A long time ago (9 Years to be exact)...

...In a state far away. A lady and her husband were anxiously awaiting the next morning to see if their little bundle of joy would be making his appearance.

Mr. Colin Brack

Excuse the Star Wars entry but this family just love the movies, so it felt appropriate. My first born, Master Colin (throwing in Batman now), made his debut tomorrow.

I cannot explain how so much love can fill your being in a single instance. The first time holding and seeing my little guy changed me forever.

These past 9 years have been such a joy to be the mom to a boy filled with so much love, happiness, kindness, curiousity,  and compassion. He has spoiled us so much as parents. Colin and I can be so different with his outgoing nature and need for cuddles; but we are also so similar with his endless talking and positive outlook. I am so thankful that we were destined to be mom and son.

Baltimore Acquarium

My Goober

I never get enough of that smile

Such a great big brother

My loves

Love my family

His first time to the Atlantic ocean

Love these two

He has such a kind soul

~ Love, Hugs &; Kisses ~ The B Family

Interview for the Kids

I saw my friends on Facebook posting a set of questions to ask kids. I thought it would be cute to see what they said. I have done similar things before - I should try to find them and compare.

Meli:

How old are you? 5

When is your birthday? In May

How old is mommy? (I did not tell her to say that) 14

Favorite color? Blue, yellow and green

Favorite food? Pancakes – cupcakes and Cake too

Who are your best friends? Colin & Loreli...Annie too!

Favorite animal? Some bunnies and sheep

What scares you? Um…a monster

Favorite show? Paw Patrol

What makes you sad? When Colin hurts my little arm or takes my toys away

What makes you happy? When I got to a hot tub and splash in it (meaning Sun River vacations)

Favorite place to go? To Get Air

What do you want to be when you grow up? A nerds…I mean when you can be a doctor (me: a nurse). Yes, a nurse!

What does love mean? You be so happy

Colin:

How old are you? 8 (almost 9)

When is your birthday? November 21^st

How old is mommy? 34 (man, no fooling him)

Favorite color? Green

Favorite food? Grapes

Best Friends? Ethan and Jack

Favorite animal? Bunny (this surprised me - I think he feels bad not saying his favorite stuffed animal)

What scares you? Nightmares

Favorite show? Power rangers

What makes you sad? Losing pets

What makes you happy? Family

Favorite place to go? Laser tag – I  haven’t been yet but I am pretty sure it will be (going for his birthday)

What do you want to be when you grow up? Animal scientists...or some kind of scientist

What does love mean? Caring for others

                                                 ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~
                                                           The B Family

Passing out Candy is so fun!

On Halloween, I decided to work a half day this year. It has been an adjustment for the kids to have me working again. So, I really wanted to take the kids down to Cottage Grove for the downtown trick-or-treating. That way they could have some mommy time.  The town closes off the roads to traffic and it takes place right after school. The kids enjoyed running into their friends that we have not seen since we moved. We also stopped by the Elks Lodge that had tables set up in their big room for trick-or-treating. There was also a haunted maze that Mi-Ma took them thru.

Once we got back home, the kids were ready for Dad to take them around our new neighborhood. Apparently, there was some very impressive houses. I love when neighbors get into the fun. Once they got back Meli and Colin helped me hand out candy. I think Meli had the most fun doing this. She was so amped up on Halloween vibes and just having a blast. She kept singing “this is Halloween…” and saying “Happy Halloween” to everyone… Literally. Every. Person.

A group of teenagers came by with a boom box that played the Ghostbuster theme song. Meli flipped out! She started yelling, “I love GHOSTBUSTERS!!!!” Then she acted like she was just blown away. She actually fell backwards on the sidewalk. The teenagers thought she was hilarious. It was also neat that one of the girls was dressed as Pikachu too!

Colin was Max Steel and also had a great time handing out candy. He thought it was his job to make sure everyone got enough candy. He also wanted to make sure no one was allergic to peanuts. Colin may have a slight allergy to peanuts that we discovered a few months back. He told me that was why he hated it so much. His body was telling him that it was not good for him. He really has never liked it. He can smell it from the top floor and gets grossed out. I did not like it as a kid, but nothing like that. I actually did not start liking it until I became pregnant with Meli. I find that funny, because she LOVES it! She must have passed on some of that love to me.

I was planning on doing a little more for a costume this year, but time got away. I did wear my rainbow wig and witch tights – so I kind of was a witch…Minus the broom and hat. I got some compliments from several teenagers that liked my wig. Kudos to me! Not always easy getting teenage compliments. I had a younger kid ask me if was my real hair, because “that would be awesome!”.

This year was a blast! I am glad it all worked out. The next day, Meli was ready for Christmas. I personally love the idea of Thanksgiving and November in general. So no decorations yet…but I am getting very excited for Christmas this year. Usually I am a little better at waiting.

                                           ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~
                                                   The B Family

Halloween Past

My memories on Facebook had several Halloween costume pictures of the kids, so I thought it would be fun to take a gander to past Halloweens.


Colin:

Kindergarten - Batman

Preschool - Ironman

Almost 4 years old - Knight

2nd Grade - Robin

Almost 3 - Spiderman

Almost 2 - Superman

Almost 1  (first Halloween) - Tigger

1st Grade - Wolverine

Meli: (I think I am missing her OSU cheerleading one.

3 - Fairy

First Halloween - Kitty

4 years old - Rainbow Dash

1 - grumpy witch

Will and I:

Vampire 

Gypsy

Pirate

Pirates

Just went with a neon theme 

                                                   ~ Love, Hugs &  Kisses ~
                                                           The B Family

A Hayride & Haunted Pumpkin Maze

Colin joined Cub Scouts a months ago and has been loving it! The pack put on a Halloween get together for the whole family. On Tuesday we went to a farm to go on flashlight lit hayride and a haunted pumpkin maze.

The hayride was fun. It was so muddy, I thought we were going to get stuck a few times. It was nice to ride through the trees. We started just when it started to get darker and by the time we got back it was totally dark. Perfect for the maze. They provided us with mini flashlights, which we only needed in the beginning. Once you got to the next section it was lit up by Jack-o-laterns. It was very neat looking! They were carved in so many different faces and pictures. Here were some of our favorites. Excuse the picture quality, I was walking while taking them. The kids were too excited for me to stop.

~ Love, Hugs &; Kisses ~ The B Family

A Fall Tradition: Pumpkin Carving

This year pumpkin carving had a somewhat bad start. The kids (well Meli) almost lost it. She was just so grumpy and probably ready for bed even before dinner. I think she may be fighting off a cold. We are very fortunate that the kids have a pretty strong immune system. It can be difficult to know right away that they have something. Meli's tale sign is her moodiness goes to a whole new level. She was crying at everything and just very easily upset (more so than normal).

She was able to pull it together (I did sing ABC's to her and gave her a pre-dinner snack) - so she was able to do one pumpkin. Our second white one has to wait.

Colin did our face design this year, Will carved, and the kids scooped. Normally, I help in that piece but I got home later from work (I was in Coos Bay that day), so I was working on dinner and pumpkin seeds!

I want to make a pumpkin pie from scratch this year - but have never done so. Hmmm....possibly.

Anyway, we had the Halloween Pandora station playing. We have been listening to it all month. There is not a lot of variety to the song choices. The kids love it though.

Their reaction when the song from Halloween came on. They have never seen the movie but it is still creepy nonetheless. 

~ Love, Hugs &; Kisses ~ The B Family

A Fall Tradition: The Pumpkin Patch

The wind & storm had started the night before

Miss Mae looking for a pumpkin

We were able to take some time off on Friday to take the kids to the pumpkin patch. We knew the storm was coming and did not want to chance a string of rainy days. Thankfully Friday morning had some sunshine breaking through the clouds. It was windy but not raining. I think the wind made it that much more fun. Meli and love windy days!

We rode the wagon pulled by a tractor this time to the pumpkin patch area. Both Colin and Meli wanted BIG pumpkins this year. I wanted a white one. Meli was sweet and found a BIG white one so that we could share it!

Colin found his!

We probably should have eaten a bigger breakfast, because towards the end Meli was hungry and grumpy. When she gets like that she stays focused on something she did not get to do (usually because she says she did not want to) or something she did wrong.  Thankfully, these meltdowns happen a lot less frequently since starting school. This time she did not want to take a picture with the pumpkin....but then she wanted to very badly...as we were leaving. Most of the pics I took were before the meltdown. She got upset when it was just her turn. So I had several with her face not visible. This was mostly due to the strong wind and was very frustrating to her.

Colin was so sweet and offered to hold her hair.

Meli starting to lose it

I told her she could have one more shot...and here it is. Perfectly sums up her mood.

...and it is lost

I love the colors of fall!

My little sweetheart!

Such different personalities

"I am so glad to live in a world where there are Octobers" - Anne of Green Gables

                                                            ~ Love, Hugs &  Kisses ~
                                                                   The B Family

Childhood Moments: Raking Leaves

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." - Albert Camus

Raking leaves

One chore that can be so much fun is raking leaves. Although the fun can make the chore take so much longer, but it is totally worth it! Colin picked raking as one of his extra chores this month. (They have their set responsibilities - things that I do not qualify as chores because they are things that are their's. Like cleaning their room and putting their clothes away. Then they choose three chores that are things to help around the house.We have a mason jar with over-sized Popsicle sticks with chores written on them.) I am working on sewing a hanger to track these ( maybe a future post). 

I personally love leaves, so it usually ends up being a family chore. Plus, we have several trees, so poor Colin would be doing it all day.

Meli trying to sweep

It can be hard for me to let them do their task. Meli really wanted to sweep. She does not quite have the process down and it can take a long time. There are times I just want to get it done, but I know that I need to let them learn. 

Meli was having so much fun with the leaves. She tends to be a great worker in the beginning, then she is over it...but sometimes she will get motivated towards the end again. Colin is hard to get started. He will complain and be sluggish about it. Then he gets motivated when it is almost done. Wondering why everyone is leaving. 

This storm will be sure to make more leaves for us to rake! It is pouring so much right now.

He Sure is Chatty

Last week, we went to curriculum night at the kids' school. I thought it was a neat idea. We sat in each of their classrooms for 25 minutes or so, while the teacher went over their schedule and what they use for each subject. Colin's teacher had the best explanation of common core that I have heard. I know  a lot of parents complain about it, but I had not really seen anything as far as Colin's homework in the past. His teacher's explanation totally made sense for math. Part of the goal for it is something I already was trying to do with him. Trying to teach them that instead of doing 99 + 99 wit carrying/borrowing - in your head you could see that 100 + 100 - 2 would get you there faster and without paper. Of course, they will still teach them how to do the other way as well. As of now, I do not see the frustrating part, but he is only in 3rd grade. Maybe it will come at a later grade.

I got their a little early, so I thought I would ask how Colin was doing with his talking and staying on tasks. Two things (cause/effect situation there) that he struggles with. She kind of laughed and said "he sure is chatty". Yes, yes he is. She did not seem irritated by it (yet). So, that is good. I totally know that this was inherited from me. My mom says he does not quite have me beat (I cannot even imagine - my poor parents/grandparents)...but I did not have that issue in school until I got older since I was so shy. Colin so does not have that restraint. I am grateful for that. Even if it means our conference meetings will be all about his talking. Hey, there could be a lot worse behavioral issues to discuss. His teacher last year, who seriously needs to work on tact and a few other things. Thought he had ADHD or something similar. I am not convinced yet. I think it is hard to tell at his age.

The kids just came down to join me in the living room. They were awake, but playing in their room. I managed to sneak past them and get a few quiet moments. Colin has been down for 10 minutes and has narrated the whole cartoon so far. He sure is chatty. 

Oh, No! We are in Trouble!

The other week when we were asking Meli about her school day she told us a very interesting story. Apparently this girl, she could not remember her name, was being bad and got put in time out. Then she got spanked! Will and I of course said, "No, that does not happen at school" and Meli quickly replied, "It does at my school!".  It was amazing how even though we knew she was telling a story (or fib) since it was outrageously very unlikely - she was very believable! If it was a more reliable story, I would not have been able to tell she was not telling the truth. Oh my...We are in for it!

Even when she was younger, she would hide something behind her back. We knew it was there (we could see it) and she would say, "no, I don't have it" - by just her face, you could not tell. I am a little scared. Got to be honest here. She is such a wild, free spirit - I wish she was not a good liar.