Mom's Gone Spooky

Julee, Melissa, and I went to La Parilla for some yummy Mexican food. It happened again...Julee and I were sitting at a table waiting for Melissa. About 15 minutes after we were suppose to meet, Melissa comes walking up from the table she was sitting at. This happened last time we went to La Parilla. We ate too much as usual and shared great conversation. Afterwards we went to the corn maze at Washington Farms. I was a little worried when they said it normally takes 1-1.5 hours to get through. It was pitch black and a huge corn maze. I am glad we stopped to get Julee's flashlight. We had so much fun. I kind of felt like I was a big kid again. We laughed so hard our sides hurt. I would run ahead of the girls and jump behind some corn and scare Melissa and Julee. There was also this thing you walk through called the Vortex. I don't know how to explain it other than you walk through like a Fun House at a carnival and get really dizzy. We went through the Vortex several times. On our way home, we found Gordon's scary Halloween mask in Julee's car and took turns wearing it as Julee got gas. All in all we had a blast!! It was fun letting loose and acting goofy.

What Time Is It...It's Cake Time!

All the kids checking out the new presents and fun toys!

Alexis and her friend, Nina
Isabelle blew out the candles by herself. We sang Happy Birthday to each and both Lexie and Izzie got their moment in the spot light.

Whoa, I just noticed my wig was falling off. My forehead looks gigantic and I look like I have one inch long bangs. Not cute! heehee.

It Is Raining Candy!

The Witch Pinata

Isaac and his spooky green vampire teeth. p.s. this is his mom, Rachel's costume that she wore when she was little. Isn't it so cute?!?

Julee (a Hippie) and Connor (as Wall-E)

Go Maggie Go!!! Maggie took a swing at the witch pinata. This thing was harder than a rock. Even the adults couldn't break it open. Finally, Dane and Rick took a knife to it before taking another swing at it. Finally the pinata burst open with candy and trinkets everywhere.

Alexis was motivated to break the pinata. Having a pinata was her idea and good one too!

Richard the zookeeper and Nora as the monkey

It's A Monster Mash

Melissa B and baby Illiana and Richard (Melissa T's husband)

Our neighbors, Melia and baby Della

Memaw & Papaw (this just may have to be our Christmas card...haha). Papaw as Batman was my personal favorite!

Melissa T as an Executive, Me and Isabelle

Sue and her baby to be were a pumpkin.

I downloaded some fun Halloween songs on my iPod. I found the original Monster Mash which is one of my favorite Halloween songs.

I am so happy everyone got really into dressing up in costume. I was scared at first I would be the only one dressed in costume but was stunned as each guest arrived, the costumes got more and more creative! We had a wizard, a witch, an Executive, zookeeper, batman, and more.

Halloween Birthday Party

Alexis' friend, Isaac and his Grandma, Maggie

Alexis and her friend from school, Nina

These are my cool Witch Finger snacks. I thought they turned out really good! I used refrigerated breadstick dough and made them crooked shaped. I added cinnamon, sugar and an almond sliver for the finger nail. I loved the reactions of some of the guests.

We celebrated the girls birthday party a little late this year because we were moving during their birthday in September. We had a Halloween costume party and the girls were so excited to dress up. I can not believe Alexis is 5 and Isabelle is 2!! Where has the time gone? I have a feeling I will be surprised every year of their age. Time flies triple fast when you are a mom.

I went super creative with the party food. I made a pumpkin shaped cake, pumpkin shaped Rice Krispy treats, green punch, and witch fingers (which added a gross element to the table).

I'm Back and Blogging Strong

Well kinda. I am sorry I took a long hiatus from blogging. We have been very busy and life just took over leaving no extra time for much of any thing. Where do I start?

This fall Alexis started Pre-k full-time at St. Joseph's Catholic School and absolutely loves it! She easily adjusted to being a school girl. I am a volunteer Room Rep so I help coordinate all parties and special events. We just had our Fall Festival and a lot more went into planning that event then I would have ever imagined.

Alexis started soccer in September. She actually just had her last game on Monday. She enjoyed it and I think the running around was a great way for her to channel some of her extra energy but I am not quite convinced that organized sports are Alexis "thing". She likes to do things her way on her own time schedule. Either way, I will continue to offer new sports and activities to her and maybe she will find her niche.

Isabelle and I are in Toddler and Parent Gymnastics together. Isabelle absolutely loves Gymnastics. She is very active and athletic. She doesn't realize that she is not 6 years old. I sometimes wish I had her "no fear" concept on life. Isabelle is growing like a weed, literally! She just had her 2 yr check-up and is in the 75th percentile in height. She may just be taller than Alexis when she is older. Wouldn't that be something!?!

We also moved! As most of you know or should know by now. We are enjoying our new habitat very well. It is perfect for us! We have a family of deer that live in the woods behind our house and come into our yard multiple times a day to eat. We are feeding them corn. It is wonderful having a little bit of wildlife right outside our window.

Dane and I are both enjoying our jobs. Dane is still working at the Apt community where we used to live. I am still working PT for Dane's parents. The flexibility is wonderful because I have really enjoyed being so active in Alexis' school. We have gone on a few field trips and are preparing to have our Halloween party next week. Alexis says she will be Minnie Mouse and Izzie will be a Princess. I am still very involved in church. I was designated to be a co-spiritual in the next CRHP group of women so I will continue to lead them on their faith journey until their retreat in February. We get together every friday night. This process has been so fulfilling! I have learned so much about myself and most importantly have become much closer to God and having his presence in my life. I am still in school although I took this fall off so I could focus on the family but will resume next quarter. Not looking forward to the 6 math classes I have to take. Ugh! 2 college level maths, finance, and 3 Accounting classes. Other than that, those are the only classes I have left for my general ed. I kind of see a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel. After all of these grueling math courses I will transfer to the University of Georgia to finish my Business degree.

Dane continues to gain strength through boxing competitively at an amateur level. His last big fight in Doraville was the Georgia Games (an Olympic Qualifier event). There were a ton of people watching. Even Evander Holyfield watched Dane fight! Dane won the Gold and is currently rated #1 in the state of GA for his weight class. I am biased but he is very good! This is definitely a great way for Dane to channel all of his extra energy. (I sure wish I had some of his energy!) Dane has also volunteered a lot of his time to our church and to his men's bible study groups. He also dedicates many Saturdays cheering on the Georgia Bulldogs football team. We enjoy watching together.

That is everything in a very small nutshell. I will be posting lots and I mean lots of pictures in coming days. Stay tuned for the wonderful world of Lexie, Izzie, and Company. Love to all!!

Going To Urgent Care...again

Here we are sitting in the waiting room of Reddy Urgent Care yet again. This is beginning to be a once every other month visit for someone in our family. This time we went to Urgent Care for Alexis. I was scared she has strep. Her throat hurt plus she had red and white spots on her tonsils. It turns out she has tonsillitis. Another thing she inherited from her father. Dane had tonsillitis a lot when he was a kid. I hope Alexis will not need her tonsils out eventually like Dane. She is on meds now and doing better. I swear my kids only get sick on the weekends when their Dr office is not open.

Nora's Birthday Party

We went to Memorial Park today for Nora's 1st birthday party. Hank was suppose to celebrate his 1st birthday too but his big sister, Ella was sick. Katie made the cutest individual size cakes. They were cake hamburger buns, brownie middle in the shape of a hamburger, yellow and red frosting in ketchup and mustard squeeze bottles, green colored coconut flakes for lettuce and potato chip sticks for fries. It was the cutest idea. The kids played on the playground and ate the snacks.

Dogs Box Too?

Lexie and Izzie put the boxing gloves on Marlin, our dog, which was hilarious. The funny part was that he did not even care. Next thing I blog about will be Marlin standing on his hind legs boxing. Wow will that be a day or what? I guess that will be the same day that pigs will fly.

Who Says Girls Can't Box?

Boxing With Daddy

The kids were boxing with Dane and were all decked out in their boxing gear. Dane got them a pair of kids size boxing gloves. The girls love it. This is a great way for them to take out all of their extra energy in their reserves. I'll post a video. You'll be impressed, Alexis does some technical moves. Both Alexis and Isabelle are very energetic and athletic just like their dad.

It's My Birthday!

It's my birthday and I am 29 years young. I am hanging onto my 20s with a string but enjoying it nonetheless. My birthday was actually on the 9th which I celebrated with my family and friends at Dos Palmas. I was totally craving mexican which is normal for me. Donavan, Rachel, Isaac, Teresa, Daniel, Mathew, Christina, and Dad (in-law) all joined my family and I for dinner. It was a really nice evening.

On the 11th, I celebrated my birthday with friends, Melissa, Erinn, and Rachel. We went to Terrapin Brewery. It was so much fun! The bonus was I got in free, I got a free Terrapin glass, and 8 drink tickets for free all because it was my birthday. We took a little tour of the brewery and then tasted the various beers. After Terrapin, I had to run home quick because Dane had to fix a water leak in someone's apt. He was on-call. About 15 minutes later, I met up with the girls at the Thai Spoon downtown Athens for dinner. When I arrived the girls surprised me with a gift. I was very suspicious since they were all laughing hysterically. I knew them all too well. They gave me an adult only gift but it was all in good fun. It was hilarious! I will definitely be re-gifting it though. It's Rachel's birthday next.

By the way, Thai Spoon is delicious! I can't wait to take Dane here for date night. A note to everyone who has not been there before...

The food is rated with 0, 1, 2, 3 red peppers on the menu to distinguish how hot the meal will be. Well the server said 1 pepper is only a "little hot". I took her advice and ordered something that I thought would be mildly hot. I took a bit and all I could think was, "Fire in the hole!!" It was so hot, it made me sweat and my nose run. One pepper is very hot according to my taste buds. But the funny thing was that it was so delicious that I couldn't stop eating it. The food was amazing!

Dane Goes to WI

Dane went to his brother's house near Madison, Wisconsin this weekend. They were having a family reunion. He went boxing at a local gym up there and took our nephew, Austin along. Austin has recently taken up boxing as a sport. I was unimpressed that Dane took the camera on his vacation and this was the only picture he took. I guess that is why I typically carry the camera.

I stayed home with the girls. We had a nice, relaxing weekend. We met up with my sister in-law, Teresa and her kids who also stayed home while Daniel (Dane's brother) went to WI too. We ate a lot and went swimming pretty much all weekend. Isabelle learned how to swim with the help of water wings. It was the first time she would kick around the pool by herself without me holding her. My baby is growing up! Sigh.

The evening of the 4th of July, I took the kids to fireworks in Nicholson with Teresa. The bummer about fireworks is they do not begin until 9:30 which is way past my kid's bedtimes. In doing this, I knew it was a gamble as too how they would act. Isabelle was extremely tired and made it be known by crying for a bottle of milk. I thought, not a big deal because I have a bottle and I can get milk at a gas station right? Wrong. Apparently in small towns even the gas stations close for fireworks. I drove to Commerce where I finally found a Shell station open. Izzie got her bottle and all was good. Alexis enjoyed the fireworks provided she could sit on my lap while I hold her ears with my hands. Izzie had no problem with the loud sounds of booming in the sky and enjoyed them on her own.

Happy 4th of July Everyone!!!

Family Picnic

After Dane got home from work, we got McD's and went to WOW Park on the east side of Athens. We enjoyed a picnic dinner (even though it was fast food) and played with the kids at the park. Alexis calls it the "castle park". It is a fun park that both kids can equally enjoy. It is big, so they don't get bored within 10 minutes of arrival. I found it amazing how Isabelle can keep up with Alexis. Izzie skipped the "toddler area" and would go down the big kid slides by herself. The second child definitely grows up faster than the first. I guess because she wants to keep up with her big sister.

It was perfect. The weather was beautiful and not too hot. The playground was not too crowded. We had a great afternoon. This is my favorite thing to do, which is to play with the kids as a family. Everything is more fun when Daddy is there too.

Following Blogs

There are several blogs that I follow from topics of parenting to cooking. There is a new one that is just hilarious and good entertainment. I think I like it mostly because of her posting awesome pics of all of my celebrity crushes.

Here is the Html: www.junecleaverafterasix-pack.blogspot.com

Check it out if you want a good laugh or at the very least want to see some eye candy like Robert Pattinson or Bradley Cooper...just to name a couple.

Laura is Moving

Our friend, Laura from our mom's group is moving to Alabama. This is so sad. This came after the news of Teresa moving to Maryland. Both for their husband's jobs. I guess with today's economy and double digit unemployment rate, they are blessed to have good jobs. I am just not excited about their move for selfish reasons because that means I will not see them much if at all. I do wish them well though. Laura is moving to the AL-GA border so she will only move about 2 hours away. I think that will give me a good reason to go to ATL and meet. The question is when we get together do we bring the kids? Nah. Just kidding.

We had a going away get together with some of the other mom's in our group. We went to Hilltop Grille. This restaurant is perfect for large get togethers because we were practically the only people in the restaurant. I did not eat there so I can not comment if its the food or not but I felt bad for the wait staff having an empty restaurant. They did have some Terrapin which I happily enjoyed.

Pool Pics

A cute pic if Lexie and her BFF, Jade. I love that Jade is wearing Lexie's "Rescue Puppy Glasses".

The weather in GA has been a scorcher...in the 90s but feeling like the 100s. The only way to cool off is either parking myself in the pool after a total coating of SPF 50 or to hibernate indoors in the A/C until Sept. Well that is not going to happen so I opt for the pool and am sporting a nice dark golden tan because of it. The girls love the pool and are advancing on their swimming skills.