Happy Halloween 2009

Halloween was a fun night for our family. We attended the Trunk or Treat at our church. The kids enjoyed collecting candy from our Christian family, while we handed out treats. It is so great to have the Trunk or Treat so we can feel safe about the candy our kids receive.

This year Mason was a monkey. (I have been joking that he already has the personality and all he needed was the costume.) He loves to watch Curious George on TV. So we called the costume Curious George, and he loved it. I was hoping for some cool weather, otherwise he would have been burning up in the costume. The weather was perfect for our little monkey.

Curious Mason

Eating the banana attached to his costume.

There was so much padding in the back of the costume that if he fell down it wouldn't hurt.

CANDY!

Anna's costume required a little more work than Mason's. Mason's was so easy- just slip it on. But Anna wanted to be Taylor Swift...and they don't make a Taylor Swift costume We had to start on Anna's look on Halloween morning. I rolled her hair in sponge rollers.

She thought this looked crazy and didn't want her picture taken. I thought she looked so cute.

Halloween afternoon when I took the rollers out, this is how her hair looked.She giggled and thought it looked funny.

But when all the work was done, she looked BEAUTIFUL.Between the eye shadow, blush and lipstick, she looked about 10 years older. I had been concerned that her hair wouldn't turn out very good, but thanks to a tip from Mrs. Heather, it was perfect. We decided that Anna's natural hair made better Taylor Swift hair than any wig we could have bought.
Kevin made her an acoustic guitar from wood and painted it. I made the guitar strap that says "Taylor" from ribbon and glitter glue. She already had the microphone from last Halloween. I bought the dress at Target and earrings at Claire's. She already had black boots. We pulled out the tights and black t-shirt since it was cool. We think she made a wonderful Taylor Swift. She seemed very pleased with her Taylor Swift look.Anna kept asking what I was going to be for Halloween. I didn't intend to be anything other than myself. At the last minute I went to the shop and dug out my camo. So I became a hunter. I laughed and said I was a "monkey hunter" trying to keep up with Monkey Mason.

Kevin didn't dress up although at the last minute he thought about wearing his cowboy hat, duster and spurs. But he never got his costume together.

Every year after the Trunk of Treat we always go to one house- Timmy & Debby's. This year Mrs. Debby fed us dinner when we got to their house. It was soooo nice to not have to cook before or after trick or treating! Anna always helps Tim & Debby hand out candy to their trick or treaters. This year Mason got to hand out some candy too.

Our Halloween Family

Tim, Mason, Debby & Anna

After we left Tim & Debby's house it was time to head home. Thankfully it was the night to roll back the clock an hour to Standard Time. So we didn't stray too far from our normal sleep. When we pulled in our driveway Anna asked "Why doesn't anyone come to our house for candy?" As a friend replied when I repeated Anna's question "They'd have to find us first."

Today I took down the Halloween decorations and put out the few Thanksgiving decorations that we have. Anna is on the countdown to her birthday and birthday party. After Thanksgiving, Christmas will be right around the corner. It's the most wonderful time of the year...or busiest time of the year...or craziest time of the year...

A Wet Week

What a wet week we've had. We barely saw any sunshine this week. Thursday night alone we got about 6 inches of rain! The poor farmers are having a rough year. I'm ready for some dry weather and sunshine. Thankfully the sun is shining this morning (at least for now) so hopefully we won't see rain tonight for the Trunk or Treat. But it looks like it will be a cool night. Gotta get out some warm clothes...

This was Red Ribbon Week at Anna's school. Every day the kids were able to dress up. The dress up days were headband/bandana day, dress like a rocker or wear your clothes inside out/backwards day, sunglasses day, P.J.s & slippers day, and Red & Black or Orange & Black or Halloween shirt day. (I was a bad Mama and didn't take a single picture of Anna dressed up.) Not only does Anna's school use Red Ribbon Week to "Just say no to drugs", the school also chooses a charity/cause to raise money for a donation. This year Arkansas Children's Hospital will be the receipient of the money. Our family thinks this is a great organization to donate to based on our personal experiences with ACH.

Although we had an overall good week, it didn't go without some bumps along the way. Mason has been having some difficulties with his behavior at daycare. His sheet has been saying he was "fussy" a lot. Then Tuesday he kicked his teacher because he was mad. He got in BIG trouble for that!! Hopefully we made an impression on him that kicking will not be tolerated. It wasn't just Mason that had some issues this week. Anna's teacher sent a note home one day that some kids were complaining that Anna pushed and hit them. Of course Anna said she didn't do it and the teacher didn't see it happen, so she just wanted us to have a talk with Anna. So hopefully we came through loud & clear to Anna too. I don't know what it was about this week that seemed to make the kids act out. A few weeks ago one of the planet's gravitational pull made brooms stand up without assistance, maybe there was some other kind of force at work this week on my children??? I just pray that it is long gone now!

Thursday morning after I dropped Anna off at school, I took Mason to the mass flu shot clinic to get his H1N1 vaccine. I assumed there would be a long line, and I was correct. It took us an hour and 10 minutes to make our way to the shot tents. I got the seasonal flu shot and then drove to the next tent for Mason's H1N1 shot. At that point I was told Mason couldn't get the shot yet because it hadn't been 30 days since he got the seasonal flu nasal mist! Since the nasal mist is a live virus, they won't let you get the H1N1 shot until a month later. I sure wish I had known that before waiting so long. The real reason I went was for Mason, not me. But at least I did get something out of it- a shot for ME.

This leads me to another reason there must have been some "force" in motion this week. I hadn't been using the word "shot" around Mason for fear that he would go into meltdown mode. Then on the way to take Anna to school Thrusday Anna mentioned Mason getting a shot. I corrected her and said it was a "vaccination". But it was too late, Mason had already heard her. Except he had the opposite reaction than I anticipated. All the way to town he would say "I need to go to the doctor" and "I need a shot." Now most kids would be happy if they didn't have to get a shot that they were expecting. But not MASON! After he didn't get his H1N1 shot, he started kicking and screaming in his car seat saying "I WANT A SHOT!! I WANT A SHOT!!" See, there must have been something causing crazy behavior this week. However, Anna was so excited that she won't be able to get the H1N1 vaccine at school on Monday (the same reason Mason couldn't get it.)

After leaving the flu shot clinic Mason and I ran errands, he played at the mall, ate lunch with Kevin, ran more errands and then picked Anna up from school. I had intended to keep Mason with me that day because he would have gotten a shot, but I went ahead and let me stay with me even though he didn't get the shot. Aside from the temper tantrum when he didn't get his shot, he was a good boy that day. We had a great mommy & son day!

Friday I volunteered at Anna's school all morning and then met Kevin for lunch. He took the afternoon off work and we did some Christmas shopping for a couple of hours. Then it was time to go to Mason's Fall Party at daycare. He seemed to enjoy all the yummy snacks.

(Notice the little girl to the right of Mason has red hair too. There are three red heads in Mason's daycare class. It seems so strange for a class of about 9 or 10 to have three red heads.)

I have enjoyed this past week so much (other than my childrens bad behavior). I've had the opportunity to do something I've always wanted to have the time to do- volunteer. I volunteered at Anna's school every day except Thursday. Each morning I (along with other moms) worked collecting cookie dough money and t-shirt order money for the PTO, and Arkansas Children's Hospital money for Red Ribbon Week. Then one morning Anna's teacher asked me to help in the classroom when I finished with the money collections. Anna was so excited for her mommy to be helping in her classroom. I cut out the kids' handprints for them to make bats and counted pumpkin seeds they had removed from a pumpkin. There were 503 seeds...a lot more than I would have guessed. Friday morning another mother and myself worked on Box Tops for the speech pathologist. The school collects Box Tops, Campbell's Soup labels and Hays grocery store receipts to get supplies and equipment for the school. Parents send the labels to school in a wide array of techniques. We trimmed the labels to cut down on shipping costs. So if you aren't already saving these items, please save them and I'll collect them from you for Anna's school. I was amazed at what all the school has been able to get from these collections. They really add up! I was also able to volunteer my time at church one night to help wrap gift boxes to be sent oversees to children in need. Although I couldn't do a lot financially, I could give my time to help out. I pray that God will continue to bless me with the time to do the things that matter most in life. I keep reminding myself that when I die it won't matter what kind of house I lived in, what kind of car I drove or how much money I had. What will matter is how I lived my life. I thank God for every day he gives me and pray I will live it in accordance to His will.

Now, there is so much to get done today before the Trunk or Treat tonight. I'll post pictures later of my little Trick or Treaters.

A Tough Life Lesson

Anna learned a difficult life lesson Sunday evening. We were on our way to evening worship services. We had just turned out onto the highway and got up to speed limit. A cat ran in front of our truck. Kevin tried hard to miss the cat but it just didn't work out. Anna heard the thud and turned around to see the cat laying in the road. She said "I see it's tail moving." Then when she realized the cat was dead, she started crying. It was so hard for Kevin because he was the one driving. Even though he did all he could to miss the cat (other than hitting the ditch and possibly hurting us), he still felt horrible because Anna was upset. I felt sorry for Anna because I felt her pain. As a little girl I was just like her. So tenderhearted, especially about animals. She is an animal lover. At that moment, like others in the past and many more in the future, I would have done anything to take her pain away. Unfortunately, that was a life lesson and there will be many more to come. Even now, several days after the "accident" she still talks about the cat. Wednesday evening on the way to church she asked if the cat was still there. Thankfully the cat was gone.

It's amazing how much of myself I see in Anna. At times it's almost like she is my little clone. Our actions, verbal communication and even emotions are so much alike at times. There is no denying that Anna is my little girl. I love her with all my heart! I just pray that she gets more of my good qualities than the bad ones.

Jack-O-Lantern Carving

Making sure Daddy does it right!

I've felt guilty for almost a year because we never made a Jack-O-Lantern last year. So this year I was determined the kids would have a Jack-O-Lantern. Saturday evening Kevin carved one of our pumpkins into a Jack-O-Lantern. Anna loved digging the "guts" out of it. Mason tried it once and didn't like it. (Wouldn't you think it would be the opposite?)

Kevin always does an excellent job carving our pumpkins. This year's pumpkin turned out really cute. The kids love for us to light it up at night and turn the lights out (it's in the living room). I guess this is possibly Mason's first Jack-O-Lantern. We didn't do one last year, and I honestly can't remember if we did one the year he was born. He would only have been 6 months so I doubt he remembers it if we did.

Fall Photos 2009

My favorite photo subjects are Anna & Mason. I love to take pictures of my precious little ones. My life is so blessed by them. When you take their sweet faces and put them with God's beautiful Fall scenery, it just makes the perfect picture!

Busy Time of Year

Yet another week has went by so fast. It was another busy but fun week. It's hard to believe that our little girl's first nine weeks of school are over. An upcoming birthday party and Christmas are popular subjects at our house right now. The wish list for both occasions seems to grow daily. This is the time of year where the hustle and bustle seems to get greater with each and every passing day. But for now, I'll just reflect on the past week...

Monday I was a substitute at Jr. High...for Special Education. I had declined a few offeres to sub so when they called for the Jr. High I said "yes". Then when they told me it would be for Special Ed, I thought "WHAT HAVE I DONE??!!!" But it turned out to be a good day. It was an English Resource class. Most of the classes only had 3 or 4 students. The class with the most had 6. One class only had one student, and he wasn't there. So it really was a smooth day.

Tuesday morning I subbed in 2nd grade for a lady I've known since I was a little girl. She requested me for her room, which was such an honor. That morning flew by fast, and I was soon home. Then in a couple of hours it was time to go back and get Anna. Anna was so excited about a Sock Hop they had that afternoon in the gym. She said they got to dance and sing.

I had lots of errands planned for Wednesday (since I had worked two days in a row...per Kevin "rough life"). But that all changed when I woke up not feeling so well. I went to bed Tuesday night with a horrible headache and just feeling bad. By Wednesday morning I really felt bad. Kevin even took Anna to school for me. I really think it was just sinus problems. I took a lot of over the counter medicine that day and by Thursday morning I felt better.

Thursday Anna got out of school at 1:15 for Parent Teacher Conferences. She was excited to have a short day and to not have nap time. I took her and Mason to Mimi's house so Kevin and I could go to meet her teacher at 2:45. Her teacher said that she is doing GREAT. She was "Mastery" (the highest possible) in all areas. Her teacher said that sometimes she thinks Anna is bored but that she still behaves well. She said that she can put Anna with any child in the class and Anna will get along well with them. We are so proud of Anna!

Papaw, Grammy, Mason & Anna

Sitting on a forklift at Papaw's work

Friday Anna was out of school so the kids and I went to a potluck for Papaw at work. He is retiring (again). He took an early retirement from Emerson about 6 years ago. He has been working at Anchor and has decided to retire for good. Grammy and us surprised him by showing up for his goodbye meal. He was so happy to see us (especially Anna and Mason). After the meal the kids and I went to the mall so the kids could play. They love the mall playground. While playing Katelyn and Mrs. Holly happened to come by, so the girls got to play together...so much fun! Later on we met Daddy and went to Chuck-E-Cheese's to celebrate Anna's wonderful first 9 weeks at school. I really can't tell who enjoys the games the most at CEC...the kids or us.
This morning we went to a Fall Festival at the Middle School. The kids played games and I did some shopping for Bearcat t-shirts and hairbows. We've got to get our Bearcat spirit showing in our clothing. After we got home I finally got to take some Fall photos of the kids. It was a beautiful day for riding the 4-wheeler and taking pictures.

Anna is selling cookie dough for the PTO. The sale ends November 3rd. If you would like to buy some cookie dough for a good cause, call or email me. Anna has already sold the minimum amount to get to attend Cat in the Hat and to get "light up teeth". She is more excited about getting the teeth than seeing Cat in the Hat!

Preparing for Winter & Some Fun

Our family is preparing for winter (and now). Monday afternoon I took Anna & Mason to get the flu mist. Wow, so much easier than the shot. Mason did have to get one shot. I found out from his daycare that he was missing a Hib vaccine. Back in April when he had his 2 year checkup there was a shortage of the Hib vaccine. So while we did the flu mist, Mason got caught up on his immunizations. To my surprise, Mason didn't even cry when he got the shot. I was trying to distract him by talking to him and acting silly. His face got a small distressed look but he never cried. The nurse said "What a big boy!" It seems to me that everytime Mason gets immunizations his behavior is wilder for about 24 hours. We hadn't been home from the doctors office long when Anna told me to look at Mason. He was sitting on top of our deep freeze!

Anna got to bring the Bearcat Buddy home again Monday night. I'm really not sure why. She had a substitute teacher that day. Anna said that she told the sub that she didn't have much time to play with it last week so the sub let her bring it home again. I was really afraid that her normal teacher wouldn't be happy that she brought it home again, but Anna said it was okay with her.

Tuesday afternoon Anna was so excited because she got to ride a bus to the high school for a presentation that day. She said "It was an illustrator or something." She told me the lady's name but now I can't remember it. But I think she was an author. Anyway, Anna was so excited to have ridden the bus for the first time.

Anna's class had a pumpkin decorating contest. We had to "disguise" a pumpkin so it wouldn't be made into a Jack-O-Lantern. Anna and I had so much fun painting our Minnie Mouse pumpkin. She was so proud of it when she took it to school. All the kids got ribbons for their pumpkins on Friday. She was so excited about winning a ribbon.

Mason spent the night with Mimi Thursday night. Anna said it was really quiet with him gone. I would have to agree. He just seems to liven up our house! We got out the board games and cards and played for a long time. It's just so hard to play games with Mason around. He destroys the board, moves things around and makes it difficult to play correctly. However, it won't be too long until he will be able to play with us. Mason had a great time at Mimi's house. He even slept in the full size bed in one of her bedrooms. (It's called Anna's room.) He still sleeps in a baby bed at our house. I intend to keep it that way until we HAVE to move him. It keeps him from getting out of bed and running around without us knowing it (and getting on the kitchen table or deep freeze).

Friday afternoon after I picked Anna up from school, we went to Mimi's house. I swapped kids and left Anna to spend the night. We didn't play games with Mason but instead we watched Ice Age. He is really getting into watching movies and kids shows on tv. He didn't go to bed until almost 10:00.

Saturday around lunch time we picked Anna up from Mimi's house and met some friends at their church for a Fall Festival. We ate delicious BBQ and the kids got to play. Later that evening we watched a kids movie we rented and enjoyed snuggle time.

This afternoon Anna had a birthday party to attend. Zoey, a friend from daycare & PreK days, had invited her to a party at the movies. Mason stayed with Mimi while the three of us went. The movie was Where the Wild Things Are. It was an okay movie but definitely not one of my favorites. But Anna had a great time seeing some of her old PreK friends, and that's all that matters. I hope we can continue to get these girls together from time to time because they are always so excited to see each other.

Anna & Zoey the birthday girl

Anna has quite a social life for a 5 year old. She had the party today and has a few more coming up within the next month or so. I'm so happy that she has so many great friends. The one thing I wasn't ready for with having a little girl is how some girls can be so mean. We have already encountered some "mean girl" situations. It's really hard to explain to a 5 year old. As her mother I want to protect her from hurtful people but it's an impossible job. We have had some discussions about how real friends should treat her and picking our friends wisely. I never expected to have these talks with my 5 year old. What will I do during the teenage years?