Halloween "Eye" Candy

Happy Halloween....

Trick-Or-Treat

This is a picture of Charlotte's Trick-Or-Treat bag and another I made for a friend's daughter...cuter than your average plastic pumpkin I'd say...!

Fading Fast...

Seems that my tan is fading as fast as the snow was falling this morning...before Halloween, what?! Ugh!! Thanks honey for the trip of a lifetime! I love you-...

Back...

Back from Jamaica and back to reality! The trip was fabulous...sunny, tropical and oh, soooo relaxing! The resort was new and lovely and the food and drinks were delicious and tropical! The Caribbean Sea is spectacular - so blue! We fell asleep and woke to the Tree Frogs and the waves crashing on the rocks, just outside our ocean view room, coffee every morning on our patio, nothing to do but lay by the pool, enjoy Mimosas and read and relax! I look forward to sharing some pics later this weekend!

Happy Anniversary!

Celebrating 10 years married to the man of my dreams...I love you with all my heart and cannot wait to celebrate in Jamaica!

Happy Anniversary baby! xoxo

Preppy Pumpkins, Cute Pumpkins & A Well Fed Pumpkin

Randomness...Just wanted to share some random little pictures...First, my preppy polka dot pumpkins - LOVE them...they are sitting in my son's school's teacher's lounge, you see I do all the decorating for the lounge (via our PTO), I used this cute little round sponge on a handle, voila! perfect polka dots , add some polka dot grosgrain ribbon, so fun! The next little picture is of my sweet baby pumpkins as they feasted on breakfast in bed last weekend - they LOVE this, they wake up and curl up together (Charlotte like to put on Cam's jammies, note her getup!) with all their books and wait for their special breakfast, served on a tray, the whole 9 yards! They are so precious to me and it was so fun to do for them, even a Pop Tart tastes better in bed! My last random picture is of Christian's store bought baby food...I thought this was a clever way to make it look "cute", its easy to get to, easy to make the selection and gives my favorite cake stands purpose! Why bury it in the pantry?! Christian is my well-fed little pumpkin!

YUM!!!

My new favorite lunch...a whole wheat piece of bread with a little mayo, layered with thin sliced tomatoes, lots of salt and fresh cracked pepper, add sliced avocado, more S&P and top with a slice of Havarti (or Swiss would be good too)...broil for a few minutes until the cheese bubbles, yum!!! This is an open-faced sandwich by the way! This is good for you, easy and delicious! I seem to always get stuck in lunch ruts, turkey and cheese or yogurt or an apple and cheese, so this was a good change! Do you have some great lunch ideas??

Jolly Fun at Jollay Orchard~

We had a great Saturday at Jollay Orchards - we picked pumpkins, picked apples (the kids loved climbing up a ladder to choose their apples), took a hayride, fished, played games, bounced, did a Haunted House, had our faces painted (the kids!) had a picnic and spent LOTS of time feeding the goats! We shopped the market and had the yummiest apple cider donuts and fresh pressed apple cider! It was a happy afternoon, spending time all together - one of my biggest day to day struggles is to get all us together(besides dinner) it seems like we are always "a family divided"...Bryan has 2 and I have 1 or visa versa, with 3 kids with such varied ages, interests, activities, etc...it seems like everyone is always going different directions so it was extra special to be together today. I feel like this Fall is especially great since last year I was beginning my 2 months on bedrest, Campbell,Charlotte and Bryan sacrificed quite a bit without Mommy at the helm, they missed alot and I did too...how wonderful to glance over and see baby Christian in his baby carrier yesterday, wow, have we all come full circle! Love to you all and Happy Fall my precious family!

Here We Come...

off to the pumpkin patch...

A New Friend!

Charlotte had her first playdate today...well, not her first one ever but usually her playdates are kids that are my friend's kids...but today Charlotte was invited to her sweet little friend Holyn's house after preschool, a friend she made all by herself! Her sweet Mom (Jen) invited Christian and I to join them all for a delicious lunch at her lovely home, it is decorated so beautifully and has a "library" to die for! Her daughter Holyn's room is tres chic...she and Charlotte had a wonderful time playing with their Bitty Babies.... Jennifer made a delicious Spinach salad with grilled chicken, we actually ate a whole meal without any interruptions...huh???? So thank you Charlotte for helping Mommy to make a new friend too! This picture is Charlotte and Holyn at the Apple Orchard a few weeks ago, I didn't get a pic of them today. (PS - Didn't have a pic of the two of them....so...)

10 months and 2 days

where did that teeny tiny baby go who was just in my belly a short 10 months ago?! through the blur of nightly feeding, copious amounts of breastfeeding and diapering along with caring for 2 other children you have grown and changed before my eyes. you are a patient soul with a smile that melts my heart, big beautiful blue eyes and sandy blond, feather soft hair. you have 6 whole teeth now and can say "dada" quite well! you are enjoying crawling especially into the mud room where you like to "eat" all the shoes you can find. you are busy trying to teach yourself to pull up on things and your sweet chubby knees actually have carpet burns - poor baby! you light up when you see your brother and sister and reach for me when i come in the room, then you reach for daddy when he comes into the room. you love to take walks and to ride in the car. you can be the saddest baby ever and when we go into the bathroom you start to smile and kick your feet feverishly anticipating what you know is coming... a bath! splashing and kicking and that red polka dot cup bring you lots of happiness! you are a great eater, a terrific nurser even from the start with tubes and iv's all connected to you, you took to it like champ and never stopped., now you look forward to your table meals and time in the highchair enjoying "puffs" while i prepare your yummy food, some homemade, some store-bought and almost always organic! favorite toys include anything that is not considered a "toy"...oh how quickly we forget the baby-proofing that needs to be done and all the mischief that one tiny baby can get into when mama isn't watching...sigh, lots to do here! you are a thumb sucker just like your sister...except your left is your choice. we lay you down and give you your blue minky blankie, you grab it and settle in with your thumb and drift off within just a few minutes, you are a great sleeper! to bed early 6 :30 and you sleep a good 12 hours, followed by a good nap and another good afternoon nap. we have all sacrificed by being slaves to the schedule but boy does it pay off! i treasure every single second you have been in my life, you are good and pure in every way, my greatest achievement, our greatest joy we love and adore you and your big brother and sister more than life itself, thank you for blessing us beyond measure.

love, mommy

WICKED Fun!

More girlfriend fun...last week some friends and I got together and swapped a bit of WICKED! We drew names last month and bought Halloween goodies that represented each of the letters in WICKED (W-wicker basket / I-itty bitty spreaders / c-candy corn, etc...)... we swapped over drinks and dinner and had a ball together! Its the little things that bring such happiness between friends. It takes a village!

Girlfriend Getaway!

Make new friends, but keep the old.

One is silver and the other gold.

A circle is round, it has no end.

That's how long I will be your friend.

Hope you all had a great weekend! I did...had a girlfriend getaway...one of my best gals moved away (snif, snif!) and a couple of us went to see her and her precious new home! We shopped, ate, drank, shopped some more, ate some more and shopped! It was so fun...and of course there were lots of laughs! We even made "Shopaholic" Martinis, they were so yum! I got some cute things, one of which was my huge Santa head ornament. I collect ornaments and love to add them to our tree, I am always on the look out for that new and special one, they have to be hand blown glass though ya know, the Radko look - I am lucky enough to have Radko ornaments but I have mixed in others too! The babies always get an ornament too that represents something special that they did that year too. Anyway, the weekend was wonderful, I miss ya Mags, thanks for being the hostess with the mostess...! And although it seems too early to be Christmas shopping...there are only 80 days until Santa arrives!

Halloween Swags

Visit my sweet blogging friend, www.preppymama.blogspot.com and see her cute Halloween swags! (and her fun blog )...Tell her I sent you!

Jamaica...here we come!

Happy October! The countdown is on...17 days until Bryan and I leave for Jamaica, off to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary! We'll leave a year to the day that I went on bed rest with our third pregnancy, it was a terrifying, bleak, lonely day that I'll never forget...I relish my precious son's face everyday and knowing we endured a long 7 weeks together waiting for his arrival... so now... Bryan and I will take time away to celebrate and reflect on not only the last year, but the 9 before that! I love you honey and can't wait to celebrate with you!