treats and such....

happy halloween folks...feeling worlds better here, as i got this fabulous sinus clearing thing that is far to gross to explain, but is stinkin' amazing....even the kids were grossed out, got some gags from the biggest bean even. BUT - it worked...so i am all about it. Okay, maybe just a quick explanation, it's like a little tea pot- you put it in one nostril and pour this warm saline solution in and it drains out the other nostril..disgusting. ABSOLUTELY disgusting, but I woke up he next morning feeling like a million bucks...try it....no really. it's totally worth it.

hope all is fabulous, here we are amped up for the trick or treating festivities...sweets and treats and costumes and such, though truth be told...we having been wearing the costumes for several days now.


this years pumpkin has been a hit with the neighbors. i have been getting a whole mess of "oh....that explains things" looks...(if you don't already see it, you can click on it to enlarge it.)

we had the school halloween party today, and spent much of the afternoon raking up leaves to jump in and roll around in...it was quite an eye opener for me, as I wanted to micro manage the situation, and make sure all the costumes were just so for this evening, but then I realized that it was really all for not, and if they were having a great time, so what if the costumes took a beating...that's what the whole point is right? it's halloween.



tonight we we head out after dinner, do a few drive by - trick or treats, then on to mimi and pas for the traditional house to house fun.
the dragon and the princess will walk and the froggy will take the backpack. should be fun, always is.


in other news, all else is more or less quiet. Bry is good, working hard, and we are getting ready for anniversary number five...if we can get through the laundry maybe we'll go out to dinner or something.

fallish

hey all, sorry about the last picture-less post, but blogger was being a pain. Anyhow, the show update is, it was slow. I know I sold some cards, not sure about the prints though...

Yesterday was a delightfully fallish day, and I woke up with massive plans to take the kiddos to get our pumpkins to carve, and to my surprise, the ONLY one that wanted to come with me was T, so middle bean and I trudged around and picked out our pumpkins, and came home to carve...we were able to finish mimi and pa's and I will do ours this afternoon if I can stop sneezing long enough...

stay tuned for pics.

I am rockin' a big old fall head-cold, which is delish, and that is about it. I have made an appointment to go see a naturopathic doc at the end of NOV. and I am very excited about that. Perhaps a doc that won't roll her eyes at my every words...great!


kiddos are good, getting over this nasty cold, that I managed to hold off just long enough for them to get healthy, and now I feel like crap. FANTASTIC. The beans are all excited for Halloween, and I am excited as well, as Halloween means THANKSGIVING is right around the corner! Official countdown is - 25 more days!!! Anyone wanna do a fav recipe swap for turkey day?? let me know - leave your recipe under the comments section....I will make em into a post!

hope you all are doing fabulous, I am about to go make some tea and spark up the wood stove so we can have our first fire of the season...i so stinkin' love fall.

hugs all.

A

keepin' it real

we have been keepin' busy here...since our return from the "festival." our week was jam packed with field trips to farms, fire stations and art galleries, and this weekend my work is in a gallery near by for our annual "no rules - just art" show, which is exactly that all art, no rules, no commissions, just lots o' ladies, and their art, some crafty, some photo peeps like me, some painters etc. just no rules...


that being said, I spent my day in the above mentioned gallery with benji and a rotation of older women whom have their stuff on display as well. there was lots and lots of down time, quietness, snacking, tea-drinking and WAITING for customers, as the weather was disastrous today. I sold some cards - and received lots of compliments on several prints, but the customers were slim today...hopefully tomorrow, a better turn out.

on the low key side of things....

hey all. SOOO....back from pumpkin fest and my stomach has been
rioting ever since. We actually eat relatively - so healthy INSIDE this
house, but when I eat elsewhere as of late, I seem to end up a mess.
Not sure if I am up against some sort of food allergy here or what, but
hopeful we can get to the bottom of things with a lesser degree of discomfort.

Anyhow,
pumpkin fest was INTERESTING. It was a whole new class of people that I
have never experienced before. It was lots of mullets, adults in
costumes, FRIED food, jerky booths - yes people, ENTIRE booths devoted to JERKY - i don't even know what that's all about, and swarms of people on a mission,
seemingly to nowhere...hmmm....
this is THE TIE...

I can honestly say we enjoyed each others company. but that is about where the good news ends.


We arrived friday eve at the Coach house cottages, which apparently is known to the locals as the ROACH house cottages...fabulous. To say this place was a cottage, was disgrace to the word "cottage". I would lean towards chicken shack or garden shed if I were their advertising guru...but I'm not, so they need not worry and can continue to charge $250.00 for a couple of nights spent fearing that your contracting some form of hookworm or hepatitis. uh, no thanks. Needless to say, Erin was on the phone booking us a couple rooms at the Best Western in less than 3 minutes - the men went and retrieved the money and we were back on the road.

The HOTEL, in comparison, was like staying at the ritz, based on the hell we had just come from, the biggest bean went swimming, the hubs went to the bar with Eric, and both came back tipsy and all smiles.


Us ladies holed up in the room and watched a flick with the babes - all while being quite sure the next vaca would include spas, beaches, drinks of the cosmopolitan persuasion, and LOADS of RELAXATION.


Ben and Sara met us at the festival, which for sure was one of the high points, watching Sara look utterly sure that she was going to contract rabies if she got to close to anything, and Bens amusement at the overall situation.


New Hampshire had its perks though, and we for sure made the best of them, the foliage was amazing, the kidlets, my three and Keegster were all deeelightful the entire trip, with only several MINOR meltdowns. There was a slammin' target with a starbucks inside, now that is one stop shopping peeps...

point being folks, I feel lucky. We weren't in the ideal situation, but we made the best of it, we had laughs, we had coffee, we had smiles, we had iced teas, and the frustrations that can come from travels. From this point on there will be unspoken standards and rules by which our vacations are planned - but that's okay, you live you learn, and thats all part of the game right?



i think its time to start the turkey day countdown...
only 31 stinkin' days left...

this year the foleys will be joining us for the spector-adams-critton-schlosser-breslin festivities....that is as long as they still want to hang with us and wouldn't rather hit up the ROACH house family thanksgiving....

love you guys!

A

happy fall

back from pumpkin fest 2007 - will tell all later...


what are you all up to?

A

seriously people.

so, I have officially been 29 for 2 days. this morning i woke up and the conversation went as follows.

me : wake up big man, you need to take a shower...
biggest bean: i don't want to, I need to sleep.
me : time to get in the shower, let's go.
biggest bean : you OLD MEANIE....

me, picking myself up off the floor...
"did you just call me OLD..."

biggest bean promptly jumps in the shower and avoids the conversation...

lovely.




the birthday was good. people were kind. phonecalls were a plenty. i am officially 29. i think i'm over it. the next milestone will be Brys birthday, and dealing with the fact that i will be married to a thirty year old. for now, i'm chill. i think.

bry got me a card reader for my birthday to go with my new rebel... so, some pics...




hugs all,

A

29 things for which I am grateful...

So I have been sitting here feeling overwhelmed with the IDEA of 29.
Twenty-nine. TWENTY NINE, alright so I am only turning 29, which is not
that old, and normally I just let birthdays fly by and don't really
even give them a second thought, but I guess because as of October 14th, it will be officially
my last year in my twenties, I just feel like it is catastrophic.
LOVELY.Freakin' Lovely.

Anyhow, I decided that I need to let it go, and channel my energy in a positive way, so, on this chilly and stinkin'
gorgeously overcast day, I bring you my list, of twenty-nine things for
which I am grateful- mind you, they are in no particular order...

1. my beans, M, T and Benji, for making my life chock full of fullness, love, excitement, chaos, among other things.

2. my sweetest hubby who loves me unconditionally, and I do mean that....unconditionally, even though I AM his ulcer.

3. My parents who also love me unconditionally no matter how many times i
hit their cars, bring them sick animals and break thing at their house.

4. Fall. need I say more. I am utterly completely entirely without reservation IN LOVE with fall.

5. The people in my life that truly LOVE my children. and not because they are obligated to. Including but not limited to extended family and such....

6. My home. it is desperately in need
of some completion of projects, but I am so grateful for a roof over
our heads, a cozy fire to sit near, a grubby floor to mop every other
day, and the towering pile of laundry, yup, wouldn't trade any of it,
not for the world.

7. My sister. because I only have one, and
though we have run the gamut of relationship dynamics, I think we have
finally got it, I am loving it, and not gonna let it go.


8. Sleeping under two cozy blankets at night and snuggling up close to my
sweaty hubs, who keeps his arms around me, but his body hanging out of
the blankets because he just cannot hack it.

9. Breastfeeding. Because I am able to nourish this last bean of mine, and watch him thrive...

10. My Girlfriends, because girly time, is just so stinkin' special to me, that I am not sure they even realize how much they mean to me.

11. Being able to be a stay at home mom. Reveling in the fact that though
we struggle a good bit financially, okay, a great bit, that my kiddos
are being raised by me, and that I get to see all their big bright eyes
all day long, and I even get to chill through the meltdowns...

12.The Apple Crisp on the counter with fair trade vanilla ice cream in the
freezer, and marinating balsamic rosemary chicken in the fridge.

13. Crocs. Mine, His, Theirs. I *heart* CROCS.

14. Benji's Eyelashes, and sweet demeanor.

15. T's biggest Brown Eyes, her blankies, and her princess like ways.

16. M's inquisitive nature, and of course his sweet hands...

17. Chocolate. Do I really need to explain this?

18. comments on my blog...no really i mean it. i cherish each and every word...

19. my health...

20. my garden

21. the freedom to go to the gym as often as I am able and trying to fix this body of mine.

22. Starbucks. I know, so lame. BUT I SO HEART STARBUCKS.

23. Sister in laws who remember my b-day and surprise me with big amazing yummy chocolate gooey and delicious cakes.

24. UH, THANKSGIVING, Did you guys really think it wouldn't be on the list. Thanksgiving, thanksgiving, thanksgiving, and everything that goes with it. Especially Pumpkin Bread with chocolate chips. The pre-gluten-free way. Sorry mum!


25. Having a handy hubs, he is able to fix it, hang it, prop it, build it, you name it. and it is always just right.

26. The way my kiddos cherish things, gather them and hoard them in their beds, like little treasures...did I mention that I so heart these kids.

27. Date-night, because even though we don't go out often, I love to reconnect when we have the chance.

28. capturing moments in time, my new camera, though I still need to learn how to download the pics...

29. the fact that I could come up with 29 more things, that I so heart, love and am eternally grateful for...

life and then some....

benji has taken to playing UNDER the train table...I think he may be ultra passive aggressive and sees it as the safest way to stay out of the kids choas...that we call playtime.

so, i have been doing a lot of thinking, in between calming down fussy children, playing judge judy over lots and lots of games of "myles said me -insert choice adjective here-" could be good or bad, no matter, still will cause a huge commotion...mediating, mediating, and more mediating...

as i type, T is on here way down the stairs from her supposed to be quiet time SCREAMING at the top of her lungs, "MYLES SAID ME GET IN YOUR FREAKIN' BED, I DON'T WANNA GET IN MY FREAKIN' BED MOMMY." Quiet time is a new thing here that we have been trying on for size, and well, not very succesfully. "Freakin'" is also a new word that the kids have taken on, and may I just say...NOT IMPRESSED
They toss it in before just about every word, it's a toughie when we are out in public, and while a huge step UP from "GYNA," we are not quite there yet.


Quiet time, in theory was a great idea. I thought it would be a nice time for me to catch up on some sewing projects, blog more, write some, etc. no dice peeps, no dice. benji takes a few naps here and there during the day, and is fine, but the older two beans HATE naping, and therefore DON'T. They will literally throw a stink in their rooms for hours and NOT sleep. SO, this makes for not much me time during the day, but we get by, and it's somewhat smooth. Though not at all quiet...EVER.



M making his best case at WHY i should let him wear his underwear on just one leg...did not happen by the way. did not.*see benji??*


T with her so sweet purple nails...because really, if she could be any more girlie...



So, back to the original point, which really is just about how i EVER get from point a to point b - all the thinking that I have been doing, is more or less in regards to the fact that I am turning 29 is just a few short days, and am having a semi-crisis over that. I cannot believe that I will be soon into the LAST year of my twenties, soo overwhelming. hugely overwhelming.....
for whatever reason, this number just seems to big to be mine...maybe I will hang back and chill at 28 for another year, I don't know. Anyhow, more on that at a later date when I can formulate my thoughts and my kids aren't deconstructing the house. Bry asked what I wanted for my b-day, and I said somebody else to clean and organize the house...he said he would call someone. NOT exactly what I meant baby, not exactly.