October is almost over...

I can't believe October is a week away from being over...BUT we are soaking it all in! We've been so busy and this next week will be even busier. So not to get behind in pictures, I'm taking the few minutes I have now during nap time to post. :o)

**If you are seeing this tonight, the pictures are distorted because they didn't downsize automatically. They should be better by tomorrow. Sorry!**

Here is one with the house...I need to get one of it lit up and with our big blow up. Cadi loves these ears and her boots! (Thanks Kelli!)



Pumpkin patch trip #4...I think...(Please excuse the lollipops)

Here they are on the Pumpkin Express! (Jessica, notice Cadi's Jack Skellington clips? ;o)



Playing with Daddy...





I do believe Jon and Cadi are cheating in the hay maze....



Silly girl!



Patch visit 5ish....

Little Jon's favorite part.



Cadi is not so happy...



And little Jon did NOT want to sit in the picture, but he kept pulling a John McCain. LOL!



The best smile I could get.



My sweet babies on the hayride. Little Jon's second favorite part.



On to our themed meals!

These are pancakes!



And I had nice black and orange sprinkles for these pancakes, but I guess the kids think this is all about *them* or something because little Jon insisted on the powdered sugar. *sigh* ;o)





And this is suppose to be scary...worms with blood and eyeballs, but I decided to make it a bit more kid friendly. Like my son needs any reason NOT to eat. Ha!



And last but NOT least...Mother of the Year award goes to me. My son for the first time ever decided he wanted to collect the Halloween toys from Sonic. It started one night I was away on a Ladies Retreat with church and come home to find my son NEEDS all ELEVEN of them. So me, being the Halloween freak I am, decide...ok, we'll see how many we can get during that time. So today...we only needed TWO more, Monster tot and Count Tot-tula. Of course they don't have those two at the Sonic I stopped at for lunch...so we go on to the next Sonic...NOPE...panic sets in as my sweet son's passion for collecting all 11 are starting to fade. Tired I decide to find one last Sonic...I get down with the two I had and explained my dilemna...they weren't certain...they come back with both of them!!! I was so relieved! But lesson learned, I will never again let my son see the 'Collect all 100 while supplies last' insert ever again.



Stay tuned! Next week holds TWO fall festivals, one last trip to the patch, Boo at the Zoo, a Halloween party and of course...Halloween night. I hope you all have a safe and Happy Halloween!!!

Part Two

As a cold front blows through and chili is on the menu, I am looking forward to yet our NEXT trip to the pumpkin patch Saturday. I can't believe we are half way through the month! Sadly, my sweet little girl woke up sick. We've had a clean bill of health for 8 months now, so I guess we were due. :o( I just hope she is well so we can make that planned trip to the patch.

Here are some recent escapades in our lives. :o)

Here is Cadi in the most adorable pillowcase dress made by her Aunt Kristen.



Little Jon with his friend Jace at the pumpkin patch.





With our beloved Aunt Kristen.



My sweet Cadi girl...




Our favorite! SNOOPY!!!



Themed dinner...mummy dogs!



Little Jon trying to decide if he will eat them. *sigh*



Cadi had NO problems. LOL!



Our super cool Halloween countdown calendar! Best investment ever. Little Jon had been asking every night if it was Trick or Treat time. I got this and put it up and now he kind of gets it! :o) (Please excuse the nice clash of the pink wall. HA!)



I told you I'd be back! And I can guarantee there will be more! :o) We just love fall! I hope you all are having a wonderful October! We truly have had a wonderful month with friends and look forward to much more as Halloween approaches. Love to all!

It's the most wonderful time of the year

Yes, it is...I live for that first day of Autumn (Sept.22 at 10:44am central)...my favorite season of the year. The break from the summer heat, that first crisp cool breeze, the crunching of leaves under your feet, pumpkin patches and mostly the smiles from my children as we decorate for the season.

As we made our first trip to the pumpkin patch, I actually teared up. My little boy was so excited as we came over the hill and the patch came into view...It's something I just can't explain.

I just have to show how much my babies have changed in year...

Pumpkin time 2007:



Pumpkin time 2008:



Do you know how hard it is to get a picture of the little girl?



She would only look if I mentioned snacks. :o)



Now to start a traditional picture with Cadi, that Little Jon started 3 years ago...



Little Jon...







I look forward to our next visit to the patch again soon...within the next few days I'm sure. ;o)





We got back and had our first themed dinner...



Unfortuantely, little Jon really thought I cooked up rat and wouldn't eat it until I took it all apart and threw away the parts. **SIGH** HAHA! Cadi ate it up though, did I mention she eats just about anything? Hopefully Little Jon will eat the mummy dogs we have on the list for themed meal of the week this week...I'll keep you posted.

I hope everyone has a wonderful October and expect to get sick of seeing lots more pics from our adventures this month! :o)

Sadly, I am having to make my blog private...

If you'd like to continue to read my blog, please email me your email address so I can add you to my safe list. I hate that I have to do this, but its become apparent I need to. :o(

My email is: aggee99@yahoo.com

PS: New blog coming soon! I promise! :o)

Grandma and the VCR.

Yes, this is me. I've succumbed to peer pressure and joined Facebook. So now, I'm being poked, invited to join groups and install applications, I have no idea what I am doing! LOL! And just when I finally figure out Google reader, Blogspot has an easier one stop version...AHHHH! I'm seriously tempted to ask my 3 year old how to work these things. HAHA! No really, he is scary good on a computer...so is it true, the older you get you lose the ability to understand technology? I am trying to find the time to update, comment, understand and 'poke' friends back...and keep up with the hip cool kids. ;o) But, my kids just keep getting in the way. hehe!

OK...so you know I have to share some recent pics of my babies.

Yes, this is my daughter and yes, she is in the dryer. I cannot turn my back for two seconds...she is so different from her brother it's not even funny.



Cadi doesn't quite get feeding ducks, she throws the bread and then runs to eat it herself. This is one that got away...and it was a pigeon!



Cadi LOVES to read, she will go into her brother's room and this is how I find her. This chair was her Daddy's when he was little.



And last but not least...our favorite thing to do...make fun of Daddy's heart undies. Little Jon and I laugh so hard. I love this kid!



Many hugs and pokes to you all! Hopefully, video professor will come out with a facebook edition.

Mortified.

mor·ti·fi·ca·tion Pronunciation [mawr-tuh-fi-key-shuhn]–noun

1. a feeling of humiliation or shame, as through some injury to one's pride or self-respect.
2. a cause or source of such humiliation or shame.
3. the practice of asceticism by penitential discipline to overcome desire for sin and to strengthen the will.

I have shared this with a few of you and just can't stop thinking about it! So, my son loves chap stick. He is just like his mom. I have this impulse to buy new kinds when I see them ALL THE TIME. I have a trillion. So he has been carrying one in his pocket and his beloved Mickey Mouse carries one in his pocket too.

I had been reluctant for him to take one to school, but Jon convinced me to just let him. So I did and sure enough he didn't come home with it. I was a little upset because it was a more 'expensive' one I bought at Central Market, but no big deal...

Then on Wednesday he comes out with it in his hands. The director of the school was right behind him and asked me if that was his chap stick...I said, 'Yes! He left it on Friday'. She gave me this glare and then sternly said, 'We were wondering whose that was.' She then turned around and walked away. I could understand for the life of me why she would have said it like that. All day I kept thinking about it...

Well, last night, I go and pick up the chap stick. I look at it and upon further detail, I notice the brand name is 'Dirty Girl'. ::insert shock face:: But it gets worse...see for yourself...take notice of the 'y' and 'G'.



So tonight we have a parent orientation and I'm faced with trying to explain my embarassment! Maybe I'll just send him to school on Friday with this one...



So...lesson learned. Stop being so compulsive about buying ANY new chapstick/gloss I find! And look closer at what I buy!!!! ;o)

My favorite NATRUAL/GREEN things.

So almost two years ago, I made a New Year's resolution to be more environmentally friendly and more aware of what surrounds my children. I'm not crazy granola, but I figure a little goes a long way. It actually makes me feel good to try to do little things and know I'm helping my children and the envrionment. Ok, in true top ten fashion, this is for Renee...sorry it took me so long.

10. My favorite vitamins. Nordic Berries. I am so happy little Jon loves to eat his vitamins. My picky boy needs all the extra help he can get!

TIP : You can find them cheaper online.




9. My favorite sunscreen. California Baby! This is really a great two in one! I love anything California Baby really, but this is a really good safe sunscreen and bug repellent.



8. My favorite bags. Envirosax. Stylish and cute! The thing I love about these is how you can pack them all back together so compactly. My car needs all the help it can get. You can find them here.



7. My favorite dishwasher detergent. Seventh Generation.

DISCLAIMER: being the OCD freak about germs I am, I cannot get rid of all my anti-bacterial chemical things. Sorry. I am a freak about raw meats, sick season etc. So I will use them when I need to. Again, not your crazy granola mom. ;o)



6. My favorite brand. Method.

Ok, ok, I know a lot of hard core GREEN Moms have issues with the ingredient Sodium Laureth Sulfates and DEA in *some* of their products, BUT I reiterate, I'm not hard core. I do what I can within our means and concentrate on my children. I do try to avoid triclosan hand washes, unless its all that's available.

I'm really in love with the new Method baby products that just came out in May. I love the way they smell!!! :o)



5. My favorite online toys. www.oompa.com

With the lead scares from China recently, I took inventory of my own toys! Especially since most toys end up in my babies mouth. I mean, who uses or even makes lead paint anymore!?!? So if you are looking for some unique cute toys and don't want to have to do the research...these people have done it for you. :o)



4. My favorite toddler cups. Foogo by Thermos.

BPA free and they keep your child's drink cold or warm for 12 hours!!! We tested them out at Disney in July! They are worth the cost hands down!



3. Ok, so this one isn't one I have done yet, BUT I plan to get started with this once I convince my neighbor to go in with me. It is an amazing concept and being the HUGE veggie lover I am, I am going to give it a shot. Its a coop here in Texas where you buy organic goods and support local farmers. You get a box of produce and it works out to be the same cost of NON organic produce at the store. I'll write a review of this after I take the plunge.

HERE is their website.



2. My favorite on the go hand sanitizer. Clean well.

This product kills 99.9% of germs using plant oils. All natural. Those scared of alcohol based sanitizers or other harsh chemicals for your children, this is an excellent substitute!



And my absolute favorite hands down GREEN thing to do is....Cloth diaper!

1. My favorite Diapers. Fuzzi Bunz.

Ok, I know the task sounds daunting, but it really isn't as bad as it seems. Sure its a little more laundry on top of the huge piles I already have, but I love love love the feel and look of cloth bums. ;o) I am so glad I took the plunge. HUGE shout out to Angela, my good friend who got me started. I think of how much waste we haven't generated and it makes me feel proud!





I encourage everyone to RECYCLE! You can recycle just about everything! From the plastic containers your strawberries come in to your finished plastic shampoo bottles. There is my crunchy post for the month.