Locks of Love

OK. I finally did it. I chopped 14 inches of hair off my head.

Cute Thank You Note

Jake came home with this card from school today. It's so cute and thoughtful of his class to make this.

Happy Halloween

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Random Stuff

Last week was a busy week for us. Between soccer and school activities I just couldn't find the time to write. Here's a brief recap. The kids and I made Halloween sugar cookies and decorated them. I put the decorated cookies too close together on the cookie sheet so they became one big cookie by the time they came out of the oven but they still tasted good. Jake had his class trip to go panning for gold and visit the quarry. It was a nice trip although it was very cold. After panning we went to Jamestown Park for lunch and play. Later that night Jake had his 1st tournament soccer game, which he won. The next day the kids wanted to paint the pumpkins that they got at the school pumpkin patch. They had a fun time. My mother and brother came into town so they were over to visit. Jarett hasn't seen the kids since July so they were all happy to see each other. We discovered the aerobic hula hoop game on the Wii. Video games are addicting. When everyone left and the kids went to bed I tried to beat the high scores in all of the games. I'm still working on it. I shouldn't play any kind of electronic games that give out daily stamps. I feel bad for the game when I miss a day so I make myself crazy trying to complete the games for the day. Ever try brain age? That's one of my addictions. Then there is my pet Stella on Facebook. God forbid I forget to feed her. I'll wake up in the middle of the night afraid she will die and I will not collect my 200 puppy points. I know I'm weird. Remember those key chain pets? Mine was alive so long it just expired. It couldn't get any older. Anyway, Sunday we carved our pumpkins. This is always a fun activity for the kids. Basically they pull all of the guts out of the pumpkin and Jason and I carve them. Then we headed to Randleman for my dad's birthday celebration. This is the kid’s favorite place to go. They get to see Grandma and Grandpa and run around until they can't run anymore. Last night they got to sleep over which is the ultimate treat for them. Jake was a tiny bit disappointed that his sisters were staying too but they all had a good time. I had Jake's teacher conference this morning (Monday). He had an excellent report card. I can't believe the things he learns in 1st grade. This week he will start having timed math tests. He must complete 50 addition problems in 2 1/2 minutes. This is hard. I know because it is a game on Brain Age. Later on this evening we have our playgroup’s Halloween party and then Jake has his 2nd tournament game. Hopefully we won’t freeze again. Well that was our week in a nutshell.

Just A Glimpse Of Our Week

This week Taylor had her 1st school field trip. They went to a farm where they learned about apples and how to make cider. Then they took a hayride and went to a pumpkin patch. It was a fun day and it was great to see Taylor interacting with her friends. I was worried about how she would behave with me there but she was on her best behavior. I think this is attributed to the banning of Max in our house. Max is the brother bunny off the cartoon Max & Ruby. A friend told me about how Max behaves on the show by demanding the things he wants using one word commands. Something Taylor has been doing a lot. So Max is out.

Jake had his last soccer game Thursday night (or so I thought) but I found out he has tournament games now. Jake has been playing goalie for his team. I think it’s more stressful for me than it is for him. His team consists of 6, 7, & 8 year olds so he is one of the young ones. When a big 8 year old is coming at him about to kick the ball I feel like pulling him out of the way to protect him. It’s very hard to watch but he loves playing.

Today Taylor had a soccer game where she actually played and didn’t stand around like a statue. I did bribe her with M & M’s if she touched the ball just once. After lunch we baked pumpkin bread and then had a hot chocolate tea party. Then we played a game that Taylor got for her birthday. All and all we had a pretty quiet week compared to most.

My Baby Goes To School

All summer long I was struggling with the decision to send Makayla to preschool. She desperately wanted to go since she sees Jake and Taylor going. On one hand I want to spend as much time with her as possible before she grows up and on the other hand I sometimes need a break. Well she’s been going since September and she really loves her class so I am glad I sent her. She only goes 2 days a week from 9 – 12 so it’s a good start. We found out she loves to tattletale. On the way home she gives us a rundown of what each child in her class did. “D didn’t eat his snack, L hit K, M said Yuck, D was in time out and ran away.” I truly am scared about what she is sharing about us when she goes. The 1st day of school I went to pick her up and her teacher says, “Makayla is so funny. She told us that her mom was a maniac and ran over her finger (long story).” Great, I feel embarrassed so I just laugh. All and all she has such a great time going and she’s learning some new songs. This is one of the songs she learned and I could watch it over and over. I think it’s adorable. Where does the time go? My baby is growing up.

Jake and The Gigantic Pumpkin

Kids With The Spider

Me & The Kids In The Corn Bin

Family Day

Sunday’s around here are called Family Day. Usually each Sunday we go to my parents NC house and have dinner or if their not in town we will invite my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew dogs over for dinner. No one was around today so we went to the J. Razz & Tazz farm for some family fun. The kids had a blast playing in giant corn bins and going threw the corn maze. The corn bins were lots of fun but I have to remember next time not to wear low rise jeans as the corn kernels quickly filled my pants. Makayla had a few souvenirs in her diaper as well. They also rode a cow train which Makayla cried on. The kids wanted to pick pumpkins but there wasn’t a big variety so we started a new family tradition. Corn bins and cow rides then off to Wal-Mart to pick pumpkins out of the boxes. Yippee! The kids loved it. Jake found a gigantic one (gigantic being his new favorite word used to describe anything big). Although they had a great time Jake was disappointed that he didn’t get to go on a haunted hay ride. Jake comes into our room about 3 times a week scared out of his mind and wants to sleep with us but now he wants to be spooked on some hay ride. Maybe some other time when I’ve slept a full week without being woken up by one of my little angels. He got over it when we told him we’d order pizza for dinner. Our day was a success.

Moving Picture Box

When I first moved to North Carolina I started a blog so that I could share our daily life with our out of state family and friends. I was pretty good at keeping it current since we had no social life and basically never left our house. Then Makayla came along and I made the decision to find us some friends. Jake was begging to meet the little boy across the street and I desperately needed some adult interaction. I found us a playgroup and packed up the 3 kids and headed out. The kids and I had a great time so when we got home I marched them across the street and let Jake play with the little boy. This was the start of our life with some really great friends. With that said, our lives changed and we became insanely busy. There was never a dull moment as I shuffled the kids from playgroup to playgroup and became involved in my neighborhoods Ladies Drinks. We always had something to do. I knew we had made a success of life in NC when Jason said, “Ok, you can stop making friends now.” Then I realized that I wasn’t keeping my blog up to date so I deleted it. Now that I think about it, I wish I had kept it or printed it out so I could always remember the memories we made. It seems like the kids amaze me everyday and I need a place to keep track of all the great things they do. When I was a little girl my dad said, “One day soon I’m going to get a moving picture box so we could always recapture the good times we may otherwise forget.” This is my moving picture box.