Happy Halloween!

Halloween 2006

We picked up a disposable camera for tonight and the upcoming week at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Max loved trick or treating and I really think he had MORE fun handing out the candy to all 250 + kids that came to our neighborhood. Every year, our neighborhood gets hit like crazy with kids from ALL over including West Virginia! Tonight the kids started ringing the bell about 5:50 and we turned out the lights at 7:30. We certainly can not afford to buy enough candy for everyone so, we have fun and wish those who come to our door early Happy Halloween. This year, we just planted two chairs on our front porch and Max helped hand out the candy. In fact, in at least two cases, he chased two little boys down (whom he thought did not get our candy) and gave them another piece just in case he missed them. Several parents commented that they have never seen that before! This will probably be one of the only years that he is so willing to give our candy away! As soon as I get back from our little trip, I'll be sure to post this years pictures of our little dinosaur / dragon!

I'll Get the Yogurt!

It never fails that when we are eating yogurt or anything really, you can ask Max - do you want any more? He'll say no so naturally we finish up the last bite. Then five minutes later you hear, I need some yogurt! I need more yogurt.

Tonight, without fail this happened. Except Max said, "I'll go get some more yogurt." I was now sitting on the couch having just walked our entire neighborhood door to door so letting him go back up the stairs sounded good. Until I realized, he won't be able to reach the yogurt. The next thing I know, Max is back down the stairs walking towards me saying, "I got the yogurt" and when I looked at him what did I see what? The 18 count egg cartoon getting a "bear hug" from Max. I come out of my daze .... and say "Stop! Do not move." Thankfully the eggs were not crushed and I do NOT have eggs all over my carpet - just the thought of cleaning up crushed eggs on our eggshell white carpet would be such a mess! So I end up going back up stairs for the yogurt when in reality if I had just given him the last bite of yogurt ... the whole scenary would not have happened!

Voting Complete!

Since I will be leaving for Las Vegas on Saturday, I was able to find our local Voter Registration office and cast my vote! The office is a little hard to find since some of the streets were closed off but, if you are not able to vote next week, please find your local office and do your civic duty / right!
Just think how mad we would all be if for any reason women or men lost their right to vote! I'm so grateful to live in a country that we have this freedom. Max was thrilled to wear my "I Voted" sticker as well.

God Bless the United States of America and the upcoming election!

Happy Trunk or Treating

Tonight we had trunk or treat with one of the local Head Start chapters that our church does service projects for. Literally the wind was blowing so hard and it was SOOO cold but Max was so excited to put his Dinosaur costume on, we really could not disappoint him. So, off we went and of course he had a grand time collecting candy with his dad while I handed out candy. Then we went back inside played a couple of games, ate a cupcake and came home. I will have to post some pictures of him and his friends soon. They were ALL so cute and had a ton of fun. In the meanwhile, a friend of mine sent me this cartoon. I hope everyone will find the humor and not be offended. Ha ha ha!
Today I took Max to his Dr's office to get his flu shot. I was a little anxious about him getting this. But, I have to say how proud I am of him because he handled it better than I will tomorrow. I told him he was getting medicine so he would not get sick on our flight on Saturday to Grandma's house. He said, can I drink my medicine? I said, no ... the nurse will put it in your thigh. So, I layed him down on the table held his hands and the next think Max said was, "she pinched my leg!" That was it. We were done and he got two stickers.
By the way, this was my first outing with both Max and Avery. Definitely more thought went in to how we would get there but the stroller was the hero of the morning and things went just fine.

Your My Jack o' Lantern

After I get Max tucked in to bed, I tell him I love him and that I will come check on him in a few minutes. He then says, Mom, just lay next to me for one more minute .... I reply, ok one more minute. I then lay next to him on "Kileys bed" (our guest bedroom queen bed) and he likes to hold my fingers. Something we started when he was just 3 days old. Here is our conversation:

Mom: Max, I love you. You are my little angel.
Max: Your my angel mom. (My heart melts)
Mom: That is so sweet. You are also my little miracle!
Max: Your my jack o' lantern?
Mom: Your what? (It actually took me several minutes to understand what he said.)
Max: My jack o' lantern.
Mom / Max: Your so silly and we both start cracking up.
Max: Will you tell me the "back n' forth" story again?
Mom: Of course I will - I love you Max.

Then from memory of course ... I recited the "Love You Forever" story which usually brings me to tears when reading it directly from the book. But, after the story my sweet angel (who was not so angelic this afternoon after refusing to nap) was sound sleep. I am so very lucky to be his little jack o' lantern.

Greece ... Who Wants to Go?

So, who is ready to pack their bags, drop the kids off at Grandma's house (or fly Grandma in) and head to Greece? For some reason tonight I was thinking how great it would be to just drop all the cares in the world and fly to Greece for a week! History, architecture, beaches, shopping what more can you want? Who wants to go?

Awww the Sound of Two Sleeping Children

Since I have started watching Avery, I have been challenging myself to get both Max and Avery down for their naps at the same time. Usually I get Avery to sleep then 45 minutes later Max asleep ... Avery wakes back up, I get her back to sleep come down stairs to get something done and then Max wakes up. Miraculously, they have both been sleeping for almost an hour simultaneously. By the way, my hat is off to all the moms with two or more children who accomplish any household chore and keep their children alive! Two kids is definitely more challenging to keep up with!

PS - As I write this ... Avery is waking up!

There is Beauty All Around ...

Yesterday was a beautiful Saturday here in the Shenandoah Valley. Thankfully, our weekend turned around and we were able to enjoy one anothers company while we took a drive here in the area to see some of our fall foliage. We actually came across a civil war reenactment at Cedar Creek in Middletown which we were not aware of. We actually drove by as cannons and "gun" fire were going off. Hundreds of men and women were dressed in appropriate clothing and had been camping all weekend. Although we did not stop, we were able to see quite a bit as we were driving by. Max was sound asleep so we kept driving to see more sites.
I am thankful for this beautiful time of year and I am thankful for my family. Together, I know Mark and I will concur our challenges and soon we will be enjoying even more of this holiday season. By the way ... the truck passed it's inspection with flying colors! Hooray!!

House Maintenance, Car Maintenance, Mom Maintenance

I've heard the saying, "When it rains, it pours" referring to many different things. But, this week in particular I am having a hard time trying not to get discouraged. But, here is a brief recap of maintenace opportunities ...
House - Downstairs walk out basement doors ... doors not 100% installed correctly from builder; therefore, we have water damage coming through to the moldings and carpet. Builder supposedly "fixed" this back when we originally moved in, ha ha ha;
Solutions: First Contractor - replace the entire door, get it sealed correctly, etc. approx. $2K + the cost of fixing whatever damage they find along the way.
Second Contractor - Replace water damaged moldings, clean carpet, rehang original door, do a little concrete work outside to have water drain away from door - approx. $400 - $600.
Cars - Inspection for Honda ... replace two back tires, windshield and then the man told me the horn was not working - to which I said, let me show you how it is working ... and layed on the horn! Uggh - windshield has passed for years with the single crack, why not now? Two new tires $150; horn - who knows ....Inspection for truck ... we'll see tomorrow. My heart can only take so much in one week.
Mom - Maintenance on mom should probably be characterized as an on-going project! Stress from the economy and a hiring freeze at Freeman (therefore, no work) coupled with house and car expenses, along with our standard on-going life experiences should lend me to some sort of "time-out for Mom" don't you think? Did I mention that I had a little "run-in" with Max last Saturday while putting my contacts in ... therefore I now have no contacts? Thankfully after having one doctors office visit that was completely disorganized and disfunctional and raised my blood pressure, I was able to get in to see a competent doctor who did take our insurance! This was my miracle for the week - as I despise wearing glasses.

I realize we are not the only ones going through "maintenance" problems as anyone who owns a home and a car have opportunities such as these to "grow" and become "stronger". I'm hoping that my cup is full and we can start to work on solutions for draining our cup.

Love the Fall

Fall really is my favorite time of the year. There is something that I really love about the crisp air, changing and falling of the leaves, apples, pumpkins, wearing of a favorite sweater, watching football, drinking apple cider and of course going on a hay ride. Simple pleasures of this time of year make me very happy.
This picture is along skyline drive here in the Shenandoah Valley. I have not taken the time to drive this entire valley but, I have seen parts of it from time to time. I'm hoping that Mark and I can take advantage of this drive within the next week or so. While Westerners would argue about these Virginia "mountains" and not classifying them as mountains I still love that they are completely covered in all sorts of trees and evergreens. Doesn't this picture make you want to catch a flight and come on out? If you come ... we would serve you apple cider and of course give you a warm bed! Come see our beautiful valley!!

Happy Birthday Mark!

Today we are celebrating Mark's birthday. The number of years is undisclosed as he is convinced he his still 21! But women with great wisdom like his mother and I can vouch that he is much older than this. This past weekend we celebrated with our friends and had some delicious london broil with all the fixin's. We followed up with some tasty birthday cake and a few competitive rounds of Phase 10! We had a great time and it was fun for everyone.

Happy Birthday Mark, we love you!

Hill High Farm Pictures

Here are some highlights from last weekend. It was a beautiful fall day!

Halloween Faces

Max loved to see the cows, horses, bunnies, chickens, sheep and goats!

Getting three men to smile and look at the camera! What a challenge!

Does anyone know that mom is trying to take a picture?


Max has been driving for years now.

Look how big that tire is!

While I miss my digital camera, I'm glad this disposable was able to capture some of our weekend. Hopefully the great pumpkin king, will deliver us a new digital before Halloween comes!

It's a Miracle!

I have been trying to figure out how to add a different background to our blog and at last ... I have finally been able to figure it out! I think I'm the last one in the world to do it but, at 11:30 at night - I can finally sleep! Enjoy the pumpkins ... they are staying for a while!!

My First Dandelion Bouquet

Today Max and I went for a walk with Avery down on the trail close to our house. Max stopped to pick sticks, dandelions, grass and just about any thing that looked remotely like a flower and presented them to me, "Here you go mommie ... and thanks for wiping my nose!" I'm so glad that his dad has taught him to remember his mom with flowers!

We are also in a new stage ... the "let me jump off of ANYTHING and throw my toys stage". I'm just waiting for the ottoman to give out when he goes to jump or for me to see the ball go through the window just as he is throwing it. Oh boy, really never a dull moment.

And, just in case you were wondering if "The Nightmare Before Christmas" is still being viewed at our house on a daily basis... yes! I try to limit it to twice a day. He LOVES this movie and it still holds his attention. I would say he has watched the movie somewhere between 50 and 60 times. Please know that I do read to him, help him build towers, play race cars, color, work on the alphabet letters, etc. too. He is not a complete movie junkie. But he definitely loves his "new movie".

Week Update

We had a fun weekend! I need to get the pictures developed and posted but, we made our annual trip to Hill High Farms! This was our third year of going out to take a hay ride which includes picking a small pumpkin and an apple of our choice. The owner of the farm comes riding up to the hay ride on his horse "Bo" and of course the kids get even more excited to see the horse. Max was no exception. We got to see the farm animals and do a haystack maze. Max also had his first porta-potty experience with dad .... thank goodness Mark endured that one with him!

Max has a new playmate, Avery who is 6 months old. I started watching her this past Friday and will watch her three times a week while her mom is working. Things went pretty good on Friday and Max was quite helpful. If she started crying, Max would say, "Don't cry Avery, have this toy!" I was impressed with how helpful he was with her. I hope things will continue to go well with this new adventure.

I was working at our Freeman office in Maryland this past week for a couple of days. While commuting I was listening to the local news stations which I would not normally hear during the day here in the house. But, once again I was amazed at several of the headlines. One that I thought I would share ... "The roads are closed between streets ?? and ?? due to the hand grinade found in Rock Creek Parkway along the fence line. We have found that the pin is still in tact on the grinade. We are waiting for the bomb squad to come and investigate. We'll keep you posted on any new updates." And, the traffic continued on as another day in Washington!

So, this week I am grateful that the hand grinade did not go off, the apples in Winchester are in full bloom and ripe for picking, we had the chance to watch General Conference on tv, have a playdate with 4 of Max's friends and have our annual hay ride adventure. What a great fall week in Washington and in the Shenandoah Valley.

PS - The Bronco's won today so once again our house is VERY happy!