Our week....

So Joe was out of town all week, although I don't put that on the blog when he's gone because I think some psycho is going to read it and know I am alone and break in my house...I know, weird. Anyhow, the kids and I had a fun week...we kept busy which always makes it go by quicker. I have made numerous attempts to get a great christmas picture and have come to accept that I am not going to get a "perfect" one....at least not while I have a 2 year old little boy! Here are a few of the outtakes....
















And here is a picture of me 30 weeks pregnant for all those who have been asking to see a good prego pic. I am aware that I was in need of make-up and a shower! But if your just wanting to see my pregnant stomach this should do. :)




















I took the kids to the picture people Wednesday to get a christmas picture and they looked so cute....but Owen was "active" in every picture so I just decided to reschedule when joe can go with me as he has a little more control over him in those situations. Here are some picutures of the tree and most of the Christmas decorations up. Also of my new furniture that I really am liking now. I need to get some accent pillows to pull them in with the room but they are really comfortable.





















I LOVE having this staircase and how it looks all decorated up and am also enjoying the area that the builder called a "plant shelf" which I thought was stupid. But it is the perfect place for my bench and my snowman village. As Joe put it, that is the ONLY place I could have put that and it stay how I set it up since it is unreachable to the kids.

















Wednesday I was craving a great salad (which never happens) so that evening I was getting the kids ready to head out to a place in town that has a awesome salad bar when we got the best surprise ever....mom showed up at the door! After being home alone since Sunday I couldn't have asked for anything better. She wasn't planning on coming until Thursday evening but surprised us and we were all glad to see her. She sent me on out to get my salad and she stayed home with the kiddos and played with them. I had a great dinner by myself and stopped by the store to pick up a few things as well. Thursday I got to finish my Christmas shopping as she stayed home with Owen and then picked Maggie up from preschool and brought her on home, so I had a full day to get everyone checked off my list. I had a great day so thanks again mom!! The kids enjoyed themselves as well with her and I think she spent about 80% of her time holding Owen as he stuck right with her the whole time saying, "hold me MiMi." I worked on Friday and once again triaged patients on the phone all day so it was very easy, although it gets really annoying after the 50th passport patient calls wanting us to call in tylenol or motrin so their medical card will cover it....I mean the generic brand is like 2 bucks at Walmart....what do cigarettes cost these days?? Yes, i could go on and on about this but I will leave this topic alone now. :)

So Friday night after putting the kids to bed Mom and I stayed up awhile talking and I went up to check on Owen before we went to bed. When I walk in his room I see his PJ's and diaper on the floor by his crib and look in and here is what I see....













so he has done this every nap and every bedtime since. He totally strips naked and wraps up in his BB (blanket) and falls asleep. I am not sure how to handle this problem as he has no explanation why he is doing this. I can usually get his diaper back on and dressed without waking him but it is really getting annoying. Anyhow, mom and I laughed so hard at this that night, luckily he hadn't peed yet!

Mom headed home Saturday morning and the kids and I headed to the Shelbyville parade to meet up with NeilaSusan and Carson. The parade was very impressive for this town...and lasted nearly an hour and a half which was about an hour longer than I was hoping...not to mention they got as much candy as they did at halloween.


















The kids really enjoyed it though so aside from saying they were cold we heard no other complaints. After that we headed to the library to meet up with Santa and make some Christmas crafts and Nick and Joe met up with us there as they got back in from Alabama that morning. The kids were thrilled to see Joe and very surprised. We went and got their picture with Santa and I can kick myself for not having my camera with me because they got a great picture. The kids both loved seeing him and hopped up on his lap and had great smiles. Owen was so excited and jumped up and down saying , "Santa, I want cars and a choo choo." over and over. They all thought he was adorable and said he was definetly their most excited to see Santa of the day. After leaving their we went to a deli in town and had lunch and then it was home for naptime.

Saturday evening Maggie and I headed to Gattiland for Kate's birthday party. When we got their pretty much everyone was already there and Kate had saved a seat right beside her for Maggie. Her mom said she kept asking if Maggie was coming. We stayed 3 hours and Maggie had a blast playing with her friends.


















I wasn't crazy about Gattiland as it seemed more geared towards older kids....but they did have a big Carosel there that she loved.










Sunday we just went to church and came home, had lunch and I napped when Owen did. It poured the rain that evening so we just stayed in and kept dry. My friend Shannon had her baby this past week so I went down to their house to see her. I can't believe in 8 weeks (or less) we will have a newborn! I have begun to freak a little as I have no crib, bedding, car seat, basinett, etc for this little one. At this point I was 100% ready for Maggie and Owen but I do have diapers and my milk so those are the important things I guess!
This week we just went to library on Monday and Maggie had preschool yesterday. She also had dance last night, her recital is a week from Saturday so we have dance every Tues and Thursday until then. I have seen them do their routine a few times and can't wait to see when they get on stage since they all seemed like they were doing their own dance. Today I was going to head to Lexington to go to a baby store that has the crib I want but it was so cold and the kids said they just wanted to have a PJ day so that is what we have done. I have spent alot of the day on the phone trying to find some place that can make my blog into a "book form" for me but have had no luck yet. If anyone has any ideas on how to do this let me know. And if you need any christmas ideas for me this would be a great one! :) I am sure if I was more computer savvy this would not be a big deal to do but I have yet to figure out how to get it to layout right.

We tried to do one more photo session and had about the same luck today as before....here ya go.




















Ahhhh, gotta love that little boy!

Ready for Christmas

We have been busy around here getting things done around the house and decorating for Christmas. We stayed home for Thanksgiving and had a nice few days with just the 4 of us here and got quite a bit done that we had on our list. Joe got Owen's new room painted, although I can't move him over until I get the shades in for his room. The paint looks really good though. I got all my Christmas decorating done and it looks great. We got our new furniture in for the great room today, I like it pretty well, although I am not totally happy with the color but it's growing on me.

I finally picked up my iron Rx this week and I must say I am feeling much better. I am not nearly as tired which makes it easier to keep up with the kids. I got up early the day after Thanksgiving (4 am to be exact) and headed out to do some shopping. There wasn't anything great to get, but I just like being out with all the people and hopefully getting my hands on a few good deals.

Maggie had her dance pictures today and looked really cute, she loved her costume and how she looked in it. Mom is coming down Thursday to visit and keep the kids while I work on Friday. They will like having her here for a few days. We have a fun day planned for Saturday, that morning we have a Christmas parade in town and then go to meet with Santa at the library. Maggie brought home an invitation to her friend Kate's birthday party today after school so we will be doing that Saturday evening. She was really excited about that. Well, here is a cute picture I got of Owen yesterday before library. I thought he looked adorable.













I have been trying to get a good picture of the kids to make our Christmas card and have yet to get him to sit still and smile....too bad this isn't of he and maggie.

Wipes for Christmas???

So maybe I should just buy my kids a box of wipes for Christmas. They seem to enjoy them as much as their toys....Owen played with a wipe the entire ride home from Louisville the other day. I heard him laughing and looked back and here he was cracking up at himself with a wipe on his head.



















Maggie obviously noticed that I thought he was pretty funny because when we get home here she comes with some wipes and heads for the kitchen. I put Owen down for a nap and came back downstairs and she was in the kitchen like this.



















She told me she was Cinderella cleaning the floors. She played here quite a while and got my floor pretty clean while she was at it.



Well, before I am off to bed here is a shot I just took of Maggie....I went up to check on her before I went to sleep and here is how I found her.......dead asleep. Not sure what she was doing as she drifted off and how she kept her head from falling. Funny huh.




Everyone have a great Thanksgiving.

Here comes Santa......

We had a really fun night tonight. Joe met us after work out at the Summit for their light up Christmas night. We ate at O'charleys and then headed over to the outdoor mall to see if we could meet up with Santa. We got there just minutes before he arrived and it worked out perfect as we were right where he and Mrs. Clause got out so Maggie got to shake both their hands which she thought was neat. AFter they lit up the tree there were fireworks which both my kids love and that kept their attention while we waited in line to get pics with Santa. It was pretty cold out, I believe around 38 degrees.....which is cold here in Ky but was nothing compared to our time in Peoria. That was a warm day if I remember right. :) The kids did great waiting in line and both hopped right up with Santa.









Owen looked at him and said, "I want toys!" as he chewed a big wad of gum. I knew he wouldn't be the least bit scared of him as Owen loves people dressed up. I wasn't sure how Maggie would be but she got right up there and smiled for her picture. When she got down I asked her if she told him what she wanted and she said, "oh no....I forgot to!" So we walked back adn she told him that she wanted pets and a stuffed dog and cat. He told her Okay, so I guess those need to go on the shopping list. We then headed to starbucks for some hot chocolate to warm up some. Joe has been out of town this week, so it was fun for us all to just get to hang out.

Nick started working for Joe's company this week so he was out of town as well this week with Joe so Neila and Carson came over and spent a few nights with us as she doesn't like staying home alone either so that was fun.

We are headed into WV tommorow, my Papa Whitey died this week so his funeral is this weekend. I was looking at pictures of him over the past year and couldn't believe how much he changed in the year. As sad as it is to lose someone, I think it is sadder to see them get worse and getting sicker so I am glad all that is over for him. Keep my grandma in your prayers as I am sure it will be hard for her after being with someone so many years.

I belive Maggie is going to be our politically "incorrect" child. It seems anymore we never know what she is going to say, and although it's innocent it is somewhat embarassing. Tonight there was a girl in a wheelchair at the mall and Owen was over eyeing her "set of wheels". I told Joe to go get him as he was obviously checking her out and Maggie walked over to him and said, "come on Owen....she is sick." Quite loudly I might say. And Monday we were in the store shopping for stuff to put in our shoeboxes for Operation Christmas at church. Maggie was asking me who the stuff was for and I told her it was for kids that don't get alot. Well, they must have leanred about this at preschool because she says, "oh yeah mom, I learned about that at preschool....it is for all the poor kids." There were several people around us at the time, a few of them looked to not be so well off and maggie would not stop talking about these boxes and how they go to all these POOR people who don't have anything. I tried to tell her that she shouldn't call them "poor kids" as it didn't sound so nice but she said, "mom, that is what they said at preschool." Anyhow, we got our stuff and got out of there and went home to fill up our boxes for the "poor kid."

Still here

Since I haven't posted since trick or treat I should have alot to post about but really I don't so much. We have been super busy...but I am not sure doing why! Last weekend we went to Light up Shelbyvile with Neila and Carson and had alot of fun. It is where they get downtown set up for Chrsitmas and have all kinds of vendors out adn they shut down the streets. They also have horse and carriage rides which the kids thought was alot of fun.








Joe's birthday was last week but we didn't really do much for it. i did make him his favorite dessert so he seemed happy with that. Maggie was pretty upset that Joe didn't get a party though. She colored him some pages and brought them to me to wrap and told me to save enough paper for everyone else. I asked her what she meant and she said, you know, for everyone else coming to his party. I tried to explain to her that grownups don't usually have parties to which her response was, "well patti k is grown up and she had one." Anyhow, I think she felt bad for Joe and Owen didn't seem to understand why daddy didn't have a birthday cake.

I worked a few days last week for someone who took their vacation. Wednesday Joe stayed home and kept the kids which meant a day of fun. He took them to Chuck E. Cheese and then to Toys R Us to get a new toy. (this was since Maggie made a goal at her last soccer game) They had a fun time it sounded like. Amanda took a few days and came down to keep the kids for me on Thursday and Friday which was super nice of her!! I think she was really glad to see them, and I know they were to see her. So that meant 2 more fun filled days with Aunt Amanda who is quite a good player. She got to go to Maggie's soccer banquet Thursday night.








Maggie got a trophey, which she referred to as her piston cup (if you have seen the movie cars you know why). She was pretty excited about that and Owen was a handful all night.










This picture sums him up.











He ran up to get a trophey at one point when they called a "mollie" up. Next year he'll be old enough to play so he will get his own trophy.

Thursday I took Maggie to preschool on my way to work and Amanda and Owen had the morning to play.





















When I brought her home from preschool at lunch it was Owen's naptime so Maggie got amanda all to herself for the afternoon.













So that worked out nicely that they both had their own time with her. Friday was a different story and she got to see why I say they are both so easy when they aren't together. She said they were really good for her which I am happy about since anymore when they are together I never know what to expect. It was good to hang out with her too and we got to catch up a little at night after the kids went to sleep. She got to bond with Josie a little too and feel her kicking around!








Come back soon sis!

Saturday Neila and I left out pretty early for our "girls spa day". We went shopping and had massages at Z salon, then to lunch and shopped a little more. It was alot of fun and I could so handle that massage weekly! Sunday was church and when Joe dropped Owen off in his room he walked in adn said, "hey everybody." He seems to really enjoy his class now which is nice. I knew eventually he'd get it. Monday I spent cooking ALL day for MOPS today. My friend Shelia took Maggie to preschool for me since her little boy is in the same class so that made it alot easier on me. And Owen did awesome. He usually cries the entire 2 hours but today he went right in class and played the entire time so that was a huge step. They did tell me he had to go to time out because at one point the door opened and he bolted out and when they lady went to get him he "hit her and knocked her glasses off." Although Owen beats the heck out of Maggie....he really isn't the kind of kid that hits adults, especially ones he doesn't know. So I am guessing it was more of him throwing his arms up when she went to pick him up (which he does as he has figured out it's harder to get him up when he does that) and accidentally knocked her glasses off. Anyhow, I was glad they didn't just let it go and did give him a time out....but he is sure making a name for himself.


Today we have just bummed around this afternoon. I have been exhausted and my doctors office called last week to tell me to come back in to do my glucose test again as my results were super low. My hct and hgb had dropped more as well (I still haven't picked up my RX for iron....a month later) so with those so low as well as my glucose I guess that is my reason for exhaustion. So I plan to make it in this week sometime to recheck it and find out what is going on. I was just happy it wasn't high! Well, off to bed.

TRICK OR TREAT!

We had a great halloween this year, the kids both loved it and just went to bed after indulging in probably too much candy! About 5 o'clock we began getting some trick or treaters and Maggie thought it was time she began as well. So I got them ready and took them out to go to just a few houses since I knew we were going to the church at 7. Well, once we got started there was no stopping them so we ended up going to every house in the neighborhood.















Maggie was always about a house ahead of us and Owen wanted to hold all his candy as opposed to putting it in his bag ...which meant it took he and I alot longer since he kept dropping it all. Once we got home I fed them a sandwich to hold them over for the evening and we headed over to the church which turned out great. There were tons of cars lined up around hte parking lot giving out candy, hotdogs, smores, hayrides, 4 bouncers, clowns, etc.













I let Joe take them around and hung back at the van to hand out candy. He said Owen was wild and wanted to get his own candy from people which resulted once in him spilling their whole bowl. Maggie was a perfect little trick or treater and loved every minute of the whole night. After they got their candy Joe took them on a hay ride which Owen loved since the firestation dog was on it with them.











He spent most of the night chasing this dog around and just laughing. They had a costume contest for the kids and Maggie was not happy she didn't win...but they gave all the kids McDonalds coupons and Joe told her she had won and gotten the coupon so that seemed to please her. Lots of our friends were there so the kids had fun playing..my friends Shannon and Al, who are both also pregnant were there so we took a pic together.

















Al is pregnant with twins and due a month after me, Shannon is 34 weeks, so about 6 weeks ahead of me. Shannon and I both are having girls, Al doesn't know what her babies are though...but I am sure they will all be buddies being so close in age.

We got home around 9 or so and they wanted to check out all they had gotten.












Maggie of course only eats 1 or 2 types of candy so Joe and I will have plenty...if we can keep Owen out of it! So our halloween turned out great, the kids had a blast, and we are so done with costumes until next year!

I took the kids to get pictures done this morning and they turned out cute. Owen was not so cooperative....he smiled and all, just would not stay put. Maggie worked the camera as usual. I know she is mine, but I think she would be such a great little model. She loves the camera and does whatever they ask her to and her pictures always turn out so cute. I am sure all parents think this as well, but as cute as Owen is, I can admit he would not make a good model! Not unless they were wanting motion shots! They haven't sent me the pics yet but when they do i will post a few.

More Fall Fun

So we have had a week of parties and candy....and it's not even halloween yet! Sunday I took the kids to the Summit halloween night and they had alot of fun. Radio Disney was there and had lots of games for the kids to play and stations set up where they could get candy. Since the stations were set up around the mall I also got to shop a little....although I only really returned stuff. Maggie was a little bummed that she didn't win any of the prizes they were giving out though. They went through the kids and let them say whatever they wanted to add to a halloween story that the DJ had started. The kids were saying "halloweeny" things like mummys, bats, blood, etc. When it came to Maggie she says, "and they lived happily ever after." Everyone thought it was really cute and I was glad my child didn't partake in the guts and gore of the story!

Monday was the library party and mainly consisted of halloween books being read and a few games....and lots of treats.
















Maggie decided to take a break from being Dorthy for the day and wore one of her new princess gowns and went as sleeping beauty.
















Owen wasn't about to wear anything but Superman though. He was in heaven as they had a long table set up with chips, candy, cookies, popcorn, juice boxes, etc. right at his level.


















This is Owen's idea of a party and boy did he party. No matter what was on his plate he was racing back for "just one more" treat.





When Joe got home from work last night we decided to carve the pumpkins...or should I say, let Joe carve them!















I knew Maggie would opt out of this...aside from watching and giving instructions. But I thought Owen would jump right in at all the gooo......I was wrong. Joe would ask him to help him get out the seeds and he would say, "nope, too yucky. I can't." So we all sat and watched Joe carve the first 2. They really liked when Joe would pull out the goo and say "yuck".
















Owen cracked up everytime.










We told them we would do the other 2 tonight and Maggie got a baby pumpkin at her preschool party today so I guess we will be making 3.



I got Owen's haircut this morning after we dropped Mag off at preschool. She cut it alot shorter than I wanted...but it grows so fast it won't matter. Here he in his halloween shirt today. Isn't he cute!

























Today was Maggie's preschool Fall/Harvest party. They didn't dress up, which was fine by me. Maggie got to wear her cute pumpkin outfit and looked adorable. Owen and I got there at playtime and Owen had a blast playing with Maggie at her school.






















Maggie spent alot of her time riding on the cute bikes they have there but was really good about showing Owen all the slides and toys to play with. We headed up for the party and the kids sang some songs they learned at school.

















Maggie I must say was the star of this, she sang like.....well, the way maggie always sings....LOUD. She usually puts alot of moves in with her singing but seemed to calm it down some today. Owen enjoyed himself, but I will definetly try to find someone to keep him for the next party since I spend most of my time keeping him under control and don't get to focus much on Maggie. Once they had snacks and I found him a seat (he was not happy about not having a seat at the preschool table) he was pretty happy with his cookies and cheetos.




















Maggie had fun playing some games and was really good at them. Here are a few pictures of her with her friends,













she is about a head taller than the others in her class so I guess she's definetly got her daddy's height.


Here she is with Haley, who is also in her dance class, sunday school class, and plays soccer...so we see alot of her.
















And this is her best buddy, Kate, who we hear lots about. Kate's mom says Kate also talks about Maggie all the time.

















Here is Maggie and Mrs. Boyd, her preschool teacher who is great. I am hoping Owen gets her as well when he goes.














Well, that is what we've been up to. I am about partied out. Maggie has dance this evening and tommorow we are going to get their pictures done at the mall. I have a coupon that expires tommorow so I want to at least get my free ones. We are then headed to church tommorow night for "trunk or treat" after we hit a few houses in the neighborhood. Trunk or treat should be alot of fun, they have food, smores, and lots of cars with candy plus blow up jumpers and hayrides. We signed up to be a "trunk" and were told to expect about 200-300 kids so I am going to have to make a walmart run to make sure we have plenty of candy.
After all the parties and trick or treating, we HAVE to get started on getting the babies room ready and Owen moved over to his new room. We were going to move Maggie but she loves her room and it's already painted and set up for her while Owen's isn't so it will be alot less work for him to move than Maggie. Well, that is what we've been up to.