Happy Halloween Everyone!
I hope that everyone enjoyed the day. Addie was cute as a black cat. They didn't do anything at school for Halloween but at story hour the kids had a Halloween parade around the library before they sat down to read books. The kids where all adorable in their costumes.
Addie was very excited about going trick or treating in the evening. She practiced what to say before hand which as soooo cute! Michael took her while I stayed to hand out candy. Our neighborhood is apx. 80% childless homes with most of them being seniors in their mid 70s or older. With these kind of numbers I was not sure what to expect. Well, Addie and Michael where able to find 6 houses within walking distance which works for a 4 yr old, even if she thought that was not enough. While at home I only had one kid come to the door and it was Addie! So that was a little disappointing. Michael said that one of the ladies had told him that she had 9 kids come by her house and she was located on a busy corner.
After Michael and Addie got back she showed me all her yummy candy. Then we had her put it up and Michael and Addie made popcorn together. They cuddled up in their pjs while they ate popcorn and watched The Great Pumpkin (Charlie Brown) movie. Addie loved every minute of her daddy time and enjoyed a happy low key Halloween.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
Pre-Halloween Fun
Halloween is here! On Saturday Addie had a Halloween party at school. Everyone had a great time as the kids had a chance to play games, dance and visit. It also gave Michael and I a chance to meet some of the other parents of Addie's classmates.
After the party we dropped "Cookies the Cat" (Addie) off at her friend's house. Her friend's teenage sister babysit the two girls while Michael and I went out for a couple hours. It was nice to just get away for some quiet time. We went to the South Bend Chocolate Company for some hot chocolate and dessert. The girls of course had a great time playing. When we got back the had made a tent over Moria's bed and where playing in there with a flashlight.
On Sunday we had a last minute visit from my parents. Addie was very surprised to see them at the airport. I'm still not sure why she didn't figure out why she went to the airport trick or treating! But that's okay since everyone enjoyed the surprise. She loved playing with them and was sad to see them leave. That evening we went to our neighbor's house for a Halloween gathering. Our neighbors have a granddaughter Addie's age. The girls are very close friends and this gave them a chance to spend some time together all dressed up. We had a fun Halloween dinner with yummy desserts. The kids loved playing and talking about their costumes.
After the party we dropped "Cookies the Cat" (Addie) off at her friend's house. Her friend's teenage sister babysit the two girls while Michael and I went out for a couple hours. It was nice to just get away for some quiet time. We went to the South Bend Chocolate Company for some hot chocolate and dessert. The girls of course had a great time playing. When we got back the had made a tent over Moria's bed and where playing in there with a flashlight.
On Sunday we had a last minute visit from my parents. Addie was very surprised to see them at the airport. I'm still not sure why she didn't figure out why she went to the airport trick or treating! But that's okay since everyone enjoyed the surprise. She loved playing with them and was sad to see them leave. That evening we went to our neighbor's house for a Halloween gathering. Our neighbors have a granddaughter Addie's age. The girls are very close friends and this gave them a chance to spend some time together all dressed up. We had a fun Halloween dinner with yummy desserts. The kids loved playing and talking about their costumes.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Addie's First Field Trip
Today Addie went on her first field trip. She was very excited about it and I think that the trip lived up to her expectations. She was most excited about getting to ride in the school bus. That in itself was a fun first. Then when we got to the orchard they learned all about making old fashioned apple cider. After they kids tried the apple cider we where able to go for a hayride to the back of the orchard where the kids where each able to pick out their own pumpkin. I've never seen kids make a decision so fast in my life! You would have thought that someone had told them that they were running short on pumpkins. Before Addie and I where even off the wagon there where kids lined up with their pumpkins to get back on. With that kind of pressure Addie picked one out fast then while carrying it around took a good look at some other ones just in case she had not picked the right one. It was a beautiful day and everyone had a great time. Unfortunately my camera is not working so I did not get any photos of today :( Hopefully the camera will be working again soon so I don't miss to many of these great firsts.
Trying to keep warm
Well, it's the end of October and we finally decided to breakdown and start the boiler. Wednesday night after Addie went to bed (thank goodness!) Michael turned the gas on to the boiler and light it. No problems... then I went upstairs and cranked the thermostats up to get the boiler to running and the house a little warmer. As soon as I turned the thermostat in our living room own I heard an explosion sound in the basement and all the electricity browned out. As you can imagine it scared the you know what out of me and went running to the basement screaming for Michael to make sure he was not hurt.
Thank God he was alright. One of the water pumps on the boiler had the motor burn up and there was a bit of smoke in the basement. We turned off the gas and electric to the boiler and called it a night. We all just slept with lots of blankets and toughed out the cold house in the morning. I was able to get a heating guy over here yesterday afternoon to replace the motor. I had the same guy come out who the previous family used. He's a great guy who has been doing this for 30+ years. He was saying that our boiler is the oldest one that he as serviced and that he thinks that it will probably be the only one that he will see make it to 50+ yrs in age. The boiler runs great and has no problems so he thought that we still have a few more years left. That's good to hear!
As most of you know I've been making baby legs. My test pair for my neighbor was a hit. I just made her 7 more pairs yesterday so that she will always have a clean pair for her daughter to wear. She loves them that much. There is another thing you can do with baby legs that is kind of fun and that is to use them on your arms for the older kids. Addie has some t-shirts she just can not give up (like her Girl's Fly one) but with no heat in the house it was to cold to where them by themselves. My solution was to have her wear a pair of Margaret's baby legs on her arms. She loved it! Here are a couple photos Michael took of her with them on.
I need to make a few more for us to use but I have also decided that it would great to make some extra pairs for others. I would like to give the extra pairs to the Sisters that run the Readiness Center and Social Services Programs for Benton Harbor through our Church. It might be helpful for a family on a tight budget to be able to extend the use of their kids clothes during our cold months. If anyone has any gently used ladies knee hi socks, that are not being used, please feel free to send them my way. I'll make them into baby legs/ arm warmers.
Thank God he was alright. One of the water pumps on the boiler had the motor burn up and there was a bit of smoke in the basement. We turned off the gas and electric to the boiler and called it a night. We all just slept with lots of blankets and toughed out the cold house in the morning. I was able to get a heating guy over here yesterday afternoon to replace the motor. I had the same guy come out who the previous family used. He's a great guy who has been doing this for 30+ years. He was saying that our boiler is the oldest one that he as serviced and that he thinks that it will probably be the only one that he will see make it to 50+ yrs in age. The boiler runs great and has no problems so he thought that we still have a few more years left. That's good to hear!
As most of you know I've been making baby legs. My test pair for my neighbor was a hit. I just made her 7 more pairs yesterday so that she will always have a clean pair for her daughter to wear. She loves them that much. There is another thing you can do with baby legs that is kind of fun and that is to use them on your arms for the older kids. Addie has some t-shirts she just can not give up (like her Girl's Fly one) but with no heat in the house it was to cold to where them by themselves. My solution was to have her wear a pair of Margaret's baby legs on her arms. She loved it! Here are a couple photos Michael took of her with them on.
I need to make a few more for us to use but I have also decided that it would great to make some extra pairs for others. I would like to give the extra pairs to the Sisters that run the Readiness Center and Social Services Programs for Benton Harbor through our Church. It might be helpful for a family on a tight budget to be able to extend the use of their kids clothes during our cold months. If anyone has any gently used ladies knee hi socks, that are not being used, please feel free to send them my way. I'll make them into baby legs/ arm warmers.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Fall Colors
Over the past week we have been busy but not to busy to watch the leaves turn to their fall colors. This morning Addie and I had the chance to take one of her school friends along with her mom to Fernwood with us. We spent the morning walking through the gardens and the trails. It was a great chance to slow down and take in the beautiful season. After our walk we enjoyed a picnic lunch. I'll post a few pictures here on the blog but feel free to check more of them out on our Flickr site.
This afternoon Michael's uncle Don, aunt Terri and cousin Kelly came over to pick up a new appliance. The girls had a chance to play while the rest of us where able to get a great visit in. As usual it's never long enough but at least we are close enough to get any visit in!
I know that I have not had a chance to post in a little while so just to update those who are interested... I made a few more baby legs this weekend along with some other sewing projects (Christmas items I can't talk about). I also cut and froze a bunch of fresh herbs from my garden. On Monday Addie and I put up the last of our apples (made apple sauce). She loves it so much she wants to take it to school tomorrow for her special snack to share with her class. This weekend Michael and Addie where busy with building a kitty house for our outside cat. It is almost done. He also finished the new storm doors he installed the previous weekend. He added with the weather striping and did some other little things to them.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Relaxing day at the Circus
We didn't exactly go to the circus but life does some times feel like it is. After not sleep but maybe an hour last night because of back and leg pain I finally decided it was time to go to the chiropractor. I was able to get in right away this morning. It did make a big difference and I know that after a couple more visits I will see even more improvements.
After my appointment I decided that I need to scratch my plans for the day and just relax. Thank goodness it was an absolutely beautiful fall day. After lunch Addie and I got the hammock out and literally spent our entire afternoon in the hammock. We both caught up on sleep and then I enjoyed a couple hours of daydreaming under my beautiful canopy of trees while Addie slept some more.
While I was taking the time to analyze all the branches and leaves in the tree I noticed a bird's nest about 100 feet straight above us. It was no ordinary nest. I had to laugh in amazement. The stories I have been telling Addie are true. I give her pieces of butcher twine to tie to sticks for a cat toy. Her and Brownie (our outside cat) love to play with the twine on the sticks but they always disappear about 3-4 days. She has went through countless toys and is always upset when they get lost. To comfort her I tell her that a bird must have needed the string for their nest. They just picked at the string until it came off and then they flew it way up high to the nest they are making for their babies. It never really comforted her but it did get her to move on to something else.
Looking up at the nest I could see a piece of butcher twine in the nest and then it hung down about 10 inches. Hanging off the end of the twine was her stick. The stick was just dangling in the wind like it is not quite ready to admit that it is not apart of the tree. As I looked and laughed I realized that God must have a good sense of humor when he lets a cat toy become a permanent part of a bird's nest. (The photo below is of the nest)
After our relaxing afternoon all three of us rushed off to the circus! Okay, it really was just the library but they had a wonderful children's program on the circus. Addie loved the circus books. Her and her friend had to sit right in front of the librarian. No one could be between them. It was like they had been sucked up into the book and was in their own world. After the books they had the chance to "practice" being in the circus and play circus games. As the other kids ran off to get prizes from the games Addie and her friend where running over to the face painting table. Addie became a clown and her friend became a lion. After that they started practicing all their circus acts. They had a great time. They finally decided to try the games but where really not that into it. It was a very fun time for all of us. I would even say that it might be one of the funnest circuses that we will go to as a family.
After my appointment I decided that I need to scratch my plans for the day and just relax. Thank goodness it was an absolutely beautiful fall day. After lunch Addie and I got the hammock out and literally spent our entire afternoon in the hammock. We both caught up on sleep and then I enjoyed a couple hours of daydreaming under my beautiful canopy of trees while Addie slept some more.
While I was taking the time to analyze all the branches and leaves in the tree I noticed a bird's nest about 100 feet straight above us. It was no ordinary nest. I had to laugh in amazement. The stories I have been telling Addie are true. I give her pieces of butcher twine to tie to sticks for a cat toy. Her and Brownie (our outside cat) love to play with the twine on the sticks but they always disappear about 3-4 days. She has went through countless toys and is always upset when they get lost. To comfort her I tell her that a bird must have needed the string for their nest. They just picked at the string until it came off and then they flew it way up high to the nest they are making for their babies. It never really comforted her but it did get her to move on to something else.
Looking up at the nest I could see a piece of butcher twine in the nest and then it hung down about 10 inches. Hanging off the end of the twine was her stick. The stick was just dangling in the wind like it is not quite ready to admit that it is not apart of the tree. As I looked and laughed I realized that God must have a good sense of humor when he lets a cat toy become a permanent part of a bird's nest. (The photo below is of the nest)
After our relaxing afternoon all three of us rushed off to the circus! Okay, it really was just the library but they had a wonderful children's program on the circus. Addie loved the circus books. Her and her friend had to sit right in front of the librarian. No one could be between them. It was like they had been sucked up into the book and was in their own world. After the books they had the chance to "practice" being in the circus and play circus games. As the other kids ran off to get prizes from the games Addie and her friend where running over to the face painting table. Addie became a clown and her friend became a lion. After that they started practicing all their circus acts. They had a great time. They finally decided to try the games but where really not that into it. It was a very fun time for all of us. I would even say that it might be one of the funnest circuses that we will go to as a family.
Week 28
Yesterday I had my 28th week baby appointment. At this appointment they did the lab work to check for diabetes and for anemia. Since I have not received a call yet I'm assuming that all is well with those two issues. The baby's heart beat was strong and she is growing as expected.
Michael was able to put the new chimney caps over the to flues on the roof before we went to the appointment. We where both glad to have it done before the next storm rolls in. Hopefully that will keep us a little drier.
Michael was able to put the new chimney caps over the to flues on the roof before we went to the appointment. We where both glad to have it done before the next storm rolls in. Hopefully that will keep us a little drier.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)