Halloween 2008

Let me start by saying that I have many pictures to share with you and hope you enjoy them.

Last night we carved our pumpkins. We did 3 of them. The girls really enjoyed digging out the "guts" and picking out their patterns and for Malorie and Lucy that is about all they cared about. Jasmine did an excellent job tracing the pattern and cutting out the design on her pumpkin. Darren, thank goodness really likes to do pumpkins and I must say is very good at it. I did half of Lucy's and he did the rest and he also helped Jasmine finish hers. She did not realize that she had picked one of the most difficult patterns to do. They all turned out awesome. Malorie's is the face, Lucy's is the cat and Jasmine's is the house.

Today we started getting ready for Trick or Treating at 11 in the a.m. and finally finished up at 2 in the p.m. It is a lot of work to get four children ready on any regular day and on special days it is a lot of work and then some. In the end it was and is always worth it. We started our candy adventure at 4 in the p.m. on Walnut St. where the local businesses all participate. I, sadly, did not have a stroller at that moment so was carrying Kennedy as we walked. Then out of no where, a knight on a white horse, or should I say a sexy man in a green Rodeo drove up and pulled out this beautiful double stroller and saved my acheing back and tired arms. While we were there we saw some of our friends and the girls got to sit in a fire truck. We continued our candy adventure till about 5:30 and went back to my grandma's house where we would then continue , but not before eating some pizza. We walked block after block after block after, well you get where that is going. One of the houses had made a Haunted house and they even went so far as to have a scary side and a not so scary side. Well, of course we did the not scary side since we have smaller children. Just to assure you, Kennedy stayed at my grandmother's with her and my mother. It was fun, not too scary, however Lucy did cry at one point and I am not sure if it was the people or the strob light that freaked her out more. We kept walking and walking and finally made it back to granny's at about 9:30. Yeap...9:30. Needless to say but I will anyway, our feet hurt, children were cranky and exhausted. I think we probably have about 5 punds of candy if not more. Lucy even scored a small pumpkin, which we thought was pretty cool.

So we are home and everyone is crashed out except me. I thought it wise to write my story while it was still fresh on the brain. I hope all of you had a funfilled Halloween, I know we did and I can only hope that the kids will be exhausted enough to sleep until about 10 in the a.m. Oh and as you saw we did get Jasmine's hair dyed and I must say I am fond of the color. I know she will be sad to watch it wash down the drain, but it won't be too long before she is 16 and dying her hair all sorts of crazy colors...I can't wait. Goodnight!

My Family

I would just like to state that

I LOVE MY FAMILY!

Plain and simple, straight to the point. That's all I've got today.

Peace

Just Because

So I thought I would put up a video so I hope it works ok. It is of Kennedy and Ladybug on an average day of staying at home. You have also noticted a ton of pictures, some recent some not. Enjoy. Things are going well here. The leaves are changing and we actually had to turn our heat on. I love fall and the crispness in the air. The girls are all doing well also. Today was Malorie's turn to take snack for her class so she took popcorn balls, individual bags of Cheetos and Candy Corn. Yum-Yum. Jasmine has her performance with show choir tomorrow at an assisted living home. She is nervous, but is going to do awesome. We went to Walmart and got the girls' Halloween costumes. Last year my aunt made them and the cost turned out to be the same so this year we just decided to purchase. Jasmine will be dying her hair for the first time this halloween, rockstar red. She is REALLY excited about that and I am as well. It is a temporary color and suppose to wash out, but I think we have all probably had an experience with "temporary" color. It pretty much stays a long time.

I just had a birthday on the 16th, I turned the big 30. How depressing! I told Darren my life is half over..lol. I really missed my friends in Idaho that day, sat in bed and watched a complete season of 30 Rock on the computer. No need to worry, I promise I fed children, changed diapers and made sure they were safe about every 5 minutes. I also realized that when I wrote the we're home blog, it was around the full moon. I am a firm believer in la luna making people a little crazy. Have been for years and am sure will never stop. Thank all of you for your kind words of encouragement. That means alot. Sarah you are right, that hour is ROUGH! I shall go for now. Have a fabulous day everybody!

We're home

I will make this short and probably not very sweet. How is it that when a few of your children are gone for the biggest part of the day can come home and start this amazing whirlwind of chaos in a matter of seconds. Everyday my two oldest children go off on their way to learn and be taught things that I am sure I can not teach them. Everyday they come home and the chaos begins. I'm thirsty, I'm hungry, climbing on counters, entering rooms without knocking, constant fighting between siblings who have not seen each other all day, whining, crying, just complete CHAOS! What in the world happens from the time they get off that bus to the time they walk in the front door? I would just really love to know. My patience is tested daily from the hours of 4pm to 6pm. Right now, Malorie and Lucy are fighting and screaming and I hear banging, oh wait, I am going to tell on you, now the ever so predictable cry and screams and stomping of feet. Lucy delivers the tattle of Malorie leaving the zone which she was put in and now I must go. Any ideas on what happens or how to fix this frustrating time of day....I am all ears.

Fall is fun

So the last few weeks have been very educational for me. I have recently learned to can things and make homemade applebutter with a kettle and fire. Doing the applebutter almost made me feel like a witch at times, stirring the pot while the steam rolled out of the top and the smoke from the fire beneath, children running around screaming as if they might get tossed in. Applebutter has been a family tradition of ours since I can remember. My papaw use to make it when I was a wee child. My cousins and I would run around playing and screaming while the adults stirred and gabbed and shared wonderful stories. Yesterday was no different for us. We begun at 9 in the morning and finshed up around 9 that night. We peeled apples until our fingers were stained and our hands felt as if we had carpeltunnel. Then we proceeded downstairs to the kettle where we would spend the next five to six hours constantly stirring, making sure that the wonderful sweetness we were creating never stuck to the kettle. As we were outside enjoying ourselves thoroughly, I sprung the question, "Isn't is suppose to be kind of chilly outside when we make applebutter?". The answer was what I thought it was suppose to be, an obvious yes. As I looked at my dad with my big blue eyes, I said, " dad, the high today is 82 and we have a FIRE going." Yes, I love to state the obvious. Now, granted it was very hot while we were doing this but it was still a wonderful experience. I was learning something important. My father told me that this was his and mom's last year canning and doing applebutter because they are getting too old. It was time for us kids to learn how to do this stuff. I must say I am very glad that I did. The end result is delicious and not only did I learn how to make applebutter I also learned a little patience yesterday, which is sometimes hard to come by as a mother. Now I have something to pass to my children when they are older and they can pass as well.