Press Play on Video and Then Play Music!

Note: Wet spot is from sitting on snow--not what it looks like!

So what do you do when it's snowing and cold outside?

If you are a mommy, you can:

1. Try to remember who talked you into kids. (Lucky for them having kids has turned your memory into something closely related to your skinny jeans--they're hanging right there in the closet but you just can't get into them!)

2. Put your feet in a tub of hot water and turn on beach sounds on your ipod and c-l-o-s-e your eyes (But not where kids could get into the water. And you will need to keep one ear open to hear your children. Oh, and you will have to get up every 12.36 seconds to fetch a sippy, bottle, or princess shoe.) Oh forget it!

3. Bake all morning and then eat all afternoon (for the kids).

4. Watch movies. (This has a catch because you're a mommy. All movies will be kid friendly--aka cartoons.)

5. It all just goes downhill from here.

What do you do if you're a kid and it's snowing outside?

1. Watch your big sister play in it.

2. Play in the snow.

3. Contemplate life.

4. Then remember how great you have it.

5. Lose your mittens and revel in it.

6. Have a snack.

Before

After

7. After you get changed into clean clothes because you got food all over them, give your mommy a leg hug and melt her heart.

8. Paint a picture.

Trunk or Treat

Actually, trunk or treat was moved inside the church building because of weather, so it was mostly "Table or Treat" and occasionally "Chair or Treat". Same rules applied. Get as much candy as you can. And it was fun to see the kids in their costumes. Most of us dressed our daughters up as cats or princesses and our boys as super heroes. But there were a few surprises. Like little Luke was a sock monkey. And I saw one girl in pink and turquoise camo with "Major Trouble" embroidered on the chest. One mom came with a printout of one of her sons' heads as a mask wearing a sign saying he was home with strep and would you please give him some candy. Now that's a cool mom. And hey, at least that kid was sick unlike when Anthony gave up trick or treating in order to watch Buck Rogers. Needless to say, his parents didn't wear his face on their heads.

Tessa begged to go to the store to buy a princess costume. I guess she was tired of being a cat. Jack was Charlie Brown, obviously. You wouldn't believe how many kids came up to us to ask who he was. Tessa was telling some of them because she was watching the Great Pumpkin movie earlier today.

When we got there, all she did was covet other girl's princess costumes. She even forced them to stand in pictures with her. You can tell Cinderella here was NOT thrilled by this. And Tessa's smile says something--is it guilty?mischievous?

Jack is going: Where's the pumpkins full of chocolate flavored formula?

My super hot man with the kids:
And then we tried to get a picture of the kids with me. Here is what we have about 5 different shots of:

And finally, we settled for a perturbed kitty cat and a befuddled Charlie Brown.

Have a Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Festival

Last year the weather was horrible during the pumpkin festival. This year, it was terrible again, but the powers that be got smart and rescheduled it for this last weekend. Which was some of the best fall weather we have had all season. The sky was a brilliant blue and the sun was just the right touch of warm on exposed skin. In fact, the only bad thing I can say about our experience was that I forgot to check the battery power level on my camera before we left the house. So we didn't get as many pictures as we had hoped. But I will share what we have...

Kids who dress up get in free. So Tessa got to break in her kitty costume. She gave us a few poses before we left.

We were going to dress Jack up, but ditched the effort at the last minute since we knew he would be in a back pack all day. As it was, he was absolutely thrilled with the new experience.

These pictures really capture the blue of the sky that day. They also capture the pure joy experienced by our little kitty.

Cute is as Cute Does

Isn't the first year of life fun to watch? They learn so many things in so many cute ways.



Jack clapping (in his own way):








Jack checking me out while I get his bottle ready:

Wordless Wednesday

Yeah, lots of kids do it. But not as adorably as mine!

Double Down

No bread for buns. Two slabs of fried chicken instead. Swiss and Pepper Jack Cheese, the Colonel's sauce, and bacon. It's called a Double Down and it is being marketed in the Northeast. Is your mouth watering? Naturally.

Still...

Let's see just how far we can take our gluttony and just launch American obesity into the stratosphere. The CEO of KFC, Roger Eaton, has one major difference with drug dealers: what he sells is legal. And let's face it--food is a drug here. As much as movies like Super Size Me tried to implicate the fast food companies, I think the real blame lies with each individual person who is out of control.

Still, who came up with this sandwich? Do people just sit around and try to come up with the most fat and calorie ridden products possible? Is it just me, or has food prepared in restaurants just gotten worse and worse?

I am currently on a diet. I know, bad word. Still, I am amazed at what is OK to eat on a regular basis. Not much. Even things you think are healthy have tons of sodium or other hidden calories thrown in (i.e. Rotisserie Chickens from the grocery store, steamed veggies that come as sides in restaurants).

I would report nutritional information of the DD for a good laugh, I'm sure, but it isn't available yet. Until then, watch out out there.

Zing! Zang! Zoom!

We went to the circus! It was much easier to take the two kids than we had expected. But we decided it was better to have tried than to stay home just because the baby might cry. Still, we were pretty worried that one of us would be wheeling Jack around the perimeter of the arena the whole time--but he did awesome! Even when he got tired, he was happy to just sit in our laps and watch the show. Tessa, of course, was amazed. She had her first cotton candy, and she saw her first trapeze act. It was tons of fun.

We showed up early and got to see the animals behind the scenes! (Jack was in the stroller.)

Tessa's cotton candy came with a hat. All the kids in the audience were wearing them, and Tessa probably has her on in bed right now--she likes it that much.

Needless to say, we were all pretty tired and hungry when we drug our feet in the door at 6:30. But it was a FUN day!