Happy Halloween

My friend, Shanita, was scheduled to work this Halloween and, knowing the importance of celebrating this great holiday, I volunteered to take her kiddos along with mine. Turns out, last minute, her name was drawn and she was given the opportunity to not go to work--and she took it!  So, the four children, along with their four parents took them around the neighborhood.  I think I may officially have Shanita hooked on this whole Halloween thing.  We (and the kids, of course!) had so much fun!

A ninja, Captain America, Spider Man, and another ninja. 

The neighborhood was safe with these guys on patrol!

I told the boys they could have as much candy as they wanted, but only on Halloween night.  Once the holiday was over so was the candy.  The Bruisers took full advantage--Gavin ate his weight in Skittles but Harrison was more an equal-opportunity eater, gobbling up a little bit of this and little of that.  I think everyone should have one day a year to be as indulgent as they want!  I really dropped the ball and did not bring my camera, this is the best my phone can offer.  Next year I promise to do better!

The boys checking out their goodies.  Harrison continues to impress me with his thoughtfulness. At one house he was given Whoppers, I told him  those were my favorite (not really, but I wanted him to be excited about all of his loot!) a few hours later he dug in his bag and brought me the Whoppers, "here, Mom, I want you to have your favorite candy."  "Open it, open it!  It's your favorite!"  That boy melts me.

Gavin wasn't giving up his shield for anything!  He would hand off this candy bag with no problem, but that shield was firmly attached! 

"Momma, wook, dad man 'care (scare)  me.  This is his new thing--everything scares him.  Ghosts are hiding in the bathroom with monsters around the corner.  Although, I will give it to him, this man is a little scary!

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What I Wanted To Say

 **While I don't care for this man, I do think he deserves some anonymity, hence the mask**

Who do you think you are, Mister I'm-too-important-to-put-away-my-cell-phone?  Why even bother being at your child's school Halloween party if this is what you're going to do? Dead weight. That's all you were at this party; you didn't help with ANYTHING.   No, I don't want to hear your phone conversations about money and what you need to do this afternoon.  And, yes, I think it's completely rude to take the teacher's sea--and then allow her to serve YOU lunch while you surfed the web.  You have no idea how much I wanted to tell you how much of a jerk you are.  Pull this stunt again at the school Christmas party and we'll be having words, buddy. (okay, probably not really, but I'll blog and complain about you again! Take that!!)

Austin Nuptuals

I was incredibly honored when asked to be Kristen's matron-of-honor in her Austin outdoor wedding.  She was my maid-of-honor almost eight years ago when I married.  Kristen and Phillip married at Chapel Dulcinea, a beautiful outdoor chapel in the hill country of Austin. 

Being friends for 17 years, Kristen, is the longest friend I have.  

We know the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

As it was on my wedding day, it was just Kristen and I getting ready together. 

This is the isle we walked.  Check out the cowboy boots!  Has to be the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn to a wedding!

 

Kristen and I along with my other Bride-maids on my wedding day.

 

Dad In Charge

My boys LOVE weekends with Daddy in charge! No shirt, no shoes, no problem! Having enough ink to rival any Harley Davidson rally? Even better!








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Good Mom Vs. Bad Mom

I'm not sure if most mothers do this, but I often evaluate my parenting.  Most of my actions as a mother I put into one of two categories- good mom or bad mom. I think I'm a fairly honest self-evaluator. My hope is that the good mom far outweighs the bad mom tally.  At the end of the day I suppose my real judge will be how my children viewed their childhood and upbringing.  But, here's what I have so far...

Bad Mom- In the early morning (8:30) encouraging Harrison to turn on cartoons for him and his two-year old brother, and being perfectly okay allowing them to attempt their own breakfast--all in the name of twenty more minutes of sleep.

                                                                          
Good Mom- Seeking out the local story time at the library and even joining in for a resounding rendition of 'head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes'

                                                                         

Bad Mom- Locking myself in the bathroom to finish a phone conversation.  Odds are likely the conversation isn't more important than leaving my kids unsupervised.


Good Mom- Taking my kids to a children's art studio to pull out what little creative juice I have to help them paint plates that, hopefully, will last for many years.  From the mess to the challenge of creating something artistic, the entire event leaves me tapped.  But, I do it.  I do it for them and I hope one day they appreciate it.

                                                                                  

                                                                                 
Bad Mom- I have been known to stick pages together when reading books to my kids.  Thomas the Train books are entirely too long and way too wordy.  A fifteen minute read can be shaved down to a more manageable five minutes, and, really, we still get the gist of the story.  Can't believe I'm admitting this one.  I feel really bad when I do this.  But, I know my days are numbered, once Harrison learns to read he'll realize entire paragraphs are being skipped.
                                                 
                                                                

Good Mom- I feel like a great Mom, the best Mom, when I take my kids outside to play.  Honestly, this is something I've really had to learn to enjoy.  But, fantastic things have been discovered during our outside play.  Rock-climbing-wall contests, learning to ride a two-wheeler, tether-ball games, and me learning to throw a football.  Who knew?  I really like it and I'm not half bad.

 

                                                                            

Bad Mom- Probably about once a week I dress my boys for bed in what they're going to wear the next day.  As noted from the first 'bad mom,' I really don't like mornings.  Anything I can do to streamline or to gain the almighty extra few minutes of sleep, I do.  I do want to insert an asterisk here and point out that I do make sure it's cotton-y, stretchy clothes (but I have to make sure they don't wrinkle so no one suspects anything the next day. A bit of a challenge, really!).  I don't make them sleep in  jeans and a button-up shirt.  That would be on the bad, really bad mom list.  

                                                               
Good Mom- Helping my children explore and learn.  I do enjoy engaging them and love seeing them learn new things.  This is one of the best things about being a parent: watching the excitement in your child's face as they learn something new.  We have memberships to the zoo and the children's museum and I'm proud to say we use them often!

Bad Mom- I have been known, on occasion, to yell at levels audible to people walking by outside.  Not my finest moments as a mother by any stretch.  But, sometimes, a guttural scream makes me feel so much better.  Okay, so now I can officially take credit for Harrison's outrage towards his bike. Someone once told me the best way to parent is to let your kids think that you're just (kinda) a little crazy.  If you're always even tempered they'll never fear that 'crazy mom' rearing her ugly head.  My kids definitely have a healthy fear of that woman.

Good Mom- I have to end on a good mom note, as I do think most of the time I am a good mom. I write this as I'm looking at that frightening picture of me.  I am a good mom, really!  So the last thing I do that makes me feel good about my parenting is exposing my kids to a variety of foods.  I make sure they eat fresh fruits and vegetables daily.  We talk about the food they eat and how it benefits their bodies.  'Carrots have vitamin A, good for your eyes!' Harrison tells me, and the chicken?  "It has protein and will make me strong like The Hulk!!" 

                                                                       

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!

The boys were told to pick the vehicle of their choice,  whichever one they felt would bring them the best luck for the race.

Evan chose the Red Rider scooter.  A good choice for a tall boy, with his long legs he could really make this thing go.

Harrison had to go for his new-found bike skills.  A little risky, though, as he hasn't perfected his racing technique.

Oh, yes, a tried-and-true for Gavin.  He loves this worm.   This is his 'go to' mode of transportation, for sure.

With his low center of body mass, Ian, was a real contender on the Winnie the Pooh push toy. 

Have you placed your bets?  Guessed the odds?  Now, watch the video to see who took the prize in the Bounty 500!

Fit To Be Tied No More!

After just a few days of practice Harrison has mastered riding a bike!  It seems I have to take credit for Harrison's temper, I think it's only just that I should also get the credit for his determination.  Times like this our hearts swell with pride and love for our boy. 

It's a little embarrassing how long it's taken me to figure out how to upload this video to my blog.  One day I will master technology!  All I can do is promise that this video is from Tuesday not Thursday.  He really got the hang of it quickly!

Fit To Be Tied

I decided today was the day to take the training wheels off of Harrison's bike.  A friend of mine convinced me that he needs to learn how to ride a bike before he becomes scared of falling.  Sounded like a good idea.  Harrison thought so, too. That is until he realized how challenging it can be to balance on two wheels. Neither Steve or I want to take credit for Harrison's temper.  What started as a lovely Sunday afternoon play time ended in the whooping of a lifetime for a poor, unsuspecting Spider Man bike.