A Halloween Story by My 3-Year-Old

We are a Halloween-loving household. During lunch, 3-year-old Charzie wrote a Halloween story. I couldn't resist sharing it, so here ya go...
   

Once upon a time, a guy was walking across a field and there were CREEPY CARROTS! He was scared and he ran and then there were zombies. He told his mom and dad and they turned into MONSTERS! Then a wizard came and turned everyone into BAD GUYS! Then they got turned back normal. (Who turned them back?) God turned them back, no, JESUS! Jesus turned them back to normal. Then the wizard died from a zombie, a zombie cat, a zombie robot cat. And everyone was afraid. The End. [Insert creepy laugh.]

2014 the Year of Medical Stuff

We just might have someone in our family seeing some sort of doctor about every other day in January...

Let's see, Simon has some booster shots tomorrow and a dentist appointment Tuesday. Jonas will see the eye doctor the following Tuesday, then a dermatologist appointment the Tuesday after that (to check out a big ol' hairy mole on his knee, he was born with it), and then he has a dentist appointment the day after that. Charlotte will see the dentist the same day as Jonas.

How I felt

I had a crazy bloating episode on Christmas Day. Seriously, I ate two medium pancakes for breakfast and then my body filled up with gas. It was miserable; I couldn't eat a thing until the next morning when I had a small bowl of gluten-free Chex cereal. Then it happened again. I ended up going to an urgent care (we were visiting family in Kentucky) where they did an x-ray to be sure there was no blockage, and the doc told me my stomach and intestines were filled with gas. It was more than bloating; I had nausea and other, ahem, symptoms... That was the fourth time that month that it happened, but the other three times it happened in the evening and was gone by morning. This time it's lasted for over a week. I saw my doc on New Year's Eve and he ordered some bloodwork. I got most of the results today and they were OK (we're still waiting on the Celiac's test). So I see a GI specialist on Monday afternoon. Really, it doesn't seem to matter what I eat, afterward I bloat. It's not miserable like it was when it started, but it's quite uncomfortable. At least I'm up to eating three meals a day again and even one or two snacks. I lost six pounds in four days and it was kind of scary. I'm glad to say I'm currently holding steady and no longer losing weight.

Chase has been wearing a heart monitor because he's been having some episodes of rapid heart beats. He's been to prompt care, an internal medicine doctor and a cardiologist. The preliminary diagnosis is something long that I don't remember, but basically he has some nerves or something telling his heart to beat at times it shouldn't. He's started taking some medicine to hopefully take care of it; another option is surgery. The medicine has side effects that make him feel bad, but surgery is scary. He has an appointment to meet with the potential surgeon next week, and he'll see his cardiologist at the end of the month.

So it's looking like our 2014 is The Year of Medical Stuff or maybe The Year of Co-Pays. I'm going to try not to think of it and be thankful we have insurance. Also, I'll think about my trip with my sister to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter I have planned this month.

Happy Mother's Day

"When you're giving up, put on your Mom Jeans!" It's from one of my favorite SNL "commercials." Here, watch:




Probably the only SNL "commercial" I might like better is the Oops! I Crapped My Pants! one.

Valentine's Soaps 'n Stuff

So, it's Valentine's Day.  My kids love their friends and family and enjoy making things to give/send to them.  I'm kind of artsy and a bit crafty, so when the mood strikes and the kids aren't cranky and one or more of them are occupied or napping, I like to help them make things for their friends & family.  I don't think crafting with your kids makes you a good parent and the inverse of not crafting with your kids certainly does not make you a bad parent.  Other than making art using pencils, crayons, markers & stickers, we only do a handful of crafts a year (you know, because I have three small children which equals utter chaos most of the time most days).  This year it worked out for Simon (age 4) and me to make these cute little heart-shaped soaps to give to the kids' friends, their cousin and grandparents...

Cute right?  We already had the soap-making stuff (glycerin bars, soap dye & soap scent) because a couple Christmases ago we made soaps with tiny ornaments inside to give out.  As the kids and I were perusing Target a week or so ago, I came across these ice cube trays in one of the bargin bins at the front of the store:

I know melting crayons down into different shapes using trays & pans is a pretty popular craft right now, and that was the inspiration for this soap project.  When I saw the tray I instantly thought it was perfect for making little soaps!  And since we already had the stuff at home, there was no loading the kids up to make a special trip to get supplies, it really was the perfect Valentine craft.

I simply melted the glycerin in a big bowl using the microwave, Simon stirred while I added the soap dye & soap scent, then I used a ladle to pour the liquid into the tray.  It hardened in less than 30 minutes and was ready to pop out.  Simon & I used some plastic wrap to package the soap.  I tied it with some paper ties from packaging from some Imaginext toys the boys got recently (I saved the ties because I thought they would make some cute gift wrap options, glad I did).  Simon was the art director as I made tags on the computer.  Then I just cut the tags out with scrapbook scissors (because I cannot cut a straight line to save my life and the wavy scissors make that less obvious), punched a hole and tied the tag on.

I think our tag is pretty clever, if I do say so myself...

I felt the need to put "It's soap!" on the tag because I wouldn't want their friends to mistake it for candy...

The soaps are small, cute, smell good without too much scent, AND the kids love using them to wash their hands (3-year-old Jonas will purposely touch the potty so that he has to gets to wash his hands with these soaps!).  So they're decorative yet practical.  It's very likely that Simon and I will do this again next year for his kindergarten class Valentines.  How is it he's old enough to start kindergarten next school year?!?!

So the soaps were Valentines for the kids' friends.  A few weeks ago while we were at Target (different trip than the aforementioned one, we all love us some Target), on an impulse I got the kids some way awesome Valentines cups...

Target had this whole display of circus-y Valentines stuff.  If you really know me, you also know that I love love love the circus.  So I really couldn't not get these cups for the boys.

I especially had to get them because for Simon's 3rd birthday he had a circus party and I made Jonas into a strong man on the invitations & decorations...

So then I couldn't get the boys a cup without getting one for Charlotte as well...

Just look at that girl!  She likes monkeys and will often just sit on the floor saying, "Mon-kee soun, mon-kee soun... AH! AH! AH!"  So the monkey cup was fitting.

So I hope you enjoyed my super-long Valentine's post.  I'll leave you with a picture of Simon being the strong man on his cup.

A Lincoln Coloring Page for YOU!

It's Ol' Abe's birthday today.  I drew this years ago and made it into a coloring page.  Print it.  Color it.  Enjoy.

Oh, and while sitting in my lap as I posted this, Charzie looked at my Lincoln picture and said, "Oh no!  Scary Guy, don't eat me!"

October, What?

I just realized that I didn't have a single post in October. Yeah, it's been crazy.

The kids like to get up before 6:00 AM.
My sister came to visit.
We went to a pumpkin patch.
Ate some Count Chocula, Frankenberry & Boo Berry cereals.
Chase went out of town.
My mom came to visit.
Both boys are daytime potty trained.
Jonas (the younger) wakes up dry in the morning maybe half the time.
Charlotte eats 2 meals of solids a day.
So far she likes oatmeal, rice cereal, green beans & carrots but loves pears.
Charlotte cries when her pears are gone.
I went to my first concert since my first pregnancy.
The Avett Brothers rocked my face, but I felt old & unfashionable... (another post soon, I hope)
The boys got their teeth cleaned at the dentist and did awesome.
Simon loves The Nightmare Before Christmas.
He thinks it's awesome that Mr. Oogey Boogey is made of bugs.
I carved Mr. Oogey Boogey for my jack-o-lantern this year.
I hosted a Halloweeney Playdate Party with a spooky snack contest.
I made skeletons on lollipop sticks using marshmallows & yogurt-covered pretzels.
Charlotte is 5 months old!
Chase's parents came to visit.
My BFF Keli brought her kids down for my party & to trick-or-treat.
Our kids were a BLT sandwich for Halloween.

That's pretty much my October. Now here are the pictures:

BLT Sandwich
Bread- Nella
Tomato- Silas
Bacon- Jonas (of course)
Lettuce- Charlotte
Bread- Simon

Things Just Got Spookier Up In Here

I just finished my Halloween banner and hung it up! Yay! (I used scrapbook paper, black feathers, a hole punch & some twine.)


Halloween is pretty much my favorite holiday. I have a fondness for spooky things (as do my kids) and dressing up in costumes is just so fun. The kids were playing in the Halloween box the other day and I snapped a few pictures...

Simon in a wig & ringmaster hat

Jonas sporting the hat from Simon's lawn gnome costume from 2 years ago

Charlotte looking kinda creepy but a lot cute in the wig

That's enough for now, I've gotta go clean up my mess from making the banner...

Quite the Eventful Easter

Easter started out quite uneventful. I dressed the boys a little bit nicer than usual and even brushed their hair (which makes it super fluffy).

My fluffy boys

Jonas or Frances from Pee Wee's Big Adventure?

And I just took a couple pictures of them since we're getting our family portraits done on Friday.

Jonas is making almost the same expression as last year's Easter pic of the boys

Simon's learned to smile a little better, though!

We had our church gathering and Easter dinner here and then the boys played with Daddy a bit.


And then right before we were about to start clean-up time and the bedtime routine, Jonas tripped over a cushion on the floor and busted his eye on the rocking chair!

We debated taking him to the ER and consulted a nurse friend. We didn't want to put him through the trauma of the ER if it wasn't necessary. She suggested we take him in case it needs some help healing (he wouldn't stop rubbing it which made it bleed more). After calling around, our neighbor ended up coming over to stay with Simon. Chase took Jonas in while I got Simon ready and in bed, and then I met them at the ER.

Seriously, Jonas was a bloody mess since face injuries bleed so much. Chase had asked if we should clean him up before going in, but I said no because a bloody baby will get treated much faster! You can click here to see the wound and here to see the shirt (which has been trashed). We were only there for a little over an hour. Jonas was so sweet and chatty except when he was being cleaned, restrained and glued (three people held him down while one glued the wound). He got to eat half a popcicle and then we came home.

Jonas is doing just fine now and the glue should just come off when it's ready. This is what he looks like now:


I guess it's only fair that Jonas makes an ER trip the week of Simon's birthday since Simon had one (complete with ambulance ride) the week of Jonas' birthday... Hopefully this won't be a trend!

Simon's Valentine

Yesterday I took the boys to a Valentine play date. On the way there I asked Simon who he was going to make a valentine for...

For Nella? No
For Daddy? No
For Mommy? No
For Neena? No
For Granny? No
For Papaw? No
For Grandpa? No
For Aunt Cassie? No
For Aunt Manders? No
For Aunt Paige? No
For Aunt Laura? No
For Uncle Nein? No
For Uncle Joel? No
Who are you going to make a valentine for? (No answer)

While we were making the valentine he still wouldn't tell me. As soon as it was finished I asked him who it was for...


For Jonas!

Simon sure loves his brother!

Halloween Costumes & Cupcakes

Here ya go... our Halloween costumes!

Simon & Jonas were both characters from the movie Beetlejuice. Never seen it or has it been a while? I found this YouTube clip that has both of their characters in it:



Here's Jonas as Betelgeuse:

The ghost with the most! Betel-Jones!

And Simon as a Sandworm:

Simon as the thing that eats Betelgeuse at the end

I sewed Simon's costume myself with the last bit of black & white striped fabric that the fabric store had, some green fabric& polyester fiberfill for the mouth, zebra print foamy paper stuff for teeth and red poms for eyes. Jonas' costume is the tux Simon wore in some weddings this summer with white duct tape and the sleeves and pants cuffs tucked under.

The boys together

Now before I show you my and Chase's costumes, you need to watch this video (or at least some of it because only one person at the party we went to got it):


Beastie Boys - Sabotage
Uploaded by hushhush112. - Explore more music videos.

And now the costumes (including our friend Feng who was part of our trio):

Feng, Chase & me as the Beastie Boys as actors as 70's type detective characters from their Sabotage video

Our costumes came from a combination of our closets, Goodwill, Wal-marts, and one of the Halloween stores.

Now something that needs no explanation, the Halloween monster cupcakes I made for the party on Friday:

Chocolate cupcakes with homemade buttercream icing in Halloween skull wrappers!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Mother's Day

For Mother's Day, Simon gave me this:

He made a card and potted some flowers in a cup with his picture during Sunday School.

Jonas pooped in my hand mid-diaper change. (Actually, it was in a wipe I was holding, but still...)

Happy Mother's Day!

Turkey Hands

Simon enjoyed making turkeys out of our hands!

Arrrrrrrrrr!

Pics from our KY Trips

Finally, what you've been waiting for- pictures (of Simon) from our recent Kentucky trips!

These are from when Simon & I spent almost a week at my parents' house:

Cheezin' at Red Lobster

Petting the angry kitty...

The angry kitty walks away...

Chasing the angry kitty...

Petting the angry kitty again!

The Newport Aquarium (both Simon's and my first time there)

Swimming

These are from July 4th weekend when we were in Louisville for Chase's cousin Karen Jo's wedding:

Snuggling Aunt Paige

Funkle Joel stuffing Si in a basket... he doesn't seem to mind

Jonathan feeding a baby goat, I mean Simon