Trick or Treat?!

Your eyes are not tricking you, the "Things" (Jen & Baryy) arrived at our house last night. So did The Cat In The Hat (Kendall), Thomas the Train (Noah) & Ariel!! We had Trick or Treat at the lake and we were surprised that the turn out was low this year. That did not detour us from having fun!! Ariel, aka, Shea came home with a full bucket of candy. We carefully checked it over and let her pick one piece for the night. She chose hot tamales & they were good. Off to bed... Ariel needed sleep for the next morning.


After a good nights rest, Ariel was off to pre-school for more Halloween fun. They went around to different candy stations & then her class had a party. She said it was a good time!! Will enjoyed his first Halloween. It was complete with being made into a chili pepper!!! We just couldn't resist with his adorable red hair.

Will on Trick or Treat day.

Princess Ariel is ready for candy!



We wish you a
Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch

This morning, Shea's preschool took a field trip to the Pumpkin Patch! Shea was really excited about this. Will did not accompany us, it was too cold!! He stayed at home with Jen Kuck. He got plenty of snuggle time. Meanwhile, Shea and I headed out into the blustery wind. We were dressed like it was already winter. We went to Lohstroh's Family Farm near Mount Sterling. The kids were shown the cows and what they eat, different types of pumpkins & gourds, climbed hay bails and were told to crawl like caterpillars and then.... The hay ride! The kids were so thrilled. Shea & Brianna were glued together- as usual when they are at school. I took the girls out to pick up which pumpkins they wanted. Brianna wanted a small one and Shea and I were eyeing a big gourd.

Then they went back to the barn and had a snack and played in the hay bails. Then it was back on the bus to go home. I asked Shea if she wanted to ride back with me or take the bus. No hesitation...the bus! It was a cold day but we had a lot of FUN!!

Will is 6 weeks old

Today, Will is six weeks old! My how the time is flying by. He is growing...and too fast. We have began to notice that he smiles a lot more in the last two weeks. It warms your heart to see him look up at you and smile. He does it to all three of us when we talk to him.

Usually I am the one taking the pictures but for a change, here is a picture of Will and I! Shea took this on Friday. We went to Hilliard to have lunch with my college friend Gabe and his wife Jenny. They were in town for Homecoming and the big OSU vs Penn State game. Which, we will not be discussing!!! Will witnessed his first OSU loss...poor guy!

Six Insignificant Things

My friend Jen "tagged me" to come up with 6 insignificant things about my self to share. I'm struggling with this. It seems as present all my mind is consumed with a newborn & a four year old. But, I'll give it a shot!

1) I am very glad that it is football season! As you know I love the Buckeye's and I am very worried about the game against Penn State this weekend. It could be the best game all year. I'm really happy that I will be able to have 1 adult beverage during this game.

2) I'm craving brownies with ice cream. And not just any old ice cream. I want Graters. Reading Sheri's blog made me crave it even more!

3) I like a tidy house but I've not had the time as of late to keep it that way and it is driving me nuts!!!!

4) I'm extremely sad that summer is ending. We had our first frost last night and the only person in our house happy about it was...Shea. I still want to hang out on the boat in the sun, kick up the feet and relax. Ah.. I already have cabin fever.

5) I always have this feeling of not being able to please everyone in my life. Now I know this is silly and I should only work on pleasing my self, husband and kids. I can't do this and all my life have struggled with this. It's been even more so as the Holiday's approach, the anxiety of it all.

6) I'm going to get my first hair cut since having Will and I can't wait! I'm slowing starting to get that feeling of "normal" back again. Sigh...smile...

Next time I get "tagged" I'll try to come up with better things to put!!

Pumpkin Show

WOW, can you believe your eyes? This is the pumpkin that won first place at this years Circleville Pumpkin Show. We took the kids and met up with the Kuck's in Circleville for a few hours of fun! We were excited to see the large pumpkins in person. There were more food vendors than I had EVER seen in one place. There were almost too many choices! Shawn and I chose the Bourbon chicken and Shea chose the corn dog. I couldn't resist trying a pumpkin crepe. It was good but really rich.

1,375 1/2 pounds!!

Shea with the 2nd place winner
After walking around we let the kids choose one game and one ride. Shea did a fishing game and won a Hanna Montana cell phone. Oh yes, it plays music. Then she rode the "plane ride" as Noah referred to it. She and Kendall picked a pink helicopter. Go figure! Will was good as he was in the sling and slept most of the time. Except to wake up and eat.

After ward we headed home to see the Buckeye game. Shawn started installing the gutter toppers. Shea, Will and I stayed at the Kuck's and watched the game. Why watch it alone was my thought. Jen was able to get Will to smile quiet a bit, here's a look...
Then we ate pizza, salad and some yummy banana bread. It was a fun-filled day and by 9 pm, I was SO tired! I couldn't keep my peppers open to watch Gray's on DVR. Oh my! Hope everyone is enjoying our first Fall weekend (weather wise).

The Leaves Are Falling

Happy Fall!!

I know the calendar says that it has been Fall but it's felt more like summer. Yesterday before it turned cooler Shea jumped in some leaves that began to fall. It was the first day a lot of leaves did fall. Shea was thrilled. Will was sleeping during this photo op but I will get both of them in a Fall setting...soon!

Will at 4 weeks

Will Thomas is 4 weeks old!

I can't believe Will was born 4 weeks ago today. In some ways it seems that we just came home from the hospital yesterday. Other ways it seems much longer than 4 weeks. Will is gaining weight now as he should & is starting to fill out more. Shawn commented this weekend that he felt more solid. He's still a huge Mamma's boy but is letting Dad hold him more often. I'm still adjusting to life with 2 kids & not being able to do things when I want to--like go to the bathroom! He's still a sweety.

Shea is doing GREAT at school. Last Friday was open house & Will & I went. We met with her teacher, Mrs. Nicki, & Shea showed me items they've been working on thus far into the school year. I'm impressed with what she knows, since she doesn't share her knowledge with me when she gets home. There was a drawing we entered to win a prize & Shea won! She had it in hand when I went to pick her up today. Our neighbor Matt won the jar full of suckers.

On Saturday we took the kids to the zoo. It was fun, but none of us felt well. Shawn & I both got these intense headaches & Shea...got the flu! It was going around her pre-school & I thought we were going to avoid it, no such luck. She is better now but did miss soccer on Sunday.

A big thank you to Jen & Barry who made Shawn & I go out Friday night for a couple of hours of adult time. Around 8 we took the kids to the Kuck house & then we went into London. We went to a bar, had a drink & a bite to eat & conversation! We enjoyed it & didn't realize we actually needed it.

As I type this Will fell asleep on me. Maybe now I can accomplish a few things around here!

Sorry it's been a while

Sorry it has been a while since my last post. I'm still adjusting to life with two kids, a dog & a husband who works insane hours! Things are chugging along. I've done two outings into Columbus with the kids, on my own, and it's gone alright. Last week I took them to J C Penny's to get their pictures taken together. That was a 3 hour ordeal & we were all exhausted afterward. The pictures come in next week and I think they'll turn out great!! Today we went into Target to get Shea's Halloween costume. She picked Ariel! We couldn't find one small enough to fit Will, I will keep searching.

Fall soccer has started. Our Sunday afternoon's are spent at the soccer field for a couple of hours. Shea loves it and is continuing to excel at it. At least now she runs onto the field and doesn't need either of us to go with her! As for her adjusting to a brother.... Let's say that she loves Will but is not too happy with Mom. We're working through things and it will just take time.

Chief is not adjusting well at all. He likes to bark at me when I feed Will. He's been getting into the bathroom trash can and leaving a trail of trash behind him. Last night while I was giving Will a bath I heard a loud crash. Chief had jumped up on the kitchen counter and knocked off my salad bowl, shattering it. The dog was on red!!

As for Will, he's doing great. He's been going to the Dr's for weekly weight checks. He had lost too much weight, he was down to 7 pounds. We had to give him some supplement but now he's gaining and is where he should be for his age. He's on no set schedule yet, hopefully in the next month he'll get on one.

Shawn is still working insane hours, at least 12 per day. Some nights after Shea goes to bed he works more and I take the opportunity to nap on the couch. We're hoping to talk him into the zoo this weekend. If so, I'll get pictures up here, I promise. In the mean time, here are a few from the last two weeks.

Shea picking out pumpkins

Will napping

Shea & Will 10-08-08