5 years ago...

5 years ago I today, I went in to the hospital to have Sam.... (he wasn't born until the 31st) our New Year's Eve baby!

We weren't sure what we were up against when we went to the hospital, but we sure knew we wanted this little boy in our family. It seems like so long ago, but also just yesterday. He is our little miracle, and I know that we have been blessed by having him, and we are blessed every day with his sweet personality.

Christmas!

On Christmas Eve we went to Michael's parents house for Brinner (no they don't call it that... they actually called it brunch, but it was at 2 or 3 in the afternoon, and it counted as dinner, so it wasn't technically a brunch, it was breakfast for dinner, so... brinner, and no, I didn't clarify that up there, I just ate my brinner without setting things straight.)

There was a huge bowl of caramel popcorn... the likes I haven't seen since growing up. It was yummy and nostalgic, because, I haven't had caramel popcorn like that, especially from a bowl like that since I was a kid. And Katelyn loved it too... and it was Christmas so I just went ahead and let her spoil her dinner by eating it while we were waiting.

The evening was lots of fun, and of course the HIGHLIGHT was Santa. I'm sure no cousins are going to read this blog and if they are some parents can surely shield them from this... but Santa is Michael's dad. Some of the grandkids are a little wise to this, especially since there are a few slip ups here and there like "go sit on Grandpa's lap" but my kids were TOTALLY thrilled and were caught up in the magic. Katelyn surprised me at how happy she was to see him, and kept on shouting (she has 2 volumes, talking and shouting) questions or answers to questions that he asked other kids on their lap. Example: (Another kid on his lap) "How old are you" Kate: "I'm 2!" "What do you want for Christmas?" Kate: "A bike!" (most of the time I don't think he even noticed that she was shouting answers at him) It was funny. Sam, was just as taken with him, but kept on asking me questions like "Where are his reindeer?" When we got home we opened pjs and read the Christmas story. Sam couldn't go to sleep. He continued coming out for at least 2 hours at different times, saying things like "I thought I heard Santa's boots... "
Sam woke up bright and early as expected and we let him climb into bed with us until Katelyn woke up. The kids sure made it fun this year. Sam's big highlight was his camera, and this is basically what you saw when you looked at him the entire day:

His pictures are too funny. They are of random things, like the fireplace, his toys, the ceiling fan (TONS of pictures of the ceiling fan). When his memory gets full... the pictures he chooses to delete are the ones of people.

This is Kate (my little diva) with her favorite gift. Fake make-up. I searched and searched for makeup that was plastic so that she didn't get real makeup everywhere. She spent a lot of time applying this makeup.

Christmas was sure fun this year. The kids made it that way, funny how kids make things so new and exciting.

Bateman Family Christmas Party

To those who weren't there... this post is for you. I didn't take a lot of pics, and those I took weren't very good. We missed you!
So, here is a pic of all the grandkids at our Christmas party this year. We were missing 7 grandkids... and of those 7, just one is a girl. What a lot of boys! So, 22 grandkids, 6 girls and that would be 16 boys. (Seriously, I had to do the math). We had a great time and we missed Jeanna and Johnny's family. This year we did it at my church. You can see there's a lot of us, and a lot of kids... so I felt like we needed a little bigger space and I think it was a hit. We may have to do this every year at the church. The kids brought basket balls and there was always a game going on. We had a TV and DVD player and the littler kids played in the overflow area with Miracle on 34th street and the Grinch playing. The kids looked like they had a lot of fun. We had good food and everyone was able to make it (that was in UT). The weather held out for us that night and it wasn't bad weather getting there... It was great to be able to visit and have the kids play. So, Merry Christmas!
We also had a Gardner Family Christmas party last night... but I think Michael wrapped the camera. So, no pics yet. Yes, it was opened and used early... and there's still debate on who's gift it really is.

Sam's new favorite bedtime story

So, I rummaged through the bookshelf the other night of stories I'd collected while going to college to find a new bedtime story for Sam. Sometimes this backfires on me and I'll realize that the story just is too old for him, or was too long, or wasn't quite as fun as I'd remembered it. Anyway, last night I pulled out The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch. A great story. Basically it is about a princess named Elizabeth who is going to marry a prince named Ronald, who is practically perfect. A dragon comes and burns down her castle and all of her clothes, and carries Ronald off. She looks a mess and has to wear a paper bag because that's all she can find to wear, and she tracks down the dragon. Throughout the whole story, Sam was very intent on the story. He had very wide eyes at the dragon parts, and I started to worry a little bit about nightmares about dragons. (As a side note we had to stop reading We're Going on a Bear Hunt because it cause too many bear dreams). Usually he talks through a lot of the stories, or asks questions... but this time he just listened. Anyway, back to the story... She outwits the dragon... and goes in to get Ronald. Ronald tells her that she looks a mess and to come back when she looks more like a princess. Then Elizabeth says to him, "Ronald, you look like prince, but you are a bum" and they didn't get married after all. Sam burst out laughing. He laughed so hard, his eyes watered up and he couldn't stop laughing. He asked to read it again... and then he came out laughing to tell Michael about it. Then he starts yelling at Katelyn because he wanted to tell her about it (she was asleep and I told him he couldn't wake her up). Today I overheard him telling Katelyn about it. It was Michael's turn with Sam tonight and I could hear from the living room when he must have gotten to that part... Sam laughed just as loud tonight. What a good story... I recommend it to your kids.

Let it Snow...

So, for those of you who live in Utah and heard about the crazy snow storm. It was horrible. Fun for my kids, but seriously... I was out there for about 4 hours shoveling snow. Not to sound too old ladyish, but my back is killing me. I did decide to take a little break half way through. (Seriously... half way through, 2 hours into it!) To try out our new camera to see if I liked it enough to keep it... Merry Christmas to us (if you ask Michael it's his gift to me, if you ask me, it's my gift to him). I piled up a bunch of the snow at the top part of the steep part of our driveway and made a sledding ramp for the kids. They loved it!
I turned around after taking pics of Sam to see Katelyn laying down on the driveway eating a big ball of snow, with a mischievous look on her face, she must have been told that was a no no by daddy when he took them sledding on Saturday. I had to snap a picture of it (well, a few pictures of it) because it was so cute... and I'm afraid of what will be said when Michael sees the picture (You let her eat snow?!). She didn't last as long as Sam, and I took her inside and put on The Little Mermaid and went back out (I went in to check on her not too long after and she feel asleep!) Sam is a trooper and he was out there every second I was. He was loving it. Then when Daddy came home, to shovel some more (not that I didn't CLEAR the driveway) I just couldn't get to the sidewalks around the house. After 4 hours, soaking wet, and Katelyn was up and banging on the window wanting us to come inside... Anyway, he went back out with Michael for an hour or so. Hopefully he sleeps good tonight! So... to those who miss the snow... You can have it. Sam would miss it. But I've had my share for now and we're supposedly due for a huge storm on Christmas day!

Book - When Jesus Was Born in Bethlehem

I have had some people ask me what the book was that I referred to. I should have included it, but here is the info:
When Jesus Was Born in Bethlehem
Illustrated by Joseph Brickey
It lists him as the illustrator, not author, because all of the text inside is scriptures. I really like this book, on Christmas Eve you can read the actual scripture of the story of Christmas, but there are very beautiful paintings to illustrate them, which is easier for kids (and me!) to stay interested in the story. I found this book when I was looking for a gift to give to Michael's parents when I was dating Michael and I liked it so much, I bought a copy for myself and I am so happy that I did.

Christmas Tag...

So, I've been dealing with Katelyn being sick (side note - I don't get why she is so susceptible to sickness! She wasn't a preemie, born normally... full term, and yet she is so prone to getting stuff). Anyway, we attempted to take the kids with us Christmas shopping today and it was such a mistake, the kids were awful and so we cut it short and Michael ended up staying in the van with them while they watched a movie and I just ran in to get groceries. My friend has Josh Groban's Christmas music on her blog, and I love it! It is so beautiful and I may have to buy it... but for now, it's on in a different browser in the background while I do this.


Egg nog or hot chocolate? Hot chocolate! I particularly like mint hot chocolate, or hot chocolate with marshmallows, but NEVER the raspberry stuff... yuck. I do like Egg Nog, but we always had it mixed with Sprite (or fizzy as our family called it) and so if I ever drink it straight it seems terribly thick and I don't like it.

Does Santa wrap presents or set them under the tree? Well... I am probably the world's worst present wrapper. In most things, I think I am careful about things... but I can't bring myself to spend tons of time wrapping things that are going to get ripped open and stuffed in the trash. So... every gift is wrapped, even if it is a crappy shoddy job. Most of the time, there are no ribbons or bows... just wrapping paper, and Michael's are usually shoved into a bag (I love those bags!) but that's no fun for kids to just pull something out of a sack. As a side note... This is also a source of debate among me and some friends... I can't believe people give the BEST gifts from Santa. Are you kidding me?! Santa gets the credit? No way, the best gift should definitely be from mom and dad.


Colored lights on tree or white? We have white lights. I kind of wish we had colored lights, every place we've been that have colored lights, the kids just LOVE. But... colored lights we will probably never have... I thought to myself once, maybe we'll have 2 trees, one with colored one with white and have one be the "kids" and one pretty tree... but who am I kidding, I'm lucky to get one tree up.

When do you put your decorations up? Usually the day after Thanksgiving... well at least the tree, the decorations within the day or two, or sometimes on Sunday.

What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? I love my mom's recipe for stuffing, which is more Thanksgiving, but it just said holiday. Growing up, our big dinner was Christmas Eve, and on Christmas we had snack foods... leftovers ham and turkey sandwiches on leftover rolls, cheeseballs, relish trays, etc. I like that. I like snack/finger foods... and of course, just snacking all day.

Favorite holiday memory as a child: My mom was such a Christmas lover. It was very magical to her and had great Christmas memories as a child and I think she passed that down on to most of her kids. Guiltily, ever since she died, I have had a bit of the grinch in me and I struggle with the holidays a lot... maybe because it's tough to have her gone and even after almost 12 years, it doesn't get better, and in some ways it gets worse. So, I have many many holiday memories. But, I guess one of my favorite holiday memories was one particular holiday where me and my sisters gave something that meant a lot to my mom. One Christmas Eve, it was particularly crazy with a program at the church, dinner, and the pj tradition that it got late and things were a huge mess when the kids went to bed. My parents went in their room to get Christmas ready and my two sisters and I (Jenny was already married) went down and got the kitchen all cleaned and dishes done so that when my mom came down to put Christmas around the tree, it was all clean for her. I remember she cried. The other one I had was, when I was a teenager Jeanna, Jerusha and I went down to buy a Christmas tree on Christmas Eve because we still didn't have one yet and they were a dollar and we bought 2 (that Bateman gene... getting a good deal) and we tied them to the top of our little blue station wagon. I don't remember putting up the second one though, I'm pretty sure we didn't.

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? This was a huge tradition growing up. We not only got pjs... but my mom had made them most years. I've tried doing this since we've had kids... but never homemade.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree? It used to be a "pretty" tree with matching ornaments, and the last couple of years we've been doing it "fun" with a modge podge of ornaments. We have some great ornaments we got from Michael's parents that my kids love. Old Hallmark ornaments that move and make noise.

Snow! Love it or dread it? Both! Can I say that? I love snow when I don't have to go out in it, and it's that warm snow that turns slushy and doesn't ice to the roads. I like to play in it once or twice, but I really like the warmth. So, I like it a little... but I am always anxious for spring.

Can you ice skate? I only remember going on horrible dates or group activities. I remember it being so crowded that I could scootch along but it wasn't like I could have even attempted anything amazing, even if I could. And I was too self conscious, I probably wouldn't have tried anyway. I like to watch it on the Olympics though.

Do you remember your favorite gift? Nope, I remember loving Christmas as a kid, but not getting many presents. One year I asked for a roller racer (a little seat with handle bars in the front that you wiggled to make you move) and I got it and then I felt guilty that I asked for it. So, it was a favorite because I knew my parents specifically got it because I asked, but then I wondered if I should have.

What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? Making happy memories for my kids. Wanting it to be a great Christmas and hopefully they will remember what a happy time it is.

What is your favorite holiday dessert? Ahhh... my favorite. Dessert. Where do I start? Ok, to narrow it down and give something specific. I love Michael's peppermint ice cream. Yum. But Dryer's peppermint ice cream will substitute.

What is your favorite tradition? Like I said, my heart shrunk 3 sizes and I turned into a bit of the grinch... and my kids are helping my heart grow back to normal so I'm trying to do better about traditions. I like the pjs on Christmas Eve, reading the Christmas story (out of a picture book I bought, and I love, it has the scripture words, but beautiful paintings depicting the scriptures), driving around and looking at the Christmas lights, opening gifts on Christmas morning and just being lazy in the morning while the kids play.

Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? I like giving gifts, but I'm not a good gift giver. I get paralyzed by trying to give the perfect gift that... I get stuck. I do love getting things for my kids. I have to hold back and not go crazy, I don't want spoiled kids, plus I didn't have many gifts growing up and I still loved Christmas and I want them to know that's not the only reason behind Christmas. But of course, who doesn't love getting gifts!

What is your favorite Christmas Song? It would be easier to tell you which songs I hate. I hate Silver and Gold, Feliz Navidad, The Holly and the Ivy, Oh Tannenbaum or just as bad O Christmas Tree (yes, I do know it's the same song)... ok, maybe it wouldn't be easier because I could go on. I really like soft calming peaceful not annoying Christmas Music like O Holy Night... another favorite is the primary song "Picture A Christmas" but as always, a lot of any good thing, is too much. So, there's only so much I can take.

Candy canes! Yuck or yum? Yum, probably because I'm a mint fan... but they must be peppermint candy canes, none of those yucky cherry flavored ones.

Ever recycled a Christmas present? Yup.

I'm supposed to Tag 7 friends... BUT, I felt like my last "tag" was unwelcome, like I was TELLING them to do something they didn't want to do. Plus, I know the holidays are super crazy busy, but I'd like to read about this on all my friends/families blogs... so if you feel like doing this, do it! I'd love to read your responses.

About those advent calendars...

So, I went down to look on the computer while Sam was in preschool. I put a movie on for Kate, I thought I was set for some uninterrupted computer time (this doesn't happen unless I'm on late at night). So, I had been on for a much longer than I anticipated without being bothered by Katelyn. I was thinking to myself, "wow, she's never watched TV this long, she must really like it" then I started to get worried... because I've already called poison control this morning because while I was in the shower Katelyn climbed up on top of the cabinet to get to her flouride and I caught her downing flouride pills. I had no idea how many she had, but the bottle wasn't empty... so I called. (They said she should be fine, she had to eat more than were in the bottle initally to have a bad reaction and we've had the bottle since March) So, they said to give her milk which binds to the flouride and to watch her. The worst case scenario should be upset stomach and vomiting with how many she might have taken. So, as I'm thinking it's been a while since I've seen Kate, I decide... "ahh... maybe something's wrong!" So, I bust it upstairs and I find....

So, she was of course into the advent calendars which have been going so well for, what is it now, December 4th? 4 days. Aurgh. Sam totally looks forward to these, he loves them. And this naughty little thing... made sure to EAT SAM's! When I took her chocolate from hers to replace his (which I don't know if that will fly, because the doors are open... I may have to purchase a new one for him) she said "Hey, that's my chocolate!"

Thanksgiving, shopping and the tree...

So, this will be a jumbled mess of what we've done these past couple of weeks. I know this will sound like rambling... but that's what it has felt like too! The pics are in no particular order...
First of all Shopping: Katelyn and I have done a lot of shopping lately, mostly when Sam has been in preschool, but I have come to realize what a shopaholic this little girl is. Usually when we drop Sam off at preschool she will say, "Let's go shopping Mom" or one day she was out with Michael and Sam and I came out to say goodbye (I was going for some nice kidless shopping) and she started to cry and said "I wanna go shopping with Mom" (Michael thinks I've ruined her). Anyway, she loves to shop with me (most of the time). Sam doesn't get to shop that much with me (for some reason shopping with 2 is exponentially worse than shopping with one) and he prefers to help Michael in the yard or whatever Michael may be doing, lately we haven't had much daddy time so he'll take what he can get. Anyway, one day he did come with me and we went to the new Smiths Marketplace (plug for all those within shopping distance, I have come to love this store) and they have these mini carts and Sam was so cute. He just may be a shopper yet!

The day before Thanksgiving my sister and I went to my dad's house to help him with some tile grout. Josh came up as well and he had rented Walle so the kids had a little movie time with popcorn and playing and we also did gingerbread houses. When I was growing up we always did gingerbread houses on a December FHE (family home evening) and it was painstaking making the gingerbread houses and expensive, but tons of fun! AND I remember eating the houses after Christmas (I don't think you could pay me to eat them now). When we first got married in the prekid days we invited a couple over to do gingerbread houses with us for a FHE. And couple of times the Gardner side has done gingerbread houses which we have gone up for when we have been able to. I have to say (another plug coming here) I LOVE the premade, candy all in the box, ready to go gingerbread houses. Anyway, we bought some of those and we did those as well at my dad's place. Which is a long story and was an ordeal all in itself! But Sam had a great time (Katelyn was sleeping and missed all the action). The other day I think he had an even greater time destroying and eating the house with his buddy Ethan. I should have taken pictures, but I didn't.
Then we had a great time at Thanksgiving, this year it was at the Gardner's... there was tons of yummy food and the kids loved playing with the cousins and seeing grandma and grandpa. The next day I went shopping while Sam helped Michael put up the tree (Michael didn't feel good all week and didn't want to do it but there was NO WAY Sam was letting him out of it. He had been telling everyone his schedule for the entire week "Wednesday we are doing Gingerbread houses, Thursday we are going to my Grandmas and Friday I'm setting up the tree with my Dad") they waited for me to decorate the tree and the kids loved it! I bought them each an advent calendar (cheap $1.50 chocolate one) and after breakfast they have been opening the doors on it, and even that has been so fun. I truly think that kids make the holidays so much fun. I have to admit sometimes I'm a little bit of a scrooge with all the work with decorating and the stress etc. (confession - last year I didn't even put out my nativity set - blasphemous I know, I just wanted to put up as little as possible - but in my defense Katelyn was sick almost all winter and was in the hospital the week before Christmas with pneumonia and RSV) But my kids have been so fun with it, I find myself looking forward to their reactions to things and them looking forward to everthing.

Pigs and Jesus

How do I begin to tell about Sam and his love for pigs and Jesus?

Well, first I have to go back to the Christmas after Katelyn was born. The primary gave Sam a little baby Jesus with a manger. Sam fell in LOVE with this baby Jesus (with no prompting from me) he just latched onto this baby Jesus. He carried it EVERYWHERE. Baby Jesus was a wooden ball hot glued onto a piece of felt, with two black dots for eyes... no mouth. It became very dirty, his eyeballs got rubbed off and I had to redraw them, his aunt Jerusha fixed him by re-hot glueing him together. As you can see from these pictures, baby Jesus slept with him, and also if you look really closely to the picture of Katelyn and Sam, he made his way into pictures without us really meaning it. Sam would even nurse Baby Jesus when I nursed Katelyn. This was about all Michael would put up with and he wanted Baby Jesus to disappear. Well, eventually (seriously, MONTHS later) Michael hid him (I wouldn't let him throw it away) and Sam forgot about him.

Sam's next obsession (I don't know if it was technically next but the one that lasted a while) was his fascination with pigs. I don't know if it started with watching Charlotte's Web or not... but for a while there he was all about the pigs. He collected all that he could and usually had one with him, in his hands or his pocket. He ended up collecting over 20 different pigs of various sizes, and they were ALL named Wilbur. I went to the county fair last year and you would have thought he went to heaven with seeing the real pigs and the pig show. If you can see that he is holding his pig up in the second picture to watch the show. He ended up getting pigs for Christmas. His grandpa, his primary teacher and aunts and uncles would find a pig or a forgotten toy pig and give them to Sam. (I should take a picture of all of his pigs for this blog... ). Anyway, Steve (Michael's brother) gave Sam a pig and this became a fast favorite because it was so tiny (again... I should have a picture) but it is seriously smaller than a quarter. Well, needless to say, this little Wilbur got lost after a while, because of it's size and we found it the other day. Well, Katelyn likes all things small, and this has been a major source of fighting lately.

Well, back to Jesus... In primary a little while back Sam got a little clear rock the size of a dime with a picture of Jesus modge podged to it. Well, he lost that too, but Katelyn found it and you know, finders keepers. Well, tonight Katelyn has been proudly walking around with Mini Wilbur. I was surprised that Sam wasn't throwing one of his ultimate tantrums. I said, "Katelyn, is that Sam's pig" "No, it's mine" I let it go because Sam wasn't there. So when Sam came in the room, and saw her playing with it. I said, "Sam, that is nice of you to let Katelyn play with your pig" and he said "I traded the pig for Jesus. I love pigs but I totally love Jesus."

Flashback Friday, even though it's Sunday

Some of my friends do a "flashback Friday" on their blogs... and since I feel like I have had nothing to blog about lately I thought I'd do a flashback thing myself.

It seems like it is CHRISTMAS everywhere and it's not even Thanksgiving so I'm pulling us back the other direction a little bit. So, my sister always had a huge Halloween party (and now she lives so far away... ) anyway, at the time they lived close. Anyway, they invited us up to their party when Michael and I were dating. To my SURPRISE, Michael said we were going to wear costumes. Well, Michael decides to wear this costume to my family's Halloween party. He was a hit of course (especially since most of my family didn't wear costumes, we're duds) and I was surprised that he would wear that. Afterwards, we went and knocked on his parent's door and his mom didn't know it was us. Well, as you can see from the picture (No, this is not the picture from when we were dating -- we did not have Sam when we were dating) that he wore it again for another family Halloween party a couple of years later. He showed up to surprise me because he was supposed to be working and he wasn't going to come to the party and ended up showing up. I'm not so sure he'd be happy about this picture on my blog.. but he never reads it and if he has worn it in public he wouldn't mind me posting it here right?

Leaves

So, I love the trees in our back yard. They were planted before Sam was born, so they're almost 5 years old now, and they are probably the best thing we've done with our yard. I have to say I am incredibly sad that the leaves on our trees are beginning to fall off. The kids sure had a fun time playing in the leaves... and in the end Michael didn't put them in the garbage because they were having so much fun in them, and there's a lot more to drop.

I'm not ready for the winter... especially the holidays. It seems like they've snuck up on me this year and it's almost Thanksgiving!

Halloween that doesn't end...

Well, I think this year Halloween just didn't end. It seemed like we had stuff all week. Starting with the ward party, preschool party, trick or treating at Michael's work, trick or treating and then ended with a family party on Saturday. Sam was sick this weekend and I think it had everything to do with all of the partying! I'm glad it's over. We always have potluck soups at our Fall/Halloween party and we had some yummy soup and it was fun for the cousins to play. (Not all of the cousins made it due to distance or sickness.. and they were missed). My brother, Josh, usually puts a lot into the party and he did again this year by making cookies for the kids to decorate and gave them all a whoopi cushion... (you can tell he doesn't have kids right!?) and of course the kids loved them and laughed until their tummies hurt...

Plus we ended up painting pumpkins too! (While dad was at work which was a good idea.) This wasn't as fun as I remembered it. I was so worried they would mix the colors, I kept on having them wipe their brushes etc. I don't remember worrying about that at all when I painted pumpkins. But the kids liked it.

Sam got tons of these teeth this year, probably 5 pairs. Both of the kids loved theirs, especially the glow-in-the dark ones. They would walk around the house in them but their mouths weren't big enough to completely get their lips around it so they would drool all the time. Sometimes you'd walk across the floor and step on a pile of drool. Gross.

My kids got these eye patches while trick-or treating. Every time we'd try to get her to say "Aurgh!" she would say "Arf"

Katelyn loved dumping her loot out and sorting it by suckers and other same candies. Then putting it all back in the bucket. She did this I don't know how many times. THEN, when we went out to trick-or-treat in our neighborhood I took all the suckers out of her and Sam's buckets and put them in our give away bucket for Michael to give out to trick or treaters. I hate the big suckers... especially the blow pops with gum in them!

Ward Halloween Party

We went to the Ward Halloween Party tonight. The kids were anxious to go, and so we were waiting outside for Daddy to come home. I was videoing while we were waiting. This video is just too funny. I had to share it. I ask Katelyn what she is going to be for Halloween and then Sam prompts her on what a skunk says by saying "PU" and Katelyn thinks it is so funny she can't get over it. She says "PU" and then "P U STINKY!"

This is Katelyn still not getting over her silliness....

The party itself got off to a rocky start. We got there and just sat down with our dinner (in the hall, because it was so crowded, this was probably the best attended party I've ever seen) when the fire alarm went off. The YW&YM were doing a spook alley with a smoke machine. I am not exaggerating, the alarm went off for probably 20+ minutes. Sam kept on asking why were weren't going outside, and if there was a fire, and then he said he wanted to go home. Finally, they got the alarm turned off and the kids got their donuts and all was well. The kids went to a fishing pond and played a few games. The highlight of course was the "train" (a riding lawn mower I think). It was an awesome party! The kids loved it. There was a trunk or treat at the end, and we almost made our kids miss it... but we caved at the end and they ended up hauling off tons of candy. The kids had such a great time. On the way home they both said "That was AWESOME!"

Carving Pumpkins!

Last night we carved pumpkins. First of all, I should say we grew all of the pumpkins (overachievers!). I think there were 10 or 11 in all, our pumpkins just took off. I should mention too, that Sam thinks we are going to carve ALL of the pumpkins.
I don't have many memories of carving pumpkins. I know we did, but most of all I remember painting pumpkins. We did this every year for some sort of FHE in October. I am guessing that painting pumpkins was probably the smart way to go with so many people, so many kids... too many knives. So, maybe that's how the painting came about. But we had a whole pumpkin patch of painted pumpkins on our porch growing up. So, maybe we wont carve all of the pumpkins... but maybe we'll paint some.
Sam, LOVED it. Michael cut the tops off (I hate that part) and then we let Katelyn dig all of the seeds out. I know it looks like she didn't like it... but she did. At first, I think she was a little grossed out. But she got all the seeds out and this was a fun job for her. I helped Sam with the hard parts. His favorite part was the finished product I think. He loved turning the lights ALL off (not just some) and seeing the pumpkins. This scared Katelyn though (especially after Michael grabbed the one with face and had it float around the room). Then the kids got in the bath while I roasted the pumpkin seeds. Yum. The kids were dying to try them, however, Sam decided after a few of them he didn't like them. Kate did... and so do I, I've been munching on them all day. So, that was our pumpkin carving... maybe to be continued if Sam has his way and we carve all of them. Or, I figure a way to harvest them for pumpkin bread or pumpkin cookies. Or they'll be painted. We'll see.

Daily Grind Part 2

Well, it didn't take Katelyn that long to blow it... like I said I knew I wasn't green enough to think she'd be potty trained. But without too many details... I spent a half an hour cleaning up a mess and I'm done for a while.

As for the flu shot (AURGH!) maybe I should have listened to Michael and gotten the shot because Sam and I came down with what I think is the flu. Probably because we got the mist and not the shot. Katelyn has been perfectly fine. Last night Sam and I had a horrible night. Sam was throwing up and shivering and crying. I was just as sick - minus the crying :) my whole body ACHED. I went to be about 9:30 but didn't sleep much because I was so achy and hurting, and hot and cold. Michael was very sweet and took care of Sam because every time I stood up a wave of nausea hit. We all got up this morning and Michael got the kids breakfast, and I munched on a couple of crackers and then went back to bed. Then he let me sleep in until 11. Sam feels a little better today. I'm getting there. Maybe because I'm old it's taking me a while to bounce back. But I don't think I'd do the flu mist again... since I'm convinced that's what did it.

Daily grind...

Nothing really exciting has happened this last week. We've just been doing the same old same old...
We did go get flu shots at the flu shot clinic at our pediatrician's office. Sam was so nervous going there. "Why are we going to the doctors?" "Am I getting a shot? I don't want a shot..." I just bypassed his questions for the most part. When we got in there I asked for the nasal spray flu shot (WHY don't the OFFER it without you asking for it??? Why would the shot be standard?) Anyway, I was hoping for the flu mist but when I asked on the phone they said they couldn't guarantee it because they had limited amounts and I'd just have to see when we got in there. When we got in there she said they had enough of the mist, but that since Katelyn had a history of respiratory problems and asthma she couldn't get the mist. Poor Katelyn. Michael's getting his flu shot at work so he was just there for moral support? Is that what it was.... Michael tried to tell me that I should get the shot too since Katelyn had to get a shot. No thanks, I endure and endured plenty of pain for my kids. Anyway, Sam and I got the flu mist (again... WHY is this not offered instead of the shot?) and Katelyn got her flu shot with and I was glad Michael was there... he helped hold her down (both of us had to) while she was kicking and screaming. She's strong.
Then we went to go vote at early voting... but the line was SO LONG! We didn't do it. I'm depressed about the elections. I hate voting for the loser and I'm afraid of who is going to win and what it will mean. I can't stand watching the news or anything anymore. It makes me sick how unfair and biased it is. So here's my shout out to go and vote... unless you're voting for that other guy ;)

So... to end on a good note of my week's ramblings... KATELYN WENT ON THE POTTY! Hooray! I have been asking her for a while now when she wants to go on the potty. Her answer is always "Tomorrow" So this morning I changed her diaper and said, do you want underwear on today and go on the potty? (Again, her usual answer is: "tomorrow") but today she said "Yes, like Sam" So, I put on her underwear and after and hour or so, I asked her if she wanted to go. (Which, when I've tried this in the past it was, "No, tomorrow!") She said yes, and we went on the potty and she did it!!! Small miracles. She promptly asked for her sucker that I've been bribing her with (she never forgets). Sam insists he gets one too? Why? How do you do that? How do you praise one kid and show them what a good job they did without the other kid feeling bad? How do I show Katelyn that her treat was a result of her going on the potty?! Any suggestions... Anyway, I'm not as green at this that I will think she'll be potty trained... far from it, but at least there's an interest! She just turned 2 not even 2 months ago so I'm not going to push it.

So this is why my kids aren't hungry for lunch...

These are the apples we picked off of our trees. They've been in our garage. These past 2 days my kids have been playing in the garage (peace!) it's been so cold outside, they've been riding their bikes in there with the doors shut. Anyway, the last 2 days they haven't acted hungry at lunch.

By chance today I went out there today and saw WHY they haven't been hungry.

Nice huh?

First Snow and Rabbit for dinner!

We woke up Sunday morning to snow. I am sad that winter is coming. The kids were so excited though. They couldn't wait to go outside and play in it. It was kind of an ordeal trying to find the winter stuff. Sam thought that it should be his birthday. He keeps on asking when his birthday will be, I will say stuff like, "After Christmas" and he will say, "When is Christmas?" and I will say stuff like 2 months, and he wont get it, so he will say, "how many days?" and then the amount of days frustrates him "Ahhhh... That's FOREVER!" So finally I said, there will be snow on the ground... Anyway, the snow was exciting for him anyway, so he didn't dwell too long on his birthday because he just wanted to play outside. The last picture is of the yard in the afternoon, so the snow didn't last long. Don't let the picture fool you though, it was still FREEZING!!! We spent the day inside with the fireplace on. Trying to keep from turning the furnace on... but we caved and did it.

I made "rabbit" for dinner. It's not really rabbit, I don't know how my family grew up calling this stuff rabbit, but we did. All it is is tuna on toast (I guess that's the term for it). My kids LOVE it, but I don't know if I feel like my kids can't handle it, or I don't want to explain it to them, but I don't call it rabbit to my kids. I will say to Michael, "we're having rabbit tonight" and he knows what I'm talking about. But for some reason, maybe because I'm worried Sam may not eat it anymore if I tell him we're having rabbit... Anyway, Sam will eat it and ask for seconds, and then throughout the meal he will say stuff like "I love you Mom" and "I love this" (I think I have mentioned that he gets affectionate when he's happy.)

Sam was trying to figure out who should be first to get something at dinner and said, "Mom you're the oldest" and then Katelyn (my kids are competitive and was trying to outdo Sam I'm sure) says "You're honkin Mom" (with a big smile on her face). I had to say, "thank you" even though it hurt my feelings. I'm feeling a little insecure lately about my size and age!

Project Done! (Almost)

So, I finished one of the wingback chairs I have been recovering. I would be more excited, except I have one more to go! Here's a pic of what it looks like (it's not the greatest picture since it was taken with a cell phone). I should wait to show BOTH of them finished. But right now I am having a really hard time getting motivated to start on the other one. This was such a big project, more than I anticipated and it's daunting to think of doing it all over again. Jerusha helped me (and by helped, I should say did) the cushion for me. I probably could have figured it out, but it would have taken a LONG time, and she's such a great seamstress. At every phase of the project I would think to myself, "Wow, this is really hard. This must be the hardest part." I think that thought came to my mind a million times. Before I even attempted this project, I asked ladies at fabric stores if they'd ever reupholstered, and I would get comments like, "Oh yes, it's very easy. I recovered a chair in 2 days, blindfolded and with my hands tied behind my back." Which, needless to say, gave me a false sense of ability when I did this project. Michael would probably throw in his 2 cents here that he thinks I have a warped sense of how long it should take to get things done. (One instance he still brings up is when I told him I thought he should be able to install a ceiling fan in a couple of hours after work one day.) Maybe part of my lack of motivation is that I still have 2 bar stools in the garage that I purchased at the DI, intending on refinishing. When I'm done with these wingback chairs... I guess I have to start on those ...

Sam's Crazy day in Preschool

This week Sam learned about the letter C in preschool. The did fun things like cut coupons, color activities and today was the last day which was dress Crazy with a Carnival. Sam got so into the whole dress crazy thing... he kept on coming back with more. I (boring) could only think of crazy socks. Sam said "how about we turn my shirt inside out, how about crazy hair, how about a necklace, how about slippers... that would be crazy..." Then he came out of his room with a tie on too! It didn't last long because as soon as he came home the crazy stuff came off and he wanted his shirt right back on the right way and his hair combed ("Is it awesome now mom"). Funny that he has a personality that wants to do things exactly right most of the time, so it surprised me that he was so willing to be crazy for preschool. Sam loves preschool almost as much as I love that he goes to preschool :)

My last nerve...

So, this week Kate has been a stinker. Sam on more than one occasion has said "Katelyn is going to be on your last nerve... " I know I have posted about her terrible twoness before (as cute as it is). Last Sunday my good friend Carol took our pictures. (On a side note, she does an amazing job! Sadly, I am not photogenic at all. It takes about a million photographs to get one good shot of me. However, Michael is probably the most photogenic person on the planet. It is RARE to see a bad picture of him.) Anyway, here are some pics of her many faces... she had so many different silly, cute, grouchy faces... and these are just a snapshot of the ones where she was looking at the camera. Most of the time she was trying to pick up rocks or pick flowers or play in the water.

A few examples of Kate's shenanigans are:

We were out shopping while Sam was at preschool. This has become our shopping time (it is sooo much easier to shop with one instead of two). We will drop Sam off and she will say, "Go shopping mom." She got some free stickers at one place (really cheap really sticky... the kind that it is a killer to get off) and she was quietly in the back and I was driving along in a world of my own. Relishing in the quiet. When I look around and she has the window plastered with these horrible cheap stickers. I said "Katelyn, NO!" and she said (sarcastically) "Sun's in my eyes mom!" Another is Katelyn pouring herself some cereal in a shoe box, and then bursting in to tears when she gets in trouble because she's hungry (my fault on that one). The other is the usual fighting with Sam. The continual back and forth between the two is driving me crazy! She's become a naughty little hitter and can usually get the best of Sam. If she can't reach him, she's a pretty good shot and can usually hit him with a toy or a shoe. She's not always a stinker, and with such a cute face... it's hard to think she'd ever get in trouble right?!

Katelyn's new pics

Someone said that blogs are just places to brag... and I haven't ever meant to brag on my blog. Just tried to give updates on what we have been doing, etc. But I guess this would be considered a brag post because I'm proud of these pics of Katelyn. I think they turned out so cute.