Rain drops keep falling on my head

WoW!! to say that it has been raining here is an understatement. It is amazing how one year we can have drought and then a couple years later have so much rain in a season! I love the rain, don't get me wrong. I love the way it smells, I like that I don't have to water the grass and flowers, I like that it has brought in some cooler weather (can you sense what is coming next?) BUT why so much all at one time?! It has been raining or drizzling for like 4 weeks here. Seriously almost EVERY single day. If you don't believe me, just look at my header, it is almost the end of October and there is still no pumpkin/fall pictures of the kids yet! Why? because of the rain. It has prevented us from going to the pumpkin patch. The state fair came and went and were we there? No sir-ee bob. Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to change this, we are suppose to go to the patch (barring no more rain or sickness)--- oh yeah, did I mention that it was a BEAUTIFUL day last Fri- sunny and perfect, we were suppose to meet our friends at the patch... did it happen? Nope, Sam came down with a fever of 102.5. Although he acted his same energetic self, there is this little bug running around out here called the swine flu (not sure if any of you have heard about it or not) so, to make sure that 1) he wasn't sicker than he acted and 2) he did not infect other children with whatever he had, we stayed home HUGE BUMMER.
Whew, wow, I must not of gotten all my 10,000 words out today, that was quite a lead in to say: "look what we did while it rained outside"

Molly was finished sooner than Sam, apparently they taste as good as they look
and of course the high chair needed a little color as wellJust one of many of Sam's masterpieces

wrestle

The kids truly do like each other. Sam of course, has always been Molly's favorite person in the whole world. It is funny how while Sam is in class she can me moaning and fussing all morning, but as soon as the door opens and he climbs into view she just lights up and smiles and giggles.
Sam seems to be pretty protective of Molly and always keeps tabs on her. He knows where she is at all times and tends to really be concerned when he asks "where Ma-wee?"
These two have learned to play hide and seek with each other. Their version is a little different in that Sam ALWAYS hides and Molly ALWAYS finds him. (it does help that he usually hides in the same 2 places)
They also enjoy wrestling one another. Sam does tend to forget that Molly is just 1 and not quite as strong as he is, but then again that might be part of the fun right?! He can push her around, knock her down etc and does she cry about it?! NO!! she just giggles and giggles. Molly has recently leaned that she too can "attack". If Sam is laying on the floor in any way (back/side/belly) she will just PLOP right on top of him. (and of course the 2 of them just giggle and giggle and giggle :)
The attack:
The "let me touch your face to show you I got you"The Yes, I do love you, Let's hug:The "OK, get off me, it's my turn to attack":

Deals around town:

If you don’t mind purchasing a large drink, you can get a free Jack In The Box grilled sandwich on Tuesday, October 20. You'll get to choose between the Grilled Turkey Bacon Cheddar with roasted turkey, cheddar cheese and bacon, or the Grilled Deli Trio, with salami, sliced ham, roasted turkey, provolone cheese and pickles.

7-Eleven is offering up a great freebie! Snag a FREE 12-oz Hot Beverage with this coupon You'll get to choose between coffee, cappuccino, hot chocolate and tea. This coupon is valid thru 10/31/09. This is perfect for this beautiful cool, fall-like weather.

Build-A-Bear: $5 off a $10 Animal!

Build-A-Bear: $5 off a $10 Animal!

Build-A-Bear has a new coupon available: save $5 off an animal priced at $10 or more! This coupon is valid through October 31st. This is something fun do do now especially since it has been cold and rainy outside!

Have any of you heard of Hippopost.com before?
If not, it's a site that will send FREE personalized printed postcards with your own photos! They even pay for postage! Go here to check out all the details and start creating your postcard. The best part--you can send up to 2 FREE postcard per day, everyday! What a great way to send the grandparents pictures of the kiddos or just send a thank you note to a friend! This is an excellent--FREE--service to take advantage of!

Why are they offering this FREE service?
This service is made possible through sponsors advertising on the back of each card. By using Hippopost to send FREE postcards you are agreeing to allow sponsor messages to be placed on the back of your postcard.

~~~~ I have "heard" that it takes quite a while to get these postcards, so I wouldn't send them for a really special occasion, or else gamble and send it way in advance ~~~~~

Cool stuff to do and make at Michaels. apparently they have been having fun events all month long and I am just now finding out about it... oh well, looks like fun anyway. go here to see more details

Rainforest Cafe

Rain Forest Cafe has a great coupon:Save $10 on your next food or beverage purchase of $25 or more! This coupon is valid through 12/31!

good advice

ATTORNEY'S ADVICE - NO CHARGE Even If you dislike attorneys..You will love them for these tips. Read this and make a copy for your files in case you need to refer to it someday. Maybe we should all take some of his advice! A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company: 1. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put 'PHOTO ID REQUIRED.' 2. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the 'For' line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check processing channels won't have access to it. 3. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your work address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks. (DUH!) You can add it if it is necessary. But if you have It printed, anyone can get it. 4. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel.. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. I also carry a photocopy of my passport when I travel either here or abroad. We've all heard horror stories about fraud that's committed on us in stealing a Name, address, Social Security number, credit cards.. Unfortunately, I, an attorney, have first hand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieves ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online, and more. But here's some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know: 5. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. But the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them. 6.. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one). But here's what is perhaps most important of all: (I never even thought to do this.) 7. Call the 3 national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and also call the Social Security fraud line number.. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the Internet in my name. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit.. By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases, none of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.. Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet, if it has been stolen: 1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285 2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742 3.) Trans Union : 1-800-680 7289 4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271

Boston Market

school bells are ringing

As I stated earlier, Sam was accepted into the speech program through our school district. He gets to go 2 days a week for 1 1/2 hours. We really talked it up about him getting to go to "school". He was really excited about it, too. (That is until we were actually THERE.)

As a security measure, we have to drop off and pick up the kids at the door, instead of the actual classroom. In a way, I think that this adds to the anxiety of the 3 year olds, (but then again they did not ask me for my opinion) I am not sure what he is doing here, but almost looks as though he is saying a quick prayer "please dear Jesus, be with me today"As I was saying goodbye, Sam softly whispered in his sweet little voice, "mommy, go wiff me"--(thus the reason he is going to speech :)) "don't go, mommy, go wiff me." then he looked at me with those precious brown eyes of his, it took all my strength to not tear up, but instead tell him that he was going to have so much fun and that I would see him in just a little bit. His sweet teacher, Ms. Jennifer, took him by the hand and led him in (not before he looked at me like I was leading him to the wolves, though)true to my word, I was there just a little later to pick him up, he had a big smile on his face, and said that he had a "great day".
I thought we were all good, until Thurs. morning... it was rough, really rough which worried me because Sam has never had a problem going to church, going to class while I am in Bible study, meetings, Acteens etc. Thursday he threw a fit as I was leaving. He clung onto me as tight as he could screaming: "No, MOMMY. Don't go! I DON'T want to go to school!!" as the teacher took him from me he continued screaming "MOMMY! MOMMY! NO, DON'T GOOOOO!" Talk about heart wrenching. Thankfully he was all smiles when I picked him up. Unfortunately this was to continue 3 more times. He would start telling me that he did not want to go to school before we would even leave, all during the drive and then the crying/screaming/clinging would begin at the door. As a parent you know you must just say goodbye, as cheery as you can and make school sound like fun. As a mother, your heart is breaking and you just want to snatch him up in your arms and tell him he doesn't have to go. He now likes going to school and always has a good time there. I am so glad he is happy, and no, I am NOT looking forward to kindergarten!

balloons, tatoos, and trains

Wow, I can't believe it is already the end of summer and the beginning of fall. Time really does seem to fly by (trust me, there have been some REALLY long days in there, but also a lot of happy, fun days and events) The last week of August seemed to be one of those crazy busy weeks where we had BIG events everyday, all day long. We managed to head to the pond several times that week (it was quite HOT, but we needed to be OUT!) and of course the ducks and fish didn't seem to mind our visits either. Sam was (finally) accepted to, and started school (another post), Mommy's birthday came, Bible study started, baseball game, throw in a shift of work and finally the reason for this post, the fun evening at the Gaylord:


Kirk watched Molly, so that Sam and I could spend time together. It was suppose to be fun and of course a lot easier on me since I wouldn't have 2 to chase after. I wasn't really sure how it was going to really be as it did not start off the best. As we were unloading the car, Sam decided to take off and head out on his own... and RIGHT INTO THE STREET. talk about your heart stopping ~ a car had to STOP for him. (I know that God was watching out for Sam that day, he could have been hit so easily- what if the driver was changing his radio station, or talking on the phone or even TEXTING? just one little thing to distract him and he never would have seen Sam.) After this event, Sam was then made to hold my hand as we walked (and as you could imagine, he was none to happy and wanted everyone to know it)
Once inside, for some reason I thought I could trust him. (whatever was I thinking?!!) It doesn't take long before he bolts away. I decided not to follow, in order to see how long it would take for him to realize I was not there, get scared and want to stay by my side. Well, this (like most of my brilliant ideas) pretty much back-fired on me. You see, Sam did not care that I was not there, and it was ME that got scared. I headed around the corner, and down the enormous hallway to see this sight: There were many emotions and thoughts that occurred the moment I saw him: take deep breath, as he is safe and not kidnapped, try not to smile as he sure is cute, try to stress the importance of staying with mommy without being too angry, oh and of course...make sure to get a picture of this for the blog! Oh, and by the way, apparently we were playing a fun game of hide and seek (no one filled me in on that secret until I "found" him)

TRAINS!!!! this is Sam's new LOVE. There were several areas that had trains, all of which held his attention. He even got to blow a whistle at one spot!

He got to watch the balloon man create a cool dinosaur thing

He watched the monkey (he and Hanna even snuck in a few touches!!)Oh, and the COOL Superman tattoo. The only kind he will EVER have.

All in all, it might have started out a little rough, but that quickly changed and fun was had by all!

let's cool off in the water

Water fun in the backyard is awesome! (according to Sam, and now I believe, Molly, too)

Don't cry over spilt milk

I know it has just been a saying, but to me it is a little more literal

Strange and unusual sightings

There have been a lot of fun and crazy things around here:

We are trying to sell our old tv. I was taking pictures for the ad... do you think this will help sell it? (hmmm, gives me an idea, do you think they can go as a set?!) um, not sure why, but I discovered goldfish all along the top of Molly's play yard
for some odd reason I can never find Molly's best friend... could it be because she hides them in places like this? (oh yeah, she is placing a travel sized baby powder in the fridge as I took the picture)
there has been a LOT of this going on around here (unfortunately)
The little one has learned a new trick... diaper ditchingFig newton tower?! Stonehenge re-creation? artist deep in thought Sam thought Molly needed a toy (or 2 or 3) to play with- so he brought them ALL to her#1 he wanted to do it, #2 she allowed him to do it...
I will allow anything to keep the kids quiet while I am on an personal important phone callcan you touch your nose to your tongue? can you flip your lips like a duck?
Saw this as I was driving in town, I have nothing else to say

nature at it's best

Well, we really do live in the city, but we have had some fun and interesting bits of nature around here:
one day last month I was putting Molly down for her nap and head what sounded like birds (lots of birds) very close. I opened up the blind to see this: It is a turtle dove and her 2 babies. Apparently they had obviously been there for a while (as there was a lot of evidence on the window sills) though I had not known it. Ironically they chose the window that had the soothing noise machine at it-- I wonder if it was comforting to them?!This HUGE green friend came to visit my tomato plant
and the widow has made yet ANOTHER appearance. check out this intricate web. too bad the widow must go... how dare she choose my children's swing set/sandbox for her prey

yeah, well, remember I started this entry saying we live in the city right?! therefore we don't have a lot of exoticness here. BUT, I think we do have a LOT of BIRDS! Check out this little guy who was visiting my bedroom window sill. Sam enjoyed this one, can't say the same for the poor frightened bird (good thing there was a window barrier between them) Then there is our butterfly habitat. It is so fun to watch the butterflies flitting about and the caterpillars go into their cocoons. Remember this and this