Fall Is Finally Here!

This week it seems that autumn has finally graced us with its presence, along with a ridiculous amount of steady, strong and chilly wind. Granted, it's supposed to warm back up into the 80's next week, but most of this week was spent in stark contrast to the 90 degree days we hit last week with temperatures hovering in the high 60's. Today Sawyer was begging us to take him outside for a walk around the block, so we bundled up in our jackets, and headed out. We only made it as far as the corner of our street when he suddenly stopped in his tracks, turned to me and said, "Pick me up, Mommy. I'm cold. It too windy. Let go home."

Yesterday we attempted to brave the cold together for a Mommy-Sawyer day at Bishop's Pumpkin Farm. I figured that since it's free admission on weekdays, we might as well head out there for a change of pace and something different to do. We only lasted about an hour and a half before we were both feeling like popsicles despite our hot chocolate, but we did manage to squeeze a lot of fun into that short time. We played on the tractors, the big barn slide, an old railroad car, and the hay jump (which was the hugest hit of the day). We munched pumpkin-apple muffins and drank hot chocolate, and we watched the pig races, which were an utter disappointment. The name "pig races" really should be changed to "animatronic chickens singing obnoxiously for 20 minutes before watching pigs streak by you at lightning speed for literally less than ten seconds." Sawyer was sorely upset that we didn't get to see more of the pigs. He had been SOOO patiently waiting for them to show up, and then he barely even had time to let his eyes focus on the little guys before they were gone. He even mustered up enough courage to go ask the old Mother Goose lady who was running the show "Where pigs go? Why they go away?" She just told him that the pigs would be back again to race later if he wanted to come back for some more NasPig racing. Pffffft. As if.

We were supposed to go back there tomorrow with my family, but I think we're going to skip it until it's warmer next weekend. Sawyer is actually going back on Monday with his daycare group too. I think he'd happily go back there every day if we let him, so no need to worry that it's pumpkin farm overkill. Next time we go we'll take the hay ride out to the fields to pick out our big carving pumpkins because this time all we got were a couple of little ones to decorate our table. We got out our Halloween decorations and put up a few of the indoor things, but next weekend will be the time to put up our yard decor. I can't wait! There's already some good competition out there for the association decorating contest...unless it's all been wind-blown to smithereens these past few days lol.

Today we had a lazy day staying warm indoors. Mitch took Sawyer to get a much needed haircut, and I spent the better part of the day reorganizing the boys’ closets and dressers. Thanks to a couple of huge bags of clothing from cousins Jonathan and Ryland, it looks like our boys have enough jackets and coats to last through the next couple of years. Yay! Tomorrow we're going to take the boys on a picnic at the park and then settle in for another round of Sunday football and cupcake baking. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!




Tractors are always a huge hit with this guy



Waiting patiently for the pigs


This is truly all we saw of them




The hay bounce is a trampoline-like surface covered in hay


He even took the time to bury himself in it all!


Playing with our Halloween decorations


Somebody got a cute new haircut!


In the spirit of fall and Halloween, the boys had ghost and leaf shaped grilled cheese sandwiches and bat and pumpkin shaped turkey for dinner. They had just devoured a ton of grapes and strawberries, so that's why the whole fruit/veggie category is sorely lacking from the plate :P

American Idol, Here I Come!

lol, we need to work on this one a bit more :)

Crafty Fun

We've been busy doing all kinds of arts and crafts projects these day. Now that the kids have better motor skills they're definitely interested in making things, so I've been busy creating new ideas to keep them entertained. Sawyer often requests to go to Joann's craft store to look for things to make. He calls it the "Make It Store." Anyone who knows me knows that I love crafting things, so I'm glad that the boys seem to share my enthusiasm for it. I'm starting to think that I should teach a once a week toddler art class to make some extra $$$ :)

This morning Hattie came over to try the latest creation - spray bottle sheet painting. I filled small travel sized spray bottles with a mixture of washable tempera paint and water and let the kids go crazy spraying an XL twin sized white sheet that was nailed up to my back fence (sets are on clearance at Target for $6.48 right now if you're interested in recreating this at home!) Sutton made the biggest mess because we quickly learned that the only way he can make the bottle spray is to turn the nozzle towards his face and then push the handle. Needless to say, he was a purple paint covered mess until I swapped out his bottle for one that was only filled with water. The kids had fun creating their masterpiece, it wasn’t too messy, and the end result was actually really pretty. I'll probably just wash the sheet and save it for another day of spray painting fun.



The first few test sprays




The final collective masterpiece - pretty colorful!


Sutton modeling his tasty Cheerio necklace project


"Tie Dye" painting wet coffee filters



Sawyer - very seriously into his artwork


Riding a cardboard box "train"


So much joy from nothing but junk!


They're still having fun playing with their box "houses" 4 days later!


Sutton got caught in the act - playing with Stella's jungle mobile


Cutie pie cousin Stella is almost 4 months old now!

Let the Countdown Begin...

It's official, Halloween is only a month away - yay! Last year we pulled out all the stops and went crazy decorating the exterior of our old house, but this year is going to be even better. We've already sketched out the holiday design that we want for our new house/yard, and the best part is the fact that this year there are prizes to be won! Our home owners association has a contest for who can come up with the best Halloween yard decorations (they do it again at Christmas time too), and we'll be in the running to win a $100, $75 or $50 restaurant gift card. Last year we had Uncle Joe at our house scaring the kids at the door, but since he's going to be busy putting on his own Halloween show at his house this year, we're going to streamline the collaborative mishmash of EVERYTHING related to Halloween that we had in the yard last year and turn our focus to gravestones, skeletons, bats and spiders. I can't wait - it's a lot of work, but it's going to be awesome! Here's just a reminder of what it looked like last year, for those of you who didn't get to come experience it for yourself. Photos just don't do it justice since you can't get the full effect of the lights and fog.

Devil Spawn and Pirate Boy in the Boneyard

The creepy corridor (before we stashed away the ladder lol)

I'm also very happy to announce that the boys' Halloween costumes are 100% completed! I put a lot of time and effort into these darn things, everything from hand knitting the two custom hats to cutting, gluing, painting and sewing about a million little odds and ends. They're not the world's greatest costumes, but they're DONE, and honestly, that's kind of all that I care about anymore lol. The boys like them, and really that IS all that matters. Just to keep the creative juices flowing, I hand painted a Halloween shirt for myself last night too (who says that only the kids get to have fun things to wear on holidays?). I can't take credit for the design, because I stole the picture from someone else who has more drawing talent than I do, but I did take the time to meticulously paint it all, so that has to count for something :P

The characters of Yo Gabba Gabba - the green guy on the right is Brobee

Sawyer's Brobee costume (we'll paint the smiley mouth on his face)

The Brobee hat - knit by Mommy - with felt covered sponges for the "spikes"

Sutton is going to be DJ Lance Rock

He even got a Mommy-sewn boombox trick-or-treat bag!

My Halloween day shirt - Mommies get to have fun too!

Tonight we're going to the costume shop to check out this year's new costumes and decorations. Mitch and I still have to figure out what we're going to wear to Kari and Joe's party, so hopefully we'll be inspired by something. We're also going to get this really cool (and surprisingly cheap!) ghost costume to stuff and set out in our front yard cemetery. Look out, $100 gift card here we come!

The Story of Portraits

The boys have only had their portraits taken together professionally once over the past two and a half years, which is practically a sin against mommies. I wasn't even the person to take them the first time! Grandma took them to Picture People awhile back, because Mommy knows better than to try to wrestle in public with two alligators who are on different nap schedules. Actually, considering that they were both being photographed during what should have been nap time, the photographer managed to get a few cute pictures that time around (good work, Grandma!).


Lately the boys are starting to work their way towards being on the same schedule, so I decided that it was time for me to finally gather up enough energy and courage to attemp to venture into the world of mall portraits myself. Besides, I had bought cute matching shirts for them to wear to Jessi's wedding, and since we didn't end up taking them with us to the wedding, I ended up with cutesy shirts and no occasion to wear them. I just wanted an excuse to dress them up (nevermind the fact that they both look like they could desperately use a haircut!)!


I scheduled the appointment confidently and then begged Holly and Hattie to come with us in case I needed an extra set of hands. Thank goodness I had them with me, because I definitely needed both the physical and mental backup! It was pretty much the nightmare I had worried it would be - mid-session poopy diapers, neither kid wanting to hold still or sit down, and both kids completely freaked out by the photographer (trust me, lady, thrusting a rainbow mini-blinds duster in my kid's face is NOT a good way to make a cranky toddler laugh). They were far more interested in running out of the studio and back into the lobby to punch the buttons on the portrait preview computer than they were in sitting on a fake rock and having some crazy lady with a rubber duck on her head trying to make them smile and hug each other. I guess that's what you can expect when you use the coupon for the discount portrait package. Believe it or not we still managed to get a few good moments. This is what we ended up with...




Brotherly Love on the Rocks LOL



Collage Portrait of the Other Poses
(Click the picture to make them larger)


I'm actually decently happy with what we got, considering I know how hard it was to even keep them in the same spot for more than 2 seconds! I have several sizes of these, and I'm going to possibly order more if needed, so if you want one just let me know what size you'd like...seriously, you may want to place an order and stock up now. It might be another few years before I'm willing to try taking portraits again ;)

Out of the mouth of Sawyer

I just thought this was too cute not to share. Kids really do come up with the funniest things sometimes!

This morning we passed an armored truck on the way to daycare, which I’ve always called “money trucks” when talking to the boys. Sawyer posed one of his typical and (usually!) obviously answered questions:

S: “Mommy, what’s in money truck?”
H: “Well, Sawyer, what do you think is in a money truck?”
S: *thinking long and hard* “Ummmm…a LOT of piggy banks!”

I couldn’t help but start cracking up!

Meet Jack & Sally

Sutton and I had a fun weekend hanging out at home together while Mitch and Sawyer were out of town. We spent some time hanging out with his aunties and cousin Stella, and then we went to the pet store to get Sawyer a surprise for when he returned home. Sutton helped to pick out two goldfish for his big brother and then looked all around the pet store at the birds and other small pets. He especially took a liking to an escaped cricket that was hopping down the cat food aisle. Sawyer loves his new fish, and has named them everything from Nemo, Dory, Dora, Boots and pretty much every character from every cartoon he knows. We finally agreed that they will be named Jack and Sally - technically from the movie Nightmare Before Christmas - but to Sawyer they are "Jack [from the] music show" and "Sally [from] Cars." Whatever. Unfortunately we already lost poor Sally yesterday morning, but she quickly found a new doppelganger replacement thanks to PetSmart's 14-day guarantee. I'm fine with having the death talk when we lose a pet, but seriously, not after the first flippin' day!



Jack & Sally, Sawyer's new goldfishie friends, hanging out with Diego


Sutton's specially requested dinner - apple oatmeal! But don't let this picture fool you into thinking he has mastered the use of a spoon...





He's such a smiley little guy


Taking a deep interest in reading the phone book


His most favorite game EVER - it's called "Off, On" - repeat ad nauseum

Fire Engines, Whee Woo Cars, and Tanks, Oh My!

This weekend Mitch and Sawyer are in southern California visiting Mitch's parents and his grandma, while Sutton and I have been hanging out here at home. I spent Friday night working on the kids' Halloween costumes with Holly, and I'm happy to report that both Sawyer and Sutton's costumes are actually almost done - yay! I'll post pictures of the finished projects when they're actually 100% complete - probably Sunday or Monday night. I'm REALLY glad that the costumes are as far along as they are, because I honestly thought I'd be scrambling the night before Halloween trying to get them done. I most definitely wouldn't have been so motivated if it weren't for Holly and her enthusiasm driving me forward (thank you!). I was hoping to finish them tonight, but I'm exhausted. I stayed up extra late last night (it's always sooo hard for me to get to sleep when Mitch isn't home!), and then Sutton decided to give me a wake up call at 5:30 a.m. this morning.

While we were having fun playing with Kari, Jessi and Stella today, Mitch and Sawyer were enjoying some sort of law enforcement open house/fair thing in Simi Valley. Mitch just sent me a slideshow of photos from today, so I thought I'd share them since they were pretty cute. As I said to Mitch, "Fire trucks, balloons, and bouncey houses? He must have been in heaven!" I guess I'll get to hear the rest of the details when they get home tomorrow evening. Until then, I'm going to try to get some sleep!


Sawyer and Bubby, his great-grandma


Taking a ride in the fire engine