Where's my blogging groove?

I've lost my blogging groove. I don't know where it went. I don't know why it left. Well, okay, I know some reasons - namely stress in many different areas of my life lately. Since blogging has been my outlet, my de-stressing device, my fun, it just quite frankly sucks that it's been missing.

I have stories to tell, photos to share (though not Thanksgiving - I completely forgot!), celebrations to talk about, all kinds of things. But where oh where is my blogging groove? Come out, come out wherever you are!

Look, up in the sky! It's a bird...

It's a plane... It's Superm... uh wait... um... is that a turkey?

Ethan's artwork from school.

In case you can't read it, the description Ethan gave his artwork of turkey feet (which his teachers wrote, I assume while giggling to themselves) is: "Tom Turkey is walking to Gotham City."

Everyone is a super hero here folks.

Is that even a game?

During bath time, as Collin was in the tub and Ethan and Oliver were running around the upstairs in a craze, I asked Ethan to please be careful. Ethan said "but mom, we're playing 'drive you crazy'". Oh... um... uh oh.

The things meltdowns are made of...

... may surprise you.

Today, while grocery shopping, Ethan had a mini meltdown. He was very upset that I told him I wasn't going to buy something that he requested. Upset to the point that he was wiggling around in the cart and doing his whine crying really loud. Uncharacteristically, I gave into him and bought the item. What was the item?

Drum roll please: prunes.

Yea, prunes. Not a toy, not sugar cereal (by the way, he still has NO clue about that stuff), not candy or sweets, not any of the normal stuff childhood meltdowns of this nature are made of... it was over prunes. Who knew? Hmmm... I think I have a new leverage item...

BTW, the reason I originally said no was because all three boys love prunes and regulating becomes something of its own drama... yet regulation is a must. Again, prunes... enough said.

The voice was wrong...

Last night at 10:15 pm, when I went to make Ethan's lunch for school, I made the unfortunate discovery that we were out of bread. We didn’t even have a mini bagel or a wheat tortilla wrap left in the house (as I also discovered during my mini panicked search). This is a big issue since Ethan insists on pretty much the same lunch for school: peanut butter and honey on wheat bread, baby carrots, an apple and granola or cereal mix (specifically Bare Naked Apple Cinnamon Granola or the Bare Naked Cranberry Raisin Cereal).

As I contemplated going to the store (okay, mommy guilt contemplated it), I saw a ray of light appear in the form of a box of the kid's Kashi seven grain crackers. It spoke to me and said, ‘put peanut butter and pumpkin butter (the coveted treat with peanut butter) on me and he will think I’m a special treat.’ I was tired, so I believed the voice, hoping he would be excited by the change. That was my hope at least.

As told by Ethan’s teacher (because they rolled around the room in laughter), here is how it went:

Teacher, upon walking by and seeing Ethan's lunch: "Ethan, how cool! You have peanut butter cracker sandwiches for lunch!"

Ethan, responding flatly: "Yea, apparently we're out of bread."

Sigh… mental note... don't listen to the voice from the pantry at 10:15 pm...

He's making us screwy

Collin, our ornery child, has a new favorite past time: unscrewing everything. The knobs on our kitchen and bathroom cabinets, the ends of the downstairs bathroom's facet handles (yes, I didn't even know they unscrewed either!), bottle lids (soda, water, etc - most of these have been empty and on the counter to be taken to recycling fortunately), lids to his straw cups, shampoo containers, my mascara (not going there...) and really anything and everything that he discovers can be unscrewed.

Today, for the second time in a week, he dumped a full container of seasoning. On Saturday it was the brand new jar of onion powder (which I buy maybe once every couple years!). And today, it was the entire brand new jar of garlic powder (that I bought when I bought the replacement onion powder). And both times, he did it so quick and so sneaky that we didn't even know he had snagged the bottle. How you say? Well, from the evidence, he uses his beloved spiderman ride-on toy (which he drives around the house all day long) to stand on and snatch things at what appears to be lightening speed. Actually, he's smart enough to wait for his brothers to create a diversion... oh, who am I kidding... the kids are in a constant state of creating diversion at our house... we are out numbered and out smarted.

Today when I was washing my hands at the kitchen sink (during dinner prep) and Steve was in the family room with the other two boys, Collin apparently did one of his drive-by crimes. He moved in swiftly on his spidee mobile, powered only by his nimble feet. Set up his positioning and as I turned to wash my hands he hopped off and quickly climbed the seat and grabbed the jar of garlic powder that had been purposely pushed far back on the counter. Quickly and joyfully he unscrewed the bottle and dumped the entire contents on the floor in one large heap. After the deed was done and the thrill had passed, he put the lid back on and gingerly put the now empty bottle back on the counter as if nothing had happened (though not in the original spot). Having fulfilled his unscrew/screw fix for the moment, he hopped on his spidee get away vehicle and disappeared down the hall. At this point the unsuspecting me who was drying off my hands (but still clearly with my back to the scene of the crime), got a whiff of something strong. *Sniff* What's that? *SNIFF, SNIFF* It's really strong. That's weird it smells like garlic. Turning around, *SNIFF*, see source of smell in pile on my floor, "COLLIN GEOFFREY MOORE!!!!"

Seriously, he is making us screwy!

Ornery, yet sweet

Lauren took this photo of her and Collin with her cell phone while she was outside with the boys and Erin. Look at Collin's ornery face (they wrinkly nose smile is kind of lost in the low resolution here, but it's there). Yet, ornery face and all, it is just about the sweetest photo of the two of them. Don't you think?

Twins in repose

The Letter Factory is apparently very captivating.

Another successful trick

I mentioned briefly in the Halloween post that Steve had 'tricked' another ride for the kids. The beneficiary this time was Oliver who received a custom Robin mobile, that started out as his cousin's Dora the Explorer ride (thanks Victoria!!). Steve really seems to have a knack for doing this sort of thing... and maybe a little passion born out of some very cute faces with big smiles.

Here are some photos of the transformation:

Before shot: The Dora mobile less the seat which had just been painted Robin green. Steve took this photo, but forgot to take a real before shot prior to painting the seat, which was originally orange. So, use your imagination, but I am sure you get the idea of what it looked like.

After shots: the tricked ride.

The very satisfied customer:

Customer testimonial: "I went trick or treating. I was Robin. I had Robin mobile. I love daddy."

There you have it folks, another happy customer.

It's here...

The holiday season is upon us. The stores are decked out in holiday decorations, the TV commercials are in full swing, holiday music is starting to play, one of our neighbors has already put up their holiday lights and the countless holiday catalogs have started to pour upon us weekly... to the fascination and joy of Ethan and Oliver...

who love looking through all of them, over and over and over again... day after day after day. Even Andy, Ethan's friend, who came over to play yesterday had his Toys R Us Big Book in hand. They sat and compared notes and ooo'ed and aww'ed over the pages.

Ho, ho, ho... those marketing people really know what they are doing...

This just can’t be good sign

This weekend, as we were in the other room trying to get Oliver dressed for trick or treat (yes, it took two of us), Collin tip toed to the computer and apparently bought something*??! When I noticed he was missing and very quiet, I knew he was at the computer in some form. Though this is not an uncommon occurrence (finding Collin in front of the computer in whatever ingenious way he fashioned to get his hands on the mouse and/or keyboard), this is the first time that I have seen a "Thank you for your purchase!" message on the screen in front of Collin... where he sat... with mouse in hand... the mouse that he KNOWS how to use to click with his finger and even how to scroll with the roll thingy (he probably even knows what the actual term for the roll thingy is). And no, unfortunately, that was not a left over message from something Steve or I purchased. For as much as you have to credit him for his command of the computer at such a young age, it frightens us for the future… and our bank account.

Note to self: do not ever save credit card information in accounts on this computer again.

*As it turned out it was just an update/upgrade... but still... I have no idea how he got there and how he managed to click okay. He is, after all, only 26 months old.

Halloween

Okay, I am seriously behind on posting this to the point that even Steve is on my case. Sunday I was just feeling blah (still getting over a cold) and yesterday I was in Cleveland all day for a meeting, then made a couple stops on the way home to see a very cute baby boy and also run an errand and didn't make it home until after 10 pm! Went to bed with a splitting headache. Okay, enough of my moaning... onto the good stuff - Halloween!

Saturday was both Halloween and trick or treat for us. We had a great day of carving pumpkins, watching The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (the twins' first time and they loved it), no napping (despite our attempts), dressing up and trick or treating.

We took the twins last year, but just around our court and in the stroller. This year they wanted to run... run free and fast. And that they did. The twins were Batman and Robin, as selected by Ethan. And what Batman and Robin would be complete without wheels? Yes, the twins now have their own motorized rides now, which was a last minute surprise to both me and them. The Robin mobile was even tricked out by dad himself - it was previously Dora the Explorer. Now, they didn't actually ride these around for trick or treat, that would have been crazy with all the kids. But they did get to ride in the house (since daddy had them cleaned for inside use).

The masks did not last long on the twins.

Ethan, as you know, was The Flash. Not to be confused with Flash Gordon, which people kept doing. He was the superhero fast as lighting The Flash, Wally West, as he informed me several times. He loved this costume. It's the first time that he didn't take off any piece of it during the night and it was a long night. Side note: in all the chaos of getting everyone ready and the MANY attempts to get decent photos, we lost all our extra time and I didn't get any single photos of Ethan. So, he will get a solo photo shoot this week... I'm NOT doing the twins again... those little buggers will not stay still!

We went with many of the neighbor children, which worked out well as the older kids were running from house to house and the younger ones were not. Therefore we had parents spaced out among the kids so everyone could go at their own pace and never be unsupervised. Oliver kept saying "we are trick or treating" in his cute little voice which cracked everyone up. The twins had a blast running down the sidewalk. We honestly didn't care if they went to the houses to get candy since they weren't going to get to eat it and all they cared about was being out with the other kids and running. That said, if anyone handing out candy said "do you want to come get some candy?" to Collin as we were walking by, he would stop with a screech (no kidding) and ran up to them with a huge smile as if to say "candy? did you say candy?!" (mind you he has had very little of it ever). It was hilarious! Oliver on the other hand would go up and then give the candy to whichever of his friends was standing there, rather than putting it in his bag.

Some of the trick or treat group

Collin loves babies! Poor Ben, who is actually 18 months old, had Collin touching and hugging him whenever we were standing still. BTW, isn't Ben the cutest in that Yoda costume?! And when he toddles along - the walk made him look all the more like him!

They got slower (read: exhausted) as the night went on, so we hitched a ride in Ben's wagon since Ben wanted to walk. They both enjoyed it (Oliver is only getting up because I stopped to take the photo). Check out Collin stretched back with candy (unopened) in hand. The life!

Ethan had a blast with his friends both trick or treating and at the party afterwards. Party you say? Yes, party. As in neighborhood party. Our neighbors at the end of the street hosted a during and after party - with big outdoor heaters, a fire pit table, lots of good food and adult beverages - sorry Christine! The adults passing out candy on our street could go gather in their driveway to pass out their candy and the ones walking with the kids could join afterwards. So we did. Well, Ethan and I did. Steve had taken Collin and Oliver home for bed.

The neighborhood kids all thought it was a blast being out in the dark, which they rarely are. They ran around playing various made-on-the-fly versions of tag, told scary (not really) stories with flashlights under their chins (they are too young to know how spooky that can be), roasted hot dogs and marshmallow (for s'mores) at the fire pit table and generally had a blast. We adults had fun too, especially since there were two teenagers there to help watch and entertain the kids.

Suffice to say, a good time was had by all. Happy (belated) Halloween!

Fall fun: wild and free style

After the Halloween costume parade at Ethan's school, the twins and I went to one of our beautiful and very close metro parks. This particular one is known for it's gardens and does not have a playground (that I know of at least). I LOVE this park. I also thought that maybe I could get some good photos of the kids (any of the kids actually) that I have been longing for. But I knew it wasn't really realistic as they are constantly on the move. I thought maybe, just maybe, with only two of them that I had a chance. Albeit slim, but maybe. If not, I knew there would be lots of leaves to run in and paths to explore... or in their case... run like the wild and free children they are.

And I was right. They played in the leaves, ran down the paths, explored the different gardens, watched the stream flow, and generally enjoyed themselves.

I do need to note that Collin was my little defiant child today, refusing to listen to me and instead follow his own paths. Oliver was so cute looking at him and then at me and trying to decide what to do; who to follow. He was 50/50 on being a rebel with Collin. However, something fabulous did happen when Collin decided to finally join me after one of his little renegade missions: he chose the shortest path to me, rather than the actual path. As he shuffled through the thick brush, he said to me: "halp, halp!" As in the word 'help' people! He said HELP. All by himself without it being fed to him, shown to him (with close up mouth movements), requested by him, begged of him, nothing - just all by himself. And appropriately. It may sound small to all of you, but to an apraxic child, that was huge! btw, Collin does know of the word help and we (the speech therapist, Steve and I) have worked with him on it before, so it didn't come out of nowhere with no practice at all. the point though is that he used it without being prompted by me, which at this point for him is very difficult.

Though I managed to get some decent photos, none are great because when you have moving targets it's hard to get it in focus - at least for an amateur at best like me. (trust me, even when it appears in the photo that they might have been still, they were not ever still for more than a nanosecond)

Like I said, all was not lost - they had an absolute blast. Collin had a mini, even if only once, breakthrough word. And I thoroughly enjoyed watching every single moment of their joy.

The Halloween parade

Today at Ethan's school they had a Halloween parade. Now, don't get me wrong, I was all excited to see my little Flash in the parade. However, it wasn't so much a parade as a bunch of kids walking the perimeter of the gym a few times for all the parents to ooo and ahhh over. Regardless, Ethan was very excited. Namely because he got to wear his new Flash costume.

So, after dropping Ethan off in his room, the twins and I went to the gym to get a seat on the benches along the walls. The twins were in their stroller, which really makes the most sense. However 'sense' and 'twins' are two words that never go together. Seriously, I cannot even begin to list the amount of things that I have actually done that I once uttered (even after Ethan) "I'll never do that" "I'll never be that mom" "that will never be my kid". Dumb, naive, silly mommy. Never ever say never.

Okay, so where I am going with this lead-up? Well, the twins were in their stroller and they were also crying. Loudly. In a gym. With great acoustics... or maybe bad acoustics... I don't understand that stuff ... all I know is that their cries were reverberating off the walls and people were giving me the "would you do something about them" look. With much reluctance and many other attempts to soothe my little beasts, I decided to set them free. They ran all over the gym. It's a big gym. There were many other young siblings there. They all sat quietly with their parents for that mere 15 minute wait for the parade. Not mine. Nope. Ran all over. So then I got the "seriously? are you really going to let your children run all over the gym like that, the parade's about to start" looks. To them my eyes said "twins... never say never."

There were five classrooms of children participating in this parade. The first room that entered, which was not Ethan's room, had a Spiderman. Ethan actually has a Spiderman costume in his dress up bin that he wears around the house sometimes. When Collin saw Spiderman enter, he instantly ran over to him. He followed Spiderman around the gym - "talking" to him and touching him. Collin was visibly frustrated that Spiderman did not acknowledge his presence. Okay, he was downright ticked off at Spiderman. I was sitting on the other side of this big gym pretending he wasn't my kid and there was no real way for me to intervene and try to explain to Collin without much crying and a big ugly scene. Probably everyone but Spiderman's parents, who probably wanted a decent photo of their child that did not include an unknown toddler attached to his hip, thought Collin knew Spiderman (just as he thought he did). Then, when he made it around to my side again and actually came up to say hi to me, I made a big mistake. Who knows what possessed me? I asked Collin (for the freaking thousandth time) to hand over the binky that he is only allowed to have during sleep time. The binky that he somehow covertly smuggled in with him. I made the horrible mistake of saying "come on sweetie, you know it's only for sleep time." At that point he laid himself on his blankets, which he insisted we bring, on the gym floor and pretended to sleep... for a long while. Then the teachers (not Ethan's teachers who understand our plight at this point in the year - the other teachers) became annoyed because it was right in the line of the parade. At that point my eye message response to the glares changed to "you wanna try this?!" and maybe one or two "shut its". Sorry, it was very hot in there and I was sweaty, tired, stressed, had lost control of my kids and on top of that, I was missing getting to watch Ethan. So, my thought was "just walk around him... it's better than the screams you'll get otherwise... now let me try to see my oldest son please!" Though none of this was spoken, just thought (okay and maybe conveyed non verbally), the mother next to me said "I always thought it would be so hard to have twins - I feel for you." I hugged her. Okay, not really, but I wanted to. At least one person understood the situation. Sigh... (by the way, if you are wondering why I did not just take the binky it's because the reverberating screams would happen once again and if you reason with him, he will normally just give it to you and that results in no crying)

Oliver ran all over, but mostly on the inside of the parade circle.

My handsome little Flash, raising a hand to say 'hi' while keeping his superhero serious face.

Ethan surrounded by his groupies and biggest fans, the twins, during the final lap.

After the parade we went to Ethan's room for a group photo. The twins, who were in their stroller (I HAD to confine them there - it is a tiny room), screamed the entire time. Ethan's poor teachers tried to soothe them, but any attempt made them scream louder. I just ignored it all and got a cute shot of my Flash and his friends.

In the end, I did get to see Ethan in all his glory and pride walk around the gym, regardless of what people felt about the twins running free. I guess I am THAT mom. I guess my kids WILL do that. I guess I can NOT really say the word 'never'. And I guess that's okay... every once in a while... (so "shut it!")

Our little care taker

Steve and I have always noticed that Collin had some more empathic and care taker-like gestures than the other kids. Not that the others aren't empathic or little care takers in their own ways, it's just that Collin tends to really show this side.

If Oliver is crying, and Collin himself did not cause it, he runs over to pat him on the head or give him a hug. He will also seek out Oliver's blanket to give him. I have even seen him, when they are rooms or even floors apart, jump up and run to comfort Oliver when he hears him crying. And, this one cracks me up, he has given Steve "the look" and a disapproving shake of the head when he has disciplined Oliver for something that ended up making Oliver cry (though Oliver is very sensitive - everything makes him cry) and then go hug and pat Oliver.

Sure, some of that is the twin connection I am sure (which is so incredibly heart warming to see that bond coming out more and more), but he does it for Ethan and Lauren too. It clearly is concerning to him when someone cries. He is genuinely concerned and wants to comfort them. On that note, it's really hard to put Ethan in time out when Collin is around because A) Ethan typically cries in time out so B) Collin is right there with him giving him well meaning pats which C) frustrates Ethan because when he is in time out he is not happy and doesn't understand nor want Collin's pats. But, that's a different story. Regardless, if you are hurt or crying in this house, Collin is there with a pat and a blanky. Same goes for us. He just seems to be our little care taker child.

Last Sunday we saw this trait emerge again, but in a different way than we normally see it. We actually keep talking about it, so I thought I would share it.

So, last Sunday, Steve made chili. It is a dish he has mastered and one we eat on football Sundays a lot. At some point earlier in the day while the twins pretended to nap (read: had a party in their cribs), Steve had managed to spill a little chili on his white Brown's shirt. It was a smallish/medium round red stain right around his stomach region that he had not noticed and therefore it had set in to stay. When the twins got up from not napping (a new trend that worries me!), Collin came into the family room to give Steve, who was laying on the sofa watching football, a hug. When Collin walked up to him he clearly saw the stain (we realized later) and did one of his big dramatic gasps with a face to match which included his signature raising of the eyebrows and widening his eyes (it is something he does when something surprises him - he is so animated that we tend to call him Mr. Face for all his fabulous expressions - which might actually have been born from not being able to talk).

Neither of us really knew what he saw that shocked or concerned him causing the big gasp sound and matching face. He instantly went running off into the kitchen, we assumed to find Ethan and Oliver, as we just sat there mesmerized by the mastery to which the Brown's were playing that day (ha, ha... ooo that was funny... it was another blow out loss). After a few seconds, Collin returned with a kitchen cloth which he had pulled from the drawer. He proceeded to rub it directly on the stain on Steve's shirt. He would lift it up every few seconds to check the status of that menacing spot and showed great concern that it was still there. After a minute or two he went running into the kitchen again, as if this matter was very urgent, and returned with yet another cloth with which he vigorously started rubbing in circles on the spot once again. You could tell that he was both miffed and disturbed that he could not get this spot out. After a few minutes Steve assured Collin that is was okay that the spot remained and he thanked him again for trying to remove it. Though visibly disappointed, Collin seemed to accept that the spot was there to stay and went off to play, reassured that Steve was indeed okay.

Steve and I were laughing so hard - both in awe of how sweet the gesture was and also that he was so dismayed that the stain was not going away. It was so very cute how concerned he was and how much he wanted to fix it. Which just showed us again, his care taker side, but in a different light than we normally notice it.

I love that he is just two years old and already showing this side so clearly. Though I do not wish time to move fast ever, but instead for it to slow down, I can't help but wonder how this care taking empathetic side of him will develop as he becomes a man.

Apple addiction

My name is Wendy and I am addicted to apple picking. I don't know what it is, but I just love it. I love doing it. I love the kid's faces while they are picking and eating the apples. I love the fall air smell. I love that we have apples into the spring that we picked, cheaply, which have less chemicals than store bought and aren't shipping from another country. I love making applesauce, apple crisp, sweet potatoes and apples and my newest find - apple oatmeal bread! Love it all. For the experience, for the memories.

So, can you guess what we did Saturday? Yep. Apple picking. Fuji apple picking to be specific. Y.U.M.M.Y.!

Steve climbing the tree since the pickins' were getting slim.

My happy apple eating boys in the wind.

Good thing we shot these photos before we went to the farmer's tent where all three dashed all over the crowded tent (DESPITE their agreement in the car with us NOT to do such things) making us look like, as Steve said, "Walmart parents" (um...no offense) as we ran after them and uttered statements like: 'for the fiftieth time, stop touching the freaking glass jars for crying out loud!' 'sweetheart, daddy told you to not touch those a few hundred times now, can you please stop touching them?' and 'just what about the two of you climbing up on the 5 foot tall mound of pumpkins and gourds ON a CART seemed like a good idea to you?' 'Wow, I admire your climbing skills and surely that took balance and agility, but it's really not a good idea. Please hop down now.', and 'No! Stop! Get that onion... ohhhhh... so how did that work out for you? Taste good?' 'Oh pumpkin, really eating an onion is not the best idea. Let me get you something to drink.' and etc (I'm sure you get the picture).

Oh, and the incident where Oliver bashed his head into the floor because when we finally got up to the register (there was a very long line), the lady insisted that I show her my driver's license for my $10 credit card purchase.* It was in the car, of course. Therefore I had to run to my car to get it, which made the boys upset (read: crying dramatically), and by 'the boys' I mean all four of them. It was at that moment that Oliver, our drama queen...er... king, bashed his head in to the floor. Come to think of it, maybe it was at that moment that Steve made the Walmart comment... of course train wreck could have also summed it up.

*You know, I get the wanting to be safe and see my ID and I am glad they do that, but it was only $10 freaking dollars (one pumpkin and one jar of pumpkin butter - that's it!) and I had three kids melting down and bouncing off all their wares right in front of her eyes, while other customers glared at us mind you... really lady... let it go... surely you just wanted to get rid of us. That said, I am surprised that one of the other customers in line didn't whip out a wad of cash or credit card and offer to pay for us.

Back to my zen... I just love picking apples with my family... look at those sweet innocent faces...

Fall festival and friends

Today we went to a fall festival at our friend's (Jen and Jeremie) church. It was a ton of fun. Steve and I were talking about just how much fun the boys had. There were bounce houses, decorate your own cookies, balloons, horse riding, a firetruck, food, hayride, pumpkins (and you could decorate them too) and some other stuff.

Ethan's favorite thing was the bounce houses he said. I was thinking it might be the decorate (and EAT) your own cookie but I was wrong. The twins also liked the bounce house. Collin got brave in the one with the giant slide and climbed up, many times. He was definitely a bottle neck in the line of kids clamoring to get up there, but he was just oblivious to their frustration as he smiled his biggest smile and giggled. We did have a hard time getting them to understand that they could not stand at the bottom of the slide and try to crawl up or laugh at the kids at the top, because those kids needed to come down. Amazingly enough, the only injury in that department was when Collin came down the slide and bumped into Oliver - so caused by themselves and not another child. Oliver has a nice little bump on his forehead - the hit it was much harder than I thought it was. Otherwise, they all LOVED the bounce house.

Second to that, I think, were the balloons. Nothing fancy, just helium latex balloons on a string. Huge hit. Who knew? Collin even tried to say balloon several times. Came out a little like "boon", but all things considered we were ecstatic! I may just have to buy a helium tank and some balloons if it motivates a word like that!

Playing balloon bash - of course they're boys - bashing would be involved.

Collin was completely cracking up as his neighbor friends, Jonathon and David, pretended Collin's balloon was hitting them and then they fell over. Collin was laughing so hard it was contagious!

He kept plopping himself on the floor of the outside shelter... the dirty floor that is... and of course look at that photo (perfect pose and face)... now if only he would do that in a scenic place!

Ethan, always with a goofy face... sigh...

Oliver playing with his balloon.

They also had a bake sale for Matthew (to help with his medical bills since he was dropped from insurance in May). So, you know I had to do my part there... pumpkin crunch (freaking yummy) and chocolate chip cookies.

It was also nice to get to visit a little with our friends. And Matthew was too cute. He was in a great mood and smiling so much.

Someone gave Matthew some presents. Two of the items were the Harry Potter like glasses he is wearing and the turkey he is holding. How cute does he look in those glasses?!

I know I have said it before, but I just love fall and all the fun events that go with it!

Pumpkins, goats and teenage parties - oh my!

Tuesday was Ethan's preschool's field trip to the pumpkin patch. I was lucky enough to get to go along with him. It is a lot of fun for me to see him interact with his classmates. He was kind of shy at first, since it was a different environment with parents and all, but then he was all about having fun with them.

We went on a hayride.
Searched the field for a pumpkin and a gourd.

Seriously, I cannot get him to just smile a natural smile anymore.

Saw their farm animals, which consisted of goats, hens and a four week old jersey cow that was so cute you just wanted to kiss it!

Went through the straw maze barn... five thousand times...

Slide down a gigantic and very fast slide.

Okay, seriously, does anyone else feel like the statement: "you might be a redneck if..." should/could be used here... look at that slide.

Oh yes, it was a mega fast slide with a "THUD" landing, but the kids just popped up and ran to go again (and again and again...), all while rubbing their sore behinds.

Played in a corn box (alternative to a sand box).

I also found a ton (okay, seven) more cheese pumpkins to make more puree and they were seriously cheap! Woo hoo!

After the pumpkin patch, Ethan and I picked up Ms. Erin and the twins and headed to the zoo. My intent was to go to the petting zoo and ride the train, both which are in the North America area of the zoo which the twins really haven't spent much time in (we always go to the West Zoo first). Unfortunately the train is no longer operational during the week, so we didn't get to do that.

They did however spend a good deal of time petting goats, trying to brush goats, hugging goats, oh and of course the inevitable picking up that cool looking brown marble... I, of course, probably looked like a fool as I was running and screaming "no, no, no.. put it down!" Okay, here's the thing to any of you zoo goers at the time - the twins still put everything, EVERYTHING, in their mouths. E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. That would include cool looking brown marbles that just magically appeared at their feet as they were standing next to a, now relieved, goat. The young keepers came and swept it up quickly, but from their faces I am sure they didn't understand the concept of everything going in the mouth and therefore my freaking out like a crazy screaming mom. By the way, I had to pry it out of Collin's hand. Probably the more I reacted the better he thought it was and the tighter he held it and fought me for it. ??? Then I lathered him up with baby wipes and sanitizer.

"Do you come here often?"

I swear this goat looks as if he is saying "seriously, they do not pay me enough for this gig!"

Oliver and Ethan having a long conversation with one of the goats.

Ethan and Collin loving on a goat. I honestly thought the photo was adorable, and it would be more so, if I didn't get the goat in such the angle I did. Sigh...

We actually got to see a lot of the zoo since no one was there. It was the perfect day too.

When we got home, Andy and Christopher came over to get Ethan to play. Later that night Ethan said to me:

E: Mom, I have to tell you something.

M: What?

E: Andy told me that when we are teenagers, we can have a party at his house!

M: Really? What will you do?

E: We're going to eat lots of ice cream and cake!

M: Really? That sounds fun. Are you going to do anything else?

E: Yes, play drums!

M: Wow.

E: But mom, NO GIRLS will be allowed. We discussed it.

M: Really? (giggling to myself)

E: No girls, just us guys.

Oh yes, I am definitely pulling up that previous post and also this one, when they become teenagers.