Absent for a reason

I know that I have been absent - it is due to the severe case of crud that has captured our home.  Let me back track though...
Wednesday was such a nice day here.  The boys and I set out early that morning and hit two stores and then made it back to the house for morning snack at 10am.  After morning snack the boys and I went over to the local junior high school track to ride bikes.  The older two rode their bikes and Riah and I played on a blanket.  After almost an hour of letting them ride their bikes we loaded up in the car to head to another store.  Or, so I thought... my car wouldn't start.  Really?  Was about the only thing that I could think of.  A quick phone call to Michael who was heading from his job site to the office, he came and picked us up and brought us home.  A call to triple A to pick up the car and tow it to the dealership and a phone call to the dealership.  All of which were not on my daily schedule.  A few hours later and a new battery my car came home. 
Being that we were sick the week prior Michael and I had made the executive decision to "skip"  the traditional Thanksgiving dinner.  I was craving steak and potatoes and so that was what we were going to have.  Thankfully I suppose since it was Wednesday before Thanksgiving and we had none of the traditionals. 
Thanksgiving morning we woke up and enjoyed a quiet morning, the boys watched the parade and played.  Around ten we all headed over to the junior high track so Michael could see how good Zeke is doing on his bike and just to enjoy the morning together as a family.  And we did simply that! 

After our bike rides and fun time we came home and all laid down for afternoon naps!  It was glorious! 

Like I said - glorious!  If I didn't know better I would have thought I was in San Diego on Thanksgiving day with an outside temperature of 76. 
After a long afternoon nap we fixed dinner - steak, corn and sweet potatoes.  As we are sitting down for dinner you should have seen Zeke's face, "Where is the turkey legs?"  "Well Bubba we decided not to make a turkey."  "But mom, it is Thanksgiving - and we are supposed to have a turkey."  Let me just say, my heart sank and I looked at Michael and we both felt kind of crummy for making the choice to not have a traditional dinner for his sake.  Michael comforted Zeke by assuring him that we will have a turkey for Christmas dinner and that seemed to appease him. 
The rest of the night was spent playing and watching television - the way a Thanksgiving dinner should be digested.
The next day we stayed indoors and told the boys that everything was closed because yesterday was Thanksgiving - that seemed to work for them, cause they know no different. 
That brings us to my birthday on Saturday.  I woke up early with the boys and was greeted by Michael telling me happy birthday.  We relaxed in the morning.  Riah took his morning nap and while he napped I took a long hot shower, I even shaved both of my legs!  The small luxuries.  After nap and my shower we headed out for lunch at an Indian restaurant.  After lunch Michael drove to the mall where I had stated I wanted to buy a pair of jeans for my birthday and Michael was going to oblige.  As we park and start getting out Zeke says,  "I am kind of tired."  I look at Michael and we decided that the mall would be open later, let's go home and nap... if Zeke is saying he is tired then he must be!
Once home we get all three boys down for naps and I leave to go to the mall by myself.  That was kind of a treat!  I walk directly into the store that I wanted to, found the jeans, went to the dressing room to try them on and .... could it be the color that I want does not have my size!  Ugh!  My initial thought was, "whose stupid idea was it to go jean shopping on their birthday anyway?"  But heck I got out and there was a store across town that had my size.  I came home knowing that the boys would be waking up soon and didn't want to be gone too long.  Once the boys woke up I got them settled on the couch with a little snack and I was planning to head out and conquer the jean issue. 
Oh little did I know...
Ki began throwing up.  He covered himself, the couch, the carpet and Michael was gagging something fierce.  I got Ki upstairs to the shower and began cleaning up the couch and had Michael start cleaning the floor. 
Hoping that it was a one time thing I brush it off and try to pretend like my birthday was not going to be spoiled by one barfing session.  Silly me - it was not just one, it was like four times and then Riah joined in on the fun too.  Needless to say my carpets are cleaned, my couch cushions are super cleaned and I think by about four the next morning we were done with the top end for both boys. 
Sunday was spent home strapped since we had sick kids.  I ventured out at one point to the local cloth diaper store to pick up a few back-ordered items of mine. 
Monday morning (aka - today) I was awakened by Ki at four.  He thought it was time to wake up and I was none to happy as I am sure you can imagine.  By six this morning I kicked him out of my bed and told him to leave me alone.  By six thirty Riah was awake and I heard a lot of noise coming from the boys bathroom.  A smell quickened my departure from bed... needless to say the boys bathroom got a thorough bleaching, the carpets outside the bathroom got cleaned and then Ki spent some time in the shower too!  Oh the joys of sick kids!
After getting everything cleaned from our morning mess Riah and I headed to downtown Denver to have some tests done on him.  I got back home by ten and Michael was off to work - a little reluctant due to the fact that Ki's bug seemed to catch him too. 
Now, here it is a quarter to four and all three boys are napping and it is getting cold outside and I feel a nap coming on myself.  So off to catch a few zs before evening routines are in full swing.

One of them days

You know those days that you have to remind yourself of how much you love your children by chanting it in a mantra?  Yep, "I love my children, I love my children, I love my children."  Today was one of those days! 
If I make it through Riah's teething and Ki's refusal to use the toilet for number two than it is only by the grace of God.  UGH!  Riah has four teeth sprouting and he has been a mess, he does not want to eat because his gums hurt and he just wants to be held.  To top it off my new shoulder cream is snot of Riah - yuck, I know but it is true.  Then there is my lovely little man Ki.... Grrrr!  This kid is frustrating the heck out of me. 
We began potty training the end of July I believe and he is about 80% toilet trained for number one and about 5% toilet trained for number two.  I tried to train him the same way I did Zeke, that was an utter failure.  I tried letting him take charge and that worked for a while but then went to the way side.  I have tried yelling and screaming, that works for a good shock value but that is about it.  I have tried be soft and gentle and understanding.  Needless to say I have tried everything.  Today I hit my limit!  I was sending him to the bathroom every five minutes around the time that he normally goes number two.  And in between one of them I see him in the backyard standing very still filling his pants... let me just say the devil mom came out!  Sakes alive child! 
Michael gets home as I am cleaning up the mess and asks how my day was.  I had nothing else to say than, "Your son just *&^&% in his pants, how do you think my day was?"  Then Michael proceeds to tell me that it is unacceptable that he is doing that and what I am doing to change it.  OOOOOOHHHHH, if I had my magical wand I would wave it over him and we would be done with it.  I have tried everything.  Yes, I know that he will not go to kindergarten not being potty trained but I am not sure I will last much longer, or for that matter I know Michael will not last that much longer and Ki's bottom will need some good cushions because it is getting red from spankings.
Here it is 7:30 and Riah is in bed and Zeke and Ki are watching a movie so that I can have some down time since Michael is at school tonight... I am wishing for an early bedtime, I am thinking when the movie is done I am saying it is night time!  I can do it, I can make it another forty minutes!   

Prefold to Fitted

I have been toying around with the idea of taking a few of my prefolds and making them into fitted diapers.  Our church nursery has said that they don't mind changing cloth diapers as long as they are either all in ones or fitted and easy to put on.  I have been purchasing disposies for church/nursery purposes to just make things easier. 
All in ones are too expensive and I really like the system that I use for cloth diapers.  I was in my local cloth diaper store two weeks ago exchanging some of my newborn prefolds and I saw that they had some fitted diapers but only in newborn.  I asked if they carried any of the fitteds in large and was informed that they don't.  It got me thinking after looking at the fitted that I could probably make them myself. 
I spent some time researching a few methods and decided on one of them today.  If you are interested in converting some of your prefolds into fitteds here is the best method I found.
I will admit there were a few times I was rather frustrated because my machine was having troubles getting through all the layers but I did complete one (I have seven more I want to make). 

Sorry that it is sideways, my computer is having troubles!  Anyway, as you can see I just took one of my regular diapers (2x4x2) and it is a used one.  I just put Riah in it before he laid down for nap time and it seems to fit him well. 
One down, seven more to make!

Bottomless Pit

I have jokingly said that Riah is a bottomless pit because that kid can eat!  His food budget a week is $35.  He will chow down on three cans of food at a sitting.  Feeling like I was being a little lazy on the food front for him a week ago I decided that I would make him some food myself and see how it went.  I spent a Sunday afternoon making some sweet potatoes and some apple pear sauce.  I packaged everything up in nice little containers and put some in the fridge and some in the freezer. 

See... so the first thing he tried were the sweet potatoes and I kid you not he grabbed it out of his mouth and threw it on the tray.  Seriously kid!  All I put in them was some butter, nothing else.  I figured it was just an off day.  The next day I tried giving them to him again, and he made the most awful face.  Needless to say it took him a while and he finally after the second day took them without a problem. 

Needless to say I think that until this kid can figure out that I won't poison him I think our food budget for him will be a little high.  It takes too much work to make food that he won't eat.  Thankfully Zeke loved the apple pear sauce and Ki liked the sweet potatoes so everything is almost gone and Riah is sticking with good ole Gerber.

Sick Babies

Well after a weekend of me being sick it looks like I might have a week of sick kids.  Before even eight this morning Riah had thrown up and Ki had a fever.  Zeke had a fever last night and tummy troubles.  So it seems that this week will be spent snuggled on the couch watching movies.  Not my most favorite thing to do but I figure since all three of them are laying on the couch that they must not feel well.  Just last week I was talking to Michael about cutting their television watching time to two hours a week and I think in the past four days they have had waaaay more than that.  I guess it is the season for it, the crud and cuddling time.  None of them seem to have strep but just the yuck.  We will see, hopefully if they do come down with something more serious it happens in the next two days cause heaven knows I don't want to spend Thanksgiving in the ER with the boys.  Michael and I were talking about Thanksgiving this year and I think we have decided that we are going to just have it be the five of us snuggled in jammies watching the parade football and maybe just a small turkey to smoke.  I guess being that we have the crud it gives us an added excuse to make things small and simple!

Phew!

Well Thursday went from a good day to a horrible day.  Thursdays are always fun in little world because I either have bible study or MOPS and this week it was MOPS.  I always love MOPS - I love the group of ladies and look forward to it.  I left MOPS and came home got the boys down for a nap and took a shower and then I got out of the shower and as I was brushing my hair it was hurting - you know you're in bad shape when your hair hurts.  I decided to lay down for a little bit and while laying down everything was all out of proportions - like the room was spinning and I felt really small.  I knew I was not going to hold it together.  I got up and tried to trick myself out of feeling crummy but it was all in vein. 
By the time Michael got home I fell apart.  I had to call my dear friend Stacey and tell her I was going to be a no show for our meeting that night and then I curled up on the couch and fell asleep (mind you it was five thirty).  I went up to my bed around eight and slept until midnight and then tossed and turned with everything spinning and my body ached. 
I woke up early Friday morning and couldn't even open my mouth my tongue was swollen and my throat was so swollen.  In the three years we have lived here I have only gone to the doctor for baby related stuff and I knew I needed to go to the doctor.  Michael called in and said he had to stay home and help me.  He drove me to the doctor and five minutes later I was declared strep throat infected and was given antibiotics and steroids. 
I spent all day Friday sleeping - literally!  I slept through the night and woke up this morning feeling a little more human.  Thank God for antibiotics!  Sakes I was feeling like I might die and today I feel soooo much better.
So not only did I have to bail on my Thursday meeting but I also had to back out of the craft fair today.  I was super bummed however my neighbor came over yesterday and picked everything up and sold my stuff for me.  And, unfortunately for her that was all she sold - just my stuff.  She got there at eight thirty in the morning and sold $45 of my stuff and nothing of hers.  My take away was $20 after I paid my portion of the table and taxes.  It is something but I feel more bad for my neighbor than anything. 
Well now I better get back to life.  Thankfully I have the best husband in the world and not only did he take off yesterday but he did it with a smile.  He made me cups of tea and brought them to me.  Even this morning he swept and mopped the floors.  I have a cute sight to share... I was getting myself a cup of tea this morning and while standing in the kitchen I watched Michael pick up Riah and hold him on his side while mopping... it was such a cute picture and I would have snapped one but I was too busy taking it in myself.  Like I said - best husband ever! 

Not sure how it happened?

I am not quite sure how it is that I got the three cutest little boys in the whole world... but here they are!

Boots and Jeans

Okay - I am going to spare those that are not interested, this is going to talking about fashion.  Well at least what is out there and how impossible it is for the average person (aka - me) to pull it off.
You have all seen them (well everyone except those living under a rock) the ladies sporting cute boots over their jeans.  I have two pairs of boots and four pairs of jeans and I cannot pull it off.  I wind up looking like an oompa loompa and that I am afraid is not cute or attractive.
Please help me - do I have the wrong boots?  The wrong jeans? Or just simply the wrong body type to try and pull it off?  I won't be offended if the answer is the later - cause that is the resolution that I have come up with.  I will let you come over to my house and educate me because I truly think it is a cute look I just don't think I can pull it off.

Christmas Wish List 2011

So for the last two years I have written a Christmas Wish List and every year I seem to get everything on it.  Here is another year of trying - I may be tempting fate but it is well worth the try, right?
The top of the list is of course a camera... I am currently down to just one camera.  The one that my parents bought me the Christmas after I got married finally went to electronic heaven.  I guess five years in electronic life is a lot!
Next would be a laptop... again the laptop that my parents bought for me the Christmas after I got married has become a glorified desktop computer.  It cannot be unplugged, if it gets unplugged I get the black screen of death. 
Another thing would be the iPod nano.  I mean seriously can it be any cuter?  However my lovely husband has been throwing around the idea of letting me get an iPhone and if that is the case then I don't need this.  The thing that is holding him up I think is the whole data plan business - kind of freaking him out!
Gheesh... I have some big ticket items on my wish list.  Guess I am just going to have to sit back and wish away.
Here are a few pictures of Zeke and Ki with the infamous Christmas catalogs that come in the mail.  Couldn't help but snap a few...

For every black there is a brown

Okay, maybe it is just me but a week or so ago I started looking through my shoes when I was sorting for Soles for Souls and I realized how sick me shoe purchasing habits are. 
Number one sick shoe purchasing habit:  Since I have been married (fiver years on the 12th of November) I have not purchased any shoes - well that is not entirely true, I have purchased two pairs of running shoes that I don't run in but walk in! :-)  See there is some color there... well sort of!

Number two sick shoe purchasing habit:  For every black pair of shoes there is a brown pair of shoes. 
See what I mean:

Is there something wrong with me?  I mean seriously I lined up all my shoes and for every black there was a brown pair.  Granted the browns range from tan to chocolate but there they are.  Now I do have a confession... those two pairs of clogs right above here are new.  I have been eying new pairs of shoes since I have worn holes in some and I found these Land's End clogs 45% off and so I bought two... spent $75 on two pairs of clogs rather than one pair of Danskos which everyone says are wonderful - I just have a hard time swallowing $145 for a pair of shoes. 

TAG

Well, five years ago on Saturday Michael and I celebrated our anniversary.  On Friday night Michael made reservations at a restaurant in downtown Denver called tag.  It was neat to get out, get dressed up and spend some time just the two of us.  I got the boys fed dinner and then our friend Emily came over to watch all three boys.  It was the first time that Riah had ever been babysat and I will admit I was a little nervous leaving him - not for his sake but for her sake!  We drove down to the restaurant and got valet parking.  We arrived a little before our reservations so we walked down the street and pretended to be young people without a care in the world (I mean forgetting that we have three little ones at home).  It was fun!  We made our way back to the restaurant and checked in.  The hostess asked if we would mind eating at the chef's counter?  I looked at Michael, knowing what his answer was going to be and smiled and said of course!  It was such a fun night.  It was neat to be sitting right there at the counter where food is being plated to be served.  It was neat to have the chefs right there talking to us, showing us the plates and letting us sample various things.  It was a show in itself.  I will say that making my food choices was really hard - one because the food all sounded amazing but two because I was wanting to see all the food before I made my choice.  We had some of the best foods I have ever had.  For sure that date night will go down in the books at the top of the list!  So if you are looking for a fun night out I highly suggest it!

Fall Leaves

It is that time of year... yes, we did already have snow but it has long melted and today it was a high of 68.  I sent the boys to the back yard with some rakes and took advantage of the picture opportunities.  As I ran in the house to grab my camera I did get mocked by Michael... "You can't let them do a single thing without getting pictures?!?!"  My simple answer was "Well DUH!"

Comments

Okay so thanks to the fact that my friend broke her big toe she has been home playing around on her blog and she found a better way to do comments.  I downloaded the "thing a ma gig" and so let's see how it all works.  Here is her post on the whole comments stuff so if you are interested in getting a better comment system for your blog all compliments go her direction! 
Katie's blog on Comments

Random Ramblings

Okay, I am going to warn you... there is no flow to the items that are going to be written here.  There have been so many things that have been bouncing around my head that I have been meaning to write down for your enjoyment, although most of them are one and two sentence things and it would be pure silliness for me to do a post designated to each rambling... so this will be a jumble of things.
Yeah, after two and a half weeks of being without my car I got it back last night!  I will say that although the rental was nice and had a little more power than mine, not having the side boards was a pain in the butt with Zeke and Ki.
Last night I got in the mail a flier for a local dealership asking me to bring in my 2008 Acadia and get a 2012 for the same monthly price... That is a joke and a half!  After an hour of hanging out at the dealership this afternoon they quoted me for the same exact model that we have with everything that mine has in a 2012 a monthly payment of $800... let me just say, we are not paying that a month now and there is no way I would trade in for that hefty monthly payment!
Yesterday, the boys and I had to run a few errands and one of them happened to be Safeway.  A little side note to this... I spent $9.32 and saved $13.49 - not bad eh?  So anyway, back to our Safeway trip - We were in the produce aisle and Zeke asked me if we could buy his favorite apples.  I told him that if he could find them we could.  My little man, marched up to the produce stoker and asked him, "Where are my favorite apples?"  The man looked at me and asked me what are his favorite apples?  I told him and he showed Zeke to them.  On so many levels my heart was soaring... I know that sounds silly but it is sooooo true!  Zeke went to the current person to ask.  He spoke clearly enough for the person to understand.  And he was a big boy about the entire situation! 
Onto another story... Ki has been doing so well talking.  Last week when I picked up Ki from preschool his teacher said that he used three, three word sentences on his own for her.  That is huge.  Up until that point he had not said anything on his own, what I mean is that he would speak but only after the teacher asked him to repeat.  He is doing so great on his speech.  Today we were driving around and I let him bring his computer in the car and it says a word that belongs to a letter on the key pad - so he was pushing the letter "K" and it was saying "K is for Kangaroo", Ki was repeating kangaroo.  He was saying it so clear it was neat.  Another time, yesterday, we were driving in the car and Zeke was talking to me and I told him that I was not understanding what he was saying and Ki said, "Ezekiel what you mean?"  It was as clear as a bell! 
I am so proud of both of my boys and the strides that they have been making in language!  I never realize how far behind they are until I hear kids their ages or younger talking and I understand them, however I am seeing such huge improvement it is hard not to grin on the inside!
Riah bug is getting so big!  In the last few days he has learned how to go down the stairs and thinks that he is the big cheese!  He has mastered the going up but with the new knowledge of going down too has made him even more independent!  Two nights ago we got out the walker for him and he was not too hip on the idea but yesterday and today he has been cruising behind it.  I am thinking that we may have a walker by the middle of December!  I will keep you posted on that.
Tonight Michael and I are going on our second date in the last year!  Our last date was when a friend of ours watched Zeke and Ki for us while I was in the hospital so that Michael and I could spend some time together and talk about what had been going on.  So tonight is our first date in a long time - well over due!  Our friend Emily is going to watch the three boys tonight.  It will be the first time that Riah has been watched by anyone other than Michael and I.  I am nervous for her - Riah is known for his crying.  She came over last night and I explained to her that between seven and seven thirty she can just put him in his crib, close the door and be done with him.  I think I might have scared her, but my thought is - if his diaper is clean and she tried to feed him his night time bottle and wouldn't take it then being in his crib is the safest place for him and for her and the older two! 
Tomorrow is mine and Michael's five year anniversary - hence date night tonight!  I can't believe that we have been married for five years.  There are times that it feels like forever and other times like no time at all.  I will say though that it has been a rocky road but the last two years have been really good!  I love that Kulow more than any thing!
Well, I think that about covers all of my random ramblings!  I have things to get ready for tonight.  I have dinner in the crock pot but have the sides still to make plus get myself dressed.  I told Zeke that mommy and daddy are going on a date tonight and the first thing out of Zeke's mouth was, "Well mom you better do your hair pretty and wear a dress."  So I better get on the ball, because my hair is a grease ball and I don't think my jeans and t-shirt will do!

Nap Time Craftings

I have been busy during nap time crafting away.  

So far I have made:

One lap quilt

One purse

Nine key fob/chains

Ten paci leashes

Twenty one fax seed owie packs

Twenty one hair things... headbands and clips

Twelve burp rags

And Six sassy string scarves.

Here are a few pictures of my creations minus the scarves (forgot about them...)

I am thinking that the price for these range from $3 to $1

I think $3 is a fair price?

$5...

I am thinking of doing a single price for one and then a discounted price for two or more... $3 for one or 2 for $5...

I think $15 or $20 is fair?...

I am thinking of doing the same thing with these are the burp rags... $3 for one or $5 for two

$20 -$25...

I was telling a friend today that although it would be nice to get some money out of these things that I have been crafting, for me I am simply getting pleasure out of spending some time by myself creating.  I have enjoyed looking through sites and such and finding stuff that I think looks neat and then sitting down and making it.  There is something to be said about that!  My friend reminded me that this is way cheaper than a weekly visit to a psychologist... amen!  There is definitely some personal therapy that comes from some along time at my desk with my sewing machine!
So looking at what I have and the prices that I have "tentatively" put under each of the items - do you think those are fair prices?  Like I said I am not trying to make bank here, just trying to clean out my closet of some of my creations.  Let me know, please!  I am going to talk to my neighbor to see if in fact she signed us up for the craft fair on the 19th and if she didn't then well I have been invited to a friend's house where she is having a little Christmas selling gathering on December 4th...  So maybe I will get some of this out of my house and make a little cash at the same time?!?!

Friends Blogs

Okay I know that most of the people that read my blog are family and close friends that want to know the scoop on the Kulow family - so if this is not something you are interested in then skip...
I personally don't have much time to sit down and read a book or let alone a magazine, that is just life!  I do however have a fun iPad app called Flipboard and I have linked up with google reader on it and in the evenings I can be found laying in my bed with my iPad on my lap catching up on my friends blogs.  There are a few that I would love to highlight if you are interested and too looking for quick reads.
One is a MOPS friend named Katie, she is hilarious - she is a stay at home mom of two little ones that are the same ages as my two olders and she has discovered the fun world of running.  Now for me I have always said that the only time I will run is if I am being chased and even then I would have to stop and think about if it was really worth it.  I will say that after reading her blog I feel inspired to try trotting.  Her blog can be found by following this link. 
Another blog that I have recently been reading is another MOPS friend named Melissa, she is the Christian Martha Stewart.  Okay maybe I am overstating, but she does a lot of really cute crafts, meals and fun stuff around her house with her family.  I had to "yell" at her for getting inspired to want to "cutsie up" my house this past week.  Her blog can be found by following this link. 
Another blog that I enjoy reading is from a San Diego friend... She too is a Christian Martha Stewart.  She has a lot of cute ideas that she does around her house and I always love how she follows everything up with the simplicity of everyday life.  Her blog can be found by following this link.
Another blog that I have on my reader is from a friends from San Diego.  I think I enjoy this one the most from the aspect that I knew Sara when we were in junior high school and I still see her junior high face instead of her grown up face.  It is hard for me to think of Sara as anything other than the fifth grade girl who never brushed her hair, always had a San Diego Padres shirt on and always knew the stats of her beloved baseball team.  Moving along, this blog is a great tool for Saving Money and Living Joyfully...
Well I hope that you enjoy some of these blogs as much as I do!

A Little Advertising...

One of my MOPS friends is hosting a giveaway on her blog... you should "head" over there and check it out.  I am always game for fun giveaways. 

Domestic

Today was one of the rare days that I have been a domesticated lady.  Granted I was not wearing heels and a pearl necklace - Thank you June Cleaver, but heck I am wearing a non-maternity waisted pant and a decent looking sweater with a real bra under and not just a shelf tank (so I got dressed for real today). 
Today I dropped off Ki at preschool and Zeke, Riah and I came home.  Zeke and I talked for a little bit then he went and played in the snow in the backyard while I got Riah down for his morning nap. 
While Riah napped Zeke and I made Chex Puppy Chow and Cookie Dough.  Then Zeke and I went to the basement and while he played I ironed my stack of clothes that have been holding down my ironing board and got a load of laundry in. 
We picked up Ki from school and then came home and made lunch.  While the boys were eating their lunches I baked three dozen cookies.  After lunch I sent all three boys up for nap time. 
While they napped I cleaned out my shoe cubbies and the boys shoe basket to donate to Soles for Souls.  Then I made dinner - Turkey Pot Pie, it is sitting on the counter waiting to go in the oven.  Then as the boys were waking up from their naps I washed the dishes that have been sitting on the counter due to the fact that I am currently out of dish soap for the washer so - hand wash it was.  Now I am doing another load of laundry and Zeke is watching Looney Toons and Ki, Riah and I are in the basement. 
A pretty domestic day if I say so myself!  Although I am not going to fully pat myself on the back until dinner is out of the oven, on the table and Michael says it is good. 

Pumpkins Please

Last night the boys and I dug into their pumpkins.  It was kind of funny the difference between the two boys... Zeke was digging in with both hands up to his elbows, Ki on the other hand was picking out the seeds that could easily be grabbed from the top with his two pinching fingers.  Here are a few pictures from our pumpkin night. 

That is Zeke saying "Pumpkin"

The dainty seed getter

The all in seed getter

The seed separation, Ki did a lot of directing while Zeke did a lot of goop playing.

My first attempt at ever carving a pumpkin... Not too bad if I say so myself.

A little side note:  With all the seeds that we got I cooked them up with this recipe that I found off of pinterest.  I did everything that it said but added a little allspice to it too.  Everyone really enjoyed the snack!

Last Visit of the Year

Twice a year the boys and I head over the hills and through the valley to Grandma Joan's house.  This time Michael joined us as it is has been a few years since he had last seen his mom.  Our trip was nice, kind of a bummer it was so cold because the boys didn't get to run and roam like they usually do but we had to push back our trip so that Michael could make it.  Here are a few pictures.