More, again

Okay, no more, I promise...here's some pictures of playdates with friends. Brooklyn is a little social butterfly and is always begging to go play with her friends. (It works out well, as all of her friends have great moms that are fun to hang with!) Also, just a few more of Hallween...I just couldn't get enough of Ty in that chicken costume.

More Halloween/Fall Pictures

Party on! Here are pictures from last weekend. On Friday night, we had our ward Trick or Treating party. It was a lot of fun...some people are awesome with creative costumes (not the Morton's...we love Old Navy). Also included some pictures of Brooklyn's 3rd Birthday Party. It was fun. Thanks to all who came!

Kisses and Batteries

If I were a three-year-old, I might be a millionaire. Brooklyn's "fix alls" are batteries and kisses. Then we wouldn't have to spend so much money on repairmen, doctors bills and the like. What I mean is, anything that is "broken" just needs new batteries, including things like the toilet (it didn't flush), books (torn), and the dishwasher (I pulled out the control knob so my kids don't break it). Anyway, it's just funny that pretty much anything that doesn't work or is broken just needs new batteries from WalMart...if only life were so simple. Additionally, any physical ailment is healed with kisses. Brooklyn is miraculously healed from all maladies, real or imagined with a kiss and expects nothing less of the rest of us. I love being a mom!

Addicted to Twilight

So, I swear it would never be me. Both of my bookclubs read "Twilight" in October. I refused to read a teenage romantical book about a girl falling in love with a vampire. Are you serious? My free time is very limited...I could spend it watching reruns of King of Queens, CSI, or Law and Order? (Such valuable activities). Well, yeah, I decided that too many rational adult women had read it and told me they LOVED it. I had to try. It was so intriguing. Something about being a boring stay-at-home mom...it just was silly, romantic, exciting...so different, I don't know. I just LOVED it. And for those of you who LOVE Edward, I read an article in Parents that Mommy Crushes are normal and healthy. They supposedly make you feel like a real girl rather than just a mommy...should make you feel more cute and all that mushy stuff.

More, more, more

I was so behind on uploading pictures. Blogger kept coming up with all of these errors and it was a pain, so I stopped for awhile...anyway. Here are some pictures of Sadie, of course. Also, our trip with playgroup to "Apple Holler" (a you-pick apple farm...with farm animals and stuff to keep the kids busy. I think there are also some from Betty Brinn Children's Museum.

Sadie "Lou"

So, our little Sadie is getting bigger all the time (although with the start she had, she's still not too big, just a "little peanut"). I need to get more pictures of her on the blog...she just doesn't demand as much attention as the other two. (Thank goodness for third children!) She is such a happy baby, and LOVES to coo and talk. She's sitting in the highchair and loves it, but is still not too big on the baby food.

More pictures

Just catching up. The kids love the yard and playing outside. I can even get them to pitch in and "help" with chores (like raking leaves). Ty the Guy LOVES to talk on the phone...just like his big sister.

Moving

No new pictures of the new house, but I do have a few "moving" pictures as well as some in the yard of the kiddies.

Creative Bug II

More creativity attempts...I picked up these blocks at a barn sale over a year ago. Now that I live in an older, more charming, house they really fit in. I'm now looking out for more antique toys. The decorating department around here is lousy...all these excuses about too much time given to dirty dishes and stinky diapers. It's a slow, but fun process to get things decorated. I really am in a house that I love!

Betty Brinn -- Outta My Mind II

Another day of insanity...why do I do this to myself? I am indeed a glutton for punishment. So, today is Thursday, my day to take the kiddies to the children's museum. Jake goes to school and it's all day mommy day so I have to do something to break up our day. We decided to go for "Tot Time", a little nursery-esque experience for babies ages 1-3. So, the session was full but I talked the teacher into letting us sit in. Not two minutes later, Ty had found a pitcher of water and spilled the entire thing on the floor. As I was cleaning up his mess, Sadie was screaming. When I got to her I found that she had a poopy diaper...all over. Cleaning that up and Ty was everywhere and into everything. While children were supposed to be sitting on little rugs on the floor, Ty had found a small table with small chairs and cups and napkins. Well, you all know what that means. Snacks. But, not now. Ty didn't get it. I had to strap him into the stroller and when he again convinced me to let him out, he ran for the teacher's stash of stuff and stole her spider puppet and later some stale popcorn and some leftover craft projects. (The other moms thought he was SO cute and absolutely HILARIOUS...I wanted to say "do you want to borrow him?" I looked so incompetent chasing him and nursing Sadie and encouraging Brooklyn to participate. Finally, it was over. We had snack and buzzed out fast enough to not have the teacher ask us to do a craft, again (she asked several times as if I had the situation under control and we could really handle making a spider while nursing a baby and chasing Ty the terrorific). Anyway, in the museum, playing, I lost Ty twice and Brooklyn once. I swear, I'm a good mom, I glanced away and they were gone. I had the humiliating experience of having to ask museuam staff to help me find Brooklyn. Since she knows better how to operate doors, elevators, etc...for all I know she had already made it to the lakefront and was feeding birds or over to US Bank and applying for a job. Ahhhh! It will be awhile before I put myself through that again. Real confidence booster, after I explained that she needs to stay by me or she'll get lost and have a new mommy; she thought that was a fabulous idea...she said "...wow, a new mommy and a new Ty and a new Sadie and a new family..." It all sounded cherry until she realized she wouldn't live in her "new house" anymore. I'm glad she loves me! Despite the headaches, I did get some cute pics that I will post. (P.S. if anyone reads this and would like to join me, I'd love to have company and a little help! Like you would actually offer knowing what the situation is!)

Creative Bug

So, I don't get "creative" very often. Considering that my sister is a home economics teacher and a fantastic seamstress and cook...my other sister is a painter and talented musician...I often joke that I was too busy talking in heaven to get any talents. BUT, I'm working on it. Trying to do new things. Here's my latest attempt. Cookies dipped in chocolate to look like candy corns. It was pretty cute and very tasty. I recommend to someone who tries it to add lots of orange coloring to the dough...mine wasn't orange enough!

Still Here....

So, here I am. I'm totally miffed because something is not working with the computer and I can't upload pictures. Isn't that the best part of my blog? It's my favorite part. Oh, well.

We're here. We survived our little move and I am starting to feel settled in our house. It was a rough go at first, as many of you know, since Jake got sick two days after we moved in. (But it was fun to get to meet both the paramedics and the fire department my first week in my new house). Don't worry, Jake didn't die or have a massive coronary or anything...he's fine now...it's a long story for another day.

Fall is here. Bummer. I love the fall and the changing leaves, but today I'm feeling a little short-changed. It seems like here in Wiscsonsin we went from Indian Summer to full-on Fall overnight. Don't get me wrong, I was totally enjoying the long summer and 80 degree October days; but going down into the 50's and 60's stinks. It's funny how the 50's feel so balmy in the spring and I get out and walk and take the kids out to play and as soon as it drops below 65 in the Fall, I am done with going outside and ready to board up for another long Wisconsin winter. I'm trying to think positive...

I am excited about our new house, new ward, new town, etc. Things are going well and I feel very welcome in our new ward. There seem to be a lot of other families with similar families to mine. The kids love the yard and feeding the squirrels. I love being so close to shopping and clsoer to the Children's Museum and the zoo. I miss my West Bend Ward friends and the country feel of Jackson, but overall I'm feeling really good about life and things. We're enjoying meeting our new neighbors (we practically live in a retirement community and they're excited to have a young family in the neighborhood). My next door neighbor is hilarious. He watched things like a hawk and reminds me to close my garage and keep my kids bikes in the backyard so that the boys from the hood up on Hampton don't come and haul my stuff away. He spends a lot of time looking out the window and almost always stops me when I'm walking by with the kids...."I noticed that your bike was in the front yard...some kids were riding by and looking at it, so I moved it to the back.....I was watching you when the kids were doing such and such and laughing at you....". I think it will probably kinda drive me nuts, but it's nice to know someone is looking out for me.

I enjoyed conference last weekend so much and it was a good chance to remind myself of my priorities and set some new conference goals. I usually don't do so swell, but we'll see. Conference is great because it makes me feel good about what I am doing; yet, at the same time motivates me to do better and see all the the many areas where I am lacking in my life.

Anyway, life is calling, so I guess I should go. I'm rambling again anyway and not feeling very funny, so its probably not worth reading.