Today...

Today I went to Walmart with Danny.  I made sure I fed him lunch before we went - but I was determined to get my shopping done before the big kids got home from school.  As we started off our shopping adventure - it was fairly typical.  I had to buckle him in - since he now knows where the donuts are and will dart over there and eat one! (dead serious) and for today's entertainment I gave him some spare change to hold which made his morning.  Every time he dropped a coin, I put it in my pocket.  It honestly is a feat to bend over and pick up a penny (or anything) and I told him whatever fell on the floor, became mommy's.  Soon he had no change (since he thought it was a game).  Then he started to WAIL... seriously - WAIL and CRY and CRY and CRY.  And I'm sorry - but I'm not giving into it.  I let him cry.  I let everyone look at me like I was a mean mom.  I let everyone look at him like he's an awful child and they were glad he wasn't theirs....  we got all those looks and more.  Honestly, he cried out loud for 15 minutes straight.  I don't think he even knew why he was crying at that point.  Then an old woman looks me straight in the eye and says to me....

"Why on earth would you let your child cry like that?"

I looked at her and said, "Are you asking me that question seriously?"

"Yes, I am" was her reply.

I was completely befuddled at her judgement of me (even though I was ok with the looks, I didn't appreciate the commentary I guess).

I responded quickly, "Go ahead and ask him to stop."

So, the old woman proceeded to talk to Danny and asked him why he was crying.  He said he wanted money (which I thought was funny) and her reply was, "well, so do I.  But we don't all get what we want.  You seem like a nice boy and you have a good mommy who wants you to be happy.  When you cry, it makes me think you are hurt and are you hurt?  No, you aren't.  So, stop the crying and be kind to your mother who knows what's best for you."

Part of me was cheering.
The other part of me was still erked that this lady had the gall to think I WANTED my child to cry like that while I was doing my shopping.  At least he stopped for a few minutes.  By the time the tears came back, we were heading out the door so I could take him home and get a well deserved nap...  for both of us.

The Sample Store

There is one place my kids don't complain about going to.... the sample store!  (Otherwise known as Costco).  Even Danny gets excited and cheers if I say, "the sample store" is next.  They use their hawk-eyes to find every sample table and try something new.  There are a few things that will not be touched (ie Cole and anything with potatoes) but really, my kids try a whole lot of random foods while walking through that huge store.  So, why won't my children try the food that I cook at home?  Maybe I need an apron, a sample tray, a small card table, and a name tag.  I think I may be on to something here...

Guess the date

Can you believe I'm already at 34 1/2 weeks?  (That 1/2 is very important!)  I thought I'd throw it out there and ask you, when do you think this little guy will be born?  His due date is Dec 20th.   And if you have any great name suggestions, let us hear them!  We have a name we agree on - but it isn't set in stone, YET.

I'll tell you a few facts about my previous deliveries:

• I was induced for all of them and even though the Dr's offered to start me a week early, I'd say,  "I can patiently wait for my "due date."  By the time my due date arrived, I was MAD! and ready to have a baby!  So, no early deliveries.  Do you think I can be lucky this time around?  
• I've tried Cumin tea and Castor Oil.  Both were gross.
• I'm still working out regularly - doing Walking, Zumba, Swimming Aerobics, Yoga, and Spin.  I did all these things with Danny, too - the big difference was the recovery.  (I was hoping it would start me early!)

So, cast your vote!

More Cole stories...

I have 3 stories I want to share about Cole...

When I make home lunches for my boys, I'll throw in a "love note."  Evidently, my boys love getting these notes and when I forget to put one in, they ask why I didn't I write a note when they get home from school.   In fact, I asked Hunter to make his own lunch this week and he complained and complained and finally said, but I really want you to write me a note!  Ah-ha!  Now I get it.  So, I put a note in Cole's lunch at the start of this week and it said, "I love you to the moon and back.  Love Mommy"  He was very happy about it when he got home from school.  Then my good friend Kristy tells me that Emily (Cole's "girlfriend") got a love note from Cole... but it said "love mommy" at the end!!  When I asked Cole if he gave MY note to Emily, he got this sheepish grin and said, "HOW DID YOU KNOW?!"  "Well, it did say 'Love Mommy' on it!"  His matter of fact response was, "yeah, I wished I'd had a pen, I would have crossed that out."

Cole is my entertainer and hopeless romantic!  This week he wanted to host a "snack party."  I said that was fine, if he bought the snacks for his party.  So, we went to the store and he spent $10 of his own money to buy snacks to have a "snack party" for all his friends.  We had the party last night.  He set the table with plates, cups, and even decor.  I should have taken a picture of the decor.  The centerpiece was his current "invention" built out of toilet parts (we had to replace the toilet mechanism)!!  Not really my choice for decor!  His friends, Emily and Max came to the party.  He was disappointed that the others he had invited didn't come (I'm guessing parents didn't believe their kids) but they had a GRAND party.  They snacked and snacked and then they played games.  They played Musical Chairs, Duck Duck Goose, Leap Frog, and I even invented a "rolling game" that kept them moving and giggling.  The funny part was during the Duck, Duck, Goose game.  When it was Cole's turn, he'd walk around the circle and say, "duck, duck, duck, I love you (to Emily)," and proceed around the circle.  Other times he'd say, "hug, hug, kiss, kiss" or "my love".... oh that boy is such a schmoozer!!  I couldn't help but laugh aloud!

One more story about Cole.  We had hot dogs at Costco a few nights ago.  I got a salad and they gave me croutons for my salad.  My boys LOVE croutons - affectionately called "crunchies" in our house.  They kept trying to snitch them from my salad and I, of course, protested after everyone had a couple.  So, Cole decided to go ask for his own little packet of croutons.  I insisted that it wouldn't work, but he was determined.  I was also embarrassed - but I pick my battles and this wasn't one.  He patiently waited in line and returned to our table with a packet of croutons exclaiming, "I used my cute face to get my own crunchies!"

Plants vs Zombies

If you have played the game, then you'll appreciate our family theme this year.  If not, well, you can enjoy the variety and wonder what it's all about!  This was for our Church Trunk-or-Treat activity.  Shayne is the master of costumes.  A special shout-out to Cheryl for helping me sew my "stem" dress!!  I thought ALL the boys looked absolutely FANTASTIC -- made me wish I had chosen to be a zombie too!

"Mommy, I like you!"

Danny's new phrase is "Mommy, I like you!"  The sweet thing about it is that he just says it whenever and often - I absolutely love it.  I love it even more when he says, "Mommy, I love you!"  Those sweet kisses on my cheek make my heart full!

New ambitions

I still often think about what I'd be doing if I was still in the classroom teaching on "this day."  There are definitely things I miss about teaching - but a lot of things that I do NOT miss.  One of the blessings of being at home is I have time to discover new ambitions that I NEVER imagined myself doing.  One of those is CANNING.  I never thought I would be interested in canning anything.  But, when good friends are involved and with a little prodding - I do like to try new things.  This is my 3rd year of canning - and by far, my best year.  I did peaches, tomatoes (from my own garden!), raspberry jam, and applesauce.  Yesterday Rach and I did the applesauce together.  Since the kids are on Fall break - they actually got in on the fun.  It was sincerely a simple pleasure to see my boys being involved.  There is a great satisfaction in seeing those jars all finished and ready to go into food storage downstairs.

This is the final batch - I've done this a couple times this year and I'm quite depressed about it.  boo broken jars!

My stash for my family - Rach took home the same amount for her home!

The Haunted Garage

Last weekend, our garage was HAUNTED!  We emptied everything out and put up tarps to divide the garage into 4 different rooms.  We decorated, prepared, and scrambled like mad-men the hours before our "opening night" and we officially ran our first Haunted Garage for the neighborhood!  We had a room of touchy-feely creepiness, I was a fortune teller in the next room, the next space was a graveyard with tombstones and a coffin (Shayne's handiwork!), and lastly, a mad-scientist room with all sorts of cool decor thanks to Cherae!  We handed out the fliers only the day before and tried to spread the word in the short time we had - I was surprised how many people did come!  I'm so glad that so many enjoyed it and have been asking about it becoming an annual tradition.  We definitely see this being an annual thing - and we'll just have to make improvements every year - (I hope the first year was the craziest!).  I wish I had photos to show you everything - but they just didn't work out in the dark.  So, let your imagination run wild and make plans to attend next year's Haunted Garage!  PS A huge shout out to Cherae's family and to Brian & Devri - it would not have happened without your time and help those last few hours and during the event.  THANK YOU SOOOOOOO MUCH!!

This is what we had in the "touchy-feely" portion...

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