What do you want to be for Halloween?

So, this morning I asked Carter (since he is still ambivalent about what he wants to be) if he could be anything for Halloween what would it be? He said, "a mommy." I asked him, "what would you wear for your costume?" He answered without hesitation almost like a 'duh mom' look on his face... "a robe." I'm surprised he didn't add and sweat pants, with splattered food and snot all over them, with hair pulled back.

Thinking...

So, early this morning before the sun came up, I was thinking while holding my 2 year old in my arms. He had complete control over the bed, my pillow and managed to push me to the very edge of the bed. Never before had our king size bed seemed so small. Bryce was a little blanket of fire as he snuggled into me closer. I didn't dare move. He and I both needed to sleep, although only one of us was getting it.
After arriving home around 2AM from the emergency room, he was asleep and I was hoping to keep it that way. Poor kiddo has croup. He woke up just before midnight struggling to breathe and coughing. His wheezing and labored breathing caused Brady and I to worry enough to take him in. I guess what might be a normal chest congestion/respiratory cold or infection in adults is called croup in younger kids because their airway is so much smaller, it gets inflamed and can close up. So, after ruling out pneumonia with chest x rays, they heard him "barking" and decided to give him a dose of steroids to help his airway open up a bit. They then gave me a little oxygen mask to put on him which of course he hated. We had to wait and at least an hour in the ER for them to make sure he didn't have a negative reaction to the steroids and that he was breathing better. At least I got to hold him and I sang/hummed to him for the entire time his two songs we sing to him at night, "Love one Another" and "I am a Child of God." That seemed to calm him.
So, as I lay awake in the early morning hours, exhausted, but too scared to move or reclaim my space or pillow, I thought. I thought about how much my life had changed since becoming a mother 4 years ago. I thought about the sleep I didn't get, the showers I didn't take, the teeth I sometimes didn't get a chance to brush. I thought about time that is no longer mine, quiet I rarely heard, and the toys all over the house. I thought about my body that is no longer the shape or size it used to be, the bed that has no room in it, and my arm that is now tingling and asleep wrapped around my baby boy. I looked at that sweet boy of mine and thought....
I wouldn't want it any other way.

More fall fun!

So, it's that season for apple picking- yet another thing to love about fall! The boys and I went to Larriland farm with a few other people and their kids and had a great time. Funny thing is, the apples are more expensive picking them than at the store. Like, 70 cents more expensive per pound. What is that all about?!? So, we picked for the "experience" more than the apples itself. Regardless of price, we had a great time. Carter brought his own plastic red wagon and Bryce brought a dump truck to fill with apples. Carter used his wagon, but Bryce had more fun lounging in the wheelbarrow with me pushing him and guess who ended up pushing the dump truck along with Bryce and the apples....? Give you a hint: not Carter.

So After apple picking, we went to the little barn which sells pumpkins and jams and such. There was this box that said open me with a smiley face on it. Anything with a smiley face on it can't be bad right? WRONG! So I open it and a rat pops out and touches my finger! I scream. Loudly might I add and everyone turns to look at me. A man comes up to me and asks me what's wrong and I can't help but to just give him the box now closed with the stupid smiley face sticker on it and see what he thinks. Somehow it made me feel better seeing a bigger man jump the way her did. :) My boys had a love/hate relationship with it. (There was a spider one too and they boys loved playing with it nervous each time).

We then went to get a pumpkin for father/son pumpkin carving night at Carters school the following week. Carter had to look at every single pumpkin it seemed before we found the perfect one. Almost 13 pounds of pumpkin and boy was he proud to have picked it up "all by himself" and drag it up the hill to the cashier.

(Well, most of the way. Bryce helped a little.) :)

Say your name...

So, Bryce and I are doing a mommy and me class at a ballet studio. Of course he is the only boy with about 5 other 2-3 year old girls who all wear pink. Pink leotards, pink tights, pink tutus, pink ballet slippers...Did I mention these girls are 2-3.?!
So in come Bryce and myself in his jean shorts, t-shirt and bare feet ready to go! I picked up right away we were under dressed and not in accordance with the color code.
The class is actually pretty cute, and Bryce follows directions and does what everyone else does about 1/3 rd of the time. Other times, he runs in circles getting dizzy, to the water cooler where he likes to fill up a cup of water, take a sip and dump the rest out, (repeat) or find things like chairs and/or benches to jump off of.
The teacher goes around the circle and tells the kids to say their names really loud and when they do they get this strawberry glitter gel stuff on the top of their hand. So, it's our turn and she says to Bryce, "Say your name real loud..." And Bryce with a big smile on his face shouts: "NAME!" We all got a good laugh at that. So, we've been practicing and now he says "Bye-see!" (Brycie). So cute!
Why are we taking this class you might wonder? Simple. Because it's free. I get to take any dance classes I want at this studio b/c I teach pilates there. I know some moms with daughters out there wish they were me. If only I taught at the Little Gym where the point is to jump and run, and spin, we'd be set. But for now, we'll settle with tap, tap, tap and point, point, point. Either way it's fun to do something together just the two of us...... and a bunch of pink, tutu'd girls.

PARTY!

I LOVE this time of year. Halloween has got to be one of my favorite holidays. Not just because of the free candy- which actually isn't free anymore now that I am technically an "adult" and need to buy some to pass out to other kids Halloween night. (Can I just say, if you are old enough to get a job and/or shave, you are too old to trick-or-treat). Okay, back to the fun stuff.... I love the weather, the changing leaves, the smell, the colors, the pumpkins, costumes and festivities.

So, I thought it would be fun to have our own festivities this past Saturday by inviting 7 of Carter's preschool friends to our house for a Halloween costume party. Yes, 7. So, 8 counting our Spider man Carter.
We started out by making ghosts out of white trash bags and well....trash. :) OK, old newspapers crumbled up into balls to make the head and tied it off. (We have 2 hanging from our

tree. They are cute!) We then began rolling out sugar cookie dough and using cookie cutters in the shapes of a pumpkin, ghost, black cat, and bat to make our treats. Brady was the
"behind the scenes man" (and did an awesome job BTW....could not have done it without him) and baked the cookies while me moved on the next activity. We then played "trick- trick- trick or treat" with is basically a Halloween version of duck-duck- goose." We played pin the nose on the jack-o-lantern and made haunted house foam magnets. We then played "eat the flying bats" which involved hanging chocolate mini donuts from a string from our ceiling that they had to eat fast without their hands. Carter ended up winning. It was too funny! We played a few other games while Brady went to hide the ghosts they made in the forest by our house that has a path through it leading to the park to create a haunted forest. We hopped in the back of the tractor trailer (that my parents were so awesome to let us use and helped get over to our place) filled with hay for our hay ride to go on our ghost hunt. The kids had a blast. We came home, frosted and ate cookies and ate cut up apples dipped in caramel. But first they had to get to the apples without the skeleton hand grabbing them. Ha...ha...ha... (evil laugh). The drink consisted of apple juice and sprite with plastic spider rings frozen in ice cubes. (Yeah, some of the kids didn't love that... but I thought it was funny and Carter liked it) :) We sent them on their way with a mini candy corn bucket filled with candy corn. All the kids had a great time although I think I had the most fun of them all!! :)

(Video of "Haunted Forest" hay ride )

Random thoughts on the world today inspired by my genius son

Carter offered the family prayer last night before we all went to bed and he said, "Please bless the world so that everyone can be kind and help each other out..." It really struck me with elections coming up how everyone has great ideas about how government can be involved in order to help people and develop programs that "force" people to assist others through taxes, fund, etc.
So, in honor of the elections, I'd like to vote for my 4 year old son for President. He seems to be smarter than others I've heard about how to best "help" America. Ultimately, the Lord is in control and He is there and will listen if and when we go to Him. Also, if everyone truly had pure intentions and righteous desires to be "kind and help each other out," government programs wouldn't be so needed. It's sad that these great programs have in part turned into who gets what for less amount of work. Where is the free handout? What can I be entitled to and how little work do I have to do for it? What ever happened to good, hard, honest work and believing in our fellow man to have integrity? It's so sad that we live in a world it seems full of dishonest people who are willing to betray you or at the very least disregard your feelings in the "business world." Because after all, it's "not personal, it's just business." Well, it should be personal. Our world should be more personal. Those willing to give should be able to give willingly without fears of being taken for granted or taken advantage of which sadly happens. It's important in this society to be "tough" and "street smart." It's sad that it's necessary now that we can't trust each other to just do the right thing because it's right. To want to help and serve without hesitation because we are afraid we'll be taken advantage of.
I look forward to the day when the "lamb and the lion can lay down together without any ire." A day when people truly have the desire and act on that desire to be "kind and help each other out." My 4 year old is a genius.