Happy Halloween!!!

Halloween is finally over and we put back on our regular clothes:) Super Why has taken his adventures elsewhere and the princesses, fairies, and bumblebee have gone back home! It has been a crazy busy past few days, but the kids have loved every minute of it!!! Sunday night we headed to Bartlett Baptist for their Trunk or Treat and there were people everywhere! We stood in line for over an hour before we got to the first car. The kids were wild, but oh so polite! They thanked everyone that gave them candy and left with a FULL bag. We headed home and went through all their loot. Surprisingly enough, there was only one or two nut candies that had to be taken away.

Yesterday Maddie went to school and took goody bags to her friends. When she came home, we started getting both kids ready. They love receiving candy, but they also love handing it out. Once we got situated at church, they went through the line and then were thrilled to sit on the bed of daddy's truck and pass out the candy to the cuties that came through. We had a GREAT turnout!! After trunk or treat, there were bouncers galore, games, hotdogs and hamburgers, and many other treats. Most of our sunday school class was there and we had a great night!!

I can't say enough how thankful I am for our church family and loved being able spend time there and know that our children are safe and loved. It was a great night!!

Now it is time to start gearing up for the holidays!!! But before we do that.......11 days till Disney!! I can't believe it is almost here and absolutely can not wait to go!!!! Be prepared for picture and posts overload!!

***I can't believe I almost forgot.....Megs made a big announcement at church last night with the sweatshirt she was wearing!!!!! Megs and Bubba are having a baby!! We are so excited for them and can't wait for the baby to make its debut in June!! Maddie is really hoping for a girl, but the rest of us are just praying for a healthy baby:) Fun fun times lie ahead!!!

Trick or Treat at Bass Pro!

Tonight I took the kids to Bass Pro for a costume parade, trick or treating in the store, and coloring and pcitures with Charlie Brown. We always go there for Christmas for their activities, but this was our time for Halloween. I love taking the kids to as many things as I can so that they get the most use out of their costumes. Mary and Danny met us up there with their kiddo's and it was quite funny that Trey was Bumblebee from Transformers and Maddie was a bumblebee herself!!! They are just too cute together! Turner man was Super Why and he was the cutest Super Why I have ever seen:)

There was a costume contest at the end of the parade and Maddie was one of the winners!! It made me laugh because I normally spend over $50 for each of their costumes. With money being tight this year, we just couldn't. I did order Turner's online and think I paid around $30. Maddie has so many dress up costumes I really didn't buy her one. I had bought this bumblebee outfit at a consignment sale for $5 and that is what she chose to wear tonight. She is planning on being tinkerbell and cinderella over the next few days. A good example to me of why I don't have to spend a lot of money for them to look cute!!! Since Turner doesn't play a lot of dress up, he will be Super Why everytime and we will get more bang for our buck:) It was a fun night and I was glad Turner isn't old enough to get upset about not winning a prize! Maddie is now sleeping with her new stuffed cat. Looking forward to the weekend! We have a hayride and two more trunk or treats planned over the next few days!

Picking Pumpkins!!!!

Wednesday after I picked the kids up from school we went to a pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins. The kids each got a small one to paint and then we picked out a big one to carve, which is on the agenda for tomorrow. After we picked out the pumpkins the owner offered to take the kids on a train ride around the patch. Maddie was all about it, but Turner refused. He is a funny one:) I took some pictures, but since it was almost 90 degrees outside that day, I didn't bother putting Turner in any of his cute fall outfits. Maddie was still wearing her dress from school, so she looked a little more in season. I love the pillowcase dresses because they can be worn in the different seasons, by either adding a long sleeve or short sleeve shirt underneath!! Looking forward to carving tomorrow!

Storytime wirh Turner!

Turner and I have made it a habit to go to storytime on Wednesday's while Maddie is at school. I hate that Maddie misses it, but it gives Turner something special to do just for him. He loves it!!!! He knows all the songs they sing and gets very involved in singing them:). Each week there is a theme and you do a craft that follows along with it. Turner knows to look at the back wall when we walk in. An example of the craft will be hanging and he will then tell me the theme for the day. It is also a treat for him when his friend Addie is there, which is pretty often. I really enjoy this time each week with my little man and hope the kids enjoy reading as much as I do.

Soccer is coming to an end!!

Saturday is Maddie's last soccer game for the season. She has had a ball playing and is pretty good. She is aggressive, quick, and knows how to go after that ball. I think she made 5 goals last night at her game. Needless to say, we are pretty proud of our little athlete. They had their team pictures made last night and will have a party at Ci Ci's in the next few weeks. Next up.....Basketball!! We are going to play with the Church and can't wait to see how she does. We are thinking she might not like basketball as much, but you never know. They are always surprising us!

I just want to say that I realize the past few posts have been centered around Maddie. Turner has not been forgotten I promise!! We are planning on spending some quality time together tomorrow while Maddie is at school and I will do a special post just for him. I feel like my little man is being slighted, but at only two our extra activities for him are limited.

Maddie's Harvest Party!

Yesterday Maddie had her fall party at school. Happy Farms came and Maddie's class was able to feed pigs, ducks, rabbits, sheep, and a lhama. The school asked that no siblings come so I took Turner to Nay Nay's for the day so I could hang out with Mo. It was a fun day at school! After seeing the animals we went back to the classroom for pizza, fruit, and my cupcakes. They were a hit-the kids were surprised when they started eating it and there was icing in the middle:) They made two crafts-a jack-0-lantern and a bat with their handprints. I love being able to be involved in school activities!!!

Maddie was glad I was there, but tends to just lean on me when I am around. She didn't want me to leave her side. I said this last year, but sometimes I think she would have more fun if I wasn't there. She was dressed like a cowgirl and I loved spending time with my girl!!

I love to Bake!!!

I have always enjoyed cooking! Nothing thrills me more when I try a new recipe and the hubs and kiddo's enjoy it. Between the four of us, we all have such different tastes and that can be hard to do!! Turner and I will eat just about anything and Maddie and Kevin are much more particular. I think it is so easy to cook the same thing often just because you know everyone likes it. Since I have been home, I have tried a bunch a new recipes. I now plan my menu for the week and a lot of times I will just grab a cookbook and everything for the week will come from the same book. That way we are trying different things, it is easy to make a grocery list, and I just keep that cookbook on the counter for the week.

The kids love to cook with me and we are always making cookies, muffins, cupcakes, and breads. (This is probably why I need to shed a few pounds:) I love making cake balls-the hubs loves eating cake balls. Again, this makes me happy! So my newest creation has been homemade buttercream frosting. It is so easy and tastes so good!! I made Maddie's cupcakes for her birthday party and they were a hit. So....I signed up to bring dessert to Maddie's harvest party tomorrow. What better thing to make than pumpkin cupcakes! I haven't tried making cupcakes from scratch yet, so I just used the fun da middles box by Betty Crocker. (The kids LOVE making these and I recently got 6 boxes for free by couponing) I made a dozen chocolate and a dozen vanilla, made the frosting and colored it green, then put a pumpkin candy on top! It was easy, they look cute, and Maddie watched me make them and knew I doing it just for her!!

I guess I need to make cupcakes tomorrow to show some love to little man as well:)

Fall Break 2011

We have had a pretty good fall break. We loved having Daddy at home, were able to go to Savannah for a few days, and went to a fall party at the Arwood's last night. The only downside to the week was Maddie and her tummy. She has been having issues for a few weeks and we took her to the doctor last Tuesday. She has gastritis! I didn't ask a whole lot of questions but we will be going back in two weeks to talk some more. We have cut out most sugar from her diet and she is on MORE medicine twice a day. She just hasn't been eating, has diarrhea a LOT, and has thrown up several times over the past two weeks. I hope this is something that will pass, but I really don't know. Our poor Mo!!

We did love spending time with Nonna, went to one of Brayden's soccer games, and got some loving from grandparents and Marci. The fall party at Kelly's was fun and Maddie went on her first hayride. We have a super busy week ahead and I will have lots to post about once it is over. Thankful we had a week to rest and spend time with Daddy!!

Two things I am thrilled about:

-Only one more week of football!!!!

-in 20 days we will be in Disney World!!!! Let the countdown begin! Oh wait, I started that months ago:)

"Finding Delight in Real Life"

This weekend the women's ministry at our church had a fall retreat. It was Friday night and Saturday morning. It was all about "Finding delight in Real life". It was just what I needed. A lot of my girlfriends attended, along with my mom and sister. We talked a lot about the Proverbs 31 woman, got cleaning tips, and helpful hints when it comes to budgeting our money. I can definitely benefit from all these topics!!!

Real life can be tough. Although staying at home right now is a dream come true for me, there are still frustrations and mundane tasks that I do that I don't always enjoy. But it made me realize I should be thankful that I am at home to vaccuum the house. I am thankful that I have the time to dust the house. I am going to strive to do better at making sure the toys are put away at the end of the day. It is my JOB and I am blessed to have it. I don't have to be my kids playmates 24/7 (which until this weekend I honestly thought that was what I should be doing).

It was just what I needed this weekend and I am so thankful for EBC and the godly women there.

Doll Show!!

Mimi is a Docent (sp?) for the Bartlett Historical Society. She has spent a lot of time working these past few weeks on a doll show they were having at the Gotten house this weekend. The Gotten house is one of the oldest homes in Bartlett (I think) and is across the street from Bartlett High School. It is a neat house to go through and this weekend it was covered in dolls. Dolls were EVERYWHERE!!! Meg's and I took Maddie up there today to help support Mimi and have a look at all of them. Mimi had borrowed some of our American Girl dolls to display and had brought some from her house as well. Growing up we had a lot of Madame Alexander dolls and they were all on display. It was fun to see and Maddie just ate it up. I have 30 pictures of her smiling standing next to the different dolls. Probably not necessary, but she insisted:) Her favorites were the Little Rascal dolls, the Annie doll, and of course seeing all of her own. It was a fun girls afternoon getaway while Turner napped and Kevin cleaned:)