Is it really November?

I know. It seems like I say that every month, but really, where does the time go? Halloween done? Thanksgiving up to bat? Christmas REALLY just around the corner? Not to mention the slew of birthdays we have coming up - it really is birthday season in this house! But we LOOOOOVE birthdays, so that really is icing on the holiday season cake.

And don't tell my hubby (who is decidedly against Christmas carols before Thanksgiving), but I had the Christmas cd's going today

:)

So, I actually had the camera out this weekend (I know, amazing, right?) and thought I'd share some.

First up is Toby being silly this morning...sometimes I wonder whether his Real Name is Linus.

Funny story about that...he watched It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown in the week before Halloween. He didn't seem too enthralled with it, but watched it nonetheless. So this week we had to run into Walgreens, and while we were standing in line, Toby and Lucy were just staring at all the big Christmas inflatables in the windows. One of the inflatibles was of Snoopy on his doghouse, with Christmas lights on the doghouse...Toby got all excited and said "I saw that guy in my movie!!!" LOL!

Oh, and of course I have to share the Halloween bounty...and no, Lucy's face is not messy from candy...it's s'mores...mmmmmmm


(Toby did not like the s'mores. If I hadn't birthed him myself I'd think he weren't my son. Who doesn't like s'mores???)


Toby doesn't take naps anymore...instead he has quiet time in his room. He's usually pretty good about playing quietly with his toys, and sometimes even lays down for a nap of his own accord. Well, today when I told him he could come out, he could barely get the words out but I think I head "I made my family! Come see!"

So I go in to see what he's all worked up about and was over the moon about his artwork!!!
He told me who each figure was...don't ask me where the sheep came from. We do not have a sheep. We are not planning on getting a sheep. But in Toby's family portrait, there is a sheep.

And for some odd reason, I decided today would be a good day to start working on Lucy's 2 year portraits. I had a new dress for her and a new backdrop and wanted to see how they looked together - I wasn't really expecting to get anything decent, as it wasn't the right time of day for the light I need, but wanted to play around with my fav lens!

I was pleasantly suprised with some decent shots. I still have some other places/ outfits I want to try, but it was fun to play. And I think I need Daddy's help getting her to smile/ look in the right general direction. Of course, it would have helped had Toby not been throwing fits because he wanted HIS pictures taken. I told him to go put on some nicer clothes and I'd take his picture. He came out in sweat shorts and a too-small baseball jersey. LOL. I did get some pics but haven't had those up to process yet, so I'm not posting any of those.

Anyway, these were some of Lucy's that I played with a little.


The last one is my favorite but I'm still SO mad that I cut off the top of her head! You can't even see her headband! All the other shots from above were either out of focus or she wasn't looking at me...and I even had a smile here! GAH!

Anyway, I think the kids had some fun playing photo shoot, so I hope they will put up with some more shots in the coming weeks...I'm thinking this was the first of many.

Lucy's been talking up a storm lately too...she's now talking in 4-5 word sentences. And she's usually very clear in what she's saying! It blows me away most times...Toby definitely didn't talk like this at 22 months! Oh lordy, what will she be talking like at 13? I shudder to think... :P

Tonight I was planning to make a pizza for dinner. I thought it would be fun, I would get both kids helping...cleaned off the kitchen counter so we had plenty of room..and Toby decided he did NOT want pizza. Threw a fit at the mere thought. So plan B, I had a frozen ravioli bake ready to toss in the oven, the kids love ravioli, so I did that. When it came time to eat, Toby was sure he was getting both pizza and ravioli...I could NOT get it through his head that when he said he didn't want pizza, I didn't make pizza. He then threw a fit that the ravioli had cheese sauce when he wanted tomato sauce! I can't win! Lucy was excited at the prospect and dug in, but then she decided she didn't like it. Toby wouldn't touch it until he figured out that there was no candy for dessert unless he ate some ravioli, so he tried it and proclaimed it "yummy". Lucy didn't touch the rest of hers until she saw big brother getting candy, then she managed to choke it down so she could get candy too.

It was an awful lot of fighting on their part through dinner, but both managed to clean their plates. I guess we chalk this one up as a win?

Happy Halloween!

Sorry for the belated post, but things have been rather crazy around here lately. The goal for today is to get the Halloween pumpkins OFF the porch. In fact, I'm going to do that right now...be back in a minute...

Ok, THAT nasty job out of the way and trash to the curb, Diego is entertaining the children, so I have 20 minutes to get this finished up.

Halloween was a big day here! Toby was super excited and was counting down the days. Saturday morning Michael's, the big cradt store, had a craft for kids so I took Toby and Lucy stayed home for time with Daddy. Toby had a great time decorating his bucket, and made a couple little crafts...and it was all FREE! Then we came home for lunch and naps.

After nap and a quick run to the store, we headed to a friend's house for a Halloween party - and if there's any way to get Toby excited, it's a party! There were several families from church there, and tons of kids...it was a fabulous Halloween party! We had hamburgers and hot dogs off the grill, margaritas for the moms and dads, and then a group Trick or Treating, which was a blast. Toby and Lucy had a great time, though Toby got so tired he eventually gave up and just wanted to be carried. Lucy wouldn't quit Trick or Treating, no matter how tired she was.

Lucy ended up wearing her cheerleader costume - it was way too hot for the plush skunk costume we had! And Toby finally got to wear his skeleton costume!




Everyone had a wonderful time and I can't believe we're well into November already! Where is the fall going? The mornings are chilly here and you can fill the nip of winter on his way. It's time to start thinking Thanksgiving, and dare I say it? Christmas. Yikes!

I am trying to finish up a slew of projects before Christmas. I just finished the bulk of the knitting on Toby's Christmas vest...I have the front and back done and together, just need to do the ribbing around the neck and armholes. Next up is Lucy's Christmas dress! And I have to have those done before any pictures!

Conversations with a 3 year old

Toby: How do you make Raisin Bran?
Mommy: Well, you take bran and smash it to make flakes and then you put in raisins.
Toby: How do you make raisins?
Mommy: You take grapes and lay them out in the sun, and when they get all dried up and wrinkly, they turn into grapes.
Toby: How do you make grapes?
Mommy: You plant a seed and a grapevine grows, and the grapes grow on that.
Toby: Do we have any grapes?
Mommy: No.
Toby: Well, you better grow some.
Mommy: It's not the right time of year to grow grapes. It's getting too cold outside.
Toby: Well, you better go to the store and buy some then.

He really cracks me up sometimes.

Wet Weekend

This is the one weekend at the zoo I look forward to all year long...Boo and the Zoo...a two day event with games and musicians/ magicians/ clowns and all sorts of fun for the kids...and with our season pass, that makes it a free extra-fun day at the zoo. So I've been planning this trip for probably 2 months now. It's a Saturday/ Sunday event...I really preferred to go on Saturday, as Sunday gets full quite fast, but the weather report was sketchy for Saturday. Calling for showers, but warm weather, and they said several times it wouldn't be a washout of a day. So Curtis and I decided we don't mind getting a little wet, we'd take umbrellas and rain jackets, and we'd have fun no matter what.

That was before Toby had his vote.

So this is a Halloween/ costume event. Lucy's costume for this year is a skunk, but that is a warm fleece costume, so I pulled out her little NC State cheerleader outfit (got it for super cheap last year on clearance) and dressed her up. Toby was adamant he was not wearing his costume, so we said, fine, you don't have to, and packed up for the zoo.

It wasn't raining when we got there, which gave us a little time to play games and look around before the rains came...and when it rained, it poured. Lucy loved her rainjacket and ran around in the rain having a grand time. But Toby...well, Toby was not in a happy go lucky mood. He refused to put up his hood, he refused to get out of the stroller to look at animals, and he refused to have the stroller hood over his head...so he pretty much sat in the rain and got soaked. By the halfway point it was time for lunch, but the rain was really coming down, so we decided to pull the plug, make for the car, and find a bite for a lot cheaper in Asheboro. Poor Toby was so cold at this point his lips were blue, but we found some dry clothes for him and he was better soon. But it really was a washout of a day, and what's worse, I didn't even see the special exhibit of African Violets that I was really looking forward to seeing! Bah.

Here are some pics...the first is from earlier this week when Toby climbed in the crib with Lucy...they had a grand time of it :)

Lucy the cheerleader

Toby's Halloween shirt
Lucy loved the turtles
Exploring the zoo
Playing games
And watching the sea lions (the both loved them!)
Anyway, we pulled out of the zoo and the sun came out (no joke). We talked about going back after lunch, but Toby was pretty cold so we decided to pass, and by the time we got home it was raining again anyway. Today has been a quiet day around the house.

Toby is pretty excited about Halloween so I'm really hoping for nice weather next weekend!

It's Pumpkin Time!

It's official, fall is here when we've hit up the pumpkin patch!

Apologies again, the pictures are in backwards order since Blogger hates me :P

So first up, the last thing I did yesterday, pumpkin seeds! I did two batches, one with butter and salt, and one with butter, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and cloves. Yum!

Our pumpkins - this one Curtis carved -

And this is the one I did -
Lucy loving the precarved pumpkin (or punk-y, as she calls them)
Toby and the little pumpkin
Pulling out the guts

The family at the pumpkin patch!
I think this is the only picture with 2 kids looking at the camera!
Toby has grown so much - these pumpkins used to look huge next to him and now they look so small!


A couple weeks ago we painted the pumpkins from Grandpa and Grandma M.
I've been busy sewing - this is Toby's new fleece vest

We've been super busy, and this is the second time this month that I've even put pictures on the computer! It's cold but beautiful outside today and if I can get my headache to subside maybe we'll get out and enjoy this weather some.

Hope you're having a gorgeous October!

Fall Days are Upon Us

Perhaps you have known that I've pretty much fallen off the face of the earth. Or perhaps you've been busy as well and not checking in. Either way I'm working on an update.

Sorry no pics this post. I haven't had the camera out much of late...just busy and the kids make silly faces anyway that are only cute the first time or two...after that it's just aggravating.

So Autumnfest was last week, I had a booth with some friends and sold some of my knitting. I had been putting off a lot of projects for after Autumnfest so the last week has been really busy getting some sewing done for the kid's fall wardrobes. So far, I've finished 2 sweatshirts and a fleece vest for Toby and a Halloween dress for Lucy. I have two more jumpers cut out and ready to sew for Lucy. I am also working on Waldorf dolls for my kids and 2 others, and several knitting projects so I am just super busy right now! Fall was my busiest time last year too.

The kids? They are good. Lucy is pseudo-potty training. She loves to use the potty, just won't tell us that she has to go. But several of her cloth diapers are wearing out, and I'm thinking I'd rather potty train than buy new diapers for her, so we may be heading that way soon. She is full of new words everyday. Her favorite show right now is Dancing With the Stars...I often get my fix via hulu and she loves to watch with me! THen of course, she has to do her own version of the dances... She's been following big brother around like a puppy dog, wanting to do everything he does, which irritates him to a certain degree...but at the same time if she's distracted he tries to get her attention back on him! She's always climbing on things and I fear her days in the crib are limited as I've caught her climbing out of her pack in play several times and have caught her with one leg over the crib in the mornings. I'm trying to put off the inevitable as long as possible, but one of these days we'll have to convert her crib to a toddler bed...and I dread the day.

TOby...well, Toby. He's constantly in need of some attention and is trying to keep me from getting this post done right now. Which is one of the main reasons I have trouble typing anymore...no one around here likes to see me pay attention to anything but them! But that's another paragraph. Toby is learning more songs and rhymes everyday. He only has to hear one twice to sing it right back to me, and his pitch is pretty good as well! I don't know how well 3 year old's typically sing, but he sure impresses me! He can write his name, recognize a lot of letters (how many depends on the day), and even recognized the word STOP on the microwave over the weekend! We had never showed him what that button said...he figured it out on his own! He also told his first joke last week...we were getting shoes on to leave the house and he walked over, took a long, pointed look at my bare feet and said "Mama, I like your shoes!"...then busted out laughing. LOL. He totally cracks me up some days!

Well, they are tearing the house apart right now trying to get me away from this post, so I will wrap up and will try to post pics later this week. If nothing else, we are heading for the pumpkin patch this weekend and I know I will be camera happy then!

Autumnfest in Review

After months of prep work, Saturday was the big day - our local craft festival! I was not on my own - a couple friends and I went in together, and I was really happy with how I did.

These are some of the things I had up for sale:












The hats did well, so I know to keep up with those.

Now it's time to start thinking about Christmas!