Halloween Fun!

Our friends Brandi and Dub had a little Halloween get together tonight, which was nice because we weren't really planning anything. (following along the theme of unpreparedness on my part)

We had some pizza while the kiddos played in the backyard in their costumes. I fully expected Hayden not to tolerate the mouse costume, since she had screamed every time we put it on in the last few days. Plus, tonight she wiped her whiskers off right after I drew them on, so things weren't going well for us from the start. Surprisingly, both babies left their costumes on and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Our only "issues" were having to keep Cale away from the dog water bowl, and rescueing Hayden a few times when she looked around and didn't see any of her people close by. (Loud crying ensued) We went to about eight houses for trick or treating, which doubled my estimate at how many houses we could make it to before we melted down. Hayden did pretty well....she was a little timid, but held her little bucket out for candy and said "Bye bye" after they gave her treats. Cale, on the other hand, LOVES Halloween just like his Daddy. He marched right up to the door every time, and tried to go inside everyone's house. At one point, a guy held out a tray of candy so he could choose one, and Cale took candy out of his own bucket and tried to put them on the man's tray. Oh my sweet boy!! Overall, big success for Halloween "one year old style".

Hayden's faces

When she feels like it, the girl will really put on a show for you. Here are some pics of her in the Target cart, making her mad face, and her "smile pretty" face. (which looks more like fear than happiness, but whatever!)

First trip to McDonald's Playground. Momentous occasion.

I just wanted to post a few pics of my kids playing on the McDonald's playground. The ate their little nuggets first, and watched the other kids playing with interest. I knew that this would be the last time they would sit there happily and eat, because they had no idea what was ahead of them. When we got them out of their high chairs, they were off and running. Hayden stomped all over the place and bossed around a little blond kid who was there with his nannies. (That's the Alamo Heights McDonald's for ya) Cale loved crawling in and out of the little house they had for babies. I know this doesn't rank up there with seeing Big Ben or Buckingham Palace or anything, but for them, this visit was a BIG deal.

The Halloween Buildup

We have been so excited around here with Halloween coming...thinking that holidays are going to start being REALLY fun again now that we have kids to share them with. (In preparation, my husband has already eaten about twelve bags of mini Hershey's with almonds) I admit, I wasn't really on my A game about getting costumes planned out in advance, but I was still looking forward to it. I made a trip to Target the other night at nine thirty for costumes. (which was about as scary as a halloween activity as I'd like to get involved in....if you are in the market to see kids getting verbally abused, apparently they and their parents do their shopping late at night (past bedtime) where there is less scrutiny from the public) The costume aisle looked like Chernobyl......I had to pick up my cart and basically carry it over the eighteen inches of costumes laying underfoot, getting squished by the feet of desperate parents (idiots like me) who waited until 48 hours before Halloween to get their kid a costume. There was ONE cute toddler costume, (a mouse) which I decided to buy for Hayden. It was either that, or she could wear a skanky female pirate costume in a women's size large. I was already cooking up an idea for Cale, so off I went with my costume. We have put the mouse costume on both babies, but Cale is the only one who tolerates it. Last night when we got him in the thing (which is an act in itself....Shawn said that's why the kids are so ticked to be in the thing, because you have to bend them and stretch them to get in it in the first place) he started saying "Hi" to everyone and making (what he thought) were mouse noises. It was pretty hilarious. The dog thought he was one of her own, and wouldn't leave him alone. I am scared we have already worn the fun out of the mouse costume, and when Hayden is expected to wear it tonight, the screaming will start the minute she sees it. So if you see a family of four out tonight (one hysterical mouse, one baby in a semi-appropriate costume, and two parents with a look on their faces as if to say "We thought this was going to be a good idea"....) that's going to be us!

I am obsessed!

My new obsession is Sandi Henderson. I LOVE the fabrics (which I have seen around before, but have never seen her patterns) I came across these when shopping online on Etsy for Hayden. Many people sell girls clothes made from her patterns (but mark them up significantly) so I decided I am going to do it myself! I love this "gracie" pattern....you can make the dress, tunic, pants, another shirt, a multi tiered hippie style skirt.....I can't wait to get started!!

The. Worst. Grocery. Trip. Ever.

I generally consider myself a pretty capable person. That is why I decided I could handle both babies by myself in HEB yesterday. You see, I usually have one or both of my parents around to help me out (Thank you for that!!) but seeing as they are in Europe for ten days, and life has to go on while they are gone, I decided to go by myself.
Don't get me wrong, I DO go places by myself with the babies, but they are planned according to ease/accessibility. For example, CostCo is always a go because they have a double seated cart. Ross/TJMaxx/Mall, etc I can handle alone because I just take the double stroller. The grocery store isn't that simple. I could take them in the stroller, if I were only wanting to pick up one or two things. But seeing as I needed groceries, (not "grocery") it gets a little harder. I decided to drive through the parking lot, and ONLY stop if I spotted one of the "twosies" in the cart corral. Normally, stores have only one or two of these, just tailor made for "freaks" who have more than one kid. I spotted one, pulled in next to it, and started to onload the brood, only to find that EVERY strap on the thing is broken. Apparently they want your kid to perch their tiny uncoordinated bums on the little seat and just sit nicely. (not happening) A nice little employee saw my distress, and ran off to find another one. He retrieved one with only 75% of the straps broken, and I REALLY needed groceries, so off we went. We managed to get bananas and grapes before I looked down and saw Hayden dangling (completely unfazed...she almost looked like she liked it) from the side of the cart like she was rappelling. I unstrapped her, and carried her for a bit. I threw a few more things in the cart, and then Cale decided it wasn't fair that she was "out" and he wasn't, so he stood up in the other seat. I put her down to fix him, and she ran off. I grabbed him, chased her and stood there with two crying kids, (who were thrashing and hitting me, no less) trying to figure out what the heck to do. People were walking by me staring and gawking....It was horrible!!!!! I finally decided to put them in the cart with the groceries, and tried to make it to one last stop: the milk. Before we got there, they had unloaded all the groceries from the cart, onto the floor. (Thank you, can of raviolis for not landing on my foot) Apparently word got back to the manager of my situation, and he came RUNNING (I am not exaggerating) up to me and asked if he could help. I told him no, I was managing just fine (Ha) but that their carts were a "deathtrap" and needed to be repaired. He even offered to put one of the babies in another cart and follow me while I was shopping. I was too at the end of my rope to take him up on it. I just told him no, that was fine. I would just keep rolling down the aisles with groceries flying out of my cart, and I would just sue their store if either of them fell out of the cart. He walked off looking very confused.....I would have cried hysterically if it weren't so funny....by the time we got to the car, both babies were sucking on a "bribery sucker" (I keep dum dums in my purse for emergencies: it is the baby equivalent to a tranquilizer gun for large bush animals) We finally made it home intact, with a bruised bunch of bananas and a semi-flat loaf of bread. I told Shawn that he could probably tell by looking at the groceries which aisle the big meltdown occured on. Never. Ever. Again.

Who am I?

I love to read....
I love buying fabric and scrapbooking supplies, even if I don't have a project in mind.
It takes me at least an hour of laying in bed to go to sleep at night. (I have a very busy mind, my friends.)
I pluck my eyebrows at stoplights.
I cry when I get mad. (embarassing, and doesn't convey "power" to anyone!)
I love cleaning supplies.
My husband makes me laugh.
I drive too fast.
I would rather just eat chips and queso at restaurants, but don't because I am worried it makes me look weird.
I love costco!
I love the smell of my babies...when they're clean, when they're dirty, when they smell like maple syrup eight hours after breakfast.
I am a better person for being a mother.
I drink too much diet soda.
I love homemade icing.
I love laughing so hard my side hurts.
I hate taking my car to get an oil change.
I am borderline positive my house is haunted.
I love watching creepy crime shows....the stranger the criminal, the better.
I think Bruce Robison is the best songwriter ever.
I love flip flops, even in the winter.
I hate turtlenecks (they make my neck itchy)
I love that my babies have blue eyes like my husband.
I love this phase of my life more than any other one...
I developed a red wine allergy and seafood allergy since pregnancy. Weird!
I love people that inspire me to be a better person.
I hate being read to. I want to read it myself.
I think I have adult ADHD.
I always want to laugh at inappropriate times.
I love making lists, and drawing a little box next to each item so that I can put a check in the box when I have completed it.
I always have to go to the bathroom right when I walk into Hobby Lobby or Target.
I love Sonic ice.
I watch All My Children, and I am a little dumber every day because of it.
I have momnesia.
I love surprises.
I hate when my husband tells me he needs a haircut. He says it over and over (reminding himself) but it makes me feel like he wants me to do something about it. I also can't stand it when he reads standing up, or when he licks his finger before turning a page, but that is another story.
I don't wear a watch.
I love, love, love laughing with friends about old inside jokes...
I am more aware of God everyday, because of the two miracles He's given me.
I love lip glosses. (I have about 15 in my purse right now. Seriously.)
I almost always buy new shampoo and conditioner before I use up the other one.
I love celebrity gossip.
I love having a clean car, but I don't want to be the one to clean it.
I love looking at pictures in cookbooks.
I can't ever remember how old I am.
If I see someone I recognize in public, I almost never say Hi because I think they won't remember me.
My babies think I'm funny.
I'm married to my best friend.
I always feel sorry for the underdog.
I would rather spend time with my family than almost anything else.
I love giving gifts to people.
I doodle all over every piece of paper laying around.
I am bad at returning phone calls.
I love the smell of cut grass, clean laundry, turkey cooking in the oven, white out, crayons (reminds me of being little), chlorine in the swimming pool, suntan lotion....
I love office supplies.
I love having shaved legs when I go to bed.
I am impatient.
I am a daughter, a friend, a mother, a wife, a sister, a procrastinator, a work in progress!

As if being homeless wasn't enough, we are now living in my parents' upstairs with NO AIR CONDITIONING. (I guess beggars can't be choosers....) It isn't so bad for us, because by the time we go to bed at night it is relatively cool....but my poor babies have to nap up there during the day! We put a big old fan up there, so it isn't too bad.....we were on the "emergency list" with the AC repair company, until they found out that there is a downstairs AC unit....apparently we aren't considered an emergency anymore, even though the temperature is a full fifteen degrees higher upstairs. Out of everyone, I am actually managing the best, since I am always cold. Now we just have to keep our fingers crossed that the herd of yellowjackets living outside the house near the garage don't figure out that we sleep with our window open!

Oh well...on the bright side, things are starting to finish up at our house! Today the painter primed the cabinets, and next week the granite and floors get installed. After that, we just have to install the new vanities in the bathrooms and the lights/hardware and we are good to go!!! I am so excited I could cry....I never thought when we came to stay with my parents (the first week in JULY) that we'd still be here, but apparently I have been schooled on the inner workings of being your own contractor....we have some really nice, professional guys working on our house, but since there isn't anyone over there cracking a whip over their heads, they aren't exactly hurrying. Plus, none of them are connected to each other (by a company employing them) so they aren't really concerned with messing up what the crew before them has worked on. It could have been so much worse....other than going over budget and over our timeframe, it hasn't been that horrible. (Although those two things sound pretty bad when I re-read them) I almost have that same feeling of excitement like when you are about to get married and move into your first home....I have been homeless for so long that opening my own boxes is going to feel like Christmas!

A weekend-o-football

Friday we went to our high school's homecoming football game in the new stadium. First time taking the babies to a football game, and the first time in a long time that we've been back to our high school for a game. I made note of several things while there. 1. The stairs in the stadium and much, much longer and steeper when you are carrying a baby. I felt like I ran a marathon after going up them. (and I did it three times!) 2. Babies enjoy the band/cheerleaders/noises for about ten minutes, and then want to get down and run all over the place. We tried to let them "play" at the very top of the stadium, on the platform in front of the press boxes....which exhausted me because I couldn't help but imagine themselves smushing themselves flat, squeezing under the fence at the top, and plummeting a hundred feet to the parking lot. 3. I am pretty sure I could be a brain surgeon if I could purge my mind of all the cheers I can still remember. (motions and all) If only I could have retained more pertinent information that well....
We hung on as long as we could, and finally left at halftime. Hard work, let me tell you! Saturday we went to my brother in law's football scrimmage, which was again a test of my endurance.....my final assessment is that football is probably better watched from our own couch with a baby proof area for the kiddos. Taking them to these events just means I end up watching three plays, and spend the rest of the time chasing baby people all over the place. After the scrimmage we ran errands all day, and Shawn spent all day not answering his phone because he was taping the TX-OU game and didn't want anyone to spoil it for him. Some man tried to talk to him in Lowe's and he shut him up...I told him he probably shouldn't have run around all day dressed like super fan if he didn't want people talking to him about the game....Lucky for us, it was a good outcome....Today we finally got to do some work at the house, since my parents were nice enough to watch the babies....we made a dent. A tiny one, but a dent nonetheless!

Mommy and Hayden's self portrait

My best attempt at a family picture...taken with my mr. gadget arm.

Pumpkin Patch

I can't believe it's already the babies' SECOND October.....it feels like just yesterday we were taking them to the pumpkin patch for the first time...they could barely sit up, and we propped them up against the pumpkins to take their picture. Hayden was spitting up in half the pictures, and the whole trip was more for us than for them. This year was entirely different! The loved walking all around in the pumpkins...picking them up, and then putting them down when they found another one to carry. Cale tried to visit with some dogs on the other side of the fence, but they looked neither friendly nor vaccinated, so we directed him back towards the pumpkins. Hayden carried around one tiny little pumpkin the entire time, and even put it in a wagon and pulled it around the yard. Cale saw her, and tried to pull our wagon full of pumpkins. He couldn't, (of course) and proceeded to throw a huge fit in the hay. A nice elderly woman tried to pick him up, and he did the old "turn-my-entire-skeleton-into-jello" routine. He threw himself on the ground about four more times (twice in the parking lot) but at least looked adorable doing it in his new fall clothes! We tried to get a "family" picture, but you can see for yourself how that turned out.....notice Hayden throwing a fit, thrashing her headband off, legs stiff with rage, me laughing in shame, Cale oblivious, and Shawn looking at her like she has two heads. Let's hope Christmas pictures turn out better!

Brackenridge Park

A few weeks ago, my mom and I met one of my oldest friends ("oldest" as in: time we have been friends, not my friend from the nursing home) at Brackenridge Park to ride the train with our progeny. Pamela has two cuties; Matt, who is three and Marlie, who is one month younger than the babies. We brought bread from home to feed to the ducks, which proved to be a huge success. The train....not so much. Of course, Pamela's kids were adorable: staring with wide eyed amazement at all the sights and sounds.....while Cale threw a HUGE fit in my lap and almost wiggled himself off the side of the train. I was so sure they would LOVE the train, so I was surprised by how violently he hated it! I think he was just sleepy...(or that is my excuse) We'll try it again later, I guess. It was so fun to see Pamela, Matt and Marlie.....

Mimi and Hayden (with her bag of bread for the ducks)

The Maziurs waiting for the train

Cale and Marlie

On the train (pre-meltdown) Note the adorable family behind us with like twelve perfectly behaved kids...