It's Comin' up to Holiday Time

Wyatt having some lunch today. Just wanted y'all to see how much he's grown. And how short his hair is. We went to the pool yesterday and after we got out, all I did was rub his head twice and it was dry! Which was a good thing, since yesterday it was 40 degrees and very windy. I'm not sure when this picture of Larkin was taken. I would have to guess mid-October since the box behind her didn't come to the house til then. Today she is sick. I have a feeling it's because she stayed in the Child Watch section of the YMCA yesterday while I exercised and she always gets sick in a daycare environment. Got home from the Y and she climbed onto the trampoline, turned around and threw up all over it. Yesterday, I figured she just drank too much pool water (or inhaled it, she seemed to stick her face in the water by accident a lot.) But she's not any better today... she actually cuddled! So I know she's not feeling well.



Man, this blog is hard to keep up with. Not really, there's just not much going on here. I was yelling at the kids the other day and I realized something. I have officially turned into my parents. How did that happen?? One day, I'm rolling my eyes at their "advice" and the next I'm hearing phrases from my childhood spew out of my mouth toward my children! I don't even remember what I said, but at the time, I stopped and thought, "Wow, never thought I'd hear myself say that!" And thank you, Dad, for all the times you have corrected my English, so I cannot even go onto a message board without wanting to make a post about what the difference between "your" and "you're" is. My poor children will end up in the same predicament because I am instilling that great love of correct grammar!



Well, the week before Halloween, the kids had Fall Break. Apparently they think the kids need a four day weekend at least once a month, so they came up with this. This year we took advantage of it and made a trip down to South Carolina to visit Jason's sister and her family. My nephew Jack turned 5 on the 27th and this was the first year we got to celebrate his birthday with him. We were going to leave Wednesday night and drive to Jason's parents' house outside Knoxville, and then drive to SC on Friday, then to TN and back home Sunday. Jason ended up working late on Wed, so we didn't leave for TN until Thursday morning. Got to Maryville early afternoon and the kids played outside enjoying the beautiful weather. We got up early Friday and headed towards Rock Hill. Got to NC and it started to rain. At least we made it out of the mountains before it started. Had a great time in SC seeing all the family! Julie's kids - Emma, Jackson and Brian- are getting so big. It's too bad no one's figured out how to stop time yet. We stayed at a hotel not too far from Dave and Julie's house. It had an indoor pool, but unfortunately when they built it, I think they forgot the heater. I've gone on Polar swims that were warmer than that pool. Okay, by now, half of you are wondering if I've ever done a Polar swim and the other half can't read because they're laughing so hard at the thought of me doing one! Sunday morning came way too quickly and we were headed back home. We decided to forgo the stop-off in Maryville for a breather and just head home. We cut off from Jim and Terry somewhere around Dollywood and headed home. We left Rock Hill, SC around 8 am and got into our driveway around 7:30 pm. All in all, not such bad timing, at least with our kids! Of course, the first half of the trip, we were Caelyn and Piperless, as they rode with Grandma and Grandpa. Next time I mention such a trip, remind me to wait... at least until the youngest one is old enough to vote!



The Wednesday after we got home was Halloween. And it was a beautiful day. Kind of windy with a storm brewing, but into the seventies. Hey, the kids didn't have to dress up as puffy winter coats this year! I didn't get pics (bad Mommy!) but let me assure you that the kids were adorable. Caelyn and Piper went as the same thing -- Pirate Maidens. Someone needs to inform costume makers that 7 and 10 year olds do not (and should not) have the bodies to fill these costumes out. Thank goodness both girls felt modest enough to wear clothes underneath their costumes. But they still looked cute anyway. And they went trick or treating with one of their friend's moms, so we got rid of them for almost 3 hours! Piper had to come back and empty her pumpkin once and still filled it up again. Anyone want a Snickers? Or 20 of them? That seemed to be the candy bar of choice this year. Jason and I took the two little ones out. Wyatt was Superman again. As soon as I put the costume on him, he said, "Punkin!" Guess he does remember last year. Rummaging around in the basement, I found the Eyeore costume that Wyatt wore at one. Just perfect for Larkin. And she looked sooo cute! Wouldn't leave the hood on, though. We walked all around the neighborhood and Wyatt only got carried twice, both times when Daddy thought we should go a little quicker since the clouds were getting darker. Larkin had no idea what was going on except she was out of the house meeting everyone in the neighborhood. She brought back a nice haul, too! Too bad the kid's too young to eat it. Daddy and Grandpa Rob have enjoyed the candy, though.

I was going to talk about Thanksgiving and Christmas (as evidenced by the post title) but I since I've written a novella already, I think I'll wait til some other time. Hey, it gives me another reason to post. Hope everyone out there is good. Drop me a line sometime..........