Tricks or Treats?

Ahh, Halloween is upon us. I have to say, I have a love/hate relationship with Halloween since I became a parent. I LOVE seeing the kids in their costumes and running door to door filling their bags with goodies. I LOVE watching them get so excited to get to stay up past their bedtimes so they can dump their loot all over the floor as they marvel at what they have collected!

What, I HATE is all of the hooplah that occurs in preparation for the big day! I always find myself stressing about costumes, accessories, etc and end up putting it off until the last minute. And the fact that they charge $30 for a costume that looks like it was made out of crepe paper and hot glue just adds insult to injury!

This year I had the kids start looking early. I was determined not to do my usual procrastination dance. We made several trips to the local Halloween store so the kids could get an idea of what they wanted. Once they made their decisions I got busy looking online for a better deal! I gotta say, I'm pretty darn proud of myself this year! I not only got their costumes early but I saved nearly HALF of what I would have paid at the local Halloween store! Plus, all three kids costumes fit, which is always a concern when ordering online.

It feels so good to have it done and just be able to look forward to trick-or-treating!

Now, lets see if it carries over to Christmas shopping! I'm not counting on it!

Friday Favorite!

Spring used to be my favorite season, even back when I was a little girl. I used to love sitting out on the porch on warm spring afternoons collecting roly poly bugs in an old butter dish! I still love Springtime but as I grow older I have really fallen for Fall. One of my favorite things in the world is to open up all of the windows in the house and to let Autumn in. I love seeing the curtains flutter around as the cool breeze floats through the house. And I really love flipping that switch on the A/C to OFF!

Another one of my favorite thing about Fall is CANDLES. These candles to be exact. Now, don't get me wrong I love candles in Winter, Spring and Summer too but there is just something different about candles in the Fall. The scents are so warm and welcoming and often times nostalgic. I love that my Pumpkin Patch candle sends me right back to my Mamaw's kitchen when I was no more than 5 years old.

I just love the way a burning candle can change the atmosphere of my house. Sometimes a comforting scent is all it takes to calm me down! I don't know if any of you are like this but I don't like to burn a candle in a room that is messy. I feel like I am "wasting" the candle when I do that. I guess because I can't fully enjoy the candle because I'm to busy stressing over the messy room! I know.... weird. But I have been known to quickly pick up the living room or the kitchen just so I can light my favorite candle ;)

What is your Friday Favorite?

Full Swing

Well, the new school year has been in full swing for a little over a month now and we have finally all settled in. It has been a year of change for all three of them.

Hannah turned 11 on August 10th, just days before starting Middle School. She is officially a Briarhill Bulldog! Her nerves about starting a new, much bigger school, quickly subsided once she had the first day under her belt. She has completely immersed herself in "middle school life" and is loving it! She is full of school spirit and is enjoying her newfound independence. She is riding the bus to and from school and has begun taking voice lessons. She has been a little shocked by all of the homework she has now but she is acclimating well. It is really bittersweet watching her start this new journey. It's sometimes hard to accept that she is growing up so fast but being her mom is so much fun right now.

First day. About to head to the bus stop....

Hannah and her BFF Kaitlyn showing off their new backpacks!

One last goodbye.

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Ethan tuned 9 on his second day of 3rd Grade. This is the first year he hasn't been in the same school with Hannah. I was a little worried at first about him not having her there but he has done great. If we're being honest here, I think having her there with him was more reassuring to me than it was to him... I think he likes just being "Ethan" and not "Hannah's little brother"! He adored his 2nd Grade teacher and asked her numerous times last year if she would go to 3rd Grade with him. Each time, she hugged him tight and told him that she couldn't go, but would come check on him in his new class. Imagine his surprise when just 3 weeks before school started this year a sweet little note came in the mail from Ms. Hamm letting him know that she WAS moving to 3rd Grade and had already made sure he was in her class! He is already having a great year!

He was rather annoyed that I was trying to take his picture so this is all I got!

Ethan and Ms. Hamm

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Andrew has had the least amount of change but has had the hardest time. He returned to his preschool in September and is doing great now but we had a few stumbles along the way. Aside from going from a 2 day a week class to 3-days, he has a new teacher. I never anticipated that this would even phase my little ball of fire but he was very resistant. He wanted his old class and his old teachers! Drop-off was hard on both of us for a couple of weeks but has since become a breeze. He still plays with a lot of his "old" friends on the playground but all in all he is happy, so Momma is happy!

................Until next time...............

Blog FAILURE?

I prefer to think of it as a hiatus. A time-out. A leave of absence.

Thank you all for sticking around. I am still alive. Life happened. Things got a little crazy here for a while and I just couldn't muster up the energy or the brainpower the blog deserved!!!!

Well, here it is, over a year since my last post. I don't even know where to start, actually. I could go back a year and try to update you on all of the milestones that occurred but that seems really daunting and quite frankly I have a hard time remembering 12 minutes ago, let alone 12 months ago! So, I'll tell y'all like I tell my kids.... You get what you get and you don't throw a fit! I'll try t throw in some "flashbacks" here and there though. ;)

I'll end this post with some recent pics of the kids 'cause I know that's the reason you are really here!

Until next time............

Wordless Wednesday!

Happy Hump Day Everyone!!!

Hannah's Day

Well, today's the big day everyone. The day I trade my sanity for a seat on the crazy train headed straight for boy-crazed little girl central, all for the sake of my sweet Hannah. At 3pm today we head out to see The Jonas Brother's in concert. Not only will it be Hannah's first concert but it is also the kickoff of the JoBro's World Tour and I'm quite certain that we are in for an entertaining show as this is their hometown. Hannah has had her outfit picked out for weeks and everytime she hears a JB song or someone talking about them the smile that overcomes her face is priceless. Although she is super excited, she has NO IDEA what she is in for! I can't wait to see her reaction when we get there. I will take as many pictures as my little memory card can hold!!! So, say a little prayer for me this evening as I watch my not so little girl have the time of her life!!

TGIF!

In effort to keep me from going crazy get out of the house and enjoy the summer day we decided to head over to a local outdoor mall. Hannah is toying with the idea of getting her ears double pierced and they have a Claire's there so that was the first stop. She wasn't impressed with the sales girl and promptly announced her discomfort in allowing her to pierce her precious lobes. So it was decided that the piercing be put on hold. After a bit of window shopping we ended up at the little water feature turned splash pad for all of the local children. I had a feeling that's where we would end up so I did come prepared with changes of clothes and a towel but didn't let the kids know that! When Andrew said "wet, wawa" and I told him to go ahead and get wet. The older two looked at me like I was crazy. When they got the same confirmation as their brother they too took off to cool off without looking back! They had a great time and I sat in the sun and fried! The things us mom's do to make our kids happy.

Have a great weekend everyone!