Day 3

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A weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's

We headed up for a weekend of fun at Grandma and Grandpa's. Since we will be out of town for Thanksgiving, Grandma outdid herself and made a huge meal and we ate WAY too much. It was a gorgeous weekend with plenty of sun and warmth. We played football, drove Grandpa's truck, went on a nature walk, hunted for acorns, sand songs, did handstands on the couch, and shared lots of smiles and laughs; which is always the case at Grandma's and Grandpa's!!

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11 days

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Mine for 4 years

My Miracle

My Chunky Monkey

My Crab

My Gardener

My Play

My Thought

My Imagination

My Everything

My Love

Happy Birthday Zaiden! Its been an amazing, incredible and very fast 4 years. You are my Oak tree. You are my life!!! Forever and always my baby you'll be!

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Germs be gone

Yes, its flu season, and although I've had the dreaded H1N1 crap, the boys haven't yet (knock on wood) or they have and are just too busy being boys to let it bring them down. Anyway, in my search for a all natural "Lysol", because I hate the thought of spraying pure chemicals in my house (especially when it says on the can to not inhale) I found this GREAT site to make my own anti bacterial disinfectant! Check it out and I guarantee you will find yourself buying some oils and spray bottles. Enjoy!

PepperPaints

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Happy Halloween

Oh how I love Halloween. The decorating, the colors, the sounds, the smells and the parties. The hours spent sewing and cooking up yummy treats. Crunching through leaves, the crisp air and little voices saying "trick or treat". By far.......this is my favorite holiday and favorite time of year.

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Excuses

I was recently told (in nice terms) that I was being lazy with my blog. Yes, I have, haven't I? However, in my defense, I've been mucho sick and doing way too much of this:

and living off of:

and for the past few days have been stuck behind this:

and making this:

the most scrumptious candy popcorn on the planet for little kids (altho I ate my share too).

If you love candy popcorn, you must try this recipe. It is sooooo yummy!

Pumpkin Spice Candy Corn
3-4 oz of popped popcorn (I use a colander to remove unpoped kernels)
2 cups unwrapped pumpkin spice Hershey kisses (found at Target) if you can't find the kisses- use 1 cups of butterscotch chips
6 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees, place popped popcorn onto large rimmed cookie sheet that has been sprayed with Pam.
2. Put kisses, butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt in saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until mix comes to a light boil. Remove from stove and pour over popcorn. Gently stir and coat the popcorn evenly. Bake in oven for 30 minutes and don't forget to stir every 15 minutes or so.
3. Remove from oven and pour on wax paper. Break into peices and ENJOY!!!!

Stayed tuned for a spooky post tomorrow. Happy haunting!!!

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Let the wild rumpus start!!!!!

A great book!
An even greater movie!

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Fall yummy!

Have you tried Dunkin Donuts famous Pumpkin Muffin?

If not- its a must!

Then run home and make these. I have hit the jackpot with this recipe as it is EXACTLY like the muffins from DD. Infact, I think they are better. Better because I actually know whats in them, and obviously better because I made them! ha!

Ingredients:
1 box of spice cake
1 29oz can Pumpkin Pie Mix (altho I used just pumpkin puree)
1 3.4 oz box vanilla pudding
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. sour cream
1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 c. brown sugar

DIRECTIONS:
mix cake mix, pumpkin, pudding and vanilla
Add sour cream, eggs, oil, spice
Once combined scoop into lined cupcake cups (I used the texas muffin tin for these trying to copy DD as much as possible). sprinkle each one with brown sugar. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 30 min or until toothpick comes out clean

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Thick Fog

Its been almost 2 weeks into school and between fighting my eyes to open earlier and getting the boys ready, lunches packed, notes signed, doctor appointments and oh yeah......my other million things I have to do every day; my poor blog has suffered dearly. I have a thousand and one pictures to upload. A million more thoughts to share and hopefully I will get to all that in the days to come.

This week I have really been struggling to stay positive. Some personal issues have me sinking. Treading water with bricks tied to my ankles. We all have those weeks where we think that it can't possibly get any worse. In the midst of the negative fog that is floating motionless around me, I find solace in gratitude. I've started spending a few minutes each night writing down things I'm grateful for. Its difficult to do when the fog is so thick and hard to see through, but its helping break up the negativity. A whole week writing down a few things each night and I'm finally able to see a little clearer.

I will share some of my gratitude's in the days to come, but try it. Its amazing what focusing on things you are grateful for can do for your sight.

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Kindergarten's first step

I wonder what you're doing right now

and if everyone is treating you kind

I hope there is a special person

a nice friend that you can find

I wonder if the teacher knows just

how special you are to me

and if the brightness of your

heart is something she can see

I wonder if you are thinking about

me and if you need a hug

I already miss the sound of your

voice and how you give me leg a tug

I wonder if you could possibly understand

how hard it is for me to let you grow

on this day know that my heat breaks

for this is the first step in letting my baby go

-Wendy Silva

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5 years ago

....my life changed forever

My heart melted to the floor when I first held my newborn son

and as I celebrate his birth today,

my heart still melts

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIG BOY!

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Doesn't this picture look exactly what summer should look like? Yes, I can almost feel the warmth, the haze, the sticky sweet of what August should be.

But not in Michigan.

More like this


Cold, cloudy and rainy!

Where is summer????

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Family visit

July also brought a very special visit from Jon's oldest sister, Justine, and her awesome family. They blessed us with their spirit for 4 days. We swam, went to the nature center, headed to the "po-dunk" county fair and enjoyed Castaway Cafe (a huge indoor jungle gym). But mostly we hung out and enjoyed each others company. Life was simple, and smiles and laughs came easy. We miss them greatly and love them dearly!

Jon and his Sissy

At the fair (where someone- I won't name names, had their very first elephant ear)

All the Cousins

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