We're getting ready

Our pirate pumpkin.
The carving begins
The lighting ceremony

TA-DA! Daniel requested a happy pumpkin.

Quote of the week

Be who you are and say what you feel,

because those who mind don't matter

and those who matter don't mind.

Dr. Seuss

Fall festivities

We had another weekend of getting into the spirit of Halloween. It's different this year, D is bigger, he gets it more and has fun. We get flyers in his school folder daily about activities that we can't miss and make us feel guilty if we don't participate.
Ry's aunt stopped by for a quick visit before we headed out to a park district party. We ran into friends from Daniel's preschool and chatted with exhausted parents while kids were impatient waiting in lines for rides.
He met a pirate. They looked for gold together.
He loved pumping and popping balloons
We went back to do it again.
We enjoyed a train ride so much we stood in line twice.
We rode on the traditional hayride
After 2.5 hours of fun we dragged the little pirate home for a much needed nap.
A nice warm bath and a few books later the pirate turned spiderman was ready for bed, as were we.
Spiderman attacking.
Sunday, after church we went on a nice long bike ride. The weather was gorgeous and my thighs needed to burn off the pumpkin apple muffins I baked.
With visiting 3 parks and running after him in his Cadillac (we turned up the speed on it) I was done. It was nap time. Yes, we're lucky to have a 3.5 year old that still naps.
I enjoyed watching a French movie (I didn't know it was French until the subtitles came on), it was still cute. Ry watched football. We picked up our cars from getting oil changes, breaks done and break lights fixed. Our cars are ready for winter.
This week I'll be getting treat bags ready for D's Halloween party next Monday. We have another monster bash this Sunday at our church (D's school). It should be fun. The next breakfast with Santa is already on the calendar. Now, for our X-Mas cards....

Get to know someone

I found these questions on-line that can be used to find out about a friend. I thought it would be fun to answer them.


What was your favorite food when you were a child? A polish zapiekanka (close to pizza but it's not)
What’s the #1 most played song on your iPod? I don't have an iPod but I enjoy a lot of music except rap.
What is one of your favorite quotes? a day at a time
What’s your favorite indoor/outdoor activity? reading/gardening
What chore do you absolutely hate doing? washing floors
What is your favorite form of exercise? zumba
What is your favorite time of day/day of the week/month of the year? when I get home to see my baby/Fridays/September
What’s your least favorite mode of transportation? boats, I'm scared of water
What is your favorite body part? hmmm...shoulders???
What sound do you love? rain and my baby giggling
If you could throw any kind of party, what would it be like and what would it be for? A girls night in pajama party, it would have all sorts of junk food, no one could wear anything but comfy pajamas, pony tails and no makeup. Keep it real.
If you could paint a picture of any scenery you’ve seen before, what would you paint? a garden
If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be? 33
If you knew the world was ending in 2012, what would you do differently? work part time and spend less time cleaning and spend more time with my family
If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor? Dalai Lama
If you could witness any event past, present or future, what would it be? Jesus teaching
If you could learn to do anything, what would it be? be an awesome photographer
If you had to work on only one project for the next year, what would it be? decorate my living room, shallow I know
If you were immortal for a day, what would you do? walk on the tallest buildings
If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to? no idea
If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do? travel to Europe (oh yeah quit my job)
If you were reincarnated as an animal/drink/ice cream flavor, what would it be? Horse
If you could know the answer to any question, besides “What is the meaning of life?”, what would it be? "Is there life after death?"
When you have 30 minutes of free-time, how do you pass the time? reading in bed
What would you name the autobiography of your life? light at the end of all dark tunnels
Have you ever had something happen to you that you thought was bad but it turned out to be for the best? yes, leave it at that
What was one of the best parties you’ve ever been to? my wedding, ha!
What was the last movie, TV show or book that made you cry or tear up? The Walking Dead
What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done? become a mom
What did you do growing up that got you into trouble? steal change from my dad's car
When was the last time you had an amazing meal? heck I make them all the time
What do you miss most about being a kid? lack of responsibility and everything looked so big
What is your first memory of being really excited? getting a doll stroller
What was the first thing you bought with your own money? car
When was the last time you were nervous? a month ago
What is something you learned in the last week? time outs get old
What story does your family always tell about you? I always loved babies and played teacher with everyone and even my dolls
At what age did you become an adult? don't get this question but if I think it's "that" question I'll keep i private, otherwise probably when I had to show up to work 5 days a week 9-5

Quote of the week

It is not what you give your friend, but what you are willing to give him that determines the quality of friendship.

-Mary Dixon Thayer

Rolling with the GPs

This weekend D rolled with the grandparents while mommy and daddy slept in, went out to dinner and saw a movie. It was grand for both parties. We missed him terribly though. He went to Santa's Village.
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa, c ya in a couple of months for another sleep over. :)

Picture perfect...or sometimes not

It was picture day for our little preschooler. Hair was jelled, hair sprayed, his outfit looked great and he practiced his smile the night before. I hate pre-ordering pictures before seeing them. You just never know what will come back with that package and if the 16 wallet pictures will only be given to grandparents because they can never think their sweetheart looks bad. It happens, I've seen it, it happened to me. My 5th grade picture, my bangs were sky high, sprayed with Aqua Net to last for a week, and the shirt I was wearing did not complement my October pasty white skin. That picture did not make it across the ocean to my relatives because it just wasn't my best. Now, I wait to see if the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. :)
We took a couple before the professional shot because mommy can never make this sweetheart look bad. HA!
On another note, our sweetheart received a couple yellow lights and one red light warnings in school for 1. taking away a toy (yellow) 2. knocking blocks and pushing (yellow) and 3. kicking (red). This count is since the beginning of the year, I've heard of worse BUT this momma is taking this seriously.
I have prayed over this for the last several weeks and today I landed at the Family Christian store to pick up a couple of books that I have heard rave reviews about.
1. Bringing up Boys

2. The parenting collection.
both books by Dr. James Dobson. These two books promise to guide me to raise my son properly. I started reading the Parenting Collection first because it has a section on a strong willed child and if you look that up in the dictionary, Daniel's picture will be right there. So far I have learned a few common sense rules. Get your notebooks out parents AND grandparents.
1. The best opportunity to communicate often occurs after a disciplinary event - Dr. D thinks that after spanking a child when they are most emotional you should sit with them and explain to them what they did wrong and why you did what you did-Done!
2. Control without nagging (it is possible) -Work needed here.
3. Don't saturate the child with materialism-Done on my part (most of the time), work needed from others in the family.
4. Establish a balance between love and discipline-Some work needed.
We're ready for the weekend. We're hoping to spend quality time as husband and wife while Ry's parents take D to have a good time.
Have a good one!