awww maaaaan.

I can't believe it. I wait all month (or all year) for this night. I have two kids home sick today, both with fevers, and both feeling like they are teetering on throwing up. I hope it remains on teetering, because puking is never fun.

Megan and Trevor have pretty much resolved to the fact that they are both going to be missing trick or treating this year. You know that they aren't faking when they don't mind missing that. I told them that they could probably go to a couple of houses next door, but we won't be going out like we usually do. Mike will still be taking Matthew out for awhile, but he gets tired so quick that I'm sure they won't be out for long.

I feel bad for them. I remember being sick one year for Halloween. It sucked everytime I heard the doorbell ring. My friend stopped by afterwards and brought me a bag full of candy that she had collected for me. It's funny how I have never forgotten that.

At least all three of my kids were able to go to trunk or treat the other night, so it isn't like they are missing out entirely.

Kind of on topic, last night I went to McDonald's to get happy meals for the kids. (Or really, a soda for me!) and we had the windows down. I smelled it. Halloween. You know how powerful our sense of smell is and the memories that certain smells bring back to you? It hit me like a ton of bricks. Or pumpkins rather.... ;)

There was a street that had several houses with pumpkins lit. Oh there is not another smell in the world like that. Just smelling that makes me shiver because that is the epitomy of fall. Crisp cold night, dried leaves bouncing down the street from a breeze, trick or treaters, and jack o lanterns.

OK, and go ahead and think I am strange, but I dare you all tonight. Smell your kid's candy buckets before you spill the candy out. There is another Halloween smell that can't be duplicated. Something about the mix of all that candy in there. It smells so good. It smells like childhood in a bucket.

Happy Halloween!

I love babies!

I'm just convinced that scanners are weird. Pages never look the same when they are scanned. :p

This has been such a busy, crazy week. I know I have said that a lot lately, but it really has been. So last night I decided no matter what else needed to be done, it could wait. As long as everybody had made it to where they needed to be yesterday, by the time bedtime rolled around I was going to sit.

Mike and I watched a movie, and I scrapped in front of the TV. I needed some scrap therapy. It always feels good when you complete a page. Plus I got to reminisce a little by seeing these pictures of my now 6 year old boy. It is funny how even in these baby pictures of him I still see so much of who he is now. That smile he gets, and his personality. It was there and looking me right in the face even six years ago when he was three months old. Wow. It will be interesting when he is a man someday, shaving, grown up... and I'll be thinking the same thing about his 6 year old self.

I'm kind of in a baby album mindset right now. I go back and forth. Which is good that I don't like to scrap in order.

I plan on making these pages for Megan and Matthew as well. I wrote stuff down about them as babies too. It is funny how different each one was when they were little. They really do come with their own genetic stuff that make them different from each other, but somehow the same in so many things that other families don't have. I swear, genetics is a funky, amazing thing.

Now off to get ready for church. :)

Early happy halloween

A pre halloween picture of my kids before Trunk or Treat tonight.

Trevor: The unknown phantom (he's really in there somewhere)

Matthew: cute pirate

Megan: witch

Ugh, I feel sick from all of the candy that I ate. You know, it is the duty of a mom with a peanut allergy kid to eat all of the peanut butter cups and snickers. Gotta keep the house safe you know. ;)

Matthew was so cute though. I told him before we went to make sure that he didn't eat any candy without mommy or daddy checking it first. I told him that people will be giving away candy with peanuts in it, without knowing that he can't have it.He must have had the pants scared off of him because each car that he went up to he would say, "Trick or treat, I'm allergic to peanuts. They make me die."I felt so bad. Poor kid. At least he gets it.

I think he actually got a lot of extra candy because people felt sorry for him or thought it was cute that he said that.

I found out the other day that Matthew is going to have to have his tonsils out. Poor little guy. Mike took him to the ear/nose/throat doctor the other day because he was starting to have the same symptoms that Trevor did before he had to have his removed.

I guess somewhere in our genetic material Mike and I grow kids with incredibly, unusually huge tonsils, which end up making it hard for them when they sleep at night. If it is left untreated, it could turn into sleep aphnea, or even worse....not being here anymore. Trevor had even gotten so bad that he lost about 10 pounds before his surgery. He is such a skinny little thing in the first place, it was hard to see him loosing the weight.

It freaked me out when I first found that out about Trevor, so I have been super sensitive watching Matthew.

The doctor also asked if he had any food allergies. Mike told him about the peanut allergy, and the doctor said that if the tonsils came out, heaven forbid he have another attack that sent him into anaphylactic shock, having the tonsils out gives him that much more space in his throat for air to go through. It isn't an answer to the peanut allergy, but every bit counts when you have seen it.

I think I am writing this tonight because it has been heavy on my mind since I found out. I was just sitting on the floor with Matthew, watching him cut a piece of paper with some scissors. He was talking to me about the park, and he was just being really sweet. I hate to think that I'm going to have to take him to the hospital and he is going to wake up sore and not feeling well for the rest of that day. Man, I wish I could do it for him. At least I know that he is excited about having pudding and ice cream!

I have to share!

This is so cute, if I do say so myself! I got the idea from the Creating Garden this month at 2Peas.

I switched mine around a little, since I loved the tree that came in the Making Memories velvet Halloween stickers set. Then instead of ribbon on the top, I used scrap cardstock and a MM metal sign that says Trick or Treat. I also used those in the circles at the bottom, along with more velvet stars. I also just used a black frame instead of a shadow box. I didn't put any ribbon in mine, so I didn't have to worry about the bulk from the knot. The frame is cool though, it is about an inch deep, which you can't tell from the photo.

This was SO fun to make! I used all scraps of paper. Even the 'october' flash card I made using my computer. Honestly, it took me about 15 minutes. AND it is so cute sitting in my living room!

I am definitely going to make one for Christmas too. Maddy??? You totally need a Christmas one!

Anyway.... that is what I have done today since picking up the kids from school. :) It felt good to accomplish something scrap related today that I didn't really have to do any thinking with it.

Arrrrrrrrrrgh!

LOL, well I was doing a search for snowbirds hoping to find an image for my post today, and apparently snowbirds are also Canada's equivalent of our Blue Angels or Thunderbirds.

But I thought the planes looked cool, so I'm still going to go with this image.

Funny though, my point of this post is about how freaking slow the snowbirds out here are. I can only WISH that they drove half as fast as THESE snowbirds!!

Ugh. I was so frustrated today. I guess in my happiness of fall, Halloween and all that good weather stuff, I forgot that in Arizona it also brings: SNOWBIRDS.

Snowbird: People (usually of the blue hair variety) who come from cold areas of the country for the winter months in Arizona. They clog up traffic, as they really don't need to be out during rush hour, yet still feel the need to be out driving. Driving at least 10 miles under the speed limit. More accurate, 20 miles under the speed limit. Of course, ususally in the left lane, which is supposed to be the faster lane. (and they will not move over.) I could also go on and on about the 'eventual left' which is when they are driving down the road with the turn signal on. You just keep hoping that they are turning, when in fact....they never will turn out of your way.

Also, these people like to make snide comments to the people who reside in Phoenix year round, about how stupid we look in our sweaters and saying that we are cold. "Cold??? You don't know cold. Where I come from....." Yeah, shaddup. YOU come live through the summer like the rest of us and see how quickly your butt starts complaining about the HEAT. "Heat? Oh yeah....you don't know heat until you have driven your car with a pair of hotpads."

I know, I sound bitter and I don't mean any offense, but I really had a bad day out with these people today. I was beginning to think that there was a target painted on the hood of my car since I almost got hit, pulled out in front of, and stuck behind....at least a dozen times today. All I'm asking is for the speed limit people. The speed limit. Is it that hard? Instead of punch buggies, I was thinking I should start a new game of how many escapee stickers I can count in one day.

So I finally made it home, safe and sound. But I bet you Arizona and warm weather state girls know exactly what I am talking about. ;)

Now I need to settle down with a huge coke.

Four year old fly boy!

Look who is four years old! This has been a whirlwind weekend for him. Friday he got lunch and presents from Mike’s mom and dad, then Saturday was his actual birthday, with more presents from us, then today my parents are coming over for some cake and yes, more presents. He keeps asking me why he has so many birthdays. I think that in the future we are just going to have to pick a weekend in October where all three of us birthday people just celebrate. It might be easier! LOL!

Yesterday Mike was going to go flying and had promised Megan and Trevor that they could go with him during fall break. Of course they hadn’t mentioned anything about it all week, and it isn’t like they haven’t been busy doing other things this week. So we didn’t really think they were that interested in going anymore. Then Megan ends up asking Mike about it in front of Matthew. Matthew got all excited and said that he wanted to go in an airplane for his birthday. (Of course, he uses that for everything on this day…”I want a fruit snack for my birthday, I want to go outside and play for my birthday…”

I kind of got excited too, “I want to go in an airplane for Matthew’s birthday!” After all, shouldn’t the person who gave birth to said birthday child be able to have some say? Mike called the airport and was able to get a plane.

It was such a beautiful day out, and you could see for miles. We left from Falcon Field and flew over Canyon and Saguaro Lake, and above the Superstitions. I am so lucky to be able to see these awesome things that I have lived around for years from the air. Arizona really is beautiful.

We then flew over to Williams/Gateway and did a few touch and gos there. That is FUN! Trevor was a bit freaked out about not actually stopping after landing. As soon as we landed, we were going up and taking off again. I think he actually liked it. Matthew had a blast.

Happy 4th birthday sweetheart!

Lookie! Lookie!

In honor of Matthew's birthday today, I did a layout with one of my current favorite photos of him. It is funny how sometimes photos that really aren't set up, the best of lighting or whatever really become one of your favorites.

I took this one morning while I was sitting on the couch next to him. He likes to snuggle up on his daddy's leather chair. The camera was sitting on a table next to me. I absolutely adore how this turned out. Typical Matthew in the morning. Before all hell breaks loose! Ha ha! When he is still quiet and calm.

Journaling says: This is one of my favorite times of the day. Just when Megan and Trevor are off to school. Matthew sits in the leather chair, snuggling with his stuffed animals watching Curious George at the beginning of a new day, while the house is still quiet."

(and no, those aren't dirty feet...just a funky shadow.) Scenic Route and Doodlebug paper. Can't get much easier than that. And Lisa....hey, did you notice that the photo is tilted? Trust me, this is a big thing. Lisa knows how I am about that. It felt so wrong. Everything in me wants to make it straight. I'm just weird that way. I line my brad thingies up in the back of layouts so they are all going horizontal. Yep, even though nobody will ever see them, I KNOW when they aren't lined up. Ha ha!

More later. Matthew had a nice birthday today. I'm still having a hard time believing that he is four today. In one way it seems like he has been with us forever....much longer than four years. In another, it has gone by so fast.

Now where did that go?

Is October almost over? I know. I spend so much of the year looking forward to this month. But honestly, where did it go?

I am exhausted. It starts with my birthday, then a trip out of town, Megan's birthday, her baptism, Matthew's birthday tomorrow, and finally Halloween.

It seems like it just got here and it is going to be over before I know it. I am seriously considering leaving my Halloween decorations up through November this year so I can enjoy them a little longer.

Even more shocking to me is that Matthew is turning FOUR tomorrow. It dawned on me today that he is my last chance at little kid things that I have gotten so used to over the years. Like having Fisher Price Little People scattered throughout the house. Those little things have been a part of our house for 8 years now. The cute little barn, the garage, the school bus. I actually like to play with them as much as the kids always did.

I always had to laugh when I would tip the couch on its side to vacuum and there was a horsie, or a chicken sitting in one of my plants.

FOUR? He just doesn't look four to me. Although, this does give me some hope that those terrible 3's are going to be over soon. *Please?* ;)

Here ya go Maddy!

I talked to Maddy on the phone today. She reminded me that I hadn't posted any pictures of Megan in her dress. So this one is for her. ;)



This is one of my favorite ones:

Oh, no he didn't just say that! Did he?

I don't know why I think this is so funny. I wanted to write this down somewhere before I forgot about it.

Last week we are sitting in church. We are in the third row on the side, taking up a whole row. In front of us is the bishop's wife and two of her kids, then the row right in front had her other 3 kids. This of course, is really close to where the bishop sits up front.

So some lady is up saying the closing prayer. It was one of those long, drawn out ones. Man, I hate those. Did these people forget what it was like to have children at church with them? To make matters worse, the lady was standing too far away from the microphone, so only people up front could even barely hear her. The rest of the church was so quiet. I don't even remember hearing the usual crying babies or anything.

Matthew had done really well through the entire hour, then all of a sudden during this prayer he just says, loudly, "Pull my finger!" Oh geeze, he did not just say.....

then since I didn't react fast enough, he yells, "PULL. MY. FINGER!" You know, just incase I didn't hear him the first time.

I start feeling hot. I peek from my nodded head and notice that the bishop's entire family is laughing. Or trying really hard not to. I couldn't help it, I just started laughing too.

I had hoped that his outbreak had escaped the ears of anybody else since I was too afraid to turn around to see how many other people were snickering.

Last night I got a call from somebody, and after talking about Activity Days, she said that her entire family was laughing because of Matthew during the closing prayer. Wonderful.

This boy keeps me on my toes. :)

A day at the zoo

Whew. We are on Fall break right now. This has already been a whirlwind week. Mike's mom had called last night to ask about taking the kids to the zoo this week. I told her that I was actually planning on going today, so she went with us. It was really nice, and we couldn't have asked for more perfect weather! Man, I just love this time of year. - Have I mentioned that?!? ;)

I realized that I hadn't been to the zoo in over a year. Which is a long time for me since I used to have an annual pass and spent many many days there pushing strollers around and wearing out kids. Sometimes I would go up to 3 times a week. Having the pass is nice, because you don't feel like you have to see everything. If the kids want to just go and see an elephant and then play on the treehouse for two hours, everybody is happy and we can always go back.

It was weird today getting pictures of the kids, sometimes in places where I had taken their pictures years before. Like this one of Megan. I have a picture of her in that same clamshell when she was only 6 months old. Now look how big she looks in there! And may I add looking oh so cool.



















I got a ton of great pictures today, that I am excited to scrap. Way too many to post.

On a somewhat sad note, there is a picture I have of Trevor when he was just under two years old. He is pointing at Harley the Belgian horse and has this incredibly HUGE smile on his face. It has always been one of my favorite pictures of him. Trevor remembers Harley, and when we were over in the barn area we were hoping he was still there. (He was looking pretty old even 4 years ago.) Sad to say that Harley wasn't there, and his nameplate on the barn was gone. Now there is another horse...Jack. Jack the black Shire. Who is awfully cute, but doesn't have the history that Harley had. I swear that Harley was there when I was a kid and went to the zoo. Anybody who has lived in Phoenix for years knows about Harley. One super cool horse.

So that was our day, and I have since taken a shower and gotten the zoo smell off of me. Now off to get kids in bed, who are totally wiped out after running up and down hills all day long!

eight.

I know I say it all the time. But time really does go by so fast. Today my little girl is turning 8 years old. How can that be? I still remember EVERY detail of this day 8 years ago!! I mean I can't even remember what I had for lunch yesterday. Granted, the birth of a child is a bit more important, but how can I remember SO much like it was just yesterday????

Eight is such a big birthday too. According to clothes size, she has jumped up to a new 8-10 size, (even though she hasn't worn that at all and skipped right to sizes 10-12.) More things are opening up for her age. Classes through parks and rec have a whole new section for kids 8 and up, and 8 is the year that kids can be baptised in our church. I don't know, there just seems to be this 'magic number' thing surrounding eight years old.

Shoot, I even remember my own 8th birthday party.

So here she is. My baby girl. A very grown up, eight years old today.

Happy birthday sweetheart!

A little reflecting, feeling mellow and taking it all in.

I just love this time of year!

It has already been such a busy month. My birthday, out of town, tomorrow is Megan's birthday, then her baptism, then Matthew's birthday. Wow.

The best thing is, even though it seems so busy, it seems to slow down a little. Or maybe we are slowing down a little. We are finally able to go outside and enjoy the weather. We have been taking walks around the block after dinner. Mike and I usually walk while the kids either ride bikes or skate. Plus it is so nice to be able to drive around with the windows down, or open up the windows to the house and not hear that constant whirring of the air conditioner. Finally! I think I have slowed down and started to enjoy things right now. I'm not constantly waiting for the summer to be over. - Major changes are going to start happening in our family. Things we have been waiting for, for years. Then changes of Mike's job and getting used to that. Scary and exciting all at the same time.

Tomorrow is Megan's 8th birthday. This time 8 years ago I was so anxious and sick to my stomach. I had no idea what to expect the next day when I went to the hospital. Turning 8 is such a big deal. It just seems like one of those magical birthdays. Old enough to start doing more things, and life just seems like it is in fast forward for her right now. It is pretty exciting. I'm having so much fun watching it all. I absolutely adore my little girl. She has brought me so much happiness, taught me so much, and is my best friend in a mother/daughter kind of way. :)

What in the WORLD are those anyway?????

OK, can I just say that I have the best friends EVER?!?!?!?

A few years ago we started doing obnoxious things to each other on our birthdays. Like last year because of my love of McDonald's cokes - my doorbell rang, and my front yard was a sea of McDonald's cups.

I 'thought' we had gotten to the point where we wouldn't do yards anymore because it is harder to top each person's birthday! So, I wasn't expecting a thing.

10:00 tonight the phone rings. Somebody (Dustin??) says "Ding dong" and hangs up.

Oh noooooo........that could only mean one thing!!!

My front yard was COVERED with Target gift cards on wood skewers!!! Oh my gosh, they looked so cute!!! I was laughing my butt off especially because of the recent "Are they stolen or not? scandal on 2Peas." I mean, how does somebody get this many Target cards?!?!?!?

The funniest thing is, each card has a saying on it like: loosah, nope, nada, sucks to be you.....
except for the ones that say $1 winner!!!! Yes, those girls hid 30, YES 30 one dollar gift cards within all of the blank ones!!! Hysterical!!!

So here I am looking through some of the cards:
















I wish you could see how many there were! Those girls worked HARD! The picture just doesn't show how many there really were!

So I'll break it down.... 140 blank gift cards, and 30 $1 gift cards!!! Holy cow! The fact that they were able to get so many blank ones just amazes me. Apparently Michelle has the hook up! The lady that Maddy talked to wasn't as kind. The funny thing is, I can totally picture these guys (I know Beth was in on this!) planning what they were going to do, and plotting exactly how they were going to do it!

And no, absolutely NO target cards were harmed or stolen. (Just incase this ever gets back to 2Peas you know. Ha ha!) Each one was asked for or paid for.

You guys seriously rock!!!!!!!! Thank you for making this such a special day!

Happy birthday to me!

Well usually I am not one to toot my own horn about it, but I had to share one of the goodies that I got today!

I was at Devine Memories yesterday, and my friend Kim was there. We were talking about cute signs and such and she mentioned the Quilted Bear. It is on Southern and Gilbert. It is kind of like Coomers, with different booths with different types of craft stuff.

Man, first I have to say how incredible the place smells when you walk through the door right now with all of the fall candles, dried flowers with cinnimon sticks, cinnimon cookie presses, etc. Yummy.

So I decided I would go kill some time there while Matthew was in school. Sorry, Michelle. (This is a place where I know she'll always go with me.) Let me tell you that it really isn't a good place to go to by yourself because other people tend to look at me like I'm crazy when I squeal over something really cute and realize I don't have a friend with me to ooh and ahh with.

But....I found this ADORABLE wooden Halloween sign. I had to have it. It was calling me, and I took it home. It is happy now.

:)

*eta* I just noticed that if you click on the picture to see it larger, if you look to the right side of my black table you can see a bit of Matthew's artwork on the wall. Grr. How did I make it through two other children who NEVER did anything like this!! But, maybe he is just using his inner life artist. ;)