Happy Halloween!

The pumpkins have been decorated..

The Great Pumpkin has delivered treats and gifts...

The goodies have been assembled and set out for tricksters...

And Spiderina and her Spider sidekick had a ball...

Happy Hauntings!

Haunted Happenings...via Insta

My sister and I were chatting the other day about how busy this time of year is. Picking out Halloween costumes, having haunted sleepovers, costume parties, doing spooky pinterest projects.  Did I mention pumpkin painting parties and trips to the pumpkin patch?  Maybe I'll get to recapping those next week? 

For now my computer at home is having a moment and a few Insta pics may have to do.

Carsyn watched Hocus Pocus almost nightly and has been asking to make potions for weeks.  I finally found a bubbly recipe on Pinterest and tried it out. 

Clearly, Hank is annoyed its interrupting his cookie eating but Carsyn loved it.

I found themed wine bottles and shot glasses to make it seem more authentic.  You can find the recipe here.

Here's a list of what you'll need.

We had mummy dogs and witches brew for dinner one night and the kids thought they were pretty cute too.

My sweet friend, Ricarda hosted a Halloween party at her house and we all dressed up from Teen Beach Movie. (on the rare occasion we aren't watching Hocus Pocus we're still going Surf Surf Crazy).

My little surfer dude.

And, a while back we had a spooky sleepover with Kyria. 

Are they not the most precious little skeletons you've seen?  Of course this was at 3 in the morning when they finally crashed ;)

Spooky Jammies

We can all agree there's nothing cuter than babes in matching holiday jammies, right?

Carsyn insists on her and Hank wearing their "spooky jammies" every night. 

And all day.

I don't know what we'll do when Halloween is over but I have a feeling I need to get on ordering turkeys and santas.

Be sure to check out all the spooky ghosts and goblins at the Halloween Pajama Party Link-up!

The Joy of 2

 

There are moments in life where you have to pinch yourself.  You sit down and catch your breath and get a chance to think.  Usually its late at night when the kids have gone to sleep that I reflect on the day.  I try to journal little things the kids have said or done and usually chat on the phone with Rosie and Mel about the same thing.

 

Lately I've been noticing how much Carsyn and Hank love each other.  Don't get me wrong..they'll still fight to the death over a toy, but they adore one another.

 

In the mornings Hank is usually up first and he goes straight to Carsyn's room.  If she's not awake he'll cry in front of her door.  On the rare occasion Carsyn is up first she'll listen for him quietly and the minute she hears him she'll say "Mommy- Hank's up!" and run to his door.

 

I left Hank with Rosie one night last week and Carsyn started crying halfway home that she missed her brother so much.  She might be a drama queen, but she was really sad!

 

I'll catch myself prepping lunch and they'll disappear.  When I go check on them they'll be in Carsyn's room playing Barbies or Hank's room playing cars. 

 

When Hank cries Carsyn will go find his blankie and rub his leg and say "feel better bubby." 

 

 

Of course, sometimes she steals his blanket too ;)

 

 

 

The other night they disappeared and I spied on them secretly.  Carsyn had a scarf wrapped around her like a robe and she was sitting in a chair with her foot on a plate.  She had little people lined up around her feet and Hank was sitting there with one in his hand.  When she saw me she said "look, Hank's giving me a pedicure! look at all my pretty polishes!"

 

Carsyn loves dressing like her baby brother too.  If I get her dressed she asks if Hank has a matching outfit.

 

 

 

 

I am just so blessed to be these little's mommy.  And watching them interact and love each other is the best gift I've ever been given.

On Letting them Be Little

I'm upstairs with the windows open on a beautiful Fall day.  The kids are snoozing..albeit a little later than I'd like, but I"ll take it.  We've been running crazy all day and I'm happy to have a free moment to collect my thoughts.  The vacuum is humming downstairs and I am feeling zero guilt about having someone help out with cleaning house.

I've been thinking a lot for probably a year about what to do about putting Carsyn in school.  I feel like without a doubt if she was my only one she'd have started at least 2 days a week at age 2.  The minute I found out we were having Hanky our family dynamic changed big time.

Rosie was able to retire and cut my work load in half.  I was able to be more of a SAHM and less of a mess of a WAHM/TYKTWM (take your kids to work mom).  Yep I made that up I think.  And for those that manage to work with your kids I applaud you.  You're awesome.  Its the hardest thing I do honestly.  The days I work with the kids Rosie watches them and my hands are still full.  They still need momma every now and then.

Back to the school thing.  I was not going to bring a new baby home in July and send Carsyn to school within a month of each other.  There was and is no doubt in my mind she'd resent that.  She wasn't potty trained(still isn't), paci broke(nope), and plain wasn't ready in my opinion.  I'm her momma and my opinion counts.

That first year with Hank flew by.  Y'all know what I'm talking about..You blink, they're sitting up, you blink, they're eating foods, you blink, they're walking.

And boom.  It was time to think I had missed the boat in putting Carsyn in school as it likely would have a wait list.  She'd be three and more than ready.  I pushed it to the back of my mind.  Dismissed it really.  And when I told people I felt like when I sent her to school I wanted to send Hank too I'd get looks of disapproval. Or I'd get people trying to talk me into letting her be her own person.  And I GET that.  Really I do.  I actually think she'd prosper at school.  She loves kids, loves learning, and listens better than W.. (Sorry hubby I love you though).

But here's the thing.  She's not home with me all day.  She goes to Rosie and Pops at least 3 days a week.  The same Rosie that taught Kindergarten for umpteen years and taught Carsyn all of her letters.  Even F and Q and Z and the hard ones.  The same Rosie that actually talked me out of putting Carsyn on a wait list.

The other days we go out and eat in a "restaurant"-Carsyn's favorite thing.

We go to the post office and I teach her how to mail a letter.

We go to the grocery store and she asks what every. single. item. on the shelf is.  And I answer half the time ;)

We go watch Maddox play baseball even though its 2 hours away.

We go to the park and feed the ducks.

We take Ranger and Wagon rides in the sticks.

We play tag and hide and seek with Rosie and Pops.

We go shopping...(Yep totally considered a learning experience).

We share toys with baby brother and try to teach him to color and draw and sometimes play Barbies.

We go to Bob Evans for breakfast dates and pancakes like we did this morning.

We prep dinner together.

We meet friends for lunch dates.

And on weekends we go to parties and church and enjoy socializing with our friends.

I feel like our weeks are spent with family and loved ones and while learning is not at the top of our agenda family is.  And family time trumps all.

So, for now my children will start school when I'm ready.  I'm just not willing to let go of midday nap cuddles, my late breakfast dates, and my mid morning play dates.

Now, if anyone wants to babysit a few hours a week so I can get a mani/pedi or hair appt kid free I'd totally be for that.

a bit of this and that..

 

 

Every week I start Sunday night or Monday morning filling my trusty LP with blog posts, dinner, plans, and workouts. And every week I end up running about 3 days.. No yoga. Cooking one night if I'm lucky and blogging very rarely. Oops. Big oops considering I'm currently in bed at Rosie and Pops due to another nasty bout of diverticulitis. Momma needs to make changes. I have to add - usually I do a long run and Mondays and get home super late. My supportive hubby knows this and does grocery shopping and takes care of himself. I usually work on Tuesdays and try to get home in time to fix dinner. Last Wednesday I went to Lexington to watch Maddox's last baseball game and this led to working late Thursday. Friday I hosted a Matilda Jane party at the house. I know everyone's lives are busy but how do y'all do it?

Speaking of Matilda Jane, how cute is my little model?

 

 

The butternut dress and almond opals are my favorite combo right now- Love!



 

The week before Carsyns party her big girl bed and crown came in. Rosie kept the kids all day so we could get it ready for her. Bless my pop's heart he didn't bat an eye when he saw the crown...Just started planning. It took W, pops, and my cousin Adam to get it up but Carsyn loved it. Until it was time to sleep in it that night and she was scared. Laura crashed there when she was in and Carsyn didn't seem to mind too much. Magically Carsyn was all about sleeping there ever since! We haven't had any problems with nap time either-Strange, but I'll take it!

I poured a glass of red and opened Melissa Gorga's book a few weekends ago. Several of you asked me to review it and while there is so much to say there is also very little. Is it worth reading for those housewife obsessed like myself? Absolutely. Is is a bit ridiculous, fictitious, and somewhat braggy? Yep. Does she have valid points? Sure. I mean if W came home to me looking less busted with a hot dinner waiting every single night I'm pretty sure he'd be the happiest man ever. I'll leave it at that.