Not so Merry Christmas

This Christmas was jinxed from 10pm last night. You can say that it doesnt rank up there with the best Christmas's. That is hard for me to say too cause I LOVE Christmas and anytime with my family I usually enjoy.

It all started with Emelyn waking up at 10pm and not going back to sleep till 3am. She has had a cough and congestion. Steve went to the store to get her some meds and the pharmacist recommended that he give her a cough med. As you may know there are not any cold meds for children under 4 as the American Assoc of Pediatrics doesnt feel they are necessary. Well after she has been sick for a week and we dont have health insurance anymore, I didnt take her to the dr cause I was letting it run its course. The medicene was a non-drowsy one and she took it for most the day with no problems. I guess last night it made her wired.

She woke up crying and we got her up, gave her a sippie cup, changed her diaper, checked her temp and made sure that there wasnt anything wrong with her. This was after we laid her down 4 times and everytime she would scream. Something she doesnt ever do. We lay her down awake every night and she is a great sleeper. With it being Christmas Eve and Trevor's room being right across the hall I didnt want her to wake him with all her screaming so Steve and I sat up the pack and play and let her come to our room. We dont let our kids sleep in our bed. We put her in there, said goodnight and turned out the lights. Nope that didnt work either. This was midnight. We tried several different things. Turning on the closet light for it not to be so dark in the room and I laid beside the pack and play. None of that worked. In fact she stood and held onto the side of the pack and play and jumped up and down making noises like a monkey in a cage at the zoo. It would of been so funny if I wasnt exhausted. So Steve turned the Tv on to Little Einsteins and she stood with her head resting on the side of the pack and play sucking her binky and watching the show. She watched it 3 times and then we turned the tv off thinking she would go to sleep, but once the tv went off she sat in her pack in play babbling for about 30 minutes. We finally brought her into our bed and she just crawled all over me. Steve got up and changed her diaper in which she screamed the whole time. Still no fever. The only thing that I could think to do was to give her a warm bath and a baby massage with lavender bath and body bedtime lotion. I did her normal bedtime routine and she was out like a light. And finally I was able to go to sleep. Only to be awakened 4 hours later by Trevor wanting to open presents.

I was so tired that I didnt get pics of the kids in front of the tree with all their presents and had to take a little nap before we went to my inlaws. I was snappy and moody with Steve and he was just as tired as I was. I am hoping for a better day tomorrow one where I am rested and able to play with Trev and enjoy all the new toys he got.

Readers and Followers

I started off this blog thing as a way to tell the many stories that go along with our pictures and videos. I am not one to take pictures with a camera for no reason at all. There is all ways a story behind my shots. Even if it is a picture of little feet. I wasnt sure who would be reading it or if anyone would care. I also wanted some sort of an outlet to share the things that are happening in our lives as well as some of my mommyisms as I like to call them. You know the quirky things you think and do everyday while being a mommy. Cause most of my life consists of being just that, a mommy. And as much as I love being a mother, there are some things that arent always great, but the hugs, smiles and kisses make it all worth while. Wow! I am such a rambler!
Okay back to the point. I have had several emails from followers and readers telling me just how much they enjoy reading my blog and that means the world to me. To think that people actually like to know what I am thinking! My goodness was I surprised. So I hope that I continue to be interesting.

You Were Improperly Packaged!

The Grinch: [stops in his tracks] Saving you, is that what you think I was doing? Wrongo. I just noticed that you were improperly packaged, my dear.
[grabs wrapping paper and starts wrapping Cindy up]
The Grinch: Hold still.
[to Max]
The Grinch: Max, pick out a bow.
[to Cindy]


This is what Eme looked like after coming out of Steve and I's bedroom with Steve and Trevor. I heard them in there laughing a lot this morning. Emelyn comes out and she is wrapped up like a present. Trevor says in his best Grinch voice "I Just Noticed You Were Improperly Packaged. Max, Get Me A Bow"! Steve said if she is going to be part of this family she better get used to pranks.

Like I have said before and so sure I will say again. Our home is FULL of NEVER DULL MOMENTS!

So True.....

This is for those of us who get on the computer and cant seem to find our way off. It just drags you in and before you know it you've been on the dreaded thing for an hour. AHHHHH!

Carried Away

Sometimes I start typing on here and just get completely carried away. I do try to be uncandid and open, but there are just some things I dont want posted on the internet. Tonight Steve came to me after reading one of my posts and wanted to know what I meant in Eme's bday blog. I was like what do you mean. I re read the blog and couldnt believe what I read. I said that Eme brought me out of darkness when she was born, but I dont really know what I meant by that. I did experience some post partum depression after her birth, but it is like some little elf took over my hands and typed something else. Anyways.....I was in such a hurry as I usually am and didnt read the blog before I posted it. So I just wanted to clear that up so all you readers dont think that I completely lost it or was in a dark place. I also didnt want anyone to read and think that having a baby just makes your life super sweet. It does, but it is no reason to run out and have a baby to bring you out of some darkness. Get the point? Good! ;)

Do you believe???

Do you believe in Santa? Trevor has gotten to the age where he is asking lots of questions about Santa. The other day he came home from school with all kinds of questions. He told me that a boy at school told him that his parents told him that Santa wasnt real. Steve never wanted to tell Trevor about Santa because he felt that when Trevor did realize that he wasnt real, he would wonder why we lied to him all those Christmas'. I on the other hand wanted to follow with tradition and tell Trevor about Santa, leave out the cookies and milk, and leave presents from Santa. I mean parents have been telling there kids for years that Santa was real. I wasnt sure what to tell Trevor. So I said that if he believed in Santa, then he was real and if he didnt believe, then he wasnt. Boy was that a mistake. He followed me around the house asking if we were the ones that were Santa. Trevor is such a smart boy and he has always asked me a question about something and it is like he knows if I am not telling the truth. For instance he wanted to know how Emelyn got in my belly and how she was born. He wouldnt settle for that the dr was just going to take her out. So we told him the truth and he left it at that. So I should of known when the questions started, that he wouldnt let it go till he got the right answer. Well maybe not the right answer, but the one that made him feel better. So I told him that I had never seen Santa and my parents never told me he wasnt real. Then he asked if we put presents under the tree and said they were from Santa, how do reindeers fly, how does Santa get around the world in one night...... and the list goes on and on. I was backed right into a corner. So I told him that we would type the question into ask.com. We read the history of Santa. His feelings were hurt, but I told him that it really doesnt change anything. We still will fill his stocking and there will be special presents under the tree. I told him that I wanted him to still believe in Santa. He said he would try. Let me tell you being a parent sometimes is really difficult.

I love Christmas, but.....

I would love Christmas even more if it was cold here and I was closer to my family. I am so thankful that I have family here in Florida that are as welcoming as Steve's family, but I miss my family back home more than ever at Christmas time. I have lived here in Florida for going on 11 years and it never gets any easier. Steve and I have gone back to my parents twice for Christmas. Once it snowed and that was a real treat!

Now that I have children, I want them to see how it was when I would wake up Christmas morning. I couldnt wait to wake up in the morning and see how FULL Santa left my stocking. My mom would overfill my stocking! It wouldnt matter what was under that tree if the stocking was full! I guess that is where I get my over filling Steve and Trevor's stockings. Most times the stocking stuffers are pouring out onto the floor. Crazy, but true. We would usually open presents and then mom would start cooking for Christmas Dinner.

When I was younger my Dad's mom was so traditional and she had all kinds of special things that she did on the holidays. Every Christmas Eve we would all go to her house. My Dad has a very large family and my grandparents house wasnt big at all, but we would all pile in there and open presents. Everyone brought sweets and appetizers. My Granny had an ornament for everyone in the family and the ornaments were labeled with our names. She would call each family one by one and would take our family Christmas picture in front of the tree.

Now that I have my own family I try to bring in my family traditions and we also do some of Steve's family traditions. Even though money is real tight this year, we will still have a special Christmas.

Boyscout Outing

On Tuesday Trevor had a Go See It with Cubscouts. This is where the boys go do community service and learn about there community. I decided to take Trevor since my mother is in town. This Go See It was a trip to the local nursing home and the boys were going to speak with the elderly patients about how they celebrated the holidays. Each child spoke out loud about how their family celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas. Then it was the elderly peoples turn to tell the children their traditions. It was neat for the children to hear because most of the people grew up during a time of War and the Great Depression. Times were very different. Extremely different than today. They spoke of how for them as children if their mothers made them something for Christmas it was special. At the end of the time there the boys went around and introduced themselves to each person and chatted. Trevor and I met a nice women who was 99 years old and turning 100 on June 3rd. Her name was Ruth and she was from Ohio. Ruth was widowed and had no children or brothers and sisters. She was the kindest person. Sitting beside Ruth was another Ruth and we called her Ruth #2. She found this quiet funny. We had a nice conversation with both of these women. I could see that they were blessed and it had made their day that the Cubscouts came to visit.

As we were driving home Trevor told me that it made him sad to go there and speak to the 2 elderly women. I asked him why and he explained that he felt bad that the women didnt have any family and were probably alone on holidays. He then asked me if he would have to be alone in a nursing home when he is older or if I would be able to take care of him. I explained that mommy and daddy will not be around when he is that old, but hopefully he would have a wife and his own family to take care of him one day. This Go See It was an eye opener, but also made me think about all the people that are forgotten every year. We all get so wrapped up in our own lives during the holidays and any day for that matter. We tend to forget about those less fortunant or alone in the nursing homes.

Happy 1st Birthday to YOU!!!!

WOW! Time really does fly when you are having fun. To think that a year ago at 11:58am after 9 hours of super easy labor, the doctor placed a slimy 6lb 7oz wonder on my belly. How was I to know that there was so much spunk in that little body. Well I guess that I should of known from 9 months of a hellish pregnancy and several trips to labor and delivery with contractions. Even in the womb we called Emelyn a little devil. ;)
So here we are a year later getting ready to decorate your first birthday cake and hang streamers all to celebrate your first year of life. A year that has been filled with so many firsts and excitement. When Steve and I decided to have another baby we planned and finally decided on when we would start trying. With past fertility trouble we thought for sure it would take some time to conceive. Boy were we wrong. Emelyn was conceived in 15 short days and when the next month rolled around and I was shocked that I had skipped my monthly cycle I sat dumb founded looking at 3 positive pregnancy tests. As all people know, I am quiet a planner. So the fact that I got pregnant 3 months before I thought I would was a huge surprise. After the shock wore off, I was ecstatic! We were having a baby. Little did I know that our lives were never going to be the same. Nor did I know that we could have a much more exciting life than we already lived. Another surprise was that my heart could hold enough love for 2 little people equally. That was something I worried about and kept me from wanting another baby for 5 long years. I will never forget though seeing Trevor hold Emelyn when we brought her home from the hospital and feeling my heart fill with love for the both of them. I was also surprised when I saw Steve with Emelyn. He was already a great father, but with another child he was extraordinary. So with all these surprises Emelyn has brought great joy to our lives. So Happy Birthday Emelyn. Today you will be celebrated and given all kinds of gifts. Those gifts will never compare to the gift you have given to our family. You will always be my own little personal ray of sunshine. I love you, Eme Shimmee Doodlebug!

Scrapcation

Scrapcation- The definition of scrapcation is simple. It is a 3 day hiatus for women to come together, scrapbook, listen to music, bond talk and relax. See momcation for more details.

HA! HA! I look forward to getting together every year with my good friends for some scrapbooking. This isnt just any get together. It is 3 whole days to get caught up on all the scrapbooking I am behind on. And believe me.....3 days isnt even barely enough. My friend April opens up her home and heart to about 8 ladies. We all stay the night, bring our favorite dessert and dish for a fancy meal on Friday night. We also have fun in a secret santa and white elephant gift exchange. I have been planning for this event for close to 3 months. I even told Steve and Mary so I would have sitters. The last 2 retreats I have not been able to go and stay the whole time. The first year my sitter didnt pan out and last year, well last year I was 4days away from popping out little Emelyn and was having some real uncomfortable pains down in the nether regions. So I went for as long as I could stand which was a couple hours. So this year come hell or high water I am going. Steve has switched his days around so he will be home with the kids Thursday and Friday...bahahahaha and Mary was kind enough to pitch in on Saturday. With as frazzled as I have been the last couple of months, I think everyone knows that it is either a scrapcation or a mental hospital. Sad, but true. Try being a prefectionist with anxiety issues and having a baby and some other aggrivating issues come along. You may fall apart slightly too. Needless to say I need this and am So SUPER DUPER excited!!!!

To top it off. I got to thinking and I have not had a Momcation-(defintion is time away from your children to just recoup alone. No hubby, no pets, no stress) and it has been close to 6 years. Now when I say time alone, it doesnt mean to party with my friends or go out and act stupid. In fact the last time that I did go away it was with April to the beach and we went to a scrapbooking reteat. Oh wait.....I have to take that back. Four years ago I went to Dallas to a BeautiControl Convention. But I came home completely wipped out and tired.

I like to think that I am a fabulous mother. I take care of our home even if I do get behind on laundry. Other than that though I try hard to give 110% to my husband and children. Dont I deserve this time to refuel, recharge and come back refreshed? I think so. I am happy that Steve agrees and is supporting me in my decision to take a scrapcation. So tootles for now.........dont be jealous you dont get a scrapcation too. ;)

Rock-a- Bye Baby

The best part of my day has got to be rocking Emelyn to sleep at night. This week is a little different cause I am weaning her off her night time bottle and she will be completely weaned. So she drinks out of her sippie cup and I caress her hair while she stares up at me with her innocent blue sometimes brown eyes. I have to say that it is pure bliss. Her room is only lite by her lamp and I turn on soft music for her to go to sleep to. Sometimes I even fall asleep myself. Not very often. I try to just get her relaxed and not completely asleep because I feel it is better to lay her down awake so she can learn to soothe herself. When she was around 6 months old she would reach up and touch my face while I fed her. But just as quick as she started to do that, she stopped. Times like these I treasure. After having Trevor I see how quick it goes by. One day you could be rocking your baby to sleep and the next they are jumping out of your car for their first day of kindergarten. It all goes by so fast. So the tiny moments that I can get with Eme just the two of us, I really try to just soak in cause one day my baby wont be a little baby anymore. :(

Happy 7th Birthday Trevor!!!!

We decided this year to have a small at home birthday party for Trevor's 7th birthday. I did ask him what he would like and was even willing to do the park like we did last year and invite all his friends. But he still wanted a small family party at home. I was relieved. We have had some pretty elaborate and costly parties and this year I really wanted to keep it low key. Especially after last years party when he told me it was the best party ever and it was hardly no work at all other than sending out invites and picking up drinks and the cake to haul to the park. Remember I was 8 months pregnant and had been ordered by my dr to not go to the party due to my high blood pressure. Sorry doc, but there wasnt any way in hell I would miss my little boys birthday.

Trevor did have one request. He wanted me to make the cake myself and he wanted it to be a dog theme. I did a lot of research for a dog cake and 2 weeks before the party I still was coming up empty handed. I did find a cute idea from ebay and just had to order pieces for the dogs limbs. I had not made a cake in close to 4 years so I was a little freaked out. I also had never made a cake that I had to pretty much design on my own. It ended up only taking 2 hours plus baking time. Trevor loved it.

We just had the family over and one of his best buds. I did set up a craft table with dog ceramics and dog puppets to make. The kids liked this and then it was present time. He didnt get a bunch of junk.....thank God. We cant fit much more in the kids room! Eme picked him out a Wheres Waldo Book and Science Experiment book, Steve and I got him a model car and A Smithsonian Science Kit, Grandma and Papa gave him a tent and some Magic Treehouse set of books, and his cousins gave him some Tech Decks. The next day we went to Monkey Joes and bounced ourselves to death for about 4 hours. So all and all I feel like it went well. It is hard for me to tone down the parties cause I love to go all out, but this was still nice. Best part of all is that T loved it!

Feels Like Home

Every year at this time there is always a question that my mother inlaw asks. It is kinda like clock work. Once Thanksgiving rolls around and we are deciding on where to have the meal she asks me if we want to do it here at our house. And every year I say, no lets just do it at your house. She often questions me and assures me that she doesnt mind doing it at my house. And most "normal" daughter in laws would be thrilled that their mother inlaw is so kind. Of course I am. Please dont take this blog out of context. I know that she doesnt want me to feel that we have to have it at her house, but I always want it there.
For me personally, my inlaws home feels like home to me. Its no secret that we have moved many times since Steve and I have been married. Once we settle into a home something always seems to get in the way of us staying there for some reason or another. We moved to St Cloud with Steve's father in a fairly large home that we could not afford the house payment on without him living in the inlaw quarters behind the house. Unfortuantly Steve's father passes away 4 months after we purchase the house. We stayed there, but struggled to make the payment.Then we move back to Kissimmee and Hurricane Charley does quiet a bit of damage on the house. We are displaced from the home for 3 months while the remodeling is done and move back in. A couple months later our car is stolen right from our front yard which in turn makes me feel unsafe so we find my dream home in St Cloud. Once again crap happens and the housing market drops and we have to close our Home Inspection business which left us unable to make that hefty house payment. We are left with no choice but to let the house foreclose. This was one of the hardest choices we have ever had to make. I tend to get attached to homes and vehicles and I like normalcy. I like to know where I will be in 10 years. Which leads us to here where we have been for 2 years and I plan to stay till we can build up our credit.
So for me, I would rather have Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and other family dinners at my inlaws house where I feel comfortable. The house that has been the one constant thing in my life in the last 10 years other than Steve of course! It may sound weird, but thats where all of our memories have been made. And one day when we are looking thru family photos it will be real confusing name all the different houses we were doing what at in the pics. Trust me.....we already have trouble with it!

Sleepwalker

We often find Trevor in some odd places after a night of sleepwalking(bathroom floor, livingroom floor, couch, middle of our bedroom floor.....), but I must say that this one takes the cake.
I was awakened this morning at 1am to a shining bedroom light in my face. As I woke up, I thought to myself, it cant be time to wake up already! I looked at the alarm clock and it said 1am so I sat up to go turn the light off figuring that Trevor must of come in and went to the bathroom and turned on our light. I am still not sure why he does this because our room is farther away and his bathroom is in the hall right by his room, but whatever. So as I sit up I see an arm hanging out from the covers at the end of the bed. I was like "what is that?". Remember I am half awake. I do know who's arm it was, but it was odd to just see an arm and no other body parts! So I pulled the covers off to see my sons torso and from the waist down he was hanging off the bed. His feet were not even touching the floor! I chuckled a little sleepy chuckle and woke up Steve. He said "You should take a picture" and me in my sleepy stupor said "Really?". I didnt get up to get a picture, but I should have. Steve took him back to his bed. As he was carrying Trevor there he said that Trevor looked up and said "hi" and gave him a goofy smile. As he was laying him down Steve said "Go back to bed." and he did. So this sleepwalking incident is right up there with asleep in the bathroom floor. Silly kid!

Beautiful Children

"There is only one pretty child in the world and every mother has it."
Have you ever heard this old chinese proverb? I look at my two babies everyday and feel such pride to call them both mine. I cant believe that Steve and I have made such beautiful children. I get stopped in Walmart while grocery shopping at least 5 times during an hour for someone to talk to Eme and tell me how beautiful she is. I just say thankyou and continue on. If I stopped to say thankyou to everyone that cooed or smiled at her, well we would be there all day. She went to a complete stranger the other day in the hair salon, then when the lady handed her back Eme wrinkled her nose and laughed at her. All the hair dressers laughed then as well. Even Trevor was a beautiful baby. I dont remember if I was stopped as much with him. He wasnt as outgoing as Eme is. When we were trick or treating at Downtown Disney so many people commented on her Raggedy Ann costume and her cute little freckles I gave her. I have to say, she was SOOOO adorable. You couldnt see Trevor's face under his teen wolf costume, but people were amazed with his costume too.


Now with Trevor I am constantly told that he is an old soul. His prek, kindergarten and first grade teacher have told us this and even a couple of friends. He is not your typical six year old. I have noticed that he can hold a conversation with most adults if they talk to him. To me that is impressive. And smart. WOW! He can blow you away with his reading skills. Probably the best thing about Trevor in my eyes is his loving spirit. He is such a mommas boy. I dont know how long this will last, but I am going to hold onto it as long as he will let me. He is also a great big brother. He gets on the floor with Eme and loves on her and makes her laugh.
So I dont know if that old Chinese Proverb is true, but I can tell you that there at least 2 beautiful children in our family and we are so thankful for them.

Busy November

Do you ever have months that you feel everything seems to happen at once? November is that month for our family. We just get done with Halloween and not a week later it is Trevor's birthday. This year we are having a small family birthday and he is going to have his best bud spend the night. That was fine by me. His only request was that I make his cake. I am excited about that since I havent made a cake in 4 years. And this one will be different for me.

The following week is my Scrappy Chicks weekend scrapbook retreat which is always a lot of fun and this year I wont be pregnant or not have a sitter. This is the third annual get together and my friend April hosts it at her house. We have secret santas and have a big Christmas dinner together. I look forward to this every year.

Then on the 18th my mom arrives for her 2 week vacation with us. Her and my Dad decided to come for Eme's first birthday. My Dad will be here on the 20th and can only stay the weekend, but we are just happy he is able to come at all.

On the 21st Emelyn will celebrate her first birthday which I cant believe is already here and it makes me really sad. Where does time go? It seems like I just had her. Her party will also be small with family and close friends that have been around for her first year. I will also be making her cake. It will be a 3d stand up bear cake. She is going to LOVE it!

We then end the month with Thanksgiving. By the time the month is over I have only blinked, but feel completely wipped out and am pretty much broke. Christmas is right around the corner and I have to find a money tree to get stuff for the kids. Why couldnt everything be more spread out? I guess I should be thankful my life is busy. :)

What month is this????

Who swims in November? Oh wait, people in Florida. Because on November 1st it is 90 degrees outside. Yep my family right now is down at the community pool swimming. This is absolutely ridiculous. I have never picked out a pumpkin and sweated at the same time. That was definitely a first! I am honestly ready for the weather to change. Of all the things I miss back home other than my family, I would have to say seasons are at the top of that list. So right now I am searching Indian cold weather dances. Come On Cold Fronts!!!!!!

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. I love to dress up and trick or treat. I remember Trevor's first Halloween and we trick or treated with some friends of ours in their neighborhood. Trevor couldnt even walk. We or should I say I carried him to every house and up to every door. The amount of candy that he had was ridiculous. Steve thought I was crazy. But for me that was something that I never had growing up. We didnt live in a neighborhood. In fact my parents took me to their friends houses and my grandparents to trick or treat. My aunt had halloween parties at her house for my cousins and I, but I dont remember her having those after we were about 7. Those were always TONS of fun. They were your typical halloween party with bobbing for apples and scary music. It is always in the back of my head though and I guess that is why I insist on taking the kids to every house and sometimes we fill our buckets up 2 or 3 times and put them into a Walmart bag. I always say that I live thru my children because if I didnt have something growing up, they definitely will, within reason of course. So tonight when you are trick or treating, fill your buckets once for me! Have a Splendid Halloween!

Happy Halloween-
The Joy Family

Last night Trevor and I went to the St Cloud Library where they were having a Twilight Party. This was a party advertised for teens, but we LOVE Twilight and I figured that it wouldnt be anything inappropriate for Trevor and if it was, I was planning to leave. So we get there at 7:30 pm when it started. There was a costume contest, trivia games(which I won round one :)), Howling contest (Trevor was great at this one), Button making, Duct tape rose craft, pinning the shirt on Jacob, and bobbing for apples. It was packed full of fun things to do.




We had been there for close to 2 and a half hours and Trevor was getting tired. Just as I was getting ready to leave, I see out of the corner of my eye who I thought was Edward. At that exact moment my heart fell to my stomach and I felt like a silly school girl. One for thinking that I actually saw him and two for getting all googly eyed like that anyways.

Come to find out he was the lead singer for the band called the Twilighters and right behind him was a Bella impersonator. Why does she always have to ruin it???!!!!
We had a lot of fun though and I am really glad that I decided to take Trevor. I questioned if it was a good idea with the party being geared at teens. On the way out I told Trevor thanks for coming with me and he said "no, mom thanks for bringing me". When we got home and Trevor was filling Steve in on our fun he told Steve that it was the funniest time that he had had in a long time! That right there told me that I had definitely made the right choice!

Jack- O- Lantern

It has been a family tradition to carve pumpkins for Steve and I. Even before we had the kids we used to carve pumpkins. The excitement starts at the pumpkin patch when you are looking for the BEST pumpkin. I used to be pretty anal about finding the perfect pumpkin, but have come to realize that we are just going to carve it and then in a couple days it will be in the trash so who cares if it has some dings.

So....last night we invited Mary over and carved our pumpkins. We had 2 and Trevor picked his design. We cheat and have pumpkin carving stencils. Trevor's was a moderate werewolf. Steve usually carves the pumpkin. Well he does Trevor's. I carve my own. Anyways...Trevor got right to cutting the top off and cleaning out the guts. Our pumpkins were small this year so it didnt take long at all. I decided to just draw on my pumpkin. I am not an artist by any means, but I made an oogglyy googgly face. Mine came out nice and then across the table I hear Steve say "oh crap". He messed up the werewolf. You can imagine Trevor's disappointment. So I tried to make it better by freehanding one on the pumpkin. It looked great, but then I couldnt figure out how to carve it out. Needless to say Steve just drew a face on it and carved it out. I think T was really disappointed, but he was good about the whole thing. Before we were even done he was watching some Michael Jackson movie that is a whole other blog in its self. Emelyn was good. We started the carving past her bed time, but she was good. We even let her put her hand in the pumpkin. She loved it! Every once in a while she would sneak a pumpkin seed in her mouth. All in all it was a great pumpkin carving night.

First Boyscout Badge

We are so proud of Trevor. He earned his first boy scout badge which is the Bobcat badge. He had to learn the scout promise, handshake and sign. He was given his badge at the pack meeting on Tuesday in front of the whole council. I was so proud of him and he was really proud of himself. Sometimes that is more important than Steve and I being proud of him. Or at least I think.

So we are going on month 2 of being a Tiger Scout. Every Tuesday night Steve or I take him to the hour long meeting. They participate in many activities thru out the month. There are food drives, car washes, camp outs and much more. At these activities Trevor has more chances to earn badges. We will be going to the Fun With Son campout the first weekend in December. It will be a lot of fun since we will be doing "real" camping out in a tent. Eme will stay with Grandma. We havent had time just me, Trevor and Steve in a while so that campout will be nice.

Thats all for now. Way to go Trevor! You did it!

Ever been asked "What did you do all day?"

A good one to think about if you had the luxury of a fulltime at-home parent growing up.....I am glad I did!

What Do You Do All Day? A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard. The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house.And there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.

In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.

He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping overtoys and more piles of clothes looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels,scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.

As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled,and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, "What happened here today?" She again smiled and answered, "You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I do all day?"
"Yes," was his incredulous reply.
She answered, "Well, today I didn't do it."

Pumpkin Patch

So we went on Sunday to the pumpkin patch. It was suppose to be an all day thing. We were going to go out to Long and Scott Farms in Zellwood which is about 30 miles northwest of Orlando. This is a working farm where they have a huge corn maze, 60' slide, farmers market, small kiddie mazes and hay rides. We asked my mother inlaw Mary if she would like to join us. Sunday morning we left around 11:45am since the farm opened at 1pm. We figured we had plenty of time to get there. About 15 minutes into the trip I asked Steve if he knew where we were going and he said that he thought that I had the directions. Mary had her map and had got mapquest directions to Zellwood. About 2 hours later, asking 4 people and calling my mom for directions we finally made it. We pulled up and the place was packed. The guys leading people into the parking said that they were at capacity and we could go to the pumpkin patch, but there wasnt room in the maze.

We were a little disappointed and I was frustrated with myself for not getting the directions. I am usually so organized, but I guess after the family being sick all week, i just wasnt all that prepared. Well......I also went that morning to get my nails done while Eme took her nap. I left at 10am thinking I had plenty of time. Wrong! The nail tech took forever. So I had Steve calling my phone like a crazy person wondering where I was at 11:30am. I had left my phone in the car and freaked out when I got out and saw the time. Thankgoodness he dressed the kids, packed the diaper bag and the car. So all I had to do when I got home was get myself dressed. So that could of been why the directions werent printed out. But we will just say it was cause the family was sick the week before! ;)

We ended up staying at the farm for about 2 hours just looking at the pumpkins and eating corn. Zellwood is known for its sweet corn. Emelyn loved the corn right off the cob. I took pics of the kids with the pumpkins. I had made tye dyed pumpkin shirts for the kids and I. We all looked so cute. I was pleasantly surprised that Trevor actually wore his shirt. He is at that age where he wants to look cool. It was really hot, but there was a nice breeze. So for the most part it was a great day. Even if we got lost on the way there.

The funniest part of all was that we were going to the Corn Maze, but got lost getting there. How did we ever think we would actually be able to make it thru a maze when we cant even make it TO the maze.

To Blog or Not to Blog

Well, I guess you can say I have figured out the answer to the question..... To Blog Or Not To Blog??? I have tossed around the idea of doing a family blog. Something so that we could document our lives for family and maybe one day the kids will like to look back and see how we lived our every day to day lives. I am not the best speller or nor am I good at punctuation. So please dont count all the mistakes----You may be here all day! No really!

I have had my myspace for close to five years now and really feel that I have outgrown it. I am new to facebook and am really enjoying that mainly because a lot of my family is on there and some family that I havent talked to in years, but would love to reconnect with.

So lets see how this goes and if I cant actually be interesting enough for people to follow me! HA!