Early Halloween Treat

I'm not a huge fan of Halloween but this is totally hilarious...especially if you know the guys. Thanks for brightening my day Pete! I laughed so hard!

Pizza Night

Last week we let the boys make their own pizzas. They had an absolute blast!

Ben made this flower design with his pepperoni all by himself. I was so surprised!

Simon put so much pepperoni on his that I made him take some of it off or else the cheese wouldn't have melted! This is after he took the extra 2 layers of pepperoni off.

Talon was very happy eating the cheese and pepperoni.

Though it looks good, it was totally disgusting. :(

Oh well...it was fun and that's what matters.

Throwback Thursday! April 2006

Tiny Talon "praying" - at 2 weeks!

This is Talon - my youngest, who is already 18 months old. It's crazy how fast the time goes. If I close my eyes really tight I can almost feel his little body in my arms; see him looking up at me while I nurse him. Oh, those moments are just so precious to me. He's just so big now. Saying "no" for absolutely everything. Hey Talon, it's time for bed. nooo. Hey Talon, do you want some cake? nooo.

But man do I love him!

For more Throwback Thursdays visit Pinks & Blues.

Wordless Wednesday: A Parade for the Animals

This is my very first Wordless Wednesday...just one question, is Wordless Wednesday supposed to be only 1 picture. Well, if it is...I'm breaking the rules this time. This is too cute not to. :)

For more Wordless Wednesdays visit 5 minutes for mom.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

I have an aunt who is a breast cancer survivor but her sister unfortunately was not. A friend of a friend of a friend was collecting bras for a hospital. They were donating $1 for each bra received to Breast Cancer Awareness - then giving all the bras to a women's shelter. How cool is that!?

And Five Minutes for Mom is giving away a really cute pink camera to help promote breast cancer awareness.

Off to do my self-exam! : )

I Love "Indian Summer"

Last week we had some pretty nice days! We're going to be lost this winter. We're with our neighbors most days - even for a little while. And the days we aren't, the boys are asking for each other. Such good friends - most of the time, right Angie! :)

Here are some cute pics of my boys and Wylie having a snack on the bench in the backyard. I'm sorry but how cute it Talon in the background! And thank you Ben for not opening your eyes for the pictures - again!

And later that afternoon, Simon and Wylie were playing with the cozy coupes.


Angie and I were like, "What is Simon doing?" Wylie said, "Simon's dead. This is the ambulance." Such imaginations! I love it.

New Markers

Jon came home with some new workbooks and markers for the boys the other day. He had very good intentions, I know this - but I KNOW how Talon is when there are markers around. Talon cannot even be in the same house when the other boys are using markers because he literally flips out! Seriously, he needs to have the markers when he sees them. It's crazy!

So Simon and Ben were happily doing their books. To stop the whining, I thought I'd let Talon use the markers with a huge piece of paper and sit right next to me.

Here's my mistake...I left the room for ONE MINUTE for some reason (I can't even remember what it was!) and when I got back, this is what I saw...

And don't even get me started about the brand new crayons Jon bought - that Talon ate already! Oh well, I'm just glad they were washable!

Slimey Stats - Day 21

Okay, so Slimey has been a chrysalis for almost 16 days - since October 2nd I think. We've had him in a jar on our kitchen counter for 21 days.

I looked in on him a few times a day. I'm a little obsessed, I know.

Yesterday I held up the jar and the brown chrysalis moved. I freaked out!!! But it was really just me moving the jar. Rats! It's never going to come out of there, is it?

Anyway, it looks to me like it's getting a bit fatter and the wings are really formed under there now. Still pretty amazing. I'll keep ya posted.

Open House Means Open House

This was supposed to be Wordless Wednesday but Blogger wouldn't let me load the picture. So I'll do it next week!

So anyway, it's kind of a funny story. Last year the Fire Department Open House was on the same day as Owen's birthday party. We thought we could fit them both in. And we had plenty of time since Owen's party wasn't until late afternoon. We drove to the station that had the huge sign out front telling us when the open house would be but all of the fire trucks were gone! We drove around to some nearby parks thinking maybe it would be somewhere else there but we couldn't fint it. We finally saw a police officer and asked him. He said, "Oh, that's at Station #2" Jon said, "Where's Station #2?" He told us how to get there but by this time...we were out of time. Simon was so upset!

My niece Dana, who seriously should have been the homecoming queen, was over a few days after this mishap and Simon had to tell her all about it. He said something like, "We were at Station #1 and there wasn't even one fire truck there. I mean, Open House means Open House!" Dana and I cracked up! We still say it!!

So this year, needless to say...we found the Fire House Open House! We were ready. We knew what time it started. We knew what station it was at! And we had a great time!!!

Ben loved how these coats and boots were all lined up and wanted me to take a picture. :)

We got to have a ride on the classic firetruck. So fun! It was a perfect, crisp, fall day.

Simon got to slide down a real fire pole. He loved it! Ben didn't want anything to do with it.

They got to use the hoses which was really cool.

Simon was trying to get me wet - WITH A FIRE HOSE! Crazy boy!

It was just about to be Ben's turn when my camera battery died. Arrgghhh!

Anyway, the fire fighters (and police officers too) were amazing. So patient and kind and good with the kids. Not just mine - all of the kids. And there were A LOT of them! One of the trucks had all of the tools laid out for everyone to see...saws, axes, etc. Ben walked over to check it out and says, "Mom...look! It's the jaws of life!" It really was the jaws of life. I couldn't believe that he knew that. Then, as if I wasn't amazed enough, he said, "Those help people stuck in cars." Wow Ben!

So I guess this year Open House really does mean Open House!!!

You know your baby isn't a baby anymore when...

...you snuggle him and say, "Ohhh, are you my tiny baby?" He gets all cozy and acts all cute. I'm relishing this moment. I say, "Hi baby!" He looks at me and says, "hiiee!!"

Yeah, babies don't say HI back!!! I feel like crying like a baby...

Apple Juice

Simon wanted a blueberry waffle for lunch today. Ben and Talon wanted chicken nuggets. Okay, fine. No problem. Except for the fact that Ben hates when anything is hot. So I blew on it. Waved air on it. Finally, they were cold enough to eat. Thank goodness!

So Ben loves apple juice. And we all know that Ben likes things his way, right away. Such fun, I tell ya! Anyway, he was going on and on because the juice I gave him was actually blueberry-pomegranate, which they all love...yeah, well, not today.

Ben: I want apple juice.

Me: Sorry Ben. We don't have apple right now.

Ben: I really want apple juice.

Me: Ben, we don't have any apple juice. This is blueberry. You love blueberry.

:heavy sigh: I'm really want to say...does this kid think i'm lying? does he want me to produce apple juice out of thin air. we don't have any frickin' apple juice. i'm sorry. i'm a horrible mother, i know. just drink the blueberry..........of course i didn't say any of that...just thought it in the kitchen. :)

Ben: I really, really want apple juice.

Simon: Look Ben, we match. You have blueberry juice and I have a blueberry waffle.

Ben: I don't want blueberry. I want apple.

Simon: You know Ben, sometimes change is good.

I start cracking up in the kitchen.

Simon: Right Mom?

Me: Right Simon. :) Sometimes change IS good!

Jon's 30th Birthday!

HAPPY 30TH JON!

Yea!!! My husband is officially in his 30's - like me! That feels so nice!

Friday was Jon's birthday. I tried really hard to give him a surprise party but it didn't really work out for me, for a number of reasons. I think he was kind-of surprise at where the party was. But we had a really great time anyway!

Me and Jon after the "surprise".

Jon and Pete
Birthday Toast. I LOVE my mom's face in this one. Jon and Phil. Thanks for being there Phil - it meant so much to both of us! We miss you!!!

Me, Jon, Phil and Susie - so like old times!!
Bobby and Jon
Susie and Penny

Aimee, Amy, Katie & Mary

The cake - before.
Our friends Bobby and Angie had this great idea that Jon should take a bite out of his cake. While he was taking a bite Bobby leans over to me and says "push his face into it"

Okay!

My sister thought that Jon looked really annoyed about it so she decided to grab some cake and smash it on MY face! Look at my friends and my mom in the background. Oh yeah, real funny! My face was so sticky and sugary. Good thing the cake was good, I guess. Thanks Aim! :)

Jon, I love you so much. You are truly my very best friend. You are a fabulous husband and the most amazing father. I remember my vows on our wedding day. I said that I was so glad that God gave me you because it couldn't be anyone but you! I still believe that today and I always will. I am so blessed to have you. I love you Jonnie Stevens!

Thanks Little Bill's Dad!

One little loop

What do you do?
Wrap the lace around

And pull it through.

It's official...Simon can tie his shoes!

This picture is actually the very first time he got it right.

He's still perfecting it but it's good timing now that flip flops are out.

I'm so proud of you buddy!

Throwback Thursday

I found this picture in our garage the other day (along with others that I will never put on my blog!)

It's my sister Aimee and I at my bachelorette party in 2000. Oh yeah.....party girls out on the town! Young and skinny with no children or stretch marks. Those were the days! : )

For more Throwback Thursdays visit Pinks & Blues.

Crazy Benny

Ben decided to wash his feet in the sink the other day - WITH HIS PANTS ON!!! I can't remember if that was before or after Talon put an entire roll of toilet paper and 2 toothbrushes in the toilet. Oh the joys. I have to laugh or I'll cry! Really, I'm laughing. I promise. Cracking up!!! : )

Slimey Stats - Day 11

Here's the scoop on our little friend Slimey...

He burrowed under the grass and was busy rounding out a little area for himself that first week. Every day more was done and he changed almost before our eyes. He was once a pretty big (probably almost 2 inches long) bright green caterpillar and now he is less than an inch long and totally brown. We can actually see wings forming under the brown shiny "skin". Unbelieveable!!!

It's so exciting! There won't be much more to show or tell - until he starts to emerge. I need to research when that might be...

Dinner with the Fam!

As some of you may have already read at my sister's blog - we had dinner with my dad AND mom on Wednesday night. It was such a nice, relaxing evening. The food was great! The kids played so nice together - thanks to the balls of dough the restaurant gave them and the play-doh we brought with us! We really have a fun time when we get together. We missed the sister's in law and Dana - and the Floridians of course! But seriously, I have the funniest brothers ever. (And brothers-in law too, now that I think about it...)

Anyway, here are a few pics from the night. You can see the rest at Aim's blog if you want to.

Grandma & Talon. Talon was such a happy boy and so easy going, that's why there's a ton of pictures of him. And Auntie has a crush, I think. :)

Grandpa & Talon.

Thanks for a great night Dad! It was great to be with you!














Silly Simon and Crazy Chloe :)




















Uncle Lenny's debut on my blog. (I think I'm the only one who thinks they look alike, but I'm sorry...they do!)















My own little family. Not a bad pic considering Ben wanted to just play with the Play-doh. But hey, he's smiling at least!

Talon the Great! He sat with that cup for ages.












Such a fun night! : ) Aim - have we turned a corner again!?