HALLOWEEN!!!

Wow! I am blogging two days in a row.... that seems to be a record for me these days! We took the boys, who were dressed as a Hunter and a Deer, out trick or treating in our neighborhood earlier, which was FILLED with kids! I am so glad we are living in a place where our kids will have lots of friends to play with. So many cute little costumes! After we made the rounds at the houses of people we knew, we headed to the Catholic Game some the boys could show Dadoo their costumes and get in on a little bit of the football action! Little Ben even made the Friday Night Football Fever on WSFA in his deer costume, along with a bunch of other costumed kids. Here are some pictures from today. Enjoy!

Halloween Bunko and More!

OKAY...time had really flown since I last had a chance to blog. The boys have been going continuously, and Ben has a new tooth, which makes a grand total of 2. He is also letting go of objects that he has used to pull himself up on, and standing alone for a few seconds before he crashes to the floor! He will be walking in no time! Then I will have two running toddlers to chase, no doubt in separate directions. Sity and I took the boys to have their picture made with Santa at Holiday Market last week! They both cooperated beautifully, although we couldn't manage to get a shot where both of them are smiling. This is the picture we selected as the best: Zack also had his two year old portraits taken this week, wearing a pale,pale blue jon-jon that I made for him, that has a white block "A" embroidered on it, courtesy of Zack's Uncle Mark at Azar's Uniforms, to whom I am very grateful for helping us out! Zack was all over the place at the studio.... trying to grab light flashers and cameras and anything else that was nailed to the floor... his Daddy is a pistol and he's a son of a gun, let me tell you. But we survived the session, although he did manage to knock over a huge display portrait, which I caught with my hands, that was on an iron stand or easel, that I caught with my foot. My foot STILL hurts and that happened Monday. No one ever told me that being a Mom involved so much physical abuse! My legs look like my elementary P.E. teacher's most of the time (all bruised up) but thankfully, it's pant season finally, so I don't have to cover them up anymore. I have also been doing spa parties at people's homes, and attended my Day of BeautiU last Sunday, where I learned a lot of helpful information to make me a better Spa girl.
I am hosting Halloween Bunko tonight in our garage/ playroom, and have been planning the menu. Benjamin and I went to get all of the food necessary for the Ghoul's Night Out this morning... I am making "Mummy Wraps " which are hot dogs wrapped in a breadstick that has been baked around it, Smores, Transylvania Punch ( it includes Vodka'd Jello) and a dip with chips. And of course, CANDY! Some people are wearing costumes, some are not.... I believe I am going to resurrect my old Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader outfit from YEARS ago, not only because it's cute, but because, dangit, I'm 25, have had 2 babies, and still look good in it. Gotta do it while I can. And if I look dumb, who cares! There's Transylvania punch to make me forget. Zack had his Pumpkin Party at school today, and they said he ate 3 slices of pizza. What will I ever do with my hungry little boy??? Between him and Ben, I will have to get a night job to feed them! My money saving efforts are paying off, though, as our power bill is already lower, and I saved $45 dollars at the grocery store today, by planning my buys around the sales and what coupons I had that went with them. Well, I better go work on the garage and get it ready for company... I will post pictures from tonight later!!

Pumpkin Patch!!!

Friday, we went to the Zoo for the 2nd time this week, this time with Danielle and her Ella and Ben, as well as Jocelyn and her three (Harper, Violet, and Iris). Those kids had a BLAST! They 4 older ones were all running around holding each other's hands and showing things to each other... so precious. Jocelyn and Danielle, who had met briefly a couple of times before Friday, had a great time chatting and we all had fun watching the kids have fun. Plus, it gave us Mom time.... that is, time to talk to someone other than toddlers, and someone who doesn't mind hearing potty stories.
Sunday, Zack and I took the boys to the Dreamfield Farms Pumpkin Patch! I had to practically beat my husband to get him to go, but once we were all there, I think he had as good of a time as the rest of us. There was a "petting zoo, where the kids could meet, pet and feed real animals that live on this working farm. Zack went crazy over the baby goats and calves! They were all very eager to eat the corn he offered them. Little Ben loved petting the lamb, probably because he was so soft! We watched Racing Piglets, which were hilarious, and Zack got to pet the winner of the race. We tried to do the 5- Acre corn maze (a corn field that has had patterns cut into it like a labyrinth) and got VERY lost, but Little Zack still enjoyed tromping around in his Cowboy boots that Mimi gave him for his birthday.

My poor husband, on the other hand, didn't fare as well.... it wore him out almost as much as it did his son! At the end, we went on the hayride that led us to the Pumpkin Patch, and Zack got to pick out his very own Pumpkin. I put Ben down in the patch and let him explore the pumpkins, too, and making sure all the while that he didnt find an ant bed to sit in. I will be uploading pictures later of this wonderful excursion... it will always be a treasured memory for me, even though I know the kids will only have the pictures to remember it by.
I have spent my day hanging diapers and clothes outside on the line to dry, taking care of the kids and all that it entails, and I have been sewing reusable napkins/ paper towels out of cotton flannel. We are not going to be buying anymore paper towels (people get so confused when they come to our house and there are no paper towels... a nice clean rag or towel can clean up anything that a paper one can!) I am considering learning to sew cloth diapers and sell them as well. There is certainly a growing market for it with the way the economy has gone! I have also been unplugging everything that is not currently in use and turned off the A/C and opened the windows to cool the house. The rates for electricity just went up, so I will be doing everything I can to cut that bill as low as possible!!! If anyone has any other ideas on saving money or doing things the way they were done before convenience items came about, let me know!

The Zoo!

I took the boys to the Zoo yesterday to meet up with my friend Jocelyn and her little ones, Harper, Violet and Iris. They had soooo much fun. Zack had not been to the zoo since he was 6 months old, and little Ben had NEVER been before, so this was truly a thrilling outing for all of us. Zack ran the entire time, except for when I put him back into the stroller for disobeying or running off from the group (he has to learn somehow!) and chattered excitedly about each of the animals. He especially enjoyed the Spider Monkeys and the Bengal Tigers, who were EXTREMELY close to the glass that day. Zack kept pointing at the tigers and saying "ooooooooo". The tiger seemed to be thinking "oooooo that little curly-headed boy would make an excellent snack!", but we all survived to tell the tale. The baby elephant was also a huge hit with the kids, and I enjoyed getting to see her as well! Ben LOVED the Pink flamingoes..... they kept squawking and flapping, which he thought was HYSTERICAL. I do love these outings so much with my boys and know that these memories are priceless. They are getting so big so fast! Ben is letting of things that he has pulled himself up on, then falling. It won't be long before he tries to take that special first step!
This weekend the boys and I delivered invitations to half of our subdivision about the "Neighborhood After Work Spa" that another consultant and I are having here at Woodland Creek on October 16th. It was a good long walk, and a nice end to our weekend. If anyone else would like to come, they are more than welcome to attend! There will be lots of drawings and ideas for Christmas gifts!
Friday night I went to "First Friday" mass and rosary at church, which honors the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and I can honestly say that was one of the most peaceful, prayerful times I have enjoyed in a long time. I have decided to take on this devotion, by where I will got to church each First Friday out of the month and pray for the crimes against the Sacred Heart. I took Ben to Daily Mass today and he behaved beautifully (Zack was at Pre-school) and I really enjoyed the time with God, even though I was keeping a baby happy the whole time! This may become part of our weekly schedule, where we go to mass after we drop Zack off at school. Tonight we are going out to celebrate Gerri's birthday with Mexican Food, so that will be lots of fun!