Fall Down

In the chaos that has been my life recently, I completely missed Fall.

Sure, I'm living through it, but I got caught up in life, and one month of Fall passed before I realized it.

And now, the leaves are gone. Well, almost gone.

This year, we didn't have vibrant trees for long. Perhaps it was our unusually hot and dry summer or the fact that it recently rained for almost a week. That rain knocked down all the gorgeous leaves.

This sucks, because...

A) I love Fall.

B) I love Fall.

C) I love Fall.

Now, everything looks dull outside. Which reminds me of winter. And I really don't want to think about winter!

We may not have taken our Fall hike (other than a very wet one) or posed for Fall pictures, but we did get to enjoy the leaves via a very small leaf pile! Ah, my raking skills at their finest! The kids thoroughly enjoyed their leaf pile!






That? That is part of the beauty of Fall!!!

Procrastination Pays Off

I'm usually completely on the ball. I prepare in advance for everything! This Halloween? Not so much.

The past 5 Halloweens, I've had costumes bought with a month or more to spare. This year, I just kept putting it off.

Dylan had his mind made up as soon as we got the costume catalog. Lexie, on the other hand, changed her mind by the minute. I mean that literally. So I figured if I waited until the last minute, she'd have her mind made up.

Today, I realized that we just had 10 days until Halloween. The panic set in. Off to Party City we went!

I expected a nightmare. Surprisingly, our visit to the store was painless! Dylan immediately decided that he still wanted the same costume, and Lexie quickly chose one. Within 3 minutes of entering the store, the costumes were in my hand. They were in stock, and they fit! SCORE!

As we were walking away, Lexie experienced a moment of indecision. We had to look at the costumes just one more time. In the end, the costume she first chose is the costume we left with!

Success!

Next year? I'm going to buy the costumes early, so I don't have to experience costume panic again!

And with that, I'd like to introduce Jango Fett and Princess Aurora!

Way Back Wednesday

I'm going to be lazy today.

I've had this miserable cold for two weeks now, and I'm starting to get ticked off! I guess I shouldn't complain much. My poor mom has the same cold, and she's had it for a month. At least I don't have the horrible cough that she does! Regardless, I'm ready for it to be gone. Just when I think it is, I wake up the following day with a stuffy nose.

Without further ado, here's my easy solution to posting: Way Back Wednesday.

Dylan and Lexie in October 2007. Dylan was almost 3, and Lexie was 8 months. I can't believe how much they've grown!

Tuesday Tidbits

It's my day to remember all the cute and funny things my kiddos say and do!

*Dylan kissed the palm of my hand last night, and then closed my fingers. He told me, "Make sure you don't lose it!"

*While attempting to get an eyelash out of Lexie's eye, Lexie yelled at me. "Quit trying to pick my eyeball!"

*Dylan was examining a blank notebook on my dresser, and asked me why there weren't any words or pictures. He kindly offered a solution. "Use your imagination and fill it up with pictures!"

*A frequent phrase that Lexie likes to say: "Dylan, you're making me CRAZY!"

*Dylan is always eager to go to the bus stop in the morning. After brushing his teeth, he puts on his backpack, and impatiently waits on the couch until it's time to go.



*Lexie has WAY too much energy in the morning. At 8 AM this morning, she ran laps around the house for 5 minutes. Then climbed the floor lamp.



*Lexie told me the other day, "You and Daddy are the police of us!"

*Lexie's favorite thing to say when she's frustrated or disappointed is, "Tartar sauce!" She sounds so cute when she says it! Can you tell she has an older brother who loves Spongebob?

*I told Dylan that I had to get out to the living room to watch House. He asked me, "Is that the show with all the beautiful houses or all the doctors?"

*Lexie loves pink Nesquik. Whenever I get it out, she asks, "Can I have a little dip of my finger?"

*Dylan and Lexie's favorite tub game is Waves Go! The point of this game is to splash as much water out of the tub as they possibly can by sliding around or jumping. I love it.

*The other day, Lexie shouted, "It's not about you, Mom!!!" I didn't think she was supposed to say that until she was a teenager?!?

*On Saturday morning, Lexie climbed onto our bed and quizzed us on birthday dates. After going through a long list of people, her brain grew tired, and her words became jumbled. "What day is Cosette's birthday? What starts with Baby Phat's birthday? What is Daby's birthday about?"

And that, my friends, is the zoo I live in!

Weekend Love

We clocked in another busy weekend. That's been the norm this year. I think I need a vacation just to recover from our weekends!

This weekend:

*I stepped away from the camera. Okay, so maybe I took 5 pictures. That's it!

*My mom, the kids, and I went shopping.

*We attended a first birthday party. Happy Birthday, Logan!

*We spent Saturday evening at my best friend's house. We had fun playing Scene It on Wii while our kids ran around. Dylan especially enjoyed spending time with his buddy, Tyler. Now that Dylan's in school, he misses all our playdates!

*We watched the Steelers game. Well, I watched part of it. The other part was spent running around cleaning, getting kids ready, and helping Dylan do homework. The Steelers kicked some butt, though!

*We visited Grant's parents and Nannie. Nannie is finally feeling better after a 2 month bout of pneumonia! We've been missing our Sunday visits with her!



*We came home and had a family movie night. We watched Sleeping Beauty. Dylan and Lexie have never seen it, and Princess Aurora is Lexie's favorite princess. They loved it! I do have to agree with Grant, though: Maleficent is the scariest Disney villain!



*On Friday night, Saturday night, and last night, Grant and I snuggled on the couch, watching hours of Dexter. We just started season 1 last week, and we're addicted! We're now 6 episodes into season 2! Love it!

It was a great weekend spent with our family and friends!

Around The House

This afternoon:

One happy boy after school.



The view out the window + a counter littered with homework, shopping lists, and school pictures (of which I'm not a fan). Goodbye, Indian Summer.



Scattered school work from the day.



Doggy hugs.



Shoes drying by the door. It's chilly and rainy outside!



A little girl with a lip balm collection. Wearing a dress that is too small. Time to pack that away!



A little man doing some homework.



One tea party coming up!



I must now excuse myself to attend the tea party...and cook dinner...and clean up dishes...and give baths...and put kids to bed...and prepare for an evening of Grey's Anatomy and Dexter!

On The Bright Side

October 13th, 2004 was one of the worst days of my life.

Two years later, something happened to make the day more bearable. On this day, four year ago, we saw our baby girl for the very first time, during a routine ultrasound. What a beautiful sight that was!

While the sad memories of this date will never go away, I now find myself smiling on this day, instead of spending it in tears.




They are worth smiling about.

Ham It Up!

It was an entertaining morning with Mr. Cool and Diva.

You see, Dylan has this routine: Every day after he gets dressed for school, he checks himself out in the full-length mirror, gives himself a thumbs up, and says, "Yeah dude!"

I sure do think he's a stud muffin, and I'm happy that he has so much confidence, but this morning he took it a step beyond the mirror check.

He requested a photo shoot after he got dressed.

The mamarazzi would never turn down an offer like that one.







The Diva could not be outdone by her big brother. For once, she actually posed. And smiled. And looked at the camera. It's a miracle!







There's never a dull moment with those two hams around!

Back In The Saddle (Never) Again

The weather was beautiful today, and Dylan had the day off from school, so we headed to the stable to visit our horse.

The visit started off well! Okay, so despite the fact that it took a half hour to untangle the burrs from Cherokee's mane and tail, it started off well. The kids and I worked hard, but we couldn't quite tame the pouf that was once his forelock.



Dylan wanted to ride, but we didn't have time for it. We compromised with a bareback ride, with me leading.

Two of the stable dogs were out, and kept circling around us as we walked. One of the dogs ran into Cherokee's leg, and Cherokee spooked. He began to canter away, and ripped the lead line out of my hand.

I watched in horror as Cherokee took off with my baby boy clinging to his back...with nothing to hold on to but the mane. Nothing will ever compare to that feeling of terror clenching my heart.

It all happened in a matter of seconds, but it felt like an eternity. I firmly told Cherokee to stop, as I ran alongside him. He was just out of reach. It was hard to keep my voice calm, when all I really wanted to do was scream and lunge at Cherokee to stop him, but I knew that would only spook him more.

Dylan managed to hang on until Cherokee slowed down, but ended up being thrown from his back right before he stopped. I screamed as he hit the ground. I ran toward him, expecting a broken bone. Miraculously, he was perfectly fine. A little sore and a LOT scared, but fine. Thank God!

I comforted Dylan, handed him off to my dad who had decided to tag along today, and caught Cherokee. I explained to Dylan that it wasn't Cherokee's fault, and that sometimes these things happen when you ride horses. Cherokee has always been so gentle with my kids, and it's been many years since he last spooked, but today, I was reminded of just how big he is.

Dylan said a tearful goodbye to Cherokee, but I have a feeling it's going to be a long time before this cowboy rides again.

I've Got The Fever

I've been feeling under the weather since Wednesday night. I was perfectly fine all day, but that night it hit me like a ton of bricks. I'm not sure if it's a cold or a sinus infection. I've had a low fever, sinus pressure, congestion, and a headache for the past few days and I am so. over. it. I have no energy and just keep zoning out!

That's not the only fever going around this house! ;)

Even though I've been sick, I've been on the go. This was supposed to be a free weekend-our first weekend with nothing to do in many months-but that didn't work out!

On Friday, I met Dylan at his school to take him to the book fair. I felt really crappy, but I had to go. A lot of the moms were meeting their kids at school to shop with them, and I didn't want Dylan to feel left out. It was so worth it when I saw the look on his face when he spotted me! I love how he thinks of others. He picked out one book for himself, and then insisted on picking out one for his sister and one for his class. He didn't expect to get anything else, but I treated him to 2 more books. He loves to read, so he was a happy boy!

Today, I felt a bit better in the afternoon, thanks to sleeping in, so we stopped at the mall. The kids had a great time! The big indoor mall is close to us, but the traffic is a pain in the rear and we have tons of stores that are closer, so we hardly ever go. They had a great time exploring, and I will never forget the look on Lexie's face when she walked into the Disney store for the first time! She was in awe! We decided to grab dinner in the food court before heading out. We always take the kids to zoos and festivals and events, but something as simple as a trip to the mall made their day!

The weather has been back in the high 70's the past few days. It's absolutely gorgeous outside! I haven't felt well enough to truly enjoy it, but I think we're going to take advantage of it by going to the pumpkin patch tomorrow morning.

Sunday update: Scratch that-no pumpkin patch for us! I think I overdid it this weekend. We're going to stay in all day, so I can get some rest. I'm disappointed that I haven't been able to enjoy this beautiful weather. Today would have been perfect for the pumpkin patch, but then again, it won't really feel like Halloween if we go wearing summer clothes!

Don't forget to enter my CSN Stores giveaway!