Halloween Fun!

Carving Jack O' Lanterns with Lisa, Jason, Blayne, Savana, and Leigh.

Jack is loving the pumpkin guts! Heck, he loves anything messy.

Leigh's werewolf pumpkin. This is the one I carved! A big thanks to Leigh for getting the guts out, because I hate that part!

Hard to see all of them, but first is Jack's, pirate skull and crossbones, next is Dylan's scary sculls (he carved all be himself), Leigh's werewolf, Blayne's scary face, Trey's bat, Laiken's kitten in a boot, and Jason's/Savana's spooky letters (with all of the initials of each family member).

Our pumpkins on our front porch. The only picture missing is the one of Savana with pumpkin guts. She hated them. A picture would not have done it justice, a video would have been perfect. When Jason handed them to her, she jumped up and down and screamed and squealed. It was definitely priceless! What an awesome night! I can't wait for trick or treating this weekend with my blue fairy, pirate, and giant hot dog!

TGIF!

This week I am so thankful for Little Belles and Bows, my hairbow making business. I love what I do. Business has really picked up since I have moved to Southaven. I am expecting it to get better and better as the year closes, and to be exceptionally good in the following year. Some customers have requested AL "roll tide" bows, which prompted a search for the perfect ribbon. Well, I found it, along with almost any other team you could think of. New bows are always exciting to me. And I am thankful for Riverkings Hockey games. I am looking forward to making memories with my kids at some of the games this year. And of course, bonding with my fav sis Leigh!!

I am so thankful for the restaurant "On The Border". On an impulse we went there to eat last night. The food was amazing. The white cheese dip was to die for. The kids started out rocky, maybe they were just really hungry, but they settled down fast when the chips and dip came out. They were completely pleasant the rest of the meal. It was a nice evening, perfect ending for the crazy day I had.

And I have to throw in that Trey is very thankful for new work boots. His boots blew out at work and had holes in the soles. Isn't that a kenny chesney song? Well, he didn't get a vacation like the song says, he got new boots and was sent back to work this morning. Haha. Don't feel bad for him though, he is like a girl when it comes to shoes. He loves new shoes. I am sure he has more pairs of shoes than I do.

Today Direct TV is coming to install our satellite. So next Friday, I am pretty sure I will be thankful for the sprout channel, disney channel, or nick Jr. For all those parents who don't believe in tv, I feel sorry for them. I need an hour or two in my day where the kids actually sit still for a minute. :)

Have a happy Friday!

Neighbors....

I went to the Riverkings opening game this past Saturday with Leigh. It was like old times when we had season tickets. I loved it! We danced, we laughed, we yelled, and we ate BBQ nachos! And I am pretty sure Baby Walker is a big fan of hockey b/c he/she moved the whole game! :)

Speaking of Baby Walker, I am going to be 20 weeks pregnant this Friday. Halfway, so its all downhill from here, right? HaHa, wouldn't that be nice.

We have been in the new house for a few weeks. I have met most of my neighbors. In the house to my right, lives a couple with a new baby and their brother. She is a nurse and he was recently laid off so he is a stay at home daddy. ( a reflection of today's economy) They are very nice people. In the house to the left, a couple with no kids. The husband has a race car on 22's....so he is instantly a friend to Trey. They even bonded last night over carburetors, cams, and rims! lol His wife is really sweet. They both always speak to us and talk to the kids too. Across the street is a lady with her daughters. She has a girl in the 4th grade at the same school as Dylan and she was very helpful with the bus, trash pick times, and mail times. And finally, across the street and to the left is a sweet older lady who seems to live alone. She watches her grandson on the weekends. And bless her heart, I know every neighborhood has one, but she is "busy". If you need to know about anything or anyone in the neighbor hood, she is your go to gal. At our first meeting the other night, she walked over to introduce herself and basically everyone else. I was informed about who fusses over property lines, why the neighbor's brother lives with him, and who keeps their yard up and who doesn't. But she really is a sweet lady, last night she brought the kids Disney Halloween pumpkins and bags for trick or treating, and gave us pumpkin lights to hang up outside. Its a nice neighborhood, maybe we will get to stay awhile and enjoy it!

TGIF!

Okay, I know that I do not have an actual job, so it may be unfair when I say Thank Goodness Its Friday! But it is common knowledge that the weekends are more fun, whether you are a stay at home mom or a 9-5'er. So hello weekend it is so nice to see you. And the best part...no alarm clocks (other than the kids getting up first). I am going to start a new regular Friday post on my blog dedicated to the things I am thankful for. Life can get so busy and routine that we often don't take time to appreciate the things we are lucky to have in our lives. Since this is the first "things I am Thankful for" post, I will start with the obvious. I am so thankful for my family. I have a very loving, wonderful husband. Trey works hard for us every day to give us everything we want and need. I appreciate all of the sacrifices he makes to provide for our family. He never complains about the long hours, hard work, heat, or travel that comes with his job. (Well, he did complain a little about the snow and -40 degree temperature in Wyoming, but who wouldn't.) He is a great husband and a wonderful daddy! He is my best friend and I look forward to a lifetime of making memories with him.

Among all of the craziness and chaos, I am very thankful for my children. They are the reason for everything I do in my life. I try hard to be a good example, and I know that I am not perfect all the time. And Lord knows my little angels are not perfect all of the time either, but they are mine. And they are close enough to perfect for me!!!!

And this Little One here...although completely unexpected and with the absolute fear brought on by the thought of his/her arrival into my already chaotic life.... I am very thankful for this baby too! So many women right now in this world are wishing and hoping for the opportunity to have a child and are unable to. This baby was conceived in love and will be raised with the love of our family. A baby is a true gift from God.

And a few smaller things to be thankful for:

1. The garbage man, who picks up across the street before getting to my side of the street. In case I forget to put it out Friday morning, I have about 2 minutes warning that he is coming to rush my garbage can to the side of the road.

2. The firemen, who came by Tuesday to test the fire hydrant in front of our house. The kids were completely amazed to watch two firemen open the hydrant and let gallons of water explode onto the road like a rushing river. And for the driver, who noticed his excited spectators and flashed the firetruck lights and blasted the sirens just for them. He was the hero of the day.

3.And finally, for the month of October/Halloween. It gave me an excuse to buy a $10.00 bag of chocolate from Sam's!

Happy Friday to All!!!

We have moved....AGAIN!

We have moved again. Instead of moving somewhere unfamiliar, we were fortunate to have the opportunity to move back home. We are in Southaven, MS. Everyone is adjusting wonderfully to this move because we are so excited to be able to spend more time with my family. I have to say that I completely enjoy seeing my Mom and my sisters everyday. I am excited about the opportunity to reconnect with people I should have stayed in contact with over the years. The kids love having their cousins close by. Poor Trey is the only one who is not entirely happy. He is working at Valero in Memphis. The job is very unorganized and poorly supervised. He is hoping it will get better, but is not very confident it will. He will probably be transferred to Texas soon. He wanted us to move here so I could have help from family when baby #4 arrives in March. I understand and agree, but I hate for him to leave. We have signed a year lease, so at least I have stability for one year. After that, who knows where we will move next. I didn't have any pictures to post about our move, although Trey did take a cute pic of our Uhaul with a trailer and his truck and my durango with a dolly and the Acura. We had a convoy getting here with all of our stuff plus our vehicles. :) I will try to post that picture later. So the "kids in Daddy's work boots" picture was just a bonus.

A visit to preschool

Laiken was the line leader on Wednesday. I was invited to come to her class and read a book to the children. Jack and I came to her classroom at 11:00. We read a book, passed out stickers, and joined Laiken for lunch in the cafeteria. I read a book about a garbage truck. It was a really silly book about a stinky garbage truck. The kids loved it! They were so loud and so animated for every page. When it was time for stickers, I was completely swarmed by 4 and 5 yr olds like I was passing out hundred dollar bills to grown ups. It was chaotic to say the least. Next we were lined up to go to lunch in the cafeteria. Jack was beaming with excitement when he carried his lunch tray from the lunchline to the table. Laiken was so sweet. She was so proud to have us eat lunch with her. The kids had a blast playing with Jack at lunch. It was really loud. There was alot of shouting and it was quite difficult to keep Jack in his seat (which led to wandering preschoolers too). After lunch the kids went outside to play for about 10 minutes. The teacher invited me and Jack to join them. He took off for the playground with the kids just like he was part of the class. When playtime was over he lined up in line with the kids. He was a pro at preschool. Laiken was very sweet. At first she asked me not to leave, but then when they lined up she waved and screamed bye to me. I was glad she did not get upset when we left. It is easier to leave her there when I know she is happy. And she is very happy at her school. Later at home, me and Jack were getting ready for a nap and he was still talking about his day at preschool. The last thing he said before falling asleep,, "The kids at Nanny's school are soooo big." It was definitely a fun day. Preschool was certainly interesting and not for the weak. Whatever they pay preschool teachers and assistants...it is not enough!!!!

Aren't they the cutest kids?

I have learned to make puppy bows. Yes, Max is a boy, but he just looks so darn cute with a bow. This picture expresses his enthusiasm about bows.

Laiken went to a two day cheer camp with the Pauls Valley Varsity Cheerleaders and performed at half time at the first football game. It was adorable and she has been cheering non stop since then.

Jack, oh my precious Jack. He has learned a new word. It has four letters and starts with "s" and ends with a "t". Needless to say, we are working really hard on erasing that word from Jack's vocabulary (and mine too)!!! On a softer note, whenever I talk to Jack about the new baby coming, he raises my shirt over my stomach and kisses my belly.

I emailed about 10 pictures to my mom this past week, and she brought it to my attention that none of the pics were of Dylan. He is not involved in any sports or extra activities. He does not do anything crazy/silly/adorable like Jack. The older kids really do get forgotten when it comes to pictures. I vow to take more pics of Dylan, and also more random pics of the kids (not just when something important is happening). Dylan is doing really well in school. He is finishing more of his work on time and staying in his seat more. He has adjusted to the move better than we could have expected. He does not communicate much with his mom, despite the fact he has his own cell phone, but he surprisingly seems ok with that too. Everything seems to be going well with him.

Everything is fine with me and the baby. I will be 15 weeks this Friday. Time sure does fly by. Trey is working 7 days a week for the next few weeks and this job should be wrapping up by the first of October. We are still not sure what is in store for us next or where we will be moving, but I believe everything happens for a reason. We will be happy wherever we go, as long as we are together.