the week in LOTS of pictures

We had a blast last Saturday @ Chaloupka Farm.



but's it's never a good idea to let your 3 year old lead you through a corn maze



kreg figured we would be okay since he could see over the corn, WRONG



the true HARD maze


the boys and their pumpkins



oh the FUN slides



and jumping over hay bales



who doesn't love a train ride



we later painted those pumpkins


then headed off to the Haunted Jail at the old jail




of course I was ridiculed for taking my 3 and 5 year old to a Haunted House. oh the nightmares they were going to have. but ............... they LOVED it and wanted to go again!! by time we got to the car, they couldn't quit laughing. same for the Haunted Hayride we went to in Austin friday night. <-----more on that in a bit.

Sunday, we spent all afternoon and early evening helping my aunt pick up pecans. we picked up 2 50lb bags of pecans. and this was before the norther blew in. everywhere you look in town this week, people are picking up pecans. we have more than we know what to do with at this moment. our backyard is nothing but pecans.

Hunter attended his 1st cooking class this week and LOVED it. He made spaghetti, garlic bread and sugar cookies. I told him I can't wait for him to cook me dinner one night.

our BIG toys-r-us holiday book arrived and the kids ripped it apart like mad.



they have been working very hard on their Christmas wish lists.

last night we headed straight to austin right after Hunter got out of school. we were meeting the Yorks for our annual Haunted Hayride. lord ....... I never thought I would say it, but let me say it LOUD AND CLEAR: I do not, in any way, miss living in Austin/Leander. I will take my Friday night high school dinners and football game any day over trying to get around in Austin and going out to eat. It was a nightmare. The traffic, the people, the rushing. ARGH! and of course, I went with a misson. The kids absolutely had to have winter coats. It's been pretty chilly around here and we were going to be outside that night on a hayride. So I'm thinking $25-$30 for a coat. praying less. so we head to Old Navy. $42 each. holy mother. not what I was looking for, which-damnit, means I've got to go to the outlet mall. no sweat, I have my Children's Place 20% coupon. except there, the jackets are $49.50. okay......we are going in the wrong direction here. so I'm rushing from one end of the mall to the other because I've only got 30 minutes before I have to meet Kreg for dinner. no luck at GAP, Carter's or Osh Gosh, so we jet into Gymboree. where, thank goodness, I'm able to score basically the last jackets in my kid's sizes for $30! woo-hoo! we then went and enjoyed a super yummy dinner at La Margarita's out on the patio. and finally made it to the Yorks for our next trek.

the hayride was great and the kids laughed the whole time. but let's just say it was a L O N G night. we arrived at 8:00 and didn't get to take our ride until 10:00. which means we didn't leave until 10:30 and arrived home around midnight.

and I've been up since 8 am trying to bake for the Fall Festival. which kreg and I promptly start volunteering for at 4:30! you know, though.......we wouldn't trade it for the world. Hunter loves Sacred Heart and Jay is more than ready to go. I've put Jay on the waiting list for next year. He's the beginning of the 4th page! thank goodness priority goes to siblings and members of the church. it's also so great that the community as a whole really supports the kids fundraisers which helps keep tutions low. nothing worse than having to hear someone complaining about the boys trying to sell things. those who have ordered and been so supportive deserve the biggest THANK YOU! you keep their hearts and spirits up.

okay....pictures from the hayride

the boys all decked out and WARM




crazy kiddos, excited to finally ride

Help the kids.

Chocolate Chunk.....Peanut Butter Crunch.....Double Chocolate Brownie.....Heath Toffee Crunch.....Lemon Cooler.....Chocolate Mint Chip.....

Do I have your attention yet?

Oatmeal Raisin.....Sugar.....Chocolate Chip.....M&M.....Snickerdoodle.....Chocolate Chunk Pecan.....Peanut Butter Cup

This is the cookie dough Jayden is selling for just $14 per box of 48 ready-to-bake cookies from Little Lambs Gourmet Cookie Dough. This helps support his preschool.

And wouldn't it be kick-butt to have a personalized pan to put those cookies in. My MOPS group is having a "That's My Pan!" fundraiser. Your lid is personalized with a design and with the saying "Made with love by" or "From the kitchen of" and your pan is personalized to match. There are darling!

On the 27th, we have one of our biggest fundraisers with Sacred Heart, our Fall Festival. Hunter is selling meal tickets for a chicken fried steak dinner and tickets to win a nativity.

We are fundraising fools right now! So if you are in the mood.....help the kiddos out ;)

I'm so proud of my Hunter. Yesterday was his turn to take up gifts at Mass. He was stellar! Of course, we had our 1st chilly morning and the kid refused to wear pants. It's going to be a fun fall/winter.





And the boys did some fishing last night. I'm must say they are improving. They will now at least dig the worms out of the dirt and break off a piece and they are trying hard to put the worm on the hook. Less messy work for mom!







And we are off to the pumpkin patch this morning. Pictures to come later.

working girl.

and yes, I'M LOVING IT. how terrible am I? I'm considering putting Jayden in school full-time. Why are the decisions we make as mother's so hard? more on that later..............

my whole entire body is still completely bruised. and riding a 4-wheeler this weekend wasn't the smartest thing ever to do. but it was so much fun for the boys.

waiting for your turn is the hardest thing to do:







Jay kept yelling at me to go faster. but my butt hurt just too much.

fall of the year

so we get decorated for the shower yesterday and are getting ready to leave when I realize we need to hang up one more thing. after hopping on tables all morning long to reach the ceiling, I don't think twice about hopping on that last one. and it was the one to knock me off my feet, literally.

needless to say, I am black and blue bruised from my low back to my right knee. I can barely move, yet alone sit or sleep on my right side. my right arm also has a very nice cut on it and is swollen above and below my elbow.

I didn't know ones thighs could swell so terribly bad.

a menace, a job and a scare.

a menace.

that would be my son Jayden. all week we have been talking about how he had school picture's this morning. so last night I finally tackle him down for a hair cut, iron his clothes and get him all ready for pictures. of course, he crawls out of bed at 6:45 this morning. we drop off Hunter, having to miss church and head over to his school. where, of course, he decides to finally show his true colors, and starts screaming. hanging onto me. wanting me to hold him. I sit patiently because I really want him in his class picture. the photographer gets all the other kids situated and goes to bring Jayden in last. I can stand behind him and then duck to not be in the picture. Great. Except for the fact that Jayden is screaming and kicking and refuses to turn around and is trying to hang onto me. Frustrated, I leave. Now I'm going to have a class picture, minus my child.

a job

yes, I've finally scored one!!!! I've spent countless hours sending out resumes and doing phone interviews for companies in Austin only to land a job right here in La Grange. I'll be doing what I've always done, working in real estate. I'm so excited and can't wait to start next Tuesday. I'm only going to be working on the 3 half days Jayden is in school. But it's a GREAT start to getting my sanity back.

a scare

so yesterday afternoon, I'm out working in my utility room/workshop. The boys are in the back playroom watching TV and playing. I hear Jezabell start barking and it sounds like she's barking outside the playroom windows. I figure she's barking at the boys but then all of a sudden I hear leaves crunching on the side of the house. I stop my working for a moment and realize it can't be Jezabell walking in the leaves because her barking isn't coming from there. So I pop my head in the playroom and look at the window to see Jezabell barking towards the gate and the crunching. Somebody is on the side of my house! Good Lord! I tear into the house to see my Dad walking back to get in his truck. I ask him what was he doing as he scared the dickens out of me. He said he rang the doorbell and knocked and rang the doorbell again. My car was in the drive way and he didn't figure I would walk to pick Hunter up from school. Since we didn't answer, he thought we might be in the backyard. My good for nothing children said they heard the knocking and ringing and just didn't want to answer the door. ARGH. kids.

We went up to the hospital last night to see Clifford the Big Red Dog. The kids had a blast and we ran into my friend Jill who has the most precious 5 month old little girl. Seriously. 5 months is such the beginning of a fun age. Little Sadie was nothing but laughs and smiles.

Here are the boys and Clifford:


And here are my burp clothes I made for the baby shower this weekend:


I still want to add some finishing touches but I think they are adorable for a daisy theme!

Well, it's Friday night and we are getting ready for another High School Football game. LG is playing the #1 team in state. Should be a fun.

On Monday I decided to finally take my not-so-happy, miserable butt to the doctor. 2 ear infections and a diagnose of pneumonia later, I'm finally starting to feel better. Thank god because, of course, I procrastinated about the baby shower I'm hosting this weekend. Praise to my mother who took the boys all day Monday and let me get some much needed rest. I'm so glad she can always tell when I need help the most and I can always count on her. But now I'm back to getting last minute shower errands done. It's always great when your sewing machine doesn't work, I've called for back-ups and none of them have even responded. okie, dokie.

I also went to a much needed dentist appointment this morning to get my teeth cleaned. you would think after ALL THAT WORK, I'd be in good shape. I guess we can dream can't we. I've got yet another cavity to be filled.

Since the annual MOPS consignment sale is coming up, I've been doing some much needed fall cleaning. And since we are now talking about going away for Christmas again, I needed the boys to try on their snowsuits this weekend. they actually wanted to live in them all weekend:


I'm guessing he thinks he's a gangster.
if only cooler weather would arrive.
Hunter was so happy to see the fake Uggs.

of course it was another Saturday and Kreg was gone. This time to play golf with my brother in a charity golf tournament. and I was a little bored.



I told Kreg he'd better start spending weekends with those boys.

But we also did some leaf painting.



and during my cleaning, I found the Dance Dance Revolution mat for the PlayStation. The boys had a blast.



so glad it's finally getting some use.

never a dull moment.

so yesterday I dropped a frozen pitcher of margarita's on my 'good' foot. it's now swollen and black and blue.

Kreg's been off the past couple of days to do some bow hunting with my brother. and they shot........................NOTHING. of course, you know, they saw deer, but just didn't want to shoot anything. okay boys.

so Kreg was able to enjoy lunch at school on Thursday with Hunter and pick Jayden up from School that afternoon. It was a special treat for both ;)

Kreg was also able to attend the Children's Mass yesterday morning and the annual "Blessing of the Pet's Day" at Hunter's school. We took Ms. Jezabell up and she was a hit. Hunter's classed loved her. And she's extra special now that she's blessed with holy water.







and the boys are now officially counting down the days to Halloween. Our 1st pumpkin of the season kicks butt. Literally ;)


The ninja pumpkin.


and our week wouldn't be complete without Friday Night High School Football. The boys are always pumped up about going to the game.

small boy but yet big dreams.


no silly, not the football team, but the leopard on the lower left hand. Hunter is now aspiring to be the next Lulu the Leopard.



and now that we are 2 1/2 months into Kindergarten, we are working hard. Not only do we have homework every weekend, but we now have to keep up with our reading. Hunter's got a goal, that he has 1 month to reach and once he does he gets a prize and a free pizza. He's doing so well. I no longer have to struggle to get him to sit down and read, he's now constantly trying to get me to sit down so he can read to me. my....how things have changed.


and my dad recently discovered that we all have 4 or more days off at Christmas........which means..........................VACATION!! Hopefully. He's got his mind set on Christmas in the mountains and snow again. I'm not to keen on ever skiing again, but just being away sounds wonderful enough for me. Him and Kreg and my brother's are building their own deer stands and feeders at my parents house to save money on going hunting. I think once the cool weather hits, going away at Christmas is really going to hit him. oh....it would be SO nice.

this one's called...................LOSING MY MIND.

it's always fun starting your morning with a kid who wakes up and his eyes are swollen shut and his eyelashes completely covered in crust. (sorry for the ooey details) upon seeing my child, I inform him he can't go to school. while i know it is just his allergies draining out his eyes, school doesn't and won't allow it. this is the kid who completely LOVES school and starts getting upset at the mere mention of not going. so, being the good mother that I am, I put a warm washcloth on his eyes to help with the swelling and go off searching for my eyelash comb <---- I have to get that crust off somehow. I manage to get his eyes cleaned up but can tell I'm going to get a call from the school to come and pick him up. if this was anything other than allergies, I wouldn't even send him. so I drop off both kids and rush home to make a doctor's appointment. I want to be armed and ready when anyone tries to say "Pink Eye" or contagious. you see, I know Hunter's allegories are just weird like that. They don't drain out his nose, they drain out of his eyes. It's gross and disgusting.......and THANKFULLY drops take care of that.

so.....I get the appointment made and rush out the door for my morning walk. about 2 blocks into it, I step in a hole and roll my ankle. but that's okay, your suppose to walk stuff like that off. So, I continue on about a 30 minute walk trying to enjoy it. I get home and sit down for minute and realize my ankle is twice it's normal size. Okay....maybe walking it off wasn't the best choice. oh well, I have a doctor's appointment to worry about being on time for. so I arrive at my scheduled time of 10:45. At 11:40, I'm frustrated. I have to pick Jay up at noon and my appointment is going to take more than 20 minutes. And it only took me 2 weeks to get this appointment. but, I've got to reschedule.

and did I mention my allergies are STILL bothering me. so I call the doctor today to try to get in and they can't see me for another week. GREAT. what am I suppose to do with this sinus headache until then? I guess I have been struggling for 2 weeks, what's another week going to hurt?

I get Hunter to his appointment. Both boys end up getting flu shots and we get drops for the eyes. phew.......

but the tip of the iceberg......I went out to my parents house to visit with Kenny and decided to wash my car. I go get my keys off the hook in my parents house where I always keep them so I won't lose them. I get my windows rolled up and put my keys on my mom's trunk of her car. I finish washing my car and get everything put away. I sit down and enjoy dinner with my dad. My mom had to run to town. And about 7:45 as we are getting ready to leave, it dawns on me......my keys were on the back of mom's car. OH MY GOD. I frantically start searching for them. Dad gets a flash light and goes down to the highway to see if he sees them. We search and search and search and search. Mom gets home and I ask her if she saw them, but she doesn't recall seeing them on the car. We search the shed, outside, the car, the front porch, the house........and I can't find my keys anywhere. They are nowhere to be found at this moment. I feel like if I didn't have such a horrible sinus headache, I might be able to think straight............please key location......just come to me.

mom 1, dad 0

so tonight I made the underlying attempt to prove to my kids I am a GREAT mom, I just feel like crud.

so I took every blanket in the house and made the biggest pallet known to ..... them in our playroom. I popped several bags of popcorn and put on High School Musical. (yes Amy, I'm a little late on this one.)

a little while back, while I was browsing my Friday morning hang-out in La Grange, Second Chance, I happened to stumble upon the High School Musical DVD for $1. I grabbed it thinking I would one day watch it. Then, one day this week Hunter asks me something about HSM. He said his music teacher was talking about it. I felt so proud busting out with, "Hunter, I actually bought the DVD the other day!" He was excited and is now glued to the TV stuffing himself full of popcorn.

score 1 for mom...............just a little late to the party ;)

why?

as I'm sitting here using my children's nebulizer to breathe and not pass out from a coughing fit, I have to ponder many why's............

so why is it............

my husband chooses to leave me at home with both boys to attend a Texas Longhorn game when I'm sick as hell?

my children continue to fight?

I won't give into the fact that what I have probably isn't "just allergies" and actually make time to go to the doctor?

whenever we have a free weekend of Showtime, all the movies suck?

my head feels like it's going to explode, my ears feel like they are on fire, my chest feels like it is going to cave in, every breathe is more like a wheeze, my nose is raw, my eyes itchy and swollen and every muscle in my body just aches....probably from all the coughing?

my kids can't see I'm miserable and try not to fight?

my husband can't see I'm in no shape to care for the kids?

well, my neb treatment is about done, I hear the kids screaming at each other and another fight is bond to break out any second and I've got to figure out what to do for dinner.........

it's funny how little things can spark the kids happiness. take for instance the large bag of plates, cups and bowls Aunt Kara sent for the kids. They were so excited to have new batman, lion king, pooh and so on eating supplies! Thanks Aunt Kara!!!!

and a really scary ticker:

does it ever end?

I've decided I'm going to install a sound system in our house that chants my most often used words:

Stop fighting.

Boys, please stop fighting.

Guys, we have 2 of those. No need to fight.

kids, seriously, stop fighting.

ok....when is the fighting going to stop.

stop fighting. stop fighting. stop fighting.

can mom please get 2 minutes of peace here?

is there a reason to all the fighting?

STOP FIGHTING.

seriously, the boys fight over EVERYTHING. and by now, we own almost 2 of everything. 2 leappads, 2 leapsters, 2 Nintendo DS, 2 lightening mcqueen chairs, 2 shovels, get the picture? yet these 2 boys of mine have to fight over everything. from the moment I pick Hunter up from school, the fighting starts. by time Kreg get's home at 6:30-7:30, I'm exhausted. I've used every resource known to man to get the fighting to stop. And last night, all I really wanted was a nice-long hot bath. so while Kreg is putting the boys down, I try to escape. I hear Jayden causing trouble. so I'm out of the tub and walking into the bedroom when, huh, that's my perfume I smell. I'm utterly confused for a minute. I ask Kreg if he sprayed my perfume for any reason, no. okay. why am I smelling my perfume? about that time I walk over to my bottle and realize, hmmm, quite a bit seems to be missing. then Kreg informs me Jayden was playing over by my dresser. and about that time he goes to smell him and says he sprayed himself. I go to smell the kid and realized he was trying to drown himself with it. I ask him what he did. and he proceeds to tell me he was trying to make his hair spiky. so I go to feel his hair and in one spot it is drenched......with my perfume. I think the kid sprayed about a third of the bottle into his hair. only jayden.......

who?

as I am fixing dinner tonight, Hunter starts telling me about his day and how he is learning about Johnny Appleseed. And I ask him "what did Johnny Appleseed do that you are learning about?"

his response: "well, 1st of all, I'm not so sure why we are learning about him since he's dead anyways. and well, he planted some apple seeds."