The holidazzle parade!

A few weeks ago we took the kids to Minneapolis to see the Holidazzle parade.  This was the first trip there for the two little ones and they were excited for a few things:  taking the light rail into Minneapolis and seeing the parade.

It was a bit of a rush to get there on time after work, picking up kids from preschool, making snacks, getting into warm clothes, finding the light rail station, etc, but we made it just in time to print tickets and jump on the train. 

The kids LOVED the train. That may have been their favorite part of the trip.  I always love their expressions when they see the tall buildings in Minneapolis and their wide eyes looking at everything.  The parade route wasn't overly busy when we got there, so we laid out our blanket and got settled in for the parade.  We were conveniently sitting right by a Caribou Coffee, so Tim graciously got us some hot coffee and HC for the kids.  Funny that the kids had absolutely no idea what the HC was that Tim kept referring too (hot chocolate) but they were pretty adamant that they needed it and got impatient waiting for the HC.  At one point Emma or Evan said "Mom! Just WHEN is Dad going to get back with that HC of ours."

Then - the parade started and they did like it. I wish the floats would have been a bit closer together, but overall, it was fun.  One highlight of the parade was the Peter Pan float.  The kids loved seeing captain hook and peter pan and REALLY liked it when the ticking alligator came up to Evan and opened his big mouth over Evan's head.  It was hilarious and he just looked up and smiled.

patiently waiting for the HC

Santa 

Pinocchio

The first float

Evan made a little friend right next to him at the parade and they were excitedly watching the parade together.  Emma enjoyed showing me all the twinkling lights and drinking her HC.


One of the funny parts of the whole night was Evan acting as the "expert" on the light rail and telling Emma all about it.  He took the train a week prior to the Monster Truck Rally in Minneapolis and really was the utmost authority on the light rail.

Christmas decorating

The first weekend in December saw us decorating the house for Christmas.  I had went to Michaels the Friday before and spent more money than planned on neat little Christmas decorating ideas for the kids and I.  I pulled them out earlier than planned as Evan got up around 6am that Saturday and was ready to start the day.

So, we headed downstairs to turn on some Christmas cartoons, make some coffee, and to start with the Christmas decorating. It wasn't long before Emma woke up as well and was eager to make some things as well.

I bought random branches, glittered items, poinsettia's and other holiday things from Michaels and we ended up with these:

Evan's creation

My bird table center - made from a simple living or other idea from online.

Emma's poinsettia creation

And Evan's flower creation

The kids really got into it and had a lot of fun decorating the house for the holidays. They get excited for any holiday and love it when I pull out the approriate house decorations.

That afternoon I was outside finding sticks for the bird creation I made and Evan was outside helping.  It was still not snowy out at this point so he was out driving his gator and putting every stick he could find in the back.  As I was looking at the sticks and cutting them to length, I noticed he would take a stick and run off.  A few second back he would come out empty handed and would grab another stick and run off with the same ending.  Back he comes with no stick, to just grab another one and leave.  Curious, I follow the little boy to find this:

sticks placed in corner of house

Sticks placed on metal post

Sticks placed on sill of door

And Evan by sticks

Come to find out, there were random sticks placed all over my yard... on the basketball hoop, in the garage, on the driveway.  Why -- One with a non- four year old mind may ask?? Well, he was decorating!!  And, he got mad when I accidentally stepped on one of the decorating sticks by the garage.

The next day was spent finding and decorating the Christmas tree!  We went to a different tree lot this year, one with no warming house, candy canes, or sleds, but that didn't stop the  kids from running around proclaiming that they had, indeed, found the best Christmas tree EVER!

More pics of the final product to come later!

Ice fishing

Evan has become quite fond of ice fishing the past few days we have been at the cabin.  He goes out with Tim every day and proceeds to chat his ear off, mess up a fishing pole, or drop something down the hole occasionally.  (today, it was a water bottle and we caught it before it sunk.)  Does Tim get frustrated?  Yes, but I can say that he truly enjoys having his little boy out there for amusement and for father-son bonding time.

This morning, we went out as a family.  While Emma doesn't get into ice fishing that much (other than the occasional - "Emma - I have a fish, want to reel it in?")  She now keeps herself occupied with her iPod touch, or visiting with the other ice fishing neighbors.

Very proud of her favorite Christmas gift!

Where is Evan?! With the camouflage shirt, snow pants and chair, it can be hard to spot the little man.

Tim putting a minnow on the hook. Something he does constantly while fishing with little kids.

Reeling in his minnow - to make sure it is still there.

Fishing with little kids takes patience.  They are never watching the bobber (or rarely are anyway) they are constantly reeling in their line to make sure they still have a minnow, they are constantly up and moving around as they get bored. Or - they feel the need to come in and out of the fish house and in doing so, step on fishing poles, drop things near the holes, or who knows what.  But, it is still fun. I remember ice fishing with my Dad when I was little and had fun.  The nice thing with the cabin, at least, is that we can come and go as we please.  We have a nice spacious fish house that comfortably seats 4-5 and that has a heater in it, so we are warm.  I try to pack snacks and bring out the movie player to keep the kids occupied, and if the fish are not biting, we go back in the house or do something else outside.

Evan was fishing with Tim on Friday afternoon (without him having a nap) and when Tim looks over at him, he notices that Evan's head has dropped and that he feel asleep while holding his fishing pole.  A few minutes later, he hears a thud and down goes the fishing pole while Evan is still sleeping!

All-in-all, we have fun fishing at the cabin and do it at least once a day. Thank goodness for a nice warm fish house!

a special visitor

Christmas was fabulous here!  The kids opened presents, ate candy and goodies, and laughed to their hearts delight. The holidays are so special with them. It is nice to be able to experience the holidays through a child's eyes AND to know that all the planning, shopping and wrapping is appreciated!

Christmas Eve night was great (more on the day festivities later).  But that night, after the kids were nestled all snug in their beds, Tim and I woke them up to a special surprise- Santa!

Wouldn't you know it, after I put on my Kerchief and Tim, his cap, and we were settling in for a long winters nap, we arose to a clatter and sprang from our bed to see what was the matter.  And to what should to our wondering eye appear - but, well, Santa Claus!

We got the kids out of their beds just as Santa was coming in the front door with a jolly Ho Ho Ho and jangling his jingle bells.  Emma took a look at Santa and ran back to her bed and Evan unfortunately wakes up hard if he doesn't do it on his own and was lightly crying the entire time.  I ran back and got Emma and put her on my lap as we watched Santa from upstairs, being very quiet of course so Santa wouldn't know that we were awake.  Santa put presents under the tree, ate a few cookies, drank some milk, grabbed the carrots for the reindeer, and with a merry Ho Ho Ho left the house.

Emma was wide eyed the entire time she was watching Santa move about downstairs and as she ran back into her bed, when we assume, Santa was flying away on his sleigh with the reindeer, I went in to chat with her.  She was pretty excited to see Santa and gave me big smile, wide happy eyes, and happy kicks with her feet as she drifted off to sleep with visions of sugar plums dancing in her head.

Evan was laid back in bed with hesitation by me that he will remember anything.  I wasn't even sure that he was totally awake for the whole thing and hasn't said much about seeing Santa, well, other than the stories that Emma has been telling people.

For me, it was really cool to see Emma excited to see Santa - although I was a bit surprised that she was nervous about it.  I thought she would want to run down the stairs after he left but she ran back to her room and snuggled under the blankets to wake up excitedly around 6:30 to want to open presents.

Maybe we will be lucky enough to see Santa again next year :-)

Santa comes to preschool

Evan had another Christmas program at his preschool this week!  He was learning Christmas songs there, as well, in order to perform a 10 minute concert in front of camera/iPhone yielding parents.  He and his little classmates marched in proudly with their little red noses and reindeer hats and impatiently rocked back-n-forth waiting for the songs to be played.

I somewhat forgot to dress him up for this concert -
but I figured this was at the end of the day and he wouldn't wear his tie all day anyway.

 They sang Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and then received some bells to ring for "Jingle Bells" and then they got a special surprise - Santa Clause came to visit!

Santa looking for Evan in his book

.



Santa was a big hit with all the kids.  He had a nice leather bound book that he was able to look up all the little kids names and write down everything they wanted to Christmas.  When it was Evan's turn, Evan very confidently said "I want teenage mutant ninja turtles and an iPod touch!"  (which made Santa laugh because all the kids asked for an iPod touch.)  And, because Evan said it so proudly, Santa exclaimed, "Oh, what a decisive little boy you are!" because he didn't hesitate at all.  While he wouldn't sit on Santa's lap, he did give him a big high five and Christmas card.  It seemed all the kids thought this was a good idea, as they were all going to their Christmas station and making presents and cards for Santa.

Next came snacks such as muffins, cheese and crackers, vege's and fruit and then home.  But, before he went to bed he asked me with his big blue eyes, "Mama, do you think Santa will come to school tomorrow too?"

More like Evan

And then.. shortly after his preschool concert, he went from this:

To this:

After church, he got home and went up to change.  I had to laugh when he came down looking like this.  No real surprise... his beloved tie dye, with an added embellishment.

The Sunday School concert

I have heard Evan singing Christmas songs for the past few weeks and didn't really think much of it, until we got a note in the mail from our church about the upcoming Preschool Christmas Concert! Ah yes, that explains the "Away in the Manager" sung by a little four year old. So, we practiced the songs and the hand motions and tried to get him excited about it. The day before the concert, Emma and I took him shopping. She was very excited about the prospect of dressing her baby brother and was excitedly showing him one Christmas sweater and then a Cars holiday shirt and a bunch of randomness. He chose a red striped tie. And, was pretty excited about it. I picked up a light blue button down shirt to wear with it and we were done. (and hoping he wasn't going to wear camouflage pants with them.) The day of the concert - he looked like this:      (sorry they are blurry)

The one thing I didn't catch? That he was wearing his black snowboots. Overall he did great. He didn't do the hand motions to the songs, but I was pretty proud of my little man.

The Heuer Nativity

To try to interject some of the true meaning of the holiday, we have been reiterating the Christmas story for the kids. We put up our nativity, read some of the story books we have about the night that Jesus was born, and talked about the fun of giving and not always receiving. For a few nights, it must have sunk in as the kids were constantly putting on Christmas plays. They were, uhhhh..... entertaining to watch. Especially when Mary would burst out in random songs, such as Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer or the Star Spangled Banner. Joseph has a bit part in all the plays, as did the camel. It was pretty much all about Mary. 

Meet Joseph - a very rockin' Joseph wearing tie-dye




The blessed couple with Baby Jesus (aka Mater).




The camel (Sage) just wouldn't cooperate.  So, Joseph tried to keep him in line.



Snow!

Of course, we were out in the snow last weekend. And boy did we love it!  It was exciting to wake up in the morning and see the ground covered white. Especially because we had the snowy forecast and we had the winter storm warning before we went to bed and to see the white beautiful snow in the morning and that the forecast was actually right?? Even better!

The kids were excited for the snow and to go and play and not all too excited to go to Sunday School. But, the fact that we got them up early and got to drive in the snow at 8:30 this morning seemed okay for them as they still jumped around a bit and trudged around the driveway before we made the drive to church.

When we got back?? It was a different story. They, upon arrival home from church, instantly got snowpants, boots, hats, mittens, and heavy coat on and were outside.  I had to make my coffee first and then slowly made my way outside to watch them laugh and jump in the inches upon inches of snow.  (now, the weather forecast confirmed what we thought - about 17 inches of snow and it is wonderful!)

The morning trip outside consisted of making the run down the hill for the tubes and packing it down.  It was slow going for the kids at first, but they enjoyed the journey.  They also got out their snowboards and made their way down the hills. Then, they both got out their little shovels and helped me shovel the sidewalk. Then, back to sledding, and back to tubing, and back to snowboarding, then off to the swingset and over and over and over.  And, the cherry on top - Hot chocolate!!

Happy boy

Little lady having fun in the snow.



Tubing.




Getting better at snowboarding




The snow




The snow draping on our swingset.




The same pictures as before - just a few hours later.  Where is the birdhouse?




Our deck.  It still hasn't been shoveled.



Unfathomable

You know... words just cannot express what happened today.  Normally, news about shootings doesn't affect me like this.  But I think it was the fact that it was kindergartners... an elementary school. where my Emma is... just an insane person affecting so many people.

This afternoon was rough for me, I am not going to lie.  I read about it at work and the rest of my coworkers and I just sat there, literally, stunned.  What do you say, really?  Other than thinking guiltily "Thank GOD it wasn't me" and then to think "God, what if it were me?" 

I started to run through the situation my kids were in.  Evan at preschool with a keypad to enter the building, but God forbid, he goes outside to play at least 3 times a day... what if?!

Emma at Elementary school with no school security and anyone can enter that building. Granted, visitors have to show an id, but that doesn't hold up against a person with a gun.

I don't know.  This is just constantly on my mind.  I have a heavy heart and I held me kids tonight until I got the "Mom, cut it out!"  They don't get it, which is good.  I don't want them to be scared like I am. Which.. is ridiculous, but still.

All I can say is I will pray for the victims and hope that bastard gets what is coming to him.  He got off easy, really. The coward committed suicide.

That's all.  As much as I want too, I know I won't be able to get it out of my mind for a long time.

To my faithful readers

Thanks for sticking with me during the dry spells of my blogging.  I just emailed my final exam and am done with my class, so expect a whole slew of blog posts (with pictures) coming up.

Hallelujah!!  Free at least, God all mighty, I am free at last!!

As if it weren't enough....

The kids put out their shoes for St. Nicholas!  We met with Evan's former daycare Mom Theresa and her family tonight to catch up.  The kids were so excited to see each and the adults were happy for happy hour specials - ha!

Of course the little kids got talking about Christmas and the elf on the shelf and that tonight is St. Nicholas night.  So we got home and what is the first thing that Emma does?  Put the shoes under the tree. St. Nick wasn't feeling overly generous though and gave the kids 4 quarters, an orange, and a candy cane.  I guess I don't feel as though I need to participate in every holiday tradition there is.  It gets too hard to keep up.

The real treat though was seeing them again.  Evan does miss going there everyday to play with his good friend Will and to receive the extra special care from Theresa.  She gave him a copy of his favorite book tonight The Ghost Train that she has read to him forever and he absolutely loved it!  We had to read it when we got home.

More to come later..... peace out.

Overdue update.

Emma is good.

Evan is good.

That is all.

Okay, I guess that shouldn't be all.  All my faithful peeps out there in blogland maybe need more as I have been absent the past few days.

Thanksgiving was great.  Wednesday night we had J & MJ over before the holiday/family craziness and enjoyed wine, bread, cheese, and salami.  Plus, some double chocolate, pecan brownies that Evan wanted to make.  It was definitely a nice retreat before the holidays.

Thanksgiving here was brunch in the morning with the kiddos and Gaeb and her boyfriend Seth. Eric was on-call unfortunately and was unable to join the family.  We dined on Pioneer Woman Quiche and monkey bread.  After the food, we went outside to enjoy the beautiful weather!  We played the first annual boys-vs-girls football game in the front yard.  The kids had an absolute blast doing this!  Emma and Evan were running around, throwing the ball, and tackling each other. 

After the football game (which I am pretty sure the girls won :-)  )  it was a mad rush to clean the kitchen, pack stuff up and head to the farm for the next four days!  We had a large turkey, ham, riced potatoes, stuffing, dinner roles, green bean casserole, rutabaga, apple pie, pumpkin cake meal!  YUM!  The kids really enjoyed the food, but may have enjoyed running around the "new farm" better!

That night - following tradition - we heading out shopping.  This year, it was noticeably earlier for Kristen and I.  Or later... not sure how you want to call it.  Kristen, Kim, Aunt Rose, Cousin Keely and I headed out at 9:30pm on Thanksgiving night to hit up some black Friday deals in Eau Claire.  It was Sears, Walmart, K-mart, then the Eau Claire mall.  We found a few good deals, ate mall pizza at 1:30am and were home at 3:00 am.  Black Fridays in the past had Kristen and I heading out around 5am for deals... so this year was a bit different and we hit more of the crazy crowd.  We had a great time with Kim, Rose, and Keely though coming up with our shopping plan and putting our game face on.

Deer hunting was a bust for me.  I saw a few, missed a few.  AND vowed to actually practice some target shooting throughout the year to get ready and try to improve my rushed shots for when the deer run past me.  Tim was lucky, as always, and got 4 and my Dad shot 2.

Otherwise, that seems to be about it.  I haven't been good with the camera lately - other than the few instagram shots you may have seen to the right taken with my new phone.  I promise to be better - or, shall I say, I hope to be better!

Monster truck madness!

We went to a local auto parts store to see Evan's favorite monster truck, Grinder.  He was pretty excited to go and thought it was pretty neat that he got to meet the driver and got a signed picture of the car.  Saturday night is the big monster truck rally and a special night with Daddy.

You are drinking what?

Out of the mouths of babes.... Evan.

Guess what I am drinking, Mama?  Captain and diet coke!  (While playing darts in the basement with Tim)

Since that is a drink that Tim and I drink at times, I look at Tim suspiciously and he shakes his head and laughs.

"Evan- you are drinking a decaffeinated coke.  NOT a captain and coke you goofball!"

Homework

Here is a sample of some homework brought home by my kiddos.  Emma typically has math homework every night and is now doing adding, subtracting and math word problems.  (yea - pretty sure I didn't start doing word problems until like 3rd grade.)


"There are 9 turkeys in the woods.  3 flew away.  How many turkeys are left?
6 turkeys.
All handwritten by my little Emma.

Evan is working on letters at preschool and has a number of the week.   This particular week, the number is 12.  (random - but I will go with it)  The theme this week isThanksgiving so he did this drawing on what he is thankful for.



I am thankful for my mom and dad.  He didn't mention Emma. But I am assuming it is implied.  I hope... anyway.



Preschool for Evan

We are officially on Evan's second week of preschool.  So far, I think he likes it.  He comes home with neat little art projects and fun stories of everything he does during the day.  Last week he got to be a scientist and analyze the weight of cooked noodles versus uncooked noodles.  He was a fisherman and got to fish for something.  He gets to play outside every day on a neat little climbing area.  And - he gets to try interesting new food - such as beets - and cottage cheese - and a sweet potato hotdish puff thing that he is having for lunch tomorrow.  So - many new experiences for the little guy.  Sensory overload of sorts with the new kids, the new foods, and the new activities.  It is emotional overload for his poor Mama.  Overall - the little guy is doing really, really well.  Other than hiding behind my legs when I drop him off and he looking up at me with his big, blue, unsure eyes and saying "Mama, can you stay and play with me for a little bit?"  So, we get out the blocks and the trucks and I try to corral other little boys to play too.

It is going much better than I thought.  He did cry last Thursday about 20 minutes before I got there to pick him up for some reason - the reason I am not sure about.  So, when I arrived, he rushed over to me and wrapped his little arms around my neck and started crying again.  In the mornings I think he may be trying to be tough and not tearing up a bit as well.  I think I can see the unease in his eyes and the nervousness of being in a new place.  I reassure him, play with him a bit, and then I go.  Normally, I get the "It's okay Mama, You can go to work" and then I sneak out.

The reports (both written and oral) from his teachers have been really great. They say he is listening well, playing well, eating well (other than the beets and cottage cheese) and fitting in pretty good. My nervousness at the transition is halfway gone, but will be totally gone once he rushes in to play when I drop him off and only glances back to say goodbye.  He hasn't done that yet, but I look forward to the morning when he does. 

I am happy that he had a short week last week (as I was off on Friday) and will have a short week this week due to Thanksgiving to help with the transition.  Overall, I am pretty proud of my little guy for how he is handling everything.  I made the comment this past weekend of Evan being in daycare and he had to correct me and say "Mama, I am in PRESCHOOL now. Not daycare" So I think he does like it and is proud that he is old enough to go.  He just isn't confident there yet.

That's it. That is the updated report.  Hopefully an even better report to come.

You know you are getting used to working in a manufacturing plant when:

You know you are getting used to working in a manufacturing plant when:

1) You start wearing less and less eye make-up because you figure, “What the Hell” no one can really see my eyes under my protection goggles anyway.

2) Your language is sounding more like a truck-driver and less like a person who used to work in a corporate environment and needs to be PC all the time
      a. We are NOT PC here – not even close

3) Steel toed shoes feel more comfortable and you are envious of someone else’s pair as they look more “trendy” than your run-of-the-mill Red Wings. Then – you ask them where they got them.
      a. Sad to admit, but I have done this…
      b. The nice thing is that we have Shoe trucks that come once a month to the plant and offer the latest   and greatest steel toes. I get a $65 stipend each year for a new pair. No Manolo Blahniks yet, but I may start a petition.

4) You realize you can sleep in longer, as your morning routine is now: throw on some jeans and a long sleeved shirt, brush a tiny bit of makeup on, and put hair in pony = done.
      a. The plant is typically freezing, so a fleece or fleece vest is put on immediately upon arrival anyway

5) Over lunch during an all day meeting, it seems perfectly normal for your team to Google “Sports figures with the most kids out of wedlock” and proceed to laugh and tell off-color jokes the rest of the day about it
      a. True story – and the results are sad and hilarious at the same time. Pull up the totalprosports link – it is ridiculous

6) You consider putting a Carhart coat or vest on your Christmas list (but resist the urge), to, you know… fit in with the “cool kids”

So –that’s it. My new normal --

I emailed this to my dear, previous Coworkers, so they could either be jealous or mortified!

Here goes nothing!

Here he is on the first day of preschool.  He said he wasn't excited but went in like a trooper.  He found his locker and then hung behind my legs.  After we found some toys for him to play with, he seemed a bit better.  Then he did the "I am okay Mama.  You can go."   Then, one more hug and I was off to work.

Saying goodbye

Today was an incredibly emotional day.  It was a day that I had been dreading for about a month.  Today was Evan's last day with his beloved daycare provider, Theresa, as he starts preschool on Monday.

Theresa has been in our life for 5 years and we trusted her with the most important thing in our lives - our children.  We interviewed, reference checked, stopped in, and agonized over this choice and in the end, we decided to go with Theresa and for that, I am very thankful. She made my transition back to work tolerable, my progression from 3 work days to 4 work days and to eventually 5 work days manageable.

Emma started there when she was about 16 months old, when I started work at Cargill. I worked only three days a week then and loved being back in a work setting, but having four days with my little girl.  Emma wasn't so sure about Theresa's at first and being away from me and Kristen (who watched her for the first year).  Emma refused to take off her shoes and coat until about the second week there and after that, she was all smiles.  Theresa has a daughter, Breezy,who is a year older than Emma and they instantly became friends.  Breezy is actually here tonight on a sleepover and those girls have grown to be almost sisters in the years they spent together.   Emma easily fell into a pattern at the house playing dress-up with the girls, house in their little basement tree house, and loving the comforts Theresa provided.

Emma - the first week there

Halloween with Madeline (left) and Breezy (right)

Then, along came Evan.  She met Evan when he was about 5 days old and saw him basically weekly since.  Honestly, I kind of think that Evan took a special place in her heart (which made this whole thing even harder) as her own son was in high school and she had Evan since he was 12 weeks old.  Evan's first week there was a week of stubbornness, just like Emma. Evan refused to drink from his bottle for about the first 3-4 days.  That is not the way an emotional,  hormonal, Mama just back at work wants to have it!  Theresa called me a lot so I knew what was going on, tried to feed him his bottle a lot, and then just comforted him when he needed it.

Dec 2008 - Evan a 3 months

Halloween 2009

The group - Feb 2011

Throughout the years, there have been many birthday parties, holiday parties, smiles, laughter, and tears at Theresa's house.  She has kissed boo-boo's, put kids in naughty chairs, and has probably seen a few of their "firsts" but was kind enough not to say anything so I could feel like those memories were mine first.

While I know, deep down, we are making the right decision for this point in our lives, it doesn't make it any easier.  I was close to tears all day today and I just couldn't get over the sad, guilty, lagging feeling that was hanging over my head.  Most of all, I don't want the kids to forget the person who loved them like they were her own and then had to say goodbye. 

It comes with the territory, I know.  Daycare providers know that they will say goodbye to the kiddos they helped raise, but in this instance, since we decided to make the move away . . . I feel horrible.

The families will keep in touch, I know that - or I really, really hope that.  Emma and Breezy will still want to chat on the phone and do sleepovers. The adults and kiddos will go out for food (we have plans for one in two week), try to make bowling happen, or play cards together to keep in touch. But still, the comforts of home that Evan knew when he was NOT at home is now being replaced by a more sterile school setting with unfamiliar people.  He will do fine, as will I, but this transition stinks. 

These past few month have been an emotional roller coaster and what can I say, I just want to get off the damn ride.

The cavity conundrum

Every night, I have to remind my children to brush their teeth.  Well, this particular Saturday night was no different.  Either was Evan's response  "No - I don't WANT to brush my teeth."   sigh....

So, I went into my normal speech "Evan - if you don't brush your teeth. You will get cavities"  and when he asks what cavities are (because I am prepared for this question) I know how to respond.  "Cavities are little holes in your teeth that you get from not brushing your teeth and keeping the sugar on your teeth. They hurt a lot and we need to do everything we can to not get cavities."

He ponders my answer and runs off to brush his teeth and go potty.  While he is at the toilet, he looks at me inquisitively and asks "So... if I don't go potty, will I get cavities in my pee-pee?"

While I wasn't prepared to answer THAT question, I think my laughter and emphatic No!  did jut fine.

trying to figure out Instagram

Please be patient :-)  I recently upgraded to a new phone -- Samsung Galaxy SIII (which I love) and I am playing with all the new gadgets.  Stay with me as I try new things and try to upload pictures from Instagram to my blog.  I didn't do it right :-)

Evan and his wagon.

http://instagr.am/p/RjU8zst2ZF/

At the pumpkin patch last weekend

http://instagr.am/p/RjVXF1t2ZY/

Random Fall pictures

And... because I haven't gotten to it yet - here are some random Fall pictures!  We had a lot of fun playing outside this Fall. The leaves fell off the trees in droves and the kids took advantage of it.  Some of the leaf piles we raked were taller than Evan - no lie!

So - here are a few pics of the kids playing in the leaves and playing with our neighbor's (J and MJ) milkweed pods.  They have the natural Minnesota prairie as part of their lawn and part for their front yard was full of milkweed pods.  In case you didn't know . . .   Milkweed pods + kids = tons of fun

The lawn, after they were done playing, was white.  Sage was having fun chasing them and the kids were having a contest to see who could blow a seed up in the air the farthest.  Evan got one all the way to the garage.

Then - the leaf pictures!  Here they are - buried.

And - really buried in the leaves!

This was a favorite weekend pastime this fall :-)