Oh how I miss the days of triangle eyes and square-toothed smiles...

exhibit A

exhibit B

Dear Mr. or Ms. Inventor of Patterns for Pumpkin Carving,

I felt it was necessary to write you a letter to tell you one thing. I have decided you are EVIL!

I am also wondering if you will send me your address so that I may send you the doctor bill. What doctor bill, you ask?? The doctor bill for the carpal tunnel syndrome I am quite certain I have developed over the past two hours. Two hours of sawing a thick-skinned pumpkin using one of your darn patterns and the world's smallest saws (one of which is called "the comfort grip saw" -- ha!) (see exhibit B)

Sure, you can argue that no one FORCED me to buy your silly pattern book and undertake the adventure of carving a pirate skull face into a pumpkin. (see exhibit A) And perhaps it looks easy -- like it did not take much effort at all. HA! Two hours I tell you! TWO!! I ask you -- what has happened to the days of jack-o-lanterns with their happy triangle-shaped eyes and toothy square smiles???

Finally -- did I mention I have THREE children and have yet to carve two of their pumpkins?? I believe pumpkin number two is expected to depict a spider hanging from a web. Wish me luck with that one.

Pumpkin number three is anyone's guess. I am keeping my fingers crossed that my four-year old will love the idea of some rockin' triangle and square shapes carved into his pumpkin!

(Actually... should my children be thrilled with the outcome of my efforts, I will cut you some slack and all will be forgiven. But you are still getting that doctor bill I mentioned earlier!)

That is all for now. Happy Halloween!

Monday Again

It's Monday and I'm back! First of all -- I must say thank you to Nicholas and his dimple for filling in on my blog for a day! hee hee...

Today we are trying to get back to our routine after a wonderful week of Fall break. We kept quite busy with a visit from my in-laws and all that it entails (the Pumpkin Patch, Dollywood, the zoo, swimming and other such fun). We also got to spend some time with our friends after my in-laws left. We went bowling, to a birthday party, to Boo at the Zoo -- overall, we had a great week!

I also turned a year older since my last blog visit and would like to say thanks to all of you for the birthday messages on my blog, by email, by phone and in person. I appreciate it! Now the dreaded countdown to 40 has begun and if the months keep flying by the way they have been -- it will be here before I'm ready! Seriously -- can anyone tell me what has happened to the last three months?? I swear it was just August and all of a sudden we are sneaking up on November!

I have taken quite a few photos the past several days and thought I would share a few from Dollywood. If you've never been there, let me tell you it's probably the cleanest amusement park you will ever see. It is so pretty -- surrounded by the Smoky Mountains and landscaped beautifully. The people that work there are mostly older retired men and women who are quite friendly and great with the kids.

I personally, am a complete wimp when it comes to amusement parks. I cannot do roller coasters or anything that will make me dizzy or turn my stomach. This is quite embarrassing, considering my six-year old was riding every coaster multiple times! You can see from the photo below, she is right in the front seat with her brother -- enjoying every minute of it (and making mommy quite nervous! eek!) It was the first time she was tall enough to ride all the rides, so she was pretty happy. The picture next to it is Nicholas and me riding the flying elephants -- those are so much more my speed! LOL

(And I have NO idea who that crazy dude is waving to me from the back of the roller coaster! LOL)

Another big hit with my family was the water ride called River Battle. On this particular day, it was quite chilly when we left home and I told the kids no water rides until it warmed up. My husband said -- "No water rides AT ALL today -- it will be too cold!" Then he saw River Battle and all of a sudden he was like a little kid ready to play with the water cannons. I didn't think we would ever get him off the ride! These photos show my kids and their dad shooting at people as they ride by -- and there is my father-in-law, shooting back from the sidelines. They were all drenched! It was quite entertaining.

I am looking forward to catching up with all of you this week -- I hate not having time to read your blogs! Hope you all are doing well and enjoying some beautiful Fall weather. Have a GREAT week!

Just peeking in...

Hi Everyone! My dimple and I thought we would peek in and say hello! We also wanted to let you know that my mom is not ignoring you and has not left the country or anything. She's just very busy because my older brother and sister are on Fall break right now. Also, my Nannie and Pops are visiting and we are so very busy -- it's just crazy at our house!

But we've been taking lots of pictures and are having a great time, so I'm sure she'll be back soon. And she'll do her best to catch up on all of your blogs too!

Hope you're having a good week!

Your pal -- Nicholas

The Road Taken

This photo was taken on the road that leads out of our neighborhood. It would be much prettier if there were no electrical lines in the photo, but I suppose those are necessary (you know, if I want to blog and such....LOL). I love this time of year when the trees that cover the hills and mountains around us are all different colors. It's a nice way to start a journey somewhere -- seeing this splendid view of God's handiwork.

My post title of course is a play on the title of the very famous Robert Frost poem. I remember memorizing it in a high school English class, but I doubt I could have remembered it today (which is why I am so thankful for the internet -- it's great for people with missing brain cells such as myself!).

Anyway -- I've always loved this poem, so I thought I would post it today. It also seemed to be a reflection of things that have been on my mind lately. Like how much it bothers me when people feel the need to follow the crowd...to do what's popular, not necessarily what's right. They choose what is easy and what will make them feel accepted by those around them and are often afraid to take a different stand for fear of being attacked or cast out. I'm probably guilty of it myself. I don't always speak up when I should.

Read the poem -- and then remember -- it's okay to be different from the majority. It's okay to have different convictions and beliefs and to stand by them even if others will make you feel badly about it. It's okay to choose the path less traveled -- sometimes it can make all the difference.

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

For All You Twilighters...

Alice had this quiz on her blog, so of course I had to take it. Thought all you Twilight fans might have fun with it as well.

This is what I came up with -- gosh, I hope I truly am like Esme!


Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

You are thoughtful and care very deeply for your family. A loving home is of great importance to you and you always try to make people feel welcome. Although you have a great capacity to love, you also have a great capacity to hurt, so at times you can be sensitive. You're firm when you need to be, but people trust your judgment and appreciate the kind way you always handle things.

Happy Tuesday!

How to Survive a 1st Grade Field Trip

Today, I had the honor and pleasure of going on a field trip with my daughter and her 1st grade classmates. All of the 1st grade classes went from not only our school, but many, many others in the area. We saw a musical production of "The Life and Times of Junie B. Jones". It was quite cute and we had so much fun! (Alice, did you all go as well??)

Let me give you some tips, should the opportunity to attend a first grade field trip present itself to you.

#1 -- On the evening before your excursion, should the thought cross your mind that you need to remember your camera -- pay attention to that thought IMMEDIATELY. Do not put it off until the morning. Chances are you will forget your camera. (do you see any pictures in my post?? grrrr....). Unfortunately, the other two moms you happen to know that are also on the trip might forget their cameras as well. (yes, we ALL forgot them!)

#2 -- 1st graders may be small, but they do know how to turn up the volume. If you are riding in one school bus with about 60 kids and a dozen adults -- you may want to invest in some ear plugs. However, if you do this you will miss out on the opportunity to get a healthy dose of exercise for your imagination. The little boy sitting next to you on the bus will expect you to play along as he pretends the school bus is actually driving underwater and that metal suits must be worn to protect one's self from sharks and other sea creatures. Who knew a ride on a yellow bus could be so exciting and dangerous??

#3 -- Be prepared for lots of hugs and information sharing. (Also be prepared for your own child to be jealous of the attention you are giving the other kids -- yes, it's true. Somehow my daughter was not pleased that I was having fun with her classmates. It was a bit surprising -- but it gave us a chance to discuss jealousy and the fact that she is my favorite person of all her classmates to spend time with.)

#4 -- Soak in the sound of hundreds of six and seven year olds laughing in unison. It has a sound of innocence and happiness that is good for your soul.

#5 -- Eat a good breakfast (or at least eat SOMETHING) before you go. If you don't, by the time you return to school at lunch time you will be starving and believe it or not, the cafeteria peas and mashed potatoes will be very tempting. They can only be resisted if someone mentions fast food to you, which sounds really, really good because you are starving. Especially if they mention Taco Bell.

#6 -- When you leave school and head to Taco Bell (well, of course I went to Taco Bell) PAY ATTENTION to the voice inside your head that tells you Taco Bell is NOT "eat in the car" food. Do not give in to the temptation and extreme hunger and pull out your taco anyway. Greasy meat and tomatoes will gravitate toward your clothing no matter how careful you are. It does not look pretty.

(Granted #5 & #6 will not likely be a part of your field trip experience, but I felt the need to share anyway. If you can learn from my mistakes, it is worth the mention.)

#7 -- Above all else -- enjoy every aspect of the day that you can. Times like these are priceless.


Have a great day!

Books

Yesterday after church we made a short trip to Borders bookstore. My husband had another errand to run and so he dropped the kids and me off with the words, "Promise me you won't buy anything." To which I simply had to reply "I'll TRY not to buy anything." The bookstore is worse than Target for me -- I could probably bankrupt us buying books -- especially for the kids. I can always find books I would love to have in our collection. My hubby constantly says, "The kids have enough books!" After 12 years of marriage you would think he would have figured out that I do not believe in such an absurd idea -- ENOUGH books -- ha! Not even possible!

Somehow I did manage to get out of there without spending a penny. However, I fully intend to remedy that situation by making my own trip back to Borders this week. Not only did I get many Christmas ideas from the kids, but I also had a completely nostalgic moment and I need to go back and buy the book pictured above.

Please tell me somebody remembers the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books....oh my goodness I LOVED these books when I was younger. I read them when I was maybe eight or nine and I have not seen them or thought about them in ages. When I saw a collection of three Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books at Borders yesterday, I almost cried I was so excited. It gave me such a rush of memories of going to the library as a child -- of reading at my grandparents house -- of how much I loved getting new books through my Scholastic book order forms at school. It sounds crazy, but seeing these books just gave me a rush of memories that really made me sentimental. I must get this book for our collection. (When my husband isn't with me....hee hee....) They are chapter books I would love to read with and to my kids.

We are also addicted to these wonderful children's books at our house right now...stories about Pigeon by Mo Willems. My four-year old especially adores these stories -- we read them multiple times a day. This link will lead you to all Mo Willems books -- Pigeon is our favorite and I would highly recommend them if you have little kids. They are hilarious and so much fun! My older kids and I like them just as much as my little guy.

Moving on to adult books -- I have just finished The Thirteenth Tale and am trying to decide what to read next. I'm kind of in the mood for a quick read because this book took me about a month to read. I really enjoyed it, but for some reason it seemed to take me forever to get through it. Any suggestions for a wonderful book -- one you couldn't put down???

I am SO behind on blog hopping lately -- I have been trying to get through some projects at home, plus life is just crazy busy right now with sports/activities. But I try to visit you all at least once or twice a week and hope to catch up with you very soon.

Happy Monday -- have a great week!

My Love/Hate Relationship with October

Happy October Everyone! Can you believe it's here already??

I LOVE October -- it's my favorite month of the year. I just love the season, the change in temps, the inevitable trip to the pumpkin patch. As a child, maybe I was in love with October because my birthday is this month. Of course birthdays aren't as exciting anymore -- but I still love my birth month.

The only thing I hate about October is once it comes -- you KNOW the rest of the year is going to fly by. It will be a blur and before I know it I'll be wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

This year though, I have to admit -- it's all gone by pretty quickly. I have no idea where August and September went. So maybe I just need to realize I'm getting older...my kids are getting older...and life just goes quickly period.

Speaking of my birthday -- this year I will turn 39. My husband has been harping on the fact that I am dangerously close to 40. I have a whole year before that happens, and yet he keeps on bringing it up. I am not one to freak out about my age -- because really, what can you do about it? Not a darn thing. But it does seem awfully strange to think I will be hitting that milestone next year. Forty....wow! If anything, it makes me anxious to achieve a few of my goals by the time that day comes. It should motivate me a bit more I hope.

I was planning to post some pictures today of recent activities, but just realized they are not yet loaded on the computer. So for today, I will leave you with a wish for a wonderful October. Chat with you soon!