Ahhh...fall

Ahh...fall.

Pumpkin patch visit - wonderful.

Rolling in a bin of corn - silly

Running, running, running in fresh country air - exhilarating 

Sliding and getting super dirty - goes without saying...FUN

Discovering - awesome

Being squirmy during the hay ride - bad idea

Pointing out your pumpkin - good idea

Pretending to point out your pumpkin to amuse your mother - also a good idea

Feeling the effect of rolling around in hay and corn - uncomfortable

Attempting to dig roughage out of your drawers - awkward

Trying to smile with hay and corn in your skivvies - priceless

Tonight, I am losing my mind.

There is a stink in my house...and I can't find it! I have spent a large part of this day trying to locate said stink...and I'm about to lose it. I have taken out the trash, put Pine Sol down the drain and garbage disposal, checked to see if the dog has gotten sick anywhere...nothing. The last time this happened, a red potato had fallen behind the bread box and my GOOD LORD...who knew a small spud could smell SOOO bad! I sniffed around that kitchen for 2 days asking Hubby, "Do you smell it over here? How about here? Do you smell it when you put your head under the table? How about this pot holder? Is it this pot holder? Smell that jar of green olives in the fridge. It's that isn't it? It's not? Go smell that box of crayons."

I was desperate...and SO relieved when we finally found that stupid potato.

This smell is in the living room. The LIVING ROOM. Did the dog get something out of the trash and hide it under the couch? No.

Did one of the kids sneak food and try to cover up the evidence? No. Is there a freaking potato shoved in the dvd player? When I last checked, no. I have looked under/turned over every piece of furniture, looked in every cabinet door, pulled out every drawer and nothing. I talked to my Mom this evening at at the end of the conversation I hear my Dad yell in the background, "There's probably a dead bird in the attic. Most likely just rotting up there right by one of your ac vents."

I think I'm going to check the dvd player again : /

It has started...

Ahhh...Summer. We've been filling our days with lazy odds and ends...and it's been nice!

It's so relaxing not to have something scheduled every. single. day. 

It keeps us free to do things like blueberry picking : )

Delaney started this beauty the other day. I was so surprised at how LONG she will sit and work on it!

It is taking all of my willpower to keep me from bellying-up that paint-by-number when she's out of the room.

I LOVE those things!!!

I don't remember having to mix colors back in the day...do you???

Lots of these critters hanging around the back door lately. I wasn't fast enough to catch this guy but by the looks of that tail, something else might have already caught him recently. I was just sparing him more trauma ; )

Speaking of critters, Mal and I went bug hunting the other day. As you might know, I don't like wimpy girls and it drives me batty that my girls are scared of bugs, lizards, frogs, etc. This bug hunting expedition was a big step for her!

Roly polys are always a safe way to start out. They can't hurt you, bite you or sting you, and well, it's kind of cute when they curl up in that little ball isn't it?

Mal was ok until he unrolled and started walking on her hand...then PLOP, back in the jar.

We had a little talk and she decided to fish him back out and try again.

Success!!!

We (I) ended up digging up five more and before the day was done, they were all named (Tom and Lillian were her favorite polys). She walked around with one or two on her hand at a time, observing them through a magnifying glass and talking to each one about their exoskeletons and what she was going to serve them for dinner.

Summer is rolling right along ; )

Halloween 2010

Late much?

Ugh. ANYWAY....

With a lot of help from my MIL, I do believe we put together my favorite costumes to date!

I acted all prepared in this post like I was going to be ahead of the game this year. True, the costumes arrived 2 weeks after that post but finding the bits and parts to both costumes proved harder than I thought.

Mallory's pick was Bo Peep.

With a few additions (including a hoop skirt cut from a Scarlet O'Hara costume my MIL found and a bonnet from Grandma's Girl), we had the most adorable Bo Peep ever!

Delaney's pick was The Red Queen from the new Alice in Wonderland.

Despite not getting her sleeves adorned like I wanted to, we LOVED it!

She sure was rocking that make up and hair wasn't she?!?

Delaney loved the idea of her costume being our own interpretation ("No one will have a costume just like mine Mom!").

SUCH a fun night: )

This was toward the end of our night.

Mal was tired and Delaney (and I...and maybe Yia-Yia too) were still riding high from a compliment on Delaney's costume. We were on our way back to the house and the neighborhood was thinning out. A man who was handing out candy sitting on his front porch yelled, "Hey, Red Queen!...Best costume of the night!!!"

Delaney (and I...not gonna lie) was strutting all the way home. LOVE that!  

Both girls were thrilled with their costumes and smiled from ear to ear all night. Well worth the craziness we went through in the days leading up to Halloween.

This is Mal trying to comfort Delaney before we had to brush through that tangled mess and wash out that delightful hairspray.

No kidding, if that famous Hitchcock movie needed to redo that shower scene in color, they could have done it in our tub that night. Yikes! 

Great night.

Great fun.

Grateful it only comes once a year ; )

Holy cripe...it was a BEAUTIFUL weekend!

The in-laws picked up the girls and I (along with some cousins) and we headed out to the country for the annual Peanut Festival. Wow...I just love every bit of it!

We were surrounded by cotton fields out there.

Isn't this adorable? I want it.

So much going on in this photo. See the little guy sitting in the tub (complete with water pump)? The little guy on the dumpster was running and jumping from dumpster to dumpster (there were 5 dumpsters and they were about FIVE feet apart! yikes!) Oh yes, please don't miss the chimney and the toilet there on the ground. Geez, all they need now is a cooler and they're set. (I'm pretty sure there was one there somewhere ; )

The kiddos got to see all sorts of chickens, roosters, piglets, goats, rabbits, etc...

 

That child would have run out there with those cows in a heartbeat.

(...and not looked where she was going and most likely would have fallen into a steaming pile of cow yum)

My girls love wide open spaces... (just like their mama : )

There are always a ton of tractors for the kiddos to climb and play on.

Mallory hasn't stopped talking about seeing her 1st queen bee!

Most adorable ice cream TROLLEY ever : )

I will love this photo forever.

Nothing like a nice cool breeze and the warm sunshine on your face...especially that face.

I want my girls to have a healthy dose of that every day.

This is joy. This is what life is about. This is what we all need more of.

Simple, free pleasures are ours for the taking.

Go grab them while you can. 

Lazy afternoon and the almost plate wall

The girls have been asking and asking to go to their Aunt's to swim lately, and I (aka Mean Mom) am just not *feeling* the pool quite yet. Mallory asks, "How about dis? Let's frow wadoo balloons at each overs heads!" If it sounds violent, she's all for it...and of course I am NOT.

Sprinkler to the rescue.

So funny. Water is never boring.

Getting to put suits on was half the fun.

Geez...why can't they always be lovey dovey like that?

And then BAM!

I catch glimpses of sassy teenagers.

Oh yes, the little spunky one will be fun. Lots and lots and lots of fun.

I'm going to try something new on my blog called *Why Not?*

I was a VERY uptight new Mom. Very. I'm not saying that I'm over that...I am a work in progress. I will NOT compromise my uptightness on my children's safety or character. THAT said, I DO believe in LOTS of silly. The silly that makes them smile and well...just plain doesn't hurt anything. It makes them happy, makes them smile, makes them laugh.

Is there clean up involved? Most of the time. Extra effort? Not always. 

 I'm learning to pick my battles.

Mallory asked me a few months ago, "Mommy, can I splash ALL OVER the bathroom when I'm in the bathtub?" First instinct of course is NO. I thought about it a minute. I removed the toilet paper roll, put towels on the floor, and told her to STAY in the tub SITTING down at all times. Then I said with a smile, "Have fun." She had a blast and later gave me a giggly hug and said thank you. She'll probably remember that for a long time.

Yes I had to wash towels that night, but it wasn't really that hard ; )

Here is my *Why Not* for the day:

What at first sounded ridiculous, turned out to be silly fun...and heck, why not?

I want to get this plate wall done SO badly! Here are all of my finds...aren't they happy?!?

The darn plate holders are around $1.50 a piece and when you need 30-something of them, it gets a tad pricey. I am buying a few at a time so hopefully it won't be long.

 Don't you love when a project that seems SOOOO cool and THRIFTY

 ends up costing more than you thought? UGH.

Woo hoo! It's almost Friday!!!