The (not so) Great Pumpkin

On Saturday we had breakfast with the Great Pumpkin at the Farmpark along with our friends, Lori, Matt, Sarah, & Matt Jr. If you ask Nolan, he could live without the Great Pumpkin. I can only imagine how he is going to feel about Santa Claus this year.

girls side of the table

boys.....

Everyone enjoyed breakfast until the pumpkin came along. Reagan seemed to not care at all, she was more interested at stabbing (yes, she yelled STABBING as she poked at her food with her fork) fruit and Nolan couldn't get any closer to Bill to get away from her.

We took a wagon ride to the 'pumpkin patch' and picked our own pumpkins. Reagan and Sarah went off on their own little adventure. It just cracks me up how grown up Reagan acts.

Miss Independent insisted on carrying her own pumky. Reagan speak for Pumpkin. She likes to add an "e" to everything these days, just ask Nolee (Nolan.)

We checked out some animals and took pony rides.

Nolan walked right up to a sleeping sheep that was right on the edge of the pen and yelled SOFT and started petting it.

On the way home we saw some pretty sights

.

Quacky & Stinky

I am back in touch with an old high school friend, Paul Lender, (thanks facebook) who happens to take awesome photos. He is doing Halloween portraits in his garage studio and we stopped by last Sunday. If you are interested, check out his company, Left Of Center Photography, and then give him a call or drop him an email to set up your session 440.225.3041 paullender@gmail.com. It is only $5 for a 5X7! In my infinite hunt for a bargain I paid next to nothing for the kids costumes the day after Halloween last year from The Children's Place. When I bought them I intended for Reagan to be the duck and Nolan to be the skunk, but life had other plans. Somehow (no idea how, cough, cough, wink, wink) our stubborn , persistent daughter picked up the nickname Stinky from her Dad. When he calls her that she says "STINKY!!" right back. As for Nolan, besides barking, quacking is his favorite animal noise to make. So it all worked out in the end. photo: Paul Lender, Left Of Center Photography 10-12-08 Nolan & Reagan 17 months

Lots O'Leaves

We hit up another Toddlin' Towards Nature program at the Metropark on Tuesday. Different location posed a different set of challenges though. This whole program was outdoors so there were way too many distractions from the usual schoolhouse setting. The theme was "What Colors Will We Find?" and it was a beautiful day (probably our last of the really warm leftover summer days), so it was fun being outside. Our partner in crime was Grammy. She really had fun. I think she secretly misses working at the school.

Making shapes out of the clay (at least he didn't eat it this time!)

The girl has a promising future in slasher films

Reagan liked helping Mr. Tree shed his leaves Nolan had other things to do

Reagan & Nolan pretending to be trees, swaying in the breeze and losing their leaves

Hey, check out my new teeth :)

The leaves fell from the sky in a flurry

d

Snapshots of Life

We were at Bar Cento the other night for dinner. The kids were enjoying their pizza and I was sipping champagne. It was BC's 1st anniversary so it was cause for celebration. If you've ever tailgated with me, you know bubbles go right to head and give me the warm fuzzies all over. I started to look around at the people around us. It was like taking a picture of each person, couple, group. Click. Couple at bar. They are in a very intense discussion. She is crying. She hides her face behind her long hair. He looks not at her, but more through her, over her left shoulder. Click. Gen X'ers relaxing after a hard days work. Dressed like pages from an upscale emo magazine. They drink wine while they play with an iphone and laugh. Click. The woman next to us. She is waiting and waiting and waiting for others to join her. They are obviously very late and she is not too happy. Reagan gives her a few looks and she smiles, but no conversation. Click Loud table at the end. A group of about 6 having a great time. They seem to be co-workers from Fox8 news since one of them has a camera with a big FOX8 logo on the side. Click Group to our right. A welcoming group as friends come in and pull up chairs. Not part of the original group of diners, but welcomed none the less. They make friends with Nolan and comment on his lady-killing eyes. Click My very own table. My daughter leans into my arm and hugs me. Depeche Mode is playing in the background...."All I ever wanted, All I ever needed, Is here in my arms"......... A fitting song for that very moment. A moment that will become part of my life's soundtrack. Back to the couple at the bar. They are now hugging and she is smiling. In the few minutes it took me to scan the room something changed for her. Did he say the right words to comfort her, makes things right or did she come to some realization about her problems. Who knows, but in a couple of breaths something changed. Today at the grocery store, Nolan was playing peek-a-boo with a lady in a wheelchair. She looked sad, but for a moment she smiled at him and played. Maybe he made the difference in her day today. I was rushing to self check out the groceries because it was verging on nap time for the kids. A bagger came over to help me out and he must have seen the kids were getting antsy and I was starting to move faster. I thanked him and told him it was time for us to go home and he said, just take a breath, its fine. What an amusing idea. Just Take A Breath. We all rush through the day to get to the finish line. Why are we rushing? What is the payoff? Just take a breath and enjoy the world around you. Who knows it might make your day so bright you share the goodness with others and don't even know you are doing it!

Biggest Meltdown.Yet.

Who would think this little guy would be capable of the biggest meltdown/temper tantrum that has happened in our lives in the past 17 months? I have never seen my son so completely beside himself and not be able to do anything for him to change it. It started when we left the store and he grabbed my car keys as I was putting him in his seat. Reagan and Grammy were on the other side of the car behaving nicely. I needed the key to be able to drive and tried to give Nolan something else to play with. Cue the screams. The tears. The throwing. So, I just drove off with him being utterly pissed at me. We were going to lunch and I figured that telling him he would have "soupy", his favorite food right now, would calm down. Not so much. He did stop when we got in the restaurant and saw the fish tank (fishfee's as he calls them.) Then it was time to sit down. Nope, not what he wanted to do. Enter the biggest temper tantrum ever. I even tried to give him the key he wanted earlier while getting him seated and he threw that. Next was a spoon, then his sippy cup. I told my mom to ignore him, get Reagan settled and I was taking Nolan outside. He threw himself on the sidewalk at my feet, screaming and sobbing. By now he was working himself up so much he was almost hyperventilating so we ran back in and told my mom to order lunch for she and Reagan and the boy and I were going for a drive. He took a couple of swings at me, landing one on the left side of my jaw......where the dentist had just dug around that morning. I calmly held his hands at his side as I put him in his car seat. Trying to communicate with him on a normal level at his point was out of the question. The drive didn't matter to him. Still screaming. I went back to the restaurant parking lot and figured I would try once more to calm him down, otherwise he would just pass out from exhaustion and I'd sit in the car until Reagan and Grammy were done with their luncheon date. He tried to sit down in the parking lot again and then he wanted up, still crying. He grabbed my neck, wiped his snot on my shirt, and went limp except for those few gasps from sobbing every once in a while. Out cold. I went inside to find Reagan enjoying a grilled cheese, fries, raisins, pickles, and chicken noodle soup. She and Grammy were having a grand time. Reagan was saying hi and bye to everyone paying their bills at the register behind her. A regular social butterfly. Nolan woke up as if nothing had happened and went on about his day, playing and giggling. This was really hard to see because these two kids have been exceptionally well behaved babies so far. I know this is part of being a toddler and not being able to communicate with words, but they do so well for the most part that this really took me by surprise. I'll be looking for some new strategies to deal with temper tantrums because the approach of ignoring him and letting him go (unless he is putting himself in danger) didn't work so well. Let's hope we outgrow these quickly! What works for you?!?!? An update on my mouth: They think something is stuck below the gum line. He injected some antibiotics in there after giving the area a thorough cleaning. OUCH He also gave me a medicated rinse to try to "calm things down." Once the Novocaine wore off I was in considerable pain. Not fun at all. Mouth pain is just the worst. I would really like to throw myself down on the sidewalk and scream right about now!

Sage's Apple Farm

Here is a slide show of the our trip to Sage's. A good time was had by all and Reagan and Nolan are now eating apples by the bushel!

Ouch

I have a toothache. A really bad one. I told the dentist I was having when I went for my checkup a few weeks ago, but he said nothing seemed wrong. Well, it is and it got worse on Friday afternoon. I go in on Monday but until then he put me on an antibiotic and Darvocet. Why is tooth pain the worst? We are taking the kids to a friend from high school that does photography. I'm putting them in their halloween costumes. The two of them won't sit still for me, so lets hope they do better for Paul! Should be interesting. I've got a lot of great pictures from the pumpkin/apple farm to post, just need some time to work on them!

What Where They Doing?

1 year ago this week, Reagan and Nolan were getting settled in our new house. They sat in their highchairs for the first time, had their first taste of carrots, enjoyed bath time in the new kitchen sink, and their favorite spot was their jungle mat. They look so small and chubby...... and Nolan's cranio wasn't even a blip on our radar (Athough it sure should have been. ) Fast forward 1 year....

The Bug

The stomach bug is making its way through our household. Of course, because I made doctor appointments for the kids, they were feeling better today. I felt better having them get the once over to confirm that Nolan's ear infection is gone (it is) and to check out the lovely diaper rash they each have going. Now it seems to be hitting Bill and I. I'll just take Imodium and move on. What other choice do I have!? Mommies don't get sick time.

Pumpkins, Great Big Ones!

We loaded up the van and headed to Huntsburg for the annual Pumpkin Fest. It was cute and I was reminded of the movie Groundhogs Day. It was in the town square and I'm sure it is exactly the same every year. The first thing the kids wanted to do was climb on the playground equipment. It is the little things that make them happy! We saw some GIANT pumpkins. If the kids could have climbed on them, they would have been more impressed. The first place pumpkin weighed over 1,100 lbs. They did enjoy their balloons a lot.... ...but the best part was the pony ride. We "ponied" up $10 and let them go around in a circle 4 times on a pony. The first thing they both did when they got on their respective ponies was to pet them and say "soft." Bill or I didn't tell them to do that, I guess they are just trained from the cats. Reagan then greeted her pony, Madison, with a loud "Hi!" They both seemed to enjoy the ride and it was over much too soon for Nolan. He had his very first melt-down in public when it was time to get off. Huge round tears rolling down his face. I was sure they would both pass out on the ride home. I was only 1/2 right! It was a beautiful sunny day and it was nice to enjoy it through the eyes of the kids.

Treasures

I put on a pair of jeans I haven't worn since late Spring and in the pocket were 37 freshly laundered dollars. You know I couldn't leave them there for long, so Saturday I went to the kids nearly new sale and spent them (and a few more.) I always pick up things to round out the kids wardrobe's, some books, and sometimes toys. During the spring sale I look for bathing suits and now, in the fall it is boots and snow pants. I hit the jackpot with those this time. I am having so much fun listening to the new things Reagan and Nolan say everyday. We were reading a book this afternoon about a little girl with a stuffed "money" (that is monkey to you) and Nolan can really sing along to twinkle twinkle. It might not all be real words, but he has the tune down. My favorite thing to do is sing the line "like a diamond in the _____" He shouts SKY! He just about melts my heart everyday. Nolan was playing with my cousin Jim the other day and they were looking at boxes of Jell-o. (My aunt stocks up so there is a whole drawer of nothing but jell-o at her house!) Jim would hold the boxes up and tell Nolan what the flavor was, mainly lime. Then he would hold the box up and not say anything and Nolan would yell "LIME!" He was having a good time. Reagan's newest thing is to say "Hi." You answer with "hi" and she says "bye." Over.and over. Bill and I are actually going out to dinner tonight. Alone.I might get to eat my dinner and actually taste the food, instead of shoving bits in between taking care of kids! I'm sure the kids will have fun with Grammy and will be up way past bedtime, but that is what babysitter nights are for! Helping Mommy clean. Reading with Aunt Connie (or Cahkneeee as Nolan says) Enjoying some chocolate pudding

Sonic

If you've ever travelled in the South, there is a decent burger chain called Sonic. We've had it in Dallas and it was good. They are moving northward and opened one about 40 minutes from our house. My mom is on vacation this week so we took a drive to see if it was as good as the ones we had in Dallas. Must have been the memory of sitting on Uncle Bob's patio, wearing Crispy Creme donut hats (don't ask), eating Sonic, swimming and drinking all afternoon. It was good, but not anything special. They do serve tator tots which is a plus. I also had a caramel shake that was pretty tasty. The burger. Eh. I think in Dallas I had something like a chicken fried chicken sandwich. I see on the menu that they have a "local favorites" spot so that must be a "local" thing. On our local menu was a hickory smoked burger. I get enough hickory smoked stuff from our smoker, so, no thank you. Mmmmm...tater tots with cheese! More please :)

Craft Time

Grammy, Reagan, Nolan, and I set out to make some candy corn people for Halloween fun. It was a good time, although we didn't make as many as I'd have liked. Little attention spans needed to get moving.

Before you think I really went Martha Stewart on you, this was a kit I bought. Everything pre-cut and sticky. No glue, no mess, no fuss. The only issue was that the eye and mouth pieces were very appealing to Reagan and Nolan's mouth. We had to keep a close count on the pieces. As I told Nolan, I do not want to see one of those eyes anyplace but on these candy corns in a couple of days.

Mommy, this is really sticky stuff!

Maybe I'll move the mouth a little to the left!

Waiting for Grammy....

Nolan's masterpieces

Reagan's beauties!