Monday, October 21, 2013

Getting Our Fall On

The weather has taken a turn for to the cold side.  We went from 70s to low 50s seemingly overnight.  Luckily, we had plenty of fall goodness this past weekend to keep us happy.

On Friday night the kids' school put on their annual Halloween party.  This year I was able to help decorate and also made some treats.  Over two dozen owl cupcakes.  And they turned out better than I expected. Yay!
They were a hit!  Also a hit?  My kiddos. You should have seen everyone's reaction when the three Ghostbusters and their ghost walked in to the party.  It was pretty fun to watch.  And of course, my kiddos ate it up.
My crew ended up taking home the prize for The Best Group Costume.  They were in heaven!
Because I was busy all day decorating the school cafeteria for the party, and making owl cupcakes, I wasn't planning on dressing up for the party.  But, when I came downstairs in my regular clothes my kids all looked at me and said, "You're not dressing up this year?" in the most disappointed voices.  I felt like a horrible mom.  So I quickly rummaged through our costume box, threw on a wig and a skirt and went as a witch. Not one of my more inventive outfits but it made the kids happy.

Anyway, the party was a hit. The DJ was great, the games were fun, the Haunted House (put on by the 8th graders) was spookey, and the treats were yummy.  It was a great night.

The next day was spent prepping the yard for winter.  Only half of it got done (emptying pots, cutting grass, chopping kindling) and then I had to hustle Ben and Tommy off to church.  Ben's first grade teacher was getting married and she invited all of her students to the church ceremony.  Tommy was actually in the first 1st grade class she ever taught (she has only been teaching three years).  They are so lucky to have such a sweet and thoughtful teacher.  I'd never heard of a teacher inviting students to her wedding before.  And after the ceremony she called the kids up to the altar to take pictures with her and her husband.  Then afterwards she threw the kids a little party in the basement of the church, complete with cookies, popcorn, punch and goodie bags.  She is amazing, and it was a lovely wedding.

After that we came back home and changed our clothes for the pumpkin farm.  Off we went to get our annual fix of pumpkins, apples, and apple cider.
The kids love all the animals at the apple orchard/pumpkin farm.  A friendly goat even joined them on the haystack maze.  So funny.

We even managed to snag our annual fall family picture. Whew!  Glad that is over with.  It took far too many takes this year.

By the time our afternoon was over Todd and I both needed a nap.  But, lucky for us, we had a date night instead.  We saw the movie Gravity.  It was awesome.  And intense.  I'm thinking Sandra Bullock is going to be picking up quite a few nominations for her role in that one.  After the movie we went to a bar and watched the Badgers trounce their rivals.  And then we even got to try out a new restaurant we've both been wanting to go to.  It was fantastic!  If you are ever in the area I HIGHLY recommend going to The Blind Horse.  Yum! Sooooo good.  And great service too!  

It was a fabulous way to end out our busy day.  

After church on Sunday I made a vat of applesauce while Todd went to his office for a few hours.  The Packer game was watched and enjoyed and the kiddos spent All. Day. Long. playing outside.  

Overall, it was a perfect fall weekend.  Which is great because apparently this week is going to feel like winter.  Boo.


Thursday, October 17, 2013

Random House

Randomness:

-I haven't posted in a while.  Part of that is because I have been busy paying attention to my attention hogs (aka- my family).  Another part of that is that I got a new computer and it has taken some time to set up. Either way, I've been gone too long, and now I have some catching up to do.

-While I've been away from the computer we managed to add to our household again.  Our hamster died so we decided to get a guinea pig.  It is the cutest pig I've ever seen.  We love him.  And because I am a glutton for punishment we also got another hamster (who we NEVER ever see so I don't really have a nice picture of him). The kids have been asking for a guinea pig for years.  Literally, years.  Joey even got a guinea pig stuffed animal for Christmas a few years ago in the hopes that it would stave off his desire for a real one for a while.  Luckily for my kids I am a huge sucker for animals.  (and daddy was out of town)

As you can see the kids are happy.  Truth be told, so am I.  He is the sweetest little pig.  I love holding him and listening to him squeak.  So cute.

-On another front, Todd has been taking each of the boys for a little one on one time up north.  Both Ben and Tommy got turns going bow hunting with Todd and sitting with him in his deer stand. Todd shot a buck when he was hunting with Tommy, and tracked it until it got too dark. When he went back the next day the entire deer had been eaten and all that was left was the antlers.  I think the bear are becoming a bit of a problem in the north woods.  Two weekends ago Joey went on his first hunt.  A youth hunt.  Unfortunately, they didn't see any deer (again, the bear are scaring them off) but a good time was had anyway.  My future hunters:


Todd went up north by himself this past weekend for a little bowhunting and destressing.  He didn't see any deer at all.  He is seriously ticked (after spending all that time putting the food plots in) about the bear (he saw them on his field camera) but all I can think of is this:


So cute.  Scary!  But cute.


-I'm thinking of changing my hair color again.  I actually like the blond, but I have not really had ONE comment on it so that is telling me something. If people are avoiding the topic that is usually a bad sign. Plus these conversations swayed me too:

Walking up to Tommy in the lunchroom at school a few of the little girls look at me and say,
"Your hair is blond!  Did you make your hair blond?"
Me: "Yep."
Girls: "Why?"
Me: "I get bored. I'm sure I'll change it again soon."
Girls: "I like it better brown.  You looked better before."
Me: "Yeah?"
One Girl: "Yeah. Or maybe I'm just used to the way you looked before."
Me: "Yeah. Sometimes we like what we are used to."
Girls: "Yeah. I like it brown."

Snuggled up on the couch with Grace:
Grace: "I think your hair should be like mine."
Me: "You mean brown?  You want me to have brown hair again?"
Grace:  "Uh-huh! I like when we have the same hair.  You should have brown hair again and then we can be the same!"

This conversation was not quite at sweet:

Tommy: "You look so old with that blond hair, mom!"
Me: "Oh yeah?"
Tommy: "Yeah.  Like, really old.  Some of the hair almost looks white.  You just look old.  Really, really old."
Me: "Um...  ummm..."

But I'm not the only one getting the shaft around here.

One night at the dinner table the boys were harping on their daddy to take them hunting again, or play catch, or something.  I can't remember.  They were basically pestering him.  Then Gracie spoke up:

Gracie:  "Be nice to daddy! He's so old!"


- Tomorrow night is the kids' school Halloween party.  It is a big hit every year.  This year the boys are gonna dress up as the three Ghostbusters and Grace is gonna be a ghost.  Is that cute or what?  Right now I am busy making a couple dozen owl cupcakes for the party too. I hope they turn out well.  Pictures to follow on both the cupcakes and the costumes.


I guess that is all the randomness I've got for now. How about you?  Any random thoughts you'd like to throw at me?


Wednesday, October 2, 2013

WW- Heart Melted


Tommy is the picture of patience as he listens, encourages, and helps Ben in his reading journey. What a big brother. What love.

Words To Live By

Be grateful for each new day.
A new day that you have never lived before.
Twenty-four new, fresh, unexplored hours to use usefully and profitably.
We can squander, neglect, or use them.
Life will be richer or poorer by the way we use today.
Finish every day and be done with it.
You have done what you could;
some blunders and absurdities crept in;
forget them as soon as you can.
Tomorrow is a new day.
You shall begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be
encumbered with your old nonsense.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson