Fall Is Here!

So, it's the day before Halloween, and although my dream of having all three kids in theme-matched costumes never came to fruition, I'm still excited to do the trick or treating thing! I was hoping to convince Chloe to do something fun and different...Cat in the Hat for her with Coop and Brody as Things 1 & 2. I thought it was funny and original, anyway. Much to my dismay, she wasn't crazy about the idea. She much prefered "Pink Witch" bought at WalMart. But then Cooper chose Batman and my theme hopes arose once again...I was seeing Chloe as Batgirl and Cooper as Robin! YES! Perfect! Even Chloe found a Batgirl costume that met "cool" requirements! So the quest then came down to finding Brody a toddler sz 1-2 Robin. Much more difficult to do then you'd think. Found a few, but they were out of our budget. Then Chloe's school had the Halloween party/dance on Friday night and she decided to wear the Pink Witch ensemble afterall. Hopes dashed once again. Afterall, I wasn't going to buy her two costumes in one year! Stay tuned for pictures of our mismatched gang of trick or treaters in the next few days.

Today was Cooper's preschool Halloween party and hayride. I got there just in time to hitch a ride with Brody. He was quite perplexed, but finally took the oppurtunity to nap in the snuggly, warm sunshine. Thanks to the party, we have 2 whole bags of candy already! I'm thinking we will be using that as our giveaways if we have any kiddies out here. Normally, we don't get many kids out here...too far out in the country...but you never know.

Bo-Bo's Big Birthday Adventure!

Brody turned 1 this weekend! We weren't quite sure that a party would happen for a little while. He got sick Friday. The doctor said that it was red ear and red throat and sent us on our way. No fever for him. Whew.

Saturday came and brought a fever to Cooper. Poor kid. His fever came down by Sunday, but the coughing started for both boys. We called around to the invitees to warn them of the possible germies. People were kind and decided to attend anyway.

Sunday afternoon, we had BBQ, hashbrown casserole, broccoli salad, macaroni salad, slaw, and Batman birthday cake! We all ate ourselves silly and then watched as Brody had his first whole piece of cake to eat on his own! What a mess! But a FUN mess! He is a lot like his momma....he loves chocolate!!

After the party, we cleaned while the kids played with Macade. We got the boys down for bed and Chloe and Cade stayed up for a little while. (Macade stayed the night...they just weren't ready for the party to be over!) Chloe went to brush her teeth and found yet ANOTHER loose tooth ready and ripe for plucking. After a bit of protest from her, I finally was able to yank the tooth out! It's a strange hobby, but I have learned that it's quite enjoyable; kind of like popping someone else's pimples or peeling sunburned skin off someone else's back. (Don't act like you've never done that! OK, back to the tooth....) So, here I sit, waiting to see what the toothfairy brought her once again. It's a good thing this one came out. She just went broke on her latest purchase of yet another Webkinz!

Anyway, it looks like we'll be headed back to the doctor's today with

It's been awhile....

Quite awhile since my last posts. We've been busy with the daily drudge, but nothing overtly exciting, I'm afraid. So I'll just take this opportunity to give an overall "here's what we're up to" update.

First off, we had a family reunion recently. It was alot of fun and we enjoyed spending the day with everyone. Here's a few of our favorite pics from the day...




Notice that both Memaw, about to turn 86 November 8th, and Chloe are both wishing for their two front teeth from Santa!

Michael Jon has adjusted to his 12 hour shifts well. He's enjoying the nights off each week and we've been able to spend more family time together as a unit. We are loving that! Cooper had a rough time the first few weeks of the new shift. Before this, Michael Jon didn't leave for work until well after the kids were asleep for the night, so Cooper really never realized that his daddy wasn't here. Having to watch daddy drive away right after supper was far from easy at first. We spent the first few nights sitting on the porch waving goodbye through tears and screams. It's gotten much better though. Whew...

Chloe is doing well in 3rd grade! I just had the first parent/teacher conference for the year and she got raves from all her teachers! She got all A's and B's (the B's were all 1 pt away from being A's!) and the teachers all agreed that she's doing well with her studies and with her behavior. Only 2 more games for cheer leading and then we'll probably start basketball. I'm looking forward to watching her learn the game. She has a natural knack for hitting baskets.

Jon Cooper is doing wonderfully in preschool! He's learned his shapes and colors! Still working on the name writing, but it's coming along. He's waiting patiently for Halloween to arrive so he can wear his Batman costume and "get candy"! He has found the joy of play dates and loves going to his friends' houses for a few hours. Actually, I think he'd just move in if we let him!

Brody is about to turn one!! This completely blows my mind! He's pulling up and cruising the furniture. No complete steps yet, but I'm sure that it's right around the corner. As much as he stays into on his belly, I can't imagine what he'll be like on two feet and upright! Watch out!! We're planning a birthday dinner on Sunday, so we'll have some new pics to share. He's got a red throat and ear, but no strep according to the ped, so hopefully he'll be feeling better by the big day.

Me?? Well, I'm watching kids...mine and others'. I'm doing the church thing and the mom thing. I'm trying to plan a mom's only slumber party for November. My friends and I don't get much time together anymore with all the kids' activities and housewife stuff to get done. So I decided to throw a party for the mom's to come to. Talk and hangout like we used to "PK" (pre-kids). Looking forward to the fast-approaching holidays! They'll be here before we know it! I'm a little worried about finding toys that aren't lead painted!! So we may be getting a big family gift instead of lots of toys for each kid. Still thinking on that one. Michael Jon is wanting the Nintendo Wii...He says the kids would love it...I think he'll love it!

So until Brody's birthday...have a nice weekend!

Close Call

I should have known. I should have known better than to mention to a friend how this was the first summer in 3 years that we hadn't had a trip to the ER for our little daredevil Chloe. I should have knocked on wood or crossed my fingers or wished upon a star or something to keep from jinxing us. We didn't actually end up at the ER, but it was dangerously close.

So, rewind to earlier this evening...

Michael Jon was mowing. I was grilling and cooking supper. Brody was sitting in his highchair enjoying some white grape juice. Cooper was playing soccer in the yard. (I still have no idea where that soccer ball came from....) Chloe was riding Cade's 4-Wheeler. (You can see where this is going now, can't you?)

So as I'm checking the baked potatoes and dancing to Vacation by The Go Go's to keep Brody mildly entertained while I continue cooking, in runs Michael Jon carrying a screaming Chloe. Truthfully, it didn't even freak me out. I've gotten somewhat used to Chloe's varied injuries over the years. She's not that clumsy. She's just a tomboy and full of "Anything you can do, I can do better" attitude with her best buddy/cousin Cade.

Apparently, she decided to drive Cade's 4-wheeler and he decided to ride. Apparently, she's not too hot a driver. She flipped it into a dirt mound. Leg is burned pretty good. Shoulder scraped, hip bruised, face scraped. She'll probably wake with a black eye. Ain't the first, won't be the last knowing her. Cade's ok. Bruised a bit, but it seems Chloe got the worst of this one.

It seems that she scared her Daddy enough this time to ban the 4-wheeler riding all together unless she's with him or another trusted adult family member. And anyone who knows Michael Jon knows that he's not the over-protective type. So she's not going to be motocross riding again anytime soon.