Jog-a-thon

Thank you to everyone who helped contribute to Natalie's Jog-a-thon fundraiesr earlier this month. Natalie ran 42 laps and raised $101!!! The combined total money raised by all the kids was over $10, 000!!!

Everyone who ran got a certificate and a gold medal.

Because Natalie (in the black shirt) got over $100 in pledges, she was one of 70 kids who got to throw a pie at the teachers. She couldn't wait to throw a pie at her PE teacher!

The most popular targets were the principal in blue and the PE teacher in green.

The kids were also rewarded with a fun Zone, which we all went to today after school. There were scooters, 3 bounce houses...

Dance Revolution

...and video games. Here Zander is learning how to "bowl" from a nice 3rd grader using the wii game system. He LOVED it. He even loved the Dance Revolution. At the end when his score basically read..."sorry you lose," Zander, who obviously can't read, said "I'm the winner!!!" and jumped up and down for joy! Now that's self-confidence for ya!

P.S. Natalie still needs to collect money from some of you who pledged...Thanks again!

Awwww...how sweet!

I've been having so much fun with the kids lately. They are all growing up (for the most part) into sweet, caring kids.

Today, Zander really wanted to sort beans, so I scooped up a handful or two from my 13-bean soup mix and let him at it...warning him first that if any of them spilled on the floor, he would have to clean them up. Well, I came back to check on them (Hayden too) and of course, Hayden had spilled most of his all over the floor. I reminded Zander about his responsibility and showed him that the vacuum would be the fastest way to get the job done. He spent quite a while sucking up the mess with the hose attachment and at one point I just felt sorry for him and really appreciated what he had already accomplished. So I went over and turned off the vacuum and asked him if I could finish it for him. He told me that he wanted to do a good job for me, so he would finish it. I was so proud of him just then. He is VERY willing to help me and so I have been rewarding him by letting him help me cook in the kitchen. He loves this, especially since we got him a Disney cookbook. I think we may have a future chef in the works!

Here are some cute photos I took of the boys a few weeks ago and have been wanting to share:

Zander and Hayden have become great playmates.

They both love to wrestle...and share hugs! So sweet. I wonder how long this will last?

Sometimes a kid just gets tuckered out! (See, I told you he can fall asleep anywhere!)

Public Service Announcement: Cookie Bandit on the Loose!

Tonight, as is customary, we left cookies for Santa. Zander was the only one not already in bed, so I asked if he wanted to bring them in the living room. After he was done, I chased him upstairs and snuggled for a while. Then I warned them that Santa was just spotted over Canada, so they better hurry and get to bed before he got here.

I just started to unpack the kids' Christmas gifts (my side of the family opens on Christmas Eve) when I walked into the living room to get the stockings down from the mantle. I glanced at the cookie plate and two of the cookies were missing...That sneaky little boy of mine ate the cookies. I was getting ready to go upstairs and make him brush his teeth again when I saw this:

...Zander, must have been gazing at the tree (or the gifts under the tree) when he dozed off right on the edge of the couch.

I had only been unpacking for just a little over 5 minutes, so those cookies must have been what he needed to get to sleep!!!

I went in the family room to tell the story to Dan. He walked in and saw Zander and said, "you have to take a picture of that!" (I have my family trained!)

I couldn't find my camera anywhere, so Dan went out to the car to see if it got left in there. In that short amount of time, Hayden came down and took the other cookie and walked up to bed, like it was no big deal. I saw him do this and just had to laugh. I don't even know how he knew they were there (unless Zander revealed his master plan before going downstairs).

So beware, Santa might not be the only one eating your cookies tonight!

Halloween Festivities

As you know, I like to have fun with the holidays...I tucked this little surprise inside Natalie's lunch box today. It's a jack-o-lantern pin I got from Hallmark. I surprised the boys with theirs at lunch time too. (the other stuff in the package is fall leaf confetti.)

The kids feasted on jack-o-lantern sandwiches. Hayden couldn't believe his eyes...can this really be candy on my sandwich?

For the past month I have been saving Starbucks Frappuccino bottles so I could make these bottles of Halloween treats to pass out to teachers, friends and neighbors.

After Natalie came home from school, we got ready for some trick-or-treating fun! The local stores were passing out candy, so we got a head start before heading out the movies. We went to see Ratatouille, then went trick-or-treating in a local neighborhood (since our road doesn't get much foot traffic.)

Here 's the Disney gang: Cinderella, Sheriff Woody and Mickey Mouse!

On the way out the door, Natalie showed Dan the "fancy" jewelry I let her borrow. She told him "mom did a lot of finishing touches." I thought it was such a cute/funny thing to come out of her mouth.
I was so glad Hayden had a nice long nap today and actually didn't mind wearing the gloves and hood. A few days ago he would have nothing to do with them. I guess it can be challenging to use "cartoon hands!"

I was so excited to find this costume on sale at the Disney store for Zander. For the past year he has been wearing his old Woody costume which has been too small from the get go. It rides up in places where cowboys don't like it to and the sleeves and legs were way too short. Last year's Woody costume was all one piece. This year he got a much nicer costume with boots, a bandanna scarf, a holster for his gun, a sheriff's badge, a belt buckle a vest...and a hat. It's a size 7, so he should get many more dress up days out of it.


The kids had fun trick or treating in the shopping center. Our Papa Murphy's pizza was giving out mini tubs of cookie dough and McDonald's was giving out bags of cookies.

We got our picture taken at Damascus Chamber of Commerce.


While out trick or treating, we ran into our neighbor Clare. The other picture was taken at Ryan and Sarah's house.
Natalie and Zander fell asleep on the way home. I got them in bed and brushed their teeth while they were still sleeping...and they didn't even wake up!

Pumpkin Carving...

...Oh, the HORROR!

Okay, we had a little fun with carving pumpkins this year. The kids thought the seeds and pulp were sooo gross. Zander asked "Why is my pumpkin so swimy (slimy) mom?" And Hayden kept saying "yucky punkin mama."

Natalie and Harley's Jack-O-lantern's


Zander and Hayden's Jack-O-lanterns

Here are the pumpkins that came out of our garden...While they are still green I carved each person's name in their very own pumpkin. Then as it ripens, the cut scabs over and you can see the names are all raised off the surface. It's kind of hard to see on the computer screen, but it looks cool in real life.

The whole bunch!

Mmmm...Roasted pumpkin seeds! I toast them in about 1 T butter on the stove along with some Worcestershire sauce and garlic salt then into the oven they go for 35-45 minutes at 250 degrees.

Don't forget to watch It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown on Tuesday Night on ABC from 8-9 pm!!!