Last Friday's Halloween Fun

For lack of anything exciting ('cause we all know just how EXCITING my life is...) to post about, I am going to do a recap of last Friday's Halloween Fun.

Friday morning, I got the kids all packed up and ready to go to TC Miller Elementary School of Innovation, for Harrison's fun day of pumpkin patch learning. The two 1st grade teachers purchased pumpkins for the two classes and set them up in the fields and had games and fun things set up to do with them. They were on a rotation and all 5 activities had something to do with what they had learned about (line them up smallest-biggest, weighing them, measuring how big, sorting, adding & subtracting), pretty cool way to learn this stuff I am sure for a kid. Then they had a pumpkin roll at the end. Jack and Jenna enjoyed getting out in the sun and watching all the big kids. Here are some photos from the morning.

The two first grade classes at TCM with the "pumpkin patch" in the background.

Jack and Jenna had a blast watching the big kids run all over.

Harrison found the perfect pumpkin.

Station one, lining pumpkins up smallest - largest, etc. Harrison is kneeling to the very right.

Word problems with pumpkins. The kids loved it!

Pumpkin rolling. I am really surprised that these pumpkins made it home in one piece. Some of them weighed as much as 30+ pounds.

After Harrison's class did their thing, I brought the babies home for lunch and naps. My mother in law came to sit with them and I went back to TCM (it is literally 3 minutes away from my house) for Maia's fall party. It was a lot of fun and I was mesmerized by her teacher and how she was able to turn ANYTHING at all into a lesson. Pretty amazing. The kids really seem to love her and respond to her. I was VERY impressed. Good to know they are getting quality education in a public school setting. Here are some photos from her party.

Mrs. Webb's Kindergarten class. Maia is barely visible in this photo.

Mrs. Webb teaching them about ABABAB patterns on the pencil in the goodie bags I made for the class. (the pencils were purple/green striped).

Maia with her popcorn filled glove. You would have thought it was filled with gold...

Maia playing pin the nose on the pumpkin. Since it was close to election day, the class had to vote on each aspect of the pumpkins face. (round vs. triangle eyes, scary mouth or happy mouth, etc.)

Maia in the middle of two of her buddies from class, Paola and Chloe.

That evening it was, of course, time to trick or treat!! I didn't even bother with a camera because mine DOES NOT do night photos worth a darn. Here are a few before we went. Since I already posted about trunk or treating, there is really no need to beat a dead horse. I thought these were funny.

Hannah Montana aka Bailey. I kept this child from the time she was about 1 1/2 and she is now 5 and goes to school with Maia and rides the bus to my house.

Maia as the roaring 20's flapper.

Harrison being scary. Don't worry, the sword is all foam.

He cracked us up running up and down the sidewalk like this.

My little cuties all dressed up and ready to go. By the end of the night, the mask was off, the bandanna was off and I was carrying the sword. Maia had shed her headpiece, and the feather boa. Chris got the honor of carrying those.

And there ya have it folks. Another page out of my exciting life. Come back for more tomorrow!

Things to be Thankful for When Times are Tight

I am in a funk. I made a deposit at the bank only to discover that after $160 is put in, we have $8 of it at our disposal. Gonna be slim pickin's in the Toler house this coming week until Chris gets paid and things won't get too much better then.

After that discovery, I got on the computer to waste some time (that I don't have to waste) and started checking up on my friends son's care page. He is about the same age as my son and he has cancer. They have met several people in NY when there for treatment and several of these children have recently passed away from the cancer. So, I sit here unable to tear myself away from these sites, and try to imagine what these families are going through. It isn't even possible for me to go there.

On that note, even though money is tight, Christmas will be extra slim this year, our jobs are in jeopardy and the country as a whole is knee deep in recession, I find that I am VERY THANKFUL that I have been blessed with my two children and that they are for the most part, healthy and happy. They have their faults, we all do, but I love them good or bad, right or wrong, come hell or high water. I hope and pray that they will remain healthy and that I NEVER have to experience the pain and suffering that I know these families are going through right now. Money, I am sure, is the least of their worries. So go grab your kids and loved ones and hold on tight to them. No one is guaranteed another day on this earth so we have to make the most of it while we are here and together. You just don't know when it will all disappear.

Tonights Post feels more like an Obligation...

Yep, Day 5 into the month long blog thing and I am tired. I think I am not into it right now because of several factors. One being, as of late this afternoon, I am not feeling all that great. Not sure if it is a cold coming on, or just my lovely allergies doing their number on me. Second, I am stressing over my house and the messy state it is in right now and my inability to motivate myself to care enough to lift a finger to correct the problem. Third, WE ARE BROKE! That alone will suck the life out of someone. It is going on the third week now with half my income gone and we are feeling the crunch. I am having to float checks (which is risky business), run behind on bills, be inventive at dinner time, get the MIL to buy me some bread not to mention Santa stuff for Christmas. Stressful times. I always lose kids this time of the year and if it were not for my MIL I don't know that my kids would have ever had a Santa visit. It is just a sucky feeling to be soooo dependent on family when you are 36 years old. Not a good feeling. Rather than dwell on the bad, I am just going to do my obligatory post and go to bed and read a book. I can only hope and pray that easier times are ahead for us stuck in the middle class doldrums. I know it is not just me that is having a hard time. Things can only get better, right???

I will say one other thing... For more insight on the election see this blog my friend Sarah wrote. Sarah, I hope you don't mind!! You took the words right out of my mouth!

****This just in... I just read this from a posted comment on another friends blog (thanks Karen). I thought I would share it as it hits the nail right on its ugly head. I am not really sure if this is "legal" in the blogging world, but it was too good not to have others link to it and read his thoughts.****

I Need to Brag a Little...

I just got back from an all day trip to the allergist with Harrison. He gets shots, and has gotten them since age 4. The symptoms we originally went for had cleared up and we had hoped that he was growing out of his allergies. However, over the past year or so I had noticed that his symptoms had been getting progressively worsed. The eczema had returned in full force, he has been constantly stuffy in the nose and complains of having trouble breathing. The poor kid. Seems to me he is stuck with his momma's allergy problems. I breastfed him until he was a year old so I had hoped that he would escape this problem. The pediatrician told us that because one parent has allergy problems, that he had a 60% chance, even being breastfed, of developing them. Oh well. (I am still a HUGE proponent of Breastfeeding though).

Anyway, today we went back for more testing. The Dr. wanted to see if he had developed new allergies since he was getting worse again. If you have never been for testing or witnessed it being done to someone, it is NO WALK IN THE PARK. First, they come in and do a "scratch" test of sorts. The nurse had this rectangular thing that had 12 needle like things on one side that she fills with the allergen then pokes into the top layer of skin. Doesn't necessarily hurt, but try 60 or so allergens being pushed into the top layer of skin and boy does the itching begin. I have had the testing done myself, three times. It sucks. The itching is unreal. And the worse part is you cannot touch it. I had to do anything in my power to keep Harrison from messing with the places for about 20 minutes or so while the nurses waited the time needed to see if a reaction developed. Poor kid. My heart broke for him. They do this part on the back, so it was at least not easy for him to reach to scratch. From here, they judge if he reacted to the allergen by measuring the amount of redness and how big the welp is. The ones that are small, they then move on to the big guns. Some he reacted to right away, so no need to move forward with those.

The next part is where it got bad. The nurse actually gets the allergen and, using a syringe filled with the liquid allergen, injects it right under the skin until a little pocket type bubble forms. Harrison had a nurse on each arm injecting him this way to the tune of 30 times. He did GREAT until right at the end. You could just see the look on his face changing but he tried so hard to be brave. The nurse finally told him it was ok to scream or cry or whatever he needed to do. Basically, it feels like being stung by bees that many times. No picnic for an adult, much less a child. Poor baby. I just about cried myself when he started. He was SUCH a trooper. The nurses commented on how GREAT he was and that they had seen grown people act worse.

The results showed that he is now allergic to all tree pollens, weed pollens (ragweed, etc), and grass pollens. He is still allergic to cats, though he has developed somewhat of a natural immunity to them, and his mold allergens from the past are gone, but he now has new mold allergens. Yup, just like his momma. No wonder the kid is in a rotten mood all the time. I know exactly how he feels. LIKE CRAP!

They also sent us to the lab across the street for bloodwork. They test to see how much allergen is actually in his bloodstream. This is a new one for me. SO, after all those needles, he had to go have blood drawn to the tune of three vials. Again, not a tear. He even watched. What a trooper. He had all the nurses wrapped by the time we got home. I told him he was the bravest almost 7 year old I have ever met. Like I said, I personally, have seen adults act worse in the same situation.

SO, that is my blog for the day. I just HAD to brag on my brave momma's boy!!

I Will be SOOOOOO Glad...

...when this election is O-V-E-R. Everywhere I look, there is so much discussion going on about each candidate. I guess that is a good thing, and it is a pretty historical election for us. I just don't think things are as black and white as they can be made out to seem. I tend to see LOTS of gray in each topic being discussed this election. Here are some of my favorite campaign issues...

Lets talk about the issue of abortion. Government SHOULD NOT be allowed to decide this for a woman. Now, before you want to lynch me, I in no way condone or support abortion. That being said, I am not wholly opposed to it either. Every situation should be treated individually as it comes about. I simply think a woman should be allowed to decide what her course of action will be. What she decides will ultimately be between her and God on judgement day. It is not my decision, nor the decision of our politicians to be her judge and jury or to tell her she cannot have an abortion. I do know that if my daughter grows up one day, and is laying on an operating table and the Dr. is telling her husband and parents that it is her or the baby, you can bet your ass I am going to choose the life of my daughter. Taking a life is taking a life. If you ban abortion, then my daughter would die. Is that any better than the baby dying?? Banning abortion is all about the rights of the unborn child to live. What about all the innocent children that have died as a result of the war?? Did they not have a right to live?

Now lets talk gay marriages and social security benefits. I DO NOT agree with this at all. I think marriage is between a man and a woman and GOD. Period. That being said, if a couple puts into social security, they should be able to draw out of it. Enough said. Any discussion about being gay being wrong is simply not for me to decide. That again, is between God and said person on judgement day. Me judging them for simply being gay is just as big a sin as being gay.

The War. NEEDS TO END NOW. I support our troops that are fighting the war; that is what they chose to do. BUT the reason we are there in the first place is wrong. Enough said.

The topics of energy and the environment.. We need to find other ways of producing our own rather than relying so much on other countries. It needs to be as green as it can be so my children have a safe and healthy world to grow up in. If the OZONE is gone, do the other issues even matter?

As for the tax breaks being eliminated for companies that move their business overseas?? AMEN to that. Far to many people lose jobs in American because big business is trying to save a buck by exploiting people who will work for cheap and shipping our jobs over to them. Not cool. Not cool at all. Personally, I am quite sick of calling about a bill/complaint/technical issue/etc only to get a non-English speaking person on the other end where the is clearly a communication break down and they have NO IDEA at the opinions and concerns I am trying to convey to them. Companies that strive to keep jobs here should be rewarded, the others, punished.

There ya go. They are the big ones for me. Remember, this is MY OPINION and MY VIEW. Don't go getting all angry with me for expressing them on MY BLOG. Just get out and vote tomorrow for your presidential candidate of choice. Just be sure to know all the facts first.

The Week in Review - posted Sunday Nov. 2, 2008

I have been a slacker posting my photos and blogging about our activities of late. So, here ya go. The week in review, one week behind, one day at a time. (Hey, i gotta have something to blog about if i am going to post a blog a day.) Maybe by the end of the month I will be on real time.

Sunday, Oct. 26 Trunk or Treating - Seems to be popular with churches all over. Pretty fun and safe for the kids. Our church has made it a tradition every year now for several years and this year, we got in on the action. Per Harrison's request, we decorated our trunk as a "Dungeon". Imagine that... a tricked out mini van. Funny. Seems like others had similar ideas as us. Maybe it is because we all shopped at the dollar tree for our decorative items? I may have to step it up a notch next year. Some were very basic, and some were very cool. Regardless, all the kids and adults had a great time.

Our Spooked Out Mini-Van. I could have just opened up the side doors and let people see the "real" inside. That probably would have been scary too!!

Mr. Bones and a little black crow. I LOVE the Dollar Tree for this type of thing!!

Church friend dressed as Sharpae from High School Musical, and my little flapper girl.

Harrison dressed as the Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirate Skeleton. Pretty scary!

The prettiest Flapper I have ever seen. Her granddad taught her the "flapper" dance, but she wouldn't perform it. I wish I had granddad on video doing it though!

Witches Potions at one of the other Cars. Pretty cool. She had a table full and all sorts of food with a spooky theme to it.

Eyeball grapes, chocolate body part, bone candles and a witches brew complete with dry ice making it look extra spooky.

Harrison and his dad. He had shed the mask at this point. Can't say that I blame him. It looked awfully hot.

The spider on my shirt was a sticker. I had them stuck all over the outside of the van.

I have no idea what is up with the looks on the faces in this photo.
Maybe they didn't get enough candy???

At one point, Maia climbed in the car because she was cold. I kept hearing wrappers being torn open, so I snuck up on her and opened the door and this is what I saw. She looks SOOOOOO busted in this photo. Of course, I didn't care she was eating her candy for dinner, I just thought it was funny. The girl is a candy freak. Halloween is definitely her thing.

NaBloPoMo - Yeah, We'll See

I signed up for NaBloPoMo as a challege from my friend, Sarah. See, I am ADDICTED to facebook and somehow my blog has fallen by the wayside because of it. SO, in an effort to jump start my blog again, I took the challenge and signed up. You have to post everyday for the month of November. A photo, a sentence, just something. My life is so thrilling most days I may have a hard time coming up with even one sentence most days. It should be an interesting month.