with my babies!
Z - Zoo favorite: We heart the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium! The aquarium is the best!

Cookie Monsters

Every holiday, the kidlets and I make frosted, cutout sugar cookies. We all look forward to cookie night! Even Grant stops in to snag our dough. I think he does it just to make me mad. He didn't get the memo yet: No dough= NO COOKIES!


After almost a year of holiday cookie baking, the kids have the process down to a fine art. We all sit around the table, and get to work! They both help me cut the cookies out. Once they are cool, Lexie helps me frost them, and Dylan decorates with sprinkles.


Finally, we get to enjoy them! I think they stick with me the entire time, because they know that cookie eating is the best part!


We had a good time making Halloween cookies tonight. Some parts were a bit stressful (dough stealing, ahem), but we forged ahead, and the end result was perfect. Does it really matter if there are hundreds of tiny sprinkles on my floor?


I think not.

Tuesday Tidbits

Tuesday Tidbits...a day to remember all the cute and funny things my kiddos say and do!

Even though Lexie is out of diapers, we go through a lot of baby wipes in this house. Why?

They are baby doll and stuffed animal blankets. Each doll/stuffed animal needs a WET wipe. Dry ones won't do.

Speaking of diapers, when Lexie was wearing diapers and dealing with her diarrhea issues, she smelled horrible. Really. The smell coming from that child's diaper was like nothing you ever smelled. So it was only natural that, "Last one to the bathroom is a rotten egg!" morphed into, "Last one to the bathroom is a rotten Lexie diaper!" Dylan started it, and they seriously use this phrase several times a day-last one to the car, last one to the bathroom to brush their teeth, last one to the table...It's so funny to hear Lexie call herself a "Rotten Lexie Diaper!"

My kids love to dance. Especially Lexie! When she sees people dancing on TV, she has to put on her tutu, and stand right in front of the TV, dancing along with them. Just witness their dance party during "So You Think You Can Dance?" last night.


Short and sweet...that's all I've got this week!

A Bad Case of the Mondays

This morning was one of those mornings where I should have just given up and gone back to bed!

Today was the first day that I've had to wake Dylan up for school. He's usually up and eager to go. He just didn't want to wake up this morning, and ended up being completely miserable while I tried to get him fed and ready for school. I finally threatened him, and next thing I knew he was leaping, happily, around the house.

I was not. I was irritated by that point!

I dropped Dylan off, and drove away, even more irritated, after a run in with All About Me mom at his preschool. You know. THAT mom.

Grant took vacation days on Friday and today, so it was nice to have him around. He decided that he was going to watch me go for a run on the treadmill. What I really should have done was actually go for a run. Outside. Instead, I impressed him with my athletic prowess, by walking across the bed (to take a shortcut to the outlet) to plug in the treadmill, and falling off the edge of the bed.

I landed on my ankle, my ankle rolled, and I collapsed. Yeah. Athletic prowess. I. Sprained. My. Ankle. Plugging. In. The. Treadmill.

I decided at that point to just lay in bed for an hour, with an ice pack.

Needless to say, I'll be skipping my daily run for a few days.

Okay...it finally got better. It was a beautiful day...warm, sunny, and vibrant with fall colors! After we picked up Dylan, we stopped to visit Grant's mom, Kathy. It was her birthday today!


Then, we took the kids to the park. They were excited to have their daddy there to play with them. Grant chased them around for a bit...

...then we headed home with a car full of tired, hungry kids (and parents).

We got to take a lovely 2 hour family nap, then enjoyed the rest of the day together.

My ankle is throbbing, my head hurts, and All About Me Mom is obnoxious. And Monday is now over. I made it through the day!

Not Me Monday

Time for another week of confessions! Stop by MckMama's blog to check out her awesome Not Me Monday blog carnival!

I did not break a glow stick and have it splatter all over my shirt. Since that didn't happen, I was not glowing in the dark on the drive home.

While playing at the park, I did not blatantly ignore someone honking their horn repeatedly, thinking they were honking at someone else. It was not my brother in law, and I did not feel like a complete moron for not recognizing him.

On that same day at the park, I did not take Lexie behind a tree to pee outside for the first time. I did not have to do this due to the fact that the port-a-potty was taken away just moments earlier. She did not pee all over my hand and her pants. I did not just pull up her pants and send her on her way!

Keeping 5 kids with us at ZooBoo was NOT a difficult task. Dylan did not walk ahead and start crying when he realized we weren't with him. Lexie did not trail behind and start shrieking when she realized she lost track of us. I did not feel horribly guilty!

I did not make my kids wear costumes from past Halloweens to ZooBoo, simply because I didn't want them ripping or dirtying this year's costumes before Halloween!

I am not boycotting green beans after a recent incident with Lexie's first vomiting experience.

I did not attempt to take a shortcut over my bed to the outlet today, to plug in my treadmill, only to fall off the edge of the bed and sprain my ankle.

ZooBoo

We went to ZooBoo today at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG aquarium. It was a beautiful day for it, and everybody seemed to have the same idea! We go to the zoo often, but this was our first time at ZooBoo. It was so neat to see the Zoo decorated for Halloween, and to see all the kids trick or treating in their costumes!


My mom, my sister, Andrea, and my nephews, Brady, Brandon, and Jack joined Lexie, Dylan, and I for ZooBoo. I have to admit, it was overly crowded, and very difficult to keep all 5 kids together at all times. It was a bit aggravating for us adults, but worth it for the kids! Halfway through, the crowd began to disperse...I'm guessing to watch the Steelers game! ;) (Way to go, Steelers!!! Sorry Minnesota gals!)

I didn't want Dylan and Lexie to ruin their Halloween costumes, so I put them in different costumes. Dylan wore the dragon costume that he wore for Halloween 2007. Lexie wore the lion costume that Dylan wore for Halloween 2006. It was nice to see her in one of Dylan's cute costumes!


This was my mom's first time seeing the PPG aquarium, and she loved it! Penguins were the favorite exhibit for my mom, Lexie, and Dylan! The penguins are so playful and come right up the glass to interact with you!


One of the special ZooBoo activities was underwater pumpkin carving! It was so cool to watch!

We got to see a polar bear swimming in the water from the underwater tunnel!


My mom was mesmerized by the sharks!

As were the kids! The underwater tunnels are always a favorite of ours!

The kids got to trick or treat, look at the animals, walk through a haunted hideaway and a haunted house (they were awesome!), pet snakes and centipedes, dance, and interact with a few costumed characters. It really was a great event for the kids, and they had a great time!


Lexie refused to go into the Haunted Hideaway for a second time, after crying her way through it the first time, even though it was not even remotely scary! She was happy just sitting on a bale of straw, eating a pink lollipop, and cuddling the pink penguin her Nina had just bought for her!


The kids were having so much fun, that they even happily agreed to a few posed pictures!

Notice the shadow of the person trying to scare them! ;)




What a great day for them! I definitely think we'll do it again next year!

Happy ZooBoo!

Pumpkin Carving

Since today was a week until Halloween, we decided to carve our huge pumpkins. Four hours, 6 cuts, and 4 blisters later, they are complete!

The kids only lasted about a half hour. Dylan was feeling a bit under the weather, and ran off to lay on the couch.

Lexie eventually came back to sit with her daddy.

Grant and I were a bit frustrated near the end, because they were taking forever to carve, and all of our tools broke. I ended up using a screwdriver and a knife to punch out the rest of the pattern. Hence, the blisters!

Evil pumpkins. I'm glad we only do this once a year!

The hard work was worth it, though. Dylan and Lexie loved their pumpkins!

Indian Summer

After our 25 degree morning on Monday, which had me running out to buy Lexie a winter coat, the temps warmed up! For three, glorious days we were blessed with sunny, 70+ degree weather!

We took advantage of it by spending as much time outside as possible. We spent many hours at the park and in our backyard.

On Wednesday, we met my best friend, Jocie, and her two boys, Tyler and Braden at the park. I arrived at the park armed with food, drinks, bicycles, and baseball gear.

Sweet Braden was sleeping when he got to the park.
Dylan, Lexie, and Tyler had a great time together!
I can't believe how big Tyler is getting!
A man came to pick up the port-a-potty. The boys had to watch him load it onto the truck. Dylan was so angry that they took the potty away. Of course, once it was gone, everyone had to go!

Jocie and Braden! I am in love with this picture!
Notice the creatures that Dylan is "driving" around. ;) They are on the seat next to him.
Dylan, Lexie, and Tyler planning some trouble, I'm sure.
Little Miss Bean.
We all had a great time, and we ended up spending three wonderful hours there!

On Thursday, we spent the day in our backyard. I raked the leaves into a pile over and over and over again!






We really enjoyed those last few warm days of the year!

And just like that, it's gone. We're back to the cool, Fall weather!