Finishing the big fat post

Here are the rest of the pictures from the post before last. I'm so far behind!!!!

First we finish up Halloween...



MaryEllen, demure as ever, in her beautiful Rosetta costume. Did I mention I made that? It was HARD!!!! She'll have to be Rosetta for the next 3 Halloweens to make it up to me.



Henry was supposed to be Nemo again, but decided he was too cool for that. (he wouldn't put the costume on!) I threw together this Baseball player costume in 1 day by getting baseball pants and socks in the athletic section at Target, (yes they carry them all year round!) and buying a plain white t shirt and some iron on transfer paper and printing up Cubs images and his name on it. We already had the hat.. I think the whole thing turned out awesome!



The little fat chicken is always a crowd pleaser.

Next, on to Brian's birthday.

Thanks to all of our family members, we were able to get him what he really wanted this year! His 2 requests were the complete set of "Avatar: the Last Airbender" on DVD (pricey!!!) and A set of Adjustable dumbbells which would go up to 50 lbs each. (WAY pricier!!!) I asked our whole family on both sides to pitch in and we were able to get them both!!! (I also had to drain my Uppercase Living account to make up the difference... Ah the things we do for love!) He loved both gifts, though I don't have any pictures to post of either party.

I made him 2 cakes, 1 for each party... a red velvet layer cake (my new favorite thing) and a chocolate and butter layer cake, which I let the kids decorate with Halloween candy. It was so much fun, and since his birthday is a week after Halloween, I figure I will probably make it a yearly tradition.


Before...


The creative process at work!


and after!

Empty promises again! I never have time to finish! Next post: Thanksgiving and the Kickaroos end of season party!

P90X results!!!!

Well, you won't be seeing any before and afters of me. I gained 5 lbs. of muscle underneath my pre-existing fat. What a freaking waste of 90 days!!!!

However, Brian's results have been impressive. The after shots were actually taken after 120 days. (he started the program over, adhering more strictly to the diet, and has seen much better results.)

He'll probably kill me for posting these... but I'm so proud!!!!



Before...


and after! (Get me some tickets to THAT gun show!!!!)


Before...


and after! I may be biased, but that is one sexy man... am I right?

{don't worry about me by the way... I started going to the gym again last week and I've lost 4 lbs! It may take a year or more, but I think I actually do have a shot at getting the baby weight off! Now, for the unlost weight from the first 2 babies... we'll just have to wait and see...}

A BIG FAT post

I haven't posted in so long, and we've had a lot of fun events to document, so I'm going to try to catch up in this one BIG post. Here goes...


Emmett and Clara are kindred spirits. They totally love each other and are always showing affection. Maybe it has something to do with "Back to the Future: 3" ?


Clara in her Halloween costume... she's a squirrel.


MaryEllen's debut of her Rosetta fairy costume. This was right before the Fall Festival at her school.


MaryEllen's friends Kirden and Haley at the Fall Festival.

Apple Hill 2009





The ride there is 1/2 the fun!


Not sure why the weird face... she was super excited to ride the pony. Henry was excited until we got about 3 feet from the ponies, then he was hysterical.


The great pumpkin search


Our friends Matt and DeeDee came with us, and I was sure glad DeeDee was willing to go in the hay maze! (not my favorite tradition.)


Baby Envy?


This baby is CRAZY in the tub... I have a video for another time to show his enthusiasm for baths.


These were our pumpkins this year, Brian did the Tinkerbell for ME and I did Blue for Henry.


So I did my best but blogger is super slow right now and I'm too impatient to keep waiting for it to upload my photos. I guess this will be a 2 part post!

A little freaked out

I am very grateful we have a dog. Sometimes I complain about her; she is very needy and has some OCD tendancies, which can be hard to handle in a person, let alone an animal, but last night I was reminded of how important she is.

I always lock the house up like a ship going into a hurricane when I go to bed, but that doesn't keep me from being a little scared of all the "what- if's" when Brian is at work and I'm on my own. Last night at about 3am Clara started barking ferociously! This was not the first time she had done this, and in the past I have seen cat eyes glowing back at me from the back patio, so I usually write it off as some sort of scurrying animal. I did check things out this time, because she was barking louder than usual and much more angrily. I even let her into the backyard where she ran around sniffing for about 5 minutes an then came back in still growling. Nothing seemed too unusual, so I went back to bed and assumed it was nothing.

Then Brian came home this morning and pointed out that the front security door was standing open! I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS check to make sure it is closed and locked before I go to bed. It has a sticky lock that sometimes tricks me, so I can see how it may have been left unlocked, but I KNOW it was closed. That can only mean that someone came up to the door and opened it. Sure, the front door was locked also, but I'm sure it would take a not- too- skilled thief to figure out how to get past those rinky- dink contraptions. Just the thought of someone lurking outside my front door while the kids and I sleep inside makes me shudder!

All I know is that I am grateful for a dog who barks at everything that comes within 20 feet of the house, even if it is annoying when it's just a cat. I will never complain about her again!

Walking to school

On days when the weather is nice and we are running on time we like to walk to school. MaryEllen rides her bike there and I push the double stroller with the boys and hang on to Clara's leash. (She would never forgive us if we went on a walk without her.)

It gets a little hairy walking back with MaryEllen's bike, but I think I have it figured out.


This is how I rig it up. (yes, my right shin gets a bit bruised up, but it isn't that bad.)

Then precious little things like this happen!

Officially mobile

Emmett is just shy of 7 months old and started crawling last Sunday! My other kids didn't crawl until much later, so it looks so funny to see this little tiny baby making his way around the floor. Here's a peek...


And Here's a cute- but- SCARY extreme close-up!

Emmett on the move

Emmett has been trying to crawl lately, and its really funny how frustrated he gets that he can't do it. I think he forgets sometimes that he is only 6 months old.

This video has some rare glimpses of him getting grumpy. He is such a happy kid, I almost forget what his cry sounds like sometimes!