Halloween Parade

Today was Isabella's Halloween parade and party at her preschool. It started out a little rough, as you will see in the photos, but ended great! Poor thing got a little bit nervous when she had to parade in front of everyone, she didn't like getting all of that attention. I have to say that she gets this from me. I spent most of my childhood trying to blend into the walls around me and not be noticed by anyone. It wasn't until highschool that I started to come out of my shell and then in college I really let this go.

Isabella and I were talking about tortoise's the other day and the book we were reading said that they are shy and slow to start but once they get started they have a great time. It really reminded me of her and I.

Isabella and I at her Halloween party!

The class played pin the mouth on the pumpkin. After they all had a turn they were cracking up at how their pumpkin looked.

Isabella's class


My "Sneaky" Black Cat
(this is what she calls herself)

As the parade got started the tears started to flow. As you can see by the boy behind her she wasn't the only on crying, but don't worry she didn't cry the whole time. Once people started putting candy in her bag she thought it was a great idea =)

Dear Sweetbug,

Mommy loves you to the Moon and Back!

What I think about when I am feeling crazy...

I wish that I could have

bottled their giggles

when they were small

and collected all of their handprints

from each windowpane.

If I could have done this,

I would take them out gently

whenever I need to,

and spread them across everything.

Then, I would find such joy

in remembering.

But I have no giggles

or handprints

to hold or to scatter,

and remembering is somewhat bittersweet,

for home will never be

the same without

the sound of their laughter

and the gift of their presence spilling out from every room.

~Priscilla Wright

The Great Pumpkin!

Tonight we had our annual pumpkin carving night! This was a great year because Isabella actually put her hand in the pumpkin to help:) Usually she thinks it is too yucky to touch but this year she decided that it wasn't so bad. On the other hand Margaret was not having any of it. Her words were "Ucky Poo". Kyle had fun trying out some new tricks for carving that he saw on a pumpkin carving show (yes, he actually watches stuff like this!) Margaret and Isabella both helped pick out the seeds so that we could bake them tomorrow.

You may be wondering where Walter was during all of the festivities. He was super tired and was actually fussing most of the time so he didn't make it in the pics. I will have to snap him with some pumpkins tomorrow. To end our fun evening we all snuggled on the couch to watch "The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown"

Silence is Golden

I know it has almost been a week with no post but we are all sick here at the Zimmerman household. Just runny noses, chunky coughs, and me with no voice. I actually feel fine, I just have lost my voice completely. It has really made me be thankful that I have a voice at all because I miss talking. My family on the other hand is probably enjoying it a great deal. It is strange but my kids are behaving really well and there have been less fits since my voice disappeared. Maybe God is telling me something.....

Actually it has just really forced them to work things out on their own. I sometimes intervene too quickly so I am thinking this is kind of a good thing. We have really just been hanging low and trying to get well soon!

101 Ways to Entertain Your Child

Every Monday afternoon I take my kiddos to my 4:00 tutoring job and we always end up staying hours beyond what I intend to. The reason is because my kids are having so much fun there. I always thought that it was because they have a trampoline, a gym in their house (not kidding), and loads of kids. This may be the appeal but then the mom let me in on a little secret, this book.

She is the mother of five and the sweetest person I have ever met. I have been tutoring their daughter in math for the last year and a half and every time I am around this family I just get all warm and fuzzy inside. They are not only faith centered people but they are also very REAL people. Having been around them I have definitely seen ups and downs but no matter what you can tell that at the end of the day they all just love one another. I look up to her and only hope to accomplish what she has with her children.

Last Monday as I was ending my session I walked in on yet another craft project that they were constructing with my children. I asked how in the heck she always has a way of keeping my kids busy. This is when she pulled out this little book that she has had for 16 years. I looked it up on Amazon today and ordered 3 (great for Christmas gifts to friends). Some of the activities may be things you already do but it is nice to have things compiled in one book to pull out on the upcoming snowy days.

Highly recommend for any grandma or busy mommy:)

Authors were hard to read here so I will list them:

Danelle Hickman and Valerie Teurlay

First Big Boy Bath

To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time.

~Clara Ortega

He looks a little bit nervous!
They look like stairsteps!
Happy Boy!
Mommy's Helpers!

Witch Cake

I just have to share with you all the witch cake that I made for a Halloween party that we went to tonight at my brother's house. It was so much fun to make and might just have to be a tradition like our Easter Bunny cake. The girls loved it! You can't tell here but the witch's face is green frosting and I used that foam board for the hat.

We all had a great time at the party and it was a great way to do a trial run on the costumes. Isabella loved hers and didn't want to take it off. Margaret, on the other hand, was not so cooperative. She was very dramatic when I put it on her, sobbing on the kitchen floor refusing to go. Once at the party she was fine and when we got home she refused to take it off. Why am I so suprised by an almost two-year-old? Walter of course was a dream, he just smiles at his momma and gives me no sass (yet).

After the Halloween party we were off to a first birthday party for a friend of ours little girl Emma. While we were there Walter started something new... when you reach your arms out to him he reaches back. In fact he almost jumps out of who's ever arms he is in to reach out. My little man is growing up already!!!!!

Sleepover

Last night Isabella had her cousin Miss Madeline over for a sleepover. I was so excited and had all of these plans to keep them busy and all they really wanted to do was their own thing. Maddie is a few years older than Isabella and she is just in awe of anything and everything that Maddie does. We love having her around because she is just so easy going and sweet and she gets along with everyone.

It is great to have cousins so close to us now. I grew up with cousins around a lot so it is nice to see my kiddos experiencing this!

Here is a pic of them after they did their makeup this morning, I can't wait to show it to them when they are about sixteen:)

Jenni's Pics

My dear friend Jenni was in town the weekend of Isabella's birthday and she took some AwEsOmE shots of my kids!! Jenni is the most talented photographer that I know and she always seems to capture the true spirit of my children. About a year and a half ago Jenni and her family moved to San Diego where I know she is very happy. I miss having her here, but was very glad she came back for a visit!

Here is a link to her blog

http://www.petitefeetphotography.blogspot.com/

check out her awesome photos:)

P.S. Isabella was not in the picture taking mood, I think too much birthday excitment!

Pumpkin Patch

Today we took our yearly trip to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins. Isabella's preschool planned a day there for us all to meet beforehand and have donuts and juice and then head off to find our pumpkins.

We took a hayrack ride, played lots of games, and got to pick out some great pumpkins. The weather was perfect and there were no meltdowns had by anyone. Kyle and I both agreed it was our best pumpkin patch adventure yet.

Isabella's favorite this year was the new haystack slide. Margaret just really enjoyed watching the horses pull up every 5 minutes with a new wagon load of people. She loves animals and was fascinated by them today. Walter liked watching the horses and all of the commotion going on. It made everyone nice and sleepy and we had a great afternoon of naps:)

Isabella going down the big haystack slide
My three scarecrows!
Family Pic
Tired little pumpkins!

The Big 3-0

Well, it has officially happened to me. I am 30!! It is just weird because I never really envisioned myself in my 30's because it always seemed so far off to me but I must say I feel no different and no pain to join the 30's club. In fact I actually feel a bit wiser and more comfortable in my own skin more so than I did in my 20's. I am a true believer that you are only as old as you feel and I just don't feel old yet. I am just ready to see what the next 30 years has in store for me.
Here is a great picture of me with my children yesterday before they swooped me off to a birthday lunch. You may think that I asked everyone to make a silly face as this picture was being taken but I didn't! This is just actually the type of day we were all having! Thanks to all of those who sent wishes, it means so much:)

I Love Fall!

Fall in Kansas is my favorite time of year! You may be wondering where all of these leaves came from since I do live in Olathe with little Charlie Brown trees. Amazingly we do have a huge tree in our backyard that reminds me of our Prairie Village days. This is the area of town we used to live in that is full of mature beautiful tree lined streets. Today I raked up a pile for the girls to play in and they had a blast until Isabella saw dog poop and freaked a little bit. In the background you can see Kyle watering his "baby" grass, as Isabella puts it. This has been a year long project for him, trying to get a nice lawn in the backyard with an outside dog is kind of tricky. Please say prayers that it works this time around because I am sick of having my backyard roped off into sections!

Halloween Memories

Isabella's First Halloween 2004

Black Cat

Isabella posing for pics before heading to first pumpkin patch
2004

Isabella 2005

Clown

Isabella 2006

Bumble Bee

Isabella & Margaret (her first) 2007

Mommy's Little Angels

As Halloween is getting near and I have been getting everybodies costume ready I wanted to take a trip down memory lane and share past costumes. When I say get costumes ready, I really mean tell Mimi what the kiddos want to be. I love to cook and bake but sewing is where I draw the line. Kyle is lucky if buttons get put back on. There is just no interest for me here. In junior high I had to make a pair of boxer shorts for my Home Ec class and lets just say it took me awhile to finish the project and then they couldn't be worn. Luckily my mother is a good sewer and a perfectionist. I don't know if she loves doing this for us but we love having her do it:) This year we tried to make it a bit easier on her since I did add another child to the mix. We can't wait to share our costumes with you!!!!

My mother warned me of this...

So today I had a moment when I totally felt like my mother did years ago. She has always told me that pay backs are hell and there have been many times when I have been talking with her about Isabella and she gives me this look like she has been through this before with someone, that someone was me.

When I was four or five I was just minding my own business quietly drawing a picture with a brand new pencil. For some odd reason I had this crazy thought, I wonder if that eraser will fit up my nose. Next thing I knew I had bitten if off of the end of the pencil and had given it a try not even thinking about what the consequences might be. Much to my curiosities delight, it fit right up there. Seconds later it hit me, how was I going to get it out. To make a long story short, my mother had to end up taking me to the doctor to have it pulled out because it had gotten so far up there no one could see it.

So today as I was driving us all to Costco Isabella starts screaming hysterically. She sits the farthest back in the "Mini" so it is impossible to get to her without stopping the car. Once I get her calmed down enough to talk to me she tells me she has a flower in her nose. I am thinking, "A WHAT!" Then I realized she has these little glittery flowers that are just the right size for noses. I immediately stop the car and crawl back there to check it out and sure enough there was a flower in her nose. I wanted to yell, "What were you thinking!!!" but instead my mind flashed back to my eraser days and I was reminded of how something so silly could happen. Luckily it was visible and she was able to blow it out but she was traumatized! I don't think she will be sticking anything in her nose anytime soon if ever.

Sorry mom for being such a pain, once again I now know how you felt:)