Happy Halloween!

Have a fun and safe Halloween!!!

Weekend and Birthday Recap

Whew, it's been busy the last several days. Friday I went to happy hour with some co-workers, and then immediately following that we had a family bonfire party for both boys. (their birthdays are only 2 weeks apart, and we didn't want family to have to drive in twice). It was a cold and rainy day, but it did stop raining long enough for the party that night. We had hotdogs, chili, veggies, chips, and cupcakes, and then some people made s'mores and marshmallows. I think everyone had a good time, and the boys are having tons of fun playing with their new gifts.

(My boys and their cousins)

Saturday we picked up food and had swimming lessons. The rest of the weekend I worked on the basement, and Joe worked on tiling the new mudroom.

Sunday was Adam's actual birthday. We gave him a couple gifts, and had cake and icecream. I also had to go into work 2 different times during the day, and also tried to get some things done at home.

(opening his gifts in his jammies)

(Adam ready to dig in to his cake. The sore under his nose was from a fall a few days ago- he also chipped his tooth)

Unfortunately, now I'm sick with a cough and sore throat. I'm exhausted, but any time I lay down to try to get some sleep, the coughing gets worse. Ugh.

Happy 4th Birthday, Adam!

Yes, that's right, it's the big 0-4!

Happy 4th Birthday to my precious little boy, I love you!

Weekend Recap and Menu Plan Monday

We've had a busy past 4 days. Thursday night we went to a local corn maze with Brendan's scout den. It was fun. Brendan and his "buddy" and some of the other scouts ran on ahead and we never saw him again until he found his way out much later. Here are a few pics (it was dark, so I couldn't get any good ones):

(Adam and Joe in the corn maze)

(Brendan at the exit of the corn maze- he made it out!)

What was actually really cool, was not so much the corn maze itself, but inside the barn they have a 3-story elaborate gumball "roller coaster" along the front wall and rafters. You put 25 cents in the gumball machine, and when the gumball comes out it is taken up to the peak of the barn and then down a series of tracks and wheels and such to the bottom where you pull a chain to get your gumball. This "gumball coaster" as they call it, is a hand made structure. It is very cool.

(watching the gumball rollercoaster in action)

On Friday, Brendan's school only had a half-day, so I took off work early. Joe actually had to work late, so the boys and I had our Friday-night pizza and watched the movie "Ernest Scared Stupid". The boys are into stupid humor, and since it is close to Halloween I thought they might like this one. Parts of the movie scared them to death, and other parts they were laughing so hard I thought they'd pee their pants. lol

Saturday I had to work a few hours, and then I went by the library for their children's book sale. Hard back books were 50 cents, and paperbacks were 25 cents. I found several chapter books for Brendan, including 4 Goosebumps ones, which he loves. All in all I came home with 14 books for only $3.50!!! What a deal!

Sunday we took the boys to a free showing of Space Chimps at one of the local movie theaters. They liked it, and Joe and I actually thought it wasn't too bad considering how horrible we'd heard it was from others. The rest of the day we tried to be productive at home. Joe worked on the mudroom floor, and I dove into the huge mess in the basement (the part that we are turning into the kids' playroom). What a job! I did make good progress though, and really put a dent in the cluttered mess. Still not even close to being done, but getting there much faster than I thought I would. I'm taking pictures along the way, so you can expect some extremely embarrasing photos of our mess before too long. lol

Now on to Menu Plan Monday:

Monday: Creamy noodle/veggie/mushroom dish

Tuesday: On your own, I have to work extra

Wednesday: Sloppy Joes

Thursday: Pizza (normally on Fri, but not this week)

Friday: Family bonfire party for the boys at our house (roasting hotdogs, making s'mores, hot chocolate, hot apple cider, etc)

Saturday: Pork loin?

Sunday: Beef Stew in the crockpot

Wordless Wednesday: What We Found in the Cat's House Last Night

Tackle it Tuesday (Husband's Tackle in Progress)

Okay, so I have barely been able to even "tackle" the regular household duties of laundry, dishes, cleaning, etc and now our vacuum cleaner broke too. So, while I am always busy doing things, nothing I've done seems worthy of a "Tackle it Tuesday" post this week, so I will highlight what my husband has been working on for us.

As I've posted about before, we are in the process of many on-going home improvement projects. The one taking priority right now is our new mudroom. I've posted some of our progress in previous posts. This week Joe had the walls ready to paint. We were going for a light green color, so he bought some paint and painted the whole room. The more it dried, and the more we looked at it, the more awful it looked. lol Instead of being a light green, it actually was way too dark, and looked more like a Kermit-the-frog green. Way too bold and overpowering. So, yesterday he went back, got lighter paint, and repainted the room. So, now we ended up with a lighter green- kinda like a mint-chocolate-chip-icecream colored green. Even though it still isn't exactly what I would have picked, it is much better than it was. I think once we have the bench and cubbies and shelves and hooks and our stuff in there it will look fine. He also tore up the old linoleum and prepped the floor, getting ready to put in ceramic tile.

So we are still slowly, but surely, making progress on that room. Will have photos to share before long, I hope.

Weekend Recap and Menu Plan Monday

I wish the weekend was longer...I don't get Columbus Day off, so it's back to the regular work week. We had a busy weekend, but did manage to have some fun squeezed in too.

Friday nights are our pizza/family nights. Usually that means we watch the latest family movie that has arrived from Blockbuster.com, but this time we played games instead. The boys picked Chutes and Ladder (the Sesame Street version), and Silly 6-Pins. They had so much fun, and guess who won Chutes & Ladders? Mommy rules! lol Poor Joe kept having to take the chutes way down almost back to the start every time he'd start to get somewhere...which the boys thought was hilarious.

Saturday I ended up carting the boys all over creation. But one of the many places we went to was the playground at the park, so they had a lot of fun there...

Oh, and as you can almost see in the photos, Brendan lost another tooth last week, front and center, so he is now missing both front teeth. He looks and sounds so funny and cute.

Okay, well, on to Menu Plan Monday.

Monday: Spaghetti

Tuesday: Bruschetta Chicken (trying this recipe from Org Junkie's family fave)

Wednesday: Chicken Quesedillas

Thursday: quick grab 'n go leftovers- we have a scout outing that night

Friday: Pizza/family night

Saturday: Pork Loin

Sunday: something in the crockpot, haven't decided yet

Kids With Cameras

I've been meaning to participate in the Kids With Cameras over at Raising Explorers, but have somehow managed to let a few weeks go by without starting it. So, today I will finally start participating. Brendan (age 7) has really shown an interest lately in taking pictures, and of course anything Adam (age 3) sees his big brother doing, he wants to do too. So, here are some pictures the boys took recently...

Photos by Brendan (age 7):

(self portrait- he loves to make funny faces for pictures)

Photos by Adam (age 3):

(Self-portrait- lol!)

Our Anniversary "Celebration"

So, Saturday was our anniversary. I'm guessing not too many other women "celebrate" their anniversary by washing and bagging deer parts, huh? LOL Yes, that is what we did on our anniversary. Joe and his brother got 2 deer that morning (while I took the boys to swimming lessons). Then from about 12:30 until about 7:30pm they sliced and diced, and handed each part to me to wash and bag. That's it. That's how our anniversary was spent. Nice, huh? LOL I think I deserve a "wife of the year award" don't you? heehee

(And here is what the cats did all day. I think they got the better end of that deal!)

Our 11th Anniversary

Today is our 11th Anniversary (together for 16 years, married for 11 years). In honor of our anniversary I uploaded a brief little slide show. Here's to the past, the present, and many many years together in the future. I love you Joe!

How Well Do You Know Your Husband quiz

I saw this on Peggy's blog, and since today is my husband's birthday and tomorrow is our Anniversary, I thought it might be perfect timing to try to answer this quiz...

How Well Do You Know Your Husband?

1. Sitting in front of the TV, what's on the screen?
My Name is Earl, The Office, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & other Sat. morning cartoons, etc, he will watch pretty much anything, whatever is on.

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad?
Italian

3. What's one food he doesn't like?
tomatoes

4. You go out to a bar. What does he order?
beer

5. Where did he go to high school?
St. Pius

6. What size shoe does he wear?
about an 8 or 9? He has small feet for a guy.

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be?
tools or knives

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich?
turkey sandwich, or McRib when they are available

9. What would this person eat everyday if he could?
my chocolate chip cookie bars

10. What is his favorite cereal?
Cheerios

11. What would he never wear?
a skirt lol

12. What is his favorite sports team?
MU, Cardinals, Rams

13. Who will he vote for?
McCain/Palin

14. Who is his best friend?
His younger brother Dan

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do?
be crabby

16. How many states has he lived in?
just one.

17.What is his heritage?
German

18. You bake him a cake for his birthday, what kind of cake?
If I'm baking it I guess it would be chocolate, but what I'm actually doing today is buying him an ice cream cake.

19. Did he play sports in high school?
Ran on the track team

20. What could he spend hours doing?
watching tv

21. Does he belong to any men's organizations?
not that I'm aware of.

Happy Birthday, Joe!

Happy Birthday to a great father, husband, and person.

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