Pumpkin Jack

Above are the B family pumpkins this year! The kids really enjoyed planning the faces and (watching dad) carving them. 

Meli was guessing what was inside. She thought it would be treats. They were so excited waiting for dad to open the top.

Meli thought the inside was so funny looking!

She liked scooping out the seeds. Colin not so much. He thought it was gross and he would "definitely need to watch my hands after this".

Colin learned a song about Pumpkin Jack last week. He has been singing it ever since. So all of out pumpkins were named Pumpkin Jack. Pumpkin Jack 1, pumpkin Jack 2, and so on!

 

It was so beautiful yesterday morning. 

I will post about Colin's party later! Happy Halloween!

A break in the rain

My Sunday morning run

 

On Sunday and Monday, we had some beautiful days here. It was so nice to have a break in the rain. I complained of the heat and now I am complaining about the rain. Ha. No, I do not mind the rain so much. I do miss the falls in Virginia though. Where it was not hot, but sunny. Happy feeling. (I loved the fall and spring there. Just was not a fan of the winter or summer.) Trying to plan something for my birthday, I keep coming across..."oh it will probably rain". Never satisfied are we?!? I really wanted to take Will to Crater Lake, but it probably depends on the weather. I cannot believe it is already that time of year. It feels like we were on the coast celebrating 31 just a few months ago. When someone mentions that mine and Colin's birthday are coming up, Meli quickly says "me too. my birthday too". We explained Christmas had to happen first, because explaining other peoples' birthdays would happen first was not getting the point across. Christmas she was OK with. So, now she says "my birthday too...oh no, Christmas first". Too cute. I am so off topic now. Everyone is asleep, so I am trying to catch up on some post I have been slacking on.

 

So, back to the beautiful day. I was able to run on Sunday. I had to snap a picture of the pretty rainbows. I just love them. We have been seeing them a lot lately, so the kids and I read a book about Noah's Ark. They enjoyed the rainbow reference.

 

On Monday, Meli and I went on two long walks. One to see the ducks. Then one to go pick up Colin from school. Meli's outfit was so...different. I loved it! She definitely has her own style.

I cannot remember if I have mentioned this before, but I have been volunteering in Colin's classroom twice a week. It has been so nice to see him interact with the other students and his teacher. I am so thrilled that he likes having me there. I am excited to go to his Halloween party on Friday. It should be pretty fun. The kids are super excited about Halloween. Hopefully the weather holds up.

It Was A "Happy Winds-day"

 

This last Wednesday, was really a "Winds-day" like in Winnie-the-Pooh's Blustery Day.  We have been promising the kids that we would try out their kites once there was enough wind. So, we headed out even though it was definitely going to start raining. My poor hair this week. Whenever I take the time to do it, it rains.

Will and I realized that neither one of us had ever really flown a kite and were at a loss how to get it going.  Apparently, we had the right idea (after a quick Google search) but although it was windy, it was not long enough gust of winds. The kids still had a great time trying to fly the kites. Meli had no idea it was not successful. Plus, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Will run with a kite! The fam was recovering from our first colds this season, so it was nice to get out and have the kids run around.

It took a while, but I finally found a workout regimen that flows with our daily schedule. It is so nice not having to force it in. I am also loving the workout combination. I alternate between strength/cardio workout and yoga with dynamic moves. Then I run/walk when I can in the evenings. For the most part, this has been working really well. I am going to add kickboxing in soon. I miss it. Meli joins me once in a while. ( Like below.) She enjoys my yoga routine. 

 

I quit the macro counting. Will did such a good job with it, but it was not for me. Running the kids around can be very unpredictable and it would get annoying trying to count things out. We both are doing a new diet (which is really not a diet at all, which is just a perfect type for me). I am reading the book, The Women's Health Diet and Will has the men's version. It is not restrictive and you do not cut out certain food groups (like carbs)...you just focus on trying to eat as little processed foods and focus on the healthy things. It does emphasize portions of each (carb, fat, protein, etc), but encourages you to eat more rather then less each day. I love it! Plus, it is working. I am glad my "dieting" did not last too long. Now I just changed my lifestyle more and follow a "plan".

 

On Friday, Meli and I cleaned the house and then pampered ourselves with doing our nails. I did Meli's and she did mine. My toes are crazy! She did a lot better then I thought she would.

My pretty little girl showing off her newly painted nails.

 

Will reminded me that my birthday is coming up. Pretty soon in fact. I totally forgot about it. I still enjoy birthdays (even if I get older)...might as well have fun then dwelling on it. Still, I thought it was further away. Now I am trying to brainstorm what to do. I am not sure if I am in the mood for a ballet, a jazz club, or just a day in town with my sweetie. Maybe a morning hike, coffee/breakfast, a trip to Barnes & Noble and a nice dinner?!? I know on my actual birthday, I just want to have Will and the kids make me dinner and cherry cheesecake (of course). The nice thing about my birthday, is the day before is a federal holiday. So, we can think of something fun to do. I need to start planning Colin's too!

Fall?...Sure

 

We had a fun fall day yesterday. Even though the weather did not really feel like fall (at least for Oregon). We finally had some rain last week, but it has otherwise been pretty absent. We made it through softball season with no rain outs. What?!? That is just unheard of. The sign of Fall has been the cold, brisk mornings.

 

The kids are excited to enjoy hot (warm) apple cider and hot (warm) cocoa. I have been enjoying me pumpkin tea. I love having pumpkin spice/fall scents candles or scentsy burning in the house. Sadly, out of the blue, the scents give me horrible headaches. I denied it for a bit and kept burning my Autumn Sunset and Pumpkin Roll scentsy...but it is true. Something mixed in it,  my head just does not like. I am so sad.

We started our Saturday, with a breakfast date. We went to a local bakery/café. I love these little hidden gems.

Then we headed to a pumpkin patch. The morning temperatures were very deceiving. We dressed for traditional fall weather and it ended up being hot. We still had a good time. Colin and Meli loved the maze.

Then we took a horse drawn wagon to the pumpkins. The kids loved watching the horses pull everyone.

The horses were so beautiful. We were able to pet them after we got to the pumpkins. I was so surprised that Colin just walked up and did it. He was not timid at all.

I love horses! I think they are one of the prettiest animals.

The kids were supposed to pick a pumpkin that they could carry...that so did not happen. Meli picked a very big one. I was going to make her stick to a small one, but she just loved it so much.

Colin actually picked one he could carry.  Good boy.

What to be?!?

Her creation: Superhero Girl

The kids have spent weeks trying to figure out what to be for Halloween. Colin decided on Wolverine. He looks so cute in his costume.  Meli changes her mind each time you ask her. She wanted to be a witch, a princess, a pirate, superhero girl, then a princess again. We are not getting her a new costume. She will just pick one from her closet the day of.  Colin and Meli play dress-up a lot.



Superhero Girl helping Wolvie

Wolvie

 

Even superheroes have to do homework!

She also wants to be wolverine

We are excited for Halloween. They are closing off downtown for the day here. There will be trick-or-treating for the kids at all of the businesses. Last year they had hot apple cider (delicious). There will have a kiddie parade during the day and a light parade at night. Then an adult costume contest. One of the local breweries is having a Viking party. Whoever has the best Viking costume wins a horn cup. I have been trying to talk Will into being a Viking so he can win the horn.

No School Fun

 

Colin had no school last Friday (he is off tomorrow too), so we made a day trip down south and went to Wildlife Safari. The kids love seeing all of the animals. We were able to see a lady petting two cheetahs. They were being so affectionate towards her. Later we saw a worker feeding the alligators. One was injured somehow so the food had to be killed first and laid right next to it.

 

There were more animals in the petting area. I think that is one of my favorite parts. The animals are so cute. Plus, I remember going to that area as a kid.

This guy does not like being there. For some reason he is in a more restricted area then the cats usually are. Last time, this cougar ( I am pretty sure it is the same one due to his/her stare down) obviously wanted to attack Meli (who did not even notice it)...this trip nothing changed. The cougar still stalked Meli the whole time.

Colin is being a cougar on top of a turtle. My silly boy.

Colin loves the lemurs. Probably partly due to Madagascar and party just because they look cool. Plus, he has a stuffed animal of one.

 

I think this weekend we are headed to the pumpkin patch. The kids are super excited. Softball season is over, so more time on the weekend. Will started playing kickball. He has not played since grade school, but his first game went well. How could you not have fun drinking beer and playing kickball?!?

 

Colin had his first teacher conference for the year. He is doing really well. Adjusting to full-days pretty good. He, of course, needs to work on not socializing too much (who would have guessed that?!?). Our social butterfly. Oh boy.

First Dentist Visit

Meli had a "happy" dentist appointment the other day. It was her first, so they did a minimal ("happy") one. She got to watch some of Colin's, then she got to sit and have her teeth counted. She was so interested in the gloves the hygienist was wearing, she got her own to wear.

I am so glad that we found such a kid-friendly place. They were so impressed with the kids teeth! They were thinking it was due to their first few years being in a state that had fluoride in the water. It would be nice not having to buy flouride pills for the kids. Come on Oregon!

The Fun Side

Both kids have hit new stages recently, that are giving us new challenges as parents. The craziness of parenthood is the ever changing needs and phases of kids. Each child is different, so the lessons and methods you learn from one, may not work on the other. That does not seem fair. You spend so much time trying out methods and you start to feel like you actually may know what you are doing...then comes the other child doing the same thing...but your new parent skills/methods just do not work. You also get through one phase and then instantly another one starts. Fun times.

Haha, it can be a pain (parenting) but that is what we are here for. Right?! Even with all of the frustrations, the kid seem to know exactly when they need to reassure us that they are actually a lot of fun too. That they are our world and it would just not be the same without them. That is the concept of this blog; seeing the sunshine in the midst of the rain. They may frustrate us to the breaking point and tire us out completely, but they are both so unique and loveable.

Colin has been throwing curveballs at us this week. It  has been a very frustrating few weeks.  As we are trying to figure out how to approach these new tests, he throws in some really good memories.

I was able to volunteer a few times in his class this week. One day was to accompany his class to the fire station for a field trip. Colin was so excited to have me there with him. I am not sure what I was expecting. I guess for him to ignore me. Complete opposite. He wanted me to ride the bus with him and he was telling everyone I was his mom. He had a blast at the station. The firefighters here are so involved in the community and so nice. Colin was able to use the fire hose, which was his favorite part (of course). His face was priceless.

 

I was also able to volunteer in his classroom. I could tell it just made his day to see me. I just love my little guy.

 

Meli has a personality that will always present challenges. She is always testing boundaries. So it was nice to enjoy some alone time with her. Meli and I go to "Mi-Mi's school" two days a week. This week, we used tools together and fixed the rocking horse. We also fixed mama robot (me) and MiMi robot (Meli). It was a lot of fun. Then while Colin was doing homework, Meli was doing her own homework with daddy. She would tell daddy what to draw then she would add her own flair to it. She asked for an elephant with snow falling on him, a Christmas tree, snowman, and a mean dragon. She added her own fish below the dragon. She also wanted a princess with a beautiful dress.

An Adventure in Endor

I am thankful for a good family weekend. It was much needed; since Will has been so busy with work lately and the kids missed him while he was in Virginia. Friday night, Will and I tried out a new brewery in town. It was pretty good. I tried a porter and Will had a red. The place was kind of like a barn, which was different but nice. The openness allowed for a nice evening breeze. We were celebrating another Orioles win!  They just need to win one more to have the series against Detroit. Our other team, the Nationals, is not doing so well. Hopefully, they will be able to pull it together for the next game.

Then we headed over to one of our favorite local venues to listen to a few bands that were playing. One said they were Celtic folk, but I am not so sure that is what they were.

Saturday morning, Will and I attempted to play tennis (in the town where my dad lives), but a local kids group were having lessons. Bummer. We cheered ourselves up with breakfast at a restaurant that we have been wanting to try, Buster's Main Street Café. It has this neat mural of Buster Keaton. His movie, The General, was filmed there in like 1925 or so. I thought it was a really cute place. I had a veggie omelet that was delish and a blood orange mimosa (sooo good!). I love blood oranges.

Then we did some fall/winter shopping for the kids. It is finally starting to feel pretty cold in the mornings and evenings. The days have still been pretty warm. Fall is starting though! YAY!!

We were able to go on a family hike this morning. It was a trail that Will used to train for his 20k. Colin, Will and I agreed that it looked a lot like Endor from Star Wars. The home to the ewoks. The kids thought that was so cool. 

Now for a day of football and baseball. Will and I are playing each other in Fantasy...we will see how this goes!

~ Love, Hugs &; Kisses ~ The B Family

"I am Mama"

Meli is going thru a phase of wanting to be mama. She puts on dress, bracelets, heels, and has me put her hair in a bun...then she is mama. Today, she got all dressed up and helped me clean the kitchen floors. She told Will, "I am mama cleaning. I am very busy". I love her illusion that I dress that nice to clean. I am next to her in my workout clothes. I sadly wear workout clothes a lot. I got in the habit when I did not have a set workout time. I would be prepared whenever it came up. Now with Colin in school I have a pretty regular schedule for working out. We eat breakfast with Colin. Then after we drop him off, Meli gets a 30 minute TV time and I get my workout time. This has been working out great, which makes me excited, because I am adding yoga 2 times a week. I have never done it before and I am really enjoying it.  So, now I am doing 2-3 days of strength training, 2 days of either pilates or yoga (whichever I feel like) and one day of kickboxing or tennis (if I feel the need to workout during the weekend. Plus, I am still doing softball on Sundays. This is new, so we will see how I like it in a few weeks.

Sweeping when a toddler helps you makes it so much more work. I had to keep going over it after her.

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family