Day 273

Trick or treat...


I have noticed that L has been absent from my blog lately so here are two of her! This costume was so cute, but piling all that hair to fit into the wig required some additional engineering.
Such a cutie pie.
C got to wear his costume three times this year and I really thought he was going to sleep in it. It even had headlights and made race car noises when you pushed a button near the waist.
We put black lights around the door again this year.
And I bought another set of pumpkin lights to round out the set. All the trick-or-treaters were impressed with our decorating so T gave himself a pat on the pack for a job well done!

I picked up this pumpkin a couple weeks ago when I was out with M at a pumpkin patch for a shoot. I refused to let them carve it until last night so we didn't end up with a rotten pumpkin on our front porch. As it was, the pumpkin had gone a bit beyond it's prime so T wasn't able to roast the seeds like he usually does. It didn't smell very nice either so T put two of my pumpkin pie candles in it and all of a sudden, the front porch smelled delicious!

No pic of M tonight as it had already gotten a tad too dark and she wasn't all that up for a pic in her costume anyway. Ugh...pre-teens! lol.

Day 272

Unlikely hero...

Who knew beneath the highlighted hair and Abercrombie tees hid a football fan? It all started with the superbowl. We watched the Colts beat the Bears and her interest in Peyton Manning was piqued.
Next came his hosting Saturday Night Live with Carrie Underwood and then the commercials, "Pep Talks with Peyton Manning" and that was it, a hero was born...errr, marketed. She credits those commercials with teaching her the right way to throw a football. "Wipe the windshield, elbow your brother, and flick the booger." Words to live by.
How ironic is it that above all the clothes from Limited Too, Justice, Abercrombie and Hollister this jersey is the most expensive shirt in her closet? Scary.

Day 271

Time management...

With so much going on lately, the house and it's occupants are starting to wear at the seams. I have decided it is time to work smarter and hopefully spend much less time in front of this computer. For the time being, I am only responding to e-mails twice a day and proofing only for the first half of the day. The rest of my time will be spent on things like laundry and spending time outside enjoying this gorgeous weather of late. I will still be taking at least one pic on a daily basis (or as close to daily as possible), but it may take me longer to get them uploaded.

Day 270

I love it when...

Daddies tickle and
mommies giggle.
It makes for some really happy kids. So don't forget to be goofy with your kids sometimes. While we are trying to raise them to be polite and socially acceptable, they can still remind us how freeing it is to be ourselves.

Day 269

Play ball!...

Today was the kids' last games of the season and it was as bittersweet as you would expect. The girls got their medals and were in really good spirits because...
they won their last game! YAY! They have all improved so much including my muffin who can't wait to start back in the spring.
Next up was C's last game and by the time I got there, they were on their last set. His coach had called him up to play and he was deep in the *woods* playing. After I dragged him back to the field, he wanted nothing to do with the game....ugh! So, to get him interested I did exactly what his father's mother would do... I bribed him! I told him I would pay him 5 bucks to get in there and run like a crazy boy.
Looks like it worked cus he actually kicked the ball out of a jam-up on the field and even kicked it in the right direction! Go C! If this is what it takes to motivate him, kickball could prove to be very expensive!

After the game, it was time for the party at the park wtih medals and trophies and pizza. I had to get a picture of him with his main squeeze!

Day 265-268

S.N.A.F.U. (Situation Normal, All Fowled Up)....

Sorry I have been MIA for a bit. While I would like to say it is because I was busy proofing (which I should have been), I was bogged down with my computer disaster. That is the story of the week, folks. I bought a new external hard drive last week because I was filling up space faster than I could back up and was moving some older sessions to it when we had a power blip. No problem, I have a battery back-up, right? Wrong. I found out the hard way that it was defunct. Great. I lost some files in the blip so I bought a file recovery program and it brought everything back good as new and saved it to the new drive. All systems go, right? WRONG! The new drive went bad on me...OMG. So I run the recovery software again hoping for a miracle, but I had used up all my luck. Some of the files had been written over in the 36 hours of ignorant bliss I was enjoying. Nothing vital was lost, but still...ARGGGH. Tuesday we went out and bought a new battery back-up, new external hard drive and a spool of 100 dvds so I can back up. As if that wasn't bad enough, I try to check a couple things on my website and realize that a ton of stuff is missing. THIS IS IT, I say, I QUIT! In the middle of typing an e-mail to the website host, all the info is restored. I guess it just so happens they were doing an update at the EXACT moment I was logged on, what are the chances? The rest of the week I have been going through all the recovered files and re-organizing them since they are recovered in no particular order. Hopefully now I am ready to get back to work!

The culprit drive...
The solutions...*fingers crossed.*

Day 264

Meg 4 Prez!!!...

Let the hand-shaking and baby kissing begin! My little muffin has decided to get involved in politics by running for class president. There are also about 40 other kids running too, but none are as cute or personable as mine and I am in NO WAY biased...lol. Can I just say, GOD BLESS VOLLEYBALL? This kid has changed so much since she started playing. She is confident and outgoing and fearless...everything a kid like her should be. First stop, the 5th grade. The next, the White House! Meg for President!

Day 263

A lesson in before & after...

The kids wanted to make a spider cookie with the chocolate chip cookie dough this afternoon. Daddy gave it the old college try, but chocolate chip is a little different than sugar cookie dough as you can see by...
The end result. Before it was a live spider and after baking, it looked like one that had been squashed! And keeping with the lesson, this is what happens after the sugar rush...
hanging from street signs!!! The cul-de-sac was littered with ride-ons and bikes and balls, but no way man! They wanted to climb, climb, climb!

And who's kid started it, you wonder? Why mine of course!

Day 262

Mommy time...
I feel like I have been going 90 miles an hour the last several weeks and I really needed to slow down and spend some time with my kids. I didn't schedule any sessions or weddings this weekend but I did manage to squeeze in a soccer team as a favor. I turned my phone off and enjoyed my kids various games this morning. I will be back hard at work on Monday, but for the next two days, I am mommy and mommy only.
I was sitting in a really bad spot to get pictures today so maybe next week, I will sit closer to the middle. I did manage to get this one of M though. Too bad the net goes right across her face. We have enjoyed volleyball and will miss it this winter.
Today was not a good day on the field for C. He still isn't up to fighting form yet and even curled up in an office chair and fell asleep after we got home. I hope he is feeling better next week for his last game and party.

M spent the night at one of her friend's house last night and she wanted to come and watch her play volleyball this morning. Lucky R, she got to watch C on the soccer field too. Isn't she cute? She & M could pass for sisters with their big glue eyes and freckles. M has made some terrific new friends this year and this is one of them.

Day 261

Technology...

T got this in a couple days ago but tonight was the first time we actually got to use it. With weddings all over the place and not being able to rely on googlemaps or mapquest all the time, this was becoming more a necessity than a toy. It's pretty nifty.

Day 260

Party at the park...

So it wasn't a "party" per se, but some of the moms in C's class arranged a little get together today after school at the park. Since C had been couped up at home for the past two days, I thought he should go and get some fresh air even if it was just for a few minutes.

Cut to two hours later and it was time to bring my filthy boy home and put him straight in the bath tub. But you know, in the two hours we was outside, I don't think I heard him cough once. Fresh air, the miracle drug.

Day 259

My little punkin...

I was doing a quick light check for a session tomorrow and little man was still home sick so he agreed to model for me. He is THE cutest thing.
Just look at that face!
Loving the pumpkins! Can't wait to use them tomorrow night! Look out, Holly!
Again...my little super model!

Day 258

Sick day...

C's teacher told me that he hadn't been feeling well when I picked him up yesterday and sure enough when we got home, he had a fever and had lost his voice. His cough is terrible and he sounds like Kermit the Frog when he talks which he says hurts...I know that feeling all too well.
We knew that the Transformers movie was coming out on dvd today and Daddy thought it was the perfect sick day activity so went out this morning and got it.

We have been having a rough time keeping his fever down, but we know the drill. Just like daddy, we go through this once a year and it's usually round about the same time too. Poor little guy. He just loves his daddy and his Dobie.

Day 257

Chillin...

No vball tonight because the weather was bad so we decided just to hang out at home. M was laying on the couch after about 90 minutes of homework watching Dancing With the Stars. Watching her, I was struck by how much she is growing and changing.
Her smile just melts my heart. We have been blessed with this child who's heart never ceases to amaze me. I know I am her mom, but her ability to love and to forgive so easily are traits I wish I had more of. She is kind and innocent and it is our job to protect that for as long as we can.

Looks like it's time for another pedicure. It's so funny, her feet are like little copies of mine except for her big toe which is just like daddy's.

Day 256

My new baby "sister"...

Well, last night in the company of my kids, my parents went out and bought this little princess, Abby. I am sure that Auntie Molly will love her to bits once she recovers from the complete jealous breakdown.
M just fell in love with her and she of course slept with her last night too.
So stinkin cute...
She made friends with L too in the few minutes M was willing to part with her.
C was actually a little upset at the pet store because Abby was in a kennel with her brother who seemed upset when they took her out. He thought that the other puppy was crying because he wanted his sister back, which made C start crying and questioning the whole process. On the flip side, when asked if he would be sad if someone took one of his sisters, he shook his head "no". HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Day 255

Another wedding...

Yep, today was another Saturday packed with sports & weddings. I didn't bring my camera to any of the games because it was at home charging for this wedding.