How To Play With Trains

First a hug

Pierce teaching Asher some of the finer points of playing with Percy.

Cameras and Crawling

OK, so how long have we had our Nikon D80, a year and a half? Chad bought me an instructional DVD about 6 months ago that I never bothered to watch until a couple of days ago. Wow, I totally had no clue how to use the camera before! My eyes have been opened. I will never use an automatic setting again! White balance, ISO, metering, aperture, shutter speed, warm cards, my head is spinning. These pictures aren't great examples, I was just playing around with the manual settings in a low light situation. But I thought the boys looked cute, so enjoy!

Also, yesterday was a HUGE day for Asher. He learned to crawl, sit from a lying position and clap all in the same day! We will be posting some video soon!

They're Not Tights, They're Baby Legs and I LOVE EM!

I have to admit, at first Chad was a hard sell. I showed him websites, listed the benefits, found them on sale. I was relentless. But let's be real, I was going to buy them anyway. He can call them superman socks if he wants to. They're warm, they're moveable, they cover his feet (I can't get socks to stay on), they make diaper changes super easy, but mostly they're just plane CUTE. In fact, I think I'm addicted. Who needs pants!

Whose Your MaMa

Happy Halloween!

The super hero in action!

Look at those muscles. He's been training for months!

Yes, we lost a bunny foot while trick or treating.

My little bunny is VERY close to crawling.

Sweet bunny cheeks!

We had a great halloween this year and did LOTS of trick or treating. In total we went to 5 parties. We definitely got some good use out of the costumes.

Where The Wild Things Are

Howling at the moon.

Let the wild rumpus start! I dusted off the old sewing machine and put it to good use. Pierce is very excited about the new Where The Wild Things Are movie that is coming out next week. This is one of his favorite books. I found the cutest pattern for a Max costume (the main character in the movie, for those who are not up to date on their preschool books). I am still working on the rest of the costume, but the hat turned out adorable.

My First 5k!

I can proudly say that I have completed my first 5k. It was by no means an award winning effort (34:03), but it was a huge accomplishment for me.

Chad came along to cheer me on and I think he got just as much of a workout as me. He was carrying Asher in the backpack and carrying Pierce when he got too poky. They met me at the start, at the 1/2 mile and at the finish line (that was a lot of walking with 2 kiddos).

Note to self: Before you run a 5k

1. Don't drink 2 cups of caffeinated coffee

2. Don't expect to have enough time to wait in the ENORMOUS line for the porta potties.

My Little Warlocks

Oooh the cute things you can find on the Target $1 shelf! Look at my little warlocks getting all ready for Halloween.

Happy Birthday Grandma Webster!

Shining Happy People

Well folks, we have our first shiner. It turns out that Pierce's new game, "catch the boy in the sleeping bag", is a little dangerous. You'll be glad to hear that the granite countertop came out unscathed.

Just a little smile!

I love tickles from my brother!

AWWWWW!

Fence Wars

OOOOH, I'm FUMING! Our sweet old neighbor Rick recently passed away (we really miss him), and his house was sold to a new couple. Look what they did to our yard on the first day they moved in! They didn't even introduce themselves or tell us they would be putting up a 6' foot WHITE vinyl fence along our entire property line. When I walk down the hallway in the morning, I am blinded by a white wall. I have started calling our house the Mirock penitentiary. I don't have a really good 'before' picture, but we used to have a lovely view of a rolling hill and would frequently have flocks of turkeys travel through our yard, with the occasional deer or fox. No longer. They also have three large dogs that bark, including a bull mastif. The landscaper is coming at noon today to brainstorm with me. Alright, I won't complain anymore (poor Chad has been hearing me complain all week). Just wanted to share this unfortunate event.

Toy Box Craft

I just wanted to share my latest craft. Asher has recently become very interested in toys, so I have been pulling all the old baby toys out of the attic. The only problem was that they were overtaking the house, and I don't have a toy box just for Asher. I decided to make my own toy boxes. One for upstairs, one for downstairs and one for his bedroom. 40 minutes later (both kids were napping at the SAME TIME), I had three great boxes. All I needed were a few old boxes, scissors, a hot glue gun and some scraps of old fabric! I think they turned out pretty cute.

Coupons and Coffee

I have a new hobby. I spend countless hours every week clipping coupons, scanning coupon sites and studying grocery store adds. It all pays off in the end. This week I saved over $40! There is something so rewarding about watching the clerk scanning those coupons and watching that bill get lower and lower! On Sunday mornings I load the kids in the car, grocery list and coupons in hand and head to the store. When we arrive, Pierce likes to ask, "Are we at the sale?". After shopping comes the real pay off. I reward myself with a soy skinny vanilla latte from the Starbucks across the street. This morning, after placing my order at the drive through, the lady asks "is that all?" As I answer "yes" and start to pull forward, Pierce yells into the receiver really fast "AND I WANT A CHOCOLATE MILK!". Now, after all this coupon clipping I refuse to pay $3 for a chocolate milk and tell him that I will make him one at home, extra chocolatey. Needless to say, he wasn't very happy about this, and mumbles under his breath all the way home, "HA, HA, HA, Chocolate". (He says HA HA HA when he is really mad about something). It all turned out fine in the end. He settled for the extra chocolatey chocolate milk in my empty Starbucks cup.

Fall Is In The Air, Bring On The Puffy Costumes!

Pierce, Halloween 06'

Oh, I love the fall! The beautiful leaves, the apple picking and pumpkin patches. But most of all, I love dressing up my little ones in hilarious costumes for halloween, particulary puffy ones. Here is a blast from the past. Remember when Pierce was Dumbo. That little hat on top still cracks me up. Unfortunately, Asher will be too small to fit into it, but I have found something that is just as good. I will be posting some pictures in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, here are some pics of Asher wearing his puppy dog sweater.

Little Boy Blue

I just love this little outfit, and it never really fit Pierce. Asher was kind enough to pose for me (with a little help from dad), while I indulged in some picture taking! He was a happy little guy after his nap and a little one on one time with mom and dad on the patio while brother was still sleeping. He went to his first fair this morning where he saw oxen, goats, sheep, bunnies, chickens and cows. Of course he was hungry and tired by the end of it all, and we learned the hard way that it isn't easy to nurse in a sling while standing in line for the swing ride without completely exposing yourself. I found a nice lions club member who directed me into their clubhouse and gave me a private air conditioned office to use. It took 3 members and many keys, code punching and questions to get to that point though. You would think I was trying to break into the oval office.

Anyway, take a close look at the last picture (you might need a microscope). If you look at Asher's bottom gum you can see his very first tooth just poking through!

Birthday Greetings from Dragon-world

Hope you have a wonderful B-Day Oma!

Best Buddies

Those little guys sure love each other!

Happy Birthday Grandpa W!

We are wishing Grandpa W a happy 57th Birthday! He is spending it all by himself in North Carolina on a business trip for the second year in a row, so we thought we would have a celebration for him. Pierce insisted on having a birthday cake with a white candle, accompanied by singing of course! Chad and I enjoyed the excuse to eat birthday cake, and it was delicious grandpa! Asher and I are looking forward to visiting you in Illinois next week.

P.S. I hope you enjoy your shaved ice at Pelican's!