Pumpkin Pickin'

My husband is obsessed with carving pumpkins. Ever year his dedication to his creations grows. Last year he carved 7 pumpkins...seriously seven, so I though for sure he would let a few go this year. In fact not only did we get 7 pumpkins to carve we even got an 8th pumpkin! Here I thought he had learned his lesson after staying up till almost midnight the night before Halloween trying to complete his masterpieces. You know boys...they never listen to reason. Because Wayne likes to wait so long to get the pumpkins so they don't rot out, we didn't go pick them out till yesterday. The very cute pumpkin farm had about 30 pumpkins, and my picky pumpkin picker(AKA Wayne) was not impressed. Instead we headed to a impromptu pumpkin stand set up off a very busy road. I was a little bit scared to let Zach run around there, but he proved that he has more than just his Dad's dimples yesterday. He too was absolutely obsessed with the pumpkins! He just kept running around touching them, trying to pick them up, and calling "Momma pumpkin!", and "Dada pumpkin!" he was adorable. Don't take my word for it, see for yourself: (Please ignore the egg sized bump on Zach's forehead. On his 2nd to last day of daycare, he decided to take a header off of a slide)


Pickin' out the big pumpkins for Dada:

Here he is trying to pick up a giant pumpkin. I think Zach thinks he's BAM BAM:

Wayne and Zach then took turns chasing each other in order to find the best pumpkins:

I mean seriously, just look at these two boys, can you even tell who looks more excited?

The 8th pumpkin was a special little Zach sized one, since he really wanted to carry around the big ones Daddy was picking up:

When we got home, Daddy had to find the perfect places for his pumpkins, so Zach of course had to follow suit:

And of course, he was sure to point out his great accomplishment for a little extra praise from Momma and Dada:

And finally, I couldn't help but try to take some artsy shots on such a beautiful fall day. Unfortunately Zach was more interested in the leaves and the pumpkins than Mama's silly attempts to get him to look at her:

It was a wonderful time...in fact I am looking forward to enjoying every moment of these final days/weeks as a family of three, while I only have to struggle with one toddler to take his picture, instead of a toddler and a newborn!

Matt's Room!

I have been holding off on showing pictures of Matt's room because I wanted to have everything hung up and ready before I revealed the look. I am still waiting on an adorable boat clock from Wish Upon a Star that my mom got for Matt in order to figure out how and where to hang the painted boats I made for Matt, but since things have been a little up in the air over here, I thought I better post some pictures now before Matt arrives and I forget. Here is a picture of the clock that should be coming any day:

I love Wish Upon a star products, and I wanted to be sure that Matt had one too, since Zach has both the monkey bookends and monkey clock in his room. Those were both gifts as well from Grandma and Papa, and I love seeing them today and thinking of all the hours we spent in the middle of the night looking at his clock! I am sure I will see Matt's just as often in the coming months!

I must say that the colors on his walls do not show up in pictures as vibrant as they are in person, but you get the idea of what is going on. Here is a view from the doorway:

Some views of his crib:

A view of his changing table:

Another angle of Matt's room:

Some accessories photos: His Rug

A place for his very own stories...his bookcase:

A close up of the letters Wayne and I painted for Matt(above)

His curtains...it took several debates, but we finally decided we didn't think blue polka dots were feminine:

His lamp (one of them) that his brother loves. Seriously Zach will run into Matt's room so excited saying "Fishie!" and pointing out the other sea creatures on it:And finally, since the saying on Matt's comforter is "Six little ships went sailing by over the ocean and under the sky." I painted him six ships which will soon be hung throughout his room. Here are his ships:I hope you enjoyed the picture overload. I can truly say I loved decorating both of my boys nurseries, and in the end, I can't wait till Matt gets to enjoy his special space in our home.

Just Checking In!

There are so many things going on right now in our lives, but I don't have a ton of time to tell the story. I did want my loyal readers to know that I haven't forgotten you, and that I will be back very soon, with lots of much needed pictures and updates. I got an external hard drive to save my pictures on since its was 1/7th the price of a new computer, and aside from my storage issue, the computer has always treated me well, so I will be able to post my pics just as soon as I set that up. I promise I won't go into hiding for another week, so be sure to stop back and check in soon...like tomorrow at the latest.

MIA

There is really no way to explain how how MIA I have been.

Not only have I been Missing in Action when it comes to housework, grading papers, preparing meals, posting and blogging, and thinking of fun and exciting games to play with my son, but I have also been MIA in the following ways:

Mom in Amnesia- I can't seem to remember a gosh darn thing lately! I swear I have about 30 lists in progress as we speak...why 30? Well I keep losing the lists I make, so I have to start all over again.

Mess in Appearance- There is no aspect of my life that doesn't need some organization, but I swear some days its frightening how I go to work looking. Not only do I continue to wear shoes that look orthopedic, but I can actually admit I haven't even had a haircut in over 8 months. That is ridiculous! To top it off, I don't have a coat that fits me, and I never leave myself time to apply makeup, so I am one frightening vision...well all day!

Moody I Am- The hormones are raging. One minute I am ecstatic, the next I feel like crying. I hope this is just temporary or else I'm in trouble.

Mime in Action- I don't know what's wrong with me, but my verbal skills are seriously lacking lately. I have found myself apologizing routinely to my friends, my family, my husband, and even my students that I can't seem to vocalize my thoughts well. (This is perhaps the most uncharacteristic aspect of my MIA disorder)

I would love to keep this list going, but my MIA condition is causing me to blank on what I want to say, feel overwhelmed by my honesty, and guilty over the 1,000 other things I should be doing right now instead. Like I said at the beginning of this post, there is really no way to explain how MIA I have been, but this comes pretty close:
How do you cope with your MIA moments?

Sickie Baby Strikes Again!

This weekend did not turn out to be the one I'd envisioned in my head. I had planned on a trip to the lake to see all the beautiful foliage, and take Zach out looking at pumpkins. Instead we've spent the last two days pretty much on lock down because Zach has been struck with the sickie baby virus. I am not sure what he has, all I can say is that on Friday night he woke up with a fever of 102 or more and I panicked! I grabbed juice (something reserved for special occasions in my house), Tylenol, and ran a luke-warm bath all at 2 o'clock in the morning. By 3:30 Zach felt less like a flame and more like the toddler I adore, so I was able to put him back into his crib to sleep. I must admit I did consider sitting up and holding him all night, but my obligation to my back and his brother wouldn't allow me to indulge my hysteria. I did however get up and check on him once more, before he finally got up at 8:00 a.m.


All day Saturday he ran a fever, we did the Tylenol, Motrin switch, and it kept his fever low and him switching back and forth between wanting to be a couch potato, or the Tasmanian devil of toys. Here he is lounging in his pj's enjoying his juice, and his blankie which didn't leave his side...except when I exchanged it for a backup and washed it!:

He also enjoyed his snack on the sofa while his bf Lennie stood vigilantly by:
While he was there he called someone on the phone and told them all about his woes ( He didn't actually call anyone, but he seemed to enjoy his conversation.)
Apparently whoever he was talking to also had a few choice words for Lennie, because Zach insisted Lennie take the call:

It's good to know that even when he is sick my son still has a great imagination!

Today Zach work up fever free, after another late night wake up and a few hours lost of sleep due to snuggling and worrying, but the fever keeps creeping back slowly. He is in bed, hopefully sleeping off the rest of this bug, armed with his blankie, his horsie, and the knowledge that at some point tonight I will be coming in to check on him...OK, more than once probably, but hey I'm a Mom that's my job!

Let's hope Zach is 100% himself tomorrow, and that sickie baby is gone for the season!

Play D'OH!

Intensely playing?

YES!

Mastering a skill?

YES!

Easily Excitable?

YES!

Pleased with his accomplishments?

YES!

Enjoying his taste test?

?

NOT SO MUCH!

Just some photos!

I finally got some of my pictures uploaded, so I thought I would share a recent photo of my big ol' belly and a few pics from my birthday:

Me in all 8 months of my "glory"!

A family photo where Zach is more interested in something in the distance than the cake:

My parents and I, because without them there would be no birthday to celebrate:

And me and my hubby showing off my new Lladro:

We both look a bit exhausted in this photo, probably because its a Friday night after 8 p.m. and we are used to crashing on the couch by this point.

I will try to get some more pics up and on this week...I can't wait to show you Matt's nearly complete room!

A Thoughtful Gift

Yesterday I went shopping for a new computer, but since all PC's will have a new updated version coming out in three weeks I thought I would show a little patience and wait to buy one. In the meantime I am almost incapable of uploading my pictures, but I am working on it slowly. I did want to share the story of the beautiful gift my husband got me for my birthday however.


When we were getting married I wanted something really special to go on top of our cake. I knew I wanted a keepsake that I would cherish forever to remember the day, long after I packed away my overpriced wedding dress. I wanted the perfect cake topper, but I wanted it to last, so I thought, what about a Lladro? If you don't know what a Lladro is you are not alone. They are gorgeous porcelain figurines made in Spain, and had it not been for my friend Jenn getting one for me while she studied abroad I might have never known about them either. People always say that I am not a "clutter" person or a "knick knack" person because I don't have a ton of it in my house, but what they don't know is that I definitely have collector blood running through me. I get that from my Mom.


The May before we were married, Wayne and I went to Toronto for an mini-trip to visit the Hockey Hall of Fame (it was a birthday present) and on our way back we stopped at the duty free shop. They happened to have a bunch of Lladro's there, and at the time the American dollar was worth more than the Canadian one, so we got a bargain on this figurine.

It's called "Together Forever" and it looked beautiful on our cake. I wish I could show you a picture, but like I said my computer isn't cooperating. I have a cabinet in my kitchen that is glass and I store this figurine there, so that I can look at it everyday and think of our first day together.

When I had Zach I was hoping for a mother/child figurine, but they are sort of expensive and kind of impractical so I never asked for one. I think I mentioned I would love one once in passing to my Mom, so I shouldn't have been surprised on my 30th birthday when I opened my gift and found this:

It's called "A Mother's Love" and I will always cherish that it came from my mom with love, and that I will give it to Zach to keep when the time comes.

So this year, I wanted a car starter, and maybe a trip to the spa to get a pedicure before the big day, so I thought that would be my gift. (I ended up getting these too, just from my always-too-generous parents, and generous gifts from my sibling and mother-in-law) Wayne instead surprised me with this:

It's called "Sleep My Love" and it is beautiful. What I found most charming about this gift was the thought my hubby put into it. He told me that he wanted me to have something for Matt and I to cherish too. It also continues the story of our life together and I think he wanted to commemorate our 2nd son in an equally timeless way as our first. It's moments and sentiments like this from Wayne that give me hope that my sons will grow up with just a bit of sappiness in them. You know, the kind of softness that lets them appreciate these figurines and display them one day, rather than throw them in the basement or sell them in a garage sale. I know that for our part, Wayne and I will both always value these figures and the four lives and loves they have woven together.

Today as I looked at the cabinet in my kitchen that displays these figurines, I didn't see "dust collectors" but an image of my family told in artistic forms. As I age I learn that nothing is more valuable or beautiful in the gift than the sentiment.

Thanks Wayne...I love you and all of our boys...Lennie did mention however that he is a feeling a bit left out though, since he doesn't have a special figurine. (I'm sorry, did you just say Christmas Lennie?) :)