I'm back

Our first pumpkin carving went well.

Riley smacked her head again - she really is a blonde, and two.

This is a forced smile - "Mom made me or I would be in big trouble."

This was the original pose - not really liked by Mom.

I love hot chocolate or "cocoa." And the spiderman cup was new to me, because I forgot I got it last year. Go, Mom!

Caleb is grumpy after a forced nap - notice the number of "forcings" going on at nearly five.



We fellowshipped and went trick-or-treating with friends last night. Thanks Jennie for inviting us. I forgot the camera, however. But, I did take some pics last weekend at our church's fall festival. Caleb was a pilot and Riley, a cheerleader. Caleb wanted to be Darth Vader badly, but I just wouldn't allow it this year. He finally asked, "Can I pretend to be Darth Vader in my pilot costume?" I said sure. He didn't though. Riley wanted to be a princess, so I told her she was a princess cheerleader, it worked. I guess next year I'll have to give in and let them pick. I just so happened found their costumes on clearance several months ago at our party store - so Mom won this year.

We had a pirate dress up day for MOPS; Riley is not a pirate, but a princess - so she didn't participate.

We had Hay Day at school - thus the cowboy/cowgirl pics.

Finally, the cold weather is wonderful. Caleb loves hot chocolate or as he calls it hot cocoa (and he corrects me often). Riley just likes the marshmellows. And, we carved our first pumpkins. We even roasted the seeds. Riley and I liked them, Caleb and Bryan not so much. Fun times.

Well, hope you have a great Lord's day tomorrow - and don't forget to change those clocks. I am sure we'll be up at 5:00 AM. Good night, now, I'd better get to bed early. LOL.

I tried to figure out the captions; I'll keep practicing. Thanks, Amanda.

Farm Trip and others

Well, we just took our second annual farm trip to Beebe Farm. The kids had a wonderful time; and Riley got two rides on the ponies. (I stealthily put her on for a second ride.) Here are a few pics. We missed our friends Ms. Jenny and Ella - sorry I only sent an email invitation and not a personal one or a call. We'll go again next year - it is great fun.

Caleb and I are supposed to go to a different farm tomorrow, but it is raining tonight - so I am not sure if it will be cancelled. I'll let you know next month. Just kidding.

I found many other shots before I ever located farm pics, sorry. Riley's pajama day; Caleb's circus day (a tiger), a Saturday family walk; tower of toys, and fishing with grandpa. I think that's all. I haven't figured out how to put captions; I am sure it is easy, but I am clueless.

Have a great month. :)
sheree

Thanks Amanda for calling me out of the blog dust

Amanda tagged me to list ten of Bryan's favorite things. I'll try, but they change so often. :) I tell him he's a girl or something - mostly though, he's a dreamer - good change from my non-dream life.

I'm tired and have a headache, so I won't add pics as Amanda did - I am not an over acheiver tonight.

However, I did want to mention that I am noticing a two month blog update pattern here - so sorry.

Here goes:
1. Boats (he has wanted one for many years and came so close this summer, not yet.
2. Water (goes with the boat, but really he just loves to watch, listen, fish, boat, etc.)
3. Me (he'd have to since he's put up with me for 10 years. Really, I am thankful to have a husband that adores me, and whom I adore.)
4. Computers (or does he hate them, no I think he secretly loves them; he knows so much about them and enjoys fooling around with them. Good thing, because I don't know much.)
5. Self Improvement - to explain, he is always willing to see his faults and work on them - or improve himself - for example, he is working on his Ph.D, faithful in working out, and looks for ways to improve in every area. I am proud of him.
6. Pink bubble gum ice cream - or any other ice cream (I love this about him; we share a love for Baskin Robbins - or any milkshake)
7. Clothes shopping - I tell him he's a girl - but really he has more style than I, and I am glad that he cares about the way he looks
8. Chinese food - I deal with it because I love him - thankfully he really does adore me and doesn't ask very often.
9. Guy movies (and secretly Romantic comedies) - Thank you, honey. :)
10. Christmas - he loves everything about it and is like a kid just talking and thinking about it only being two months away. How sweet.

Now, I hope that is legible - I really am tired. I now tag Jenny because she is the only other blog I read besides Amanda and Theresa. Good night.

So sorry . . .

I'm so sorry that I haven't been faithful to my blog. I don't think I have many readers, but I love reading Jenny's and Amanda's, so I'll update a bit. We have done so much since that June entry that I couldn't catch up, so I'll write just a few more current items and try to include pics.

We successfully threw a 40th anniversary party for my in-laws.

Bryan and I will celebrate 10 years on Friday, Aug. 8. He will celebrate 34 years of life on the 6th. Big week.

I sewed a dress! Enough said.

We raised a catepillar until we released it as a butterfly. Actually, we lost our first catepillar (he escaped); but we successfully raised the second one. Thanks Corrie for giving us another one.

We are still working on potty-training; going well. Tonight Riley went to sleep without a pacifier (don't know how it will go in the middle of the night when she wakes, but it's a start).

My grandmother was in ICU, and is now out. Please pray for salvation, as she has made it clear that she is okay with dying soon. I'm not so okay with that because I know what happens next. She doesn't believe in heaven or hell as such, just heaven or the next place, I guess.

School begins in two weeks and I have a great assistant whom I am excited to be working with.

I'm now on Facebook, so look me up if you are too. I can't keep up with that either, so don't worry. :)

Funny notes: Caleb has decided to focus on "service" and "slavery" lately. He says that he wants me to serve him or he'll serve us; other times he asks, "What am I, your slave?" Cracks me up.

He and Riley also learned the Ten Commandments. Later in the week we were looking at an old photo album. There was a picture of me with an ex-boyfriend. He didn't say anything then. But later, so innocently, he says, "Mommy, adultery means you only hold daddy's hand, right?" I say, "Yes, baby, God only wants you to hold hands and kiss your husband or wife." He then says, "But I saw you holding hands with another man in that picture." I had to explain that was before I ever knew daddy, and so now I only hold daddy's hands,etc. (Just a question - is it weird for me to have that picture around?)

Riley now grabs anything and runs and throws it behind her bookcase to "hide" it. She actually cheered for me in a public restroom for going potty, saying it "makes me so happy." (These are always my words for her). She was singing one day, "Oh where, oh where could my pacifier be? Oh where, oh where could it be?" (Oh, where, oh, where could that little dog be?) Very creative, I thought. Also, we found the pacifier in the VCR (later we also found a DVD and a wooden peg). And yes, it still works.

One last note about the pics. We bought sparklers. Bad idea for a 2 year old. Riley has burned her hand twice in her life already (iron once - really bad; and a lamp - bad, but not as bad as iron.) Now, she has been burned three times - sparkler. It was burned out and she took off running from us - before we could get it she grabbed the other end. Not so bad this time, but still a burn. That girl . . .

Enough rambling - I've gone on too long, so I'll add some pics now and be done.
Have a great week (or more likely, month :) Sorry about the lack of grammatical correctness, it's late and I don't really care right now - I'm just trying to spill the beans. LOL
sheree

Done and looking forward to the weekend.

Hallelujah, five-squared in an operatic tone. :)I'm done grading until fall - although I am so thankful for the job, and I do enjoy it for the most part - it is time consuming and tiring. Not to mention, we had ceramic tile installed and it took longer than expected. Then Bryan decided to paint the closest before we put everything back in, so my house was a DISASTER for two weeks. I couldn't stand it anymore. Finally, it is back to normal. The kids have been a true test of patience; however, now that I think about it objectively - if I've felt so out of control and chaotic and busy, they must have too. I pray, yes, I pray that they improve quickly. The good thing is, I leave Friday for a girl's weekend in Atlanta. Beth Moore, Kay Arthur, and Pamela ?Shriver? here we come. I can't wait. But, don't let me get ahead of myself. This week is VBS - yes Outrigger Island. I am a wimp this year and begged for the snack and floater position, thankfully, because I've been so busy I might have gone crazy otherwise. Well, going to rest now - I will try to update sooner than later. Chow (I'm watching some Italian show).

Going strong

Well we have been going strong for what: two weeks now? We are having lots of fun. We've visited the butterfly garden, the water fountain pad in Navarre, jumped at the bounce house, and spent lots of time in the pool. Caleb has had two swim lessons so far and he is doing well. Hopefully it won't be long and he'll be swimming laps. ;)
Riley gave us and herself a scare and fell in the pool. Amazing that five adults were right there and yet none of us saw her fall off the step. We were too busy shooting water guns. She was only done a matter of seconds, we assume. The scariest part was she never even tried to fight to swim; she just floated face down. I think she was too stunned to do anything. However, the good news is it only took two or three more swim times and she seems to be over her fear. Yesterday, she was having a blast jumping from the side in a ring and arm floaties. It really has been a great summer; we are really over the baby stage and going out to do things is becoming easier and more fun. They are playing well together, and apart. I forgot that we are reading lots of books thanks to our libraries great summer reading program for all kids. It has been fun to be forced to read a variety of books instead of just dinosaur and farm animals. Caleb is realizing there are other stories out there besides cars, trucks, dinosaurs (the regular boy stuff).

Well, got to go get to work; grading began today, so until later - beat the heat and have fun. We will.

sheree

Uninspired entry (aka, couldn't think of a title)

So, today I stayed home with Riley. It was a nice change. Of course, she was sick and took two naps before lunch, with lots of lazy time in between, so it is no indication of a normal day at home. It's over though, in case you were wondering. We picked Caleb up from school; Riley took another short nap, but no such luck for Caleb. He isn't interested today. When he figured out that we wouldn't be going to church tonight, any chance of a nap was out the window. He always asks if we are "going anywhere tonight?" If we are, he'll nap without much debate; but if we are not, the battle begins. And let me add, that boy is talented. I can lie with him for an hour and he will not fall asleep. I, usually, okay always, do. But when I awake, he is sure to let me know he hasn't and won't be going to sleep. So, I give up. As long as he gives in on days when we have to go out in the evenings, I guess I'm okay. Who am I kidding? I really don't have much of a choice now do I? :)

Well, grading begins tomorrow, so chaos will ensue. My laptop battery is dead, so that is sure to be a challenge - what did I do before the laptop anyway? I am so spoiled by carrying it around while I grade: I can sit in Caleb's room while they play or try to nap (yeah right, as I mentioned above). I can sit outside while they play, but starting tomorrow, the challenge begins. I do enjoy grading, but the logistics are always a challenge: concentrating and getting in a certain number of hours with two children is difficult.

School is wrapping up: we are finished with all major programs, downhill slide if I may.

Spring is heating up to summer, and with gas prices what they are I guess I better get used to a dirty floor. We'll be in the sprinkler a lot this summer ( the back door opens to the living room which is laminate flooring). Every piece of grass, sand (dirt in other states), and dust ends up everywhere.

I am really not complaining, just preparing myself mentally so that I don't have to complain later. :)

Well, it's been fun . . . but the dishes to need to be unloaded and the clothes do need to be put up, oh, then there are the kids who are unsupervised in front of the television.

So, until later . . .
smile
sheree