Happy Halloween!

After weeks of anticipation, Mia finally got to decorate her Halloween cookies. I baked a new recipe from Lemonade Makin' Mama that was scrumptious, and we somehow managed not to eat any before decorating them the next day. A Halloween miracle.

While Mia and I were getting geared up for the artistry, Lauren unloaded my kitchen towel drawer. I figured it was as good a way as any to keep her entertained, and was pleased when she found one of my Grandma's aprons at the bottom of the drawer . I've always wanted to be an apron-wearing lady, so I tied it on and voila: I became an apron wearing lady.

Not only was it handy and cute, but it somehow transformed my attitude for the rest of the day. It was like I soaked up some of my Grandma's hard-working energy and put it to good use in my house. If I came across something that needed to be done, instead of putting it off until later, I just grabbed it and took care of business. Something my Grandma would have done. The apron helped me channel her memory and kicked my lazy bones into a more efficient mindset. It was like Grandma was here, laughing at my messes, and helping me clean them up. With joy. Because that's just how she worked.

Mia was a pro at icing her cookies, and an even bigger pro at snatching bites of sprinkles every few seconds.

She poked chocolate chips and dotted icing gel all over her pumpkin - which was roughly the size of her own head - with impressive concentration. This was serious business.

And it was. Seriously FUN business. We also had some hearts and flowers, because what Autumn Festival is complete without those?

Lauren didn't care so much how the cookies looked...

Much like she didn't care what she looked like after sharing one with me.

Boo-tiful, indeed.

Hope you all have a wonderfully happy Halloween!

7 Quick Takes Friday, #38

1. How many weeks ago was it that I wrote about not getting around to making the pumpkin shaped sugar cookies? 3? 4? Well, now we've gotten them made. Yesterday - 2 days before Halloween - we made our cookies. But still no frosting. It's like I can only accomplish one thing in a day: baking or decorating, but not both. There's a time warp in my kitchen or something, not allowing the two to be had on the same day. True story. BUT! My butter is sitting on the counter, ready to be whipped into frosting today. And no other baked goods will be attempted, so we should be okay.

In addition to the pumpkins, Mia decided she wanted flowers, triangles, and stars, so we really could have done this any time and not worried about getting them in before my self-imposed Halloween deadline.

2. Last year at Halloween, I made Mia a super cute red and white striped shirt for her Strawberry Shortcake costume. (Okay, I helped my mom make it. I'm still learning how to sew - by watching attentively.) The big day came, and my 2 year old Mia wouldn't even try on the shirt. She didn't want it - wouldn't wear it - and screamed at the sight of it. I was a little crushed. All that hard work and loving attention to detail, and she didn't care. I was about to force her into it, when my mom (apparently I can do nothing right without her) suggested just not making a big deal out of it and finding her something else to wear. It was supposed to be fun, after all, and if a 2 year old doesn't want to cooperate, that's no fun for anyone. It all worked out in the end, and now I can laugh at Mia's stubborn streak that year. Kind of.

3. This year, mom and I are making tutus for Mia and Lauren's ballerina costumes. I had intended to have Lauren be a lamb out of consideration for her love of her lambie, but that was proving to be more trouble than I could handle. I put off pattern and fabric searching for too long and then got overwhelmed with the whole thing and had to retrench. So I asked Mia what she thought Lauren should be, and without a moment's hesitation, she said 'ballerina!' It sounded perfect to me, simple and sweet, and the same thing Mia was going to be.

Keep your fingers crossed that Mia - at almost 4 years old - is more appreciative of her costume than she was last year. I have a feeling she'll love it, though. She helped pick out the fabric and she always loves dressing up in frilly, fluffy, shiny things, so this should be a slam dunk. KNOCK ON WOOD.

4. I'm sure many of you know this by now, but Pioneer Woman's cookbook is officially available to be purchased. And it is officially on my wishlist. Is it on yours?

5. Last week, I mentioned I was uploading about a million photos to purchase online. Would you believe I just completed the order on Wednesday? It was a nightmare. This photo site (I hate to mention the name of it because I don't want to be mean...) was terrible to work with. The uploads took forever. Putting photos in my 'to buy' list took double-forever. The whole thing took WAY too long, and I will never use that site again. Well, unless they send me more free money. But the point is, next time, I'll find somewhere better. In my comments last week, some of you gave me some good sites to try, so I think I'll seek them out next time. Seeing as how my pictures are now on the way though, I'm feeling better about the whole situation. Sarah, thou art fickle.

6. I'm pretty sure Lauren is done nursing. She hasn't been interested for 3 days in a row now, so I think the deal is sealed. There's no going back after 3 days with no activity, right?

How bad is it that I'm sad? She's definitely old enough to be done with it, and she just wasn't interested much anymore so I didn't push the issue. But I think if I would've kept offering, she would have kept taking. She would have kept falling asleep for naptimes while I got to snuggle her cheeks to my bare skin. I would have gotten to feel her relax in my arms like a baby - which she is clearly not anymore. For those few moments each day, I could have pretended she was still tiny and needed me to sustain her. My arms feel bare. My body feels empty. It's been so long since I've not used my physical body to grow or feed a life, and now I just feel - singular. Not alone, but - apart.

Have I lost you?

Here - the next QT will be more followable:

7. At school this week, Mia did a cute little activity I thought some of you might be interested in. It's a picture of a house with a straw taped to its side - a water spout, if you will. And on the water spout is none other than the Itsy Bitsy Spider - climbing up, if you will.

The spider is one of those plastic Halloween rings, and it's strung on the straw so it can climb up and down as needed in case of a stray rain shower. Mia loved it, and it doesn't have to be just for Halloween - the Itsy Bitsy Spider is timeless. And undaunted by the rain that keeps wiping her out. She's got spunk.

That's it for me, y'all. Have a treat-full Halloween weekend and visit Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes.

What We Found At The Library, #3

Mia's Favorite: Do Unto Otters: A Book About Manners, by Laurie Keller

Usually, I really like the books that Mia chooses to read over and over, but this one took me awhile to enjoy. It's goofy and quirky, with lots of little conversation bubbles in addition to the text. I could never tell how to work those into the story - so I didn't. The main point of the book was a good one - teaching lessons about being considerate and kind, helpful and honest - and I'm just hoping that with all the reading we did, she internalized some of its messages. And when I got to about the 12th reading, I started to appreciate the childish humor - including the illustration of an otter, um, tooting. As an example of when to say 'Excuse Me', of course.

Lauren's Favorite: Sleepyhead Bear by Lisa Westberg Peters and Ian Schoenherr (Illustrator)

Lauren carried this book all around the house with her, searching for someone to read with. In the story, a tired bear is looking for a place to nap but can't seem to find anywhere that's not buzzing or whirring with bugs. He rolls down hills, splashes in ponds, and eventually winds up in a meadow full of butterflies. Lauren loved the close up illustrations of the sleepy little bear cub along with all the bugs and shenanigans along the way. The rhyming text was fast paced enough to keep her attention, and she quickly mimicked it's cadence with her own babbling interpretation. This is a very cute book for little ones with short attention spans.

This Heavenly Mama's Favorite: Sing, Sophie!, by Dayle Ann Dodds & Roseanne Litzinger (Illustrator)

This book was another one that took a few readings to become truly enjoyable, but once it did, I was in love. Sophie's a little girl who loves to sing her own songs, and she does so throughout the book. But nobody else appreciates her talent, and her family keeps shooing her away. One of my favorite lines comes after yet another family member begs her to stop singing: " 'Oh, chicken feathers!' Sophie said. 'I've got a song in my heart and it needs to come out!' " The key to enjoying this book to the fullest, was to really get into it. Southern drawl, twangy singing, enthusiastic narration - anything to savor Sophie's silly songs and frustrated exclamations. This has the added benefit of making the kids love the book, too. Because anything that has mama or daddy crooning and swaying is considered top notch. I can't wait to get this book again.

Have you found anything worth sharing from the library lately? Do tell.

When I Think Of My Husband

When I think of my husband, I think of...

The way he held me up when I was in labor - His strong arms and encouraging words.

His color-shifting eyes: first deep brown, then warm burnt orange, then a hint of mossy green.

The look of adoration on his face when he sees his daughters.

The hundreds of times he's rushed to my immediate aid when a terrifying bug was about to attack.

His tummy-fluttering, heart-stopping, skin-shivering handsomeness.

His faithful, soul-searching journey to find God.

That spot on his neck - right where his shoulder begins - that smells of warmth and soap and whatever it is that makes him him.

The rich timbre of his voice when he's sharing his heart or his day - and how comforting that sound is no matter what the discussion is about.

His lips. Oh, his lips.

How secure I am in the knowledge that he loves me and truly enjoys being with me.

The way he makes me feel like I am the most desirable person in any room.

How proud I am of his strength and devotion to God and family.

The way I fit perfectly under his chin when he pulls me into one of the best hugs this world has ever seen.

How much more I love him now than I did in the beginning - back when I thought the universe couldn't contain the emotions my little heart held. But somehow, the universe just keeps expanding.

How lucky I am to have this man as my husband, and how much I wish for him to have all the best things in life.

Happy Birthday Justin!

I love you. (I married'ja, didn't I?)

One Thousandish Photos

Now. You have been well informed of my inability to delete photos of my babies, so let me encourage you to take a quick potty break. This isn't for the faint of heart and you may be here all night. Happily, these girls are gorgeous, therefore your vicarious visit on our pumpkin patch trip is guaranteed to be delightful.

Ready?

This was the coolest pumpkin patch we've ever been to. It was situated on a wide, hill-embedded farm - or what was meant to look like a farm for aesthetic purposes. I'm actually not sure there was a real pumpkin patch anywhere or if they were grown off site in a more utilitarian location, because this place was spectacular. Hundreds of visitors milled around, enjoying the attractions, which provided more entertainment than I'd expected.

Mia and Lauren's first stop was the Hay Tunnel: a stack of hay with a few different entrances to burrow through and pop out the other side. For being simple, this may have been their favorite activity of the day.

They chased each other around and around, playing peek-a-boo and giggling the whole time.

This little boy stopped next to Mia on one of her circuits around the hay. He made silly faces at her while she laughed behind her hand, never moving out of his way - just enjoying his antics.

I think he was more interested in frightening her, but he'd probably never come up against someone like my independent, strong-willed little girl.

Boy: Are you crying?!
Mia: *heehee* Naw-uuuh! I'm laughing! *heehee*

Boy: Why aren't you crying?

Mia: *heehee* Because I just like to laugh in this place. *heehee*

Boy: Huh. *darts away*

I heard the whole exchange, but wanted to hear Mia's interpretation. She wasn't too concerned, except to wonder why he thought she should be crying. "He was just silly - not scary, mom."

Nevertheless, I decided to become her escort for the hay tunnel. No little boys were gonna come near a lumbering, hunched-over mom chasing kids around the tunnel. My poor daughter. At least she still prefers my company over that of little boys. There will come a day...

Another neat activity at the pumpkin patch was a set of steep, long slides. The girls both got turns sliding down on burlap sacks, while they bumped along the variegated plastic surface.

It was really pretty slow for the little kids; Lauren had no trouble enjoying her snail's pace. That finger in her mouth is status quo for super duper excitement.

The farm also has a huge corn maze set up, and we tried our hand at getting lost inside it. Not a problem since they gave me navigational responsibility on the first few turns. I can get lost anywhere - promise. We were with our good friends Travis, Katie, and Savannah, who got us on the right track eventually.

Justin tried to convince Mia to look over the tops of the cornfield to see the way out, but she was oblivious. I would have been, too.

Then came the actual pumpkins. Lauren was in heaven with the hundreds of pumpkins available to her. She wandered over the entire area and I think she may have actually touched every pumpkin they had to offer.

Mia danced and hopped around the rows, a smile glued to her face. We've been trying to arrange a pumpkin patch visit for weeks, so when this one finally came through, she was ready for it.

Lauren soon realized most of the pumpkins were too heavy to pick up, so she resorted to hugging them instead.

She was an equal opportunity embracer.

She was an enthusiastic admirer.

One of the funniest moments was when Mia walked to the middle of the rows, spread her arms wide, and announced in her most carrying voice, "WELCOME TO THE PUMPKIN PATCH!" She's usually so shy and quiet around others so this sudden proclamation had me laughing and begging for repeats.

No shyness was allowed at the pumpkin patch. The pumpkins became stools, obstacles, babies, and benches as needed.

Once Lauren saw they could be sat upon, she became quite comfortable trying out different pumpkins for the best seat.

She wedged herself into bunched up piles of pumpkins and then crawled over and between them to find a new favorite place. Sitting still wasn't an option for too long.



Until the wheelbarrow came along, that is. Lauren and Savannah fit snugly together for a trip down the pumpkin rows.

I did try to get a picture of my two girls together at the same time and place. It didn't work out so well. I had them sitting side by side a few times, only to step away and have them immediately move again.

Or to find a random piece of hay that needed immediate attention.

When they started bickering (screaming, shoving, crying) for possession of the wheelbarrow, I knew our time was up.

Plus, my camera battery was going dead and I had no more room on the memory stick. One thousandish pictures at the pumpkin patch will wipe out an energetic camera lickety-split.

And if you stayed until the end of this post, your prize is in the mail. You may go now. But please come back soon! There's bound to be something short and sweet the longer you stick around.

A Working Weekend

If weekends could take on physical form and move around in a life-like way, this last one would have been a big, brawny, shouting drill sergeant. It pushed us so far away from sitting still to relax that it was hardly recognizable as a weekend.

There was a trip to the recycle center that's been needed since the first week in October, some grocery shopping, a pumpkin patch visit, my Pampered Chef party and all its requisite house cleaning, and a family pumpkin carving party. And because most of those things were really fun it didn't take a drill sergeant to make us want to do them, but the house cleaning part kind of overtook everything else and wore us out.

My house is presentable on a daily basis. Pretty much. But when company comes, I find a million things that I'm sure people will notice to wrinkle their noses at. I think I'm not alone here, right? So this drill sergeant of a weekend breathed down our necks as we dusted and vacuumed and scrubbed our way to a sparkling house.

Justin stayed home from church to get a list of tasks taken care of. He cleaned cobwebs out of porch corners. Disassembled the clogged vacuum to release it from miles and miles of my hair threatening to choke it's life away. Moved my grandma's pink recliner from its awkward spot in the living room. Rearranged the bedroom furniture to make room for the pink recliner. Decided the pink recliner wouldn't fit and moved it into Lauren's room instead. Moved Lauren's rocking chair into our bedroom and then cleaned up every part of the messes he'd made in moving all the furniture. He was super-husband, making my party preparations much simpler and keeping me from hyperventilating.

My mom also came over early to help get everything set up, meaning she found things I hadn't thought of and cleaned the heck out of them. For example, there are several old stains in our carpet. Not huge spots; just little bits of discoloration that we haven't been able to remove. We've scrubbed with carpet cleaner. We've used a big, bulky steam cleaner. We've tried every way we knew how, but never been able to get those stains out. Enter: Mom. She filled a bowl with warm water and a squirt of Palmolive dish soap, sudsed up the stains with bubbles, scrubbed them away, and now our carpet is clean. In less than 5 minutes, my mother accomplished what we haven't been able to do in over 4 years. Why we don't invite her to live with us, I'm not sure.

The party went well, I was happy with my uber-clean house, Justin and my mom proved themselves to be indispensable - the day was a success, but I'm worn out. After such a busy weekend, I'm showing my age and wanting to be as lazy as possible now that the drill sergeant's not yelling at me anymore.

But soon, if you're up for it, I plan on posting one thousand-ish pictures from our pumpkin patch visit. Be here or be square. Lauren hugging pumpkins will be the cutest thing you've ever seen.

7 Quick Takes Friday, #37

1. I'm a dishwasher freak. If it's not completely full, I can't run the dishwasher through a washing cycle. It feels improper and illegal and I just can't do it. I fill it up so completely - utilizing every inch of space - that it rivals the cluttered kitchen aisles of Bed, Bath & Beyond. No. More. Room. But not so tight that the dishes don't get clean; I make sure it's all in good order.

On the other hand, I run into those times where it's pretty much full, with only a tiny slot left. There are no more dishes to be found in the whole house, but I badly want to get these clean so I can finish the job.

This happened yesterday, and I was doing my best to locate a stray bowl or mug for the top rack. Everywhere else was full and ready to be washed. I started to get itchy just thinking about running the dishwasher without it being completely filled - just one more bowl would do it. Just ONE more....

So I ate a quick bowl of cereal. For no other purpose than to make a dirty dish.

Welcome to crazy town.

2. Speaking of crazy, I've been heading that way since trying to download photos to purchase online prints. It's been SO long since I've ordered prints and I'm feeling the pressure to get it taken care of. Only, when I say SO long, I mean like, about a year ago. If I remember right. So there are approximately one million pictures to be located, sorted, and uploaded to the photo site. This takes approximately two million life spans and has sucked me dry of my life force.

The photo site can upload 200 photos at a time and if you do that amount (which I've done 3 separate times already) the standard time it takes is 120 minutes. 120 minutes. You could hand-draw the pictures yourself in that amount of time. I don't even want to think about how much money I'll be spending on the photos, but I do have a $20 coupon from the site, so hopefully that'll put a teeny tiny cutesy wootsy dent in my order.

But I'm not sure it'll make a dent in my ability to see straight after editing my one million pictures. Those things take time.

3. If I didn't take so many pictures, we'd be OK. But I'm such a bad photographer that I have to take about 8 shots of the same thing for one to turn out looking something like I want it to. And then the other ones are hard to delete because they're usually pictures of my daughters, and doesn't it feel sacrilegious to delete your child's picture? It does for me, anyway.

Would you like proof of my terrible photography skills? NO? Well, you're this close, you may as well look anyway.

There was the most beautiful sunrise the other morning. Since the kids were still sleeping, I ran outside to the street with a camera to capture it so they could see it later. But my camera is so plain and even if it did have some setting which would make this picture better, I wouldn't know how to use it. What I ended up with are terribly unflattering shots of one of the most colorful sunrises I've ever seen. (Not that I've seen a whole lot - I'm still working on enjoying the waking up part of the day.)

In all its not-fully-captured glory, the sunrise:

Make of it what you will.

4. My sweet little Lauren Jade - at 18 months - can talk like nobody's business. And often she talks about nobody's business.

While rolling on the floor together, rough-housing (ruffling!) before bed one night, she suddenly stopped. Looking at me with surprise and concentration, she said "TOOT!" before popping off a noisy row of toots. She was warning us, I guess. But the...the...duration...of her gassiness caught her off guard. With even more surprise than before, she yelled, "MOTORCYCLE TOOT!"

I snorted and cried and honked with laughter. We were quite the noisy pair.

5. How, in ancient times, did people deal with bad eyesight? I've been wondering about this because it seems like everywhere I go, a good deal of the population needs glasses or contacts to see correctly. Is this a recent phenomenon? Because I never really hear about bad eyesight in, say, historical novels. Which are the height of accuracy, as we all know. Were people with really bad eyesight just considered blind? I'm sure I would have been. How did they make a living or keep from getting hurt? Did they get treated differently for not being able to see? Or did everyone have bad eyesight, and therefore nothing seemed amiss?

I read somewhere that about 75% of the population (world? US?) needs corrective lenses of some sort. Has it always been so?

These kinds of irrelevant things keep me up at night.

6. I'm having a Pampered Chef party this weekend. I consider most in-home parties to be something to endure for the sake of a friend, but Pampered Chef is different: I love it. I love the cooking part, the eating part, and the kitchen gadgets part. I love that many items are in my price range and many items are in my dream range. In short, I'm really looking forward to the party.

What's your idea of a fun in-home sales party?

7. A while back, I saw an advertisement for washable, reusable lunch baggies. For sandwiches, fruit, veggies, chips, that sort of thing. We go through plastic baggies way too often and I've really been feeling wasteful about it. At one time I washed them out to reuse them, but after months of this I was starting to hate the sight of my countertops lined with ballooned out bags tented over every available surface. I'd love to find those reusable cloth bags again. Have you ever heard of anything like this or where I might be able to find some?



That's it for this week's exciting installment of 7 moderately Quick Takes - check out the entire link list at Conversion Diary, and enjoy your weekend!

Sidetracked On The Way To Winter

It was one of the last beautiful fall days, I am sure.

A day where our blue-eggshelled stretch of sky created the most serene backdrop for the burning maples and dogwoods. A day we stepped out of shady patches into the warm sunlight while chasing swirling leaves.

A day whipped by wind, encircling and insistent in its path of whimsy. A day full of energy to match the tempo of the breeze.

The day was perfect. Not to be wasted, but deeply experienced. To be explored and examined and dawdled over.

To be remembered before clouds and winter heap themselves in cold and wetness at our door. To bask in its warmth and balance on its edge before falling sideways into the next season.

To be yelled and screamed about while racing with the gusting air. To be smiled and squealed about.

It was a good day.

When the last light of evening was claimed for a few more blissful moments to let the warm air kiss our cheeks goodnight. Because we couldn't bear to let the day go.

When the lowering sun graced the treetops with a burst of brilliance against a settling down sky.

When we absorbed every last morsel of perfection the day had to offer, and tucked them away to keep us cozy this winter.

When we said tiny prayers of thanks all day long - morning, noon, and night - that such beauty should be ours.