Halloween Parade- not so lame

Ok, so we skipped the Trunk or Treat at the church tonight. We were tired and thought we would go do something with a little less candy.
We made our way downtown to the Annual City Halloween parade. We chose our seats near the end of the parade with very little people and it was perfect. Did I mention it was awesome weather and we were all content in short sleeves and shorts?

Sadly this was the first parade we had ever taken the kids to. They loved it! Also as it turns out there was a ton of candy. Every attraction driving/ walking by threw candy at the kids. We were not prepared for this and had no bags to put it all in. We filled the Diaper bag and Daddy's pockets to the brim! K was enthralled by all the passer by's and they of course were all smitten with her adorableness. S had fallen asleep just as we had arrived but woke up during one of the School bands passing by. He had a great time and was content to just sit in the stroller and take it all in.

This is something that I think we will do again. We had mixed feelings about this at first with the unusual Trick or Treating tradition and what we assumed would be a lame parade. Surprisingly enough - this was fun.
I didn't get any pictures because I left the memory card at home - but next time.
C and I have even wondered if they do other parades throughout the year - we might actually attend those too.

Twas the night before Halloween

and we went Trick or Treating.
We had a lot of fun and the kids are even more excited that tomorrow is parties and a parade at school and then Trunk or Treat at the church building.
Two nights of Halloween festivities is weird for mom and dad, but the kids really enjoy it.
Here are some pics from our fun night out.

Cutest Ladybug on the Block!

Everybody Loved this Spidey!

Divalicious!

Storm Trooper out of Disguise....

Crunching Leaves

Truly the best Hannah there was

Our sweet Baby K

Just before we left the house

normal again

Ok, so here I was composing a post about how my life is back to a regular schedule and somehow it ended up being a stinky letter to a newspaper type columnist that complains about how nobody helps me with the stuff around the house. After reviewing it, I decided to scrap it and leave my complaining to the pages that have now been erased.

So really, there isn't anything fun or amazing happening today, but it's quiet in my house and my mind is left to hear my own thoughts.

S is standing next me having just sat on a balloon wanting to pop it. It did and now he wants me to put it back together. Hmmmm, this could be a difficult task. Here, have a piece of candy instead.

Halloween is just a few days away and I'm still contemplating the activities that we will do. I really just want for this day to be over quickly and for it to be Thanksgiving. Both C and I do not like Halloween - it is our least favorite day, we do it just for the kids - maybe we'll start a new tradition of just having a Halloween Party and forgetting the rest.

The cold air is moving in and has quickly left the warm days behind us. It feels as though the snow could arrive anytime. I'm not ready for the next five months of bitter cold and snow, but I really do like living in the midwest. C has just signed an extension with the Baseball team so we are locked in for 5 years. Fine with me. Little C is talking about his desire to stay here until he is 18. We'll see. C has officially had a promotion at work. No longer an Asst. GM for the baseball team he is the VP and Chief Marketing Officer for the Company that owns the team.

K is talking more and more, I love her little sounds. Hard to believe our little baby is two weeks shy of being 6 months old. I'll be turning 31 next month - not sure if I should feel depressed about it or not. I hear C making jokes already - watch it mister cause you're older than me...

As I was making my usual weekly walk around the house to wipe the walls down, I found this one. I wonder which child drew this? Oh wait! She wrote her name.


C and I have been talking about Christmas already. We are playing around with the idea of taking the kids to Minneapolis and showing them around and then a little fun at the Mall of America. It's about a 6 hour drive but it would be manageable if we left at 6pm and arrived when the kids were sleeping.

Now I'm just rambling.

Sigh.

I guess this is what I call normal.

What the Cheese?!

So while I am blogging today I am being interrupted for everything, which as a mom is totally expected. S came to me and asked if he could have some cheese. I of course said that it was fine and by the time I made it to the kitchen he had found the cheese. Not the slices, not the sticks - but the rest of the block we had in the fridge.
Then C after helping himself to a cheese stick came to me and told me how it wasn't fair and how he wishes he was S cause he gets to eat the bigger cheese. Really? it isn't even Noon and this is my day so far... I love my Kids!!

S and the highly coveted Cheese Block

The first bite!

And a Cheese stick.. At least we know that even though they are sick that runny poop will not be an issue.

C trying to reason with me about the cheese block. I also believe that he has worn this shirt for 3 days straight. Grandma sent it for his birthday and it is a favorite!

Training Pants

Here is a list of things that you can do with Training Pants when your 2 year old refuses to wear them.

1. Put them on the Baby's head
2. Put them on Daddy's Head
3. Throw them on the floor
4. Put them in the sock drawer

So nice to know that it was a waste of money.
Who knew that nothing would be preferred over anything.

If you haven't guessed already, we are trying to Potty train S.
I say trying cause he will pee in the toilet for Everyone BUT me. and by everyone I mean anyone that is not me. :)

Pumpkins!

Ok - so we skipped the pumpkin patch this year. The kids are all sick and with the high winds and cold air - we decided to act like responsible parents and opted for the pumpkins at the local grocery store. I know, sounds way fun and you are probably jealous, but please try and contain yourself. :)

The kids loved the Pumpkins and wanted NOTHING to do with the insides. Poor A's Pumpkin was already rotted inside so Daddy took a quick break and they ran back and got 2 more pumpkins (just to be safe)

My favorite part is the carving! A couple of years back I got brave and carved President Hinckley's face into a pumpkin. It was just sort of cool. Then the Bishop's wife came to our house and I about died not sure what she would think, turns out she loved it, Whew!

Anyway - Kids are home sick today, yeah for me. (said with sarcasm) So it won't matter how much house work I do cause they will just destroy it anyway. So I blog instead. Good thing C understands. I Love him for that!

A with All the Pumpkins - she was the only one that cared after they were all carved.

A's is the jack o lantern, S chose the spider - go figure!

C with his pumpkin before we carved the Haunted House

S with his uncarved pumpkin

A with her uncarved pumpkin

Happy Howleen from the Howetons

So we had some "Howleen" pictures taken at Picture People and obviously could not get all the kids to smile or look in the same direction.
We of course took advantage of the great offer (AKA Free) so the price was totally worth it.

K's wings kept hiding A's Hannah Montana Costume but the photographer kept wanting to sit K down after I repeatedly told him she could NOT sit on her own! Geesh!

The day that should not be forgotten

Today is my parents 34th Wedding Anniversary and although my Dad is no longer here to share it with my Mother, it is a day that should not be overlooked.

If it weren't for this special day 34 years ago in Manti, there would not be 6 Wise kids, thousands of wonderful memories, hundreds of life lessons learned and several happy marriages to follow and continue the trend for the next generation.

For those who knew Dad - it was always a privilege. The laughs were never ending, the stories were never boring and the Love was unconditional.

My Mom is my hero and is a wonderful example of how to live life and be a fantastic Mother, Wife, Teacher and Friend. We Love you!

So, to the Best Parents ever - Happy Anniversary - whether it be here or in Eternity!

Things to do Today

1. Get the Sock off my foot

2. Eat the Sock, repeat steps 1 & 2.

3. Get the Toy

4. Eat the Toy

5. Get the Hair Bow

6. Eat the Hair Bow


~Sigh~

Going in for More

Warning: This video shows my laundry, A pile o blankies that S insisted on bringing downstairs, a bucket or so of toys, a saggy diaper and some funny happenings with a 2 year old and his baby sister.

Disclaimer: Owner of this video cannot be responsible for the smiles that will work themselves onto your face or the laughter that may escape your mouth.

Of course this is all my opinion, cause my kids are the cutest! (also my opinion)

More cuteness

By request here are the pictures of more of the baby legs I have made and the made to match (M2M) Baby legs for some specific outfits. I think I'm done for a while. We have enough to take us through the winter and now I'm looking for a new project -Maybe the appliqued onesies I saw a couple mommy bloggers make :) Who knows, maybe I'll take a break from being crafty.

yeah, maybe not:)

Shake Down

The following story is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Going forward as a safety precaution I will be referring to the members of our family by their first initial. My friend Nobody posted a link on her blog that touched upon the importance of blog safety against potential predators and I had this person "shake down our blog."
So to protect our family in our cute little abode somewhere on a continent on this earth. I am going to be better about keeping my children safe in an unsafe world. As it was put - we all feel safe in our own homes posting fun stories about our daily lives for all our families to see - but really we don't know who is lurking.

I know you all understand and in fact I should have followed my sisters lead when they both already did this.
We still intend on keeping our blog open, but we will be taking measures for our own Anonymity.

Here is some of the great advice from our blog shake down -"My brother once told me that there really isn't any way to make ourselves completely safe... just like we can't be totally safe walking through walmart, or sleeping in our beds at night... but we can make it inconvenient for the "bad apples" that are out there... we lock our doors. We warn our kids about strangers and hold their hands... and on our blogs, we try not to drop revealing information in to people's lap.."

I hope that this is helpful for others moving forward and the link to the blog shake down is here.

Politikal Finger Fun

Ok, here is some seriously Fun stuff to do - you should print them all and let your kids play with them - even funner!
So if you would like your own Palin, John or Cindy McCain, Barack or Michelle, and Biden finger puppets - you should go here. You can even fold a Hillary!
Way fun and too cute!
Just print and wear. Make a fashion statement!

USA Dental Care Stole Money From Us

Just a quick note, because I would not be doing my job as a good citizen if I didn't inform all of you - that using the online company - www.usadentalcare.com - for dental insurance is a huge mistake.

M canceled our insurance through them a month ago, and today they decided to bill our card anyway. When she called they refused a refund, when I called, I was told there was no mechanism for them to refund money, even though we had a cancellation number.

Now, it's only $17.00, but it's a matter principle. To make matters worse, they have outsourced their call center to India, making USA dental care not so USA, and almost impossible to understand over the phone.

So please learn from our mistake. Cheap insurance is just that - cheap, and you almost always get what you pay for.

Thanks for listening to my rant today.

C

No Pattern Needed

Look what I did!

I know probably easy for everybody else, but I've only been sewing for a little more than a year and very basic things. I love trying new stuff and I am the type of person that gets more confused with patterns. So with the help of a friend I sewed this cute girls Apron by just watching her make one yesterday! I am totally going to make one for myself now!!
A couldn't wait until I was done and now she won't take it off.

oh and if it looks sewn crooked it's my camera angle - I swear!

Giving Thanks, already

Ok - so now that I have actually gotten a decent nights sleep -I am totally going to be Thankful for even the little things.
We administered S with a little Lovin and some sleepy time drowsy parent lovin stuff - and wah-lah!
ok, so we only had one tiny little incident and it was over in 5 min. So Seriously -I'm Thankful!
I realize that it has only been one night and we still shouldn't get our hopes up so quickly, but I can't help but be soooo Greatful for the littlest bit of help!

I was cleaning A's room this morning (cause she cleans her room by stuffing everything under her bed) and S came in to see me. He sat on the bed and I had some Primary music playing and out of no where he says in his sweet little garbled voice "I feel better now, thanks mom." My heart totally melted in half. All of the sleepless nights were almost worth just hearing that one little sentence, but then coupled with his cute little copying dad saying the family prayer last night and his blessing - I couldn't be a prouder mommy of my sweet little boy.
So, Auntie Chica, while I am sure there will be a time when you can totally have him for a while, I'm going to keep this sweet spirited, happy little boy that actually slept through the night last night.

Maybe it was his blessing. Maybe it was the Primary Music. Who knows maybe it was a combination of all of that, plus our faith that something would work and our Father in Heaven realizing that if we didn't, that we might have just put him up for auction on ebay.

Ok - kidding, but when you are sleep deprived your kids aren't so cute.

Speaking of cute -

Our little Spiderman

Entertaining K with his webs!

To go or not to go There...

This is kind of a weird thing and is awkward for me but I think worthy of a blog.
S lately has NOT been sleeping AT ALL!
He will fall asleep at bedtime with the assistance of a Melatonin each night about 8pm, if he has not had a nap that day. But without fail he is awake again usually between midnight and 1 am until 5 or 6 am. This has been a consistent happening in our house for the last month and both C and I are at our wits end! I took S to the doctor 2 1/2 weeks ago and brought up the lack of sleeping issue, I was handed a 3 page "what to do" downloaded from the Internet. Turns out - these were all things we were already doing. So now what?
So today, I took S back for a 2nd opinion with a different doctor and was told to lock him in his room at night and let him scream but eventually he will get the idea and just sleep.
UGH!
This is the one thing that C and I both agree that we will not be doing. Besides, he shares his room with his sister - so NEXT!?
I received some other sound advice from other mom's - one of which I think I am totally going to try tonight. A nice antihistamine generally used for allergy's but that makes you drowsy.

The other thing I tried today is something that C would call "witchery" of course he calls chiropractic work the same. (sorry to all my Palmer Wife friends, this is his opinion, not mine)
I heard about it through another girlfriend from church and it is something that her M.I.L. is certified in. It basically touches base with the senses and Ora's and all that good stuff. We are willing to try anything - SO DESPERATE and Very Sleep Deprived. I have two emotions left right now, one is Anger, the other is just the overwhelming desire to bawl!

I have asked C to give S a blessing tonight and we plan on playing Primary music tonight in his room to help the calming sleep occur. Any other ideas that are not too outrageous are also welcome! Puh lease.....
I want the little boy that sleeps all night, back!

Lately

There are some days that you would think that I have the camera glued to my hip because I just end up taking so many pictures.
Since we have decided that K is our last baby I feel like I do not want to miss a moment of this. My personal FAVORITE stage so far is the Newborn to about 14 months. I think that this is where they love you so unconditional and are always changing, doing new things every day - it's just fun for me. I think that C would disagree, while he LOVES our babies, he really enjoys the age when they can talk and play. So far it works out really well. We usually call the Babies mine until they get to 2. Then if they are anything like S lately, neither of us claim him. Only kidding of course, But once they become enjoyable again - they are ALL about Daddy! You wouldn't even know that I exist in their world unless they are hungry.

I know what you are thinking, Finally, the blog is starting to be about the kids again. Well you see, believe it or not - while I am busy with all the kids, C's busy work schedule and well just general chaos - I didn't have anything significant to talk about. Still don't. Just making it up as I go.......

So now that I have totally rambled and gotten off track - here are a few of the pictures that I have taken lately.

C LOVES her so much - wish you could all see how good he is with her.

No matter how hard I try - there is ALWAYS food or Something on his face - I need a new nickname for him because of it.. Any ideas?

So, tell me - what is bigger? The Bow or the smile? This is actually one of A's bows but matched K's outfit.

A Loves playing with K.

So Motherly...

LOVE the cheeks!! See what I mean - Favorite stage - so Sqeezable and DOES NOT Talk back!:)

Physical Therapy for Left Torticollis

We went to Genesis Children's Physical Therapy today for K's neck. The Technical name is called Left Torticollis. It is where she prefers to keep her head side -bent (tilted) to the left and rotated to the right. The goal of therapy is to get the head in a midline or straight position by performing stretching and strengthening exercises in the opposite direction.

Overall K is doing well. She is not a worse case scenario and in fact the doctor said we were in at the right time to correct this. K does not have any of the signs of a permanent disability and no physical deformities. Some of the severe issues that can develop from this are spinal deformities and issues with the nerves. We do not have to see the PT every week because this should be corrected very easily, so we are happy with the visit and the potential outcome. It will be reviewed again in a month to monitor her progress with the exercises.

Taco Casserole or 7-layer Dish, what ever you want to call it.

Kim - this is just for you. You told me you thought it was good, but I thought that was just you being nice and making conversation, but turns out you really want it, or you are still just being nice - whatever it is - it makes me feel special. :)

Of course this is a great recipe to just have anytime, It is a lot like a 7-Layer, but there are really 9 layers, so Taco Casserole fits better.....

Ingredients:

1 lb. of Ground Beef
1/2 of (1 ounce) pacakge taco seasoning mix
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
1 (16 ounce) jar salsa
1 large tomato, chopped
Guacamole Dip (recipe included)
1 bunch chopped green onions
1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Ingredients for Guacamole dip:

2 Avocados - peeled, pitted & diced
2 teaspoons- salt
1 large tomato, diced
1 onion, diced
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped (optional)
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Directions:

1. mix guacamole dip first. In a medium bowl, mash avocados and stir in salt. Mix in the tomato, onion, jalapeno (optional), cilantro & lime juice.

2. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes prior to mixing with above or before serving.

3. Brown 1 lb. of ground beef in a medium pan. Drain. Blend the taco seasoning mix. Spread the meat into the large serving platter.

4. layer the refried beans on top of the ground beef mixture. Layer your pre-mixed Guacamole on top of the refried beans.

5. mix the sour cream and cream cheese in a medium bowl. spread over the guacamole layer.

6. top the layers with salsa. place a layer of tomato and green onions over the salsa. Top with cheddar cheese. Garnish with black olives.

Serve with Corn chips, or make it a meal with small soft corn tortillas or tostado shells.
Enjoy.

If you didn't already know it

A really loves her daddy!

Top 10 Reasons you should move Here!

Top 10 Reasons you should move to IOWA

1. We're Here! and you know we make it look fun! You really shouldn't need any other reason, but just in case, here are 9 more.
2. The weather is delightful 2/3 of the year.

Today's HI 65 / LOW 52

3. Davenport is listed in the top 10 places to raise a family - ok, it used to be. Des Moines is #6 or #9 depending on the website you visit & Ankeny, Iowa is currently number 10 according to Parents Magazine- but Davenport is still in the top 100. How Delightful!

4. Cost of Living is easier on the Bank account.

Median home price $102,000 national average is $264,000

5. Everything you need is only a 5 minute drive (except church & that is 12 minutes away, and on your way out of town.)

6. Gas prices are likely to be less than yours and the midgrade is cheaper than the cheap stuff.

Cory paid $1.99 Midgrade - YESTERDAY!

7. Whitey's Ice Cream - yumm. I'm getting hungry just talking about it!!

8. There are no shortage of Chiropractors in the Quad Cities
9. The Baseball team Rocks!!

10. The Nauvoo Temple is Beautiful and the grounds are so peaceful - only a 2 hour drive.

So what are you waiting for? Get here already! Everybody's doing it.
(yes, I'm talking to you way over there in the Northwest!)