This is how we do Hurricane Sandy!

So thankful we didn't get hit as badly as predicted last night.  The most excitement we had was a trashcan being knocked over and rolling down the street.  We were sure a tree had fallen on our Tahoe.  As a precaution, J and I had the boys sleep downstairs in a big pile of blankets, pillows, puppies and kiddos. 

It was fun until about 11pm when the boys were still awake and my body needed sleep.  That's way past my bedtime!  Mama gets grouchy!  Plus the dogs felt they needed to smother me with protection all night long.  Whew, I'm needing some caffeine today!

The people living north and east of us are in my prayers today.  Some were not so lucky.

My Mom is a saint for keeping the boys again.  School is closed for the second day in a row.  B and Ty are in this fussing and arguing phase.  I know its just learning how to live together, but it will wear on a Mama!

J and I have almost decided to bunk them in the same room for a while and see what happens.  Either they will learn to get a long and play together, or one of them won't make it.  Could be a stick horse accident, a Nerf gun shooting or a plastic sword fight gone violent.  One can never tell.

Knocking down dead trees and eating grass

This weekend was just beautiful!  The air was crisp, but not cold, and we were outside most of the day.  Mama said, no more TV, we are going outside!  J and I ran a little race Saturday morning and the one thing good about getting older and continuing to run, I get a better chance in placing!  I got 2nd in my age group this time around.  Yes, the race was very small, but who cares, I will take it! 

After the race we went out back and the boys knocked down this dead tree that they have been dying to get a kick at for weeks.  It was not a lot of work.  Completely dead on the inside.  They loved it though.  He-Man stuff. 

We played football, played on the swingset and rode scooters until naptime.

 

Mama learned a lesson.  Those Pampas Grasses?  Yeah, don't cut it, pile it up and have the kids jump in it.  Apparently the blades are very sharp.  Minor tragedy, but we recovered.  Toy Story Band-Aids helped.

Braden took his scooter through a puddle once or twice before Ty decided his day would not be complete until he ran his scooter through it.  That resulted in a very wet little boy.  We had a great day enjoying this weather before it starts getting cold and nasty.

Tubby decided to go rooting around in the grass and ended up with a big clump of clover stuck on his tooth.  The boys chased him around the yard to get it off, but Tubs thought they were playing so no way you are catching that dude.

And its Bus Driver Appreciation Week!  I made this little bag of goodies based on this BLOG.

Easy and super cute.  And have I mentioned my new found love for Glue Dots?  If you have never seen these wonderful wonders, you can get them at Hobby Lobby or another craft store.  They are so much easier than glue for small projects like this!

Have a great week!

Pumpkins, sling shots and corn pits, oh my!

I really don't know why I force fun on my boys.  I try to plan things that I think are fun to do, but I'm pretty sure they would rather be smacking a tree (or each other) with some sticks.  But a Mom's got to try to enrich her children's lives!  Plus, I wanted to go pick pumpkins and carve them at the park!

On the way to the pumpkin patch, Ty was panicking a little since he forgot, since last year, what a pumpkin was.

Ty, "Is it going to get me, mommy?"

Me, "Is what going to get you, honey?"

Ty, "The pun-kin?"

Me, "No, silly, it can't get you.  Its just a vegetable."

Ty, "Are you going to make me eat it?"

Me, "No, crazy!"

So the whole hayride poor Ty looked so concerned thinking he was either going to be "gotten" or have to eat some yucky veggie. 

Once we got in the patch, the kids let loose and found some great pumpkins.

The farm we went to also had some pretty cool things to do.  They had some sand-box type pits filled with corn which the kids loved.  They also had giant sling shots that you could launch tennis balls with.  And yes, when J went out to collect them, we did try to hit him.

This little hand just melts my heart.

We took off to the park to carve our "pun-kins."  The boys were interested for about 2 minutes.  Then off to battle with sticks they went while J and I battled the yellow jackets and finished up.  I even tried to start a pumpkin seed fight with B to keep his attention.  He had no interest in the "guts."

The boys had a great time on the playground at the park even if they didn't love carving the pumpkins.  The weather was pretty and I was outside so Mama was happy.

Next weekend I may even not force fun on people and just let them "play toys" all day long.  Unless I think of something more fun... outdoors... involving a rake.  We'll see.