Crafty

Just wanted to share a cute, fun, and easy for all ages craft idea for Halloween...

We started with empty glass jars that I have been saving. Any size will work. Just clean them out and make sure they dry well.

Next we cut out various sizes of halloween colored tissue paper. This is what is great about this project and why it works well with all ages. You don't want the pieces to be perfect or exactly the same. After this was done we put Mod Podge on the tissue paper and covered the entire jar, including the bottom.

Once this was dry we made a Jack-O-Lantern face and hot glued a Halloween ribbon at the top.

Once all is dry insert a votive candle and watch how they glow. Lots of fun for my kids and I hope to line them on my steps on Halloween night next to our pumpkins:)

A Whole New World!

She is officially sitting up all by herself!

This is a whole new world for this little chick and she loves it!

She loves getting to check out all of the cool naughtiness that her siblings are getting into around here lately.

Way to go little bitty!

So proud of you but really you can grow up maybe just a little bit slower for your momma right???

KC Marathon

Last weekend I had the pleasure of running the KC 1/2 Marathon. I actually say this with such joy because I got to run part of it with my bestie (my babies daddy), the weather was perfect, the scenery was gorgeous, and I actually finished.

I finished in 2 hours 2 minutes and 5 seconds to be exact:)

I got this idea to run this race while this little one was still in my tummy. Every time I have had a child I set some sort of goal to meet after they arrive to help get myself back into shape and feeling great. I started with 5 K's, 10 K's, and now the 1/2. There were many early mornings and long weekend runs to accomplish this. I couldn't have done it without my husband who not only put up with me but was always there to rub my achy legs, help dress the blisters on my feet, and kept my babies occupied while I was out pounding the pavement.

At the same time I was training, he was training for his third full marathon. Between work, family, and this I don't know how he kept it all together but he did and I am very proud of him.

This journey was amazing and very therapeutic for me.

With all of life's craziness this was actually one thing that slowed things down a bit for me.

Finally...

This little tooth has been dangling by a thread for the last three weeks. We wiggled it, we ate a ton of apples, and everyone we saw got a chance to give it a pull.

Finally last Friday night Miss Isabella lost her first tooth:) Leave it to Isabella to always be prepared, her adult tooth came through behind quite awhile ago and is already there to fill the space.

The tooth fairy made an appearance at our house and was very generous. As we put the tooth under the pillow I was explaining how it all would go down. Isabella was so excited! Margaret, on the other hand, was not too happy about the idea of this strange fairy coming into her room (or maybe it was the fact that she wouldn't be leaving anything for her, just her sister). She was very concerned about how she would get in and what if she woke up and saw her. She then tried to tell Isabella that the tooth fairy would probably get them mixed up since they are in the same room and accidentally leave it for her instead. Boy does this little one know how to work it!

Isabella was so excited to get to school today to show her friends. I must say I am sad to see the baby teeth go. They are so perfect and small. Pretty soon there will not be any baby traces left on this little girl. Stop growing so fast!!!!

Five Months Old

Happy Five Months Baby Girl!!!

What is new in Miss Caroline's world...

* she has now mastered rolling from back to tummy *

* pretty close to sitting up *

* likes her brother's toys more than her own, loves to play with them *

* has to have her 9:00 am nap and 1:00 pm nap like clockwork to survive *

* loves when mommy sings her "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" *

* likes to kick those legs really fast when any music is playing *

* loves reaching for her toes and sucking on them *

My Four Little Pumpkins!

Why does she look so worried????

Maybe it is because we just had a whirlwind of a weekend and with only hours of daylight left to spare on Sunday we packed in our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. This is Caroline's first trip to the pumpkin patch and this is the only picture I got of her. I guess it just truly portrays her state of mind at the time, "Where the heck am I now???"

We were here, there, and everywhere this weekend celebrating Aunt Kari and Uncle Ben's wedding! It was amazing and I will have many pictures of my little ones, who in my opinion rocked, as they walked down the longest aisle in KC. After all of the festivities we headed out on our annual pumpkin picking adventure but this year we traveled to a different patch. One where the kids could just pick their pumpkin off of the vine. My only rule was, "If you can't carry it, don't pick it!"

Here is Walter giving this lil' pumpkin a test try. Looks a little heavy there buddy!

Picking a perfect pumpkin is hard work!

Once the pumpkins were picked we got to load them on a hayrack and were pulled by a huge tractor. Notice our two green pumpkins. For some reason these were a hit with the girls. They insisted we go green:)

Here is a fun shot that I hope to capture each year.

We had beautiful fall weather as we were pumpkin picking. That, along with a handful of fresh kettle corn to munch on as we watched the kids run through the corn maze made for a perfect ending to our weekend...

that is until this little pumpkin decided to get grumpy and we had to head home.

Off to school I go...

My little man had his first day of school last week. He was so brave, just like I knew he would be. Ever since school has started for the girls he has been begging me for him to go too. I hesitated at first, he is still my baby to me, but then quickly realized he is more than ready and with four other boys in his class it would be a good outlet for him. I sometimes forget how close M and him are in age. He is just always going to be one step behind her. Good thing that I have Miss C home with me still. Maybe I will homeschool her to keep her around a little longer!!!

He was so excited this first day and insisted on carrying his new "McQueen" lunch box all morning. Once we got there and his little hands were washed he looked at me and told me that he wanted me to stay at school with him. I explained that I couldn't stay and that I would be there to pick him up when it was over. He responded, "Otay" and ran off to play playdough. He never looked back, cried, screamed, or anything. Just a big old grin and a wave that said, "get out of here mom I am fine!" I am glad that this is what went down, it made it so much easier for this momma!

I am so excited for this little dude and excited to have a bit of one-on-one with my little Miss C.

Birthday Girl is SIX!!!

My baby girl turned six!

The theme of her party was "peace". She loves the peace signs. Every where and every time she sees one she tells me they are her favorite. Don't know what the obsession is about but they are everywhere. I am not going to complain about this. I think we all need a little bit more peace in this world:)

Some of the gals from her kindergarten class came over for a little girl time. One of the girls that I tutor is very artistic. She came to paint nails "fancy" and did some awesome face painting.

More celebrating at the bowling alley.

Caroline even got into the spirit of it all. Didn't know they made peace signs for a little bitty like this one but leave it to her big sis to find one at the mall.

Can't believe that she is six already. I know I say this as each year passes for each of my children, I just don't want them to grow up too fast.

Isabella, you light up my life in so many ways. Most importantly you teach me everyday how to be a better person and a better momma.

I love you to the moon and back!