10/31/11: Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from my little pumpkins!!!

10/30/11: Trick or Treat

Today was ToT.  We had intended to hit up Aunt Kelly's neighborhood first, but both kids plus myself were feeling a bit under the weather so we decided to wait until our neighborhood started.  Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Ralph plus Grandma Kay came over for the festivities and had some pizza.  Kelly brough Mack over to ToT with the girls too.   I only made it to a few houses with them since it was really cold and I wasn't feeling well.  Kelly and Paul took them around the rest of the neighborhood and they came back with a good stash. The girls loved ToT-ing and can't wait to do it again!

10/29/11: Dining Room

Dining Room Paint? Check!

Two whole days ahead of  my scheduled deadline.  Kudos Paul!  Next up?  The Kitchen! I'm starting think we (okay I) got a little over ambitious this close to baby time...

10/28/11: Rylee is a big girl

What does every big girl need?  If you said a big girl bed, you're right! 

Since it is close to baby time we need to make the transition of the girls sharing a room and a bed. Tonight was attempt one of I'm sure many at this feat. As you can imagine it didn't exactly go smooth, nor did I expect it to.  On the upside they did both stay in the bed.  There just happened to be a lot of talking, tattling, some crying, and very little sleeping.

First I heard: "Mommy, Rylee isn't closing her eyes!"

Then: "Mommy, Rylee isn't sleeping like you said!"

I think you get the picture how it went from there.

Finally Morgan gave up and just fell asleep. Rylee however, did not. She spent her time playing with all of Morgan's toys while she was asleep.  Every so often checking to make sure Morgan was actually still asleep but touching her or staring in her face.  Finally about 1 am Rylee gave in and fell asleep.  She then proceeded to wake up every hour or so in tears. I don't think she quite knew where she was. They both got up at 7:30 for good for the day.

Morgan had gymnastics Saturday morning so I stayed home with Rylee. Soon after Daddy and Mo left I looked over at Rylee who was leaning against the couch, drinking her milk, standing up, with her eyes closed. It was  10:30 am and this kid hasn't taken two naps since she was 7 months old. Needless to say she took two after her eventful night.

Stay tuned to see how Take Two goes....

10/27/11: Preschool Halloween Party

Today was Mo's Halloween Party at preschool. Better known as the day she finally got to wear her Rapunzel costume somewhere. She was pumped.  If you know me at all you know I jumped at the chance to be in charge of the parties at her preschool. Who doesn't love planning a party?

I'm not sure if your kids do this but mine is a little fibber.  She plays dumb at home and claims she doesn't know letters, numbers etc. When in fact I watched her at class tell her teacher every letter, count to almost 30, and identify all the shapes that were asked. She knows what month it is and what day of the week it is.  If I asked her at home?  She would say "I don't know".  At least I know she's learning something, right? She's just refusing to share her knowledge.

The party got started with a parade which ended up with a couple of the kids crying.  We then headed back upstairs to do our craft, ghost milk jugs. See them in the back of that last picture there?  Thank you Pinterest!  Then it was time for the good stuff.  Ice cream sundae bar.   Next up we played pumpkin bowling             and then ended the day with some goodie bags!!  Morgan had a great time and so did Mommy!

Halloween Party = Success!

10/26/11: Halloween Cuties

Gosh, they've gotten so big.  I was just looking at last year's Halloween pictures and Rylee was still an itty bitty and Morgan still had some baby face. Now?  They might as well be teenagers. :Sigh:

10/25/11: 33 Weeks!

Still haven't replaced that mirror yet...

How far along? 33 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 24 lbs.  

Maternity clothes? Sweaters are in full rotation

Stretch marks? Same couple from before.

Sleep: Wishes work was like Kindergarten and naps were part of the day.

Best moment this week:  Busting out all the itty bitty clothes.

Food cravings:  Cottage Cheese.

Labor Signs: Normal 33 week signs.

Belly Button in or out? In

Movement: Lots and low.

What I miss:  Taking a full deep breath.

What I am looking forward to:  Leftover Halloween candy!!!

Weekly WTF: How is it almost November.   Still a lot to do around here!

Nesting madness: See above.

Weekly Wisdom: 17 month olds are needy or so it seems when you are 8 months pregnant.

Milestones: Less than 50 days!

10/24/11: Cousins

This picture wasn't exactly taken today but today was the first day I saw it so I think it counts. All three cousins being muses for Grandpa Ralph. I'm amazed that they are all sitting still and looking at the camera and they are all at least half smiling.  Good work Grandma and Grandpa!

10/23/11: Pumpkin Carving

Everyone is sick today.  Paul most of all with a fever. The kids were a little high strung so we figured what better time to get them focused on cleaning out a pumpkin. Therefore, giving us a little break.  I'm now realizing when uploading the pictures that I did not get one of the final product. Oops!  Well when we carve the others I'll get a good shot of all of them. The girls had fun and for what it's worth a power drill works well to help carve them!

10/22/11: Mr. and Mrs. Williams

Saturday morning started out like any other typical morning before a wedding for us guys. I joined Ed, Canale, Dike, Dick, Mickey, Coreybob, and Nate for a quick 9 holes, with drinking of course, before we had to head down to Hale Farm. We mostly screwed off while golfing, spinning our tires in the mud while trying to find golf balls underneath fallen leaves.

The guys and I all needed to be at Hale Farm for pictures by 4pm. We all made it there within a few minutes of each other and started drinking again (of course). I had the task of setting up the projector with the DVD I made for them so guests could see pictures of Nick and Amanda and their friends over the years. We all wandered inside the building and I tracked down the lady in charge. I barely got my question out to hear about the location of the projector when she said, "Sir, you need to leave with that beer." Now, this was a shock considering it was the location of the reception. I didn't want to cause an issue so I said OK. I went and found Dick (Nick) at the head table discussing some final things and I told him I needed to find a laptop to hook to the projector. Little did I know, but Sherri, the lady who just told me to leave with the beer, was following me to tell me again, "Sir, you really need to leave." So, I was kicked out before the party even started. WooHoo!

Fast forward to the ceremony. It took place in a lovely small 1800's church, with two wood burning stoves to heat the joint and no electricity. Me and the guys, all decked out in our penguin suits, were hot, and the fact that our collars were all too tight around our neck didn't help. Once we got into place and Nick and Amanda started to exchange vows, we all could be seen adjusting our collars and wiping sweat from our brow.  Ed, who was in front of me, glanced back at us to see if we too were sweating, then looked back at Nick and Amanda. Three seconds later. THUD! Ed, was on the floor. Yessir. Ed passed out. Each of us, including Mickey, Nick's Dad, all were thinking something different when it happened. None of us thought Ed was fainting. I thought he was pulling some stunt and climbing onto the stage; Mickey thought he was doing push-ups; Canale and Corey didn't know what the hell he was doing; and Amanda, mid vow, turned and said, "What the Hell?!?!?"

Ed was out cold for 10 minutes. Yes. 10 minutes. 911 was called. He left in an ambulance. He stayed overnight for observation. The poor guy missed the reception. But don't worry! It did not stop me and Canale from bringing down the house at the reception. We drank like it was our jobs, and when we were told we couldn't drink anymore (stopped serving), we went on a scavenger hunt to find where they hid the beer. We ventured into the basement of the joint and wandered around like to lost idiots, hiding from some worker who was down there putting stuff away. We managed to find the cooler, which initially we thought was locked, but after a good tug, opened to a beautiful sight... Beer. I acted as the lookout as Canale grabbed 3 beers, leaving with 2 (dumbass dropped one and busted everywhere!). Take that Sherri....

The night ended well. We created a new handshake, involving the act of starting to shake hands and then our  knees buckling and us falling to the floor. Thanks Eddie! We will have years of laughs for that one!

Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Williams!! Thanks for letting us be a part of your day!

10/21/11: Rehearsal Dinner

Actually reading their itineraries! 

Tonight was the Rehearsal Dinner for the very soon future to be Mr. and Mrs. Williams.  Once they were rehearsing at the church we headed down to Spaghetti Warehouse in Akron for the dinner. We eventually made our way there after going  a round about way.  Sorry about that Ed. (He had the pleasure of following us.)

The dinner was yummy and everyone had a good time together. It's a little bittersweet since I know it will be one of the last times we are all together as a group for a while since Canale and Kristin are moving next Wednesday to North Carolina. :cry:  We will definitely miss them!  

Highlights of the dinner include Dick's Rambo knife and the balloon maker.  Thanks to Nick and Amanda for letting us be a part of your celebration.  Thanks also to Mickey and Linda for a yummy dinner!

10/20/11: Snack Day

Today was our snack day at preschool.  Since I have to attend the Halloween party next week, Paul took the morning off work to go in and be the parent helper.  I got a great Halloween snack idea from Pinterest that met the healthy but fun requirements at Preschool.  Apples with peanut butter and marshmallows with Mummy juice boxes.

Paul got to spend the whole day at school with Morgan and she was super excited.  He did mention when he got home that she is a lot smarter than she lets on sometimes.  One of the perks of snack day for Morgan is that she gets to be the line leader and put up the date at the beginning of the day.

Paul and I also found out a few more things that go on that Morgan never tells us about like dancing in class. Those are some of the pictures at the end.  Both Paul and Morgan had a great time.  Paul did however say that if that is how boys are all the time he's glad that he has girls. ;)