Happy Halloween!

Even though Caleb would have loved to put his costume on this morning and go trick or treating then, I told him he had to wait until after naps this afternoon. He took his nap very well!! We then got costumes on and headed over to grandma and grandpa's neighborhood where they are known to give out very good and generous amounts of treats. The highlight was the jello eyeballs they received. The downfall was the temperature - 38 degrees.

We then headed home for some quick soup to warm up and head out again. When daddy got home from work we got our mittens on and headed out with a temperature of 32 degrees. This did not phase the boys except that at our second last house the urge to use the little boy's room hit Caleb and the sidewalk received the results. He was still disappointed to have to head home though and was bribed by getting to try out an eye ball and warm bath. Fun fun fun!!

Pirate Party! Argh!!

What a beautiful October day!! You wouldn't believe we had our first snow on Wednesday with a day like today. I think it was in the low 60's and we spent the majority of our time in the backyard. The kids playset we built earlier this year was a perfect pirate ship for the kids.

After cake the kids had fun with the treasure chest pinata and candy. Presents were last and then after the guests left, Bingo decided he should partake too. He managed to get into the garbage and help himself to left over birthday cake. So I guess you could say fun was had by all and it was our best birthday party yet!!

Party Prep

Here are some pictures today before Caleb's party. Can you guess the theme? Was it the costume or the cake that gave it away? Or maybe the treasure chest pinata? The plan was for the kids to get pirate bandanas and eye patches to join in the celebration. More to follow....

Halloween Decor

Caleb has been very busy at school making our Halloween decor. The pumpkin he decorated is the one he got to pick out on their field trip to the pumpkin patch.

He's Four Today!!

Caleb turned four today!! He got to celebrate at school with his friends. On their birthday they get to wear the "birthday hat", the other kids sing to them, they get to pick a treasure out of the chest and get to share a birthday snack. They really encourage something healthy for the snack so I made celery with cheese and raisins. Caleb tells me that everyone loved it.

After school it was Caleb's choice for his birthday supper to go to McDonald's with playland as you can see from the pictures. Daddy suggested something like Chili's, but the birthday boy stuck with his choice. He got his present from us (Lincoln Logs) and from my parents (a new bridge and engine, Leap Frog dominoes) when we got home. He took the bridge to bed with him. His teacher talks all to time how good Caleb is at building things which I credit to his train tracks. She says he might be her little architecht. Thus he now has the Lincoln Logs to work with. He says he either wants to be a train engineer (are we surprised by that one?) or wants to build machines when he grows up.

His teacher called me tonight to talk. She says that he is a very honest little boy and loves his friends. She talked to me for over 30 minutes. When you listen to her she can tell how much she loves all of the little ones in her classes and that each one is special to her in their own little way. I noticed this from my first couple of interactions with her. I feel very blessed to have Caleb in her class.

The birthday party and cake are on Saturday so there will be more to follow.

The Great Pantry Raid

These two have become quite proficient at raiding the pantry and are alwas looking out for each other!!

The Happiest Baby Certification

I have completed my certification!! The goal is to get the class of the ground in January. I am really excited about it! Wish me luck.

Pumpkin Patch Continued

The pumpkin patch had a maze made out of straw bales, a slide, a hidden treasure patch, a straw section, train ride and of course a pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins from. Each kid got to pick a pumpkin (no bigger than their head as intructed per teacher), and they are decorating them in class. I will post the results later. The kids had a great time!!

First Field Trip

Caleb's class took their first field trip this week. They went to the pumpkin patch. Dan and I were both off work and were able to go along and bring Elton too.

Finished Product

Here are my first 2 projects with my new Knifty Knitter. Caleb wore his to bed tonight. Maybe daddy needs one too?

When You Leave Them With A Monkey ......

They think they are one too? This morning I put "Curious George" on for the boys to watch while I went to get dressed. I was upstairs when I heard something being shaken that sounded like the toothpicks. That's when I thought "How did they get those?" and headed downstairs to find Elton sitting on the dining room table with his new shakers that he was quite pleased with. I'm not sure what kind of message I sent when I told him he wasn't to be on the table, but then had to run and get the camera before taking him off!!

Knifty Knitter

Yesterday I acquired a new set of "Knifty Knitter" looms. The loom you see here is the second smallest in the set. It is crazy all of the things you can make -hats, scarves, shawls, crafts, stockings, sweaters etc. It is crazy!! I will be going wild in the evenings after the boys are in bed and I am watching my DVR programming with the new fall lineup. I guess if you are on my Christmas list you better watch out!! Curt, if you haven't seen these yet, I know you are salivating and are so jealous!! My first project that you see above is going to be a hat for Elton. Caleb has requested a blue one.

Our Anniversary - Part Two

On Sunday I fed the boys, bathed them and got them into their jammies before Dan got home from work. When he got home he took a shower and I asked him to read the boys stories and get them to bed. That is when I set up "Shelley's Cafe" for a romantic dinner. We haven't really hung out there at night yet. As you can see from the pictures, we had smoked oysters, fresh shrimp, crab salad & crackers, and spring rolls. We finished off with a decadent dessert.

For those of you concerned about the rating (as previously expressed in the comments), the G version to the story is that we went on to watch a movie and both fell asleep on the couch.

7 Years - Part One!!

Today is our 7 year anniversary!! Unfortunately it is Dan's weekend to work. As you can see from the pictures, I received a "little blue box" from Tiffany's along with a beautiful necklace. I absolutely love it!! Dan received some accessories for his Sony PSP with a couple of new games (which is the equivalent of a little blue box to him).

It is hard to believe it has been 7 years!! The time has flown by. We have sold 4 homes, moved twice, switched job positions a couple of times (for both of us), and added 2 beautiful boys, 1 doggie, and 2 fish into the mix!! We have been very blessed and I can't wait to see what the next 7 years has in store for us!!

Tonight I have a surprise planned for when Dan gets home from work. That will be my part 2 that I post on later!!

Welcome Hopper & Nemo!!

So the boys and I stopped by Pet Smart today for some dog food and look what happened! We now have 2 beta fish to add to our family. There is a divider between them so that they don't attack each other. The red one is Caleb's and is named "Hopper". The blue one is Elton's and is "Nemo". Caleb made the decision which one got each fish and named them.